8 August 2026 - Saturday Squiz

August 08, 2026

We’re a little shocked that Jetstar’s new carry-on baggage charge wasn’t a top 5 story this week, but for the packing-anxious amongst us, this hit close to home… This weekend, if you’ve got a staple that could do with a refresh, a safe-for-work alternative use for socks, or anything else you’d like to share, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

🎧 Listen to the News Club with Kate Watson and Claire Kimball

This week’s top 5 news stories

The week’s most mentioned news stories in Australia across TV, radio and print, according to media analytics firm Streem.

Leading News Stories via Streem - 1-7 August

1. Are we talking? - Direct engagement between the US and Iran is currently stalled or disputed, but indirect negotiations via Omani mediators are close to finalising a provisional agreement on commercial shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump insists direct talks are happening, but Tehran says yeah, nah it’s not happening.

2. A double whammy price hike at the bowser - Australian petrol prices surged this week with the federal fuel excise discount ending and an inflation-linked tax adjustment. Cost of living pressure, anyone?

3. Not a good result for our feathered friends - Australia recorded its first mass mortality event from the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain this week, prompting an official warning that a widespread wildlife outbreak is now "inevitable." Authorities maintain that the health risk to the general public remains very low - but we’ve been warned not to touch sick or dead wildlife and to report sightings immediately.

4. The case against Alan Jones - The criminal trial of former radio star Alan Jones commenced in Sydney this week - the 85yo has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges, including 20 counts of indecent assault and 2 counts of sexual touching without consent, involving 6 men between 2003 and 2020. In court, the focus has been on evidence from Complainant J, who alleged that Jones groomed him when he was 17yo.

5. A false start on a big immigration reveal - Our Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke ditched a major National Press Club address because his proposed sweeping cuts to our migration intake haven’t been approved. On Thursday, Burke was scheduled to talk about a new plan to cut net overseas migration from next year, but he didn’t get it through Monday’s Cabinet meeting. Oops…

It’s you against the news…

Reckon you know which celestial object part of a SpaceX rocket crashed into on Wednesday? Test your news knowledge from the last week with the Squiz Quiz.

Pic of the week

Half of England has been declared in drought - you read that right… Hot and dry conditions have taken a toll on what’s usually a green country. This pic caught our eye, as did these from the BBC depicting scenes you’d usually see in Oz mid-summer.

Squiz Recommends

Zhoozhing - …0ur hair with hair socks. Bear with us… We were influenced this week to do some heatless curls with no more than a pair of socks, a clip, 5 mins of attention (and it was only that long because it took a couple of tries) and a good night’s sleep after an evening wash. Ever the sceptic, we were surprised that it really did work.

Reading - This piece from New York Times’ columnist Bret Stephens about why you should reconsider getting AI to write stuff for you. It’s a thoughtful take on the benefits of doing certain tasks ourselves, and his view is that expressing ourselves in the written word is a skill we can’t afford to lose.

Feeling hopeful - …about some cool developments in medical science. This story of surgery being undertaken on a baby in utero, saving the little one months of surgeries and hospital stays after birth, is totally awesome.

In the Kitchen

If zucchini slice is a staple in your rotation, you’ll know it’s a trusty ally, but it can get a bit old. Speaking of zhoozhiing things up - we did that with this recipe from Elizabeth Hewson, which removes the bacon but adds a delightful herby/chripsy element. As they say, all art is iterative…

Zucchini - one word we can never spell correctly on a first pass.

What we Shortcut for you this week

Making sense of the Census - The snapshot of Aussie life that the Australian Bureau of Statistics takes every 5 years is on Tuesday. In this Squiz Shortcut we unpack why we do this mega survey and what the data is used for. Have a read here or listen up.

What’s the construction crisis in Victoria? - The state’s new Premier Ben Carroll has announced a Royal Commission into the state's construction sector. It follows months of pressure to investigate alleged corruption involving the construction union and state government building projects. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we look at the allegations and what this inquiry might achieve. Read it here or listen to the pod.

Squiz Kids Shortcut to understanding racism - We’ve had a heap of great feedback on this episode which helps kids (and adults…) get across this sensitive topic. Importantly, it takes listeners through what they can do: pause, question stereotypes, and speak up safely. Definitely worth a listen to the Squiz Kids team’s sensational work here.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - The Ekka (aka the Brissie Show) starts today - residents get Wednesday off to sample the best one of our iconic agricultural shows in the nation. And at 8pm, the Wallabies take on Japan in Osaka - watch that on Stan Sport.

Sunday - The AFLW 2026 season opens with St Kilda v Carlton at Marvel Stadium at 4.30pm - it’s on 7Mate and Fox Sports.

Monday - Roar into World Lion Day 🦁

Tuesday - Talk about a Super Tuesday. The spring session of Federal Parliament kicks off (boom…). At 2.30pm, we’ll hear the latest from the Reserve Bank on interest rates (bam…). And settle in for a night with the Bureau of Stats - it’s Census night (bang…).

Wednesday - It’s one of the first big results of company reporting season - Commonwealth Bank will announce its FY26 earnings this morning.

Thursday - The latest adaptation of Miles Franklin’s classic My Brilliant Career premieres on Netflix.

Friday - Not that this is week-shaping, but you might like to know that the World’s Ugliest Dog Competition is on in Sonoma, California. If you see pics of perfectly imperfect pooches next weekend, that’s why. Here’s last year’s winner. You’re welcome…

*Times in AEST

Double-Tapping

Speaking of hair drills, this is not a drill… If you’re a woman of a certain age, your former experience with a long-lost style is about to see you rocket to the front of the chic stakes.