Thursday, 18 June - You've got a friend in me

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

• Drama at Senator Pauline Hanson’s Press Club address

• More details about the US-Iran peace deal

• And Toy Story 5 is released in Oz cinemas… 🤠

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate after missing Tassie devil Mary was found after an extensive search. Wildlife staff say a trail of droppings helped lead them to her and it’s hoped she’ll make a full recovery after the ordeal. Phew!

Protest at the Press Club

The Squiz

For the first time in her political career, One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson took the stage at the National Press Club yesterday - and her 55-minute speech wasn’t without drama… In a room packed full of journalists, she took aim at media organisations, saying if her right-wing party was elected, SBS “would be gone” and the ABC would be wound back to a subscription service outside of regional areas. Following that lambasting, question time got personal, with Hanson telling The Guardian’s Sarah Martin: “Don’t come near me for an interview in future”.

That all sounds dramatic…

We haven’t even got to the stunt by left-wing group GetUp, who unfurled a protest banner behind Hanson as she was speaking - Press Club CEO Maurice Reilly promptly ripped it down and the matter’s been referred to the federal police. But the Senator remained unflapped, staying on message to call for an Australian “mono-culture” and cuts to immigration. There were some new policies too, like introducing nuclear power to the energy mix - but instead of the 7 nuclear reactors the Coalition planned, One Nation would start by building one on the east coast to test affordability first. Senator Hanson also plans to scrap the Department of Climate Change and the National Indigenous Australians Agency, deeming them a waste of money. 

What can we expect from here? 

Pitching to “the bloke in the corner store”, Hanson said “I haven’t changed, and neither has One Nation” - but she does want to make some changes to the way the country is run, like reining in the national debt and cutting “reckless” government spending. Her party has been picking up momentum in the polls since last year’s federal election, and Hanson said she welcomes scrutiny from the media, but said “I’m not anybody’s football to kick around”. She added the recent by-election win in Farrer showed that people are “finding the courage to embrace One Nation” and it’s an explanation for “the earthquake that is changing the political landscape”. Get the Richter Scale ready when the Victorian state election rolls around in November…

Staying safe in the age of AI

Recent research commissioned by Minderoo Foundation shows that Aussies want to see the government take a lead on keeping ourselves and our data safe as AI technology develops. So to speak to how our government should respond, in Episode 3 of our special Squiz Series on AI, we’ve spoken with Professor Ian Langford. Ian is definitely a big-picture thinker - he’s a former Brigadier in the Australian Defence Force, and he’s since turned his attention to looking at how artificial intelligence plays our national security. He talks about the link between energy and national security, how the global world order has changed, and what we need to do to keep ourselves secure.

🎧 Listen to our AI podcast series

Squiz the Rest

More details on the US-Iran deal

After days of speculation, we know more about what’s in the framework to end the fighting in the Middle East. The agreement sets out how the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened, and how the US will lift its blockade on Iranian ports. It also outlines what financial relief Iran will be able to access - including sanctions relief, meaning it can start exporting oil again, as well as a USD $300 billion reconstruction fund. President Donald Trump says this will only happen if Iran ”behaves,” and if it doesn’t, he says the US will return to bombing them. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says the agreement “is still being considered". The signing ceremony will take place in Switzerland on Friday, with Trump (who’s been at the G7 summit) saying he might stick around for it… 

A pay rise for Oz childcare workers

The Fair Work Commission has greenlit a 15% pay increase for childcare workers for an extra 18 months, avoiding a planned strike next month. The wage boost, approved back in 2024 for around 200,000 childhood educators, was meant to expire in November, but the federal government will stump up $3.6 billion to keep it. It comes after the United Workers Union threatened industrial action, saying workers were already overstretched and leaving the sector. The government hoped employers would increase wages under Fair Work changes to female-dominated industries, but they’ve been pushing back. Still, Education Minister Jason Clare reckons the pay rise has already attracted more workers, saying “turns out if you pay people more, more people want to do the job”.

Jeremy Clarkson’s toughest season yet

The 66yo host of reality TV show Clarkson’s Farm has revealed he has cancer. He shared the diagnosis on camera while speaking with farmhand Kaleb Cooper and manager Charlie Ireland in the final episode of Season 5. Clarkson described the cancer as “aggressive” but it had been caught early, and part of his prostate had been removed. The episode ends with him being rushed to hospital, saying with typical dry humour that his treatment had “gone awry” and “if this is all successful, I'll see you for season 6. And if it isn't, I won't.” As for updates, there’s been diddly squat, but he’s currently filming a new season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which he hosts, and some reports say that Clarkson’s Farm has been renewed for a sixth season - so fingers crossed for more Agbot adventures… 

Maroons set the record straight

They say rugby league is a game of two halves and if this year’s State of Origin series is anything to go by - that’s spot on. If you called it quits at half-time last night you’d have missed Queensland coming from behind to win 44-24 and level the series in front of a record Origin crowd at the MCG. It was a reversal from Game I, when it was NSW who stormed home in the second half. It was a particularly special night for Queensland forward Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, who lost his father to cancer just days before the game. As for the Blues, there’ll be plenty of debate in comments sections and WhatsApp chats about what needs to change ahead of the decider in Brisbane on 8 July… you can watch it on 9Now…

To infinity and beyond

There’s big excitement at Squiz HQ, because Toy Story 5 is out today - bringing Woody, Buzz and Jessie back to our screens more than 30 years since the first Pixar film came out. Feel old? Us too… If you watched it back then, you might have your own kids now, and might relate to the film’s central theme - how to get children off screens and keep them safe online (timely in the same week the UK followed in our digital footsteps and announced a social media ban for Under-16s).  The plot sees 8yo Bonnie get obsessed with a new tablet called Lilypad - which freaks out her old toys, and her parents, who worry she’s not making friends IRL. If you fancy a binge before heading to the cinema all 4 of the first movies are on Disney+…

Apropos of Nothing - in Royal news…

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit the UK next month with their 2 children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for the first time since 2022. Reports say Harry is keen to teach his kids more about British culture… plenty of fish and chips then?

Continuing the theme of news about the younger Royals, Kensington Palace has shared that Prince George will be heading to school at Eton College in September. He’ll be boarding, so hopefully it’s up to scratch with Buckingham Palace…

And staying across the pond, the hats of the Royal Ascot races in the UK are proving to be quite the spectacle… The 5-day racing festival is a prestigious event in the British social calendar, with specific dress codes for each section of the venue. It’s very posh…

Squiz the Day

9.30am (AEST) - Case management hearing in Jackie O Henderson's case against her former employer ARN - Sydney 

6.00pm (AEST) - National Vinnies CEO Sleepout, where business, community, and government leaders across Australia will sleep outdoors in support of Australians experiencing or at risk of homelessness

8.30pm (AEST) - Golf: US Open (until 22 June) - Southampton, watch on Kayo 

By-election in the British seat of Makerfield. If Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham wins, it could set up a challenge for the leadership of the Labour Party, spelling the end of Keir Starmer’s time as PM - UK

ABS data release: National, state and territory population, December 2025

Toy Story 5 and The Death of Robin Hood released in Australian cinemas (psst… You can listen to Kate and Claire chat about Toy Story 5 on this week’s News Club)

International Day for Countering Hate Speech

Red Apple Day supporting Bowel Cancer Australia 

🍣 International Sushi Day

International Picnic Day 

A birthday for music icon Sir Paul McCartney (1942)

Anniversary of:

• the Battle of Waterloo, which saw Napoleon defeated by Britain (1815)

• Amelia Earhart becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean (1928)

• Sally Ride becoming the first American woman in space (1983)