Wednesday, 17 December - Baby, baby, baby oh

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 17 December. In your Squiz Today…

• Antisemitism and gun laws are in focus, as the surviving alleged Bondi gunman wakes from a coma

• The ACCC targets meal delivery ‘subscription traps’

• And Pat Cummins is back in time for the third Ashes Test…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said singer Mariah Carey, busting out the Italian for ‘See you in Milan’ while announcing that she will be performing at the Opening Ceremony of next year’s Winter Olympics in Milan & Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. Mariah and snow - it’s a popular combination…

Pressure builds after the Bondi attack

The Squiz

Twin issues of antisemitism and guns have risen to the forefront after Sunday night’s terror attack at Bondi Beach. Jewish leaders and the Coalition are dialling up pressure on the Albanese Government to adopt the recommendations from Special Envoy Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism sooner rather than later. Critics, including Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, say the government’s been too slow to act… But PM Anthony Albanese has rejected Netanyahu’s claims that our recognition of a Palestinian state earlier this year had anything to do with the Bondi attack. It comes as the surviving alleged gunman Naveed Akram woke from a coma last night. Reports say he’s been questioned by police in hospital and charges are expected to be laid today.

Remind me about Segal’s plan…

She handed it down in July - you can read it here. She found antisemitism had risen to “troubling levels” after the 7 October 2023 attacks - illustrated by a string of high-profile incidents in Oz… Key recommendations include rules allowing the government to pull funding from universities and broadcasters that either enable or fail to act against antisemitism, and a new definition for antisemitism. The Australian Human Rights Institute was one organisation to criticise it for “weak evidence and recommendation overreach”. But Jewish leaders say if it had been adopted in full, it could have helped to stop a “permissive” culture of antisemitism in Oz before the Bondi attack. The PM hasn’t formally responded to Segal’s review, but says the government has acted on a number of her recommendations.

And what about the gun issue?

It’s in sharp focus, with questions still swirling about how one of the shooters had a gun licence, and new revelations that the pair travelled to the Philippines for “military-style training” last month. We mentioned yesterday that National Cabinet has agreed to the biggest overhaul of our gun laws since they were implemented. The most famous voice behind them, former PM John Howard, supports that - but he also said the discussion was a “diversion” from the government taking more action on antisemitism. Coalition leader Sussan Ley didn’t weigh in yesterday - she said she was thinking of the victims’ families at this time. On that, we’ve learned more about the 15 victims who were killed, including Boris and Sofia Gurman, who tried to disarm one of the shooters before they began their rampage. You can read tributes from their loved ones here.

The perfect gifts for a pilates lover

Pilates is becoming an increasingly popular workout throughout Oz, which means you might have more newfound enthusiasts you can buy great gifts for - and MoveActive has a few practical options. They specialise in the non-slip grip socks that are mandatory in most studios, and their limited-edition gift sets are currently up to 30% off. The 3-Pack Grip Sock set comes in under $50, making it a handy stocking filler. And as those gift-giving deadlines get closer, now's a good time to take a look...

Squiz the Rest

Peace talks continue over Ukraine

The main focus of the talks in Berlin this week is security guarantees that could come from Europe and the US as part of a proposed peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he’d be willing to trade his goal of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO in return for these guarantees, which include European forces supporting the Ukrainian Army, support for Ukraine’s European Union membership, and US support for detecting and warning of any future attack. Territory is still a major sticking point, but US negotiators reckon they have agreement on 90% of the issues. Once the plan is finalised, US envoys will likely take it back to Russian leaders for their feedback - but there’s no set time for that yet, so we’ll keep you posted…  

Trump continues his BBC beef

The US President is suing the British national broadcaster for defamation to the tune of $15 billion. It’s over an episode of the BBC documentary series Panorama, which edited together 2 separate sections of a speech Trump gave on 6 January, 2021 that made it seem like he encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol following his election loss to Joe Biden. The BBC has already apologised for the misleading edit - and 2 of its senior staff resigned - but it says the edit did not amount to defamation. Trump is suing in a Florida court - even though the documentary wasn’t broadcast in the US - and says the BBC “has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing.” It’s the latest in a string of media lawsuits, with cases against the New York Times and Wall Street Journal still ongoing… 

We’re caught in a trap, I can’t opt out

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing 2 major home meal delivery companies - HelloFresh and YouFoodz - for allegedly misleading consumers with "subscription traps". If you've never been in a subscription trap, it's essentially where a company says it's easy to cancel your plan, but makes it unnecessarily difficult or confusing to do so. The ACCC claims HelloFresh/YouFoodz did that by forcing customers who tried to cancel their subs online before the first food delivery to speak to a customer service rep. The lawsuit follows the government's announcement in November that it's moving ahead on banning subscription traps after the plan was signed off by state and territory governments - it says it's looking to begin consultation on that early next year. 

China wants its babies back, babies back

The Chinese government has announced a new plan to cover all out-of-pocket expenses around childbirth, as the country continues to struggle to lift its falling birth rates. A declining population presents a problem for the country’s economic growth, which is only getting worse as money troubles don't exactly put young people in the mood to procreate. So, the government is adding sweeteners like extending maternity leave periods, potentially introducing paternity leave, subsidising childcare and making condoms, birth control and other contraceptives more expensive - which has health experts worried about HIV transmission rates. Declining birth rates aren’t a problem exclusive to China - Oz’s birth rates are falling too, which recently prompted former Treasurer Peter Costello to suggest bringing back the baby bonus… 

Cometh the hour, Cummins the man

…as the third Ashes Test begins in Adelaide today at 10am local time. Given the touring team is 2-0 down in the series already (after just 6 days of cricket), they must win this Test to have any chance of taking the famous urn home. But it’s not going to get any easier, because Australia’s bringing captain Pat Cummins and star off-spinner Nathan Lyon back into the team - though there’s no room for Usman Khawaja’s return, with Jake Weatherald and Travis Head set to continue their opening partnership. England has made one change - swapping in fast bowler Josh Tongue for fellow quick Gus Atkinson - and captain Ben Stokes has asked them to “show a bit of dog” to try and get back in the contest. Here’s a good guide to all the details…

Apropos of Nothing

You’d expect the World Darts Championship in London to feature plenty of exciting darts action and more than a few classic calls of ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY, but it also features some outstanding costume work - feast your eyes on this gallery of outfits… 

The new animated film Zootopia 2 has proven a huge hit in China - so much so that some fans have headed out to buy venomous snakes as pets, inspired by the fan-favourite character of Gary De’Snake, voiced by Ke Huy Quan. That’s a dangerous tribute… 

And instead of a partridge in a pear tree, Brisbane wildlife workers found a koala in a public bus on Sunday. The marsupial was rescued by a bus driver after dodging traffic on a busy road. Inspired by the Twelve Days of Christmas, his rescuers named him Peri.

Squiz the Day

9.30am (AEDT) - Date set for 2026 sentence of man charged after 9yo was accidentally shot and killed with a firearm in April 2025 - Goulburn

10.00am (AEDT) - Treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO to the cool kids) - Canberra

10.00am (AEDT) - Tom Silvagni, the son of AFL legend Stephen Silvagni, is due to face a sentence hearing after he was found guilty of 2 counts of rape - Melbourne

10.30am (ACDT) - Cricket: The third Test of the Ashes series gets underway (until 21 December) - Adelaide, watch the action on 7+

11.00am (AEDT) - A funeral service for Bondi terror attack victim Rabbi Eli Schlanger will be held at Chabad of Bondi - Sydney

11.00am (AEST) - Queensland’s Auditor-General will table the Major Projects 2025 Report in parliament, giving an update on progress and costs of the state’s significant infrastructure projects - Brisbane

8.30pm (AEST) - Boxing: Aussie Tim Tszyu takes on unbeaten American Anthony Velazquez - Sydney, watch on Kayo PPV

ABS Data releases: Quarterly Tourism Labour Statistics, September 2025; Australian Agriculture: Livestock, 2023-24; International Trade: Supplementary Information, Financial Year, 2024-25

Bhutan’s National Day

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers 

National Maple Syrup Day in North America 

🎅 And it’s 8 days until Christmas…

Anniversary of:

• Pope Francis’ birthday (1936)

• PM Harold Holt disappearing while swimming off a beach near Portsea, Victoria (1967)

• The Simpsons premiering on the telly (1989)

• Kim Jong-un coming to power in North Korea after the death of his father Kim Jong-il (2011)