Tuesday, 4 February - Finally, you put my love on top

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 4 February. In your Squiz Today…

  • Parliament’s back in session

  • A teenager has been killed by a shark in Queensland

  • And Queen Bey makes Grammys history…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“The whole boat kind of erupted."

Said orca researcher Sara Hysong-Shimazu after catching the rare sight of an orca calf near Western Australia’s Bremer Bay. The researchers reckon it was less than a day old, and they don’t usually pop into view for at least 6 months. And they got photos, too…

Canberra’s back in the saddle

The Squiz

Our federal pollies are back at work in the cauldron of Parliament House today as the 17 May election deadline looms (said in our very best newsreader voice…) - but the Albanese Government still has a list of things it wants to get done first. Even though 2024 finished in a flurry of legislative activity, there are several bills ready to be picked up where they left off. Here’s a handy rundown to help you strap yourself in… 

What’s the big thing to know about? 

Team Albanese's renewables plan which includes $13.7 billion in tax breaks to poke/prod industries like mining to make the transition to cleaner energy sources. But that transition copped a bit of a knock on the weekend, as the Queensland Government (which is Liberal/National in flavour) pulled the pin on building a $12.5 billion green hydrogen plant announced by its predecessor. It’s one of a series of green hydrogen projects that pumped the brakes recently - Woodside Energy and Origin Energy have pulled back, and true hydrogen believer Andrew Forrest and his company Fortescue made news last year when it scaled back as well. Despite all that, the bill is set to pass with support from the Greens. 

Anything else to clock?

Yep, the 3-day childcare guarantee, hate speech laws, and electoral reforms are all expected to be kicking around in the coming days and weeks. Note: What Team Albanese is focusing on is notable, given the Coalition is picking up steam in the polls. And to add to the pressure, those polls show cost of living pressures are going to be front of mind as Aussies get ready to vote. New numbers also show cozzie livs is particularly stressful in 20 marginal electorates currently held by Labor - seats that Coalition leader Peter Dutton will have on his wish list as he looks to win government. Oh, and don’t forget the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision in a fortnight could also have election implications. Lots for PM Anthony Albanese to think about…

Turning water into shine

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Squiz the Rest

A fatal shark attack in Queensland

A teenage girl has died after being bitten by a shark while swimming at a beach on Bribie Island, which is about 70km north of Brisbane. Reports say the 17yo was with friends in the water around 100m from the shore at Woorim Beach when she was bitten on her upper body around 4.45pm yesterday. Paramedics treated her at the scene, but she couldn't be saved. It's a popular beach for locals and tourists - and drum lines, used for catching sharks with bait, are in the area. It’s the third attack in Aussie waters in just over 5 weeks… And it comes as shaken Queenslanders (a lot) further up the coast deal with the aftermath of the worst floods in 60 years - and the danger isn’t over yet, with the weather not due to ease up until later today.

Trump’s tariffs hit Aussie stocks

No tariffs or buts about it, it was a down day in the Aussie stock market yesterday as investors reacted to US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap 25% tariffs - aka taxes - on imports from neighbouring Canada and Mexico and another 10% tariff on China. The ASX 200 - which tracks the 200 biggest companies on the stock market - was down 1.8% and the Aussie dollar fell 1.5%. Market analysts say the tariffs are likely to make things rocky in the coming weeks, which showed when the US market opened down more than 1%. It recovered slightly in light of a deal struck between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who’s agreed to send 10,000 troops to the border, and the tariffs will be put on ice for a month while negotiations continue. As for Canada, reports say Trump's due for a chat with its PM Justin Trudeau today…

A mega media trial begins

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf’s unlawful dismissal case against the ABC is underway in the Federal Court, with her lawyers kicking off the evidence portion of proceedings yesterday… If this is the first you’re hearing about it, Lattouf took legal action against Aunty in December 2023, after being fired from a stand-in radio presenter role 3 days into a 5-day contract over posts she’d shared on social media. Yesterday, her lawyer claimed she was sacked for her opinions on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza - and that ABC executives made the decision after feedback from a “pro-Israel lobby”. The ABC’s outgoing Managing Director, David Anderson, is one of the senior executives involved - he’s due to appear in court today. 

And another high-profile legal case has kicked off in London overnight… Matildas captain Sam Kerr has pleaded not guilty to the alleged racial harassment of a police officer in the UK - she’s due to take the stand in the coming days. You can read up on the start of the trial here.

A glimpse under the surface

The space race has had a lot of airtime recently, but a project in the UK might have us all looking a little deeper at future human habitation options - as in, deep under the sea… A team of divers, marine biologists, engineers and engineers near the Welsh border is working to build a “permanent human settlement” on the seafloor from 2027, with the first tests being carried out this year. It’s (appropriately…) called ‘Deep’, but you’re out of luck if you want to know who’s behind it - it’s funded by an anonymous millionaire. Deep’s Chief Operating Officer, Mike Shackleford, reckons it's all about being able to get scientists onto the seafloor “to go down and study the ocean in situ”. There’s also a futuristic-looking mock-up showing the full-scale habitat’s design. Ariel would be amazed…

It’s Queen Bey’s time to shine…

It was a real-life boogie for Beyoncé at the Grammys, where she finally nabbed the Album of the Year gong yesterday. We say finally because it was fifth-time lucky for the music icon, with Cowboy Carter coming through for her. And it was history-making in more ways than one… Earlier in the night, it also took home the crown (or cowgirl hat…) for Best Country Album - making Beyoncé the first Black woman to ever win that award. You can read up on all the winners here, but Kendrick Lamar was up there, winning Song of the Year and Record of the Year with Not Like Us. Chappell Roan was named Best New Artist, and Sabrina Carpenter won the Best Pop Vocal Album with Short n’ Sweet. And like any good awards show, there was plenty of action on the red carpet - you can check out some of the best looks here.

Apropos of Nothing

A new Royal doco is on the way, with King Charles set to star in an Amazon Prime Video project about his environmental charity work. It doesn’t have a name yet, but viewers can count on plenty of vision of the King at the palatial-looking Dumfries House - one of his estates in Scotland. Jolly good show…

Hey, remember how when US tennis player Danielle Collins beat our own Destanee Aiava in the Aussie Open, she taunted the crowd and told them her prize money would go on a “five-star vacation”? Well, she’s backed it up, posting about the vacay in question on Instagram…

German hunters have taken to the stage in Dortmund to do their best impression of a stag during rutting - aka mating - season, but don’t worry, they’re only imitating the audio part… You can hear their handiwork here - we thought our local karaoke night was bad…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEDT) - Both houses of federal parliament sitting for the first week back - Canberra

7.30pm (AEDT) - Oz Lotto will offer a record jackpot of $100 million, watch on 7Plus

9.00pm (AEDT) - Alpine World Ski Championships (on until 16 February) - Austria, and streamed on Snow Live

ACT students return to school

ABS Data Release - Monthly Household Spending Indicator, December

It's the first anniversary of the disappearance of Samantha Murphy while out on a morning run in Ballarat

Santa Barbara International Film Festival (on until 15 February)

A birthday for Facebook (2004)

Anniversary of:

  • the first US electoral college choosing George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice-President (1789)

  • Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) declaring independence from the UK (1948)

  • the release of Fleetwood Mac's 11th studio album Rumours (1977)

  • the deaths of Liberace (1987) and Betty Friedan (2006)