Monday, 10 February - Come fly with me

February 10, 2025

Good morning, it’s Monday, 10 February. In your Squiz Today…

  • Victoria’s by-election results are sounding a warning bell for Labor

  • More hostages and prisoners have been exchanged in Gaza

  • And putting the bottom of the barrel to use…🍺

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“It gives you a bit of the shudders.”

Said Sydney man David Stein, who had to call a snake catcher after discovering several red-bellied black snakes nesting in a pile of mulch in his backyard. There were only 5 adults calling the ssspot home, but they produced 97 babies between them. No thanksss…

A warning shot for Labor

The Squiz

There were a couple of by-elections in Victorian state seats this weekend, and the results weren’t happy reading for Premier Jacinta Allan. The seat of Werribee, which was held by retired Treasurer Tim Pallas with a margin of 10.4%, is now too close to call. And though Labor didn’t run a candidate in inner-city Prahran, the Liberal party did and narrowly won the seat back from the Greens, who have held it since 2014. Analysts say the results are good news for Coalition leader Peter Dutton with a federal election due in the next 3 months.

Gimme some stats…

You got it… Let’s start with Werribee in Melbourne’s western suburbs, a seat that Labor has held for 46 years. The party’s primary vote dropped by around 17%, the biggest drop in any by-election since it’s been in charge. About 3-4% of that went to the Liberals, but the rest went to minor parties and independents - more counting is needed today to find out the winner. In Prahran, which opened up after the former Greens MP Sam Hibbins quit following an affair with a staff member, Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway’s primary vote went up by 4.8%, enough to win the seat back on preferences. New state Liberal leader Brad Battin said the result showed that voters were “sick of the crime here in Prahran”.

What does it mean?

For the state Labor government - which has been in power for a decade now - Allan said it was a clear sign it had “more to do”, though she didn’t say exactly what. But voters said law and order was a key issue for them, so experts reckon that might be a high priority, going forward. The Victorian state election isn't due until late next year, but if Labor cops the same swing against it as it did in Werribee, it'll be bye bye government. Much closer is the upcoming federal election, due in the next 3 months, with Victoria expected to be crucial to the result. Of the 39 federal seats in the state, the Coalition holds 10 - and analysts say it’s looking to improve in the state in its attempt to win back power.

Turning water into shine

With

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Squiz the Rest

Another swap is carried out

The latest hostage/prisoner release took place between Israel and Hamas over the weekend, with 3 Israelis and 183 Palestinian detainees freed. Reports say at least 7 Palestinians were taken to hospital immediately, although we don’t know what they were treated for. On the Israeli side, there’s been criticism over the emaciated state of hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who were also hospitalised. Their release brings the number of freed hostages to 16 out of 33 promised during phase 1 of the ceasefire… With Israeli forces having withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor, a key road that separates the north of Gaza from the south, all eyes are now on negotiations for phase 2.

Cuts, cuts, cuts

The Trump administration is adding to its federal funding cuts, with medical research the latest on the chopping block… On Friday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH - the federal agency supporting medical research) says it will reduce the amount of “indirect” medical research funding going to institutions, with cuts of more than $6.3 billion a year. It says it’s “vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead”. But researchers disagree… Harlan Krumholz, a Professor of Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, said research isn’t just “having the scientists and lab equipment... it’s about ensuring that the institution has a support system in place”. 

In for the logistical long haul

Queenslanders cut off by last week’s torrential rain and floods have been warned to avoid panic buying as authorities struggle to get supplies to communities. A number of towns have been cut off by damage to local roads, with the Defence Force building a temporary bridge to get through to Ingham. It’s one of the worst-hit spots, with 2 women killed in the floodwaters and hundreds of homes submerged. It’s not alone - Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie says “Far North Queensland has been cut off from road, rail, freight”. But as is the Aussie way in times of crisis, locals are banding together - airlifting residents, pets, beer, and even an 18th birthday cake safely across the water… 

A whitewash in Sri Lanka

The Aussies won the Test series 2-0 after chasing down a target of 75 to claim the second Test against Sri Lanka. A name to note is spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who, despite fracturing his thumb a couple of weeks ago, played through the pain to take 16 wickets, the most of any Aussie. And with captain Pat Cummins away on paternity leave - he and wife Becky welcomed new addition Edi over the weekend - replacement Steve Smith was in fine form, scoring centuries in both Tests and taking some spectacular catches to boot. From here, the Aussies will play 2 warm-up one-day internationals against Sri Lanka before heading to Pakistan and the UAE for the Champions Trophy, which kicks off on 19 February.

Faux the love of beer

Those who enjoy homebrewing would know there's a fair bit of leftover sludge (or the more technical term - brewers' spent grain..) by the end of the process. In fact, about 37 million tonnes are produced globally each year. Which begs the question - what do you do with it? London's Arda Biomaterials is using it to make vegan leather for things like bags, wallets and card holders - and it's proving to be an environmentally friendly, realistic-looking alternative. Even better, company founder Brett Cotten reckons it doesn't need much in the way of dyes - saying "Guinness and stouts make for a naturally black material, IPAs and lagers more mid-browns". We'll raise a glass to that…

Apropos of Nothing - Entertainment edition

Rapper Kendrick Lamar will perform the halftime show for today’s Superbowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs - here’s some background on the man himself and here’s a preview of what the first rap artist to headline the show solo has planned…

The Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, shot in Melbourne, has cleaned up at the AACTAs - our version of the Oscars. The movie uses a CGI chimp to portray Williams - you read that correctly - and won 4 awards, including best film. And his speech didn’t disappoint, either…

And we suppose this fits within entertainment - if you’re in California, feeling amorous and love a hot-air balloon, one company has you covered. Adventurous types can now bring their own blanket and mood music for a ‘hot’ air balloon ride in more ways than one. Up, up, and away…

Squiz the Day

9.30am (AEDT) - A decision is due in the appeal by William Tyrell's foster father who was accused of assaulting and intimidating another child in he and his wife’s care until being removed in November 2021 - Sydney

10:30am (AEDT) - NFL Super bowl LIX (as in Roman numerals for the 59th) final - Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles - New Orleans, and broadcast on Kayo 

6.00pm (AEDT) - Basketball: NBL MVP Awards night - Melbourne

Both houses sitting - Parliament, Canberra

Company half-year results for Ansell, Car Group, and JB Hi-Fi

Artificial Intelligence Action Summit - Paris, France

ABS Data Release - Building Approvals, Dec; Monthly Business Turnover, Dec

A public holiday for Hobart, Tasmania, for the Royal Hobart Regatta

International Epilepsy Day

Birthdays for actors Laura Dern (1967), Elizabeth Banks (1974) and Chloe Grace Moretz (1997)

Anniversary of:

  • the debut of the Tom & Jerry cartoon (1940)

  • the sinking of the HMAS Voyager after colliding with aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne killing 82 people (1964)

  • IBM’s Deep Blue becoming the first computer to win a game of chess against a reigning human chess champion - in this case Gary Kasparov (1996)

  • more than 30 bushfires in NSW being put out by the heaviest rainfall in 30 years, helping end one of Australia’s worst bushfire seasons ever (2020)