Tuesday, 22 July - Walking on the moon

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 22 July. In your Squiz Today…

• The 48th Parliament’s ready to roll

• Australia signs a joint statement calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza

• And vale Papa Jake…

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 5 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Pope Leo XIV after having a phone catch-up with famous astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to ever set foot on the moon. The call was to mark the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and by the sound of it, it was quite a deep-and-meaningful chat…

Back in the parliamentary saddles

The Squiz

It’s been 80 days since the federal election, and after some recounts, re-recounts and lawsuits - plus that small matter of the Coalition breaking and making up - the 48th Parliament will kick into gear today. Team Albanese has been re-elected to run the show, with a huge election victory and some very flattering recent polling under its belt. So as the governing begins, we thought now might be a good time to reacquaint ourselves with the state of play… 

Talk numbers to me…

That’s the spirit… Albanese and Co have their biggest advantage in the House of Representatives, where they hold 94 seats to the Coalition’s 43. So it won’t have much trouble winning legislative and procedural votes there. The Senate’s much tighter... Labor has the most seats there too - 29 to the Coalition’s 27 and the Greens’ 10 - but the government doesn’t hold a majority in the upper house. The magic number is 39, so to pass legislation a la the 20% cut to HECS debt that PM Anthony Albanese says is the first cab off the rank, Labor will need the support of either the Greens, the Coalition, or some other combo. The Greens wanted all student debt wiped out completely, and the Coalition says it expects it to pass the parliament, so let’s see where that lands.

What else is on their agenda?

Labor’s proposed super tax (which we’ve done a Squiz Shortcut on…) might require some wheeling and dealing. The government wants to add a 15% tax on super earnings - including unrealised gains - for balances over $3 million, but the Greens want the threshold lowered to $2 million, and the Coalition doesn’t want the new tax to exist at all, so watch that space… Beyond the policies, today will be packed full of interesting traditions: a Welcome to Country, a speech by Governor-General Sam Mostyn, and the Usher of the Black Rod bringing every MP together in the Senate (there aren’t enough seats, so there’s a bonus game of musical chairs). Add in some first speeches from the newbies and we’re underway - start your engines…

Australian wilderness via luxury cruise

If you are looking for a beautiful escape, Australia's Kimberley region offers adventure beyond the typical cruise experience. Silversea takes you to one of the world's most remote wilderness areas, where you can witness Montgomery Reef dramatically emerging from the ocean at low tide and explore the famous Horizontal Falls. You'll also experience 65,000 years of Aboriginal culture on sacred Worrorra lands. It is luxury expedition cruising at its finest. Head here to find out more and book your cruise.

Squiz the Rest

A joint statement

…has been signed by Australia and 24 other nations calling for an end to the war in Gaza and for Israel to lift aid restrictions. It’s one of the strongest diplomatic stands against Israel since it began the war following the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas in 2023 - and it comes after Israeli forces launched a new ground attack on the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where displaced Palestinians have been gathering. The joint statement accuses Israel of the “inhumane killing” of Palestinians and of “drip feeding” aid to people. Reports say at least 93 Palestinians were shot while trying to access food deliveries over the weekend, which happened at multiple sites across the Gaza Strip. Israel has rejected the statement, saying international pressure should be applied to Hamas instead.

Monitoring a toxic algal bloom…

If you haven’t heard, it’s been causing massive environmental issues along the coast of South Oz. The algae - which has proven deadly for marine life - is estimated to have spread across an area twice the size of the ACT since it was first detected in the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide, in March. From there, it’s hit Adelaide’s coastline and moved across to the state’s Eyre Peninsula, where it’s impacting the local fishing industry. After weeks of requests for federal help, Environment Minister Murray Watt visited yesterday. He didn’t declare a national disaster, as many are calling for, but did announce $14 million to help deal with the bloom. He says authorities are “in uncharted waters” in tackling such an “unprecedented” event and are yet to finalise how the money will be spent. Stay tuned…

A battle of the workplace giants

Tech company Employment Hero - one of our rising HR, onboarding and payroll software firms - is suing another name you might be familiar with in the Aussie jobs scene; Seek. Our largest jobs platform is an investor in the smaller tech start-up, but reports also describe them as rivals… Yesterday, Employment Hero began the process of suing Seek (paywall) in the Federal Court, accusing it of engaging in anticompetitive behaviour. In the court filings, it claims Seek has removed the smaller firm’s access to Seek API - a tool that allows Employment Hero users (mostly small and medium-sized businesses…) to post job ads to Seek from within its platform. For its part, Seek wouldn’t comment on the case, but says it will defend the action.

Getting into the swing of things

Although he made headlines for questioning the greater meaning of his career in the lead-up to the tournament, that didn’t stop American Scottie Scheffler from blowing away his competition to win the Open Championship in Northern Ireland yesterday. The 29yo was never really threatened on the final day, winning by 4 strokes to pick up his second major win of the year and fourth overall. Also tearing it up yesterday was Aussie cricketer Mitch Owen - that’s a name worth clocking, because after having a huge Big Bash season at the start of the year, he made his debut for the national 20-over side yesterday and didn’t miss a beat, smashing a six early and guiding the Aussies home against West Indies. He’s one to watch… 

Vale Papa Jake

Aka Jake Larson, an American D-Day veteran who survived the gunfire on Normandy’s beaches in World War II. The 102yo died peacefully at home in California late last week, with his granddaughter McKaela Larson saying he was “cracking jokes until the end”. He was known for that humour with a younger crowd than you might expect, racking up 1.2 million followers on his ‘Papa Jake’ TikTok account in recent years. He posted funny anecdotes and solemn stories to commemorate his fallen WWII comrades, and he even won an Emmy for his interview marking last year’s 80th anniversary of D-Day. He described himself as “a country boy” who’d become “a star on TikTok”, saying “I didn’t plan this, it came about”. A true legend…

Apropos of Nothing

They may be cute and fluffy, but ground squirrels (which enjoy tunnelling more than their tree-loving cousins…) are causing headaches in the US state of North Dakota. Officials say the rodents are taking over, and even a local air force base can’t keep ‘em out. Did someone say squirrelmageddon…

Speaking of world domination, our women’s basketballers won the FIBA Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, on Sunday. The Opals beat Japan 88-79 to be named champions - and putting an extra bounce in their step, the win locks in our place at next year's World Cup in Germany.

Late-night TV comedian John Oliver is branching out, launching a new minor league baseball team: the Erie Moon Mammoths. The Last Week Tonight host got into the spirit at the team’s debut by announcing the game, singing, and even selling hot dogs. Probably not a bad time for a side hustle…

Squiz the Day

Term 3 begins for school kids in NSW and the ACT 

9.00am (AEST) - Governor-General Sam Mostyn will open the 48th Parliament - Canberra

9.00am (AEST) - NSW Farmers will hold its annual conference (until 23 July) - Sydney

9.30am (AEST) - The UN Women Australia Leadership Network quarterly session will take place at the University of Sydney 

2.30pm (AEST) - Ed Sheeran will hold a virtual Q&A at the Lord Dudley Hotel ahead of the release of his new album, Play - Sydney

5.00pm (AEST) - Former Attorney General and Liberal Party Senator Professor George Brandis and Professor Andrea Carson will speak at La Trobe University on ‘The Australian Liberal Party: What has gone wrong? What is to be done?’ - Melbourne 

8.00pm (AEST) - First Nations & Pasifika XV will play the British & Irish Lions at Marvel Stadium, watch on Stan Sport - Melbourne

Results of Japan’s elections for its upper house of parliament will continue to come through

🧠 World Brain Day 

National Day of the Cowboy - US

Birthdays for actor Willem Dafoe (1955), singer Selena Gomez (1992) and Prince George of Cambridge (2013)

Anniversary of:

• Dick Smith making the first solo helicopter flight around the world (1983)

• attacks in Norway carried out by far-right extremist Anders Breivik that killed 77 people (2011)