Squiz Today / 28 November 2018

Squiz Today – Wednesday, 28 November

THREE MINUTE SQUIZ

“Since becoming a mother, I feel much more vulnerable to events out of my control. I know I'm not alone there.”

Laura Jayes is the host of First Edition and AM Agenda with Kieran Gilbert on Foxtel's Sky News. She's known for her strong work ethic, but it's her candid style and vibrant sense of humour (and possibly her Elaine-style dance moves…) that wins people over. Laura's been a great supporter of ours, and we're stoked to welcome the Cronulla lass to the Three Minute Squiz.


ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CRISIS FOR SCOMO

THE SQUIZ
There’s no such thing as a quiet day in Canberra’s Parliament House at the moment. Yesterday, PM Scott Morrison all but confirmed the next election would be held in May next year. He also had some good news – a budget surplus is on the way for the first time in a decade. But Morrison can’t seem to get much clear air for any good news stories these days. The latest case in point was Victorian Liberal Julia Banks' announcement she is leaving the party to become an independent MP.

DID YOU SAY ‘ELECTION’?
Correctamundo. The latest date for a ‘normal' election (that’s all the House of Reps members and half the Senate) is 18 May next year. So with Easter, school holidays and Morrison’s announcement yesterday that he will bring the Federal Budget forward from early May to 2 April, 11 and 18 May are the likely dates for the next federal election.

IS THE GOVERNMENT GOING TO LAST THAT LONG?
Sounds alarming but it’s not a silly question to ask.

• At the moment, the answer is yes. Even though Team Morrison holds 73 of the 150 seats in the House of Reps (ie less than the 76 required for an outright majority), they have enough support from the independents and minor parties to continue to govern.

• But Julia Banks’ rejection of the Liberal Party over what she calls “the reactionary and regressive right wing” certainly makes life more difficult for Morrison. Pundits say she could run amok on issues like referring Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (whom she dislikes) to court over his eligibility to be an MP.

• The winner from all this? Bill Shorten and Labor. But even he is having trouble with his troops. There must be something in the air…


SQUIZ THE REST

GOING UP – CARBON EMISSIONS
A United Nations climate report on the status of the world's carbon emissions is out, and there's a big gap between where we are and where we need to be to meet the Paris climate agreement targets. Emissions rose in 2017, the first time in four years. And projecting forward, it's unlikely the world will meet the goal of hitting peak emissions in 2020 - it's looking more like 2030. Australia didn't meet our emissions commitment, according to the report. Remember, the Paris agreement is focused on limiting temperature increases as a result of climate change to a 'safe' level.

NSW BRACES FOR WET AND WILD WEATHER
A big patch of NSW is expected to get a substantial drop of rain today. Sounds lovely but they're also talking big winds and possible flooding from the Illawarra, through Sydney, to the Blue Mountains and up the Central Coast. Sydneysiders have been told to stay off the roads today and don’t even think about going for a surf. Meanwhile in Queensland, get the XXXX into the fridge if you’re in the southeast corner, it’s going to be mid-30s hot. The fires that have ravished central Queensland since the weekend are unfortunately flourishing in the dry and hot conditions.

STRANDED MAN MOVES ON FROM MALAYSIA
Seven months living in Kuala Lumpur International Airport sounds like the sequel to a Tom Hanks movie. But it was real life for Hassan Al-Kontar, a 37yo Syrian refugee who was yesterday granted asylum in Canada. Kontar’s case came to international attention through the videos he posted from the airport. Living in limbo, he’s been in a Malaysian detention centre for the last two months, but before that was living in the arrivals area of the airport, surviving on donated food.

QUICK BUSINESS NEWS WRAP
GOODBYE FAIRFAX, HELLO NINE – The Federal Court has approved the merger of Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment despite a last-minute legal challenge by former Domain boss Antony Catalano. The deal will be wrapped up in the coming weeks and Australia’s biggest listed media company - incorporating TV, newspapers, radio, streaming and online assets - will be born.

GO HARVEY! – The shareholders of Harvey Norman were a grumpy lot at the retailer’s annual general meeting yesterday. A ‘strike’ was recorded against their pay. And some investors were annoyed about losses on things like a dairy farm. In response, boss Gerry Harvey didn't use his active listening skills, instead he said he would ignore any investors’ ideas he didn’t agree with. So there.

MICROSOFT CHALLENGES APPLE – After eight years as the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company, Apple lost its title briefly yesterday to rival Microsoft. Apple has been under pressure this month following weaker than expected iPhone sales. At the close of trading in New York yesterday, the company was back in front with a market value of US$828.64 billion.

STEPHANIE GILMORE WINS SEVENTH WORLD TITLE
You little ripper! The Aussie surfing champ has matched the record of her mentor, the great Layne Beachley. Gilmore's seventh world title win came on day one of the Maui Pro in Hawaii yesterday after her only rival Lakey Peterson went down in round two of the comp. “It is an honour to sit beside you Layne. To equal you is such an honour,” she said.

WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS SEES RED
US First Lady Melania Trump’s spokesperson said she would “let the decorations speak for themselves." And they did. The problem was many thought Trump's red motif for Christmas at the White House screamed ‘murder'. Everyone’s a critic…

SQUIZ THE DAY

12.30pm (AEDT) - Naomi Simson, Olivia Ruello & Mikaela Jade to address the National Press Club on 'Enterprising Women - Building Australia’s army of female entrepreneurs' - Canberra

From 5.00pm (AEDT) - ARIA Awards

ABS Data Release - Construction Work Done, September; Experiences of Violence and Personal Safety of People with Disability, 2016

Coles demerger from Wesfarmers to be completed

Thursday 2.00am (AEDT) - A thrilling chess showdown in the World Championship final - London

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