2 December 2023 - Saturday Squiz

It’s the little things with Woolworths

What’s more surprising than it being December already is the fact that our PM (aka DJ Albo…) is a massive Taylor Swift fan… This Saturday, if you’re on Team Cash, have a noice/different/unusual way to eat a banana, or have anything else you want to share with us, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 7 minutes

🎧 Get the Weekly Wrap podcast with Claire Kimball and Kate Watson

🤷‍♀️ IDK: Whether the Queen was more of an apple person by necessity…

This week's top stories

There is no doubt what the biggest story of the week was again…

1. The Gaza ceasefire has ended - The truce held for 7 days, until it didn’t… The fighting has resumed with Hamas and Israel firing rockets at each other. During the ceasefire, Hamas released 110 hostages it kidnapped from Israel on 7 October, and Israel has released 240 Palestinian prisoners.

2. More concerns about immigration detainees’ release - Labor is looking into new laws to lock up the high-risk offenders recently released from immigration detention. There were 142 people let go after the High Court’s surprise decision, 138 are required to have a monitoring device, and 6 are yet to have theirs fitted due to non-compliance/medical issues.

3. A big defamation trial continues - Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann gave evidence during his defamation case against Network 10 and journo Lisa Wilkinson. Brittany Higgins - who alleged Lehrmann assaulted her - also took the stand, and Wilkinson is set to feature next week.

4. A surprise inflation plunge - It’s shaping up to be a happier Christmas for mortgage holders after Australia’s annual inflation rate fell to 4.9% in October. That’s a bigger fall than expected and means a rate hike next week is looking less likely. Ho, ho, ho…

5. And an Aussie golfing win - We didn’t cover this one, but Min Woo Lee and his chef’s hat won the Australian PGA golf tournament this week. And he predicted that his equally legendary sister Minjee Lee will win her maiden Australian Open this weekend.

Picture of the week

The vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award is open, and there are plenty of excellent snaps to choose from, like this snoozy polar bear. You can vote for your fave here.

Question of the week

The question: Who do you think should be featured on our coins, and why?

The story: Federal MP Bob Katter shook up the debate on who should get a guernsey after he unveiled a mock-up design featuring Indigenous warrior Tubba Tre. 

Rhona Carolin, aligning rare interests - “Given coins are an endangered species, endangered flora and fauna get my vote. Keep royalty and politics out of our wallets.” 

Nathan Laird, go the girls - “Our awesome female sports stars: Freeman, Kerr, Gould, Cuthbert, Beachley, etc. No doubt someone will say Warne, but we need to celebrate inclusion and diversity, and this is a great way to do it.”

Sally Duncan, just for laughs - “Us Aussies don’t take ourselves very seriously, so why not remember our famous jokesters and stars like Dame Edna and Bluey? Coins will disappear soon anyway, so let’s make them fun on the way out.”

Squiz Recommends

Reading - Hasn’t Spotify Wrapped become a bit of an end-of-year event (more on that is a minute…)… For the uninitiated, the streaming platform collects your top listens of the year, and users can share them on social media. If you dig it, this interesting read goes behind the scenes of how this year’s Wrapped was made. 

Buying - Excuse the shameless self-promotion, but we released our Squiz Picks gift guide this week, and it’s pretty good if we do say so ourselves… There are ideas for all budgets and, of course, lots of great book recommendations. Check it out here. 

Watching - We were fans of Baz Luhrmann’s film Australia when it came out in 2008, and we enjoyed the recut for a new TV adaptation called Faraway Downs. The main differences are that the show adds in some extra footage for a longer run time, and the story is told from the perspective of Indigenous boy, Nullah. You can watch it on Disney+.  

In the Kitchen

Nothing says the festive season like catching up with friends and family over food. And you know us - if there's a potato dish on offer, we're there with bells on. Be the star of the show with this potato salad with a twist - think pickled red onions, herbs and a yoghurt dressing, so it's got a good zing to it. Just like Uncle Dave's jokes...

What we Squized this week

Your Squiz Shortcut to climate change and COP28 - World leaders and delegations are in Dubai for the annual United Nations conference, so we look at what it is, what leaders are hoping to achieve, and where Australia is at with addressing global warming. Read/listen to our Shortcut here. 

Our year in Spotify Wrapped - We felt like Christmas had come early after the data found Squiz Today cracked the #1 spot, and it was a top podcast for 43 weeks during the year. So a huge thanks if you tuned in, and if you know anyone who would enjoy the way we do news, send ‘em our way.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - The Matildas play away against Canada in a friendly soccer match kicking off at 2.30pm, while the WBBL final between the Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat begins at 7.10pm. And it’s business up the front and fun up the back of the Mulletfest grand final in the Hunter Valley

Sunday - A big weekend of women’s sport continues as the Brissie Lions go up against the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos in the AFLW Grand Final at 2.30pm. And it’s the International Day of People with Disability 

Monday - The Senate’s back for a final week (and maybe the House of Reps on Thursday…) as French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna addresses the National Press Club from 12.30pm

Tuesday - The Reserve Bank’s board meets to make its final interest rates call for 2023. And raise a hand on International Volunteer Day 

Wednesday - PM Anthony Albanese and state/territory leaders gather for a National Cabinet meeting. And a second friendly match between the Matildas and Canada begins at 2.00pm

Thursday - Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Government Services Bill Shorten addresses the National Press Club from 12.30pm

Friday - Yippee, school’s out in Queensland. Good luck to ‘em…

Let’s get Squizzical

Reckon you know why Nigella Lawson is ditching the traditional Christmas cake this year? Have a crack at the Squiz Quiz.

Double-Tapping

This British etiquette expert has been popping up everywhere on our feed recently, and we had to share. It’s all fascinating stuff, but we particularly loved his demonstration of how the Queen would eat a banana…

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