Squiz Today – Friday, 8 September

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“3 parts prosecco; 2 parts Aperol; 1 part soda; no parts email”

Says Aperol’s PR campaign targeted at time-poor Millennials to make the Aperol Spritz the drink of the US summer. It worked. We’re in – it’s Fri-yay after all…

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SAME-SEX MARRIAGE POSTAL VOTE GETS THUMBS-UP

THE SQUIZ
The High Court yesterday ruled in favour of the federal government to confirm the validity of the same-sex marriage postal survey. It was a unanimous decision and the court ordered the challengers (same-sex marriage proponents) pay costs. The campaigners had argued that Finance Minister Mathias Cormann overreached in allocating the Australian Bureau of Statistics $122 million to conduct the survey and that it's not right for the ABS to carry out the vote. The High Court didn't agree, and if you listened carefully, you could hear PM Malcolm Turnbull breathe a sigh of relief all the way from Canberra. 

WHAT’S THE REACTION BEEN?
Labor Senator Penny Wong summed up the sentiments of ‘yes’ campaigners; “We didn't want to be here but now we are here, let's win it." Turnbull again put his position that he and wife Lucy will vote ‘yes’ in the ballot but won’t be taking an active part in the campaign. And there was (faux) disappointment for Labor leader Bill Shorten when Turnbull knocked back his invitation to send a joint letter to all Aussies recommending a ‘yes’ vote. The Coalition for Marriage (‘no’ campaigners) welcomed the High Court’s decision saying a postal vote was; “the most appropriate way to allow Australians to have their say on proposed changes to the definition of marriage”. Buckle up as campaigning begins in earnest.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The key dates are:

Tuesday, 12 September – The ABS starts to mail out survey forms.

Tuesday, 7 November – Final deadline to return survey forms.

11.30am Wednesday, 15 November – Final result to be declared by the Australian Statistician.

The government will also “move swiftly” to pass legislation to protect people from vilification and deceptive conduct during the campaign. Parliament is sitting next week, and there's no time like the present...

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SQUIZ THE REST

ANOTHER NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCH EXPECTED
South Korea says it’s expecting a North Korean missile launch on Saturday. Gulp. It’s timely then that the last parts of its controversial missile defence system have arrived and is being (rather hastily we imagine) assembled. Japan's PM Shinzo Abe joined South Korea’s Moon Jae-in calling for super-tough new sanctions that would cripple North Korea’s economy. China says it will support this approach, but it wants to see more dialogue between the US and North Korea too. All will be discussed at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday. Reports say the US will propose a ban on supplying North Korea with oil and the freezing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s assets. Reminds us - we need to check out this week’s tinned food specials. 

IRMA’S JUST GETTING STARTED
Hurricane Irma is said to be as large as Tassie – that’s what the Caribbean region is facing. Ten deaths have been reported, and homes and vital infrastructure on the Caribbean islands have been significantly damaged. Irma is currently making its way to the Turks and Caicos islands (British territory) and is expected to make landfall over the Florida coast on Saturday night local time before moving on to South Carolina. Hundreds of thousands of people are currently being evacuated. And a Delta flight doing a New York-Puerto Rico return flight on Wednesday flew itself into infamy. It landed as Irma made landfall and got out with a planeload of passengers after a 40-minute turnaround much to the excitement of plane-trackers.

HIT THE SHOPS – YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU!
Unless of course, you whack it on the plastic fantastic which isn’t recommended. Retail figures out yesterday showed 0% (that’s not a typo…) growth in July. Experts say that’s because we’re all waiting for a pay rise, and many of us have yuuuge mortgages (we're two for two) so we didn't hit the shops. We are spending more on food, but department store sales were down 2.8% for the month. After a week of pretty positive economic news, this would be a concern for our economic managers. 

MILES FRANKLIN WINNER ANNOUNCED
Josephine Wilson last night won the Miles Franklin Literary Award (Australia’s most prestigious writing prize) for her book Extinctions. It’s said to be about; “ageing, adoption, grief, empathy and self-centredness.” Wilson takes home $60,000 for the win.

VALE PETER LUCK
Veteran broadcaster Peter Luck made his name in the 1970s and 80s – the golden days of TV. Luck cut his teeth with other young guns like Bill Peach, Richard Carleton, Caroline Jones and George Negus at the ABC and Nine. Described as a proud Aussie who was more comfortable on the road than in the office, many of today’s senior journos lined up to talk about what a good bloke he was – a rare tribute indeed. He was 73yo and had been battling Parkinson's disease. 

QUICK WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP
AFL FINALS – From your correspondent Aido:
In the only final played in Melbourne this weekend, Geelong takes on Richmond at the MCG tonight. It's a sold-out match, so expect a crowd of 95,000 (something our NRL counterparts can only dream of). Geelong have won their last 13 games against Richmond - and Richmond hasn't won a final since 2001. And the elimination finals - the Sydney Swans play Essendon at the SCG on Saturday afternoon, and Port Adelaide takes on West Coast on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval. And last night the Adelaide Crows were in control smashing Greater Western Sydney by 36 points. Adelaide are now firm premiership favourites.

NRL FINALS - From your correspondent Gibbo (brackets indicate editor’s notes):
The Brisbane Bronco will have roast chook for dinner on Friday night (the Broncos are playing Sydney Roosters – geddit?). Saturday night is the match of the round - Melbourne Storm v Parramatta Eels. I hate to say it, but I'm going for the Manly silvertails to knock out the Penrith Panthers. And I think it will be bye bye North Queensland Cowboys on Sunday when they encounter the Cronulla Sharks who have a bit more bite (boom-tish).

TENNIS – The final four have been settled for the US Open men’s and women’s semi finals. Four American women will battle it out to make Saturday’s final, including sentimental favourite Venus Williams. (Imagine having four of your countryfolk in the finals of a grand slam? #notinourlifetime…) And the dream semi-final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal didn’t come true – Federer was knocked out yesterday. 

RUGBY – The Wallabies are taking on South Africa’s Springboks on Saturday night in Perth. One headline says they’re ready to sink Australian rugby into oblivion, so that sounds promising…

FRIDAY LITES – THREE THINGS WE LIKED THIS WEEK
If you're anything like us, you're carrying around a cracked and sad smartphone. The new iPhone will be launched mid-next week and we'll be doing some thinking about our options after the reviews are out. If you're wedded to Apple, here's a preview of the new iPhone.

December is notable in our diaries not because of any parties or Christmas – but for the release of season two of The Crown. This article on lead actor Claire Foy says; “she has the ability to be both accessible and inaccessible at the same time” which is something we’d normally roll our eyes at but is spot on. She’s fab.

We were lucky enough to go to this restaurant a while ago and their roasted cauliflower+almond sauce+mint dish stuck in our memories. Then we came across the recipe, tried it, and it's a winner. You're meant to char the main ingredient, so you have a high margin of error. Give it a go this weekend if you need a yummy veggie hit.

SQUIZ THE DAY

Friday

ABS Data Release - Housing Finance, July

International Literacy Day

White Balloon Day (focused on child sexual abuse prevention)

R U OK Day (focused on suicide prevention)

Saturday

8.00pm (AEST) - Wallabies v Springboks - Perth

Sunday

6.00am (AEST) - US Open Women's Final (Men's Final is 6.00am Monday)

World Suicide Prevention Day

National Bilby Day