Thursday, 2 October - Takes 2 to tango

October 02, 2025

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 2 October. In your Squiz Today…

  • China plays hardball with BHP over iron ore prices

  • The US Government shuts down

  • And vale Dr Jane Goodall…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I am disappointed it is gone.”

Said former Essendon coach James Hird after the AFL announced that the centre bounce - which has begun games in the men’s league since 1887 - will be no more as of 2026. Games will start with the ball thrown straight up in the air instead. They've bounced the bounce…

Mine games

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese says he’s “concerned” about a potential ongoing standoff between China and Aussie mining giant BHP. As we mentioned yesterday, there are reports that a state-owned Chinese company called China Mineral Resources Group is refusing to buy iron ore mined in the Pilbara from BHP as a negotiating tactic to try to push the prices down. Despite confusion about whether this is even happening, Albanese seemed to think it was, and he wants the 2 sides to "resolve it" tout suite… 

Seems like a big deal…or no deal…

Sure does, and it involves some big players - BHP, one of the largest listed mining companies in the world, sells an estimated $23 billion of iron ore to China every year - a huge part of the Oz economy. The Chinese government set up CMRG in 2022, specifically to buy iron ore in bulk (and cheaper) for Chinese companies making steel. As for why CMRG might be feeling like it can play hardball on the price now, China is scaling back the amount of steel it produces due to a slump in demand. China might also be cooling on our iron ore because it's got supply coming from other countries, like the Simandou mine in the African nation of Guinea (managed by Rio Tinto), which produces iron ore at a higher grade, or standard, than the iron ore mined in Oz.  

So is it likely to be resolved?

That's TBD… neither BHP, CMRG, nor the Chinese government has weighed in yet, and yesterday a Chinese commodities analyst said it wasn’t actually happening. But a report this morning (paywall) says BHP's CEO Mike Henry has spoken to Treasurer Jim Chalmers about it and confirmed it's a negotiating tactic in a commercial dispute - not a diplomatic issue. WA Premier Roger Cook seemed to back that yesterday - he said "I know these negotiations are tough, but they will get through them". Professor James Laurenceson, an expert on Australia-China relations, says the tactic had been tried before without much luck. He says China’s steel industry still relies on Oz iron ore exports, and “it’s not as though (the steelmakers) have all the leverage”. But BHP’s share price took a hit, dropping 2.5% yesterday. We’ll see what happens today…

Smiling wide

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Squiz the Rest

A funding face-off

For the first time in 6 years, the US Government shut down yesterday after Congress couldn't agree on a bill to keep federal operations funded. It's part of a battle over healthcare benefits in the US, and it means non-essential federal government employees (like park rangers and NASA staff) will be put on leave. Essential workers stay in their jobs, but all workers only get paid once the shutdown is over. They usually last a few days, but some can go longer - like the last one, which went on for 34 days. For Aussies, it means travel to and within the US could be disrupted - during the previous shutdown, heaps of flights were delayed/cancelled as air traffic controllers and security staff increasingly called in sick due to the lack of pay. So if you’ve got a trip to the US on the cards, keep that in mind… 

Hope fades in an outback search

Police in South Oz have told the family of a missing 4yo that their search is entering the “recovery” phase, more than 5 days after he was last seen. Search crews have been looking for Gus this week on his family’s remote sheep station at Yunta, about 275km north-east of Adelaide. He was playing near the family home before disappearing about 5pm Saturday. Police believe he’s “wandered off”, but Superintendent Mark Syrus said they’re not ruling out the possibility of an animal attack. Giving them some hope yesterday was a footprint found 500 metres from the home - the first potential clue to which direction Gus went… Still, search crews are preparing for the worst, with Syrus saying “without food, water, shelter for that period of time - it’s going to be pretty tough on that little lad”.

Vale Dr Jane Goodall…

The renowned chimpanzee researcher and animal conservationist has died aged 91yo. Goodall is famous for her groundbreaking work with chimps in the wild in Tanzania, which found they use tools, have complex social lives and show emotions - studies that changed our understanding of the primates. Her fieldwork began in the 1960s in Tanzania's Gombe National Park when she was 26yo, and it's been featured in numerous documentaries including the award-winning Jane… Later, she was made a UN Messenger of Peace and went on to found the Jane Goodall Institute to support conservation. Announcing her death from natural causes, the institute said: “Dr Goodall’s discoveries … revolutionised science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world”. 

Déjà vu at the Dally Ms…

…as Sydney’s James Tedesco and Brisbane’s Tamika Upton both claimed their second medal as the best player in the comp. Tedesco last won in 2019, and he romped home last night, claiming 67 votes to win by 22 over runner-up Nathan Cleary. Upton last won the award in 2023 with Newcastle and has now become the first woman to win 2, after her shift to Brisbane this year. Here's the full list of nods from last night, and a gallery of red carpet looks to have a stickybeak at… Next up, attention turns to Sunday’s Grand Finals - Roosters v Broncos in the NRLW GF at 4pm AEST, and Storm v Broncos in the NRL GF at 7:30pm. And there’s good news for Teddy Swims fans - the league says he’ll still be the headline entertainment despite concerns a health issue would rule him out. Phew… 

The chunkiest of them all…

Drum roll, please: a new fat bear has eaten its way to the Fat Bear Week crown in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. The park runs the annual livestream/poll to showcase its brown bears preparing for winter hibernation. Yesterday, it shared the news that, “for the first time ever, 32 (also known as ‘Chunk’) takes home the gold - or should we say red (because of all the salmon he ate)”. Aside from being a 4-time runner-up, at about 544kgs, he’s one of the largest bears living along the Brooks River, where the comp’s held. Chunk also had a broken jaw this year - thought to be from a tussle with another male - but didn’t let it stop him. Park rangers were happy to see that, saying it’s a permanent disability that he’ll have to navigate. Long live Chunk…
*If you want to know why this comp’s such a huge deal, we’ve got a Shortcut all about it…

Apropos of Nothing

Most 2yos are busy with building blocks, books, and Bluey, but Nepal’s Aryatara Shakya is on a different path… She’s just been chosen as the country's new Kumari, or living goddess, during Nepal’s Hindu festival. Her first duty is to bless her devotees today…

One of the biggest unions in Hollywood, SAG-AFTRA, was quick to criticise Tilly Norwood, a new actress being courted by agents this week. She’s being marketed as the new Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, but the main difference? She’s AI-generated…

Very much not AI-generated, though, is Aussie Robert Irwin, who’s still dancing up a storm on the US version of Dancing with the Stars. Here’s his latest effort on the show’s TikTok-themed night, which we just learned is a thing…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - Qantas is expected to ask the NSW Supreme Court to make orders against the use of customer data stolen by hackers during a massive cyber leak on 30 June - Sydney 

9.30am (AEST) - The case of mushroom murderer Erin Patterson will return to court where her defence team is expected to apply for an extension of time to lodge an appeal - Melbourne

9.30am (AEST) - Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, will attend Talanoa with Climate Ministers from Pacific nations - Blacktown, NSW

11.30am (AEST) - The Reserve Bank will release its twice-yearly Financial Stability Review - Sydney

1.30pm (AEST) - A public hearing for an inquiry into the AUKUS agreement will take place at Parliament House - Canberra

5.00pm (AEST) - Aussie rules: The Tasmania Devils will commence trials for the VFL and VFLW ahead of the teams’ entrance into the competitions in 2026 - Tasmania

ABS data releases: Monthly Household Spending Indicator, August 2025; International Trade in Goods, August 2025

The Abbey Road Music Photography Awards will be announced at Abbey Road Studios, with photography icon David Bailey to be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award - London. Sneak a peek at all the pics here…

Birthdays for musicians Don McLean (1945) and Sting (1951), and photographer Annie Leibovitz (1949)

Anniversary of:

  • the publication of Beatrix Potter's children's classic, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) 🐇

  • the end of the Warsaw Uprising by Polish resistance fighters during which 250,000 people were killed (1944)

  • the publication of the first comic strip featuring Charlie Brown, which would later become Peanuts (1950)

  • the assassination of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul (2018)