Australia considers boot camp for young unemployed

Young job seekers would be forced into tough army-style boot camps to qualify for the dole, under an election policy being considered by the Rudd government. The Youth Start Boot Camp was tabled as a future election policy in a submission that has been leaked to Fairfax Media. It was put to the Labor government's … Continue reading Australia considers boot camp for young unemployed

Australian universities lower entrance scores despite concerns over graduate standards

Universities are having to continue to lower entry scores to maintain expanding numbers, sparking warnings that school inequality is to blame as regional and poor students get left behind. Commonwealth student applications and offer data for this year also show that universities are continuing to recruit into teaching degrees a rising proportion of school leavers … Continue reading Australian universities lower entrance scores despite concerns over graduate standards

Australia to investigate one million foreign workers in fraud crackdown

The Department of Immigration will hand over the records of one million temporary visa holders to the Australian Tax Office to identify fraud and visa rorts, in a massive data-matching operation. The exercise will target the holders of 27 temporary visa types including skilled “457 visa” workers, students, backpackers and foreign sports people playing in … Continue reading Australia to investigate one million foreign workers in fraud crackdown

Australian Immigration Department criticises government policy as “harsh”

The head of the Immigration Department has sharply criticised the Gillard government's decision to increase federal court fees since 2010, arguing the policy has had "harsh" and "unintended" consequences on refugee clients. It is highly unusual for one of the government's own departments to criticise policy in such a strident way, but in a letter … Continue reading Australian Immigration Department criticises government policy as “harsh”

Australian university funding cuts would be risk to teacher quality

Monash University vice-chancellor Ed Byrne has warned that cuts to universities could come back to bite schools. Professor Byrne said good teachers were the defining element of good schools, and teachers were educated at universities. "Universities are operating on very fine margins, and after these cuts they will be even finer. They'll survive but there … Continue reading Australian university funding cuts would be risk to teacher quality

Australia’s “Asia Literate” plan fails: more students learning Latin than Chinese

Asian language teaching in Australian schools has declined to the point where more year 12 students are studying Latin than Chinese. Despite China's growing importance and the Gillard government's goal of creating an ''Asia Literate'' society by 2025, fewer high school students who don't speak Chinese at home are learning the language than four years … Continue reading Australia’s “Asia Literate” plan fails: more students learning Latin than Chinese

Australian government defends indigenous policy

The Gillard government has defended its indigenous policies after Howard minister Alexander Downer called for children to be moved out of remote communities and into boarding schools and for increased access to property ownership. Mr Downer said sending children from remote communities into boarding schools in regional towns and cities would help them "acclimatise to … Continue reading Australian government defends indigenous policy

Australian teachers have a lot to learn

The goal of the "Give a Gonski" campaign is not a revolution; it is a counter-revolution. Its targets are changes taking place in the Coalition states that bring greater autonomy to government schools, devolve more control from bureaucrats to parents and principals, and increase school choice. Victoria's proposals, released last week, to provide every low-income … Continue reading Australian teachers have a lot to learn

Australia: Tony Abbott won’t gain much with his carbon tax stance

The carbon tax has failed to incite a tsunami of complaints from the public, with new data from the consumer watchdog indicating Labor's policy may have fallen off the public radar. In a sign that Tony Abbott will be hard-pressed to generate the same political bounce from his anti-carbon tax campaign in the run-up to … Continue reading Australia: Tony Abbott won’t gain much with his carbon tax stance

Australia: Jenny Macklin sorry for ‘insensitive’ dole claim

FAMILIES Minister Jenny Macklin has apologised for saying she could survive on the $35-a-day Newstart, admitting her comment was "insensitive" and that the dole payment would be very hard to live on. Her backdown came amid increasing pressure on the Gillard government, including from Labor MPs, to lift the $245-a-week welfare payment. Former prime minister … Continue reading Australia: Jenny Macklin sorry for ‘insensitive’ dole claim