Friday, 6 June - We used to be friends

June 06, 2025

Good morning, it’s Friday, 6 June. In your Squiz Today…

  • Trump and Musk trade barbs over the “Big, Beautiful Bill”

  • Tasmanians are headed back to the polls after Rockliff gets the boot

  • And a brekky bun for World Cheese Day… 🧀

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 6 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“One attack of substance, one, that’s all it took.”

Said commentator Andy Harper after the Socceroos scored a goal in the last minute of a World Cup Qualifier against Japan to notch a 1-0 win in Perth. That means only a complete disaster could now stop the Aussies from qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Oi oi oi…

Trump and Musk hit the rocks

The Squiz

Things between US President Donald Trump and the world's richest person, Elon Musk, are getting frosty as a squabble over a major tax bill became personal overnight. After Musk repeatedly criticised the bill, which Trump is trying to get passed through the US Congress, Trump told reporters this morning that "Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore". Musk responded on X with "such ingratitude" and said that without him, Trump would have lost the 2024 election.

Why is this bill so controversial?

Trump calls it the "Big, Beautiful Bill", and while Musk might disagree with the beautiful part, at 1,038 pages, it's definitely big. You can read a breakdown of what’s in it here, but the main thing to clock is that it will raise the US debt ceiling (aka how much money the federal government can borrow...) and could increase the budget deficit. That's why Musk has taken issue with it - he says it will commit Americans to years of repaying "crushing" debt. But Trump says Musk only dislikes the bill because it removes an electrical vehicle subsidy, which would hurt Musk's company, Tesla. Off the back of those comments, Tesla stocks dropped, and Musk has proposed starting a new political party. And that’s not all on Trump’s plate…

What else is going on?

Yesterday, Trump banned citizens from 12 different countries from entering the US, including Afghanistan, Chad, Iran and Yemen, and tightened restrictions on 8 other countries, including Cuba. Trump pointed to an attack early this week on a pro-Israel protest in Colorado as sparking the decision, although the suspect in that attack is from Egypt, which isn’t one of the countries on the list. You may remember this isn’t the first time Trump has done this - he brought in a similar ban on a smaller number of countries in his first term, which was criticised at the time for targeting Muslims and faced a range of legal issues before the Supreme Court upheld an altered version in 2018. Former President Joe Biden repealed that ban when he took office in 2021, but Trump’s having another go. It’ll be official as of 9 June. 

100 years of community partnerships

Woolworths has hit a century tonne, and to mark this milestone, a new podcast series called From Grassroots is shining a light on their community partners like the Clontarf Foundation. They do incredible work to improve the lives of young Indigenous men and boys, starting with support to stay in school. Woolworths is proud to play the role of both a financial supporter and employer of program participants in local communities across Australia. You can listen to the chat with Clontarf’s Troy Gordon here.

Squiz the Rest

Rockliff gets the boot

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff says he’ll request a snap election next week after a no-confidence motion was passed against him yesterday. It wasn’t straightforward - MPs spent 2 days debating Rockliff’s future, but yesterday, it passed 18-17. Where things went wrong for Rockliff largely comes down to money… Tasmania’s budget forecast last week caused problems, with predictions that state debt would hit $10.8 billion within a few years - prompting Labor leader Dean Winter to move the motion. Along with Tasmanians heading back to the polls soon, there are also questions over how it will impact the Tassie Devils footy teams… General Manager Kath McCann says they’re still focused on building the club for now and will continue to work with “the government, elected members and community”.

Patterson’s cross-examination begins

It was prosecutor Nanette Rogers’ turn to grill accused triple murderer Erin Patterson yesterday, and she didn’t hold back… You can catch up on what we learned here, but Dr Rogers showed a photo from Patterson’s phone, alleging it showed her calculating a dose of death cap mushrooms to include in the beef Wellington she served to her 4 guests. Patterson - who denies the charges against her - said she didn’t deliberately put the toxic mushrooms in the meal. As for how long the trial will run, it’s up in the air… It was initially expected to run for 6 weeks, bringing us to today. Justice Christopher Beale, who’s overseeing the trial, has indicated that proceedings could run into late June - using the phrase “how long’s a piece of string?”.

Circumventing a criminal trial

Boeing has signed a $1.7 billion deal with the US Department of Justice (aka the DOJ), leading to its trial over 2 deadly crashes involving 737 Max jets being scratched. The company’s been in hot water over those crashes - and other incidents involving 737 Max planes - but to recap, they happened in Ethiopia and Indonesia in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. Boeing had been facing criminal charges but will now avoid prosecution. As part of the deal, the company agreed to spend more than $700 million on boosting its safety and compliance programs and more than $640 million going to victims' families. Some of them aren’t happy with that, though… Sanjiv Singh, a lawyer representing 16 of the families, called the deal a “morally repugnant” way to “sidestep true criminal accountability”.

Fin for a French fairytale

After an incredible run in front of her home crowds at the French Open, world no. 361 Lois Boisson has finally bowed out of the tournament after losing her semi-final to the US’s Coco Gauff. As the first French woman to make the semis since Marion Bartoli in 2011 and the first women’s wildcard to make the semis ever, Boisson has been the centre of attention in France as she beat sixth seed Mirra Andreeva and third seed Jessica Pegula on her improbable run. Despite having the crowd of 15,000 firmly behind her, she couldn't get past 2023 US Open winner Gauff - but she's earned plenty more fans along the way. Gauff will now take on top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the women's final this weekend. C'est la vie…

We’re holding space until November…

…Because that's when the sequel to the 2024 blockbuster Wicked: Part One is due in Aussie cinemas. Yesterday, the trailer dropped for Wicked: For Good, which will adapt the second half of the Broadway musical the films are based on, and fans are pretty jazzed about it. If this whole phenomenon has passed you by, Wicked is a version of The Wizard of Oz that tells the origin story of Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (aka the Good Witch) as they go from enemies to friends to frenemies. The first one made over a billion dollars worldwide and was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, so the sequel’s got a fair bit of gravity to defy when it lands on 21 November. One thing’s for sure - it’s gonna be popular…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

We absolutely barreled through the new Netflix detective series Department Q, which follows Edinburgh police officers solving cold cases. It’s from the same showrunner who made the chess series The Queen's Gambit, and it will get your heart rate right up in the final episode as things get very, very tense… 

For fans of The White Lotus, this interview with stars Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins by Variety may pique your interest for a bit of celeb goss. After season 3 of the show aired, rumours of a feud between the 2 started bubbling away, and now they've spoken together for the first time. It's an interesting read…

It was National Cheese Day this week, and we’re paying tribute to one of the best food groups with Flour & Stone’s zucchini, chilli and gruyere buns. A good bun is a labour of love, but long weekends allow for a bit of slow time, and these are very achievable - plus, they'll make your house smell like heaven.

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.30am (AEST) - First case management hearing in legal action taken by Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper in the Federal Court to protect ancient rock art from Woodside’s North West Shelf project - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - A decision is expected in the case of the Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy - Devonport, Tasmania

10.00am (AEST) - The French Impressionism Exhibition opens at the NGV - Melbourne

1.45pm (AWST) - Motorsport: Perth Supercars Championship (until 8 June) - Perth watch it live on Kayo

6.00pm (AEST) - the Aurora Renaissance Ball celebrating the LGBTQ+ community will be held at Town Hall in support of Rainbow Giving Australia - Sydney

ABS data release - Multiple job-holders, March 2025; Building Approvals, April 2025; Labour Account Australia, March 2025

The Finke Desert Race - Alice Springs (until 9 June)

Gutsy Kangaroo Island festival gets underway - Kingscote, SA (until 9 June)

Barunga festival (until 9 June) 

Eid al Adha begins (until 10 June)

Queensland Day, marking the day the Sunshine State was established as a separate colony from New South Wales (1859)

Sweden’s National Day

National Gun Violence Awareness Day - US

🍩 National Doughnut Day

Anniversary of:

  • the patenting of the electric iron by New Yorker Henry Seely (1882)

  • the beginning of D-Day as the Allies land in Normandy, France (1944)

  • the release of video game Tetris by Russian software engineer Alexey Pajitnov (1984)

  • the premiere of Sex and the City (1998)

Saturday
2.30am (AEST) - Athletics: Rome Diamond League Meet - Rome

From 8.00pm (AEST) - Tennis: French Open women's singles finals - Paris, watch on 9Now

9.00pm (AEST) - The Hockeyroos will play the Netherlands in the first of 2 matches in the FIH Pro League in Antwerp, Belgium (9.30pm AEST), watch it on 7+

The 29th Annual Australian Kelpie Muster (on until 9 June) - Casterton

⛷️ The 2025 ski season opens in Australia 

National Gin Day

Birthdays for actor Liam Neeson (1952), former US VP Mike Pence (1959), adventurer Bear Grylls (1974), actor Michael Cera (1988), and model Emily Ratajkowski (1991)

Anniversary of:

  • the founding of the British Museum (1753)

  • the Vatican City becoming a sovereign state (1929)

  • Fraser Island's name being officially restored to K'gari (2023)

Sunday
David Attenborough's newest documentary Ocean is out on Disney+

6.00pm (AEST) - Boxing: Cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia will defend his IBF and The Ring belts in a fight with Italian Claudio Squeo - Gold Coast, watch it on Dazn 

From 8.00pm (AEST) - Tennis: French Open men’s singles final - Paris, watch on 9Now

9.00pm (AEST) - The Hockeyroos v the Netherlands in match 2 in the FIH Pro League in Antwerp, Belgium (9.30pm AEST), watch it on 7+

9.15pm (AEST) - MotoGP: Gran Premio de Aragón - Aragon, Spain, watch on Kayo

The Dachshund Dash is on, where up to 100 sausage dogs will race for glory - Port Fairy, Victoria

Bounty Day on Norfolk Island (until 9 June)

Pentecost Sunday

National Best Friend Day

Birthdays for singer Nancy Sinatra (1940), inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee (1955), and rapper Kanye West (1977)

Anniversary of:

  • the completion of the first trans-Pacific flight (US to Australia) by Charles Kingsford Smith (1928)

  • Siam changing its name to Thailand (1949)

  • the publication of George Orwell’s 1984 (1949)

  • the death of Anthony Bourdain (2018)