Monday, 10 March - Don't you forget about me

March 10, 2025

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

  • Alfred continues to wreak havoc as it moves inland

  • Another Labor landslide in WA

  • And an Aussie pooch is crowned top dog… 🏆

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 5 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“This is a lesson for anyone.”

Said comedian Dave Hughes after kicking 3 women out of his Adelaide Fringe show for “incessant talking”. Hughesy said he gave them several warnings before he showed them the door - but it seems they kissed and made up in the end…

Taking stock of a storm

The Squiz

Residents in southeast Queensland and northern NSW are facing a huge cleanup from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which brought winds of up to 105km/hr, torrential rain, and left hundreds of thousands of people without power. About that 'ex' bit… Alfred took more than a week to make landfall, and before it crossed the Queensland coast on Saturday night, it was downgraded from a tropical cyclone to a tropical low. But authorities say the danger isn't over yet - flash flooding and strong winds are still an issue as the storm moves inland. 

What’s the damage?

PM Anthony Albanese confirmed yesterday that a 61yo man has died after being caught up in floodwaters near Dorrigo in NSW. Further north near Lismore, 13 army personnel were seriously injured when 2 military trucks rolled - NSW police are investigating what led to the accident. In NSW alone, there were more than 900 calls to the SES, while Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said emergency workers in his state had responded to over 1,000 calls for help - many in floodwaters - leading to renewed warnings for people not to drive in flooded areas. Across the 2 states, nearly 500,000 homes and businesses lost power on Saturday night - and almost half are still offline this morning. 

And the forecast for tomorrow?

While the Bureau of Meteorology predicts Alfred will weaken in the coming days, the storm was still going strong yesterday. Wind gusts of up to 100km/hr were recorded in some parts of Queensland, and an emergency flood warning was issued for Hervey Bay which copped 320mm of rain in 8 hours, and the Gold Coast. Also under water are parts of Brisbane and Lismore - both of which saw severe flooding in 2022. And the forecast shows relief isn’t in sight yet for either region, with more rain coming today, and flood warnings in place for 5 river catchments in NSW, and 3 in Queensland. And one more thing - with the government’s attention on Alfred, the PM has announced he’ll hold off calling an election for now - we’ll go to the polls in May.

Sweet dreams are made of this

Sleep is the best, right? If you’re tossing and turning over picking a new mattress, Sleep Republic is a top choice for comfort and support. Recommended by CHOICE and backed by the Australian Spinal Research Foundation, their award-winning 'mattress-in-a-box' is all about comfort. Experience the Sleep Republic difference with a 100-night trial, and get ready to dream.

Squiz the Rest

The pressure’s on for a peace deal

Officials from the US and Ukraine are heading to Saudi Arabia this week for another attempt at reaching a deal for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine’s war with Russia. Over the weekend, Russian forces launched a series of aerial missile strikes into towns in the eastern region of Ukraine that have killed at least 22 people and injured several children. The advance comes after the US paused both military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which experts say is hurting its ability to protect itself and fight back. But Russia’s actions got the attention of US President Donald Trump, who said he is “strongly considering” hitting the country with more sanctions and tariffs unless it comes to the peace negotiating table quicksmart. 

Labor’s still best in the West

The party won its third landslide victory on the trot, which means Premier Roger Cook will keep the top job. After winning a record 53 of 59 lower house seats at the 2021 election under then-Premier Mark McGowan, only an absolute catastrophe could have rolled Labor out of government, but the results so far are showing they’ve outperformed expectations. While the size of their original victory meant there was a big swing against them, most of that didn’t go to the Liberals, with the minor parties and independents being the big winners. Experts say that, along with a small jump in support for the PM in the latest Newspoll results (paywall), it will be a morale boost for federal Labor heading into the upcoming election.

*If you want to know a bit more about what was at stake in the WA election, we've got a Shortcut for you… 

Time’s up for the NT’s top cop…

…after a corruption investigation found he’d hired one of his mates for a senior position in the police force. Back in February, the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption found that Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy - who it didn't name publicly - had acted as a referee for the candidate and should have recused himself from the recruitment process. Murphy fessed up that it was him last Thursday, but didn't apologise, and over the weekend, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said his position was untenable and he's been put on leave. For context, Finocchiaro was elected midway through last year, and law and order is a big focus of her government, given the issues the Territory’s been having in that area. 

*For more background on the issues in the Northern Territory, have a listen to our News Club interview with Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson.

An answer on Gene Hackman’s death

Santa Fe police said on the weekend that the actor had died of heart disease after his wife Betsy Arakawa died from a rare condition called hantavirus a week before. The 95yo - who won Oscars for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven - had advanced Alzheimer's when he died, and the Santa Fe medical examiner said he might not have known his wife was gone. Arakawa, who was a classical pianist, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a rare flu-like virus that is carried by rodents. Though many reports mentioned that Arakawa was found near an open bottle of pills, the police say they were a thyroid medication and had nothing to do with her death. 

An Aussie win at Crufts

We mentioned we were pretty keen on Crufts last week - and the UK dog show has turned up an Aussie-based champ, with 5yo Kohl taking home the award for best borzoi. If you haven’t had the pleasure, here’s a guide to the elegant breed, also known as the Russian Wolfhound - 122 entered the competition, but Kohl came out on top. While he currently lives in Melbourne, he’s not an Aussie native - he was born in Canada but has been dominating the local circuit for the last year or so before taking his talents to Birmingham, where Crufts is held. And if you’re looking for a particular event from Crufts to see some dogs doing their best work, we’re quite partial to a bit of flyball…

Apropos of Nothing - Better late than never edition

A Port Lincoln man was surprised to be reunited with his (working) phone after it spent 3 days floating in a bucket 20km through South Oz’s Boston Bay. Even more surprisingly, the person who found the message in a bucket was someone he knew - some people have all the luck… 

Waiting slightly longer than 3 days to find its way back home was Home-Made Toys for Girls and Boys, a library book that was checked out of a New Jersey library in 1926. Some 99 years later, the granddaughter of the man borrowed it has brought it back, right in time for the library’s centenary celebrations. And no fine, either… 

And if you thought 99 years was a lot, a meteorite crater in Western Oz’s Pilbara region would like you to hold its beer - it has very patiently waited 3.5 billion years to be discovered by researchers, who think it’s the oldest one in the world.

Squiz the Day

A public holiday for Victoria (Labour Day), ACT (Canberra Day), Tasmania (Eight Hours Day) and South Oz (Adelaide Cup Day)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss a minerals deal and the next steps towards peace in Ukraine’s war with Russia (until 12 March) - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Climate Action Week Sydney 2025

Start of Brain Awareness Week (on until 16 March) 

International Day of Women Judges

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 International Bagpipe Day

Birthdays for actor Chuck Norris (1940), actor Sharon Stone (1958), Prince Edward (1964), actor Jon Hamm (1971), and actor/director Olivia Wilde (1984)

Anniversary of:

  • the birthday of NZ suffragette Kate Sheppard (1847)

  • the Ethiopian Airlines crash that led to the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX planes (2019)

  • Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsing after a bank run, marking the third-largest bank failure in US history and the largest since the 2007–2008 financial crisis (2023)