Thursday, 2 April - Fly me to the moon

April 02, 2026

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 2 April. In your Squiz Today…

  • The PM tells the nation to carry on as normal, while US President Donald Trump prepares to give an update on the Iran war

  • NASA is counting down to its moon mission this morning

  • And a comforting fish pie to kick off Easter… 🐟

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“We’re going to Game 5.”

Said NBL commentators last night after the Adelaide 36ers beat the Sydney Kings 92-91 in front of a home crowd to force a decider in the finals series. That’ll be on Sunday afternoon with Sydney having the home town advantage this time and hoping to be, well, crowned the champs.

Keep calm and worry on

The Squiz

As the Easter long weekend approaches, PM Anthony Albanese made a rare public address to the nation last night to reassure Australians that they should carry on as normal in “these uncertain times”. The PM acknowledged that “farmers and truckies, small businesses and families are doing it tough” due to the Iran war causing a spike in fuel prices. But even as those prices began to fall yesterday thanks to the fuel excise being halved, he said the months ahead “may not be easy” - and he’s called on people to only fill up with as much fuel as they need and take public transport where possible. But Coalition leader Angus Taylor said there’s still confusion about the state of the fuel system, saying Albanese “needs to lay that out and be transparent about it”. 

Why did he choose to make a public address?

While we hear from the PM a lot, it’s usually through the media rather than directly, so a national address is a big deal, and given they usually only happen during wars, crises or historic moments, analysts say it shows the gravity of the situation we’re facing. For context, the last Prime Minister to address the nation was Scott Morrison during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. But Albanese used the speech last night to tell Aussies that both sides of government were working to bring fuel prices down and to ensure our supply of it kept coming. He’s speaking at the National Press Club today where he’s likely to face more questions about that…. And he’s not the only one making a national address - US President Donald Trump is up today too - reports say he’s expected to give a timeline for ending the war, and that he’s considering pulling out of the NATO military alliance.

What’s prompted that? 

The President yesterday flagged he wants US forces to pull out of Iran within 2-3 weeks, and he took a swipe at NATO allies including France and the UK who refused to get involved in the conflict. He said countries that rely on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil should go and get it themselves, and that the “US won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us"... As that plays out, there’s also a new ceasefire offer on the table, brokered by Pakistan and China. Reports say China’s involved because it’s a huge trading partner of Iran - it buys most of its oil from there - so it's got some sway and an incentive to want the war to end. Trump wouldn’t be drawn on the offer yesterday, simply saying “negotiations with Iran are going well”, so we’ll have to see if it factors into his address today - that’s due at midday Sydney/Melbourne time.

Getting creative with business marketing

Honeysticks is a Kiwi-founded company that makes beeswax crayons safe for kids and (bonus…) also more sustainable. But as small and medium-sized business owners would know, finding customers and getting the word out to them can be tricky… That’s where Amazon Ads has boosted Honeysticks’ growth across markets in New Zealand, Australia and the US. You can find out how Honeysticks turned their vision into reality with Amazon Ads.

Squiz the Rest

And sticking with Trump…

The President’s stamped an executive order to create a federal list of eligible voters in the US - a move that could severely cut the number of postal votes in elections. It means the US postal service would send mail-in ballots only to voters on that list, and Trump’s aiming to have voter IDs introduced as well as proof of citizenship. Even though he’s voted by post in the past, he reckons it leads to “cheating” and fraud in elections. But legal experts say the move is unconstitutional, given authority over elections/voting belongs to individual states, and it could prove harder for people without passports or IDs to vote. Already there’s been legal challenges in states where postal voting is popular - and Democratic leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer lent his support, posting on X: “See you in court. You will lose”.

A big (AI) deal…

That would be the one signed by the Oz government and tech giant Anthropic yesterday to work together on AI. It’s the company behind chatbot Claude - and the one blacklisted by the Trump Administration after it refused to allow the US military to use it for weapons or mass surveillance. The non-binding deal is worth $550 billion, and the goal is to make sure AI is developed and used responsibly here. The government says it could boost productivity in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and financial services, and set Oz up as a “trusted regional hub”. To that end, CEO Dario Amodei says it’s scouting for data centre sites - but the deal comes with some conditions. You can read about them here, but they include offsetting AI’s substantial energy/water needs by investing in renewables.
*If you’re keen to know more about data centres, we dived into the topic in a recent Squiz Shortcut…

Imitation nation

We’ve just gotten past a major fashion fight over the Katie Perry name - now there’s a legal battle brewing over alleged fashion duping, with Aussie label Sabo Skirt accusing Shein, Kmart and more than 10 other brands of ripping off their designs. The Queensland-based label claims 36 different garments, patterns, prints and sketches were copied and then turned into lower-quality versions and sold at a discounted rate. It’s known as ‘fashion duping’ - a practice experts say is becoming more common - and the Oz label argues that its reputation has been damaged by the lesser-quality copies of its clothing in circulation. To that point, it’s claiming compensation for lost profits along with loss of IP and reputational damage. The case will return to court in July, where it might just be trending…  

The countdown is on…

…for NASA’s first ever crewed mission to the moon, which will take off this morning at around 9:30 AEDT. It’s the first time in 53 years that the US space agency has run a mission like this, where 4 astronauts will head to the moon, do a U-turn around it, and head home. No small steps here… Now, if you’re experiencing a bit of deja vu at the moment, it’s because we’ve written this story before - the mission, called Artemis II, was supposed to launch in February, but was delayed after the agency found hydrogen fuel leaks. The entire mission will take 10 days before the crew splashes back down in the Pacific Ocean - crowds are gathering at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to see the launch, which you can watch live here… 
*Back when the mission was originally going to launch, we did a Shortcut on why NASA has picked now to return to the moon - you can have a read of that here…

Good golly, Miss Molly (the collie)

A nice one to send us into the Easter break from our friends across the ditch… On Tuesday, Molly the border collie was rescued in the New Zealand wilderness after going missing last week. She was on a hike with her owner, Jessica Johnston, who fell down a drop and was seriously injured. Johnston was evacuated by helicopter, but Molly went missing… until a local helicopter business offered to help. Thanks to donations from across the country, they set off on a search for Molly, even though it seemed unlikely they’d find her - but find her they did, in the exact spot her owner fell in the first place. You can see the video of the moment they found her here - and she’s now been reunited with her owner. Dogs - they’re amazing…

Easter Lites - 3 things we liked this week

We’ve been lapping up S8 of Formula 1 reality show Drive to Survive on Netflix. It covers last year’s season so we get to relive all the twists and turns in the lead up to - spoiler alert - McLaren’s Lando Norris winning his first championship. 

Get this in your ears for a perk up - the winner of our Squiz Kids PM for a Day competition, 12yo Jett Jarvis, sat down with the real PM and asked him some hard questions. Of particular concern to Jett is food wastage, and how we can do better there. He did sweeten the grilling at the end though…

And for anyone needing a fish pie recipe tomorrow, we’ll point you to this one by Matt Preston. It does have bacon in it, so sub in some hot smoked salmon if you need, serve it with a big green salad (and maybe an early chockie egg for dessert…).

And finally, a housekeeping note from us - we’ll be taking a break over the long weekend, which means Squiz Today and our weekend shows and emails - Weekly Wrap, the Squiz Quiz and Saturday Squiz - will be taking a well-earned break. But everything will be back next week from Tuesday - have a lovely long weekend, stay safe and thanks so much for reading/listening to us so far this year. It’s been a lot…

Squiz the Day

Thursday
9.00am (AEDT) - The 13th Australian Domestic Gas Outlook conference kicks off - Sydney

9.30am (AEDT) - A decision is expected in the application to suppress the identities of the family of Bondi terror attack accused Naveed Akram, Downing Centre Local Court - Sydney 

12.30 midday (AEDT) - PM Anthony Albanese will address the National Press Club where he’ll argue that global uncertainty is a reason to press ahead with reform and he’ll also announce a $1 billion economic resilience program - Canberra 

The Sydney Royal Easter Show begins (until 13 April)

Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday)

ABS Data release: International trade in goods, February 2026; Job vacancies, February 2026

🤓 International Fact-Checking Day 

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of author Hans Christian Andersen (1805), muso/filmmaker Serge Gainsbourg (1928) and singer Marvin Gaye (1939)

  • Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours going to #1 on the Billboard 100, where it stayed for 31 weeks (1977)

Friday
5.00am (AEDT) - Cricket: Limited-Overs International Australia v West Indies women, Warner Park Cricket Stadium - Saint Kitts and Nevis, watch on Disney+ 

Good Friday 

Birthdays for actor Alec Baldwin (1958), comedian Eddie Murphy (1961), and Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn (1969) 

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of actors Doris Day (1922), Marlon Brando (1924), and conservationist Jane Goodall (1934)

  • the first mobile phone call made in New York by a Motorola employee (1973)

  • the publication of the Panama Papers (2016)

Saturday
The National Library is opening its exhibition Wangka Wakanutja: The Story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre (until 11 October)

🥕 International Carrot Day

Birthdays for actor Hugo Weaving (1960), talk show host Graham Norton (1963), actors Robert Downey Jr (1965) and Natasha Lyonne (1979)

Anniversary of:

  • the signing of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty in Washington, D.C. (1949)

  • the founding of Microsoft (1975)

  • the marriage of Beyonce and Jay-Z (2008)

  • Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos' record-breaking $35 billion divorce settlement (2019)

Sunday
🐣 Easter Sunday 

3.00am (AEDT) - Daylight Saving ends in NSW, South Australia, Victoria, ACT, and Tasmania, clocks go back one hour

11.00am (AEST) - Boxing: WBO headline fight between Tim Tszyu and Denis Nurja, see the full fight list here, Wollongong Entertainment Centre - Wollongong, watch on Kayo 

Geologists’ Day

Birthdays for Abba singer Agnetha Fältskog (1950) and musician Pharrell Williams (1973)

Anniversary of:

  • the marriage of American Indian princess Pocahontas and English colonist John Rolfe (1614)

  • the birthdays of Bette Davis (1908) and Gregory Peck (1916)

  • the death of Kurt Cobain (1994)

Monday
Easter Monday

Birthdays for actors Paul Rudd (1970) and Zach Braff (1975)

Anniversary of:

  • the establishment of Cape Colony, the first European settlement in South Africa (1652)

  • the US declaring war on Germany, entering WWI (1917)

  • ABBA winning Eurovision with Waterloo, launching their international career (1974) 

  • the start of the Bosnian War (1992)