Wednesday, 18 February - Waiting on the world to change

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 18 February. In your Squiz Today…

• Debate over Australia’s so-called ISIS brides has flared up again

• Angus Taylor names his frontbench

• And vale US human rights activist Jesse Jackson…

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Squiz Sayings

Said Aussie Winter Olympian Bree Walker - also known as Bobsled Bree - after missing out on the medals in the monobob yesterday morning. Walker was a favourite going in, but her campaign is far from over - she gets another crack in the 2-woman Bobsleigh on Friday…

Debate brews over ISIS families

The Squiz

The issue of Australia’s so-called ‘ISIS brides’ and their children - the families of jailed or killed terror group members who’ve been held without charge after the ISIS caliphate was defeated - has flared up again after a new group tried to return home. The women and children - 34 in total - left the Al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria on Monday morning for the capital Damascus, but were turned around by the Syrian government. Reports say it came down to “poor coordination between their relatives and the Damascus government” - and it’s not yet clear whether they’ll try to make the journey again…

What’s the concern?

Security here at home is the issue most often raised, and, along with complex legal and humanitarian considerations, successive federal governments have struggled to work out what to do with the women and children, despite them being Australian citizens. Some have returned with government help in years past, but PM Anthony Albanese has shut the door on this latest group… He says “if you make your bed, you lie in it … these are people who went overseas supporting Islamic State and went there to provide support for people who basically want a caliphate”. But aid organisations say conditions in the camp - which holds more than 2,000 people of various nationalities - are dangerous, and the US Government has described them as "incubators for radicalisation". 

So what now?

Mat Tinkler from Save the Children Australia - which has advocated for the group’s return - says it’s not surprising they’ve tried to get out. He says national security experts have warned this would “inevitably happen in the absence of federal government action to repatriate them” - something Foreign Minister Penny Wong also acknowledged in a Senate estimates hearing last week. The Coalition wants the government to issue temporary exclusion orders on the group, with Senator Jonno Duniam calling them “a very serious risk to our society”. Those orders allow Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to temporarily block a person from entering the country, and his office said he’s taking advice from security agencies about whether “the threshold … has been met” to implement them. Stay tuned…

More rides, more choice, more freedom

Australia’s a big country, and transport can be a challenge - especially for Aussies living with disability. Many people rely on state-funded taxi subsidy schemes for access to the transport they need for work, play and everyday life. But those schemes were designed decades ago, so Uber - with the help of disability and inclusivity consultants Get Skilled Access - has run a trial looking at giving people who rely on the schemes more choice by opening them up to rideshare. For more information, check out the full report here.

Squiz the Rest

A significant day in Geneva…

…as diplomats from the US and Iran will both be in the Swiss city to negotiate a deal over Iran’s nuclear program. The indirect talks are being hosted by Oman, and here’s what each side says they want: the US wants to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and Iran wants the US to help lift the economic sanctions currently imposed on it by countries around the world. As a backdrop to this, the US has continued to build up its military presence in the region, and Iran’s military is openly conducting drills. So, it’s tense… And it’s not even the only set of talks going on in Geneva, either - the US is also hosting diplomats from Ukraine and Russia for negotiations over ending the war between the 2, which will have been going on for 4 years next Tuesday.

The Perth terrorism accused is named…

…as 32yo Liam Alexander Hall, who is charged with throwing a “fragment bomb” into the crowd at an Invasion Day rally in Perth’s CBD. Hall is the first person in Western Australia’s history to be charged with a terrorism offence. His identity was initially suppressed over fears for his safety and his mental health, but federal prosecutors argued that his safety was being managed properly, and keeping his identity secret risked others being wrongly identified as the accused. Magistrate Lynette Dias agreed, and the suppression order was lifted. The prosecution says it will allege Hall’s attempted attack was “racially motivated… targeting members of the Aboriginal community”. His case is set to be in court again on 31 March.

Taylor-made picks

The new Liberal/Coalition leader announced his new opposition frontbench yesterday as he tried to lift his party's polling out of the doldrums. Some of the names you might see pop up a bit more include Tim Wilson (Treasury), James Paterson (Defence) and Taylor's potential leadership rival) Andrew Hastie (Industry and Sovereign Capability). Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume will take on the portfolio of Employment and Industrial Relations, while NT senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is back on the frontbench, looking after Skills and Training. Plus, you might remember that 3 Nationals senators were supposed to be suspended for a month as a condition of the Coalition getting back together. That's not the case anymore - all 3 have been elevated back to the frontbench. What a difference a week makes… 

Vale Jesse Jackson and Robert Duvall

Tributes are flowing in for the esteemed American civil rights activist Jackson, who died yesterday aged 84yo. The Reverend was a protege of Martin Luther King Jr and devoted his life to fighting for the rights of black Americans and marginalised groups. He had 2 tilts at the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1980s, which drew record numbers of black voters and white progressives - and he’s credited with reshaping the party. His family described him as "a servant leader - not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked.”... And the news broke early yesterday that acclaimed actor Duvall had died at his home in Virginia aged 95yo. He starred in some of the most famous movies ever made: The Godfather I and II, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Apocalypse Now. His wife Luciana said “To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything.” 

Snow many medals

In the wake of Oz’s best-ever performance at the Winter Olympics, some are wondering how a country known for being sunburnt became so good at the frostbitten sports… Our success in moguls skiing has attracted particular attention, with 2 golds and 1 bronze in these Games alone. Snow Australia president Daniel Bosco says it’s elite coaching that’s the secret sauce - with head coach Peter McNiel singled out for special mention - along with an elite training facility at Jindabyne. Experts also say government funding is crucial - with most of these sports only receiving much attention every 4 years. Which might be why Jakara Anthony thanked Sport Minister Anika Wells after she won gold. One way or another, the Aussie success is baffling international viewers - so that’s fun…

Apropos of Nothing

YouTuber/influencer Logan Paul set a world record yesterday for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction. The Pokémon card - a Pikachu - was bought for $23.3 million by AJ Scaramucci, son of former White House communications director Anthony. That’s a weird sentence… 

Some lucky bushwalkers in Western Oz experienced a rare waterfall on Saturday above Python Pool/Yurlburru-nha, a popular swimming hole. Heavy rain from ex-Tropical Cyclone Mitchell brought on the rare sight, even leading some locals to bust out the boogie boards…

After being cancelled 2 years on the trot, music festival Groovin the Moo has announced it’s making a comeback - but it’s going to look a bit different. Rather than a tour of regional Australia, it’ll be staging a single-day event in Lismore on 9 May. Maybe it had no udder option…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEDT) - A public hearing is due to start in a NSW inquiry looking at how to combat right-wing extremism in the state - Sydney

11.00am (AEDT) - Queensland Premier David Crisafulli will address the National Press Club on ‘Queensland's Next Generation Economy’ - Canberra 

7.00pm (AEDT) - Basketball: WNBL Semi Final series game 2 Southside Melbourne Flyers v Townsville Fire, State Basketball Centre - Melbourne, watch on 9now 

Ramadan begins (until 19 March)

Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent (until 2 April)

ABS data release: Wage price index, December

Suncorp Bank half-year financial results released

Birthdays for artist Yoko Ono (1933), actors John Travolta (1954) and Molly Ringwald (1968), and rapper Dr Dre (1965)

Anniversary of:

• Mark Twain publishing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the US (1885)

• first Church of Scientology being established in Los Angeles (1954)

• the last person being legally executed in New Zealand (1957)