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- Wednesday, 1 October - I do my little turn on the catwalk
Wednesday, 1 October - I do my little turn on the catwalk
Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 1 October. In your Squiz Today…
A major media merger is on the cards
Rumours of a Chinese ban on Aussie iron ore
And Nic and Keith are splitting up… 💔
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Squiz the Weather
Squiz Sayings
“A little outside of my comfort zone.”
Said Matildas star Mary Fowler after making her fashion debut yesterday at Paris Fashion Week. It was a bit of a side quest for Fowler while she recovers from an injury, but by the looks of things, she might have a future in high fashion too…
Mulling a media merger
The Squiz
Oz media companies Seven West Media and Southern Cross Media said yesterday they’re planning to join forces. The deal would bring Seven’s TV and publishing biz together with Southern Cross’s radio network in a new media company worth around $415 million. And that’s not all the news Seven West had to share yesterday - its 85yo billionaire owner Kerry Stokes will step down as the company’s chair once the deal is done. He’ll stick around to chair the new joint company for a bit, but he says he’ll step down altogether in February next year.
Unpack this a bit more for me…
For sure… So Seven West Media owns Channel 7 and The West Australian (the clue’s in the name on that one) but also 7news.com.au and The Nightly. Southern Cross Media runs almost 100 radio stations, including FM stations like Triple M and Hit and podcast platform Listnr. Southern Cross CEO John Kelly said bringing all those outlets under the one roof “has the potential to create significant value for SCA shareholders”. Southern Cross will have the majority stake in the new company, and for Stokes, who has been involved with Seven for decades, it means his family’s stake has dropped from 40% of Seven West to 20% of the new company before he leaves the business. But the Stokes family name isn’t going anywhere - Kerry’s son Ryan Stokes will still be on the board.
So what comes next?
There’s a lot of water still to go under the bridge… First up, our regulators need to tick it off - the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have responsibility for that. The ongoing concentration of Oz media (aka a lot of outlets are owned by a small number of companies) is an issue they might be looking at… Shareholders also need to tick it off, but one major shareholder has already flagged he’s dead against it - Sandon Capital boss Gabriel Radzyminski, who owns 11.3% of Southern Cross, said the deal is a prime example of ‘diworsification', which means Southern Cross has added more assets, but weakened its overall business overall. But investors seem keen on the deal - both companies' share prices rose by about 7% during yesterday's trading.
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Squiz the Rest
Albanese welcomes the latest Gaza plan
Our PM says “all parties” should “engage seriously” with US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s new 20-point peace plan for Gaza. On that, Hamas is the main party yet to agree to the US-led proposal to end the war, and Trump says he’ll give them “3 or 4 days” to respond… Albanese said he supported the plan’s clarity in “denying Hamas any role in the future governance of Gaza” - and also praised it for laying out a “clear rejection of annexation and forced displacement of Palestinians”. If you need to catch up, you can read more about the plan here… Speaking of the President, in an address to hundreds of US military leaders overnight, he defended sending National Guard troops into American cities, saying he wanted to use them as “training grounds” to help crack down on “civil disturbances”.
Calling for answers
Communications Minister Anika Wells yesterday told Optus leaders to bring in an “independent and external party” to review its systems after its recent triple-0 outages - almost 2 weeks after the first was linked to at least 4 deaths. After her meeting with the telco’s boss Stephen Rue, Chair John Arthur and Yuen Kuan Moon, the boss of its parent company, Singtel, Wells said Aussies need to have confidence going forward “rather than just hearing from Optus again that it will be fine”. But given the company’s already launched an investigation, there are questions about what an external review could do. Whatever happens, Wells is facing pressure to outline what penalties the company will face - and in the meantime, Rue’s locked in the company’s support to stay on…
A steely standoff…
Our economy is set to be rattled by reports around this morning that China has told its major steelmakers and traders to stop buying iron ore from BHP. China is the world’s largest buyer of iron ore, and it’s our biggest and most valuable export commodity. The reports say state-owned buyer China Mineral Resources Group has given the order in a bid to push down the value after some argy-bargy over pricing. It comes as BHP’s annual profit fell to its lowest in 5 years. But there’s a bit of confusion around, with at least one Chinese steel producer saying the reports aren’t true (paywall)… One rumour that held up yesterday was that the Reserve Bank would hold interest rates steady, which it did, keeping them at 3.6%. Some economists reckon we could see a Melbourne Cup Day cut, but Governor Michele Bullock is keeping tight-lipped…
Aussie lasers make waves
Canberra-made laser tech is set to become the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO’s) new defence tool against drone attacks/airspace incursions - like the kind Russia’s been accused of recently… The deal, struck with an unnamed Western European NATO member nation, will see Aussie company Electro Optic Systems supply its Apollo system, named after the Greek God of Light. It’s capable of destroying targets at a range of about 6km, firing directly upwards, and hitting up to 20 drones a minute. The kicker? Each shot costs about $1 - much cheaper than traditional missiles. Analysts say that kind of speed and cost-effectiveness could shift the odds in future conflicts - so with the first delivery due within 18 months, we’ll see how it goes…
Tonight I wanna cry
Just after we hit publish yesterday, the news broke that 2 of our most high-profile celebs - Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban - are splitting up. The Oscar-winning actor and the Grammy-winning country music star announced their separation yesterday, and overnight Kidman filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". They've been married for 19 years and have 2 children - Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret. But it's been months since the 2 were spotted in public together at a football match in June, and reports say they've been living apart for most of the year. Neither of them have spoken publicly about it so far, but it's another high-profile Oz showbiz breakup after Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness earlier this year. Here’s a full timeline of Kidman and Urban’s relationship if you’d like to take a trip through a bit of history…
Apropos of Nothing
Avid birdwatchers in the US state of Texas have been gleefully documenting a mysterious emerald-coloured bird, but were stumped about its origins. Researchers now have an answer for them: it’s a hybrid of 2 species. Case closed, twitchers…
It’s the end of an era for Shirley Curry, aka ‘Skyrim Grandma’, the 89yo YouTube content creator who has been uploading vids about her favourite video game for 15 years. Curry said as she approaches 90, she’s decided to call time - that’s a good innings…
Gary Oldman has been knighted by Prince William. The veteran actor apologised for his whiskers, explaining that he’s been playing rusted-on spy Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses - “Hence my scruff”... The Prince said he’s a fan, but when he watches “I just want to give you a good wash”.
Squiz the Day
8.00am (AEST) - Mal Lanyon will be sworn in as the 24th Commissioner of the NSW Police during a ceremony at Balmain Police Station - Sydney
9.00am (AEST) - The 2025 champion of Fat Bear Week will be crowned in Katmai National Park - Alaska, US
10.00am (AEST) - Swimming: The 2025 Australian Short Course Championships begin - Melbourne
10.15am (AEST) - A judgment will be handed down in the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s case against several companies over the unlawful advertising of nicotine vapes - Sydney
11.30am (AEST) - Professor Ben Saul and Chris Sidoti will address the National Press Club of Australia on "Palestine recognition: necessary but insufficient" - Canberra
2.15pm (AEST) - A man charged with the murder of police officer Constable Keith Smith in June 2025 will appear at Devonport Magistrates Court - Devonport, Tasmania
6.00pm (AEST) - A commemorative service will be held for the victims and survivors of the 2005 Bali bombings - Newcastle, NSW
7.30pm (AEST) - Cricket: Australia v New Zealand in the ICC Women's World Cup at Holkar Stadium - Indore, India, watch free on Prime Video
7.30pm (AEST) - The red carpet gets underway for the Dally M Awards at Randwick Racecourse - Sydney, watch live on Kayo
Blaise Metreweli takes office as the UK's first female boss of MI6 in the intelligence service's 116-year history - head over to our Instagram page to learn more in this week’s Squiz Who (and maybe give us a follow while you’re there)
The Federal Government’s 5% deposit First Home Buyers Scheme comes into effect, as does the Australia-UAE trade deal
Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of Atonement, begins (until Thursday)
The start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The start of Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Week (until 7 October)
☕ Have that extra cuppa, it’s International Coffee Day
Birthdays for actor Julie Andrews (1935), former UK PM Theresa May (1956), and actor Brie Larson (1989)
Anniversary of:
Henry Ford introducing the Model T car (1908)
Simon & Schuster’s publication of the Little Golden Books series (1942)
22 Nazi leaders being found guilty of war crimes at the Nuremberg war trials (1946)
the start of the Howard Government's gun buyback scheme, following the Port Arthur Massacre (1996)
Thursday
12.00am (AEST) - A collection of Jane Austen memorabilia worth a combined nearly $2 million will be up for auction at Sotheby’s over the next 2 weeks, with bidding starting on 10 October - New York, US