22 March 2025 - Saturday Squiz

If you’re hanging onto 2025 for dear life, just know that Easter is 4 weeks away… This week, if you’ve made a graceful entrance, have a penchant for washing unusual things, or have anything else you’d like to share, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

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

🤷‍♀️ IDK: If we’d be happy with the sort of pay rates Butch and Suni are on…

But first, we have a request…

After 5 years of producing Squiz Kids - Australia's #1 daily news podcast for kids - we need your help.

Keen followers of all things Squiz will know we’ve been petitioning our federal pollies to fund Newshounds - our free classroom resource teaching primary school kids how to spot mis- and disinformation when they come across it online. So far, we’ve had a polite hearing - but no action.

So with a looming federal election, we need your help to let our politicians know how important you think digital literacy education is.

By signing the Squiz Kids petition, you’ll be helping us to send a message that teaching kids to think critically about the flood of online information they’re exposed to is a vital 21st-century life skill. You’ll also be helping Squiz Kids to keep the lights on.

Just click on the button below. [Note: please do not donate - it does not go to Squiz Kids…]

This week's top stories

1. Read the fine print… - Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a pause in attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities during his phone call with US President Donald Trump - but not to a proposal for a more comprehensive 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky says he is prepared to accept the proposal if hammered out formally in talks which start in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

2. Tariff fears escalate - This week, there was a lot of reporting about the tariffs already placed on our steel and aluminium industries spreading to other industries. That was after American business groups representing those in the big tech, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries lobbied the US Trade Representative about what they say are difficulties in their dealing with Australia.

3. The Budget we had to have - This year, it looks as though the government will deliver a deficit of around $27 billion, Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed this week. It’s a prelude to next Tuesday’s Federal Budget reveal, when the journalists and industry groups will be shouting “show us your election campaign war chest” at the government…  

4. Making medicines cheaper - The Albanese Government announced it, and the Coalition supported it almost immediately - the maximum price for most medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) will be cut from $31.60 to $25 from the start of next year. That will cost taxpayers $698 million.

5. Back from a prolonged work trip… - Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the 2 NASA astronauts who returned to Earth this week, went to the International Space Station for a week and ended up staying 9 months. Their extra time was put to good use - while there, they did 150 experiments and 900 hours of research. All’s well that ends well…

S’Quiz me real good…

Reckon you know the name of the F1 driver who won last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix? Have a crack at the Squiz Quiz.

Video of the Week

Whoever is NASA’s cinematographer, give them a raise because their capture of the splashdown of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission carrying Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is just beautiful.

Cooking up support

If you're interested in using your culinary skills to make a difference, Feast for Freedom 2025 might be up your alley... Since 2019, Feast for Freedom has raised over $2 million, supporting 7,000 refugees and people seeking asylum annually. You can host a fundraiser by cooking their recipes or share a potluck with friends - just register by 31 March and host your event by 30 April. You can find out more at feastforfreedom.org.au.

In the Kitchen

We’re not food trend followers - tasty is the key. But a mate who’s all about getting more fibre into her diet shared one of these Tahini Balls from fancy health retreat Gwinganna with us for a snack, and we made a batch the next day. It’s the coconut and dried apricots that hit the spot for us.

What we Shortcut for you this week

Fentanyl and the opioid crisis - The powerful pain relief drug has been in the news a lot lately, and it’s frequently mentioned as one of the reasons for the US imposing steep tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada. So we’ll get you across what the drug is, why it’s become a huge issue in the US and around the world, and what it’s got to do with tariffs. You can read up on that here or listen to the podcast here.

Why America hates the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme - The PBS provides affordable access to necessary medicines for all Australians - but as with so many issues in the news at the moment, all roads lead to US President Donald Trump… So we’ll get you across how the PBS works and the issues bubbling under the surface of the US-Australia alliance. You can read more here or listen to the podcast here.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - Get ready to go dark at Earth Hour - that’s at 8.30pm

Sunday - It’s the deciding game in the NBL with the Illawarra Hawks v Melbourne United. In the 5-game final series, they have 2 games a piece, so it’s a bit of a showdown in Wollongong at 2.30pm

Monday - The Australian Rowing Championships start in northern Tassie and continue across the week

Tuesday - Get excited - it’s Federal Budget Day with Treasurer Jim Chalmers coming live from the Dispatch Box at 7.30pm. The Queensland Government is also set to unveil the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games delivery plan…

Wednesday - The Melbourne International Comedy Festival begins - it’s on until 20 April

Thursday - Fergie (of Black Eyed Peas fame - not the Duchess) turns 50yo

Friday - The Bureau of Stats will release data on the ‘Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs’ for the last financial year. Just letting you know…

Double-Tapping

A few weeks ago, we highlighted a controversial chicken roasting technique. This week, it relates to washing bread. Who knew…