Squiz Today – Thursday, 28 June

SQUIZ SAYINGS

"I said no originally, then I said yes. Then I have said no, and I've stuck to it."

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she’s no flip-flopper when it comes to corporate tax cuts. Which means the government’s proposal is sunk. Unless she changes her mind, of course…

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HUAWEI ADDRESSES SECURITY WORRIES

THE SQUIZ
Telco Huawei’s Aussie chairman John Lord has pressed the company’s case for access to the upcoming 5G wireless network rollout. Addressing the National Press Club yesterday, Lord said the Chinese tech giant was “clean” when it comes to matters of data privacy and compliance with national security laws. He added he would refuse requests from Beijing to hand over data on its Australian customers. Huawei is one of the biggest smartphone makers and telecommunications infrastructure companies in the world.

BACK IT UP A BIT…
• Reports say Oz’s intelligence agencies are concerned about Huawei’s close ties to China’s government.

• Officials are also said to be worried about Chinese cyber-spies accessing sensitive information via our telecommunications networks.

• Those concerns saw Huawei locked out of the National Broadband Network tender back in 2012.

• And just a couple of weeks ago our government announced that it had taken over (and largely paid for) a project building internet cabling to the Solomon Islands pushing Huawei out of it.

• But Lord yesterday called on the government to chillax. "In our three decades as a company, no evidence of any sort has been provided to justify these concerns by anyone ever."

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Huawei will continue to argue its case to be part of the 5G rollout. A decision by the government is said to be due in September/October. And with foreign interference laws set to be passed through the parliament, the company probably has some extra homework to see what it has to do, if anything, to comply.

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SQUIZ THE REST

KIWI SHOT IN AMERICA
Troy Skinner, a 25yo from Auckland, flew to the US via Sydney to confront a 14yo girl he’d met online. Reports say she’d stopped communicating with him. Armed with a knife and duct tape, Skinner was trying to break into her home when her mother shot him in the neck. He is in hospital in a "fair condition". A mate of Skinner’s said; "This was the last guy I would expect to do something like this."

FRANCE TO REINTRODUCE NATIONAL SERVICE
It was an election commitment of President Emmanuel Macron and polls say has the support of 60% of Frenchies. But it’s not traditional military service. What will happen is 16yos will have the choice of a one-month placement with a community organisation or the military to "enable young people to create new relationships and develop their role in society". And there's a second phase of between three months and a year in defence and security (or some social programs) that's voluntary. France got rid of its military-focused national service program in 1996. The scheme will start next year and Macron probably has this kid in mind as the first recruit.

RAZAK’S RICHES REMOVED
Just when you thought we’d put the consequences of the Malaysian election behind us, there’s an update. Authorities yesterday confirmed former PM Najib Razak and his wife had more than A$300 million in cash, handbags, jewellery and other goods seized from their residences in raids conducted just after 92yo former PM Mahathir Mohamad ousted him from office. Authorities said the Razaks had a particular thing for Hermes leather goods (who can blame them?), which accounted for $12 million of the stash. Razak is accused of syphoning billions from state investment fund 1MDB.

HAS OBIKE HIT THE BRAKES?
Bike-share users of the Singaporean company’s yellow treadlies are worried about getting their $69 deposits back. After chucking a mono out of Melbourne because of new/steep fines for errant bikes, there's been a question mark over its viability other Aussie cities. And when it announced on Monday that it was quitting its hometown of Singapore, people really started wondering about oBike’s future. Reports say the online process for refunds and customer service lines aren’t working.

JOE JACKSON DEAD
The patriarch of the musically prolific family has died at 89yo. He launched the careers of his children via the Jackson 5, and initially oversaw the incredibly successful careers of his son Michael and daughter Janet. Over the years, family members have accused Joe of being a bully and of exploiting them. He was said to be the hardest on Michael and called him "Big Nose". Which explains a lot. A few years ago a reporter asked him if he had any regrets. “Not at all. I don’t live that way,” he said. Reports say he died from pancreatic cancer.

APROPOS OF NOTHING…
There’s a dog in Spain that thinks he can do CPR.

Not wanting to be late to an interview, a man dressed in a suit paddle boarded across New York’s Hudson River yesterday.

And there’s a CO2 gas shortage in the UK and pubs are running out of beer. Dust off the Slim Dusty tune…

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Releases - Job Vacancies, May; Recorded Crime Victims, 2017; Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth, March

Tesla founder Elon Musk's birthday (1971)

Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles officially ending WWI (1919)

Anniversary of the last stand of the Kelly Gang at Glenrowan, Victoria (1880)