Thursday, 18 December - A little ray of sunshine

December 18, 2025

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 18 December. In your Squiz Today…

  • Charges have been laid over the Bondi terror attack

  • The Treasurer’s mid-year budget report card is out

  • And the next Avatar blockbuster is here… 🍿

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“That one’s for you, Dad.”

Said commentator Adam Gilchrist as Aussie wicketkeeper Alex Carey scored his first Ashes century in his home state of South Oz. Carey’s father Gordon died in September, and he paid tribute by looking to the heavens in front of the 56,000 fans in attendance. Legend…

Remembering the Bondi victims

The Squiz

As the first funerals for the 15 Bondi terror attack victims began yesterday, Naveed Akram was charged with 59 offences over the mass shooting. He’s accused of committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, and 40 counts of causing injury to a person with intent to murder. He’s still under police guard in hospital and will face court again on Monday. On that same day, NSW Premier Chris Minns has recalled parliament to deal with “urgent legislation” on guns… His team is preparing new laws to cap the number of guns a person can hold, among other reforms - including restricting protest activity. He said they’ll share the draft bill “with the opposition as soon as possible”. 

And the funerals?

Rabbi Eli Schlanger was the first to be farewelled yesterday at the Chabad of Bondi Synagogue. Known as the "Bondi Rabbi", he was described as someone who would help anyone in his community and was involved in supporting people in hospitals and prisons. He's being remembered as "one of the purest and most sincere and compassionate people any of us have known", and as "the best husband, the best father, the best son". Rabbi Yaakov Levitan and Reuven Morrison’s funerals were also held yesterday. And after the parents of the youngest victim, 10yo Matilda, visited Bondi for a vigil on Tuesday night - where her father asked people to “remember her name” - her school gave a statement yesterday, calling her “our little ray of sunshine”. Her funeral is scheduled for today.

Anything else?

Yes - 23 victims remain in hospital. We don’t know all their names, but we do know more about the injured officers. The family of 22yo Probationary Constable Jack Hibbert said “in the face of a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct, and selflessness”. He’s lost sight in one eye. The other officer, Constable Scott Dyson, is in a serious but stable condition. Police Legacy NSW, which has set up fundraisers for the pair, says Dyson is “widely known as one of the nicest guys around”. Elsewhere, former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was extremely critical of the Albanese Government and called for a royal commission into antisemitism. Treasurer Jim Chalmers later said he takes Frydenberg’s views “seriously”, and that they’ve taken “significant steps already” and “more will be taken”.

Distraction with benefits

Need school holiday content that sneaks in some learning? The Squiz Kids Planet Warriors podcast follows renewable energy superheroes across 6 episodes, sparking curiosity about science, tech and future careers along the way. Find it on the Squiz Kids website or search 'Squiz Kids Planet Warriors' wherever you get your podcasts.

Squiz the Rest

US President Donald Trump has ordered a blockade…

…on all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela, although it’s not yet clear how that would be enforced. It’s the latest escalation in the conflict between the US leader and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government - you can see a timeline here. In a post on Truth Social yesterday, Trump labelled Venezuela’s government “a foreign terrorist organisation”, accusing it of using stolen oil to “finance themselves, drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping”. It comes after the US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker last week, and after months of attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug boats, killing at least 90 people. Venezuela (home to the world’s largest oil reserves…) has accused the US of planning to overthrow Maduro and trying to steal its resources.
*If you want to get across the background to this story, we’ve got you covered with our Squiz Shortcut…

Nick Reiner faces court

The son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner has been charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder over their deaths. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office says Reiner allegedly stabbed his parents in the “early morning hours of December 14” (US time), and did not resist when he was eventually arrested. The 32yo appeared in court this morning, didn't enter a plea and is being held without bail. If found guilty, he faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Meanwhile, the tributes continue to flow for his parents - a group of the couple’s close friends said “they were a special force together - dynamic, unselfish and inspiring”. 

My oh MYEFO

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down his Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook - essentially a budget report card - spruiking it as “the most responsible on record”. He particularly hung his hat on an improved overall position, claiming the government has made $20 billion of savings, with the projected deficit over the next 4 years reduced by $8.4 billion. But there's still a decade of deficits in our future, and inflation is also likely to rise over 2026 - putting added pressure on the Albanese Government's spending levels. Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson says Team Albanese has its "head in the sand" on inflation and needs to lower its spending levels sooner rather than later.  

Tickets worth their weight in goals

If you’re considering booking tickets for the men’s FIFA World Cup next year, we’ve got good news and bad news… The bad news is that some tickets have been so expensive (via our old friend dynamic pricing) that it's caused widespread fan backlash - with some tickets comfortably reaching into the thousands. The good news is that criticism has led to FIFA introducing a new tier called the ‘entry tier’, which will cap the prices of certain tickets at a slightly less headache-inducing $95. Hundreds of tickets per match will be available at that rate to “loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams” - though what that means is still a bit of a mystery. Still, at least there’s a chance you won’t have to take out a second mortgage to see the Socceroos play next year… 

Opening Pandora’s box office

One of the biggest film franchises in the world is back in cinemas - with Titanic director James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash officially premiering today. It’s the third instalment in the sci-fi series that follows alien race the Na’vi and their battle to protect their home planet of Pandora. The original came out in 2009 and sequel The Way of Water in 2022, and given they’re the highest and third-highest grossing movies of all time, fans (and cinema owners) are pretty excited about this one. The critical reception has been decent enough - except for this brutal take from the BBC, that is… If you are planning to see it, here’s a couple of handy things to know - you might need to fork out a bit extra for 3-D glasses, and it’s well over 3 hours long, so be careful about booking that late-night screening…

Apropos of Nothing

For an explainer on what makes some songs sound ‘Christmassy’, this article covering the science behind the festive sound is an interesting one. Or maybe you’re after tips on how to write the next Mariah Carey hit, in which case the most important sound is cha-ching…  

A photographer has spied thousands of previously undiscovered dinosaur footprints in an Italian national park near Milan, in what paleontologist Christiano Del Sasso has called an “immense scientific treasure”. Bellissimo… 

Actor Timothée Chalamet is proving to be quite the renaissance man - currently on a press tour for his new film Marty Supreme, he’s declared his fandom of both wrestler/actor Dave Bautista and Britain’s Got Talent winner Susan Boyle - that’s some eclectic taste…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEDT) - Victorian crime statistics for the last quarter will be released by the Crime Statistics Agency - Melbourne

11.00am (AEST) - A funeral will be held for 10yo Bondi terror attack victim Matilda - Sydney

2.30pm (AEDT) - A judgment is due in a case against General Motors accusing it of misleading statements to auto dealers that it was committed to the Holden brand 3 years before shutting down operations in Oz - Sydney

AGMs for ANZ Bank and Elders

ABS data releases: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, November 2025; National, state and territory population, June 2025 

School’s out for kids in the ACT and Tasmania

Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in James Cameron's Avatar series, is released in cinemas

Season 5 of Emily in Paris drops on Netflix

📮 PSA: Today’s the last chance to get your cards and packages in the mail for same-state delivery in time for Christmas - speaking of which, there’s one week to go…

International Migrants Day

Republic Day in Niger 

A birthday for Rolling Stone Keith Richards (1943), director Steven Spielberg (1946), actor Brad Pitt (1963) and singer Billie Eilish (2001)

Anniversary of:

  • the premiere of Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite in St Petersburg, Russia (1892)

  • the premiere of Avatar (2009)

  • the US House of Representatives voting to impeach President Donald Trump (2019)