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Education minister hails post-lockdown Naplan results as ‘better than expected’
This year’s Naplan results are out and show no overall decline in learning, despite being the first tests following the protracted lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.
The education minister, Jason Clare, told ABC News Breakfast the results are “better than I expected”.
This is the first Naplan since those big lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney last year, and there was some pretty horrific predictions about what that could mean. That hasn’t transpired.
I think that’s a tribute to the incredible work that teachers and parents and students did. We’ve seen pretty stable results across most of the categories.
There are some examples, particularly in year 9, where we’ve seen a tapering off. That’s of concern. I think part of that is Covid. But Naplan tells us what’s happening. It doesn’t tell us why. We need to drill deeper.
If you have a look at the data, we’re seeing a bit of a tapering off for boys and girls in reading and maths over the course of the last three years. Over 14 years it’s pretty stable. Over the last three years we’ve seen a drop. That’s why I say it may be Covid.
Naplan doesn’t measure everything. It doesn’t measure the big mental health impacts that Covid has had on young people either. The next step for us is to better understand why it’s happened.
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Leftist candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wins Brazil election
The results have come through in Brazil’s election, with leftist Lula da Silva defeating the incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro.
You can follow what that means, and the reactions to the win, more closely on our live blog exclusively dedicated to that contest:
More than 500 illicit firearms seized, with rise in 3D printed guns an increasing concern
More than 500 firearms have been seized and scores of people arrested during a national crackdown on illicit firearms involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
Operation Athena, featuring police from jurisdictions across Australia and federal agencies including Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Federal Police (AFP), raided scores of properties between 23 October and 29 October.
More than 100 search warrants were executed during the coordinated strikes, leading to 86 arrests and netting 523 firearms as well as 209 firearm parts.
A number of gel blasters were seized, which are of increasing worry to authorities, given they can look identical to real handguns, shotguns and rifles.
Numerous people were also arrested for allegedly making hybrid 3D printed guns, another area of growing concern.
ABF assistant commissioner East Erin Dale today said border force officers were highly skilled in targeting suspect consignments and detecting firearms. He said in a statement:
ABF and its federal and state and territory law enforcement partners will continue to target people who attempt to import firearms, parts or accessories such as silencers into Australia without a proper permit.
This highly successful week of action shows the ABF is determined to stop illicit firearms ending up on Australian streets.
– from AAP
Spender adds voice to calls for more time to look at IR bill
The independent member Allegra Spender has taken to social media to back those senators calling for more time to scrutinise the government’s industrial relations bill.
Good reform needs both business and the unions on board. Otherwise we’ll have a bitter and damaging fight.
The government shouldn’t rush industrial relations changes. Remember Work Choices? Good reform needs both business and the unions on board. Otherwise we’ll have a bitter and damaging fight. https://t.co/kvcHfgPjQz
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) October 30, 2022
David Pocock calls for government to consider splitting IR bill
Paul Karp
The independent senator David Pocock has suggested the government could split its industrial relations bill to pass the non-controversial parts this year.
On Thursday Pocock and the Senate crossbench (minus the Greens) voted for a committee inquiry to be extended to February 2023, because they want more time to consult on the bill, but were defeated.
On Monday, Pocock told Radio National:
This is a massive IR omnibus bill, they’ve thrown in a whole bunch of different things, a lot of them are very welcome … We’ve got to get wages moving for low-paid workers, we’ve got the gender pay gap widening, women are earning $290 per week less than men. But there are elements of this bill that do warrant more time.
Pocock said three weeks to make submissions to an inquiry and one week of hearings is “not the level of scrutiny Australians would expect for big industrial relations laws”.
The good bits according to Pocock are: gender equity as an objective of the Fair Work Act, new expert panels on the Fair Work Commission, equal remuneration principle and banning pay secrecy. He described those as “great reforms” and “fairly non-controversial” and also noted that changes to the better off overall test “have broad support”.
He said:
I’ve said there are elements of this bill that should absolutely pass … On the bigger things I haven’t had time to look at detail, we’ve already found a few drafting errors, it does warrant more scrutiny. I’m not here to be a rubber stamp despite agreeing with many elements of this bill.
Pocock singled out multi-employer bargaining as an element that needed more scrutiny, and said although he understands the argument for urgency “we also want to get this right” and a month or two’s difference won’t matter much.
Pocock said he would “be happy to look at a carve-out”, ie voting on non-contentious bits this year.
Perrottet says he has spoken with Andrews on stamp duty
Tamsin Rose
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has claimed the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, had taken an interest in his proposed changes to stamp duty for first home buyers.
Speaking in western Sydney on Monday, Perrottet said the pair had discussed the scheme while together in the border city of Albury last week.
He said:
I was with Dan Andrews in Albury last week and he said he’ll be monitoring it very closely.
Anything that premiers and governments around the country can do to help first time buyers, the better.
The NSW Labor opposition has staunchly opposed the reform. You can read more about what the proposed state law means here:
Victorian SES receive 540 requests for assistance in 24 hours
An uptick in falling trees due to damaging winds in Victoria has seen state emergency services receive over 540 requests for assistance within 24 hours (as of 9.30am this morning).
A busy night for our SES volunteers, with over 540 Requests for Assistance received in the last 24 hours. Calls were largely in relation to trees down, blocking access or over drive ways. A big thank you to our SES volunteers for working hard to clear these calls! 🧡🧡 pic.twitter.com/aw5YpP5Jka
— VICSES News (@vicsesnews) October 30, 2022
Damaging winds leave 14,000 Victorians without power
Residents across Australia’s east coast are bracing for more wild weather as communities already hit hard by flooding continue the clean-up.
A severe weather warning has been issued for Victoria, NSW, ACT, South Australia and Tasmania with damaging winds expected for the rest of Monday.
More than 14,000 people were left without power in Victoria after damaging wind gusts hit southern parts of the state, from the South Australian border across metropolitan Melbourne to Gippsland, on Sunday night.
The SES received more than 350 calls for help in 24 hours, mostly in outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
The Murray River remains in flood at Echuca, although water levels are slowly subsiding.
An evacuation order has been issued for Bogong Village near Falls Creek in the state’s northeast, where a slow-moving landslide is active above the alpine settlement.
Across the Bass Strait, Tasmanians have been warned of the risks of flash flooding, winds of up to 110km/h and possible thunderstorms in southern parts of the state.
– from AAP
‘Not a consultation, but a con to the Australian people’: Abetz criticises republic minister
The federal government will conduct a national consultation tour next year to hear from Australians about whether to sever ties with the British monarchy.
The assistant minister for the republic, Matt Thistlethwaite, has said it will be important to speak to as many people as possible, including younger Australians, migrants and those who voted no at the 1999 republic referendum.
The former coalition senator Eric Abetz, the chairman of the Australian Monarchist League, shared his thoughts about the tour with ABC News this morning:
I think the assistant minister got it half-right when he said “con”. This is not a consultation, but a con to the Australian people.
What he’s doing is using Australian taxpayer resources to fund a 3-year campaign to try to promote to the Australian people something they don’t want or need.
The democracy that we have in Australia works exceptionally well. Indeed, in the democracy index of the world, of the top five democracies, four of them are constitutional monarchies. I think that speaks for itself as to how well constitutional monarchies operate.
So, we as volunteers in the Australian Monarchist League have a huge task in trying to fight the huge bankrolling of the pro-republic campaign by the government with taxpayer dollars. We rely on volunteers such as myself to promote the message that, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And we have been served exceptionally well by our constitutional monarchy.
Search begins for national anti-corruption commissioner
The government’s search for the first national anti-corruption commissioner begins today, along with the attorney general’s department commencing advertising for the commission’s other statutory roles.
Much like the methodology of the prince in Cinderella, the government says they are “casting the widest possible net” in their search.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, released a statement:
This is a necessary step to achieve our aim of having the National Anti-Corruption Commission up and running by mid-2023.
Any appointments will be subject to the passage of the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation and approval by the parliamentary joint committee.
This will be a merit-based, transparent and robust recruitment process, adhering to the highest standards of integrity and accountability.
The government is casting the widest possible net to ensure the commission is led by the most capable and qualified people, consistent with our commitment to restoring transparency and merit to statutory appointments.
If you’re not quite sure how the Nacc will work, my colleague Paul Karp has you covered:
68 flood warnings across NSW
The SES have issued 68 flood warnings in NSW, including six emergency warnings and 41 watch and act warnings.
Robodebt royal commission hearings begin
The first round of hearings kick off today for the inquiry into the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme, investigating the establishment, design and implementation of the unlawful program.
The royal commission was promised by Labor during the election and subsequently called in August to get to the bottom of what the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has labelled a “human tragedy.”
My colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes, who has been following this issue in depth for a number of years (and indeed won a Walkley for his reporting on it), has a preview of what you can expect from these hearings including who is and isn’t expected to appear as witnesses:
The first two weeks of hearings are expected to centre on evidence from current and former officials from the Department of Social Services, which held ultimate responsibility for the policy, and Services Australia (previously Human Services), which administered the scheme.
Former government ministers including Scott Morrison, Alan Tudge and Stuart Robert are understood not to have been called for the initial hearings, though previous comments aired at the inquiry suggest it is likely they will be called at some stage.
You can read the entire preview here:
‘I just thought it was typical old Albo just having a rant’: Andrews on bullying allegations
Andrews is asked if she believes there is evidence of the PM bullying Michelle Landry:
I was in the chamber at the at the time. When I when I listened to what the prime minister was saying, I just thought it was typical old Albo just having a rant, which is what he’s quite well known for.
If you look at the way parliament operates, it’s not the way that a corporate boardroom would operate at all. I mean, if you had a difference of opinion with someone you certainly wouldn’t behave as is done in question time.
So I think at the very least, it’s an opportunity for a bit of self reflection by the prime minister about way he handled it.
And to come out and say ‘well, I wasn’t saying that to Michelle Landry, I was saying it to Peter Dutton’ really raises the question: oh, hang on, so it’s okay to yell at Peter Dutton?
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