Tuesday, 29 April - It’s good enough for me

April 29, 2025

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 29 April. In your Squiz Today…

  • The inquest into the Bondi Junction Westfield attack gets underway

  • Putin orders a 3-day ceasefire to mark a milestone anniversary

  • And this year’s round up of rock’n’roll royalty…

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Squiz Sayings

“There was a beautiful, fraternal atmosphere … we spoke to each other like neighbours.”

Said Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti about the bus ride with his fellow cardinals after visiting the tomb of Pope Francis. He’s one of 135 cardinals from over 90 countries who’ll vote to elect a new Pope when the conclave begins on 7 May. Many of them have only recently met, but a few days locked inside together should change that…

A high-profile coronial inquest begins

The Squiz

Just over a year on from the deadly Bondi Junction stabbing attack, a coronial inquest into what happened that day - and the state of killer Joel Cauchi’s mental health in the lead-up to it - has begun. Yesterday, we learned from Counsel Assisting the Coroner Peggy Dwyer SC that searches of Cauchi’s mobile phone had found he was "preoccupied with weapons, with violence and with mass killing", and there was evidence of "rudimentary planning" before the attack. 

Remind me what happened…

It was a Saturday afternoon on 13 April last year when 40yo Cauchi, armed with a large knife, entered the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. He was filmed by bystanders running through the centre during the stabbing rampage before being shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott 6 minutes after the attack began. He did a lot of damage in that time - 6 people were killed and 10 others were injured, and it left those present at the centre that day - and Australians more broadly - in a state of shock. Investigators never pinpointed a motive, but Cauchi’s mental health came into focus after it was revealed that he hadn’t been taking medication for his schizophrenia for years before the attack. 

So what will the inquest achieve?

A big part of it will be reviewing his mental health treatment. Cauchi, who was originally from Toowoomba, had moved from Brisbane to Sydney about a month before the attack, where he was experiencing homelessness. Yesterday, Dwyer said Cauchi’s parents had raised concerns with police in 2023 about their son’s knife collection, and “the court will explore whether that was an opportunity missed for intervention”. Aside from that, the inquest will also look into the level of preparedness of Westfield shopping centres for armed attacks. It’s due to run for the next 5 weeks, with Inspector Scott - who’s been credited with saving lives thanks to her quick actions on the day - one of the first to give evidence today.

The countdown is on…

We’re in the final stretch before 3 May - aka Polling Day - in the 2025 federal election. There are heaps of ways you can vote, including if you’re going to be away from where you usually live on election day. It’s important to get into an AEC venue if you can, but if you can’t make it in-person, a postal vote is a good option… That’s when you get your ballot papers from the AEC via the mail, and then you send ‘em back. If you haven’t applied yet, you’re really running out of time - so head to the AEC website to find out more.

Squiz the Rest

A special event ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a 3-day total ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. He said the truce will run from midnight on 8 May through to midnight on 11 May - that's a period coinciding with Russia's biggest national holiday celebrating its defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, and while he's due to host international leaders in Moscow including Chinese President Xi Jinping. But Ukraine has criticised the announcement, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha saying that if Putin genuinely wanted peace, he'd order a ceasefire immediately. Sybiha said it should be "real, not just for a parade". The US has urged Putin to go further and accept the terms of a permanent peace deal that it's proposed. 

A suspect charged in Vancouver

Canadian police have charged a 30yo man with 8 counts of second-degree murder after a crowd at a Vancouver street festival celebrating Filipino culture was struck by a car. Police say more charges are likely on the way for Kai-Ji Adam Lo, as 11 people have died and lots more were injured in the attack - several of them are still in hospital. Vancouver police chief Steve Rai has said that Lo - a Vancouver resident - was known to them, and they believe that mental health troubles played a role in his alleged actions. Canadian political leaders paused their campaign activities out of respect to the victims, but have now resumed a last day of campaigning before we find out who will lead the country going forward.

*If you’d like to find out more about the players in that election, our Squiz Shortcut lays everything out for you.

Getting vexed over Clive’s texts

If you’ve received a text message or 20 from billionaire Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party over the last few days, you’re not alone… The messages started around Thursday and have been causing plenty of angst from Aussies wondering if this sort of thing is even legal. Well, the Australian Electoral Commission has bad news if you're not a fan - these sorts of messages are allowed because political parties are exempt from the Spam Act and the Do Not Call Act. All they have to do is say who authorised them, and they don't even have to have an unsubscribe button, so you can't opt out. All you can really do is grit your teeth until election day - speaking of which, city folk can now get their democracy sausage home delivered…

A James Hardie hoo-haa

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) says it’s going to review its shareholder approval rules after the fibre cement company James Hardie - its cladding is used in many Aussie houses - caused a ruckus with investors. In March, the company announced a $14 billion takeover deal of the US building material company Azek, without getting investors to weigh in via a vote. That led to a series of complaints to the ASX, as investors argued they must have a say in such a big call and asked for a review of the rules that allowed the deal to be ticked off. That review is now happening, and James Hardie says the next time it’s got a big decision on the cards - like its upcoming call on whether it will stay primarily listed in Oz - it will ask its investors first. 

Some new rock’n’roll royalty

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2025 includes 80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper, The Twist singer Chubby Checker and rap group Outkast, which is now anything but... The Hall of Fame - which is in Cleveland, in case you were ever planning a visit - has been inducting music legends since 1986, when Elvis Presley and James Brown were in the inaugural class. The rule for qualification is that 25 years must have passed since your first commercial single release, but as always with this sort of thing, there are some controversial omissions - Oasis and Mariah Carey are 2 acts that qualify, but still haven’t got the nod. And by our count, since Strawberry Kisses came out in 2001, Nikki Webster is just one year away from immortality…

Apropos of Nothing

Homemaking queen Martha Stewart is heading our way - she'll be popping up at Sydney's annual Vivid festival next month. Stewart is promising to chat about what she's learned over a long career - which has had its fair share of highs and lows, as the recent Netflix doco Martha reminded us. No word on whether her pal Snoop will tag along… 

If you’ve ever wondered why the Star Wars character Yoda speaks a little funny, franchise creator George Lucas has an answer… At an Empire Strikes Back screening, he said the unusual cadence was a way of getting everyone to focus on the character’s wisdom. Enlightened, we are… 

And the finest fingers in the land have gathered in Pang, Germany to test their mettle in the sport of finger wrestling, or fingerhakeln as it’s known to the locals. Photos of what must have been a white-knuckle thrill ride can be seen here - we’re told it was a real nail-biter… 

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEST) - The trial of Erin Patterson, the woman accused of murdering 3 of her in-laws by serving a poisonous mushroom lunch, is set to begin - Morwell, Victoria

10.00am (AEST) - Olympians including Arisa Trew, Lani Pallister and Saya Sakakibara will be awarded the Order of Australia by the Queensland Governor for recognition of their achievements at the Paris 2024 Olympics - Brisbane 

10.15am (AEST) - A hearing to decide if war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith can appeal his defamation case loss against Nine’s newspapers will be held (until 1 May) - Sydney

7.00pm (AEST) - Early Childhood Australia will host an Early Childhood Election Forum featuring speakers including Labor MP Dr Anne Aly, LNP MP Angie Bell, Independent MP Zoe Daniel, and Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May - register online here 

Emergency services are working to restore power to major cities in Spain and Portugal after a massive power cut overnight caused extensive blackouts and transport chaos

Results from the Canadian election are expected to begin trickling in throughout the day 

💃 Get your boogie on, it’s International Dance Day

Birthdays for comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld (1954), and actors Daniel Day-Lewis (1957), Michelle Pfeiffer (1958), and Uma Thurman (1970)

Anniversary of:

  • the death of film noir master director Alfred Hitchcock (1980)

  • deadly riots breaking out following the acquittal of LA police officers on the charge of beating Rodney King (1992)

  • the Chemical Weapons Convention coming into force, which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories (1997)

  • the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton (2011)