Thursday, 17 September - Walking 'round London town

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 17 September. In your Squiz Today…

• Labor’s ready to share its migration policy

• Anthropic signs its first lease for a data centre in Australia

• And McQueen’s back at London fashion week…

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Andrew Williams, Larissa Huntington, Anna Pykett and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said snake catcher Summer Woolston after a young boy in Noosa casually picked up a large carpet python sliding past and safely popped it out of the way in nearby bushland. Footage of it has gone viral, but experts say don't try this at home…

Take 2 on migration

The Squiz

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is back to share Labor’s migration policy today after cancelling a speech to unveil it at the National Press Club last month at the last minute. In what’s shaping up to be a battle of the major parties vs One Nation on the issue, reports say Team Albanese wanted to present a united front with the Coalition on the policy, but it hasn’t been able to get them on board. And with One Nation polling strongly and pushing to drastically cut the numbers of temporary migrants into Oz, there’ll be heaps of people keen to know what the federal government’s got in store…   

What happened last month?

Burke was all set to deliver Labor’s policy on 6 August but it was postponed after cabinet couldn’t agree on some points. It was said to hold major overhauls to numbers in a bid to stem rising support for One Nation, which has been getting traction with voters (paywall) off the back of campaigning on migration cuts. The party has tied high numbers of temporary migrants to housing pressures and inflation. But as plenty of experts have pointed out after it released its plan to slash temporary migration by 750,000 over 3 years, our economy relies on migration to support industries like farming, health and hospitality, so any cuts need to be carefully balanced against the impact. Burke now has cabinet’s approval, and he’s ready to go with today’s speech, called: The work of managing the migration program: Who arrives, who stays, who leaves.   

And what can we expect?

We got a peek at the main points yesterday, and Labor’s planning for net overseas migration (that’s the total number of people who move to Australia to live for at least a year, minus those who leave to live somewhere else) to fall from about 300,000 to 245,000 by 2026/27 and down to 225,000 after that. We’ll find out more today about how it’ll meet that target, but we do know it’s going to tighten up rules for international students - they’ll no longer be allowed to bring family members to Oz if they move here to study. It’s also planning to crack down on the number of people overstaying their visas, rein in asylum claims and curtail ‘visa hopping’ - which is where people change from one type to another to buy time here. Burke’s speech coincides with the latest ABS migration data - so it’s going to be a big topic of discussion in the news today.

Squiz the Rest

Fuel price rise déjà vu

We’ve talked a lot this year about how the US-Iran war has choked up the Strait of Hormuz, but now a different Middle Eastern waterway is grabbing headlines. The Houthi militant group (which is backed by Iran) has taken effective control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off Yemen's Red Sea coast, and it’s been firing missiles at Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities, with Saudi Arabia striking back. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter - and it’d been leaning heavily on the Red Sea route - so this has driven fuel prices back up, and led to speculation about whether we might see a return of the fuel excise discount. While we’re on rising prices, the US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 to counter inflation - the flow-on means the cost of borrowing money will rise across the world, adding more pressure to our economy…

A child protection crisis in the West

Yesterday afternoon, the Western Oz Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski said her department had failed to take action quickly enough on vulnerable kids in the Pilbara. After The Australian newspaper reported that Indigenous children as young as 5 were being left unsupervised and living in what a neighbour described as "inhumane" conditions, Stojkovski flew out to assess the scene on Monday. Local police alleged the government had known for months about kids being unsupervised - and while Stojkovski says she did not find evidence it had happened regularly, she did expect better from child protection agencies and would visit again to ensure things had improved. The story's also put pressure on the Albanese Government, which has been accused of creating a “void” in Indigenous policy since the failure of the Voice Referendum in 2023. 

Anthropic has signed its first lease in Oz

The maker of chatbot Claude has signed on to use part of a $32 billion data centre hub in Queensland’s Western Downs, about 250km west of Brisbane. A Singaporean developer has been lined up to build the Western Downs Digital Park, which is expected to create thousands of ongoing jobs. Anthropic wants to start using it next year (an ambitious plan, given the DA was only lodged with the local council last month…). And there’s already some pushback from the community on its potential environmental impacts. In terms of energy, reports say it’ll run on a mix of renewables, gas and coal-fired power to ensure it doesn’t run out of power - a factor Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said helped seal the deal. As for what it’ll be used for, the centre will be answering user questions as opposed to being a training facility, which keeps it out of the copyright fight (for now…).  

Ed’s exodus

Singer Ed Sheeran is in the middle of a free speech frenzy, after his opening act Macklemore said “free Palestine” during a New Jersey concert. Macklemore’s comment led to criticism from some quarters, most prominently the singer Pink, who re-shared a post accusing Macklemore of anti-Israel propaganda. The promoters of Sheeran’s US tour then pulled the rapper from the remaining concerts after an intervention from owners of some of the concert venues. Sheeran tried to hose things down by putting up a post saying it wasn’t his decision, and he didn’t speak publicly about politics. But the firing of Macklemore - and Sheeran’s subsequent statement - led to all of his other support acts pulling out of the remaining concerts as well. 

Walk walk fashun baby 

London Fashion Week kicks off its spring/summer 2027 showings today - a chance for British brands and upcoming designers to show off what they’re doing for the coming season. The buzzy news this year is the return of British label Alexander McQueen, which moved its main shows to Paris Fashion Week 25 years ago. Paris is considered the most prestigious of the fashion weeks, so for London to get back one of its iconic British fashion houses gives the week a bit more cultural cachet, and hopes are that other British brands will return to base as well. Closer to home, Melbourne Fashion Week has just dropped its lineup for October, which you can check out here to live out your Devil Wears Prada dreams…
*For more on the business of Fashion Weeks, check out this Squiz Shortcut… 

Apropos of Nothing

Stunt political figure Count Binface (the spacy one with a bin on his head) has opted not to have a crack at the next by-election in the UK. He gained some serious traction this year for running against Nigel Farage, but he’s putting a lid on things for now…

Today host Sarah Abo has confirmed that she’s leaving the show after almost 4 years, which means she’s following Karl Stefanovic out the door (in slightly calmer circumstances). Channel 9 is expected to announce its new hosting team today, so keep an eye out.

And a video of tiny cilia - hair-like structures that move in waves - inside a child’s airways has won the Nikon Small World in Motion competition. The footage - magnified by 100 - also helped scientists to gain a better understanding of a rare genetic disease. Check out the other entries here…

Squiz the Day

8.30am (AEST) - The 2026 Corruption Prevention Network forum. Speakers include Deputy Auditor-General for NSW Claudia Migotto - Sydney  

9.00am (AEST) - National Disability Summit 2026 begins (until 18 September) - Melbourne 

10.15am (AEST) - High Court hearing for Rachel Smith who is challenging a Queensland law for her right to freeze her eggs while in prison - Canberra 

10.30am (AEST) - Sentencing for former MP Fraser Ellis on deception charges - Adelaide 

12.30pm (AEST) - Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will address the National Press Club to unveil the government's migration policy - Canberra, watch on ABC iView 

Australian Citizenship Day 

UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) will launch via a press conference the landmark 2026 Gender Snapshot - New York City 

London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027 begins (until 21 September)

ABS data release: National, state and territory population, March 2026, which contains the quarterly figures for net overseas migration

World Patient Safety Day 

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom and Coyote vs Acme released in Aussie cinemas

Birthdays for Indian PM Narendra Modi (1950) and director Baz Luhrmann (1962)

Anniversary of:

• the debut of the Looney Tunes characters Wile E Coyote and Road Runner in the cartoon Fast and Furry-ous (1949)

• the premiere of M*A*S*H (1972)

• Austrian actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming a US citizen (1983) 

• the signing of the Camp David Accords, frameworks for peace in the Middle East and between Egypt and Israel (1978)

Housekeeping

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