Wednesday, 15 July - Beautiful like diamonds in the sky

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 15 July. In your Squiz Today…

• The PM is set to unveil a new artificial intelligence framework

• Fuel price warnings as fighting in the Middle East escalates

• And interstellar sugar is found near the Milky Way… 🌌

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

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said the Danish organiser of the World Santa Claus Congress, which sees dozens of chaps donning red suits and white beards from around the world getting in the Christmas spirit… in the height of European Summer. It looks like pretty ho ho hot work to us…

Remodelling the rules

The Squiz

With artificial intelligence becoming more and more a part of everyday life for millions of Aussies, PM Anthony Albanese is set to put some guardrails in place today for the big tech companies that want to build data centres and train their AI models here. He’s going to give a speech called ‘AI in Australia’s interests’, saying "every country on earth" is grappling with the challenges posed by AI - but he says Oz will become the "first" to bring those issues into a "single, national framework".

What do we know about the plan?

PM Albanese will acknowledge AI’s “pivotal” role, but he says his plan will tackle things Aussies are concerned about - stuff like the environmental impact of data centres, copyright and job security. Reports say the proposal includes an ‘Office of AI’, which will be run from within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and will apparently introduce faster approval processes for AI projects. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that one of the biggest bugbears is the question of tech companies using the intellectual property of Aussie artists, authors and the media to train their models. It’s currently illegal without permission in Oz, but we don’t know if today’s speech will shed any light on what the government is planning when it comes to copyright laws.

Why is the PM speaking about it now?

AI is a growing sector worth billions to our economy - you might remember the government signing big agreements with Microsoft and Anthropic earlier this year. The terms include them building data centres and sharing info to help us fend off national security threats. Anthropic wants to make Oz its second home for training AI models outside of the US, but part of its investment here hinges on our copyright laws being changed… There’s currently no ‘fair use’ loophole to scrape copyrighted works, and tech companies don’t want an influx of lawsuits. As for the PM, his own ministers are divided over the way forward - so we’re not likely to get any updates on that aspect of the AI debate today…

Squiz the Rest

Fuelling economic speculation

With fighting between the US and Iran escalating again, experts are weighing in on what it could mean for the global economy. Spoiler: nothing great… In recent days, the price of oil has spiked by more than 10% - meaning we could see fuel prices rise again here in Oz. Costs had been stabilising off the back of last month’s ceasefire, and the Albanese Government had extended the fuel excise cut until 2 August - but now, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain says it could be extended again. US President Donald Trump has backtracked on plans to charge a 20% fee on all Strait of Hormuz cargo shipping, but says the US is reinstating its blockade. Economists say if the fighting doesn’t end within a week, another interest rate hike could be on the cards at the Reserve Bank’s next meeting in August…

Charges are dropped against Alan Jones…

The former Sydney talkback host will now defend 22 charges - the majority of which are of alleged indecent assault - after prosecutors dropped 4 charges against him yesterday. A reminder: this case against 85yo Jones came up after an investigation published in the Nine newspapers (paywall) in late 2023, where he was accused of indecently assaulting several male victims in NSW between 2003 and 2020. The hearing is due to start on 3 August - and the proceedings could take a while; 76 witnesses are scheduled to give evidence. Jones, who was arrested in November 2024 after a police investigation, has repeatedly denied all charges and pleaded not guilty.

Overcharged - but refund pending

If you’ve been an Origin Energy customer recently, you might be in line for a refund shortly… The company will be giving cash back to at least 4,500 of its customers (more than $270,000 worth in total) after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched an investigation into its ‘Ongoing Saver’ plan. The ACCC had concerns that customers were told that they’d be paying less on that plan than they would be on the Basic plan, but for many that wasn’t the case. Consumer group CHOICE first raised the alarm over this sort of thing from energy companies, and while Origin isn’t admitting it broke any laws, it has agreed to give refunds. On average, that’s about $60 a pop - but every little bit counts…

It’s the pointy end of the World Cup

And would you believe it’s the first time in the history of the tournament that all top four FIFA ranked teams have made the semi-finals… The first clash between France and Spain is underway this morning - with football boffs saying this could be the first time the best team in the world (that’s France) is actually challenged. The match is happening as the French celebrate Bastille Day - with a huge parade in Paris, so if the Blues pull it off, we reckon the capital’s streets will be buzzing. The winner of today’s match will decide who faces either Argentina or England in the final - they’re playing in the other semi tomorrow. England has never won a World Cup semi final on foreign soil, so prepare for your socials to light up with heaps of ‘It’s Coming Home’ content if they win. You can watch it on SBS.

Sugar, yes please

Astronomers say the sweet stuff has been found all the way up in space beyond our Solar System for the first time. The pictures are pretty mesmerising - think cotton candy meets fairy lights. This new research has been published in Nature Astronomy, and it says the interstellar sugar - which is littered in between the stars in gas clouds near the centre of the Milky Way - is the same type as the kind found in raspberries and fake tanning products on Earth (we had no idea, either…). Experts say it’s produced through chemical reactions, which then rain down on nearby worlds or reach them after being incorporated into comets that eventually clatter into planets. Sounds like the perfect ingredient for a Space Jam to us…

Apropos of Nothing

Aussie tennis star Alex de Minaur may’ve bowed out early from Wimbledon but he finished the week off on a high, marrying his British tennis player partner Katie Boulter - and in another ace consolation prize, the demon’s now ranked #5 in the world.

A pair of goldfish in Argentina have been recognised as sentient beings with rights in the court system. The legal case allowed the fish to be removed from a restaurant where they were overly exposed. Apparently they’re doing swimmingly now…

And a play adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption is coming to Oz in 2027, playing in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide from January. The film is considered by many to be the greatest film ever made, so high hopes for the stage version…

Squiz the Day

12.30pm (AEST) - Inspector-General of Aged Care Natalie Siegel-Brown to deliver an address to the National Press Club on ‘The Math Ain't Mathin: Is Australia funding independence or decline?’ - Canberra 

PM Anthony Albanese to deliver a speech titled 'AI in Australia's interests' - Sydney 

🇺🇦 Statehood Day in Ukraine

World Youth Skills Day

Anniversary of:

• the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, which was the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs (1799)

• the birthdays of Rembrandt (1606) and Emmeline Pankhurst (1858) and businesswoman and journalist Arianna Huffington born (1950) 

• the founding of the Boeing Company (1916)

• the murder of Gianni Versace in front of his home in Miami (1997)

• Twitter being launched (2006)