Squiz Today / 13 March 2019
Squiz Today – Wednesday, 13 March
SQUIZ SAYINGS
“I rewatched the video recently and it made me cry. I highly recommend capturing your family’s stories now – even if only with your smartphone – you won’t regret it.”
Mobile filmmaker Wes Hetherington recalls recording for posterity his grandmother’s story. His business is disrupting the corporate video industry – one country town at a time. Please welcome him to the Three Minute Squiz.
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON BOEING
THE SQUIZ
Aerospace behemoth Boeing is struggling to contain the fallout from Sunday’s crash of Ethiopian Airlines’ 737 Max 8 aircraft that killed 157 people (which could have been 158 had this guy made his flight…). More regulators - including Australia’s - have grounded the planes over airworthiness concerns. The crash involving the newish model plane was the second in five months following a Lion Air that flight that went down in October killing all 189 people onboard.
WHAT’S THE LATEST?
• Regulators in Australia, Singapore, Austria, Poland, Italy and Indonesia suspended flights using the planes to and from their countries. And airlines including Aeromexico, Aerolíneas Argentinas and South Africa's Comair Airways have grounded their planes.
• The grounding of a fleet of planes would normally follow an instruction from the regulator in the country that certified the aircraft. For the 737 Max 8, that would be the American regulator, and it hasn’t yet taken that step. But safety concerns have overridden convention resulting in some national regulators taking action independently.
• For Boeing’s part, it’s talking to the investigation team about last weekend’s crash. It’s also soon to issue a software update to address concerns some have about the automatic safety feature investigators say played a part in the Lion Air crash.
WHAT’S BOEING’S STORY?
It’s the world's biggest company of its type and America's biggest manufacturing exporter. Not only does it make commercial jetliners, but it's also heavily involved in defence manufacturing and space exploration. And it's more than 100 years old, so it’s been there since air travel became a thing. The fact that the 737 Max 8 is the fastest selling aircraft in the company's history - and that most of them are still on order - is vital to understanding how damaging this chapter could be for Boeing. A look at the front page of today’s Daily Telegraph gives you an indication of the whack it's taking to its reputation...
SQUIZ THE REST
BREXIT BREAKTHROUGH OR MAY’S MISFORTUNE?
We're about to find out… UK PM Theresa May spent yesterday with the European Union locking down some last minute “legal assurances” on the Irish backstop arrangement in the hope it would soothe the concerns of MPs. However, those changes don't seem to have done the trick with the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox telling parliament that his legal advice is it hasn't changed much, and the UK would remain tied to the EU after Brexit if the Irish border issue becomes troublesome. Reports indicate May doesn't have the numbers for the deal to get through, but let’s see when it goes to a vote early this morning (our time). Oh, and the PM has lost her voice so it's another great day all round for her...
AMERICA WARNS GERMANY OFF HUAWEI
Yesterday it was revealed America had told Germany that the US would have serious problems sharing secrets with the European power in the future if it used Huawei for its 5G mobile network rollout. It’s the same issue that’s played out in the US, Australia and New Zealand which have all banned Huawei from participating over concerns sensitive information could end up in Chinese government hands. Huawei last week filed a lawsuit against the US government, accusing it of running a smear campaign.
HIKERS SAFE AND WELL
Married bushwalkers Trevor Salvado and Cindy Bohan were found yesterday after four nights lost in the bush, surviving on a small amount of water and a few muesli bars. Turns out they got badly off-course after following what they now believe was an animal track. They stayed put for the four nights in near-freezing conditions, and yesterday found their way down to a road where they were able to stop a minivan full of canoeists. The experienced walkers say they didn’t fear for their lives. “We were sensible, we kept calm, we kept rational, and that’s what helped us out," Salvado said.
HAKEEM! HAKEEM! HAKEEM! - OI! OI! OI!
It's only taken five years and a high profile prison stay in Thailand but yesterday refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi became an Aussie citizen. He shot to prominence when he was held in a Bangkok prison after his birth country Bahrain tried to extradite him over allegations he vandalised a police station. After receiving 100% on his citizenship test, the smart cookie was citizenised (which is surely a word...) with former Socceroo Craig Foster and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne in attendance. He also got a flag lapel pin from PM Scott Morrison. What’s next? "I want to focus on soccer for this country," he said.
CARDINAL PELL SENTENCED TODAY
And it will be broadcast live from a Melbourne courtroom this morning from 10am. Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, was found guilty of child abuse charges in December last year. Each charge carries a maximum jail term of 10 years - experts say any penalties would most likely be served concurrently. Pell's legal team have said an appeal will be launched.
APROPOS OF NOTHING
The internet turned 30yo this week. Its founder Tim Berners-Lee is worried about it being a tool for division and wants it to be better. You broke it, you fix it…
The Matildas’ green and gold kit for the upcoming World Cup was unveiled yesterday. It’s 90s inspired, and has drawn some unflattering comparisons with the iconic Aussie uniform fail of the era - the Socceroos ‘spew’ shirt.
Applause please for Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Well played, sir.
SQUIZ THE DAY
6.00am-ish (AEDT) - Brexit vote
From 10am (AEDT) - Televised broadcast of Cardinal George Pell’s sentencing live from the courtroom
12.30pm (AEDT) - NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley to address the National Press Club - Sydney
ABS Data Release - Census 2016: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2016
Release of the latest Westpac Consumer Confidence Index
Start of the World’s Greatest Shave for the benefit of the Leukaemia Foundation (on until 17 March)
Birthday anniversary for Dorothy Tangney, the first female member of the Australian Senate (1911)
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