Tuesday, 11 August - The dog days are over

August 11, 2026

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 11 August. In your Squiz Today…

  • Happy Census Day… it’s almost time to fill out your form

  • A powerful earthquake hits Colombia

  • And robodogs steal the show at Brissy’s Ekka… 🐕

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I have had to go to the checkout in a chemist's with about eight tubes of KY Jelly and three tubs of Vaseline and explain what's happening when I get strange looks.”

Said Anglesey Sea Zoo’s curator Matt Davidson about what’s needed to keep the skin of Rhossi, a rare turtle that washed up on a Welsh beach, supple. Rhossi’s been nursed back to health and is about to fly home to Houston in the US - with plenty of, um, moisturiser…

Happy Census Day

The Squiz

If you love filling out a form, tonight’s a big night for you - because everyone in Oz is required to answer the 66 questions that make up the 2026 Census. Every 5 years, the Australian Bureau of Stats counts every person and household to capture a snapshot of “the economic, social and cultural makeup of the country”. Governments use the data to make decisions about things like health, education, transport, infrastructure and social services, and this year, we have some new questions to answer…

What kind of questions?

Along with all manner of basic things like your age, income, and how many people you live with, the questions include some more personal details as well. These are things like what health conditions you have, where your parents were born, if you care for anyone or anyone cares for you, and how much housework you do every week… This year we’re also being asked to answer questions about sexual orientation, sex recorded at birth and gender. In fact, ANU demographer Dr Liz Allen says this year’s set of questions is “probably the most progressive census” we’ve ever seen. There will also be changes to the ancestry question - with people able to list 4 ancestries instead of 2.

Ok, so how does it work?

If you’ve not already checked your letterbox, now’s the time to retrieve your ABS letter containing all the instructions on how to fill out the form. Most Aussies complete it online, but you can take the analogue option if you’d rather put pen to paper - and then post it back. Everyone has to take part - whether you’re a citizen, tourist, international student or even if you’re experiencing homelessness… There are 30,000 ABS staff working across the nation to make sure everyone gets the help they need to participate, and FYI, it’s mandatory (a bit like voting in elections). If you don’t do it, you can be fined up to $364 a day (if you ignore a first warning). It takes the ABS almost a year to process all the data, which will be made public from June 2027. Happy answering…

 If you want to know more about why the Census is a big deal, you can check out our Squiz Shortcut here.

Hats off to our Churchill Fellow…

Bryce Corbett with his wife Shay and their daughter Rosie Corbett.

We’re all about celebrating the wins at Squiz Media - big and small. So we’re shouting out our Squiz Kids and Newshounds Director Bryce Corbett, who received his Churchill Medallion at Government House in Brisbane last week. Since 2023, when we launched Newshounds, Squiz Media has been at the forefront of advocating for media literacy education for Aussie kids. That work earned Bryce a Churchill Fellowship which saw him travel to the US, UK, France, Estonia and Finland last year, meeting media literacy experts and compiling our podcast series The Big Threat - essential listening if you’re interested in this topic. And for even more Bryce, check out a podcast interview he did for the Churchill Trust Changemakers series, which dropped on the same day he received his medallion, with his wife, Shay and daughter Rosie (pictured) alongside him. Congrats, Bryce!

Squiz the Rest

A powerful earthquake hits Colombia

Reports say more than 110 people are dead after a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the South American nation around 7.30am local time, with the Colombian Geological Service saying it’s the strongest recorded in the country in the last decade. The epicentre was 100km underground in the country’s west, and it’s caused thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes, airports to shut, schools to be closed, and damaged a heap of buildings, as rescue efforts continue to free those who have been trapped beneath the rubble. Tremors were felt in neighbouring Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela - which is still recovering from twin earthquakes in June that killed more than 6,100 people. New Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella (who took office last week) has declared a state of national emergency.

South Oz puts AI under the microscope

Premier Peter Malinauskas announced yesterday that the state would hold a Royal Commission into “artificial intelligence and the policy development around it”. It’s expected to begin in October, cost around $3 million of public money, and report back midway through next year. Malinauskas has just come back from a trip to the US, where he met with AI companies and experts, and he says South Oz is “looking to embrace the opportunity of AI but not in a way that leaves us with regrets”. To that end, he said the inquiry would help to set policy regarding AI in schools, industry, public health and in arts and culture. It follows hot on the heels of the Federal Government announcing an Office of AI last month to create and oversee standards for the tech in Oz.
*If you want a refresher on the Albanese Government’s plan for AI, check out our Squiz Shortcut…

The suitcase remains that weren’t

After alerting the public to a suspected murder, police had some explaining to do yesterday when remains found in a suitcase in NSW turned out to be a sex doll. It began when police were called by 2 men who found the suitcase on the side of a road near Goulburn on Sunday afternoon. A crime scene was set up and a statement soon followed saying “a body in a suitcase” had been found. But yesterday, police said “following forensic examinations” they’d found out it was a life-like doll wearing clothing, with hair and a nose piercing, bruises and grazes. Supt Linda Bradbury said officers “don’t like to disturb” evidence, particularly in bad weather, thus the confusion - and that the police didn’t regret their initial statement that a female body had been found.

It’s reporting season for the big banks…

…and economists are watching to see what the results mean for the housing market, which has taken a downturn since the Albanese Government changed up its tax laws for investors in the May Budget. Westpac yesterday revealed 3% growth for the June quarter, but its home loan applications were down by 20%. The bank put the drop down to fewer investment loans but said interest rate rises have played a part - and it predicts a bounce back later in the year. The reaction on the ASX wasn’t as optimistic - Westpac’s shares fell by 5% yesterday morning. As for the other banks, CommBank will report full year results tomorrow, ANZ will share Q3 figures on Thursday, and NAB’s are coming on Monday. And on interest rates - we’ll hear the Reserve Bank’s decision on those later today…

Teaching new dogs old tricks

The sheep dog trials at the Ekka (aka the Royal Queensland Show) have always been a big drawcard - and this year some of them are robots. Known as ‘robodogs’, they’re being tested in the arena by University of the Sunshine Coast students - and just like real sheep dogs, they’re trained to react to human commands, move slowly or quickly, and they can even do tricks… An app lets users issue commands from a phone or laptop, and project supervisor Dr Erica Mealy says the aim is to help farmers who have to train sheep dogs - “a practice which can be costly, labour-intensive and physically demanding”. We knew some human jobs were at risk from AI, but no bones about it, bots are coming for doggos’ jobs too…

Apropos of Nothing

Dutch rider Demi Vollering has won the Tour de France Femmes - her second victory after previously taking out the race in 2023. Despite her heaving trophy cabinet, the 29yo says "I still have a lot of dreams, on and off the bike." She’s a wheel overachiever…

After wandering around for several days with a mayonnaise jar stuck on her head, Mayonesa the raccoon has been freed from her salad trap by Dallas Animal Services. She’ll soon be returned to the wild - presumably to hang out with Aiolireena and Tomato Sauca…

Harry Potter fans have had a win - after logging hundreds of complaint calls, they’ve successfully lobbied for a multimillion-pound power link between the UK and Ireland to be diverted so that it doesn’t disturb a memorial to Dobby the House Elf. They’re still not allowed to leave him socks for environmental reasons…

Squiz the Day

Federal Parliament returns for its first sitting fortnight since early July

14:30 (AEST) - The Reserve Bank will announce its latest cash rate decision - Sydney

7.00pm (ACST) - Soccer: AFC Champions League Elite playoff - Adelaide United v Cong an Ha Noi FC, watch on Channel 10

6.00pm (AWST) - Soccer: Juventus v Palermo exhibition match - Perth, watch on Channel 7

Everyone in Oz has to complete the 2026 Census

Vietnam’s President To Lam is expected to meet with Oz PM Anthony Albanese today

Southern Cross Media Group will report full-year results

National Renewables in Agriculture conference kicks off with a farmers gathering ahead of tomorrow’s main program - Orange, NSW

Birthdays for podcaster Joe Rogan (1967) and Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth (1983)

Anniversary of:

• Author Enid Blyton's birthday (1897) and wrestler Hulk Hogan (1953)

• the start of the Weimar Republic in Germany (1919)

• the first Federal prisoners arriving at Alcatraz (1934)

• the formation of Al-Qaeda (1988)

• the founding of Airbnb by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk (2008)

• the death of actor Robin Williams (2014) and painter Jackson Pollock (1956)

Housekeeping

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