Friday, 15 August - And if you go chasing rabbits

Good morning, it’s Friday, 15 August. In your Squiz Today…

• Team Albanese defends next week’s productivity chat

• Vale legendary Aussie film critic David Stratton

• And a good way to score some brownie points…

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 6 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said some creative online commenters about a group of Colorado rabbits who seem to have grown horns, but they're just horn-like growths caused by a largely harmless virus. But at least the phrase "zombie rabbits" has given us a good idea for a screenplay…

Putting the chill on a Treasury leak

The Squiz

The Albanese Government spent yesterday defending its upcoming 3-day economic roundtable after Treasury advice on what should come out of it was leaked to the ABC. According to their reporting, Treasury has already prepped some post-meeting announcements, mostly around housing, leading the Coalition to question whether the roundtable was worth it if the result was pre-ordained. But Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was just advice at this point - and he wasn’t going to “pre-empt” any outcome.

What was in these recommendations?

Get out your whitegoods because one biggie is ‘freezing’ the National Construction Code - aka the rules and standards for building new homes, like ensuring they meet energy efficiency requirements. Freezing it - ensuring there are no further changes - was something former Coalition leader Peter Dutton proposed last year to take pressure off building costs, but Labor at the time said the idea was straight from their opponents' spin cycle. Other changes suggested by Treasury include using AI to speed up housing approvals and fixing the way environmental regulations work in Australia. As for some of the bigger-picture ideas that have been floated in recent weeks, like reforming negative gearing, company tax or the 4-day work week, we’ll have to wait and see if they’re warming in the oven of policy making…  

Do you have any more kitchen/laundry appliance jokes?

No - but we can tell you what’s next… If you’d like to get your head around some of the issues that have been discussed, we’ve found some articles covering the hot topics, like the key issue of productivity, or whether the government can handle all these big ideas.... And in case you’re planning your whole week around this Productivity Roundtable (we are - isn’t everyone?), here is the full 3-day schedule, with key speakers including Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock, Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood and, as it happens, Treasury Department Secretary Jenny Wilkinson. Just keep your notes locked up tight, Jenny… 

Keep cosy, spend less

From bubble wrap window insulation to picking the most efficient appliances, Origin’s So Watt? podcast is full of clever ways to save energy and money - without sacrificing comfort. Across the series, experts share practical tips for every season, including how to keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer. It’s useful, no-fuss advice you can actually use. Binge the whole series in your favourite podcast app, or start here.

Squiz the Rest

The fallout continues over Palestinian recognition

It’s another issue the Albanese Government has been in the hot seat over, after the Hamas terror group appeared to welcome the news that we’ll recognise Palestinian statehood at a UN meeting next month as a “positive step”. But there was some confusion yesterday, with Hamas issuing another statement denying that it was responsible for the original one… Regardless, the pressure was on Albanese to respond to the Coalition's criticism of the decision - leader Sussan Ley said any praise from Hamas was a sign that the Albanese Government had gotten it wrong. But the PM stood firm - he said the group "will engage in propaganda because they are being isolated". Overnight, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also criticised the decision and said it had been met with "disgust" from members of US President Donald Trump's administration.

Windy, hot and dry…

Those are the conditions fanning deadly wildfires across southern Europe, with Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans all affected. The heat’s a given during a Mediterranean summer, but more than 1 million acres have burned this year - double the average. Scientists say climate change is behind the worsening heatwaves that are affecting the region… Thousands of residents and tourists have had to evacuate, and Spain has called in the military to help firefighters, with almost the entire country under extreme or very high fire risk warnings. Going forward, experts and environmental groups want more spent on prevention, with Greenpeace estimating an extra $1.8 billion a year on forest management could save 9.9 million hectares - an area the size of Portugal…

A day for reflection

We’re talking about today’s 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific Day, or VP Day. If you need to brush up on your history, this is a good place to start, but to summarise, it was the day Imperial Japan - which had just suffered catastrophic nuclear attacks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - surrendered to the Allied Forces, marking the end of World War II. So it was a big moment on the global stage, but particularly so for Oz, because it meant that about 200,000 of our troops could return home after 4 years of fighting Japan in the Pacific - you can see some of the historic VP Day footage here. The Australian War Memorial is leading the events today, and we’re also expecting a message from King Charles - so stay tuned…

*If you want to learn more about VP Day, this Squiz Shortcut will get you across it…

Vale David Stratton

The family of one of Australia's most respected and well-known film critics announced his death at 85yo yesterday. Born in England, Stratton moved to Australia in 1963 and became part of one of Oz TV's long-running double-acts, reviewing films for over 25 years with Margaret Pomeranz on both The Movie Show on SBS and later At the Movies on the ABC. Their always thoughtful and sometimes very different opinions on films (check out this 5 star/0 star review of Dancer in the Dark) made them household names. Stratton was also a film lecturer and though he gave up reviewing in 2023 due to poor health and eyesight, he published a book covering modern Aussie cinema history in October last year. His family has asked fans to celebrate his life by “watching David’s favourite movie of all time - Singin’ in the Rain”.

Roll up, roll up…

Put 3 October in your diary if you’re a Taylor Swift fan - that’s when the pop superstar will release her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. She shared the date yesterday, days after announcing the new album - and we also learned a few more tidbits during her guest appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast. She said its 12 tracks are inspired by her life during her record-breaking Eras Tour, and that they’ll reflect “the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place” she was in during that time. As you might expect, the album rollout - with teasers, “Easter Eggs”, and a countdown clock - generated a lot of interest… Griffith University’s Graeme Hughes called it “a brilliant display of marketing genius, proving once more why she's at the top of the music game”. TSwift-minus 49 days…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

It’s only just landed on Disney+, but there’s a lot of buzz around Alien: Earth, the new TV show set in the Alien universe from the creator of the Fargo TV adaptation, Noah Hawley. Early days, but if it’s anything as good as Fargo was, it’ll be a big hit…

For a relaxing afternoon in, the board game Wingspan is one of the most successful and popular games released in the last decade. It’s a bird-themed game that’s pretty to look at and pretty easy to learn - and works for 1-5 players. Fun for the whole flock…

For a winter treat, our colleague Lauren had a crack at these molten choc chunk brownies over the weekend and reckons they’re a winner - it’s hard to go wrong with a brownie, especially a Donna Hay brownie. Just don’t eat these and play a board game at the same time…

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.00am (AEST) - Minister for Women and Finance Katy Gallagher will speak at the National Conference of Women in Media 2025 - Sydney

9.00am (AEST) - The Bendigo Writers Festival gets underway (on until 17 August) - Bendigo

9.15am (AEST) - First Nations Clean Energy Symposium - Twin Waters, Queensland

12.00pm (AEST) - Children’s Book of the Year Award winners will be announced - Canberra

7.00pm (AEST) - The 2025 Kennedy Foundation Awards for excellence in journalism - Sydney

Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Fahad Aljalajel is in Australia for meetings discussing areas we have in common including rural health access and digital innovation

ACIC’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program Report is due to be released, revealing an increase in consumption of illicit drugs

Mirvac FY2025 results

🤖 The first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games are on (until 17 August) - Beijing, China

Borroloola Show Day in the NT

It’s the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day or Victory over Japan (VJ) Day

Independence Day in India

Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Birthdays for Princess Anne (1950), philanthropist Melinda Gates (1964), and actors Ben Affleck (1972), and Jennifer Lawrence (1990)

Anniversary of:

• the first Rugby Test Match between New Zealand’s All Blacks and Australia’s Wallabies (1903)

• the end of WWII, after Japan’s surrender to the Allies (1945)

• 80 years since Sukarno proclaimed the Republic of Indonesia and became its first President (1945)

• the opening of Woodstock Music Festival (1969)

• the release of The Macarena by Los del Rio (1995)

• the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan after the capture of capital Kabul (2021)

Saturday
2.30am (AEST) - Athletics: Silesia Diamond League meet gets underway - Silesia, Poland

5.00am (AEST) - Soccer: The Premier League season begins with Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth - Liverpool, UK watch on Stan Sport

7.00pm (AEST) - The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025 will be announced - Canberra

1.00pm (AEST) - Commemorating 80 years since the end of WWII, Japan Club of Sydney will present 'Passing the Baton' 

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face in Alaska

⛹️‍♂️ Basketball: Australia’s Men’s team play Iran in the FIBA semi-finals (time subject to other games’ results) - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, watch on Kayo

Hamilton Island Race Week (until 23 August)

Start of Book Week (on until 23 August)

Krishna Janmashtami - one of the most important Hindu festivals, celebrates the birthday of Lord Krishna, believed to be the eighth reincarnation of Lord Vishnu

Birthdays for filmmaker James Cameron (1954), singer-songwriter Madonna (1958), actor Steve Carell (1962), and filmmaker Taika Waititi (1975)

Anniversary of:

• the marriage of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi (2008)

• Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being granted political asylum by Ecuador (2012)

• the deaths of British TV personality Michael Parkinson (2023) Elvis (1977) and Aretha Franklin (2018)

Sunday
1.10am (AEST) - Rugby Union: Wallabies v Springboks in their first Test of The Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations Series) at Ellis Park Stadium - Johannesburg, South Africa, watch on Stan Sport

12.00pm (AEST) - The Conservation Council of WA will hold a ‘Requiem for our Reefs’ outside the WA Maritime Museum - Perth

10.00pm (AEST) - MotoGP: The Austrian Grand Prix race gets underway - Spielberg, Austria watch on Kayo

Bolivia will head to the polls to vote in the country’s general election

🇮🇩 Independence Day - Indonesia 

Birthdays for actors Robert de Niro (1943) and Sean Penn (1960), and singer Belinda Carlisle (1958)

Anniversary of: 

• Korea being divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel (1945)

• the disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain (1980)