Tuesday, 2 June - Look into his angel eyes

June 02, 2026

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 2 June. In your Squiz Today…

  • Plenty happening in Canberra, with debate still raging over the Albanese Government’s tax changes

  • Los Angeles goes to the polls with a former reality star running for office

  • and tickets to the John Farnham tribute concert are going on sale…

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Good news travels fast… I gotta change my number”

Said tennis legend Serena Williams on Insta, before confirming her return to professional tennis. Four years after her last pro match, she’s scored a wildcard to play in the women’s doubles at the appropriately named Queen’s Club tournament in London…

The debate rages on

The Squiz

After a fiery end to parliament last week following the government introducing its Budget tax legislation, federal pollies are back into it today - and there’s plenty on the agenda. Changes to the NDIS, a bill beefing up authorities’ powers to seize illicit tobacco products, and new protections for airline passengers under an aviation bill are all up for debate in the lower house. But the government’s big focus is getting those tax reforms passed. And with 3 weeks left until its self-imposed winter break deadline, pressure is building...

Where is the tax bill up to?

For anyone who missed it last week, the new bill is a package of 4 reforms in one - the most controversial of those is a change to the Capital Gains Tax, which is still being ironed out. Given the looming winter break and the fact that the changes are set to come in on 1 July, a quickfire Senate inquiry will be looking into it first - it’s due to report back on 22 June. The Coalition is hard against the bill, but the Albanese Government has a large numbers advantage in the lower house, so it’s set to pass regardless. After that, it’ll go to the Senate, where it'll need the support of the Greens. Cue some wheeling and dealing…   

And what’s on in the Senate this week?

Budget estimates hearings are continuing there, with ministers and department heads facing questions from the Coalition, other parties and independents over their budgets and spending. Today’s focus is Defence, with our top brass likely to face questions over the change-up to the AUKUS deal where we’ve ditched plans to buy new US submarines and instead agreed to take 3 second-hand ones. Also in the spotlight will be the Health, Disability and Ageing portfolios, with lots of questions expected about planned overhauls to the NDIS. And from tomorrow, Treasury is up, where modelling for those tax laws will be under the microscope. So, all up, it’s a big week with lots to keep an eye on…

CGT is back in the spotlight

CGT isn't just a property investor consideration, it also applies to shares, managed funds and crypto. And the 2026 Federal Budget just changed the rules… The 50% discount that's been in place since 1999 is being replaced with an inflation-based system from July 2027. Not sure what any of that means for you? This CommBank Newsroom explainer breaks it down.

Squiz the Rest

A setback in the Middle East

Iranian state media says the country’s leaders have stopped negotiating a peace deal with the US - and it’s blaming Israel’s recent actions in Lebanon. A condition of the OG truce was a pause to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, but that hasn’t happened… The Iranian-backed terror group is still launching drone and missile attacks and on Sunday, Israeli troops moved deeper into Lebanon, capturing the 889yo mountain-top fortress of Beaufort Castle, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on Dahiyeh, a southern suburb in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut. They haven’t started yet, but this morning’s report from the Tasnim news agency says all of that has led to Iran pulling out of negotiations, so the current ceasefire is looking very shaky…

Welcoming a new face

You might see a bit today about new Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale, who landed in Oz last night for his first official state visit. Wale (pronounced Wah-lee) became PM of the Pacific nation just a few weeks ago - he’s a conservative leader who has previously been critical of China’s influence over his country. That’ll be a key part of his chats with our leaders over the coming days, as Oz has been locked in a diplomatic battle with China in recent years to try and win influence with our Pacific neighbours. To that end, the Albanese Government has signed deals with Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Fiji - with another one in the works with Vanuatu. Reports say PM Anthony Albanese’s plan is to announce something similar while Wale is here, so keep an eye out…

The Hills have ‘ayes’

LA’s high-stakes mayoral election is on today… with a famous-ish former reality TV personality in with a shot. Spencer Pratt might not be a well-known name in Oz (unless you watched his noughties series The Hills) but his campaign - including a bunch of AI-generated vids - has attracted a lot of headlines. He entered politics after his house burned down in the LA fires, saying he could do a better job than the city’s leaders. He’s challenging incumbent Karen Bass, who’s been in the job since 2022, and City Councillor Nithya Raman is the other contender. It’s been described as the tightest race in decades - the main issues on the campaign trail have been homelessness, housing affordability and public safety. If no one wins a majority, there’ll be another vote in November.

Socceroo oughta know…

…which players will have the responsibility of representing us at the men’s FIFA World Cup this year - and there are plenty of new faces. It’s the second-youngest team we’ve ever taken to the World Cup - 17 of the 26 players named by manager Tony Popovic have never played a World Cup game - and a couple haven’t even played for the Socceroos yet. One of those is Cristian Volpato, who only switched his national allegiance from Italy to Australia a few days ago - he was born in Camperdown in NSW but has been playing for Italy at the under-21 level. He’ll be saying g’day (not ciao) to his teammates shortly - the team has one more warm-up against Switzerland before they play their first tournament game against Türkiye on Sunday, 14 June.

Let me be there…

You can get your hands on tickets to the John Farnham tribute concert this morning, which is set for Rod Laver Arena on 20 September. The Oz music legend won’t be getting on the mic after several cancer surgeries, but artists including Tina Arena, Jimmy Barnes and Keith Urban will - with Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman beaming in from overseas. The You’re the Voice singer says the night is about “giving something back and supporting a cause that means a great deal to me”, with money raised going to the charity that supported him through treatment. Tickets go live at 10am (AEST) - for those lucky enough to bag one, we’re sure the night’ll be a Touch of Paradise…

Apropos of Nothing - Animal rescue edition

A lucky pup has been rescued after being swept off rocks into the ocean at Batemans Bay. The dog swam 800m to Snapper Island, before catching a ride on a Marine Rescue NSW jetski back to safety - now council rangers are looking to reunite it with its owner…

Thousands of baby green sea turtles under threat from global warming in the Great Barrier Reef have hatched and made it to the ocean. Researchers are now measuring their abilities against regular hatchlings in a sort of ‘turtle Olympics’ - like the regular Olympics, but slower… 

And a large flock of 50 critically endangered swift parrots was recently spotted by avid birdwatcher James Bennett near Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast. ‘Swifties’ are rarely seen this early so far north - unless she’s playing there, of course…

Squiz the Day

Federal parliament resumes and Senate budget estimates hearings continue (until 4 June)

8.00am (AEST) - AFR AI Summit 2026 - Sydney 

9.00am (AEST) - Gotham TV Awards - New York

9.30am (AEST) - Brief status for Ben Roberts-Smith over war crime murder allegations, Downing Centre Local Court - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - Tickets to the John Farnham tribute concert go on sale 

10.30am (AEST) - RBA board member Ian Harper will discuss current economic conditions and the economic outlook at an event held by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) - Melbourne

10.00am (AWST) - State funeral for the Hon Bill Grayden, Western Australia's longest serving member of parliament - Perth, livestream available on YouTube 

12.30pm (AEST) - Michael Liebreich, Co-Managing Partner of EcoPragma Capital to address the National Press Club on clean energy - Canberra

9.30pm (AEST) - Cricket: Second One-Day International in a 3-match series Pakistan v Australia, Gaddafi Stadium - Pakistan, watch on Kayo

Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale is in Australia

Primary elections in California, Iowa, Montana and New Mexico, and a primary election in the LA mayoral race

ABS data release: Business indicators, March 2026; mineral and petroleum exploration Australia, March 2026; balance of payments and international investment position, March 2026; building approvals, April 2026; government finance statistics, March 2026

Foundation of the Republic Day – Italy

🍗 National Rotisserie Chicken Day

World Heart Rhythm Week (until 8 June) 

A birthday for Australian cricketer Steve Smith (1989)

Anniversary of:

  • Alexander Graham Bell making the first sound transmission (1875)

  • the birthdays of William Lawson (1774) and Thomas Hardy (1840)

  • Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in Westminster Abbey (1953)

  • Columbia Records releasing Bruce Springsteen's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)

  • Timothy McVeigh being found guilty of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people (1997)

  • TV series The Wire, created by David Simon and starring Idris Elba and Dominic West, debuting on HBO (2002)