Category Archives: Australian education

Australia news live: Wong ‘deeply concerned’ about escalation in Middle East; RBA interest rate decision due today

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Reserve bank’s two-day August meeting likely to leave key interest rate unchanged for a sixth straight gathering. Follow the day’s news live

Australia will join the US Global Entry program in 2025, creating an easier pathway for the hundreds of thousands of Australians who visit the country each year.

Eligible Australians who sign up for the program would benefit from streamlined and expedited immigration and customs clearance channels on arrival into the US, a statement from the foreign minister, Penny Wong, says.

Joining the Global Entry program is a mark of the closeness and the strength of the relationship between our two countries.

The foundation of the friendship between Australia and United States is the friendship between our people. This program will deepen these links and make it easier to foster greater commercial ties.

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Alarm bells over Australian universities’ financial dependence on international students

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Critics across the sector say institutions have become trapped in an unstable business model as they try to make up for loss of government funding

Australian universities’ dependence on international student fees has “fuelled a culture of revenue, profit and competition” and created an unstable business model, the head of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has warned.

Critics representing various interests in the sector joined in expressing anxiety at the position universities had found themselves in as the federal government aggressively tries to wind back the number of international students.

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Australia news live: Penny Wong urges Australians to leave Lebanon; Chalmers says housing pipeline ‘not where we want it to be’

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The foreign minister says in video message there is a ‘real risk’ that conflict in the region would seriously escalate. Follow the day’s news live

Indigenous Australians ‘frustrated’ at slow progress

Indigenous Australians are “somewhere between disappointed and frustrated” at a lack of traction on socio-economic targets, after a scorecard found most aren’t being met.

You see those datasets that again reinforce what we heard even at the beginning of the year, and that is governments are not moving fast enough on this, it’s frustrating.

It’s not about finding a new pathway – certainly that’s not what the productivity commission is saying. It’s saying: share the decision-making – this is commonsense, governments talking to the people about the issues that impact them, and the solutions to solve that.

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Lures and violent threats: old school cheating still rampant at Australian universities, even as AI rises

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Integrity experts say sites offering cheating services to students are hard to trace, and some are run by criminals willing to make threats of violence

Kane Murdoch’s job takes him, his colleagues and his family to some frightening places.

“A comment … threatened to gang-rape my wife and decapitate me,” he wrote on his blog in April. Members of his team and their families had also been threatened with violence as a direct result of their work, he said.

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Australian universities accused of awarding degrees to students with no grasp of ‘basic’ English

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In the first part of a Guardian series, academics say universities have turned a blind eye to language shortcomings because of the revenue generated from international student fees

International students who cannot speak “basic English” are walking away from Australian universities with prestigious degrees, academics say, a situation one described as “mind-blowing” .

More than a dozen academics and students who spoke to Guardian Australia, most on the condition of anonymity, said the universities’ financial reliance on foreign students over many years had hollowed out academic integrity and threatened the international credibility of the sector.

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Man dies after trying to drive truck on to NSW ferry; global sea ice levels hit record low – as it happened

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Q: Why target the individuals when it’s state policy?

Penny Wong said the Australian government has been “clear in terms of state-to-state relations about our view on settlements”.

They are unlawful under international law. We’ve been clear about that … We have also said that we want to continue to take steps towards a two-state solution.

That may not be the view of some people in the Israeli government, but that is the view of the Australian government.

These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, including things such as beating, sexual assault and torture, resulting in serious injury and in some cases death.

We have imposed these after careful consideration and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these.

Settlements are unlawful under international law. We are continuing to act in ways that we can to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution, and part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties who perpetrate violence against Palestinians.

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NT military exercise suspended after pilot escapes crash – as it happened

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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items

The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.

The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].

Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.

Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.

We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.

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NSW teachers to embrace ‘step by step’ explicit instruction method amid major syllabus shake-up

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State becomes first to mandate methodology in overhaul educators hope will allow disabled and disadvantaged students catch up to their peers

The New South Wales curriculum has had its biggest shakeup in five decades with better connections between subjects, more detailed concepts and skills, and a move away from the student-led approach to learning towards “explicit instruction”.

On Wednesday, new K-6 syllabuses for health, creative arts, human society and its environment, and science were released to teachers, with updated maths and English syllabuses in classrooms from this year.

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US ‘committed’ to Aukus regardless of who is president, admiral says – as it happened

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‘Tumultuous’ coverage must not worsen post-3G, farmers say

Telcos face the ire of rural Australians if the 3G network shutdown goes awry and are being warned they will be held publicly accountable for any fallout, AAP reports.

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Australia’s $50,000 arts degree is here – putting university fees on par with the UK and US

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The Hecs/Help scheme was not designed so people making a regular wage remained in debt until death, expert says

There was a time when would-be poets, historians and writers could expect to pay off an arts degree at an Australian university within the decade, if they were able to find stable employment. Fast forward to now and they may die with their debt.

Arts degrees in Australia are poised to cost more than $50,000 for the first time, with experts warning some students will never be able to pay off their debts.

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ANU launches review into investment portfolio after pro-Palestine protests

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Australian National University cites change in community sentiment around deriving revenue from weapons manufacturers

The Australian National University (ANU) is launching a review into its investment portfolio, acknowledging “changing expectations” in the community around deriving revenue from weapons manufacturers.

It follows an announcement by the University of Sydney to hold a similar review after weeks of lobbying from pro-Palestine student encampments.

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Lucrative building contracts for Exclusive Brethren schools awarded to businesses run by church members

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Donations to school building funds are tax deductible, with Brethren-owned businesses across three states the beneficiaries

Schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect have spent millions of dollars with businesses owned by church members on major building projects, including to a company majority-owned by the powerful Hales family, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

The Brethren’s OneSchool Global (OSG) schools are registered charities in Australia and exempt from income tax. The schools also have building funds endorsed for deductible gift recipient status.

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Australia news live: religious sect allegedly thought 8-year-old diabetic ‘should not use insulin’, court told; Alice Springs curfew won’t continue

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The curfew declaration will conclude at 12.55pm today, local time. Follow the day’s news live

The mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Paterson, spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier as authorities meet to determine whether a three-day curfew on the central Australian town will be extended.

He is “still waiting to hear” whether the curfew will be extended – a decision for the police commissioner. Asked whether he believes it should be extended, Paterson says:

It’s obviously worked in the CBD, but we are hearing that it is pushing crime out into the suburbs. So we’ll wait to see what happens. Ultimately, the community gets to have a breath while there’s extra resources and police in town, so we’ll just wait to see what’s decided …

The curfew is a reaction to events over the past week or so, and we can’t continue to put these in. We need to think about the long-term solutions.

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Greens and academics criticise appointment of antisemitism envoy – as it happened

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Flights have been cancelled or delayed out of Brisbane airport this morning as thick smoke blankets the city.

According to the Brisbane airport website, nine domestic flights and two international flights have been cancelled. On social media, the airport wrote that widespread fog across Brisbane was “slowing movements on ground and limiting visibility.”

Flights are still departing but there are delays due to the reduced visibility.

Participants will be able to check accessible scorecards that will show what services DES providers offer and how they rate for quality and effectiveness, helping them make an informed choice when selecting their provider.

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University of Sydney students and staff blast new ‘draconian’ protest crackdown

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Policy demands three days’ notice for demonstrations and approval for use of megaphones or putting up posters

Academics and students at the University of Sydney have blasted the vice-chancellor for a “draconian” protest crackdown that requires explicit permission for megaphones to be used or posters to be put up on campus.

The policy, quietly introduced last week, demands three days’ notice for demonstrations to be held and approval for putting up “materials, banners or structures” on campus, using megaphones or amplifiers, erecting temporary structures and using cooking equipment.

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Why Guardian Australia is investigating Exclusive Brethren schools

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The sect’s OneSchool Global network has received generous support from Australian taxpayers while tightly controlling students and discouraging tertiary study

In the early 1990s, the Exclusive Brethren – now called the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church – set up its own private schooling system.

Now known as the OneSchool Global network, the Brethren schools have 120 campuses across 20 different countries teaching almost 10,000 children. In Australia, the schools operate across six states with 31 separate campuses serving their followers.

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International students left feeling like ‘cash cows’ after Albanese government raises visa fees

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Surprise increase makes Australian visa application fee among most expensive in the world, as new survey finds rising costs putting prospective students off

International students say the Australian government is making them feel like “cash cows” and sending a clear message they are unwelcome after home affairs more than doubled the price of visa applications overnight.

The non-refundable visa fee rose from $710 to $1,600 without prior warning on Monday, making it one of the most expensive in the world and well in excess of competitors New Zealand (A$343), Canada (A$164), the UK (A$932) and the US (A$277).

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Dutton says ‘Australia can learn’ from new British PM’s nuclear stance – as it happened

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‘Pretty clear’ Fatima Payman has been planning to join crossbench for a ‘long period’, minister says

The finance minister and manager of the government in the Senate, Katy Gallagher, is speaking with ABC RN after Fatima Payman’s resignation yesterday.

It’s difficult to go into, you know, when the decision was made – only Senator Payman knows that – but we do know, now that it’s been done, it’s a matter of fact that there had been obviously discussions about her role as an independent senator and for some time.

I think the way these decisions have been made by Senator Payman make it pretty clear that she has been thinking about this for a long period of time, and it was executed this week …

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Senator says PM’s office planted seed about crossing floor – as it happened

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Josh Burns says Labor motion to recognise Palestine as part of the peace process is ‘the bare minimum’

Josh Burns finished with:

This motion before the House is the bare minimum. It says that we support the recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. That peace process is something that I hold onto and that I have held onto my entire life.

That peace process says that we are all people, above all, and that there has to be a way through this. There has to be a way through this conflict. I wish that we could pull a lever here in Australia and it would all end today, but we have seen time and time again that that is not the case.

There are so many intractable parts of this conflict. I have a degree in this conflict, and I still don’t quite know how to fix it.

I know that there are players who are desperate to end the peace process and to try and disturb any efforts towards peace. I know that trees take years and years and years to grow and can be cut down in a second, and that is what the Middle East has demonstrated over and over again.

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Australian universities clash over proposed international student cap

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Regional and smaller universities say they should be exempt from limits on overseas enrolments and elite capital city institutions should be targeted

Australia’s universities have descended into infighting over a proposed international student cap, with some bodies claiming the government is protecting elite institutions.

The draft bill, announced in May, would allow the education minister to limit the enrolment of overseas students by provider, course or location. To enrol more students, institutions would be required to establish additional purpose-built student accommodation.

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