Squiz Today – Monday, 11 March

SQUIZ SAYINGS

"Frankly, if one act of inoffensive drunkenness at an after-work function provided valid reason for dismissal, I suspect that the majority of Australian workers may have potentially lost their jobs."

Said Fair Work Commissioner Ian Cambridge who was hearing an unfair dismissal case involving a contractor working at Sydney’s Opera House. True dat…

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PLANE CRASH TRAGEDY IN ETHIOPIA

THE SQUIZ
An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 157 people (including 149 passengers and eight crew) has crashed shortly after takeoff killing all on board. It was on its way from the capital Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya. The cause of the tragedy is not yet known, but the airline said the pilot had reported an issue and had requested clearance to return to the airport. Witnesses said there was an intense fire as the plane crashed. Airline CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said he wouldn't speculate on a cause and would wait for the official investigation.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE PASSENGERS AND PILOTS?
The passengers were from far and wide. There were 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight each from American, China and Italy, and seven each from Britain and France. And the list goes on. Representatives from those countries have expressed their sadness and said they were working with Ethiopian authorities to establish the details. Reports so far do not include any Australians. The airline said the pilot was Senior Captain Yared Getachew who had more than 8,000 hours in the air. First Officer Ahmed Nur Mohammod Nur was less experienced with 200 flying hours.

ANYTHING ABOUT THE PLANE AND AIRLINE?
The plane had been added to Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet mid-last year. It was a 737 Max-8 Boeing aircraft - and if that's ringing a bell, it's because it's the same model as the Lion Air aircraft that crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta in October last year. An investigation into that tragedy noted the pilot’s struggle to overcome a safety feature that forced the plane’s nose down. Note: reports this morning say there isn’t any suggestion the same thing happened here. Analysts say Ethiopian Airlines has a good reputation for safety, but it has been involved in a couple of significant crashes in the last 25 years, including one that killed 90 people in 2010.

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SQUIZ THE REST

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COALITION DOES A REVERSE JOHN FARNHAM

They're not taking the pressure down… The Bill Shorten-led Labor Party has extended its lead against the Coalition in this morning's Newspoll. It's up a point to lead 54:46 in the two-party preferred race. PM Scott Morrison dropped a point in the preferred PM standings although he still leads Shorten 43:36. Meanwhile, there’s no shortage of colour-and-movement for Team Morrison at the moment…

• Former PM Tony Abbott (now) says he’ll always have Paris.

• Nationals’ leader Michael McCormack stumbled last week leading to speculation of a Barnaby Joyce revival.

• The woman seen as Julie Bishop’s preferred candidate, Erin Watson-Lynn, lost bigly in yesterday’s Curtin Liberal preselection scoring just one vote. Former lawyer/Notre Dame Uni vice-chancellor Celia Hammond won the day.

• Controversial right-wing ‘commentator’ Milo Yiannopolous will likely visit Australia in May with Immigration Minister David Coleman preparing to override departmental advice he should be banned. "Milo is a boring, unimaginative, self-absorbed attention-seeker of questionable character," Liberal Tim Wilson told The Australian."But free speech is for everyone.”

• And newly minted Cabinet Minister Linda Reynolds accidentally argued against her own team's approach wages.

Rumours that Labor leader Bill Shorten plans on kicking back at home for the next two months have not been verified…

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CONCERN FOR MISSING HIKERS

Married bushwalkers Trevor Salvado and Jacinta Bohan left Bright, Victoria on Friday for a quick walk near Mt Buffalo and haven’t been seen since. Their car was found on Saturday afternoon, and the search has been focused on an area radiating from there. Police said the area has some steep drops. "We think one may have fell and the other has gone down to help them. It's rare that two would go missing." Friends said the pair were experienced walkers, however, the concern is they'd only planned on a short walk so might not have taken a lot with them.

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THE GRIM LAST DAYS OF ISLAMIC STATE IN SYRIA

The three-week-old baby son of the British teenager who joined Islamic State in 2015, Shamima Begum, has died. Discovered by The Times in a Syrian refugee camp last month, Begum said she did not regret joining IS. And after her son’s birth, she told the BBC she wanted to return to the UK and for her child to be British. In response, the UK’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid ordered Begum be stripped of her British citizenship - an action that is now being criticised by some in light of her baby’s death. Baby Begum was one of potentially thousands of babies at risk as IS nears collapse in Syria.

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VENEZUELANS IN THE DARK

As if things couldn’t get much worse for the people of Venezuela, 70% of the country has been without electricity since late last week. A defiant President Nicolás Maduro says the US has sabotaged the nation’s power network, while the US says it’s down to Maduro’s incompetence. The governor of one state said the blackout was affecting healthcare services, and there are unverified reports of several deaths in hospitals because equipment could not be operated. Maduro and Venezuela's self-declared interim president Juan Guaido held duelling rallies on the weekend calling for their respective supporters to stay strong.

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AFTER LEAVING NEVERLAND

What an incredible doco… The accounts from Aussie Wade Robson and James Safechuck of the abuse they say they suffered from mega-star Michael Jackson were hard to watch. Since it aired in the US a week ago, the Jackson family have again denied the allegations, but there’s been a lot said about there being a cloud over his legacy. This is a good/factual summary of where things landed after Leaving Neverland.

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PYT

Pronounced: pid. And it’s your new go-to word for when you’re stressed, annoyed, or have your cranky-dacks on. Which means you’re hardly ever gonna use it…

SQUIZ THE DAY

Public Holidays - South Australia (March Holiday); Tassie (Eight Hours Day); Victoria (Labour Day); and the ACT (Canberra Day)

Commonwealth Day marking the 70th anniversary

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