Craig Hill
Peter Garrett
Australia’s Federal Education Minister banned from schools by state government
Queensland has banned Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett from visiting two state schools as the row over the Gonski funding changes escalates. Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has expressed his concern to Mr Garrett that “schools are being used as political stages,” adding that his Government does not “think this is good for either students … Continue reading
Many Australian teachers find national literacy and numeracy plan too difficult to understand
Many teachers do not know how to use data provided by annual assessments of their pupils’ literacy and numeracy ability, despite often criticising the tests themselves, a new report has found. The report, from the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee also said teachers need more training to help understand the basics of … Continue reading
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
Australia must improve performance on indigenous education
Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett will today demand that the states and territories dramatically lift their game on indigenous education, warning that they are not on track to meet their Closing the Gap targets. Mr Garrett will use the education ministers’ meeting in Sydney to call on states and territories to improve their performance … Continue reading
A fifth of Australian teaching degrees will fail new government quality test
About a fifth of the 400 teaching degrees offered by universities around Australia will struggle to meet standards required for accreditation by the national teaching institute, and half of those courses are expected to close. The chairman of the Australian Institute for Teaching School Leadership, Tony Mackay, yesterday said the new national standards for accrediting … Continue reading
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
Australia: Kevin Rudd reignites leadership speculation with barefoot bowls tournament
It is a rollback to the heady days of Kevin07. More than five years after Kevin Rudd filled television screens and Facebook pages from dusk until dawn in his campaign for The Lodge, the self-described “humble” backbencher is again reigniting leadership speculation with a blitz of mainstream and social media. As Julia Gillard jetted-off for … Continue reading
Most Recent Posts Post on My Blog About China: China News
India’s offensive against China should be in the grey zone
Grey zone is not a fixed concept but a hypothetical place between peace and war. While I was writing this article, a never heard of development was taking place in the Indian state of Punjab. The Indian Prime Minister was stuck on a bridge for 20 minutes since the highway was blocked by the protesters. […]
Cadence Column: Asia, January 10, 2022
Lithuania has become the “Taiwan of Europe”. Since WWII, Americans never again struggled with the concept that a problem abroad is a problem at home. This is how we Americans can vote to interfere around the world that we know so little about. We think every squeal from another continent indicates a personal assault on […]
Is China ready to host the Winter Olympics?
Chinese officials have promised that the 2022 Winter Olympics — to be held Feb. 4 to 20 and followed by the Paralympics March 4-13 — will be a “safe, streamlined and splendid” global event. But that won’t be easy. With less than four weeks to go, China is struggling to enforce its strict zero-covid policy […]
Crystal Gazing 2022: India and The World
If we thought 2019 and 2020 presented uncertainties then 2022 is here to surprise all of us. It could be remembered as one of the most complex, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous years in the recent past. COVID-19, oil crossing $100/barrel, Iran-US nuclear talks, Iran-Israel tension, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cryptocurrency, and militarization of outer […]
Japan looks west to guard against a rising China
Japan signed on Thursday a new security treaty with Australia, a fellow middle power that is similarly aligning against an increasingly assertive China. The blandly-branded Reciprocal Access Agreement, which was signed virtually by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, marks the conclusion of a process that started in 2014, when […]
Cadence Column: Asia, January 3, 2022
Taiwan is on the rise. With chip shortages, stock is booming. You know how graphics cards are astronomically high? A lot of that money is going into Taiwan. Meanwhile, China found an excuse to order a real estate developer to demolish 39 freshly, new-built “luxury apartments”—something about the building permit being illegal and violated zoning. […]
Cadence Column: Asia, December 27, 2021
Japan is on the scene in the Pacific. While Japanese athletes will attend the Olympics, Japanese officials will not. China doesn’t want Japan to “politicize” the games. But, consider 2008, the one-hour opening ceremony about nothing but China’s history, with President Xi marching in to a one-world dream at the end. For Beijing, hosting the […]
Cadence Column: Asia, December 20, 2021
The US is hitting China hard over treatment of Uyghurs. Nearly all imports from Xinjiang will be banned. At the same time, the US bolsters the call to bolster Taiwan’s military defense. However, Taiwan has the seeds of the same tyranny; it just doesn’t materialize into anything alarming because Taiwan remains small. The most obvious […]
When India goes to war with China
It is an open secret that China challenges everything India sets its eyes on, be it cooperation with Quad partners (the United States, Australia, Japan), international organizations like United Nations, WHO, or designating a terrorist organization. India, a Quad member and a close ally of the United States, has become the biggest eyesore for China. […]
How US may get dragged into maritime clash with China
As China-US tensions ratchet up, the unthinkable – a military clash – becomes ever more likely. While neither likely wants a military confrontation, a perfect storm of circumstances could turn a relatively minor incident into a wider clash. While China’s intimidation of Taiwan has captured the most attention as a potential flashpoint, Beijing’s aggressive actions […]
Craig Hill 