Thursday, 23 April - Got a mousetrap heart

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 23 April. In your Squiz Today…

• The Albanese Government has big changes in store for the NDIS

• The ceasefire in the war in Iran is extended

• And Michael cops some rough reviews

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said actress Meryl Streep on returning to play the role of iconic editor Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada 2. It’s out in Oz on 30 April - here’s all the groundbreaking looks from the premiere…

Rethinking the NDIS

The Squiz

A major reset is in store for the National Disability Insurance Scheme under a federal government plan designed to save around $15 billion a year by 2030. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler announced a stack of cost-cutting measures yesterday which aim to bring the scheme’s rate of growth down to 2% a year until 2030, warning its survival was at risk if it stayed at the current rate of 10%. He says it’s “costing too much and growing too fast”, adding “unless we take action to make it sustainable, it simply will not be there in the future for the Australians who need it most.”

What’s the deal?

Butler says something’s gotta give, because the scheme costs $50 billion a year and is on track to grow to $100 billion within a decade, which isn’t affordable. The first step of the plan was moving children with mild to moderate autism over to the new Thriving Kids program, announced in August. Next up is making sure the scheme is being used by people who need it most, and Butler says the number of participants is expected to come down from 760,000 to 600,000 by 2030. To get there, a number of changes will be made - you can read more about them here… but they include clearer eligibility requirements, tightening up standards around providers to prevent fraud, and cutting funding for some activities, like fitness and cooking classes outside the home.

And how has it gone down?

Butler says the plan is included in the 12 May Budget, and he’ll be working on support to get it through parliament. But he might have his work cut out - while Coalition leader Angus Taylor says he’s open to changes to reduce spending, Greens leader Larissa Waters was opposed to the plan, saying she’ll fight any NDIS reforms that aim to “balance the budget off the back of disabled people”. Within the disability community, many are worried about the number of people who could miss out under the new eligibility criteria… People with Disability Australia’s Jeramy Hope called it a “frightening” number. And George Taleporos from the Every Australian Counts campaign called on the government to “listen to our concerns before any of these changes are made”.

Supercharging your knowledge

You might have heard the words “payday super” a bit recently. That’s because workplaces around the country are preparing to transition to it on 1 July. It’s coming up fast, which is why small business platform Xero is encouraging business owners to get in early by understanding their cash flow now and making sure they have the right tools in place to manage their payroll and ensure compliance. Learn more about the switch to payday super - and find practical tips, guidance and tools to prepare - here.

Squiz the Rest

Buying some time

Just after we hit publish yesterday, US President Donald Trump announced that the current ceasefire in Iran would continue, while the 2 countries keep negotiating behind the scenes. But the planned peace talks in Pakistan are off - with US Vice President JD Vance deciding not to go, and Iran still saying it won’t send a delegation as long as the US continues to blockade Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. The US has shown no sign it’ll stop, and overnight Iran attacked 3 ships in the strait, so it’s a precarious time…  And with Israel and Lebanon set to meet for more peace talks later today, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says the 2 countries are negotiating to extend the current 10-day ceasefire (possibly by a month), which would otherwise end on Sunday.

Picking favourites in Farrer

We’re just a couple of weeks away from the upcoming by-election in Farrer on 9 May - and we’re finding out more about how preferences will work… In what’s expected to be a close one, preference flows will likely be crucial to who wins - and yesterday, the Liberal and National parties both announced they’ll preference One Nation over independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe. That could hurt Milthorpe’s attempt to win the seat, and is likely to be a boon for One Nation candidate David Farley - who analysts say is the frontrunner. The seat has only ever been held by the Libs and Nats, so if it does change hands, it’ll be a big moment…
*For a deep dive into the issues, candidates and stakes of the Farrer by-election, check out our  …

Cochlear to the ground

The major health stock took a huge dive on the ASX yesterday - dropping by more than 40% by the time the market closed. The hearing implant company, which was riding high with a share price of about $350 back in 2024, has now suffered its second major drop this year to finish at $99.58. The reason for the sell-off was Cochlear’s announcement that it’s significantly cut its earning forecast for the rest of the year, pointing to the recent war in Iran and the Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid health benefits - which it said lowered demand in the US - as key factors. The deep dive dragged the rest of the share market along with it - by the end of the day, the ASX 200 was down 1.2%...

Anything but squeaky clean

Grain growers in Western Oz are dealing with a significant mouse problem at the moment - with researchers warning they’ve hit plague levels. An infestation like this can cause serious problems - in 2020/21, a similar plague in eastern Australia damaged crops and homes and caused an estimated $1billion in damage. CSIRO expert Steve Henry says the threshold for a plague is 800 mice per hectare - in the west, there are reports of 3,000-4,000 burrows per hectare. The numbers are also rising in South Oz, and it could get worse, given that mice can produce 10 babies roughly every 3 weeks. For more, we’ll point you to the CSIRO’s Mouse Forecast, which advises growers to monitor mouse activity, start baiting and avoid leaving spilt grain around for them to nibble on…

Really, really Bad…

That’s the consensus among critics about Michael, the movie version of the late pop star Michael Jackson’s life, which was released in cinemas yesterday. The singer of massive hits like Beat It and Billie Jean is still hugely popular, with 68 million monthly listeners on Spotify. That’s despite allegations of child sexual abuse surfacing in the 1990s - claims he denied and was never convicted of. But the movie doesn’t go into any of that, and as such it’s been described as “bland” by the BBC, “cruise-ship entertainment” by the Guardian and “dull” by news.com.au - and they’re just a few. But the film seems confident it’ll be a hit: it hints at a sequel, ending with the line: “The story continues.” Whether critics want it to or not…

Apropos of Nothing

If you liked Baby Reindeer, keep an eye out for Half Man, the new series from the show’s creator Richard Gadd. It’s about 2 estranged brothers, it’s out on Stan tomorrow, and some of the reviews are glowing… 

An Aussie 6yo’s passion for golf is taking him to a major kids’ tournament - the US Kids Golf Canadian Invitational. Alby Weyden’s parents say that while other kids carted their favourite toy everywhere, he’d bring his golf balls. Go little legend…

And 2 mates have broken the record for the longest journey taken in a 3-wheeled vehicle… ‘Sheila the 3 wheeler’ travelled from London to the southern tip of South Africa, travelling 22,500km through 22 countries. No AC must have been a challenge…

Squiz the Day

9.30am (AEST) - Non-publication order hearing over the home address and uncharged acts allegedly committed by Ben Roberts-Smith, who’s accused of 5 counts of the war crime of murder, Downing Centre Local Court - Sydney

9.30am (ACST) - Wheelchair Rugby: Day one of the Wheelchair Rugby World Challenge, State Basketball Centre - Adelaide, watch on Kayo 

12.30pm (AWST) - A hearing on costs and orders in the Hope Downs mining royalties case between Hancock Prospecting and Wright Prospecting

4.00pm (AEST) - A judgment is due in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s case against tech company Nuix over a 2021 prospectus - Sydney

ABS data release: labour force, March 2026; legal assistance, 2024-2025 financial year; National ecosystem accounts, 2022-2023 financial year

Mining company Woodside will hold its Annual General Meeting of shareholders - Perth

St George’s Day - England

UN English Language Day

UN Spanish Language Day

World Book and Copyright Day

🍻 German Beer Day

Birthdays for comedian and talk show host John Oliver (1977), model Gigi Hadid (1995), actor Dev Patel (1990), and Prince Louis of Wales (2018)

Anniversary of:

• the crowning of Queen Anne at Westminster Abbey (1702)

• the deaths of William Shakespeare (1616), William Wordsworth (1850) and Boris Yeltsin (2007)

• the AIDS virus being identified as HTLV-III (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) (1984)

• the world's first malaria vaccine being piloted in Malawi by the WHO (2019)