Thursday, 10 April - Let your hair hang down

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 10 April. In your Squiz Today…

• The final report into the Sea World helicopter tragedy has been released

• Trump hits pause on tariffs

• And it’s time to go Gaga…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said singer Robbie Williams after revealing he was diagnosed with scurvy earlier this year. Scurvy is a serious Vitamin C deficiency that was common in sailors, but it’s extremely rare in modern-day pop stars. Williams said he changed his diet and he’s all good again - an orange a day keeps the pirate disease away… 

Reviewing a tourism tragedy

The Squiz

After a 2-year investigation, our transport safety bureau (the ATSB) has released its report into the deadly Sea World helicopter crash that killed 4 people and injured 9 others on a clear, sunny afternoon at the Gold Coast Broadwater in January 2023. ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell pointed the finger at several failures, particularly a faulty radio antenna that gave the pilots "limited opportunity" to detect each other before they collided in mid-air. But he said "each individual failing was only one part" of the deadly collision, and "you need to put all of them together for this outcome to have occurred".

So what does the report say?

You can read up here, but to summarise - the choppers, operated by Sea World Helicopters Heli Tours, were using separate helipads and carrying 11 tourists between them, along with pilots Ash Jenkinson and Michael James. The ATSB report found Jenkinson was “busy loading passengers” and didn’t receive a call from James that he was about to land, before ground staff gave him outdated advice that the airspace was clear. His radio also had “defects”, making it likely “a taxi call was not successfully broadcast”. Jenkinson took off, and the collision happened shortly after, killing him and 3 of his passengers. The ATSB additionally found that the shape of the helicopters’ cockpits reduced visibility, and noted issues with passengers’ seatbelts. 

What happens now?

The owners of Sea World Helicopters Heli Tours have already made “significant” steps to improve safety, according to Mitchell, but he still wants to see more action taken, particularly around “increasing opportunity for pilots to detect conflicting traffic”. In a statement, the company said it would respond to the ATSB’s recommendations “within the allocated timeframe”, saying it’s “committed to consistently evolving our safety measures”. As for the victims, Shine Lawyers has filed claims for the survivors in Queensland’s Supreme Court, with litigation specialist Roger Singh saying each one could be awarded damages of up to $925,000. Mitchell also confirmed yesterday that a coronial inquest will be held into the crash - but we’re still waiting on a date for that.

Tapping into the power of EVs

Over 10 episodes, the third season of Origin Energy's podcast So Watt? will bring on a range of experts to share tips and tricks about improving the energy efficiency of your home and saving money on your power bills. The second episode is out now, and it’s to do with electric vehicles (aka EVs)... Fun fact about EVs: soon you’ll be able to use them as a battery to send power back into the home, to power things like your fridge. You can learn more about that here or listen to the episode in your favourite podcast player now.

Squiz the Rest

Trump hits the brakes

With his trademark unpredictability, US President Donald Trump has shaken up his own tariff plan, hitting pause on higher tariffs against dozens of countries for 90 days and instead imposing a base rate of 10%. Australia's already on that base rate, and we'll stay the same, but the move doesn't include China - Trump has upped China's tariff rate to 125% after it announced retaliatory taxes of 84% on US goods. The rollback saw an immediate surge on global stock markets - the S&P 500 jumped by 7% within minutes, and back home, the ASX should see a similar bounce when it opens this morning. Trump said his change of heart was because 75 countries had contacted the US to negotiate a solution, and the extra time would allow for that. He said “I just want fair. They will be fair deals for everybody”.

*If you’re after some more background, our latest Squiz Shortcut is a deep dive into Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs and how they might affect us in Australia… 

Germany has a new coalition government

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz made the announcement overnight after months of negotiations following a snap election in February. Merz is the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which won the election without a majority, and he’s made a deal with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). The 2 parties were under pressure to forge an alliance, given mounting support for the far-right AfD, which reports say has continued to grow since the election. Financial experts say Germany is staring down the barrel of a recession after years of stagnant growth, but Merz says he’ll be aiming to restore it to its former economic strength. He’s also pledged to invest heavily in defence, and says Germany will be a partner Europe can “rely” on. 

Trying to crack a hack attack

A police investigation is now underway into last week’s cyber attack that took $500,000 out of the accounts of Aussie retirees. If you missed it, hackers gained access to the accounts of members of major super funds like Australian Super, and stole the money from 4 victims - one of whom lost $400,000 from their balance alone. Reports say the matter has been handed to Victoria Police, who are working with law enforcement agencies to look into how the breach happened and who might have been behind it. As that happens, Australian Super says it’s boosting its security protocols, including bringing in multifactor authentication - that’s where you need more than just a password to access your account. Might be time to update those passwords - for everything… 

*For more on why cybersecurity is something we should all be paying attention to, check out Kate Watson’s Newsmakers interview with expert Alastair MacGibbon…  

A speedy teen’s record-breaking run 

The next generation of Aussie athletes is proving to be a zippy bunch and Leah O’Brien is no exception - she’s the 17yo sprinter who just smashed the Aussie under-18s record for the 100m sprint set by the legendary Raelene Boyle at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Running 11.14s at the Athletics Championship in Perth on Tuesday, the West Aussie shaved 0.06s off Boyle's time to take out the win, having also picked up the gold in the under-18s 200m. O'Brien joins the emerging A-list of Aussie sprinters, including Gout Gout, Lachie Kennedy and Torrie Lewis, who O’Brien will race against in the national champs on Friday. That will be a race to keep your eye on - but don’t blink… 

Lady Gaga is heading our way

It’s been 11 years since the 14-time Grammy winner has performed on Aussie shores, but that’s all set to change in December when she performs 3 shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. (No love for the other states and territories - we can only imagine she had a million reasons not to head west…) The Aussie visit will be part of her worldwide Mayhem tour, which will start in Mexico City on 26 April before heading to the US, Europe and eventually landing in Australia. If you’re keen to just dance at one of her concerts, tickets will go on sale next Thursday, 17 April. If you do snag a ticket, just make sure you give her a nice round of applause…

Apropos of Nothing

Last week we brought you the battle of the bugs with the Guardian’s international Invertebrate of the Year competition, and we’re thrilled to say they’ve arrived at a winner… The (literally) spineless star of the show is the Milnesium tardigradum, which judges said resembles “a piglet wrapped in an enormous duvet”. It’s actually sort of… cute?

After breaking out some eye-catching designs at last year’s tournament, Aussie golfer Jason Day says he’s been told to tone it down for the 2025 edition of the Masters, which starts tonight. You can check out the offending 2024 looks here, but Day says he’ll be focusing on his golf game rather than his fashion game this time around… 

And while we’re on questionable looks, fashionistas are tying themselves in knots over a new trend of hairy neckties made from actual braided hair. They’ve been described by some as “weird” and “hideous”, but celebs are into them, and they come with a cozzie livs bonus for the follicly blessed - you can grow your own.

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEST) - Athletics: The 2025 Australian Open and Under 20 Athletics Championships kick off in Perth with recent record-breaker Leah O’Brien and other sprinting stars, including Gout Gout, set to race (until 13 April) - Perth

10.00am (ACST) - The annual general meeting of gas and oil company Santos will be held - Adelaide

12.30pm (AEST) - Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen will face off against his Coalition counterpart Ted O’Brien in the energy ministers’ debate at the National Press Club - Canberra

7.10pm (ACST) - AFL: Gather Round kicks off in South Australia with all 18 teams playing 9 games in the same state over the weekend - Adelaide and the Barossa Valley, and watch on Kayo

8.00pm (AEST) - Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock will deliver a keynote address at the Chief Executive Women Melbourne Annual Dinner focusing on women’s economic empowerment - Melbourne

11.45pm (AEST) - Golf: Round 1 of the Masters gets underway - Augusta, US, and watch on Kayo 

ABS data release, Monthly Business Turnover Indicator, Feb 2025; data on Prisoners in Australia, 2024

The seventh season of Black Mirror premieres internationally on Netflix, featuring stars including Awkwafina, Paul Giammati, Will Poulter, and Peter Capaldi

🐄 Hug Your Dog Day or your farm animal because it's also National Farm Animals Day

Anniversary of:

• the first law regulating copyright being issued in Great Britain (1710)

• the patenting of the safety pin (1849)

• RMS Titanic setting sail from Southampton for her maiden - and only - voyage (1912)

• the publication of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925)

• Paul McCartney shocking the world by confirming that The Beatles had split (1970)