Squiz Today – Thursday, 21 June

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“This is the reality of a country that's built on respect and politeness.”

Said one expert of Japanese fans’ conduct at the soccer World Cup. They go to the game, cheer like crazy, and then clean up their litter. They even bring their own garbage bags. #respect

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#METOO TURNS INTO AN AUSSIE INQUIRY

THE SQUIZ
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has launched a world-first, independent national inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace. The year-long investigation will look at what is driving harassment, the role of social media, and if current legal settings can appropriately deal with it. The economic impact of harassment on victims will also be modelled.

GIVE ME THE NUMBERS…
The last survey done by the Human Rights Commission in 2012 showed one in four women, and one in six men had been sexually harassed in the previous five years. Jenkins said one of the reasons to hold the inquiry is that early results from the most recent survey show rates are up.

IS THIS ABOUT #METOO?
Yes. Both Jenkins and Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer acknowledged that the world is currently having a moment on the issue. “The #MeToo movement has exposed the true prevalence of the problem and the harm it causes to individuals, workplaces and society,” Jenkins said. And while Jenkins was willing to put her hand up to having been subjected to harassment at work, O’Dwyer took a different tack. “I'm not going to talk about me because today is actually not about me. It's about millions of Australian women,” she said.

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SQUIZ THE REST

TELSTRA SLASHES JOBS IN RESTRUCTURE
It’s common for big businesses to make announcements that sound like a bucket of awfulness and for the market to reward them with a share price bounce. But that wasn’t the case for Telstra yesterday. While the company’s press release is a masterpiece in corporate jargon, what we could decipher is:

• A lot of jobs will be cut. There will be a net reduction of 8,000 employees and contractor positions.

• It’s separating $2 billion of assets into a new company called InfraCo that will control all of Telstra's fixed network infrastructure (ie things like data centres, cables and poles).

• And it will tidy up its offer to customers and aim to eliminate the need for two-thirds of its customer service calls.

The market wasn’t convinced. Telstra’s share price hit a seven-year low dropping 4.8%.

TRUMP ENDS FAMILY SEPARATIONS
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to stop the practice of removing children from their families if caught entering the US illegally at the Mexican border. Reports say an alternative is keeping families together in custody while awaiting prosecution, which could take months or even years. That is also problematic due to a previous court settlement that ordered the ‘limited duration’ of detention for children (in practice, about 20 days). There has been a wave of criticism since the practice of family separations kicked off in April.

CANADA EMBRACES THE LEAF
Canada has become the second country in the world (after Uruguay) to legalise recreational marijuana. PM Justin Trudeau’s Liberals argue the move will reduce crime and help keep wacky tobacky out of the hands of kids. Conservatives say it will be catastrophic for generations of Canadians to come. It’s thought the law will come into effect in September.

HEALTH GLASS (AND PLATE) FULL
Obesity rates in Oz are getting worse according to a big new report on our health. Almost 60% of adults and 25% of kids are overweight or obese. And 99% of kids aren’t eating enough veg. As Annabel Crabb’s fab new show Back in Time for Dinner has shown, this has been a long time in the making. But more broadly, the good news is we’re living longer, but we're facing years of living with chronic diseases. Yay?

AUSSIES IN WORLD RECORD CRICKET RESULT
But not in a good way… We lost to England, which stormed to a world record 481 run total and defeat of the Aussies in yesterday’s one-day international match. "I've been playing cricket since I was a kid and that is the hardest day's cricket of my life," Aussie captain Tim Paine said.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
Because we’re not thrilled to be bringing up the Joyce family saga again. Natalie Joyce, the estranged wife of the former Deputy PM, has been interviewed by the Women’s Weekly. The phrase “absolute disgrace” features in the preview of her comments.

Or if you’ve almost fallen over due to an epic eye roll, you can ignore that and take the high(ish) road. We have two examples of blokes who were declared dead before they actually were. One in Paraguay and another in the US. Add that to your list of phobias...

SQUIZ THE DAY

10.00pm (AEST) - World Cup Soccer - Australia v Denmark

ABS Data Release - Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2017

UN International Day of Yoga

World Music Day

Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere

National Selfie Day