Tuesday, 18 August - Take a look at me now

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 18 August. In your Squiz Today…

• The Albanese Government’s NDIS and gambling reforms are back in the spotlight

• Sydney Swans AFL players investigated over “alleged incident”

• And a bevy of attention-loving otters… 🦦

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Wengie (aka Wendy Ayche), one of 10 YouTubers inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia for their contribution to Australian culture. It’s a diverse mix with more than 36 billion views between them - also included: maths teacher Eddie Woo, comedian Natalie Tran, and Superwog…

Another busy week in Parliament

The Squiz

After months of wheeling and dealing, the federal government is keen to get a stack of legislation passed in Parliament in the coming days. First up is getting the planned overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) across the line in the Senate, after a parliamentary committee handed in its report on Friday recommending that the changes pass. And in the House of Reps, reforms to gambling advertising, as well as new laws requiring big tech to pay for news content, are high on the agenda.

Tell me about the NDIS changes…

They would tighten the eligibility criteria around who can access the scheme, which the government says would reduce its cost by about $38 billion over 4 years. It wanted to get this done back in July, but the bill got delayed by 8 weeks under a deal with the Greens. Since then, public hearings heard widespread concerns from disability advocates and providers, including that the changes put current participants at risk. The Greens and Independent Senator David Pocock still say the bill goes “too far, too fast” - but Coalition leader Angus Taylor has told PM Anthony Albanese that his party will support the changes. There’s a catch, though - Labor only has the Coalition’s support if it fixes up the so-called 'widow tax' first, which was an unexpected result of the reforms that delayed the NDIS bill in the first place...

And how about gambling reform?

That one’s almost there, by the looks - Labor and the Coalition will be taking a deal to their respective party rooms today to get sign-off. This is an attempt to reduce the harms caused by gambling in Oz, but there’s been a major sticking point around inducements (where gamblers are offered incentives to bet). Labor has agreed to restrict them, but it’s refusing to ban them outright. It did, however, announce yesterday that it’ll introduce a “one-stop shop” register for people to opt out of gambling ads online, and that, along with over a dozen other changes, reportedly has the Coalition tentatively on board. And that’s not all - the News Bargaining Incentive, which would see big tech companies like Meta and Google make deals with Aussie publishers for news content or pay a fee to the government, might also get done this week. So there’s plenty on…

What teens want us to hear

Australian teenagers are exposed to gambling ads every day, particularly on social media, but they're rarely asked what they think. A new Deakin University study gave 12 to 17yos in Victoria and New South Wales that opportunity. Many want stronger restrictions on gambling advertising and a greater say in the policies designed to protect them. Read more about the research here.

Squiz the Rest

Swans players under investigation

Police are looking into claims that several players from the Sydney Swans AFL team were involved in an alleged sexual assault at an East Melbourne hotel in the early hours of yesterday morning. The club confirmed that several of its players were involved in an “alleged incident” and said it’s notified the AFL but can’t comment further. The team was staying at the hotel overnight after a 36-point win over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday. Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich said the club was “still piecing together” what happened and has its own internal inquiry underway. He said: “Safe to say, we're extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place and that the players have found themselves in this situation”.
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President Trump threatens to bomb Oman…

… if the US ally “gets in the way” of his administration making a deal with Iran. The 60-day deadline for Washington and Tehran to reach an agreement that would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz has now expired, and Oman has been holding separate negotiations with Iran to try and get it open after nearly 6 months of disruption. (FYI - it shares the waterway with Iran, and analysts say the number of ships getting through has dropped again). The US hasn’t had much success securing the reopening - and this threat came a few hours after Iran said the 2 Middle Eastern countries had reached an agreement. Some experts say the US is worried this could involve vessels being charged to pass through - without Trump (and the US) having a say…

Vale Hayden Panettiere

The actress who starred in Heroes and Nashville, as well as stealing the show as the coach’s daughter in Remember the Titans, has died at 36yo. Her father shared the news and described her as “an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her - and to the millions who watched her onscreen”. Panettiere first appeared on screen at just 11 months old, and has publicly shared the effect her early fame had on her adulthood. She published a memoir earlier this year about her struggles with addiction, postpartum depression and the sudden loss of her brother. She has a daughter with Ukrainian professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, who has had sole custody of her since 2018. The cause of her death hasn’t yet been confirmed, but a coroner’s investigation is underway.

Scanning more than groceries

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolies have been trying out facial recognition tech following a rise in crime and violent incidents in their stores. Both companies have already spent tens of millions of dollars setting up cameras to stop customers from stealing, including body cameras for staff, as well as at the bagging area and store exits. And reports say they’ve now given the face-checking tech a go after a court ruling allowing Bunnings’ owner Wesfarmers to use it (it was previously deemed a breach of privacy). The hardware chain is planning a rollout to more than 300 stores next year, but so far, Coles and Woolies both say it’s just in the testing stage and hasn’t been used on customers or in stores. Watch this space, because they might be…

Don’t look the otter way

We love a bit of niche science at The Squiz, and this story is literally about having a squiz, so that’s a bonus… A study from Adelaide University has found that otters might enjoy the attention they get at the local zoo. Researchers monitored 6 Asian small-clawed otters at Adelaide Zoo over 6 months, and found that they were generally more active and upbeat when there were humans around to watch them. This possible exhibitionist streak ties into ongoing research and debate around the impact that living in a zoo (and regularly interacting with and being watched by humans) has on animals. Study author Dr Eduardo Fernandez said that people “assume visitors are stressful for zoo animals, but that isn’t necessarily the case.” Fun fact: one of the collective nouns for a group of otters is a bevy, so they’re just a bevy of showoffs…

Apropos of Nothing

Ferrari’s first fully electric car, the Luce, has sold for $56 million - a record for a new car sold at auction. It’s quite the turnaround from when it was announced, when the reaction was decidedly mixed - Ferrari says despite the backlash, demand has been strong…

A group of emus was spotted swimming (yes, swimming) in the Murchison River in Western Oz. Local tour guides said they had seen emus along the shore but never swimming in the 800km river before, but apparently it's not uncommon…

And another day, another cinematic art heist. This time, 4 Renaissance paintings attributed to Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Sicily - the latest in a string of museum heists across Europe. We smell a Netflix documentary coming…  

Squiz the Day

6.00am (AEST) - Women's Mental Health Australia releases its annual survey, the biggest of its kind                                            

9.00am (AEST) - The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council's 2026 conference and exhibition begins, bringing together workers across emergency services, health, research and technology (until 21 August) - Melbourne

9.00am (AEST) - First Nations Clean Energy Symposium begins (until 20 August) - Geelong

9.30am (AEST) - Sentence for cricketer David Warner on a drink-driving charge - Sydney

10.00pm (AEST) - Hockey: Men's FIH World Cup Pool C Spain v Australia - Belgium, watch on 7Plus

Cochlear, BHP and CSL release full-year financial results

Mallesons Digital Future Summit begins (until 26 August) - online

Australian Bureau of Stats data release: counts of Australian businesses including entries and exits, July 2022-June 2026

Vietnam Veterans Day

Never Give Up Day

🍷 Pinot Noir Day

Birthdays for actor Edward Norton (1969), comedian Andy Samberg (1978), and Aussie basketball player Liz Cambage (1991)

Anniversary of 

• the death of Genghis Khan (1227)

• the birthdays of Robert Redford (1936) and Patrick Swayze (1952)

• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov first being published in the US (1958)

• the end of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War (1973)

• the death of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2018)

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