Monday, 14 April - Get ready for a new sensation

Good morning, it’s Monday, 14 April. In your Squiz Today…

• First home buyers take centre stage in the election

• Trump walks back tariffs on tech

• And Gout Gout clocks another incredible time…

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Squiz Sayings

Said a very sensible Oscar Piastri after taking first place at the Bahrain Grand Prix overnight. The Aussie F1 speedster led all the way from pole position and crossed the line 15 seconds in front of rivals George Russell and Lando Norris. We’ll raise a mocktail to that effort…

Election policies that hit home

The Squiz

We’re heading into the business end of the election, with the 2 major parties officially launching their campaigns yesterday. Even though the election has been underway for a couple of weeks, campaign launches help to crystallise the policies of each side before early voting opens next week, and they bring some hype, with the party faithful and VIPs like former PMs often there. Labor kicked things off in Perth, while the Coalition convened in western Sydney - and both parties ramped their spending up a notch, announcing new policies for first home buyers.

What are they promising?

PM Anthony Albanese says if Labor is re-elected, he’ll allow all first home buyers to buy with a 5% deposit and avoid lender's mortgage insurance - an expansion of a previous policy that was income-capped. His other major proposal would see $10 billion spent on building 100,000 new homes reserved for first home buyers. And, as a broader sweetener for the electorate, Labor's also offering a $1,000 instant tax deduction on work expenses from 2026/27. Not to be outdone, Coalition leader Peter Dutton says if elected, he'll be a prime minister who "restores the dream of home ownership" by making interest payments on mortgages tax deductible up to $650,000 - that's for first home buyers of newly built homes. He's also offering a one-off tax deduction of $1,200 for workers earning up to $144,000 a year. 

Anything else?

If you want to know more about what each side’s offering and what it’ll cost, here’s a good rundown. While both parties came under fire from economists for their spending (paywall), the Coalition's mortgage scheme copped the most flak. Editor of the Australian Financial Review Michael Stutchbury said the strategy was “purely political” and that there’s “no particular reason why you should get a deduction for your house”. Aside from campaigning, both leaders took time out yesterday to address the first anniversary of the Bondi Junction Westfield stabbing attack in Sydney. In remembering the 6 victims, Albanese said “it was a day that cruelty was met with courage”, while Dutton thanked the first responders “whose bravery and professionalism saved lives”.

Pushing for AI regulation

Adobe’s ‘Authenticity in the Age of AI’ study is all about shedding light on why it’s important to build trustworthy online spaces - and how harmful deepfakes are, particularly during election campaigns. Topics we’re passionate about here at The Squiz… To give you an idea, the study found 77% of respondents have encountered an uptick in misinformation in the past 3 months, and 78% back stricter regulations for AI-generated political content to be clearly labelled. You can read the results from that report here.

Squiz the Rest

A tragedy in Goulburn

Police in NSW say a 9yo boy has died after being accidentally shot yesterday on a property near Goulburn, about 200km south-west of Sydney. We don’t have all the details yet - including the boy’s name - but police say they were called to the rural property around 11.20am, with officers told the gun was accidentally discharged. Paramedics treated the boy’s neck injury, but he died at the scene. Ron Wenban, a neighbour, said he heard the gunshot ring out yesterday morning - followed by sirens. He said “once the chopper came over, I said to my partner ‘someone's been hurt’”. Police are investigating what happened, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Turning it off and on again

As the US-China trade war grows, US President Donald Trump has handed a reprieve to tech companies by scratching smartphones, computers and other electronics from the tariffs list. It means those tech items - many of which are manufactured in China - won’t be subject to the 10% baseline tariff the US has imposed on imports from most countries or the 145% tariff on Chinese imports. It came after tech giants like Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia raised concerns about the price of gadgets (like the phone you might be reading this on…) skyrocketing under the tariffs. Dan Ives, a US trade analyst, called the reversal “the dream scenario for tech investors” - and similarly, Australian investors have their fingers crossed that the local sharemarket sees a jump when it opens today.

It all boils down to this

Convicted murderers Lyle and Erik Menendez are likely to be in the headlines a bit this week after a Los Angeles judge confirmed the court will go ahead with a re-sentencing hearing on 17-18 April. You might remember their case has resurfaced after a couple of big Netflix series last year raised questions over their life sentences without parole… To remind you, the pair admitted to murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. Prosecutors said they killed their parents over their multi-million-dollar inheritance, but the brothers claim it was self-defence after years of sexual abuse. If they are re-sentenced, they could be made eligible for parole immediately, so it’s one to watch…

Gout of this world

Teenage sprinting sensation Gout Gout has clocked a new personal best with a victory in the 200m final at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth yesterday - his first open title. The 17yo set another sub-20 second record of 19.84 seconds - but it won’t be officially counted due to a tailwind advantage of +2.2m/s. Reports say it’s faster than legendary sprinter Usain Bolt at the same age, so watch out when the wind dies down… Yesterday’s final was billed as a showdown between Gout and 21yo Lachlan Kennedy, who beat the youngster at the Maurie Plant Meet last month - but Kennedy was disqualified after a false start. Gout said winning his first open title was another step on the way to becoming a world or Olympic champion. He said: "If I can focus on the little things, I think I can take it far”. He’s not alone there…

Getting egg-stra creative

It’s no secret that the US has seen huge egg shortages off the back of its bird flu outbreak - and the trickle-down effects are ruffling feathers in the crafting community. Those who like to partake in the time-honoured tradition of painting/dyeing eggs for Easter say they’re having to get their mitts on egg-shaped alternatives because the price of the real deal has reached boiling point. Painting Easter rocks, potatoes and marshmallows have all been floated by crafters online, and with Aussie egg prices on a similar trajectory, you might like to give some of the tegg-niques a crack. If you’re more of a chocolate egg-lover, these budget-friendly Easter egg taste tests might be up your alley…

Apropos of Nothing

Londoners on Westminster Bridge got to see some superhero action firsthand recently when 2 police officers disguised as Batman and Robin ran through a crowd to apprehend an illegal gambling set up that’s been targeting tourists. The officers said the ploy worked - they took the perps by surprise and nabbed them. Kapow!

If you’re someone who enjoys glimpsing rarely-seen creatures, the CSIRO has shone a light on those that call the freezing Bass Canyon (which is 4,000km below the Southern Ocean’s surface) home. And let’s just say they’re not the most photogenic of species, and their names get creative…

And the Brits have long been the butt of jokes for their appreciation of room-temperature beer poured from casks, but sales of the historic bevvy have been declining for years, so they’ve launched a petition to have it protected for its Unesco “intangible cultural heritage”. So British cask ale could soon be up there with Arabic coffee and French baguettes…

Squiz the Day

11.00pm (AEDT) - The US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust lawsuit against Meta over its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp is set to begin - Washington DC

Beginning of New Solar Year in Tamil, Sikh, Nepalese, and Sinhalese communities

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces trial on criminal charges of staging an insurrection and evading arrest after he tried to invoke a state of martial law in December - Seoul

The Last of Us Season 2 starts in Australia, exclusively available on Max, HBO's new streaming service

Choul Chnam Thmey (Cambodian/Khmer New Year)

International Moment of Laughter Day

Birthdays for Julie Christie (1941), Julia Zemiro (1967) Adrien Brody (1973), Sarah Michelle Gellar (1977)

Anniversary of:

• US President Abraham Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth (1865)

• Dr Harry Plotz discovering the typhoid vaccine (1903)

• the RMS Titanic hitting an iceberg (1912)

• Justin Trudeau being elected leader of Canada's Liberal Party (2013)

Tuesday
12.30am (AEDT) - Pop star Katy Perry and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, who is also billionaire Jeff Bezos' fiancée, are set to blast off into space on a Blue Origin rocket on Monday, marking the first all-female flight crew to fly to space in more than six decades - Texas