Wednesday, 14 January - It's all coming back to me now

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 14 January. In your Squiz Today…

• PM Anthony Albanese announces a National Day of Mourning for 22 January

• Author Craig Silvey has been arrested on child exploitation charges

• And an ice hockey romance book shortage…

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Squiz Sayings

Said singer Celine Dion, newly minted TikTok star, doing a “what’s in my bag” feature on her latest video. In case you’re curious: a fan, dog food, Mentos, sanitiser, hand cream, lipstick, a VIP badge - and she’s got a pretty good Cher impression in her back pocket too…

A time to reflect

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese says a national day of mourning will be held on 22 January - next Thursday - for the 15 victims of the Bondi terror attack. Before announcing it yesterday, Albanese spoke with Yehoram Ulman, a Sydney rabbi whose son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was killed in the attack. He said Rabbi Ulman had chosen “a theme of ‘light will win’, a gathering of unity and remembrance” for the day. We don’t have all the details yet about what the day of mourning will involve, but we do know that flags will be flown at half-mast on all Commonwealth buildings across the country.

And what’s happening with those new laws?

We’re learning more about the draft Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill before it’s debated next week… A key part is that promoting or inciting hatred against a person or group because of race, colour or national/ethnic origin would become a federal hate offence. But there’s an exemption for directly quoting “a religious text for the purpose of religious teaching or discussion” - a defence that’s already raising questions about what religious preachers would be allowed to say. The Coalition is sticking by its criticism of including hate speech and gun control changes in the same bill… But Allegra Spender, the member for Wentworth (which includes Bondi…), wants it expanded to cover all minority groups - including LGBTQ+ Australians and people with disabilities.

Anything else?

Less than a week after the Adelaide Festival board disinvited Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week, the event has been canned. You’ve likely heard about this… The board said it was rescinded on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” in the wake of the Bondi attack, which Abdel-Fattah called an “act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship and a despicable attempt to associate me with the Bondi massacre”. Over 180 authors then boycotted the event, many raising concerns about free speech - echoed by event director Louise Adler, who opposed the board’s move, leading to the cancellation. The board yesterday apologised to Abdel-Fattah “for how the decision was represented”, with all but one Adelaide council representative having now stepped down.

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Squiz the Rest

All eyes on Iran

A government crackdown on the ongoing protests in Iran is continuing to cause international concern, with reports that security forces are firing at unarmed protestors in the streets. The death toll is still rising - the latest figures are about 2000 people dead and thousands more have been injured and/or arrested. The violence has “shocked” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and led US President Donald Trump to threaten countries that do business with Iran - that includes China, the UAE, Brazil and Russia - with 25% tariffs. Trump has also threatened military action against Iran, and while that hasn’t happened yet, he did post on Truth Social overnight that he’s cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and that “help is on its way” for the protesters, so we’ll wait and see what that means…
*For the background to the protests and what might happen next, check out our Squiz Shortcut…

A famous Oz author is arrested

That’s Craig Silvey, the West Australian author of Jasper Jones and Runt, who has been charged with the possession and distribution of child exploitation material. Silvey was arrested on Monday and appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court yesterday - he didn’t enter a plea and was granted bail, but Magistrate Thomas Hall said jail time was likely in his future. The 43yo’s work has sold over half a million copies worldwide, and is popular with young people - both Jasper Jones and Runt have been part of school curriculums, but the WA Education Minister Sabine Winton has ordered them pulled from public schools while the allegations are investigated. The author will be back in court on 10 February.

The hunt is on for a new Ambassador to the US…

…after the current one, former PM Kevin Rudd, announced he’ll be stepping down a year early on 31 March. Rudd took on the role in March 2023, and current PM Anthony Albanese said he played an important role in the 2024 release of Julian Assange, the AUKUS security deal and the US/Australia rare earths agreement during his tenure. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing - after Donald Trump won the 2024 US Presidential election, Rudd had to delete some critical tweets about him - which made for an awkward moments during Albanese and Trump’s meeting last year. Rudd says it’s his decision to leave and he’ll be moving to think tank The Asia Society. We don’t know who’ll replace him yet - the Coalition says that should have been sorted already - but some big names are in the mix…

A cricket legend calls time

Current Oz women’s cricket captain Alyssa Healy announced on her Willow Talk podcast yesterday that she’s ending her long career after a 6 March Test match against India. Healy says she only told her parents and her husband, Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Starc, shortly before she told the world - and that she’s lost the competitive edge that stood her in good stead throughout her career. Very good stead, actually - she’s the fifth highest Oz run-scorer in women’s ODIs, has been captain since 2023, won the women’s Ashes, a Commonwealth Games gold - you name it, she’s done it. As a wicketkeeper (like her uncle Ian) as well as the captain, she’ll be tough to replace… But she’s not going anywhere, as a long media career seems to be in her future…

Heating up

If you watched the Golden Globes on Monday, you might have seen the stars of Heated Rivalry make a highly-anticipated appearance - and if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, we’re here to help… It’s a sexy Canadian romance series on HBO Max that features 2 male ice hockey players, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who are fierce rivals on the rink and secretly lovers off it. It’s been a huge hit since its release on 28 November, and its stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams are in high demand.... Also in high demand - the book series it’s based on, which has been so popular here in Oz since the show dropped that a representative from Dymocks said yesterday that “no-one has it in stock, not even the publisher”. So if you’d like to read it yourself, it’s e-books and audiobooks only at this stage…

Apropos of Nothing

For 6 years, a Tassie pianist has been carting his 350kg baby grand piano around Australia for some surprise outdoor performances. You can see some of Kelvin Smith’s work here - and he’s in the NT at the moment, so if you are too, you might just catch him… 

We mentioned a mullet contest (the hairstyle, not the fish) in Pennsylvania yesterday - and now we can bring you the winner… Behold 10yo Drew Fleschut and his tribute to the 2001 David Spade movie Joe Dirt…

And if you’re a mango person, we’ve good news for you - growers in Western Oz reckon they’re seeing huge crops this season - and huge mangoes, with some weighing more than a kilo… That’s not a snack, baby that’s the whole damn meal…

Squiz the Day

2pm (AEDT): The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment becomes available for communities hit by the recent bushfires in Victoria

7:15pm (AEDT): Cricket - Big Bash League continues with a game between Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes at Ninja Stadium in Tasmania 

ABS data releases: Job Vacancies, Australia (November 2025), Building Approvals, Australia (November 2025)

World Logic Day

The Season 2 premiere of Idris Elba thriller series Hijack on Apple TV

Anniversary of:

• the first successful caesarean section operation (1794)

• the deaths of Lewis Carroll (1898), Dorothea Mackellar (1968) and Alan Rickman (2016)

• the birthday of Joy McKean, the grand lady of Australian country music (1930)

• the establishment of the Reserve Bank of Australia (1960)