Friday, 14 February - Dream of Californication

February 14, 2025

Good morning, it’s Friday, 14 February. In your Squiz Today…

  • A change to political donation laws has minor parties and independents hopping mad

  • The Israel/Hamas ceasefire holds

  • And a chicken recipe to fall in love with… ❤️

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Los Angeles? More like Løs Ångeles.”

Says the author of a joke petition for Denmark to buy the US state of California. It’s a tongue-in-cheek response to President Donald Trump’s comments about buying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory - with more than 230,000 signing on for ‘Denmarkification’…

No small change to election spending

The Squiz

The minor parties and independents in federal parliament are hopping mad with Labor and the Coalition for doing a deal to change Australia’s political donation laws. The 2 major parties worked together to cap the amount of money that can be donated to any candidate or party by one person to $50,000, as well as capping the amount individual candidates can spend on a campaign. It's the first time federal election spending has ever been limited in Australia, but it only becomes a thing in 2026, so it won't affect the upcoming poll this year.

What’s got people so upset?

A few things - for one, the fact that it limits the amount of money an organisation like Climate 200 can donate to the kind of independent candidates - often referred to as teals - that won several seats last time round. But that’s not all - as Independent MP Zali Steggall told Special Minister of State Don Farrell when she crashed his press conference on the reforms yesterday, they think the laws have been rushed and are only designed to help the major parties. That’s partly because public funding for political parties will be increased - they currently receive $3.50 for every vote, but that’s now gone up to $5. For his part, Farrell said it will mean “you don’t need to be a millionaire or a billionaire to win seats”.

What does it mean for this year?

It means the major parties might cop some blowback for doing this deal if neither wins the election outright. Both Labor and the Coalition have seen their share of the primary vote - aka the number of people who put a 1 next to their name on election day - go down over time. Analysts say if that trend continues, it makes a minority government more likely - that’s where they need the support of the independents and minor parties to govern. If that happens, some independents say they’ll ask for the laws to be wound back in return for their support… And while we’re talking parliament, the government had another late win yesterday, with its changes to the childcare subsidy passing the Senate.

Your fresh market update…

At the Squiz, we’re all about giving you the useful stuff. So, we’ve teamed up with Woolies to share their top weekly fruit and veg picks. Here’s what to grab this week:

🍎 Royal Galas - Pronounced like the event not the bird, you should note that the new season harvest has begun.

❤️ Raspberries - Juicy, sweet and berry tasty right now.

🧅 Brown onions - Pro tip: look for the firm onions with dry, papery skins (like us after a day at the beach...).

Squiz the Rest

An antisemitic probe progresses

The investigation into 2 NSW Health nurses claiming they’d refused to treat and had killed Israeli patients is ramping up, with the Israeli content creator who filmed the footage agreeing to share the unedited clip with police. The nurses, Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, were working at Bankstown Hospital in Sydney - but have since been stood down, and Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said they’ve been banned from practising nursing anywhere in Australia “in any context”. The pair has apologised, but on the legal front, reports say they’ve retained lawyers and police are yet to interview them. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said there was no evidence so far that any patients at the hospital had been harmed. 

The ceasefire holds

Cracks in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have been plastered over, with Hamas announcing it will release 3 hostages tomorrow as per the original plan. The deal was looking shaky after a tense week in which each side accused the other of breaking the terms of the agreement, and it prompted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to threaten that fighting would resume if all the hostages weren’t released. That demand followed comments by US President Donald Trump, who weighed in on the dispute - but overnight it was resolved through mediators… Speaking of Trump, he’s getting ready to welcome Indian PM Narendra Modi to the White House. They’ve got a lot to discuss, but high on the agenda is, you guessed it - tariffs… 

Still on the hook

Australian wellness influencer-turned-scammer Belle Gibson has had a lot of airtime this week, with a new Netflix series dramatising her rise and fall. It’s also prompted questions about what happened to the real Gibson - and whether she faced any consequences… She became known in the early 2010s for the non-scientific ways she was treating her cancer - before being busted for not having cancer at all. She wasn’t prosecuted or convicted of any crimes, but did breach consumer laws - copping massive fines. It turns out, they’re now outstanding… Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says the state’s consumer affairs watchdog “is pursuing this constantly and consistently and won’t let up”. And so it continues…

*Want to learn more about the Belle Gibson scandal? Our Squiz Shortcut - featuring Squiz Kids’ Bryce Corbett, one of the journalists who first interviewed Gibson - has you covered.

Shark attacks take a dive

Given the recent spate of deadly shark attacks in Oz, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking they’re on the rise. But a new report from the US has found they’ve dropped substantially over the last year… The Florida Museum of Natural History and University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File shows “unprovoked shark bites plummeted in 2024”, with 47 bites, 7 of which were fatal. You can read up on what an “unprovoked bite” is here, but the figure is far below the 10-year average of around 70 unprovoked bites a year. As for where the most shark incidents took place, that’d be the US, followed by Australia - we had 9 unprovoked bites, down from 15 in 2023. Silver linings…

A special weekend for a comedy icon

The long-running American sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a concert and live special airing on… Sunday night in the US. That means during the day on Monday in Australia, but at least the Live bit is still true… Over the journey, SNL has introduced some of comedy’s biggest stars, from Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, but it hasn’t always been easily accessible for us Aussies. So, since you’ve got an extra day to catch up, there’s a 4-part documentary series available on BINGE called Beyond Saturday Night covering the show’s history. Or, for extra lolz, you can check out this list of the show’s 50 best modern sketches. This show has everything…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

If you’re in the market for an easy breezy watch, High Potential on Disney+ might be just the ticket - it stars It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olson as a single mum who moonlights as a police consultant. The first season has wrapped up in the US, but not here, so be wary of spoilers online…

After Aussie cricket jet Steve Smith took another memorable catch in the recent one-day international against Sri Lanka, we were reminded of this video compilation covering his fine work in the field - he holds the record for the most catches of any non-keeper in Aussie Test history.

PSA for those who haven’t checked the calendar: it’s Valentine’s Day today. If you need an easy dinner to impress someone spesh, enter: Adam Liaw’s Marry Me Chicken - a creamy, tomatoey bake with a back story. No guarantees on the proposal front, but it’s guaranteed to be tasty...

Squiz the Day

Friday
From 12.00am (AEDT) - Sydney commuters could be affected by industrial action, with trains on go-slow - travelling 23km/hr slower than usual - after talks between the rail unions and the NSW Government broke down last night

12.45pm (ACDT) - LIV Golf Adelaide tees off (until 16 February) - Adelaide, and watch on Fox Sports

3.00pm (AEDT) - Men's cricket: 2nd ODI, Australia v Sri Lanka - Colombo, and watch on Channel 7

3.00pm (AEDT) - Surfing: Abu Dhabi Pro - where competitors ride the largest man-made waves (until 16 February) - UAE, and watch on Kayo

5.05pm (AEDT) - Super Rugby Pacific: Season opener, Crusaders v Hurricanes - Christchurch, and watch on Stan Sport

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss bringing the war in Ukraine to an end - Munich

Company half-year results for AMP, Cochlear, and Mirvac

ABS Data Release - Overseas Arrivals and Departures, December

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival begins (on until 2 March)

❤️ Valentine's Day

Birthdays for Michael Bloomberg (1942), Cadel Evans (1977), and Freddie Highmore (1992)

Anniversary of:

  • the death of Captain James Cook (1779)

  • the release of the original Dracula film starring Bela Lugosi (1931)

  • the patenting of the first microchip (called "micro on a chip") by Texas Instruments (1978)

  • the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which prompted widespread protests against gun violence in the US (2018)

Saturday
12.15pm (AEDT) - The first Group 1 race day of 2025: Black Caviar Lightning Stakes Horse Race - Flemington, Victoria

4.30pm (AWST) - Indigenous All-Stars v Fremantle Dockers - Perth, and watch on Kayo

5.50pm (AEDT) - Women’s rugby league: Australian Indigenous All-Stars v Aotearoa New Zealand Māori Wahine Toa All Stars - Sydney, and watch on Kayo

7.30pm (AWST) - Kylie Minogue's Tension Tour 2025 kicks off - Perth

8.10pm (AEDT) - Men’s rugby league: Australian Indigenous All-Stars v Aotearoa NZ Māori Tane All Stars - Sydney, and watch on Kayo

Single’s Awareness Day

Clean Out Your Computer Day

A birthday for Simpsons creator Matt Groening (1954), Megan Thee Stallion (1995), YouTube (2005)

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of the 'father of science' Galileo Galilei (1564), and women's suffrage leader Susan B Anthony (1820)

  • the production of the wartime propaganda poster ‘We Can Do It!’ featuring Rosie the Riveter (1943)

  • the first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature (2001)

Sunday
National Engineers Week 

Do a Grouch a Favour Day

🐳 World Whale Day

Birthdays for Cathy Freeman (1973) and The Weeknd (1990)

Anniversary of:

  • Pope Gregory the Great decreeing “God bless you” as the correct response to a sneeze (600)

  • Howard Carter discovering Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb and sarcophagus (1923)

  • the deaths of 21 Australian nurses in the Banka Island Massacre in WWII (1942, and today's the 80th anniversary)

  • Fidel Castro becoming the 16th Prime Minister of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista (1959)

Monday
5.00am (AEDT) - 2025 BAFTA awards - London, and streaming on britbox