Squiz Today – Friday, 6 October

The Squiz

It’s 8 sleeps until Aussies head to the polls to vote on whether we should enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in our Constitution. As we head into the final stretch, PM Anthony Albanese says he’ll do whatever he can to secure a ‘Yes’ vote on 14 October and that he’s “heartened by the campaign and the engagement that I’ve had with people who do have love for our common humanity”. But that certainly wasn’t the view of many after Indigenous Senator/Blak Sovereignty leader/’No’ campaigner Lidia Thorpe was targeted in a very ugly way yesterday. 

What’s that about?

She was targeted in a video showing an Indigenous flag being burned by a far-right extremist. Albanese described the video posted on Twitter earlier this week as “quite horrific” and a threat towards Senator Thorpe that has “no place in discourse in Australian life.” For her part, Thorpe was highly critical of the PM and the Federal Police for not doing more to protect her from extreme racial abuse. Aside from condemning the video, Albanese wouldn’t respond to Thorpe’s comments yesterday, while a statement from the Federal Police (which is investigating the video) said it takes our public officials’ safety seriously.

How is this nastiness going to impact the vote?

Dunno – and if you’re politics nerds like us, you’ll be gobbling up the analysis of how things went down after it’s run and done. But plenty of people are getting out to vote early – the latest pre-poll data from the Electoral Commission shows that, as of yesterday afternoon, more than 1.179 million Aussies had cast their votes, and 1.8 million had applied for postal votes. But there’s still a lot of campaigning left to do… Albanese confirmed that he’s going to Uluru early next week. Meanwhile, ‘No’ campaigners Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Coalition leader Peter Dutton have been in Perth and Adelaide this week. They say the referendum is causing “division” amongst Australians, and Dutton has predicted the country will vote ‘No’ “in record numbers”. TBC…

Wet for the weekend

It’s been a tough few days for some towns in Victoria’s Gippsland region with flooding inundating homes and forcing farmers to move their livestock. The Macalister River broke its banks in Newry and nearby settlements – one farmer said hay bales were “heading down the river like loaves of bread”. And this morning, things are looking better there, but parts of nearby Sale and further east in Bairnsdale are under evacuation warnings. Some locals reckon the worst flooding could have been prevented if authorities had better managed releases from the region’s water catchments. And north of there in Wangaratta, residents close to the Ovens River have been told to hunker down after the area copped 150mm of rain. Cold conditions are on the cards for significant parts of the state today and over the weekend…

Iran back in the spotlight

Almost a month after the first anniversary of the death of Irani woman Mahsa Amini (#SquizShortcut), rights activists have accused Iran’s morality police of beating a teenage girl into a coma for not wearing a hijab. CCTV footage shows 16yo Armita Geravand walking onto a Tehran metro train with uncovered hair. Moments later, she is shown being carried unconscious from the train by passengers. In a video released by state media, Geravand’s parents say their daughter fainted, but human rights advocates say she was subjected to “a severe physical assault” by authorities, and an unverified image shows her in critical condition in hospital… There are striking similarities to Amini’s death last year, which sparked protests that were said to be the biggest threat to the ruling regime since it took control of Iran in 1979.

The kids aren’t alright

The Bureau of Statistics has released its latest data on the mental health and wellbeing of the nation, and it shows young Aussies “are doing it tough right now,” Beyond Blue’s Grant Blashki says. Nearly 40% of Aussies aged between 16-24yo reported experiencing a mental health disorder between 2020-22, up from 26% in 2007. Young women were the most likely to be affected (45.5%) compared to the blokes (32.4%), and anxiety was the most common condition, experienced by 2 in 5 young women and one in 4 young men. Members of the LGBTIQ+ community were nearly 3 times more likely to report a mental health disorder than heterosexual people. Psychiatrist Angelo Virgona said the pandemic had been a big issue for young people, and greater awareness was another factor in the rise. 

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Going through to the keeper

Remember the good vibes from watching the Matildas shine on home soil? That’s why we’re pretty bummed that Australia’s chances of hosting a men’s Football World Cup look gloomy… The Asian Confederation (the group we are a part of) has decided to support Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 Cup – meaning an Aussie bid is a bit DOA. There’s no official word from Football Australia, but some fans have blasted the world governing body FIFA for “rolling out the red carpet to a host with an appalling human rights record”. Note: the 2030 tournament has just been awarded to Spain, Portugal and Morocco with a side of South America. And on the upside – our Matildas play again in Perth in just a few short weeks…

Don’t waste my time

Nothing’s guaranteed to get the whole office groaning more than another drawn-out meeting – so we’re thrilled to tell you that brevity is the new black. According to new data from Microsoft Teams, 15-minute meetings are the fastest-growing block of time being scheduled, making up 60% of our online gatherings. It’s a trend that’s accelerated since people got back to the office after COVID, with many wanting to lock in efficiencies and reduce time on long calls. And a few quick tips from the pros for keeping a meeting tight: limit the number of people, send a pre-read to participants, and stack a few 15-minute meets back to back to keep you on schedule. If you’re still caught in a loop of +30-minute get-togethers, here’s a reality check – the latest survey says a third of participants switch off at the 15-minute mark…

You know us – we can sometimes be drier than the Simpson Desert. So be prepared to be shocked when we tell you how much we looove this… And we’re as surprised as you are – who knew expert drumming from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ Chad Smith, Oscar winner/muso Jared Leto, and a mid-2000s emo hit was our sweet spot? Watch this video first, then this one. So good…

Magic doesn’t interest us much, but bad magic is a whole other rabbit in a hat… And these guys are the best/worst in the business.

Is it hot? Is it cold? We don’t know – but it’s always the right weather for a delicious pumpkin/chilli/feta salad. We’re teaming ours with some lamb on the BBQ. Bon ap.

12.30pm (AEDT) – Former Chief Justice of Australia, Robert French, addresses the National Press Club on ‘The Voice – Filling a Long Constitutional Silence’ – Canberra

8.00pm (AEDT) – Nobel Peace Prize announced

Commonwealth, state, and territory agriculture ministers to hold a virtual meeting

World Cerebral Palsy Day

World Smile Day

Anniversary of:
• the opening of the Moulin Rogue in Paris (1889)
• inventor Thomas Edison showing his first motion picture (1889)
• the High Court of Australia sitting for the first time (1903)
• the release of the first film with a soundtrack, The Jazz Singer. It signalled an end to the era of silent films (1927)
• the launch of Instagram (2010)