Tuesday, 29 September - I did it all for love

September 29, 2026

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 29 September. In your Squiz Today…

  • The Reserve Bank is expected to increase interest rates this arvo

  • Larissa Waters is stepping down as the Greens’ leader

  • And Madonna and Taylor Swift win big at the MTV Video Music Awards… 🪩

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 6 minutes to read

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"This bread is good, but it’s not THAT good".

Said Food & Wine magazine of New York’s newest viral product - an $85 loaf of rye bread. The bakers say the price reflects the craft that has gone into making it - but critics say it’s more of a status symbol, showing you’re a member of the upper crust…

Rate minds think alike

The Squiz

It’s that time again when the Reserve Bank makes a call on the cash rate, its benchmark number that influences most of our other interest rates. And across the board, the big banks and economists are predicting a rise of 0.25%. That’d be the fourth rise this year, and would move the rate from 4.35% up to 4.6% - the highest it’s been in 15 years. It means mortgage holders with variable rate home loans will be up for more money on their monthly repayments, adding to cost-of-living pressures brought about by rising fuel costs and inflation. We’ll find out at 2.30pm AEST today.

Let’s crunch some numbers…

It stands to add $120 a month to repayments on the average Oz home loan of $731,000 - that’s an extra $1,440 a year. And for prospective borrowers, it’ll mean banks won’t be willing to lend them as much. Financial data firm Canstar has run the numbers, and for someone on an average full-time wage of $108,650, their borrowing capacity would slide by about $11,200. Double that for a couple... Renters aren’t immune either - reports say the low-vacancy market means landlords are more likely to pass on rate rises by jacking up rents. As for why it’s happening, the RBA wants to bring inflation back inside its target range of 2% to 3% (right now it’s at 3.5%), and putting the squeeze on household budgets is how it does that.

Is it just happening here?

Nope… Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it’s a “near universal expectation of economists and the market that rates will go up around the world, including in Australia”. He says inflation was a problem we had before, but it’s been “made much worse” by the war in the Middle East, which has driven up fuel prices. But Coalition Treasury spokesman Tim Wilson says another rise would push a lot of families and businesses “over the edge” - he says high government spending is the problem. As for whether this’ll be the last one - new inflation data due tomorrow might give us a steer on that. AMP’s Shane Oliver reckons cooling economic conditions mean it won’t be necessary when the next decision comes along on Melbourne Cup Day in November.

Want to know more about interest rates? We’ve got you covered with this Squiz Shortcut…

Bonus points before the holidays

Flights add up over the holidays, and every point helps. From 1 October, new rules are landing that could see banks change how their rewards points work. If you're a Velocity member with ANZ, MyCard, NAB, AMEX or BOQ you can earn bonus points until 30 September before those changes kick in. If your bank's not on that list, it's still worth watching the wider changes. Learn more about what it all might mean for you (and your summer travel plans) here.

Squiz the Rest

The UK terror suspects are out on bail

The 5 men arrested after suspicious vehicles were spotted travelling towards a UK airbase have been released on bail - but this doesn’t mean the investigation into them is over. We’ve learned more about who they are: Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor says they are all UK nationals in their 20s from different parts of London. Officers are looking into the possibility that they could be “proxies” or “working on behalf of a foreign state”- there’s been a lot of speculation that Iran might be involved. That’s because the UK agreed to let the US use RAF Fairford for its war in the Middle East, and in July, Iran said bases used by America were “legitimate targets”, but it has “categorically rejected” any involvement in this latest incident, as investigations continue.

A challenging sentence

Queensland woman Kylie Truswell-Mobbs has been handed a 2-year suspended sentence for giving her terminally ill husband David Mobbs a lethal combination of painkillers in 2023. The Supreme Court in Brisbane yesterday heard that Mobbs had an aggressive form of motor neurone disease (MND) and his health had deteriorated significantly in the weeks leading up to his death. Lawyers for Truswell-Mobbs argued she was acting on his wishes for her to help him end his life. She pleaded not guilty to murder, and guilty to a lesser charge of aiding suicide. Justice Tom Sullivan, who called it a challenging case to sentence, found that she “was motivated by love and affection”. Truswell-Mobbs said her husband was “beautiful” and “will never be forgotten about”.
*Need help?

Greens leader Larissa Waters resigns

The Queensland Senator announced yesterday that she’s going to step down due to a chronic kidney condition. Waters took over from Adam Bandt as the party’s national leader following last year’s federal election in May, but needs to take medical leave - and said that the Greens need “a leader in good health to lead us to success”. In the current parliament, the Greens play a key role in the Senate - the Albanese Government essentially needs either their support or the Coalition’s support to pass legislation through it - so the party’s next leader will be doing plenty of negotiating. On who that’ll be, we’ll likely find out this week - with NSW’s Mehreen Faruqi, South Oz’s Sarah Hanson-Young and Tasmania’s Nick McKim all possibilities. As for Waters, she says she’ll return to her Senate role after her health improves.  

Bogong with you

Homes across the east coast of Oz are hosting unexpected swarms of bogong moths making themselves at home in cars, bedrooms - even people’s underwear. They’ve got lost on their migration from inland Australia to the Australian Alps - blown off course by strong winds and confused by city lights. The native moths have been listed as endangered since 2021 because, as temperatures rise, their summer habitats in mountain rock faces are becoming too warm. Their current numbers are a good sign, because they’re still a key part of the delicate alpine ecosystem, so best not to reach for the bug spray. Experts are telling us that the moths will move on soon, and they’re encouraging us all to help track their migration by sharing photos of the moths to their moth tracker.

Hung up on the MTV Awards

Madonna cleaned up at yesterday’s MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, taking home 7 awards including Artist of the Year, Best Dance Music Video, and Best Collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter. Taylor Swift also made quite the splash, winning Video of the Year for The Fate of Ophelia and the inaugural Artist Director honours for her collection of music videos over the years. She ain’t done, though - she took the opportunity to debut her latest video for her new song Patient Zero, starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell. The VMAs are usually good for a couple of striking red carpet lewks - and Aussie muso Troye Sivan’s ostrich feathers are worth a stickybeak…

Apropos of Nothing

A pair of giant pandas on loan from China has touched down at Zoo Atlanta in the US. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will quarantine for a month before they are met by their latest adoring fans at the zoo.

The 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards have named the most comfy airlines to take an economy flight. Singapore Airlines came out on top of the pack, thanks to its wider seats and catering. We’re taking notes for our travel plans.

And now for a possibly slightly less comfy flight, SpaceX has launched its Starship spacecraft into orbit for the first time. It’s a huge, reusable launch vehicle that’s intended to eventually take us to Mars, hopefully with hot towels and in-flight entertainment…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (ACST) - Australia-ASEAN Business Forum begins (until 30 September) - Adelaide

11.00am (AEST) - Aussie rules: Brisbane Lions Premiership Celebration for the club's third consecutive AFL Grand Final win - Brisbane 

2.30pm (AEST) - The Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Board will announce its latest decision on the cash rate, followed by a media conference - Sydney

8.00pm (AEST) - Football: Second friendly match between the Socceroos and Brazil - Brisbane, watch on Paramount+

Cricket: Women's National Cricket League - the domestic 50-over competition - begins with New South Wales v Queensland, Victoria v South Australia and Western Australia v Tasmania. Watch on Kayo 

US President Donald Trump, US House Speaker Mike Johnson and tech CEOs will reportedly hold an AI meeting

ABS data release: monthly household spending indicator, August 2026 

A birthday for former PM Julia Gillard (1961)

Anniversary of:

  • American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller being reported as the world's first billionaire (1916)

  • the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 777.68 points, its largest single-day point loss after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and doubts over the futures of other financial institutions, which sparked the Global Financial Crisis (2008)

  • the death of iconic Aussie singer Helen Reddy (2020)

Housekeeping

Reckon you read the email each day?

Want the chance to win a $100 gift voucher for Bunnings? Hit the button below each day this week, and we’ll know you’ve read the email. That gives you a chance to go in the draw. And repeat…

Button not showing for you? Click here instead. Legend.