Coalition’s university fee overhaul accused of being an ‘attack on women’

Women represent about 67% students in the heavily affected fields of humanities, social sciences, media and communications

Women account for two-thirds of the students in the university courses facing the biggest increase in fees under the Australian government’s proposed overhaul, according to new analysis by the Greens.

The government has proposed to more than double the student contributions for humanities, social sciences, media and communications courses – with yearly fees increasing from $6,804 to $14,500 – although this does not apply to current students.

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Victoria to extend state of emergency for four more weeks after spike in Covid-19 cases

Queensland declares southern state a ‘hotspot’ while South Australia reconsiders decision to reopen its border

The Victorian government has announced it will extend its state of emergency for at least four more weeks and ramp up its police enforcement of lockdown rules after a spike in Covid-19 cases.

The surge has also prompted neighbouring South Australia to reconsider its decision to reopen its border, while Queensland has declared all of greater Melbourne a Covid-19 hotspot.

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Australia considering shorter Covid-19 quarantine for students and low-transmission countries

Government ministers outline measures being considered to reopen for international travel

Senior Morrison government ministers have flagged shorter quarantine periods for international students and business travellers as part of a suite of measures to reopen Australia to international travel.

On Sunday, the health minister, Greg Hunt, confirmed that modifications to the existing mandatory two-week hotel quarantine could be enacted in addition to travel bubbles with safe countries, such as New Zealand, which would not require quarantine.

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Coronavirus Australia live updates: NSW, Victoria, Qld and WA provide update on Covid-19 cases – latest news

Mathias Cormann to appear before Senate committee seeking answers on the government’s botched wage subsidy projections. Follow the latest live

Mutual obligations for welfare recipients return today.

There are now about 1.6m people receiving the unemployment benefit jobseeker.

Mutual obligations return today & will be gradually phased in.

We are in Phase 1 meaning there are no financial penalties for not meeting activity requirements.

We don't have a timeline of each "phase" but I will keep following up with the Minister for more clarity.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian was giving a press conference just now. She was pressed on comments from her police minister, David Elliott, who said yesterday that police would not approve future permit protests that did not comply for the health guidelines.

Does she agree with Elliott?

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NSW education minister apologises to victims of alleged paedophile teacher Cletus O’Connor

Sarah Mitchell tells victims of teacher who allegedly preyed on Indigenous boys, she is ‘deeply sorry’ abuse occurred

The New South Wales education minister has apologised to victims of an alleged serial paedophile teacher who preyed on Indigenous boys for decades in the state’s west, saying she was “deeply sorry that those abuses occurred”.

A Guardian investigation last week revealed that since April 2018 the NSW government had quietly settled cases with more than a dozen men who were victims of Cletus O’Connor, a teacher, principal and school inspector who worked for the state education department for more than three decades.

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‘It’s done its job’: Dan Tehan flags end of free childcare under weight of increasing demand

Education minister claims scheme a success but says old system was effective as more parents set to return to work

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  • Dan Tehan has suggested the days of free childcare are numbered, as a return to the old subsidy model will be needed to keep centres viable as Australians return to work.

    The education minister told Radio National on Tuesday a new report on the free model showed it had “done its job” during the Covid-19 pandemic but will need to change.

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    Coronavirus Australia live update: Marise Payne not consulted before George Christensen moved to ‘summons’ Chinese ambassador – latest news

    Treasurer says in statement in lieu of the federal budget: ‘There is no money tree. What we borrow today we must repay in the future.’ Follow the latest news live

    In what is becoming a common scene, there were long lines of international students waiting for donated meals today.

    This footage was shot in Sydney where restaurants in Chinatown are offering free meals to students who have lost jobs and aren’t eligible for jobseeker or jobkeeper.

    Quite incredible. A long line of international students in Sydney right now waiting for free food from a restaurant (line goes another 50m around the corner).

    International students have been hard hit and aren't eligible for coronavirus stimulus payments. Many rely on free meals pic.twitter.com/eTDtRFU8Lw

    Nathan Cleary, the Penrith Panther banned and fined by the NRL for being “untruthful” during the league’s investigation into his social distancing breach, has apologised.

    “I’m obviously embarrassed with myself and I’m not happy with what I’ve done,” he told the club’s website. “I just to want to apologise for my actions. My actions were irresponsible, selfish and pretty stupid, to be honest.

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    Dan Tehan tried to pressure Victoria to reopen schools, but he went from raging bull to mewling kitten | Katharine Murphy

    While the federal education minister banked on parents’ frustration with home schooling, those same parents are also worried

    It’s been a wild old Sunday, with the federal education minister Dan Tehan going from raging bull to mewling kitten in the space of four hours, so let’s work through things step by step.

    Scott Morrison has been intensely frustrated with school closures for weeks. The prime minister wants schools to reopen as the bedrock of getting the economy moving again, and the bulk of the medical advice before the government suggests that schools are low risk.

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    Teachers hand deliver lessons to Aboriginal students lacking internet access

    Fewer than three out of 15 families in NSW far west have broadband, making digital classrooms unviable

    Teachers in far western NSW say they have been hand-delivering lessons to Aboriginal students at home because families don’t have reliable access the internet and many don’t have computers for their children to work on.

    To allow children to keep learning, Wilcannia central school teachers have been making lesson packs for their students and delivering them in person every few days, on a 9km round trip in the school minibus.

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    Australia coronavirus live: health minister backs calls for global investigation into Covid-19 spread – latest updates

    Greg Hunt supports foreign affairs minister Marise Payne’s call for an independent review that must not be run by WHO as fresh privacy concerns raised over government’s contact-tracing app. Follow the latest news live

    Hazzard has announced the $5,000 on-the-spot fine for people who spit or cough at healthcare workers has been extended now to include all workers.

    Assistant police minister Karen Webb says that overnight, a 25-year-old man from Nowra was arrested for a number of offences including allegedly spitting at police officers.

    Just in the last last week, I’ve had four matters raised with me by members across the state from people deliberately coughing or spitting on people ... It is vile and it is disgusting and unacceptable.

    New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard is providing an update on new cases in the state.

    He says to 8pm last night there were 21 new cases of Covid-19, taking the state’s total number of confirmed cases to 2,957. There are 245 people being treated in hospital, including 21 in intensive care and 17 on ventilators.

    “We’re doing much better than we could have expected at this point but I also want to remind the community this is a long game. It’s a team game. Probably at this point we aren’t very far into the game.

    She looked at me and said minister probably if we’re lucky we’re 10 minutes into the first quarter. There is no room here for us to forget this is a long game and a game with a lot more to go.

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    Are schools open or closed for term 2 amid coronavirus in Australia? State-by-state guide

    Many parents have been left confused about whether students can or should return to school after the Easter holidays

    The position of the federal and state governments on whether to send children to school in term two while coronavirus social distancing rules are in force have many parents confused.

    Throughout March the Morrison government opposed school closures on the basis of medical advice, but the issue was forced by Victoria bringing forward its school holidays, and other states and territories introducing pupil-free days to prepare for online learning.

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    Independent schools demand federal government withdraws threat and guarantees ‘vital’ funding

    Education minister had said schools needed to offer in-person education or risk losing funding

    Christian Schools Australia (CSA) has demanded the federal government withdraw a threat to independent schools and instead commit to guarantee funding even if enrolments drop off as a result of Covid-19.

    On Thursday the education minister, Dan Tehan, wrote to all independent school associations ordering them to provide in-person education to children from term two or risk losing their federal funding.

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    Australia coronavirus live update: education minister orders independent schools to reopen – latest news

    Dan Tehan wants all schools to provide in-person teaching to children whose parents want it. Follow live

    The NRL season will recommence in late May, but it’s still unclear in what form it will happen.

    #BREAKING: The NRL has announced a competition restart date of May 28. #9News pic.twitter.com/e5uwbe0fAj

    Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson is calling for road blocks on the Great Ocean Road to force people to stay home this long weekend. @Kieran_Gilbert

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    ‘Clear as mud’: schools ask for online learning help as coronavirus policy confusion persists

    Despite national cabinet process aiming for consistency, states and territories now have a patchwork of responses

    New South Wales Catholic schools have asked for the government’s help to take teaching online, warning it could take months to roll out and result in a “digital divide” between schools.

    The chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, Dallas McInerney, wrote to the NSW government on Tuesday seeking help, after the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced schools would stay open – although parents are encouraged to keep their children home where they can.

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    Coronavirus school closures: dozens of Australian private schools move to online learning

    New South Wales teachers union warns it is ‘impossible’ for schools to practise social distancing measures recommended by the government

    Dozens of independent schools across Australia are going ahead with shutdowns as the New South Wales teachers union warns it is “impossible” for them to practise social distancing measures recommended by the government.

    On Tuesday, Pymble Ladies College in Sydney joined dozens of private schools in Victoria when it announced it would move to online classes from Thursday.

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    Kylie Moore-Gilbert: jailed British-Australian not among 70,000 prisoners freed in Iran as coronavirus spreads

    Political prisoners, including the University of Melbourne academic, have overwhelmingly been excluded from furloughing

    Iran has temporarily freed 70,000 prisoners from jails around the country out of fear coronavirus could spread through prisons unchecked, but British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has not been released.

    Political prisoners have overwhelmingly been excluded from the furloughing of prisoners, with other dual nationals such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-born British aid worker, remaining imprisoned despite growing concerns for their health.

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    Tasmania university to slash courses from 514 to 120 in wake of coronavirus impact

    An over-reliance on China and the emerging pandemic have forced reevaluation of university’s offerings, vice chancellor says

    The University of Tasmania will slash hundreds of courses from its curriculum as part of a major overhaul driven in part by an “over-reliance on China” and the impact of the coronavirus.

    On Tuesday, the university’s vice chancellor Rufus Black told staff the university was “facing sustained headwinds” to being sustainable, and would cut the number of courses on offer from 514 to fewer than 120 by next year.

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    Melbourne professor quits after health department pressures her over data breach

    Vanessa Teague reported on a dataset of Medicare and PBS payments that was supposed to be anonymous but wasn’t

    A prominent university professor has quit after the health department pressured her university to stop her speaking out about the Medicare and PBS history of over 2.5 million Australians being re-identifiable online due to a government bungle.

    In 2016, Vanessa Teague, a cryptographer from the University of Melbourne, and two of her colleagues reported on a dataset, published on an open government data website by the federal government, of 2.5m Australians’ Medicare and PBS payment history dating back to 1984 that had supposedly been de-identified so people were anonymous.

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    Tanya Plibersek cites ‘visible inequality’ at schools in call for fair education funding

    Shadow education minister emphasises education as key battle line against Coalition, while Greens leader Adam Bandt calls for end to public school fees

    Labor will continue to make education funding a key point of difference to the Coalition, with a greater emphasis on the disparity between public and private schools’ spending on facilities, Tanya Plibersek has signalled.

    In a speech delivered to the Australian Education Union on Friday, Plibersek warned both the government and internal critics arguing for lower social spending that “the fight for fair school funding is not over” and claimed that “visible inequality” in facilities suggests Australians care more about some children than others.

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