Category Archives: Australian education

News live: economists wary ahead of RBA rates decision; agriculture minister says Australia is free of lumpy skin disease

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Anthony Albanese says increasing the income-free area for jobseeker would have ‘unintended consequences’. Follow live news updates today

PM says he would ‘rather not have’ double dissolution trigger as housing bill to be reintroduced

Anthony Albanese has spoken to ABC Sydney and FiveAA about Labor’s $10bn housing Australia future fund bill, which is going to be reintroduced to parliament, possibly providing a trigger for a double dissolution election.

That doesn’t necessarily provide for an early election, it could go into 2025 – but what it does is mean that can be a focus and you have a joint sitting after a double dissolution is held, but I just want this legislation to be passed … Their spokesperson [Max Chandler Mather] put this in writing in an opinion piece in a magazine, essentially saying that if this is just waved through and happens we won’t be able to continue to door knock and campaign on it. Well, I don’t want to play politics with this – I want to get this done. We have a mandate for it, and the Senate should pass it.

The truth is you do need appropriate development, particularly along public transport corridors … But it’s true sometimes local government can get in the way because people want to oppose anything at all that looks like development. But the truth is we do need to increase housing supply, that’s the key.

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Missing ADF personnel involved in Queensland helicopter crash identified – As it happened

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Families grant permission to name the four service members who went missing during military exercises off the coast of Whitsundays on Friday – this blog is now closed

Asked about the surplus the government now finds itself overseeing, Rishworth is asked whether there will be any further assistance in the next budget.

Of course, the changes we’re making - whether it’s to rent assistance, jobseeker - are structural changes. They’re ongoing increases that will be applied. So when you talk about the surplus from last year, that’s a very different circumstance to the reforms that we’ve made which are ongoing and structural. We have calibrated these to be responsible to help people that are doing it tough. But also, that they’re sustainable into the long-term.

The economic inclusion committee was providing a very specific advice on the level of jobseeker to inform the budget process. Of course, the budget process has to take in a range of different factors, including a responsible structural adjustment. But also, of course, as the treasurer has said, making sure that we’re not adding to inflation. So there is a lot of issues that we do have to weigh up in a budget process.

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Birmingham says opposition doesn’t ‘fear’ early election – as it happened

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Housing bill squabble to bring back possibility of double dissolution election

Parliament resumes next week after a five-week hiatus over winter, which means all the squabbles and fights we left in June are starting to whirl up again – chief among them housing. As Daniel Hurst reported this morning, Labor is going to bring back its housing bill to the house in October, where it will pass. Once it hits the Senate, things get a little more dicey. If it’s rejected by the Greens, who so far aren’t seeing what they want from the government, then the government has a double dissolution trigger.

The early indications are that there was a 50m exclusion zone around the deceased.

All efforts had been made to cover the body but at certain stages of the forensic examination, that body did need to be uncovered so the forensic police could do their work for the coroner and unfortunately, those children did walk past.

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Senator says treaty ‘the only way forward’ – as it happened

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Julian Leeser, the former shadow minister for Indigenous affairs and yes campaigner, has reassured ABC Radio that the voice to parliament is a “safe change” with cross-party support as the referendum draws nearer.

“Right from the beginning of my participation in this debate, I’ve called for a higher standard of debate and I’ve said that we should focus on issues of people,” he said.

I was proud to put my signature to the yes case. The yes case provides a positive reason for voting … It speaks to the practical results from change. It explains why recognition makes a difference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But it’s a safe change. It’s a change supported by people from all sides of politics.

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Australia news live: ‘are you really worth seven times the salary of the PM?’ Labor senator asks Deloitte chief

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Former competition watchdog Allan Fels tells parliamentary inquiry federal government must act now to avoid conflicts of interest. Follow the day’s news live

Divers are trying to retrieve hundreds of drones that plunged into Melbourne’s Yarra River over the weekend due to a technical error.

The drones were part of a light show for the Matildas’ game against France on Friday night but fell into the river due to a technical glitch. The retrieval operation began on Sunday and is continuing on Monday.

We want to see all drones taken back out of the river because we know if they are left there they will leach chemicals which can damage the environment.

We want investors to come into the market to take advantage of the great demand for rental accommodation.

But we don’t want to stifle that by putting unnecessary burden (on landlords).

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Private school funding increased twice as much as public schools’ in decade after Gonski, data shows

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Exclusive: Government funding since landmark education review released ‘has gone to those least in need’, says national convenor of Save Our Schools

Real government funding to private schools has increased almost twice as much as funding to public schools in the decade since the landmark Gonski review recommended changes designed to fund Australian schools according to need.

From 2012 to 2021, per student funding to independent and Catholic schools rose by 34% and 31% respectively, while funding to public schools increased by just 17%, according to parliamentary library data provided exclusively to Guardian Australia. In Queensland, the growth in government funding to independent schools per student has been nine times greater than to public schools.

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Labor’s refusal to extend school chaplaincy tax deduction will cause cuts, Christian group says

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Parents’ secular education group wants chaplains scrapped and student wellbeing officers employed instead

Australia’s largest supplier of school chaplains has labelled the Albanese government’s decision not to extend its eligibility to receive tax deductible gifts “disappointing and unexpected”.

Scripture Union Australia has warned the decision would probably result in cuts to chaplaincy services after Labor allowed its deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, previously granted by the Morrison government, to lapse.

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Australian universities report finds quality of education eroded by ‘long-term underfunding’

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New report reveals 83% of respondents are concerned universities’ focus on profit is undermining education standards

Decades of declining public funding for universities and the increasing corporatisation of the sector has further eroded working conditions for staff and the quality of education for students, according to a new report.

Of the 1,002 respondents in the report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, 83% said they were concerned universities’ focus on profit was undermining education standards.

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Teenager ‘racially assaulted’ by former University of New England vice-chancellor, court told

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Prof Brigid Heywood has pleaded not guilty to assault and offensive behaviour for allegedly wiping her spit on the girl’s face

A teenager who was allegedly subjected to offensive conduct by the former vice-chancellor of the University of New England has told a court she was “racially assaulted”.

Prof Brigid Heywood is alleged to have licked her finger and wiped it twice on the teenager’s face and made comments about her skin colour at an International Women’s Day event in Armidale on 8 March 2022.

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Magistrate in assault case against former University of New England vice-chancellor showed ‘lack of objectivity’, court told

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Prof Brigid Heywood is accused of wiping her spit on a teenager’s face during an International Women’s Day event in 2022

The former University of New England vice-chancellor Prof Brigid Heywood’s legal team have applied for the magistrate hearing her assault case to recuse himself, claiming he displayed a “lack of calmness and objectivity”.

Heywood, a British-Australian biological scientist, is alleged to have wiped her saliva on a teenager’s face and commented on her skin colour at a council-run International Women’s Day event in March 2022. She was a panellist at the event.

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Childcare fees in Australia outpace inflation with rises of up to 32%, report finds

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ACCC says number of centres charging above hourly rate cap has doubled as government’s cheaper childcare package comes into force

Childcare fees have outpaced inflation in the past five years, with rises of between 20% and 32% from 2018 to 2022 according to a report from the competition regulator.

Households are now paying 4% more for centre-based and outside-school-hours care, 6% more for family daycare and 15% more for in-home care services, once adjusted for inflation.

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$123.64 per child a day for centre-based daycare, with $48.60 out-of-pocket

$90.23 a child a day for family daycare ($28.92 out-of-pocket)

$30 per child a session for outside-school-hours care ($13.54 out-of-pocket)

$301.42 per family a day for in-home care ($60.69 out-of-pocket).

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Teen felt ‘degraded and belittled’ by former University of New England vice-chancellor, court told

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Prof Brigid Heywood has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and offensive behaviour over an alleged incident in March 2022

A teenager who was allegedly assaulted and subjected to offensive behaviour by the former vice-chancellor of the University of New England at an International Women’s Day event last year has told a court that the incident left her feeling “ degraded and belittled”.

Prof Brigid Heywood, 65, a British-Australian biological scientist, is alleged to have wiped her saliva on a teenager’s face and commented on her skin colour at a council-run International Women’s Day event on 8 May 2022. She was a panellist at the event.

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‘It’s crippling families’: parents say childcare centres pushing up rates as Labor’s subsidy kicks in

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Experts warn early learning centres may seek to capitalise on government’s scheme, which comes into effect from 1 July

Two years ago, it cost Jessica* $176 a day to send her daughter to childcare in Melbourne. From July, it’ll be $204.40 – a $26.40 jump.

Jessica is now reconsidering a second child. She’s accepted for the first five years of her daughter’s life, her and her partner will “just have to be broke”, dishing out more than $1,000 per week on fees.

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Sydney public high schools to go co-ed in Labor shake-up as parents face tough choices

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Inner west and south-west suburbs are first priority under state plans but change will come too late for some

Families in some parts of Sydney where all the local high schools are single-sex will have the option of a co-educational school from 2025, the state government has announced, while others will have to wait until 2027.

Parents have been lobbying for change for years, and in the lead-up to this year’s state election, Chris Minns pledged parents would have guaranteed access to co-educational public schools within Labor’s first term of government.

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Australian universities to offer ‘microcredentials’ in key areas to address skills crisis

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The 28 short courses are designed to provide qualifications to up to 4000 students by 2026

Australian universities will offer almost 30 short courses in the key areas of IT, engineering, science, health and education in an attempt to curtail Australia’s skilled worker shortage.

The 28 courses, or microcredentials, from 18 universities are designed to teach targeted skills that are more relevant for employers.

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Indigenous deaths in custody at record high and public perception of police worst in 10 years, report finds

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Productivity Commission report on government services says 26% of Australia’s state-owned Indigenous housing is overcrowded

Indigenous deaths in custody are at their highest in the 15 years that records have been kept while public perceptions of the honesty and fairness of police officers has reached a 10-year low, according to new data from the federal Productivity Commission.

The Report on Government Services also found overcrowding in public housing is on the rise, while the number of public housing properties of an acceptable standard has sharply dropped.

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Crossbench welcomes Labor review of student loan ‘quirk’ that added hundreds to debts

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Education minister stands by three-decade high indexation rate of 7.1% but acknowledges need for minor reforms amid backlash

Critics of soaring indexation on student debts have welcomed the education minister’s commitment to look into an accounting quirk in the way loans are indexed which could save graduates hundreds of dollars in repayments.

Hecs debts rise annually with inflation on 1 June, but loan repayments aren’t processed until tax returns are lodged, which can be months later. This means indexation is applied to portions of debts already paid – often by thousands of dollars.

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Victorian private schools ‘fear-mongering’ over job losses after tax exemptions axed, experts say

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About 110 of the state’s top high-fee paying private schools will be required to pay tax on staff salaries, raising more than $420m over three years

Fears that stripping “high-fee” Victorian private schools of their payroll tax exemption will lead to job losses are a “red herring”, education experts say.

The change, revealed in last week’s state budget, means about 110 private schools will be required to pay tax on staff salaries, raising more than $420m over three years.

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‘Hitlist’ of private schools criticised and businesses and public sector join outcry over Victorian budget

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New tax measures and job cuts to help repay state’s Covid debt spark criticism from multiple groups

Victorian private schools are among a chorus of critics of the state’s latest budget, after payroll exemption for schools with “high fees” was cut and landlords and big businesses were hit by new taxes.

To help repair the state’s budget bottom line, the Andrews government on Tuesday revealed more than 100 private schools will no longer be shielded from payroll tax in a budget measure the opposition and independent education sector warns will lead to higher fees for parents.

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GPs aiding international student agents to exploit Australian visa ‘loophole’, inquiry hears

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Agents earn extra commission by shuffling foreign students between providers in what Labor calls an unethical ‘shadow economy’

Labor has vowed to crack down on the unregulated world of international education agents after revelations that general practitioners may be involved in student recruitment schemes.

Foreign agents have been used by Australian universities for decades to drive enrolments and assist students offshore with application processes and accommodation.

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