Squiz Today – Monday, 2 July

SQUIZ SAYINGS

"Bag rage"

Australia’s bumpy transition away from single-use plastic bags at the supermarket is now getting international attention after an angry customer grabbed a checkout attendant by the throat on the weekend. C’mon people…

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MURDER CHARGES AFTER SUNSHINE COAST SHOWDOWN

THE SQUIZ
Zlatko Sikorsky was yesterday charged with the murder of Queensland teenager Larissa Beilby. Reports say Sikorsky (34yo) and Beilby (16yo) were in a relationship. Reports say:

• Sikorsky fled from Queensland Police on Wednesday after they went to question him at a Gold Coast address about Beilby’s disappearance.

• After a car chase, they found a body in a barrel in the back of his abandoned ute. The body was later identified as Bielby by her family (and Sikorsky has also been charged with misconduct with a corpse).

• Sikorsky fled again and was found by police on Friday afternoon on the Sunshine Coast. After a 28-hour standoff, he handed himself into police Saturday night without incident.

“It's a very unique set of facts," said Inspector Damien Hansen.

TELL ME MORE ABOUT SIKORSKY AND BEILBY…
Sikorsky was on parole and a return to custody warrant had been issued in March this year. Reports say he had been jailed in 2016 for deprivation of liberty, armed robbery and four counts of extortion. As for Beilby, she was a student at Craigslea State High School in Brisbane’s northern suburbs. Reports say she disappeared on 15 June and her last social media post was on 18 June. Her father reported her missing last Tuesday. Her sister said her family were “utterly destroyed” by her murder. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by a support group to cover her funeral costs.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Sikorsky is due to face court in Maroochydore today. Also before the court are a 40yo woman and 38yo man - they've been charged with being accessories after the fact to murder after allegedly helping Sikorsky hide on the Sunshine Coast. Police said they are looking for others who may have helped him over the last week.

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SQUIZ THE REST

COALITION BENEFITS FROM LABOR’S BLUNDER
That’s according to this morning’s Newspoll. While still trailing Labor, Malcolm Turnbull’s Coalition gained a point to go to 49:51 in the two-party preferred race. Turnbull maintained his better PM lead over Bill Shorten 46:31. It follows a difficult last week for Labor with Shorten climbing down on his commitment to repeal corporate tax cuts for many small businesses. And there are difficult weeks of campaigning ahead with Labor fighting to hang on in two key by-elections.

AUSSIES JOIN THAI CAVE SEARCH
A week after 12 boys from a soccer team and their coach went missing in the caves of Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai, Australian police and defence personnel have arrived to assist with the search. It’s thought the group became trapped in a cave by floodwaters. The Aussies join experts from the US, Britain and China as well as 10,000 Thai soldiers participating in the search. With the rain easing, it’s hoped they will be found ASAP.

CANADIAN MISADVENTURE
A 25yo Australian man has undergone surgery to amputate or partially amputate several limbs after falling from a train in Canada. It’s believed the man was alcohol affected while train surfing when he fell and was hit by other cars of the train. Reports haven't been clear on exactly how many limbs we're talking about, but the use of the word ‘several' is not encouraging.

DREAMWORLD BOSS GOES
Craig Davidson, the CEO of Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld, resigned on Friday after shocking insights into park’s safety record were revealed in a coronial inquest into the 2016 Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster that resulted in the deaths of Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi. Davidson was the boss at the time of the tragedy. Parent company Ardent Leisure chairman Garry Weiss said the business would “apply the lessons learned to ensure such accidents never occur at our parks.” The inquest will resume in October.

YOUR WORLD CUP TALKING POINTS UPDATED
Yes, the Socceroos are out. But the World Cup trundles on without us. So to keep you on point with your water cooler conversations, there are three things worth knowing:

• The first point is Portugal were eliminated on the weekend. That means that arguably the world’s greatest player (currently or of all time - controversy galore…) Cristiano Ronaldo is out.

• The departure of Argentina from the competition was a shock. Its star Lionel Messi is a pretty big deal in soccer circles.

• Russia has beaten Spain in a penalty shootout to make the quarter-finals. It’s a big upset.

Mention those things today, and you'll be impressing people left, right and centre.

LOGIES ON THE GOLDIE
It’s a funny old world when the host of a cancelled quiz show is awarded TV’s most popular personality. Grant Denyer, host of Ten’s Family Feud, took out last night’s Gold Logie ahead of the hotly-favoured host of Nine’s A Current Affair, Tracy Grimshaw. Hugo Weaving (for Seven Types Of Ambiguity) and Pamela Rabe (for Wentworth) won most outstanding actor and actress and only added to their allure by not being there to collect their awards. Other things to note: ABC’s Four Corners won best news coverage for their look into the Lindt Café siege; Ten's The Living Room won best lifestyle program, and; Bert Newton found himself in hot water. All the red carpet/spray tanned highlights are here.

SQUIZ THE DAY

CoreLogic to release house price data for June

ANZ Job Ads Survey from June

Tennis - Start of Wimbledon (on until 15 July)

World UFO Day

Anniversary of Nostradamus' death (1566) - wonder if he saw it coming...