Squeeze Kids acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands on which we podcast the Turrbal and Combermary people.
Squeeze Kids!
It's your daily news fix.
Fun, free, fresh.
Hello and welcome to Squiz Kids today, your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
I'm Christy Kidgerina, it's Thursday September 11th.
In Squiz Kids.
Today, Victoria makes treaty history.
A slimy culprit caught in Germany, giant oysters on the move and the fake astronaut scam.
That's what's making news, Kidstyle.
The Lowdown.
Tuesday was a big day in Victoria's history.
The Victorian Parliament has just introduced historic treaty legislation with First Peoples and it's the first of its kind in Australia.
So what's a treaty?
Think of it like when your sports team agrees on rules before a big game.
Everyone knows what's fair, everyone's voice is heard and everyone plays by the same agreement.
For First Nations Australians, a treaty is a formal deal with governments recognising their rights and working out how to make decisions together.
Countries like New Zealand, Canada and the United States signed treaties with their first Indigenous peoples long ago.
But here in Australia, it never happened.
Even though the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, signalled his support for a treaty way back in the 1980s And the Uluru Statement from the Heart called for one more recently.
No national treaty has ever been signed.
Hence, some states have started their own processes.
One of the reasons it's needed is what's called closing the gap.
That's the scoreboard that measures things like health, school results and life expectancy.
And right now that scoreboard shows a big gap between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians.
Victoria has been working towards this moment for about 10 years, through truth telling and with the First Peoples Assembly.
Now the laws have been introduced to make a treaty possible, and many see it as the start of something bigger.
Spin the globe.
Each day, we give the world globe a spin and find a new story from wherever it stops, and today we've landed in germany, where police were called out to deal with a very slippery suspect.
Late at night, residents of an apartment building were being driven mad by doorbells buzzing over and over.
At first they thought it was teenagers playing that old prank known as ding dong, ditch or knock and run.
You know, when kids press the bell and run away before anyone can catch them.
You'd never do that, right?
But when police arrived, the bells kept ringing, even though there was no one at the door.
At least, no one human.
After a closer look, they discovered the culprit was a slug crawling across the doorbell panel, leaving a shiny slime trail behind it and setting off multiple bells.
In German, slugs are called Nackschnecken, which literally means naked snails.
Gotta love German.
This one was gently escorted to a patch of grass nearby, released with a warning and told not to press its luck again.
MUSIC
Animal Kingdom.
Here on Squiz Kids, we talk a fair bit about invasive species.
That's an animal or a plant that isn't native to the place that it's in, like Australia, and causes trouble by damaging the environment, out-competing local species or spreading a disease.
And right now, Australia has two new ones that have biosecurity experts worried.
The first is tiny.
I mean, it's about the size of a sesame seed, but it's causing big problems in Western Australia.
It's called the shot hole borer beetle.
It bores into trees and brings in a fungus that blocks the tree's water and food.
And thousands of trees have already been lost.
Scientists don't think they can wipe it out completely, but they're trialling a solution.
An injection straight into the tree's trunk with special chemicals to fight off the fungus.
And it seems to be working.
Fingers crossed.
The second is a giant oyster that can grow to 24 centimetres, almost the size of your school ruler.
It's been found in Queensland canals and could spread as far as Tasmania and Western Australia if it's left unchecked.
Biosecurity experts are calling on citizen scientists to help.
So if you spot one, take a photo and note the location and report it.
Links to pictures of it are in the show notes.
Every Thursday, Squizzy the News Hound sticks his snout into Squizz Kids HQ to report back on fishy things he's sniffed out on the internet.
And today his nose is twitching because of a scam that shows just how sneaky some tricksters can be.
Police in Japan say that an 80-year-old woman was contacted on social media by a man who claimed to be an astronaut working for the Japanese Space Agency.
Over several weeks, he sent her messages building her trust with stories about life in orbit.
And eventually he told her that his spacecraft was under attack, he was running out of oxygen and he needed money to stay alive.
Fearing for his life, she sent him about 10,500 Australian dollars.
And only after this she talked to her family when she realised that it might be all made up.
Police warn that scams like this aren't limited to seniors.
Young people get caught too when a story feels urgent and believable and trust has been built up.
The key takeaway?
If someone you only know online suddenly asks for money, stop think and check with someone you trust.
And teachers, we know how busy school life can be.
But next term, if you wrap things up a little early, Newstowns is the perfect pre-packaged program to plug and play and make those last weeks fun, engaging and a valuable learning experience.
Did we mention it's free?
Find out more on the Squiz Kids website.
Woo-hoo!
Speaking of Term 4.
Oh my gosh, we're almost there.
We've got a brand new Squiz Kids series launching Planet Warriors.
Meet Blaze, Gust, Scraps and Flo.
Renewable energy superheroes on a mission to change the world, one electron at a time.
From the way our homes are powered to the gadgets we use every day.
And teachers.
Each episode comes with a ready-to-go classroom activity sheet.
Kicking off on Tuesday, October 14.
Get set to join the Planet Warriors Planet Saving Crusade.
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
Which Australian state has introduced laws into Parliament to establish a treaty with First Nations people?
Excellent work if you knew that it is Victoria.
Question number two.
The German word for slug is Nakschaken.
What does it literally mean?
Is it A, a shiny trail, B, a slippery worm or C, a naked snail?
Music Yes, hilariously, it is C, a naked snail.
Question number three.
How big can the invasive giant oyster grow?
Music Well done if you remembered that it can grow up to a horrifying 24 centimetres.
Yay!
Shoutouts.
It's Thursday, September 11.
Make your bed day.
If you haven't left the house yet, add it to your to-do list.
If you're already in the car or at school and you haven't done it, too late.
So sad.
But happy news, it'll be waiting for you when you get home.
It's also a special day for these squiz kids celebrating a birthday today.
Ryan from West Albury, Lincoln from Girilderie, Teddy from Sylvania Waters, Samson from Annandale, Finn from Ocean Grove and Asher from Forest Glen.
And Classroom Shoutouts today go to Class 5 KG with Mrs Gallagher at Prosserpine State School.
Class 5W with Ms.
Corsman at Holy Spirit Primary School, Curry Curry.
The 3-4 Emojis with Mrs. Lanahan at Bold Blair Public School.
And lastly, but definitely not leastly, Class 340 with Mrs Owen and Mrs McCarty at Glenbrook Public School.
Don't forget, if you've got a birthday coming up and you want a shout out, or if you're after a classroom shout out, drop us a line at squizkidsatthesquizcomau or you can fill out the form on our website.
Well, that's all we have time for.
Thanks for listening to Squiz Kids today.
We'll be back again tomorrow with the Kids vs Adults Weekly News Squiz.
Your chance to test who's been paying the most attention this week.
In the meantime, though, get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
