Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

Woo-hoo! It’s Budget day; Leopards on the loose in China; Sam Kerr’s golden boot; and the retirement home for circus elephants.

 

LINKS

Elephants find new home: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2021/05/06/circus-elephants-wildlife-sanctuary-florida-orig-mg.cnn/video/playlists/atv-trending-videos/

 

Swysh: personalised videos from your favourite sports stars: www.heyswysh.com

   

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https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en

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Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

THE LOWDOWN

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Break out the party hats and prepare to get excited … it’s budget day! And because I know you all love nothing more than starting your Tuesday morning with a lesson in economics – we’re going to dive right in.

What’s a budget and what does it have to do with you?

Today’s the day that the Federal Government – that’s the politicians we elect to go to Canberra – hands down what’s called The Budget. In the same way your folks might make a plan each week or each month to work out how much to spend and what to spend it on to keep the household ticking over: our government has to take stock of the money it has coming in from ordinary Aussies through the taxes we pay, and make announcements on how it intends to spend it on behalf of every Australian.

And when the Treasurer, a man called Josh Frydenberg, delivers the Budget tonight, all eyes will be on what steps the government plans to take to get our economy firing as we hopefully emerge from the COVID pandemic.

There’s going to be money spent on improving the way we look after our grandparents and other elderly Aussies. There’s going to be money for the building of roads and railway lines, there will be money to help people afford a home, and even money committed to tackle climate change. 

I know. Lots of big ideas in there. But just think how impressed your parents will be tonight when you go home and tell them you’re all over the Budget. Ah, don’t mention it. I’m here to help.

 

SPIN THE GLOBE

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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops … and today we’ve landed in China … where a leopard that escaped from a zoo over a week ago is still on the loose. 

I know right … it sounds like the story line from a Madagascar film …

Three leopards from the Huangzhou zoo escaped their enclosure over the May Day holiday weekend and disappeared into the backstreets of the massive city. 

It took a team of leopard catchers a whole week to find and re-capture two of the big cats — but one is still on the loose. Local residents and police have joined zoo keepers in the hunt – searching far and wide across the city and even bringing in a drone in the hope of spotting it from the air. 

Meanwhile, zoo officials have been forced to apologise for not warning the general public that a trio of wild animals was on the loose in their city – saying they didn’t want to panic people. Because presumably it’s much better to come across a wild animal in your backyard without any warning … 

 

SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES

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Can I get a great big Squiz Kids salute for the remarkable Sam Kerr? The Aussie soccer player is currently playing for Chelsea in the hugely competitive Womens’ Super League in England. And yesterday, she laid claim to the highly sought-after Golden Boot award, for being the top-scorer in the entire competition – whilst at the same time helping Chelsea to win their second straight super-league title.

Kerr’s capped off her sterling season in the final decider against Reading with a cracking goal that contributed to Chelsea’s 5-0 victory. Top scorer in the most prestigious soccer comp in women’s footy .. And now she holds that title in the English, American and Australian leagues. not bad for a girl from Fremantle…  

 

ANIMAL KINGDOM

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Twelve elephants who have spent their lives performing in a circus have scored for themselves a well-earned retirement plan, having moved into a vast wildlife sanctuary in Florida, in the United States. 

Watching elephants perform in circuses used to be a form of entertainment. These days, we are much more aware of issues around animal cruelty – and circuses that make animals perform have become much less popular. 

And so these 12 female former circus performers have found themselves a new home with plenty of space and plenty of time to roam around together.

One of the park rangers said the minute they were released into the sanctuary, the elephants formed a huddle and comforted one another before wandering off together into the forest. There’s a link in today’s episode notes to a lovely video of the elephants in their new home.

 

Q+A CALL OUT

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Alright footy fans … do we have a special treat for you. You’ve seen him on the telly, you’ve watched kick goals for his team the Western Bulldogs … and now, he’s agreed to tackle his toughest assignment yet.  

Yes folks – we’ve joined forces with Swysh to convince AFL star, Josh Dunkley to take the Squiz Kids Q+A hotseat and answer your questions. 

Josh, as any lover of footy would already know, is a star midfielder with the Western Bulldogs, a premiership winning AFL player and one of the nicest blokes in the league. 

He’s also a proud member of the Swysh community – a great new service providing everyday Aussies with personalised video messages from their favourite sports stars. It’s an awesome gift, for birthdays and big celebrations, and every Swysh video raises money for charity. 

Maybe you want to know how Josh made it in the AFL premier league … what his training schedule is like or what it’s like to win a grand final. 

Send through any questions you have for Josh to [email protected] … and for more info about Swysh, check out heyswysh.com  – or see the link in today’s episode notes. Oh — and the best question gets a free, personalised video message from Josh himself. How cool is that?

 

THE S’QUIZ

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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …

  1. What sort of a big cat has escaped from a zoo in China?
  2.  Name the Aussie soccer player who’s just won the prestigious Golden Boot in England’s Women’s Super League?
  3. Which team does AFL player and Squiz Kids hotseat contender Josh Dunkley play for?

 

SHOUT OUTS

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It’s May 11   … birthday for Aussie basketballer, Lauren Jackson and footy-player-turned-TV-presenter Beau Ryan. It’s also the anniversary of the day 24 years ago when a computer first beat a human chess champion in a chess game. 

Plus it’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …. Sam from Shoal Bay, Caitlyn from Sydney, Orla from Kempsey, Aidan from Cannon Hill, Hugo from Abbotsford, Indi-Rose from Bathurst and Sophie, Henry and Clare from Queanbeyan.

And a belated birthday shoutout to… Kayla from Mackay

Classroom shoutouts…class 3/5L at Bathurst Public School, Mrs Bray’s class at Temora Public School, all the 5/6 classes at Illaroo Road Public School, class 5/6B at Richmond Primary School, and class GLA 12 at Cleve Area School in South Australia.

 

The S’Quiz Answers:

  1. Leopard
  2. Sam Kerr
  3. Western Bulldogs