Australia's Education Minister says Australia's school system is one of the most segregated in the world; China further eases trade sanctions on Australian exports; And in sport, English cricketer Jofra Archer plays for his old school team in Barbados without England's knowledge.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Australia's Education Minister says Australia's school system is one of the most segregated in the world;
- China further eases trade sanctions on Australian exports;
- And in sport, English cricketer Jofra Archer plays for his old school team in Barbados without England's knowledge.
Australia's Education Minister says the nation's school system is one of the most segregated in the world, based on parents' pay packets.
An expert panel review has found nearly all public schools are failing to fulfil the standards required to meet students' educational needs.
Education Minister Jason Clare has met with state and territory counterparts on the issue, and vowed to close the funding gap between public and private schools.
"Public schools aren't fully funded at the moment, but not just that, what we're seeing is that children from poor families and regional Australia are three times more likely to fall behind than other children. We need to fix both of those things, we need to fix funding for our public schools but we also need to fix that funding gap."
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China has further eased trade sanctions on Australian exports, with the Chinese customs agency announcing suspensions on imports from three Australian abattoirs have been lifted.
A number of Australian meat establishments remain suspended, and sanctions remain on exports including rock lobster and beef.
Bans on Australian wine are also being reviewed after Canberra agreed to suspend a dispute lodged with the World Trade Organisation.
China applied sanctions worth $20 billion dollars on Australian products during the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.
The recent easing of sanctions follows a number of meetings between Senator Farrell and his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao over the past few months.
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The National Party has criticised the government's plans to reduce migration over the next two years, saying cuts will create a shortage in essential trade workers and exacerbate the housing crisis.
It comes after the government announced plans to halve net migration over the next two years as a part of its overhaul of the immigration system.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neill says migration levels need to be brought back to sustainable levels after a post-pandemic peak of 500,000 arrivals in the last financial year.
The government has defended the proposed changes, saying they will ensure Australian workers are prioritised for job opportunities.
National Party senator Bridget McKenzie has told channel 9 the overhaul will cause shortages in much-needed construction workers and worsen the housing crisis.
"We're in the middle of a housing crisis right now you can't find a tradie for love nor money. We've seen the blowout in costs as a result of that in our infrastructure building our congested suburbs and cities. You can't rent going through the roof. You can't afford a house and the building industry has said there's a shortage of 230,000 tradies. By making it harder for them to come in from overseas, we're not going to have everyone jumping on an apprenticeship and completing in the next year. So you're just exacerbating the housing crisis and labor could have done something to fix it."
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English cricketer Jofra Archer has played for his old school team in Barbados, despite being blocked from playing in the Indian Premier League by England in order to recover from injury.
Archer's appearance on Sunday for Foundation in the Barbados Cricket Association league, taking four for 18, took England by surprise.
The fast bowler had joined England on the Caribbean island where he was born and raised and took part in some bowling drills on Friday as he continues his rehabilitation from the latest setback in his recovery from a right elbow injury.
England appeared to have no knowledge of Archer's decision to make a cameo appearance for Foundation, with director of men's cricket Rob Key saying he was unaware.
