Squiz Today – 30 April 2024

The Squiz 

PM Anthony Albanese is facing pressure to explain after an organiser of Canberra’s “No More” rally on Sunday rejected his claim that he was asked not to speak. As we know, Albanese did end up speaking to about 5,000 attendees… During the speech, he said that he and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher had both asked for a chance to speak, but had been told it wouldn’t be possible. Yesterday, he brushed off the claims that was “a flat-out lie”, and called it an “emotional day for people”. 

That probably hasn’t gone down well…

Nope. Sarah Williams, the rally organiser/founder of the What Were You Wearing movement, was seen crying on stage beside Albanese as he spoke to the crowd. She says Albanese’s office told her before the event that he would walk alongside protestors but not speak. Yesterday, she went on to say that “for him to not only demand he speak because he was being heckled, but lie was disgraceful”. Albanese was keen to redirect the conversation – he reckons “this should not be a distraction from what is a very serious issue”. That didn’t fly with journalists during their interviews with him yesterday. And later, Nationals leader David Littleproud said Albanese’s actions were “tone deaf”, and that it was his responsibility “to lead this nation, not … make petty political points at the expense of a brave woman who has come forward in her community”.

Where to from here?

Well, Albanese might have another crack at redirecting things today… He touched down in Alice Springs yesterday to visit the Central Australia Aboriginal Congress’s new health hub and to meet with local residents about the town’s recent spate of violent crime. Yesterday, Alice Springs business owner Darren Clark said the NT Government’s 20-day youth curfew had worked as a “circuit breaker”, but urged Albanese to visit the local town camps to understand the underlying issues at play. “We cannot solve any of these underlying problems unless we give these kids a safe place to live and a fair shot at life,” he said. All that to say – we might hear more from Albanese today… Then tomorrow, the issue of violence against women will be back in the headlines as National Cabinet holds an emergency meeting to work through potential solutions.

A brutal attack

A Perth grandmother was allegedly brutally bashed by a freed immigration detainee in a violent home invasion, police claim. Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan was refused bail yesterday over the attack and robbery, in which he allegedly posed as a police officer with 2 other men to get into the Girrawheen home of 73yo cancer patient Ninette Simons. Doukoshkan, from Kuwait, is one of 154 detainees released from detention last November in a controversial ruling by the High Court of Australia. Police claim the men tied up Simons’ husband and then violently assaulted her before stealing jewellery and other valuables worth $200K, which she says were their “life savings”. “I thought I was dying… I don’t know how I survived this at my age,” she told Nine News. The Albanese Government hasn’t yet commented but reports say the incident will add pressure to its agenda of fast-tracking preventative detention orders.

Teen terror parents speak out

The parents of a 16yo boy accused of committing a terrorist attack in Sydney have spoken publicly about their son for the first time since he was charged with allegedly stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. The couple hasn’t been named and remain in hiding over fears of retribution. They say their son has serious anger management issues, longstanding mental health concerns and suspected autism spectrum disorder, but insist he isn’t a terrorist. In his first sermon since the attack, the Bishop told his followers he’d lost an eye in the incident. Several other teens arrested in raids last week allegedly formed part of a terror cell with the 16yo, and according to police, text messages have revealed the group wanted to target Jews, were ready to “die” for their cause, and called themselves “soldiers of Allah”. Police also allege the teens planned to buy guns and store them in abandoned homes in preparation for an attack.

Protesting for peace

As a new round of ceasefire negotiations gets underway, pressure is mounting on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to lock in a deal. In the US, mass protests are continuing at numerous university campuses, leading to scuffles between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators… Campus protests have spread across the country in the past fortnight, with one of the largest resulting in the arrest of over 100 people at New York’s Columbia University last week. On Sunday, people from opposing sides came to blows at the University of California in Los Angeles as the tensions continued to escalate. Among several demands, the pro-Palestinian protesters want a ceasefire and an end to US military assistance to Israel. The pro-Israeli side says the protests are fostering incidents of antisemitism and harassment – something student protest leaders have blamed on outsiders who have “hijacked” the events.

Big-name comings and goings

Let’s start with Seven news boss Craig McPherson, whose head is the latest to roll over a series of scandals at the network… News broke yesterday that McPherson had succumbed to weeks of pressure to step down after the network’s costly misidentification of the Bondi attacker and a controversial Spotlight interview with Bruce Lehrmann. And while we’re on the topic of new jobs, there’ve been a couple of big appointments in the sporting world… Former Aussie paceman Jason Gillespie has been named Pakistan’s next Test coach. And Netball legend Liz Ellis has joined the board of Netball Australia. That’s despite having been an outspoken critic of the body over its handling of a series of off-court dramas including the Super Netball League, which she says carries “deep scars”…

Swiftly surpassing Beatlemania

Taylor Swift is no stranger to breaking records, and her latest album is no exception… The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) has smashed chart records in the US and the UK, where it’s also helped Swift tie with Madonna as the female artist/s with the most number ones in UK charts history. She’s also beaten a record held by The Beatles in how quickly she’s racked up 12 UK number-one albums. And the numbers show Oz is also a nation of Swifties/tortured poets… Here, she’s taken out the entire top 10 on the singles chart. Swift is pretty stoked with all of that – she took to social media to say her “mind is blown” and that she’s “completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album”. Fair to say she’s starting the next leg of her Eras Tour on a high…

Kyle and Jackie O exploded onto Melbourne’s brekky radio scene for the first time yesterday with some “raw and unfiltered” – aka R-rated – topics of conversation. The reviews are mixed, but some have pointed out that it “kept the beeper operator busy”…

A pet cat in the US is getting some extra love from her family after she was accidentally mailed hundreds of miles to a different state. Galeana jumped into a return parcel without being noticed and ended up in California before being found and sent back home to Utah.

And sticking with the world of aviation… Airline staff in the US have been left scratching their heads after their booking system confused a 101yo woman for a baby. The kicker? The centenarian, Patricia, says it’s not the first time it’s happened…

4.00am (AEST) – Shark nets being removed from NSW beaches as the seasonal management program comes to an end

9.00am (AEST) – Coles Group 3rd quarter sales results to be released – online

12.00pm (AEST) – Cricket: Women and Girls Action Plan launch with Aussie cricket star Ellyse Perry – Melbourne

ABS Data Release – Retail Trade, March

National Honesty Day

International Jazz Day 

Bubble Tea Day

Birthdays for Kirsten Dunst (1982), Gal Gadot (1985), and Nikki Webster (1987)

Anniversary of:

• the inauguration of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America (1789)
• Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson getting hitched (1988)
• the World Wide Web (WWW) being launched in the public domain (1989)
• the death of chef and Master Chef host Jock Zonfrillo (2023)