Squiz Today – Thursday, 9 May

THREE MINUTE SQUIZ

"Lachlan has never spoken a word but he communicates with a range of sounds, and one of those is a pretty high pitched squeal (which tells me he's absolutely delighted to be alive)."

With Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday, we wanted to feature a mum we admire greatly. Gillian Bradford is on a sabbatical from her great big job as managing editor of the ABC’s Parliament House bureau in Canberra - and she’s using the time to be out of the campaign and with her 8yo son Lachlan. He hasn’t had an easy time of it, but Gillian's story makes us proud to count her as one of the Squiz gang. Please welcome Gillian to the Three Minute Squiz.

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SHORTEN CUTS THROUGH DEFENDING HIS MUM’S MEMORY

THE SQUIZ
The election campaign got personal yesterday. The Daily Telegraph and Courier Mail’s front page splashes claimed Labor leader Bill Shorten misled ABC TV’s Q&A audience on Monday night in the telling of a story about his mother, Ann. Shorten said that her working-class background prevented her from pursuing a career in law - and he wanted to rectify that for women. The News Corp papers contended that Shorten didn’t tell the full story because Ann (who died five years ago) went on to study law and enjoyed a later-in-life career change becoming a barrister.

WHAT WAS SHORTEN’S RESPONSE?
He was angry, he was choked with emotion - and he was eloquent. In recounting the struggles his mother had to realise her dreams, he said; “What I did on Monday night is I explained who I am. I explained what drives me.” And in doing that again yesterday with tears in his eyes, Nine newspapers’ political editor David Crowe said Shorten delivered the most compelling moment of the campaign so far because “Bill Shorten has just told Australians exactly what drives him to seek the nation’s top job.”

WHERE DOES THIS GO NOW?
Well, the Telegraph doesn’t pick it up in today’s edition until page 10 and the Courier Mail on page nine. But there is a bit of insight into why they went after it so hard. “Mr Shorten’s Q&A answer was lauded by media outlets, with website 10 Daily writing that it ‘may be remembered as the moment Bill Shorten won the election’,” the article today says. So while those news outlets might have moved on, we’ll soon know if the episode has made a lasting impression on voters. Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald/Age feature a story off their front pages this morning that Labor is “bracing for war with Murdoch”, a reference to those papers’ ownership. It's gonna get messy...

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SQUIZ THE REST

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MEET ARCHIE HARRISON MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR

That’s the name the Sussexes have chosen for their new son. And he doesn’t have a title. Meghan and Harry could have gone down that route making him and Earl or a Lord, but instead he’s plain old Master Archie. It’s a strong indication the new parents won’t be bringing him up as a formal royal, or at least that's what people who know about these things say. Facing a small group of cameras, Meghan said he’s “a dream” with “the sweetest temperament.” "It's magic, it's pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world so I'm really happy." And the Queen and Prince Phillip have had a gander…

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IRAN BACK ON THE NUCLEAR TRACK

Remember this time last year when there was an international relations kerfuffle after US President Donald Trump removed America from a multinational nuclear deal where Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions? No?

• Well, the deal was inked by former President Barack Obama with Iran, France, Germany, the UK and others - and there was a lot of upset when Trump walked away from it.

• Yesterday, Iran said it no longer intends to comply with the agreement.

• So, if Iran is moving towards the enrichment of uranium to a level where it could produce nuclear weapons, that’s a problem for stability in the region, and world peace more broadly.

The rising tensions are said to be behind the deployment of a US aircraft carrier and Air Force bombers to the Persian Gulf on Sunday.

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O’NEILL KICKS IT DOWN THE ROAD

Papua New Guinea's besieged PM Peter O’Neill was yesterday called ‘clever’ for stalling a vote of no confidence in his leadership by MPs in rebellion. He was able to get enough support to delay the parliament from sitting until the end of the month. O’Neill says his prime ministership is in good shape, but a bunch of his former supporters who have recently quit in frustration, including the Attorney-General, and Finance and Justice ministers, are coming for him. Australia takes a close interest in PNG because it’s a close neighbour, the biggest recipient of our aid, and its Manus Island has been part of our government’s Operation Sovereign Borders.

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AN ACCIDENTAL ANNOUNCEMENT...

Some corporate announcements are big, for sure, but they're rarely as dramatic as this one… The Competition regulator has blocked the $15 billion merger of our third and fourth biggest telco companies - TPG and Vodafone. But it didn't mean to announce the decision yesterday. The announcement was slated to go out today but was accidentally uploaded to the ACCC's website ahead of time. Oops... When the deal was announced last August, ACCC chair Rod Sims said; “No doubt the merger parties will argue it makes them stronger to compete with Telstra and Optus. On the other hand, having four players in the market can be better than three.” And that’s the conclusion the regulator finally came to. It’s likely the decision, which sent TPG’s share price down 13.5% yesterday, will be challenged by the companies.

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THE COMEBACK KIDS

Liverpool football fans were completely beside themselves yesterday after their team defied the odds to win a place in the Champions League final. The semi-finals involve two games with the score from the first carried over to the second. So that meant Liverpool went into yesterday’s match with Barcelona (who are considered by many to be the best side in the world) 3-0 behind. So to win the match 4-0 - taking the aggregate score to 4-3 - was a pretty big deal in sporting circles. And if none of that’s your thing, the crowd’s singing at the end of the game is quite something.

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FINALLY AN ANSWER…

Ever wondered what Leonardo da Vinci was doing at your age? Only every day… Now there’s an easy way to find out…

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Release - International Merchandise Trade: Confidential Commodities List, April

Europe Day

Victory Day - Russia

Anniversary of the opening of the first Parliament of Australia (1901)

Anniversary of Nelson Mandela becoming President of South Africa (1994)