Wednesday, 1 April - What a fool believes

April 01, 2026

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 1 April. In your Squiz Today…

  • More trouble for oil prices after an Iranian drone hits a Kuwait oil tanker

  • Credit and debit surcharges will be no more as of 1 October

  • And uh-oh, we’ve got another Wonka-style fan experience that has not gone well…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“His idea was that people should buy fruit in supermarkets even if it doesn’t look perfect because that way we help the farmers, help each other and avoid waste as well.”

Said PM Anthony Albanese, shouting out Squiz Kids’ PM for a Day winner Jett Jarvis during Question Time yesterday. The 12yo Queenslander took his food wastage message straight to the top when he met the PM - if he’s part of the next crop of leaders, we’re in good hands…

The shipping news

The Squiz

Fears that the Iran war will widen to include the Gulf States have ramped up again after Iranian drones struck a Kuwaiti tanker carrying millions of barrels of oil in Dubai waters yesterday. No one was hurt and no oil spill has been reported as yet, but the news of the attack caused another spike in the price of oil, which (as you know if you’ve been near a petrol station recently…), is under immense pressure. Yesterday, the price of petrol in the US hit its highest level since 2022 - US$4 a gallon.

Is that putting pressure on Trump to end things?

Possibly - the war is already polling poorly in the US. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering ending the war without opening the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping lane for oil and natural gas, and using diplomatic pressure to open it after the fact. Iranian state media has reported that Iran is ready for a peace deal if it can guarantee it won’t be attacked again, but other reports say that some Gulf countries (including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) are telling the US to keep it going. And Trump’s key ally in the war, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, has said Israel’s military aims in Iran are “beyond the halfway point in terms of mission success” to weaken the regime’s nuclear and military assets - but hasn’t given a timeline for when it might be over.

And just on the Israeli military…

Today marks 2 years since the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza. The 43yo was killed along with 6 others while working for the World Central Kitchen when an Israeli airstrike hit a convoy of trucks she was travelling in. After an investigation, the Israeli Defence Forces sacked 2 officers and reprimanded 3 others. Her family says that’s not enough, and they’ve called for PM Albanese to ask Israel to conduct an independent inquiry into how a humanitarian convoy was targeted. Her brother Mal said serious questions - like how the convoy was hit 3 times - were still unanswered. But Israel’s ambassador to Oz Hillel Newman refused to directly apologise for Frankcom’s death yesterday, saying it was an unintentional “tragic incident” and a case of “misidentification”.   

Making every adventure a safer one

With Easter coming up, many of us will be packing up the car and hitting the road… To help make the holidays a safer one for hosts and travellers, Airbnb has partnered with organisations like Surf Life Saving Australia, the Victorian Country Fire Authority and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service to get safety messaging out to more Aussies. They’re doing that by helping distribute safety resources and tips put together with the experts. You can read some of that safety advice here.

Squiz the Rest

A major terrorism case update

Lawyers for Liam Alexander Hall, the man accused of throwing a homemade fragment bomb into an Invasion Day rally in Perth, may argue he’s not guilty on mental health grounds. The 32yo was due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court yesterday but the appearance was put off to give his lawyers time to get a psychiatrist’s report. Hall is charged with terrorism offences after he allegedly threw the device - which didn’t go off - filled with nails and ball bearings into the rally of 2,500 people in Perth’s CBD. The court heard he’s being held and receiving treatment in a psychiatric facility ahead of his next court appearance on 26 May, when he’s expected to enter a plea.

Some cracks in the crackdown

It’s been 4 months since the social media ban for children under 16yo came in, and our online safety watchdog has found that there’s some “major gaps” in how big tech companies are complying with the new laws. In its first compliance report, the eSafety Commission flagged that Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube haven’t done enough to stop kids from accessing their content. Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says the regulator is now investigating that non-compliance, and if the companies are found to be in breach, they could be looking at fines of up to $49.5 million. Meta - which owns Facebook and Instagram - says it’s working with eSafety but “accurately determining age online is a challenge for the whole industry”.
*For more background on the social media ban for kids under 16yo, check out our 3-part Squiz Shortcut series…

Card surcharges are on the way out

Yesterday, the Reserve Bank announced that the extra bit you sometimes pay on top when using your credit/debit card will be goneski as of 1 October. The change will apply to all major credit cards (except for American Express, which uses a different system), and the RBA says it’s expected to save Aussie customers about $1.6 billion a year. It’s been consulting on this for a while, and the decision has received major pushback from some industry bodies. Brad Kelly from the Independent Payments Forum says small businesses in particular are likely to absorb the fees into the costs of their products, meaning consumers will end up paying it anyway. But RBA Governor Michele Bullock says it’ll make things simpler, saying “most consumers want surcharges to stop”. Just 6 months to wait…

Jackie O takes ARN to court

It’s going to be an interesting few weeks/months/years for the Australian Radio Network, which is now facing legal action from both Kyle and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson after axing the pair’s self-titled radio show in March. Henderson is suing for the remainder of her $100 million contract - that’d be a tidy $82.25 million - and her claim says that her termination was “adverse action” - aka sacking someone for an illegal reason. The claim also references Sandilands, saying that Henderson had concerns about her “psychosocial health and safety.” Australian Radio Network announced the suit to the ASX yesterday and says it will defend itself in court. It’s already defending against a similar claim lodged by Sandilands, which may pop up in court again in April. Plenty going on…

This is no mojo dojo casa house

A ‘Barbie Dream Fest’ event in Florida has gone viral this week, after becoming the latest fan experience to fall dramatically short of expectations… Joining the ranks of the Wonka Experience in Glasgow or the decidedly unglamorous Bridgerton Ball in Detroit, the event promised “3 days of glam, nostalgia and dream-big energy” - for as much as US$500. Instead, a “life-size interactive Barbie house” turned out to be a cardboard backdrop, and a “swag bag” which turned out to be a bottle of hand sanitiser. One attendee even compared it to the infamous 2017 Fyre Festival. The event’s organisers licensed the Barbie brand from owners Mattel, and they’ve issued a full refund to everyone who bought a ticket. Life in plastic - not so fantastic…

Apropos of Nothing

It’s the Louvre all over again - another European museum has been struck by thieves, this time in Italy, with art by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse (worth an estimated $17 million) stolen in less than 3 minutes with the group escaping through the garden. The art of the steal… 

The new trailer for Supergirl has popped up online this morning - it’s extra notable for us in Oz because it stars our very own Milly Alcock in the title role. The follow up to last year’s Superman reboot will hit cinemas on 26 June.  

And Canadian singer Celine Dion is returning to performing live in Paris later this year after health issues led to her taking a break. It’s been a while since she’s performed for an audience, but we expect it will all come back to her pretty quickly…

Squiz the Day

8.00am (AEDT) - Surfing: Day one of the WSL Championship Tour Bells Beach Pro (until 11 April), Bells Beach - Torquay, watch on 7plus 

12.30 midday: Former Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson and SSI chief Violet Roumeliotis to address the National Press Club on “The productivity boost we’re missing: Activating Australia’s skills” - Canberra

12.30 midday (AEDT) - NAB chief economist Sally Auld will address the NSW Rural Press Club - Sydney

7.00pm (ACDT) - Basketball: NBL grand final, game 4, Adelaide 36ers v Sydney Kings, Adelaide Entertainment Centre - Adelaide, watch it on Disney+

Passover begins at sundown (until 9 April) in the Jewish calendar

The planned US launch date for Artemis II, the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years (it’ll launch tomorrow morning Oz time - here’s our Shortcut to it)

Private health insurance premiums are set to rise by an average of 4.41%

ABS data release: Building approvals, February 2026

It’s April Fool's Day - be extra vigilant about what you see online today…

Tasmanian Autumn Festival (until 30 April)

International Fun at Work Day

National Walking Day

Birthdays for lobbyist Paul Manafort (1949), musician John Butler (1975) and influencer Logan Paul (1995)

Anniversary of:

  • the ruins of Pompeii being rediscovered by Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre (1748)

  • US businessman Oliver Pollock creating the $ symbol (1778) 

  • the Battle of Okinawa, the largest battle of the Pacific War during World War II (1945)

  • Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founding Apple Computer Company (1976)

  • the Netherlands becoming the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage (2001) and euthanasia (2002)