Wednesday, 12 August - In the aeroplane over the sea

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 12 August. In your Squiz Today…

• Interest rates remain on hold

• US President Donald Trump makes a secret plane swap

• And a 10yo girl helps save a whale in Queensland… 🐳

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said actor Anne Hathaway, after some conspiracy-minded fans accused her of showing off a fake baby bump at a recent red carpet appearance. Hathaway has assured everyone the bump (and the baby) is real - we’d call that an (inter)stellar way of handling the rumours…

Rates hold steady

The Squiz

Mortgage holders will likely be breathing a sigh of relief today after the Reserve Bank kept the nation’s cash rate on hold at 4.35% yesterday. The decision comes after drops in headline inflation and property prices - but the Bank’s Governor Michele Bullock says underlying inflation is still too high, and with the war in the Middle East continuing to push up oil prices, she’s not ruling out a rate hike at the next board meeting in September. Following the RBA call, the big 4 banks all held their home loan rates steady as well.

So what went down?

Definitely not the cash rate - the board’s decision was unanimous, but Bullock said it only discussed whether to hold or raise rates, not whether to cut them. She said the bank expects inflation to return to its target range of between 2-3% by the end of next year - though she stressed “the forecasts are uncertain”. She added: “If it looks like we’re wrong … then we will react. And I think we’ve proven we will”. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Aussies with a mortgage would be relieved by the rates hold, which reflects that inflation has been below forecasts. But experts say it’s still sticky - and the uncertainty of the war isn’t helping with the cost of living… Speaking of hanging around, Federal Parliament returned yesterday, and PM Anthony Albanese’s comments from a podcast he did last month were back to haunt him…

What’s that about?

You might remember the PM “unequivocally” apologising to Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue after taking part in a game of ‘shag, marry, date’ on the Bush Deep podcast - now he’s in hot water over comments he made in the same episode about melons. For context, he was asked about “crap gifts” he’d received, and he said Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi had recently given him melons. When asked how she got them into the country, Albanese gestured at chest height - but says he meant nothing by it and has refused to apologise. A diplomatic note from Japan was leaked this week indicating that the country thought the reporting was “sensationalised” and it would take no action - but even that opened its own can of worms, as the Coalition is now demanding a police investigation into how the note was leaked in the first place. When life gives you melons…

Starting an important conversation

Talking about money is personal for many, and in cases of financial abuse, it can leave people feeling especially isolated... It also often exists alongside other forms of abuse, making those situations even harder to identify and navigate. That’s why speaking about it is important, to understand the signs and learn more about support available - whether it’s for yourself or someone you care about. CommBank’s Next Chapter program offers free support, even if you don’t bank with them.

Squiz the Rest

Closing a legal loophole

New Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has promised to limit suppression orders allowing high-profile figures accused of crimes to hide their identities through the court process. It’s come about after entertainment manager Ralph Carr and Tom Silvagni, the son of former AFL player Stephen Silvagni, had their names kept out of the media in their respective cases until after their rape convictions. Both relied on evidence that a suppression order was necessary to stop them from self-harming. But Carroll says the laws were “designed to protect victim-survivors, not convicted rapists” and as such, the Open Courts Act would be reviewed if Labor wins the November election. Not to be outdone, the Coalition’s legal spokesman James Newbury says it would go a step further and “stop the misuse of suppression orders, full stop”. 
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Trump flies the coop

After receiving threats to President Donald Trump’s life from Iran, US officials took no chances when he was leaving the NATO summit in Turkey last month. The Washington Post yesterday reported that Trump boarded Air Force One (his old one, not the new one Qatar gifted him) in front of TV cameras, but then was squirrelled onto a different military plane via a catering cart. He flew to the UK and then swapped to his shiny new plane for the rest of the journey home. When asked about the secret plane swap, the White House said “there are many enemies of America who have their sights on [the President], and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats”. Reports say the whole plan was kept so secret, even some of his staff didn’t know he had made the switch…

A wing and a prayer

The Albanese Government will be rolling out a bird flu vaccine in coming weeks, to try and protect endangered birds from the H5 strain of the virus, which arrived on the Oz mainland in June. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the states will manage the programs, and apply to species like the regent honeyeater and the orange-bellied parrot. In case you’re wondering how this all happens, it’s similar to many human vaccines in that it requires 2 doses via injection, meaning vaccinating wild birds is a challenge because you have to catch them twice… The government said it will try regardless, but warned Aussies to expect “mass mortalities” of birds in the coming months. The health risk to humans is still low - but the government is warning us not to approach sick birds…

The King of all stuffups

The British media watchdog has found an Essex radio station breached its rules after it accidentally and falsely announced the death of King Charles back in May. It found that a staffer had played some pre-recorded tapes “out of curiosity”, only to discover that they were broadcasting the King’s death, followed by UK national anthem God Save the King. Once the staffer discovered their mistake, they legged it - and it took the volunteer radio station 30 minutes to notice the snafu and apologise. By that point, the watchdog had received 2 complaints and an investigation was launched shortly after. While King Charles is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, we can confirm he’s very much alive…

Having a whale of a time (again) 

A 10yo girl has helped save a humpback whale that was stuck in shallow water on Queensland’s K’gari (formerly known as Fraser Island). Scarlet and her mum Chantelle Smith had been jet skiing when they discovered the beached animal on Sunday. She posted a video of the little girl splashing water on the whale to keep it wet, which shows it making loud noises while she worked… Chantelle said it felt like the whale was almost responding to her daughter trying to help it. It eventually swam back out to sea when the tide returned - but not before Scarlet named her new pal Willy. FYI, the Queensland Government says if you stumble on a stranded marine animal, best to report it immediately, and don’t touch it. And in general, be like Scarlet…

Apropos of Nothing - Animal edition

Vale Jackie the bald eagle, who became famous via the Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam, where she and her long-time mate Shadow earned hundreds of thousands of fans. She’d recently made headlines for another bird trying to steal Shadow off her - who was ominously nicknamed Jolene…  

A new study into dogs has found that they can read emotions better than we thought, and when we smile at them, it lights up the parts of their brains that respond to rewards like toys or treats. Smiling at the pooches was the easy part - getting them to sit still for an MRI, not so much…

A woman in Sydney’s northwest has scored a free lunch and a glass of wine after sorting out an intrusive ibis that had flown into the restaurant she was dining in. Which is a good result, as long as that free lunch wasn’t roast bin chicken…

Squiz the Day

7.30am (AEST) - New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon has called a caucus meeting following fresh speculation over his leadership - Wellington

12.30pm (AEST) - CEDA Event: Data centres and NSW's digital future - Sydney

12.30pm (AEST) - Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg will address the National Press Club on ‘Australia's housing necessities’ - Canberra

7.45pm (AEST) - Football: Sydney Super Cup Chelsea FC Women v A-League All Stars Women - Sydney, watch on 10Play 

CommBank, AGL Energy and Suncorp to announce full year results

Cook Islands parliamentary election

Anniversary of:

• American inventor Isaac Singer patenting the sewing machine (1851)

• Henry Ford’s company building the first Model T car (1908)

• Clarence Birdseye receiving a patent for his method for quick freezing food (1930)

• James Bond creator Ian Fleming dies (1964)

• IBM launching its first Personal Computer (1981)

• Sue, the largest-ever T-rex skeleton, being discovered (1990) 

• the deaths of Cleopatra (30BC), and actors Henry Fonda (1982) and Lauren Bacall (2014) 

Thursday
2.00am (AEST) - Swimming: Pan Pacific Championships - California 

3.00am (AEST) - A total solar eclipse for parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Portugal 

The Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a show in the northern hemisphere

Housekeeping

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