Thursday, 18 July - Simply the best

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 18 July. In your Squiz Today…

• Cracking down on a major union

• Trump’s campaign gets a boost

• And a big win for the Blues…

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Squiz Sayings

Said journo Nicholas Jordan as he gave a very lukewarm verdict to one of 13 hot chocolate powders he tried for the ultimate taste test. Swilling dessert drinks sounds like fun, but as none of the options scored over 7.5/10 we might just eat our marshmallows neat…

Facing a rebuild

The Squiz

Following days of corruption allegations against one of Australia’s largest unions - the CFMEU, which stands for Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union - Workplace Minister Tony Burke has ordered an independent administrator to take over. He’s also asked the Federal Police to investigate the claims made in a Nine Network investigation against several of the union’s state branches. Burke said yesterday that the reported behaviour of the CFMEU’s construction arm was “abhorrent” - but he stopped short of deregistering it, as the Coalition has been calling for. 

Pretend like I don’t know a lot about this…

There’s a lot to keep track of, but to cut to what’s happened in the last few days… On Friday, the high-profile/controversial John Setka quit as the CFMEU Victorian branch secretary (aka its leader) over what he said were “relentless stories written with multiple allegations, whether true or not, about this great union”. On Saturday, misconduct claims surfaced - the allegations focused on highly paid jobs being given to bikies and other organised criminals. And on Monday, the Victorian and South Australian branches were placed into administration by the union's national leaders. Yesterday the Queensland branch was added to the list (paywall) - and NSW Premier Chris Minns moved to cut ties between the NSW government and the CFMEU and vowed to reject its donations going forward. That might have been prompted by police vision of NSW branch secretary Darren Greenfield allegedly accepting a bribe in 2020… 

That’s a bit messy… 

Yep - and Minns is facing criticism for taking too long to act. And he's not the only one… Yesterday, Coalition leader Peter Dutton called the Albanese Government's handling of the situation "weak" and doubled down on calls for the union to be deregistered. “I think this is an issue that’s going to go on. It’s going to bedevil the government” Dutton said. That comes after reports that the PM - and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan - were tipped off to alleged misconduct within the CFMEU in 2022. Yesterday, Albanese said his government had acted “swiftly” in announcing “the action that is appropriate that will stamp out this corruption once and for all”. But he’s still facing questions around CFMEU donations to the Labor Party - which totalled about $1 million during the 2022 election campaign - and whether he’ll cut them off in future. Last night, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said they would… 

Newsmakers on the people behind the headlines

Part 2 of our Newsmakers short series is here. This time, Kate Watson sits down with Chris Ulhmann, the former political editor at the ABC and Nine, and now a columnist for The Australian. He’s a deep thinker with decades of experience observing our political leaders here and abroad, and in this chat, they get into what he believes is worth fighting for. Dive into the newsletter, listen to the chat, or watch it on YouTube.

Squiz the Rest

Answers and questions in luxury hotel murders

Filipino authorities say the man suspected of killing Australian couple David Fisk and Lucita Cortez and her daughter-in-law Mary Cortez last week has surrendered and revealed his motive. Reports say it was to get back at the hotel management for his dismissal. The unnamed man was identified by co-workers at the hotel in Tagaytay where he was a pool cleaner. The murders have shocked locals, with Mayor Abraham Tolentino reassuring tourists the town is safe, apologising to the victims’ relatives and Australia for the "brutal crimes". And in Thailand, a similar investigation is happening after 6 Vietnamese/American citizens were found dead in Bangkok’s Grand Hyatt hotel in a suspected cyanide poisoning. A manhunt is underway for a missing member of the group - Thai police are “tracing every step since they got off the plane”.

The money follows Trump

Donald Trump’s former rivals have boarded the ‘be nice’ bandwagon at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee after the attempt on his life last weekend. That includes Nikki Haley (Trump’s last rival in the nomination race and a last-minute invitee) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis - a couple of adversaries who have put past disagreements with Trump aside. Yesterday, DeSantis also took aim at President Joe Biden, saying “America cannot have 4 more years of a Weekend at Bernie’s presidency”. And it’s not just words… Trump’s campaign collected $595 million in donations between April and June, and since the shooting, that figure is growing. Billionaire Elon Musk has turned on the tap this week - he’s pledged $67 million a month to support Trump’s election.

Fortescue farewells hundreds

West Australian billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Metals is the latest to cut jobs, and it’s dialled down its green energy push. In a statement to investors late yesterday, Fortescue - which employs about 16,000 staff - said about 700 people will go from across its global operations. As for its green hydrogen project, it’s scaled back plans to produce 15 million tonnes by 2030. This is a whole thing because green hydrogen is seen as a future energy source that will help the world get to net zero by 2050. It’s abundant, cheap and clean-burning, but it’s also difficult to transport and 20 times more explosive than petrol… Still, Forrest says the dream of cracking that nut is still alive. Expect questions today about what that all means for the Albanese Government’s $8 billion plan to make Australia a hydrogen superpower…

A big win for the Blues

The NSW Blues have broken the Suncorp Stadium curse, beating the Queensland Maroons 14-4 in the State of Origin decider and taking home the Shield. The Blues came into the match as underdogs having not won a decider at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane since 2005, but NSW fans had faith after the drubbing they dealt Queensland in the second game… And it was a testy game - 2 players were sin-binned after a brawl, while the scoreboard stayed on nil-all until just before half-time when the Maroons kicked a penalty goal. But the Blues came out firing in the second half, snatching the title in front of more than 50,000 fans. Tries from Jarome Luai and Mitchell Moses sealed the deal but the victory was bittersweet for Moses who suffered a suspected bicep injury. Blues coach Michael Maguire said the win was a career highlight. 

Taking one for the team

As Parisians gear up for the Olympics to start, one persistent problem is causing a stink, prompting the city Mayor Anne Hidalgo to dive in… To explain, the Seine River - which runs through Paris - will host the Olympics’ outdoor swimming events later this month. The issue is that swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than 100 years thanks to the sewage flowing through it. Officials have spent $1.5 billion to prevent that, but recent water quality tests have still failed. That has International Olympic swimming teams worried - the Aussies are planning to take anti-bacterial meds after their dips, and Britain’s swimmers will load up on probiotics and yoghurt… For her part, Hidalgo was keen to prove that the water was safe - so she took the plunge herself last night - smiling after the experience… “The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad,” she said. 

Apropos of Nothing - Rare breeds edition

Behold the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat… The rare breed has been given a new royal title by King Charles. It applies to the goat breed worldwide, but Guernsey native Summerville Tamsin accepted the honour on behalf of her far-flung relatives on Tuesday…

A rattlesnake “mega den” in Colorado is under sssurveillance, with researchers setting up a 24/7 livestream to better understand the reptile. They say rattesnakes get a bad rap but are social creatures that are "actually really good mothers". We'll admire them from afar…

A dead whale washing up on the beach isn’t usually cause for celebration, but scientists in New Zealand have been excited to find a spade-toothed whale - the world’s rarest - on the South Island. They say it will help them learn “crucial new information” about the species.

Squiz the Day

2.30pm (ACST) - NT Election Leaders debate - Darwin

RBA Monthly Bulletin to be released

Federal and State Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting 

ABS Data Release - Labour Force, June 

World Listening Day

Nelson Mandela International Day on the anniversary of his birthday (1918)

Birthdays for former Aussie cricket great Dennis Lillee (1949), Richard Branson (1950), Shaun Micallef (1962), Vin Diesel (1967), Elizabeth Gilbert (1969), Kristen Bell (1980)

Anniversary of:

• the debut of Play School (1966)

• the death of Jane Austen (1817)

• Kim Jong Un being appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea (2012)