Squiz Today – Tuesday, 19 June

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“It is very difficult for Westerners to distinguish between Asians and that's why we did that."

South Korean soccer coach Shin Tae-yong says he’s been swapping his players’ numbers around to confuse the opposition who have been studying their game. It didn’t work – Sweden won their game last night 1-0.

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DREAMWORLD DEATHS ‘PREVENTABLE’

THE SQUIZ
That’s what Queensland’s lead police investigator Detective Sergeant Nicola Brown confirmed during day one of the coronial inquest into the October 2016 tragedy that left four people dead. The hearing was told that the Thunder River Rapids ride at the Gold Coast theme park had broken down twice on the day of the fatal incident. And the young ride operator had access to an emergency stop button but didn’t know when to use it.

WHAT CAUSED THE TRAGEDY?
The official investigation found:

• A malfunctioning pump dropped the water level near the unloading point of the ride. That meant the rafts were sitting on rails.

• A raft carrying six people became vertical when it bumped into an empty raft that was stuck on the rails. There was a window of 57 seconds between the empty raft getting stuck and the collision that led to the tragedy. Hitting the emergency button would have stopped the ride in two seconds.

• Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi died when they were thrown from the raft into the conveyor belt mechanism. It's believed they died instantly. Two children (Low’s 10yo son and Goodchild’s 12yo daughter) survived.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Police have not recommended criminal charges following their investigation. However, the coronial hearing will focus on the ride and Dreamworld’s broader safety record and procedures. The families and friends of the dead were warned it will likely be a harrowing two weeks as the inquiry hears evidence from tens of witnesses.

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SQUIZ THE REST

VIGIL FOR EURYDICE
Thousands turned up to Princes Park in Carlton last night – the spot where 22yo Eurydice Dixon’s body was found last week - to remember her and call for an end to violence against women. Vigils were also held across Victoria and Australia. Damage done to the site by vandals was rectified earlier yesterday.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
We could tell you about how:

• Senator Brian Burston announced he was turning independent only to front a press conference with the legally-challenged Clive Palmer an hour later to say he was joining the United Australia Party. Or how the pair copped a spray – from the sprinklers that were accidentally turned on and from a passing MP…

• Or how PM Malcolm Turnbull and Trade Minister Steve Ciobo abandoned European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom mid-press conference to run to the chamber to vote. The trio were marking the start of negotiations on a free trade deal.

• Or that Coalition Senator Lucy Gichuhi has been complaining about her $200,000 salary.

But we won’t focus on that. Instead, we’ll highlight that the mayor of Tennant Creek Steve Edgington met with Turnbull yesterday to press the case for finding ways to keep the town’s children safe. The PM will visit the Territory in August.

FIRST LADIES BUY INTO US IMMIGRATION UPROAR
The current and most recent Republican First Ladies Melania Trump and Laura Bush have had their say about the latest twist in America’s immigration policies. In recent weeks, the children of immigrants attempting to illegally cross the border into the US have been separated from their parents as part of a ‘zero-tolerance’ response. Reports say more than 2,000 children have been sent to detention centres (one is a converted supermarket) or foster care. Laura Bush called for a stop to the practice. But it was Melania Trump’s statement that; “we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart” that has put a cat amongst the pigeons. US President Donald Trump is so far unmoved saying the US doesn’t want to be like Germany. And by that he could mean he doesn’t want his leadership to be under threat like Chancellor Angela Merkel’s currently is.

OWN GOAL BY OPTUS
You know that something’s gone wrong in your business when the PM asks for assurances that things will be put right… That’s what happened to Optus yesterday after complaints about its World Cup app reached fever pitch. Its paid subscription service for access to all World Cup games has left thousands of soccer fans with buffering problems, blank screens and error messages. Optus has surrendered exclusive coverage of matches for a couple of nights while it sorts it out. Boss Allen Lew said he was on it and it would be fixed.

GOTTI WHACKED BY CRITICS
John Travolta’s latest movie hasn’t been properly released yet and is already on track to being a flop. Rotten Tomatoes has given the mob movie a 0% rating reflecting a string of bad reviews. Rolling Stone said Travolta was "trying earnestly to act his way through a ton of lousy make-up and an even heavier slab of bad screenwriting." And here we were thinking make-up fixed everything... The biopic of New York crime boss John Gotti was seven troubled years in the making.

SQUIZ THE DAY

9.30am (AEST) - Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson to be sentenced after being found guilty of concealing child abuse - Newcastle

From 12.30pm (AEST) - Michelle Guthrie, MD of the ABC, to address the Melbourne Press Club on 'Standing up for the ABC'

NSW Government Budget to be handed down

Telstra Strategy Day

ABS Data Release - Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, March

6th anniversary of Julian Assange's stay with the Ecuadorian Embassy in London