Wednesday, 27 November - Let it go, let it go

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 27 November. In your Squiz Today…

• Labor’s social media plan gets panned

• Locking in a ceasefire in Lebanon

• And a new pottymouthed word of the year… 🙊

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Squiz Sayings

Said 5-time World Chess Champion Visnwanathan Anand about the Chess World Championship, currently underway in Singapore. After 2 games, Chinese champion Ding Liren is leading India's Gukesh Dommaraju in a best-of-14 series that lasts almost 3 weeks.

Planned ban gets panned

The Squiz

A handful of Coalition members including Alex Antic and Matt Canavan yesterday told their colleagues they’ll cross the floor to vote against the Albanese Government’s proposed social media ban for under-16yos, joining a growing number of voices opposing the legislation. The Coalition’s formal position is to support the ban, but after Team Albanese gave the tech giants and the public 24 hours for feedback - and got about 15,000 responses, mostly negative - there are growing calls against the plan. 

What’s the problem?

In a nutshell, the bill - which was introduced into parliament last week - puts the onus on social media platforms - Meta (aka Facebook and Instagram), X, TikTok, Snapchat - to ensure their users are over 16yo, or face severe fines. Antic and other Coalition members are worried about free speech and privacy - particularly the personal data Aussies might need to hand over - and want more time for scrutiny. And the politicians aren’t the only ones… Elon Musk suggested on X that it was a ‘backdoor way to control access to the Internet’. Independent MP Zoe Daniel says it lets social media platforms off the hook, and they should take responsibility for their content rather than banning kids from seeing it. And the Greens say the bill is “rushed and reckless”. So that’s a fair bit of blowback from across the political spectrum…

Wasn’t this meant to be easy to get through? 

Nothing’s easy, but the ban is still supported by both the major parties, so it’s expected to get through. Also notable is a big campaign from News Corp supporting a social media ban for kids - but it’s been a rocky few days for the plan. For Coalition leader Peter Dutton’s part, dissent within his ranks isn’t great - and that’s something Team Albanese has already called out. And the government is looking for some wins during the last sitting week of the year, particularly after their controversial mis- and disinformation bill - had fewer buyers than a mouldy punnet of cherry tomatoes at the supermarket… They’re also hoping to push through plans (paywall) aimed at reducing student loans, boosting public school funding and increasing wages for childcare workers before the week is out. So keep all of that on your radar…

Reducing our exposure to plastic

As we reflect on the year and what’s coming up in 2025, one of the emerging policy debates has been about the danger of plastics to our health. The Minderoo Foundation is currently advocating to reduce the risks plastics pose to our children as part of a Global Plastics Treaty. If you want to know more about what those risks are and how to reduce your exposure, a link to receive Minderoo’s e-book is here.

Squiz the Rest

Signing off on a ceasefire

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet have agreed to a truce with the terror group Hezbollah, putting a stop to the fighting that kicked off in northern Israel and Lebanon in September. Hezbollah officials had already signed off on the terms of the deal, which will take effect from 5pm our time. In the hours before the deal was struck, both sides were still exchanging heavy fire, but reports say that under the terms, all attacks must stop. Hezbollah is to pull back its troops close to the Israeli border, while Israel must also withdraw its forces from Lebanon over the coming weeks. Speaking after the meeting, Netanyahu said he is looking at the "broader, bigger picture" of the war, and said he was proud of Israeli residents along the northern border for their perseverance. It’s a big development in the Middle Eastern conflict and more will be coming out today, including comments from US President Joe Biden later this morning…

Police take action in Laos

Police in Laos have arrested 8 men over the suspected methanol poisoning that killed 6 backpackers, including Melbourne teens Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles. Reports say the men are all staff and managers at the Nana Backpackers Hostel where the travellers were staying. It comes as the girls’ families arrived back in Australia last night with their bodies. DFAT says a third Aussie, a dual national, has also fallen ill from methanol poisoning - they’re in a stable condition. Reports say the arrests of the hostel staff are in relation to the deaths of 2 Danish travellers and an American man who received free vodka shots. No mention was made of the other alleged victims. Yesterday, a friend of the 2 Danes said he’d surveyed more than 20 people who’d recently stayed there. At least 13 people told him they’d been hospitalised with suspected poisoning after visiting the Nana Hostel, which has since closed. 

Trump eyes off more tariffs

After locking in his cabinet, President-elect Donald Trump is making plans for his first day in the White House... He’d already announced tariffs (aka taxes) on goods imported from China - and yesterday, he said goods from Mexico and Canada would be slugged with a 25% tariff too. He says they’re in response to illegal immigration, crime and drugs coming across the US border and that they will “remain in effect until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country”. It hasn’t gone down well with many economists, who say the regime could lead to higher prices, interest rates and taxes within the US. And while we’re talking trade restrictions, China’s Ambassador to Australia yesterday said Oz-China relations were back on track and we shouldn’t let Trump’s moves in the US derail us.

Horse says neigh to more coaching

Longtime Sydney Swans head coach John Longmire surprised Aussie Rules fans by stepping down yesterday after 14 years in the role - he says it’s been on the cards for over a year. The man nicknamed ‘Horse’ got the Swans to the AFL grand final 5 times, winning once in 2012. At his farewell press conference, Longmire said he thought about quitting before the 2023 season, but he stuck it out to this year - making it to (but losing…) the grand final against Brisbane. That hasn’t influenced his decision to call time - he says losing meant he thought about sticking around, which he will be doing, but not as a coach. He’s stepping into a management role at the club while former Eagles ruckman Dean Cox takes over the coaching role. From a horse to an eagle…

When things go south…

We’ve already flagged that it’s Word of the Year season for international dictionary publishers, and our national tome Macquarie Dictionary has gotten in on the action with (drum roll please…): enshittification. If you’ve not come across it yet (neither has our spellcheck program…), it was coined by British-Canadian author Cory Doctorow in 2022, and it’s been running rampant on social media ever since… The dictionary defines it as “the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided” - particularly “as a consequence of profit-seeking” by our tech overlords. Doctorow summed it up succinctly earlier this year - he reckons “the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of” you know what. Onwards and upwards…

News Club interview with the 2024 Australian of the Year

Apropos of Nothing

The US department store Macy’s is investigating how a single staffer managed to hide over $200 million in expenses over 3 years. They've had to delay a planned quarterly sales update as a result. Unsurprisingly, that person no longer works there… 

NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Roger Thurtell has announced the police will respond less (paywall) to requests such as removing kangaroos from roads or mischievous koalas from train stations so they can focus on fighting crime. Sure, but hardened criminals aren't nearly as cute…

And some Aussie surfing snappers might be on the crest of a big break after being nominated for the Aussie Surf Photo of the Year - have a gander at some of the stunning shots on offer. The winner gets picked on 7 December at the Australian Surf Awards.

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AWST) - The Indo-Pacific Space and Earth conference kicks off (until 28 November) - Perth 

11.00am (AEDT) - Harvey Norman AGM

11.45am (AEDT) - Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman will launch a national plan for eliminating racism in Australia - Canberra

12.30pm (AEDT) - ABC Chair Kim Williams AM will address the National Press Club  - Canberra

6.30pm (AEDT) - Tide (2000) a 4m-long work by the late Bronwyn Oliver, is set to be the most valuable sculpture to ever be auctioned in Australia - Sydney 

7.15pm (AEDT) - Cricket: Women's Big Bash League knockout final, Sydney Thunder v Hobart Hurricanes - Sydney

ABS data release - Country Work Done (Preliminary), Sep; Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, Oct 

Simon Townsend (of Simon Townsend’s Wonder World!) has a birthday (1945)

Anniversary of:

• Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel's will establishing the Nobel Prize (1895)

• the birthdays of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee (1940), and guitarist Jimi Hendrix (1942)

• Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history (1999)

• the release of Frozen (2013)

• the death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes (2014)