Squiz Today – Wednesday, 30 May

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“Now I know what I look like when I’m shouting questions at least.”

Lisa Millar, ABC’s London bureau chief, almost upstaged Meghan Markle on her wedding weekend when her effort to speak to Prince Harry went viral on social media. So how great is it that she found time for a Three Minute Squiz? Very great...

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SUPER FIGHT KICKS OFF

THE SQUIZ
Superannuation. Wait. Don’t go. Most of us have it, few of us pay much attention to it, and we’re going to be reliant upon it. So listen up. The Productivity Commission’s draft report on improving super has caused quite a stir. To recap, it’s identified ways of giving workers better long-term results. The big one is to have default accounts (the employer recommended fund) coming from a list of 10 ‘best-in-show’ products. That hasn’t thrilled everyone…

GIVE ME THE SUPER DRAMA…
• In the red corner, we have the unions. They’re heavily tied to industry super funds that make up a number of the default accounts that will be targeted. But the Commission points out that many of them are performing very well.

• And in the blue corner, we have the Coalition Government which is keen to break the power the unions have over, and gain from, the industry super funds. So it doesn’t mind the ideological battle the Commission’s report sets up with Labor and the unions.

EVERYTHING’S POLITICAL, ISN’T IT…
Well, let’s see. All stakeholders say they want to make the superannuation system better for workers. Because arguing against that is as silly as being asked to rank your favourite kind of chip (which is a trick question because all chips are amazing). But to take it out of the political fray, there’s never a bad time to look over your super, ask questions, and make sure you’re getting a good deal. And here’s a good place to start.

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SQUIZ THE REST

JOYCE TAKES A BREAK
Former Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce was last night granted almost 11 weeks personal leave. His Nationals colleague Darren Chester said; "Obviously he's been under a fair bit of stress in the last six or 12 months, and he's taking some time with his family". It followed another day where Joyce was roundly criticised for a paid interview with Channel Seven that will air this Sunday night. Joyce said he and partner Vikki Campion gave the interview after giving the media some time to “burn this out”. That didn’t work so he says it was Campion who decided that “if everybody else is making money then (I am) going to make money out of it.” He also proposed privacy law reforms that would have prevented the media from reporting the relationship in the first place. Not taking a break is the Daily Telegraph with a(nother) tough front page.

ROSEANNE CANNED
Roseanne, the US TV show that was resurrected for the Trump era, has been dumped after its star Roseanne Barr compared an African-American former Obama staffer to an ape over Twitter. "Forgive me - my joke was in bad taste," tweeted Barr after deleting the offending post. But ABC, the US network producing the show, said; "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values and we have decided to cancel her show." The show was doing well in the ratings and was getting ready to film its second revamped season. Look out to see if Channel 10 cancels it from Aussie screens.

EU PROPOSES BAN OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
We’re talking items like straws, cotton buds and cutlery. And all plastic bottles should be collected for recycling by 2025. The idea is to reduce marine litter by 70% and targets the 10 items most commonly found in waterways and beaches. The European Union is keen to see industry pay for the costs of waste management and clean-ups. It follows a similar push from the UK at last month’s meeting of Commonwealth nations.

And while we’re talking about matters marine, Sydney had its own Free Willy episode yesterday. A bloody and exhausted juvenile whale was found tangled in fishing rope and line. Some of the rope was removed, but light faded before the job was done. NSW National Parks will try to find the whale again today.

TOP OF THE POPS
We have two lists to offer you:

• Top brands – a list of the world’s most valuable brands is out and the winner is Google. Next is Apple and Amazon, so despite recent challenges, big tech is still doing ok. China has two brands in the top 10 for the first time – Tencent (a tech company) and Alibaba (an e-commerce company).

• Best passport – and the winner is Japan with its visa-free access to 189 countries. Australia comes in 6th with access to 183 countries. Afghanistan and Iraq are at the bottom with access to 30 countries without a visa.

VALE CORNELIA FRANCES
The actress was remembered across the world yesterday as a unique and dignified woman. Born in England, she moved to Australia as a young woman and starred in The Young Doctors, Home and Away and The Weakest Link in a career that spanned decades. Frances died on Monday from bladder cancer at 77yo. Fairfax tweeted this very chic picture of her from 1965.

TRICK OR TREAT?
A good impersonation is a wonder and these two blokes have been making waves in recent days. There’s this guy who appeared as China’s communist founding father Mao Zedong at a conference in China. And this Aussie fella who is causing trouble in Singapore with his turn as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. If we had the skills we’d be able to pretend we’re a person that’s interested in the new Star Wars movie…

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Release - Building Approvals, April

World MS Day

Anniversary of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's divorce (1996)

Anniversary of Joan of Arc being burned at the stake in France after being condemned as a heretic (1431)