Squiz Today – Thursday, 7 June

SQUIZ SAYINGS

"#Broccolatte anyone??”

Asked the CSIRO yesterday. No, wrong, absolutely not was the answer. But there was more enthusiasm for other uses of the broccoli powder that has been developed by scientists to improve nutrition and find a use for imperfect broccoli that would not make our supermarket shelves. Just leave our latte alone, thanks...

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FEEL THE PROSPERITY

THE SQUIZ
Our economic growth rate was yesterday pegged at 3.1% for the year, up 1% in the January to March quarter. It’s the first time we’ve been above the much wished for 3% for a couple of years and is one of the better results of the last decade. Treasurer Scott Morrison was quick to don his Team Australia scarf and do a lap of Parliament House shouting “jobs and growth, baby!”

THAT’S UNCOUTH…
We might have embellished that last bit, but Morrison was pretty happy because the result means we’re top of the pops on economic growth when compared to the world’s major advanced economies.

ENOUGH BOASTING. WHAT’S CHANGED?
The key drivers of growth were:

• Exports rose 2.4% from the previous quarter.

• There was a 1.6% lift in household spending.

• Less spectacular was the 0.3% rise in consumer spending, but it’s still in positive territory.

The hope is this soon translates into higher wages. And believe it or not, utes have something to do with the result, according to the Treasurer. Spending on industrial vehicles is a sign of a healthy economy, he said, and there were a lot of utes sold at the start of this year. So find some time today to thank a tradie.

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SQUIZ THE REST

PAGEUP SECURITY DOWN
If you’ve applied for a job with some of Australia’s best-known businesses, there’s a chance your personal details have been hacked. HR company PageUp yesterday ‘fessed up to “unusual activity” in its system on 23 May. That means the software used to manage recruitment could have been compromised making the details of thousands of job applicants vulnerable. That includes tax file numbers and bank/super information. The horror… PageUp is working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre on the investigation.

And while we’re talking tech, Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor yesterday unveiled plans for world-first laws that would compel businesses like Telstra, Google, Apple and Facebook to hand over encrypted data from suspected terrorists and cyber-criminals using messaging apps or face stiff penalties.

SUPPORT FOR DROUGHT-AFFECTED FARMS
Not so fun fact: almost 60% of Queensland is in drought, and 61% of NSW is either in drought or almost there. So it’s no wonder PM Malcolm Turnbull nominated our farmers’ resilience and courage as the things that struck him on his three-day tour through drought-stricken communities. Like that of this woman. The high-level visitors also promised more government support to help them through the dry.

VENUE BOOKED FOR KIM AND TRUMP
It’s like the Harry/Meghan wedding PR management plan all over again - with perhaps a tad less glamour. Just drip a little bit of info every day or so to “feed the chooks”. The latest update is that the power couple will marry… sorry… meet at the Capella Hotel on Singapore's Sentosa Island on 12 June. And the Gurkhas will serve as groomsmen… sorry… protection.

CRICKET BOSS TO GO
CEO of Cricket Australia James Sutherland will leave one of sports biggest jobs in a year having been in the role since 2001. His boss, chairman David Peever, said Sutherland was the best cricket administrator in the world, but the reviews are mixed. There's been the recent ball-tampering saga and a brutal pay dispute with the players. But supporters say he's negotiated big media deals, overseen a largely successful era in terms of results on the field, and kids are still interested in the game. Our rule is people are rarely as good or as bad as people say…

BABY BLUES TRIUMPH IN ORIGIN CLASH
At the final whistle, youthful enthusiasm triumphed over age and experience in the first clash in the State of Origin series last night. Before a whopping crowd of some 87,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the NSW Blues beat the Queensland Maroons 22-12 - a decisive win for a NSW team comprised of no fewer than 11 Origin debutantes. The young guns turned in an impressive performance, defending their try line with determination and scoring some cracking tries. It's the best of three matches, with two now left to go. Expect Maroon supporters to put the loss down to their injury-diminished team. But seasoned observers of the game were last night wondering aloud if in fact, 2018 might be the Blues' year.

WHEN CROCS ATTACK
It ain't pretty, that’s for sure. A Protestant pastor was attacked and killed by a crocodile in a lake in southern Ethiopia while baptising followers last Sunday. And Pippa the terrier, the pup of the owner of Goat Island Lodge, south of Darwin, lost her 10-year battle against a local croc. Pippa spent years chasing the croc into the water. But this time she got too close to its head and was taken. "It was something that had a high probability of happening sometime," said owner Kai Hansen. Ya think?

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Release - International Trade in Goods and Services, April; Corrective Services, March quarter; Managed Funds, March; Industrial Disputes, March; Assets and Liabilities of Australian Securitisers, March

Wesfarmers Investor Day

Anniversary of the death of EM Forster, author of A Room with a View, Passage to India and Howards End (1970)