Wednesday, 13 November - Come on join the joyride

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 13 November. In your Squiz Today…

• An early election is on the cards

• The Archbishop of Canterbury resigns

• And AI talks up some (un)real estate…🏡

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Squiz Sayings

Said 88yo runner Ploutarchos Pourliakas who’s completed his 12th marathon called ‘The Authentic’ because it’s held on the original Greek course from 2,500 years ago. After taking up running at 73yo, he says he doesn’t feel his age. He also drinks alcohol as “medicine”, so you know, you do you…

Assume the federal election brace position…

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese has been peppered with questions about an early election after West Oz Premier Roger Cook asked for formal advice on moving the date of the upcoming State election. The deadline for the next federal poll is 17 May 2025, but speculation started after Cook said he was working with the Western Australian Electoral Commission on what wriggle room he has on shifting the state’s fixed 8 March 2025 election if it turns out there’s a clash with the federal campaign.

Hang on. Why would Cook do that?

Unlike our federal elections (which can be called by the party in power when they want, within certain parameters…), Western Oz has fixed terms so that means Cook can’t just move the date on a whim. So that’s why pundits reckon he’s got wind of a federal election being called soon after the new year and held close to 8 March… The other theory is he’s been told to seek advice by PM Anthony Albanese so the 2 governments can avoid campaign clashes. Cook says he’s just making sure they are “ready for any contingency”, rather than acting on a tip. For his part, Albanese denies chatting with Cook, but he didn’t confirm/deny the early 2025 election rumour. Yesterday he said it would be called in “April or before”. So [insert shrugging lady emoji]... 

Why would Albanese go early in 2025?

Well, as the old adage goes, you call an election when you think you have the best chance of winning… Albanese has consistently said he wants his government to go a full 3-year term, and that anniversary comes up in mid-May next year. But there are a couple of credible reasons why Albanese might go sooner rather than later. First, the polls have been slipping away from Labor, including this week’s Newspoll that shows a rise in Coalition Leader Peter Dutton’s popularity. And second, it doesn’t look like we’re close to an interest rate cut, so the government’s cost of living credentials are in sharp focus. That narrative has only been bolstered by last week’s US election result, which for many was a vote against inflation. But take heart - it looks like a vote in January is off the table… As this list of federal election dates shows, there’s never been one in January…

Connect, learn and Be MPowered

Each year, thousands of Aussie mums start a business as they chase their career dreams in a way that suits their lives. Enter Mums & Co, whose mission is to give business-owning women a way to network and grow. One way to dive in is via their Be MPowered 2024 event on 28 November - a free 4-hour online conference where you’ll hear from recognised business and parenting leaders. You’ll also see our very own Kate Watson amongst the line-up… Sign up here.

Squiz the Rest

The world’s most senior Anglican cleric steps down

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby - the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans around the world - has resigned for not acting on early warnings about a serial sex abuser in the Church of England. Welby, who crowned King Charles last year, stepped down after days of pressure from clergy and British PM Keir Starmer following a report that found it was likely he knew about the abuse of John Smyth, described as “the most prolific serial abuser” associated with the church. Smyth, a barrister who ran summer camps, was accused of molesting more than 100 boys and young men over decades before he died in 2018. In a statement, Welby said he had to “take personal and institutional responsibility” and “as I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse”.

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Team Trump shapes up

As promised, US President-elect Donald Trump has swung into action, naming some of the who’s who in his incoming administration. One of his first appointments will manage the tough immigration policies that he campaigned on… Tom Homan, a Fox News contributor who was on Team Trump last time in the Immigration/Customs Enforcement space, will be the “Border Czar”, in Trump’s words, and responsible for the “deportation of illegal aliens”. As for other names you’re likely to hear, Susie Wiles and Stephen Miller will be Trump’s Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik will be the next US Ambassador to the United Nations. Trump’s pushing to assemble his team quickly - more announcements incoming…

Off his meds… 

Joel Cauchi, the man who stabbed and killed 6 people at Westfield Bondi Junction in April, is back in the headlines with a hearing in the NSW Coroner’s Court covering the state of his mental health in the lead-up to the attack. Cauchi was shot and killed by police, and the court is preparing for a formal coronial inquest next year, and yesterday it heard the 40yo had stopped taking the medication to treat his schizophrenia in 2019. That had his parents so concerned that they’d taken his hunting knives away. The court also heard police in Queensland and NSW had both received warnings about Cauchi’s deteriorating mental health. The coronial inquest will get into all of that when it starts in April.

A Rex-scue plan takes off…

About 3 months after Regional Express Airlines (aka Rex) entered voluntary administration, the Albanese Government (aka taxpayers) has stumped up $80 million to keep it in the air. Administrator Sam Freeman, from consulting firm EY, says it will help to increase the size of Rex’s fleet/regional capacity so it’s in good shape to find a buyer. That’s happened at the same time our competition watchdog (aka the ACCC) released a report indicating Rex’s collapse has driven up flight prices, with the average domestic airfare rising by 13% since then. Meanwhile, Qantas has denied allegations of slot hoarding at Sydney Airport. Slot hoarding is when airlines book - and then cancel - take-off/landing slots, effectively blocking other airlines from using them. Analysts say it could be encouraging anti-competitive behaviour.

AI talks a big (un)real estate game

An LJ Hooker agent has copped to using Chat-GPT to write a fanciful property listing for a 4-bedroom home advertised for rent in Farley, NSW. It’s possible no one would have noticed, except the property was advertised as being close to schools - which did not exist. One of the “excellent education institutions” allegedly in the vicinity was Farley High School, which the ad promised was ‘nurturing’ and ‘dedicated’ - and, unfortunately, also imaginary. The branch responsible for the error has promised to be more careful, but also mentioned that AI was now a common tool when writing real estate listings - though they were alarmed that it could invent schools out of nowhere. Let that be a lesson…

The Mayor of Alice Springs enters the chat

Apropos of Nothing

Aussie scientists have found that LEDs on surfboards might prevent great white shark attacks. Using some seal-shaped decoys, the researchers found sharks had more trouble seeing silhouettes on the surface when the decoys were lit up from underneath. What a bright idea…

Costco in the US has had to recall about 36,000kg of butter because it didn’t have a warning label that it contained milk. Many on social media ridiculed the decision - but you know what they say about crying over spilt milk…

Young Chinese people on a quest for dumplings have tried to save some dough by cycling to the Chinese city of Kaifeng - only to cause a massive traffic jam as tens of thousands of cyclists jumped on the same social media trend. They’d want to be good dumplings…

Squiz the Day

If you’re flying to Bali today, better check your flights - airlines have cancelled flights to and from the island due to eruptions from Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki causing thick ash clouds…

6.00am (AEDT) - Booker Prize announced, with Aussie author Charlotte Wood in the running - London, and broadcast live on YouTube 

9.00am (AEDT) - A Senate inquiry into the Better and Fairer Schools funding bill will hold a public hearing with representatives from Catholic, independent, and government primary and secondary school bodies - Canberra 

9.00am (AEDT) - The Senate Committee on PFAS (known as forever chemicals) will hold a public hearing - Canberra

9.30am (AEDT) - The Jamie Oliver Food Hero Awards 2024 winners announced at a ceremony onboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas - Sydney

12.00pm (AEDT) - Treasurer Jim Chalmers to speak at the Australian Business Economists Lunch about the government’s plan to tackle productivity and investment challenges facing the economy - Sydney 

12.30pm (AEDT) - Senator Simon Birmingham will address the National Press Club on 'securing Australia’s interests in a contested world' - Canberra

7.00pm (AEDT) - Marie Claire Women of the Year Awards - Sydney

8.00pm (AEDT) - Eurovision on tour begins - Brisbane

The NSW Australians of the Year will be announced

NT First Nations Leadership Summit (on until 14 November) - Darwin

ABS data release - Wage Price Index, September

Pearl Jam’s Aussie tour begins - Gold Coast

World Kindness Day 

Birthdays for Whoopi Goldberg (1955) and Jimmy Kimmel (1967)

Anniversary of:

• the release of Walt Disney's animated film Fantasia (1940)

• US spacecraft Voyager 1 taking the first close-up pictures of Saturn (1980)

• the release of Eminem's Lose Yourself, which would become the first rap song to win an Academy Award (2002)

• the Islamic State carrying out a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, killing 130 people (2015)