Tuesday, 18 March - Hit that note

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 18 March. In your Squiz Today…

• More dramas at the CFMEU

• The Budget outlook slides into the red

• And reviving the spud love (we never lost it)... 🥔

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 5 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said comedian Sam Pang as he launched his new show Sam Pang Tonight, which is the first one on Channel 10 since Rove finished up in 2009. SPT will run on Monday nights for 8 weeks - we’ll see if he can produce a moment like this chat with the late Steve Irwin…

More CFMEU drama

The Squiz

The Victorian government is setting up a police taskforce to investigate the CFMEU after new allegations of corruption, domestic violence and criminal influence came to light. Premier Jacinta Allan says Operation Hawk will look into issues like violent behaviour towards women and companies paying for access and influence with the CFMEU on major government-funded projects. But the Allan Government is under pressure itself - it’s accused of covering up the behaviour by not looking closely enough into what was going on. 

Give me the background on the CFMEU… 

It’s one of our biggest unions and it’s been in hot water for a while… Particularly when a 2024 investigation alleged it had been infiltrated by organised crime and bikie gangs. The CFMEU denied that, but the Albanese Government - which received $1.9 million in funding from the union at the 2022 election - responded by placing the construction arm of the union into administration last year. But new reports say things haven’t improved, and while there’s a range of issues, a 60 Minutes story featuring footage of a man assaulting a woman on a worksite while on his lunch break is one example of the violence that’s said to be rife in the industry. And women who have complained about it say they’ve been punished as a result (paywall). 

So is this task force the answer?

Not according to Coalition leader Peter Dutton, who said the response from Premier Allan was “pathetic”. He’s calling for new nationwide racketeering laws that would mean the people at the top of organisations like the CFMEU could be charged if the organisation has a pattern of wrongdoing - similar to the RICO laws used to deal with mafia influence on US unions. Dutton wrote to PM Anthony Albanese yesterday to try to fast-track those laws when parliament returns next week, and the Coalition also wants the CFMEU disbanded entirely. But Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said that was a 'reckless' plan that would just drive the organisation further into the hands of criminals.

The weird and wonderful of Canberra

We've teamed up with VisitCanberra to dig into why the capital should be added to your 2025 travel list. As part of that, we got to sit down with Tim the Yowie Man, a local who's made a career out of digging into Canberra's spooky and paranormal side - he runs tours for curious visitors. We talk yowies, ghosts, and mysterious classical music playing after hours at the National Film and Sound Archive... Check out the video here.

Squiz the Rest

Calling for peace

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to get on the phone again tonight to discuss bringing the war in Ukraine to an end. On the agenda: divvying up assets including land and power stations. It’ll be the first conversation between the leaders since last week’s peace proposal - which includes an immediate 30-day ceasefire - put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies. More than 30 countries - including Australia - have expressed interest in joining a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine. While this has been happening, Russia has continued its attacks - but Trump said there’s “a good chance” he and Putin can work out how to end the conflict.

Sliding into the red

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has given a preview of next week’s federal budget, and he says the era of surpluses is over. That's not entirely a surprise - we were warned last year that we're likely to see budget deficits (which is when we're spending more than we're bringing in…) over the next decade. Chalmers says Tropical Cyclone Alfred and US tariffs have cost us - and the latest OECD forecast predicting global inflation will stay higher for longer due to trade wars won't help things. But he was keen to point to the positives - in particular, his previous surpluses. The Coalition's Treasury spokesperson Angus Taylor isn’t buying it… He says “we need a budget that restores Australians’ standard of living”. 

New aviation laws are floated

Qantas and Virgin Australia execs were in the hot seat yesterday as they fronted a parliamentary hearing for the Airline Passenger Protections (Pay on Delay) Bill 2024. It’s a Coalition-sponsored bill that would introduce compensation for passengers when their flights are cancelled. Similar legislation is already in place in Europe and Canada - but our 2 biggest airlines aren’t fans… Yesterday, Qantas Domestic chief Markus Svensson said reviews of the European laws found they “led to the cost being passed through the consumer”. Senator Bridget McKenzie pushed back on that, saying airline scandals in recent years have shown they’re “not putting customers first”. Reports say draft legislation will likely fall to our new aviation ombudsman, who’s due to be named in the coming weeks.

On that note…

We’re not quite a cashless society yet, so who - or what - gets pride of place on our bank notes still nabs a lot of headlines… And that was the case yesterday when the Reserve Bank revealed the theme for our new $5 notes will honour First Nations connection to country. It’ll replace the late Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait, with Canberra’s Parliament House still on the other side. It’s not the first we’re hearing of this - there was some controversy when the Reserve Bank first announced it would remove the Royals after the Queen’s death in 2022. But it pushed ahead, and after 2,100 design themes were submitted, here we are… Next up: the final design will be chosen before it’s printed and begins circulating.

Taters gonna hate

Dietitians and farmers are out to revamp the reputation of the humble spud - while it’s often seen as an unhealthy option, the experts reckon it’s got more nutritional ap-peel than that. They’ve pointed the finger(ling) at an increase in high-protein, low-carb diets for the drop in popularity, due to the high glycaemic index found in many spuds - which can spike your blood sugar. Those who are pro-potato reckon they’re a good source of vitamin C and fibre, and the key to being a healthy tuber consumer is knowing which potatoes to use and cooking them in healthier recipes. So potato salad is a good option, but French fries and baked potatoes with sour cream are maybe a bit less good, sadly…

Apropos of Nothing

Artificial intelligence tech is developing quick smart - or, in the case of Alphonso the robot waiter, before you can say “cappuccino”. He’s designed to help human staff with serving and cleaning tables at a cafe in the UK, and he’s a hit with the customers. Order up…

Fans of The White Lotus might’ve noticed there’s different theme music in Season 3 - and this time it’s played by an Aussie. Brisbane kindy teacher Pranya Visitchantaragoon plays the Saw Duang, a Thai variant of the violin, in the new arrangement - and brings the same kinda creepy vibe the series is known for…

And it turns out that, aside from looking majestic as they glide through water, whales are helping to transport nutrients across thousands of kilometres - simply by peeing… You can read up here, but during annual migrations, they move resources from nutrient-rich polar regions to - ahem - warmer waters…

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEDT) - A coronial inquest is set to begin into the death of 21yo water polo coach Lilie James, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Paul Thijssen at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney where they both worked - Sydney

12.30pm (AEST) - Treasurer Jim Chalmers will give a preview of the Budget in an address at the Queensland Media Club - Brisbane

4.00pm (AEST) - The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is due to undock from the ISS carrying astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth after their 8 day mission blew out to 9 months

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have scheduled another phone call to discuss “dividing certain assets” in Ukraine, including land and power stations, as part of a peace deal.

The AFR Banking Summit is on

ABS data release - Overseas arrivals and departures, January

National Awkward Moments Day 

World Social Work Day

Global Recycling Day

Birthdays for actor Queen Latifah (1970), singer Adam Levine (1979) and actor Lily Collins (1989) 

Anniversary of:

• Mahatma Gandhi being sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for disobedience (1922)

• the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) (1949)

• Alexey Leonov becoming the first person to walk in space (1965)

• the deaths of actor Natasha Richardson (2009), musician Chuck Berry (2017) and Dr Catherine Hamlin (2020)