Latest Story
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What is preventing Australian education being in the top five?
David Zyngier | February 20, 2013Education lecturer and former teacher, David Zyngier, outlines the real reasons why Australian students are lagging behind those in other high-performing OECD countries.
The Australian Education Bill 2012 was introduced to parliament by Prime Minister Gillard’s exhortation for a crusade to make our students among the top five performing countries in the world by 2020.
In her speech to Parliament Julia Gillard repeated a fallacy that teachers are the biggest factor in student performance. Once again the blame is being shifted downwards – shifting responsibility to those who can have little or no impact on the lives of students and families in their care.
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Investing in early childhood education
Kym Macfarlane | February 20, 2013Early childhood expert Dr Kym Macfarlane explains why investing in early childhood care means laying solid foundations for future education.
A great deal of money is currently being invested by the federal government to ensure that all 3-4 year old children have access to an early childhood teacher for at least 15 hours per week. This investment has meant strong emphasis by the States on ensuring there are enough early childhood teachers to fill this role.
In Queensland, scholarships have been offered to teachers and early years’ practitioners to encourage them to add further early childhood qualifications to their repertoire. There have been similar moves in other states. Therefore, the investment in this federal government initiative is significant.
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Teaching only science
Paul Willis | February 19, 2013Royal Institution of Australia director, Dr Paul Willis, explains how creationism is disrupting science education, both in Australia and around the world, and why effective science teaching should not follow any religious, social or political agenda.
The content of a science curriculum ought to be easy to identify and should be included without challenge – good science content is good science! Anything else should be excluded. We owe it to our children not to cloud their developing minds with phantoms and fantasies dressed up as realities no matter how comforting they may be for some people. We need to be clear what science is and isn’t before we can clearly explain that difference to our children.
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Is Australian sport really in crisis?
Steve Redhead | February 17, 2013Professor of Sport and Media, Steve Redhead, unpicks the recent ACC report on drugs and corruption in Australian sport, while shedding light on an even greater international issue that, for years, has been ignored.
The recently released Australian Crime Commission (ACC) report on the use of performance enhancing drugs and match fixing in Australian sport is seen by many as unveiling the largest scandal in our Nation’s otherwise very proud sporting history. But there are plenty of people who wish it would just go away as quickly as it arrived in the global media inbox. The report will now be acted on by the Federal government, senior police, governing bodies of various sports, and clubs themselves.
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Strata and Community Title laws review update
The Hon Anthony Roberts | February 15, 2013As the review into NSW strata and community title laws continues, NSW Fair Trading Minister, the Hon. Anthony Roberts MP shares an update on his focus for the future and necessary law reform.
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UncategorisedG20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit
Open Forum | February 14, 2013
Young entrepreneurial business owners are being urged to apply to be part of the Australian delegation attending the 2013 G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (YEA) Summit in Moscow in June.The Enterprise Network for Young Australians (ENYA) will send 20 young entrepreneurs to the meeting in Russia that will develop a policy document for the G20 Leaders Summit executive, comprising recommendations to enable young entrepreneurs to better contribute to economic growth, job creation, innovation and social change.
Young Australian entrepreneurs can apply at www.enya.org.au/win to be part of the Australian delegation and be in the running for a $5,000 business grant awarded by the ENYA expert panel.
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Teachers make a difference
Maurie Mulheron | February 13, 2013President of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maurie Mulheron, shares the inspirational stories behind a new campaign about the importance of teachers in our public schools.
Teachers in the Public Education System make a difference every day to the lives of their students.
In January this year the Teachers Federation launched a digital, television and cinema campaign celebrating the work of teachers in public schools and colleges throughout New South Wales. It honours their dedication, professionalism and commitment to the students they teach in the New South Wales Public Education System.
We invited people to share their stories about teachers who have made a positive difference to their lives.
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A new age for travel branding
Hans Hulsbosch | February 12, 2013In an information age where consumers are flooded by constant images and live updates, brand expert, Hans Hulsbosch explains why travel branding likes to get personal.
Travel branding has a new blueprint that has technology and customer service playing key roles, side by side. We are a new generation of travellers with expectations fuelled by the seduction of pure possibility, thanks to the digital age. Travel branding is sexy at last!
As travel consumers, we’re adept at making the stretch across retail, brand websites, brand blogs, independent consumer blogs, mobile devices and advertising (print, TV, outdoor and radio). And let’s not forget word of mouth.
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Act of Recognition
Jacqueline Phillips | February 11, 2013As a new parliamentary year kicks off, ANTaR’s National Director, Jacqueline Phillips, hopes our political leaders can transcend party lines to ensure recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is granted.
The Australian Parliament is, tomorrow (13 February 2013), expected to vote on a bill that could see Australia take another step towards due recognition of the First Peoples of this land.
Some of you will be aware of moves to change Australia’s Constitution to recognise Australia’s First Peoples. Some may even have heard about proposals to address racist aspects of our founding document and ensure that all Australians are protected from being discriminated against on the basis of their race, culture and ethnicity. These conversations have been happening for some time, initially led by a panel appointed by the Government in 2010 that found widespread community support for change.
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Uncategorised2013 Barnardos Mother of the Year Awards
Open Forum | February 11, 2013
Each year Barnardos Australia recognises and rewards inspirational mothers in our community through the Barnardos Australia’s Mother of the Year Awards. Launched in 1996, the Awards recognise the enormous contribution that mums make in shaping Australia’s future through their role in the nurture of children. Nominations are currently invited from any Australian who knows an exceptional mum.A judging panel, comprising ambassadors and sponsor representatives will gather in March to assess the top 100 nominations, from which three finalists will be selected for each Australian state and territory.
Nominations are now open and close on 01 March 2013.
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Will Gillard’s election gamble pay off?
Dominic O'Sullivan | February 10, 2013In the wake of Australia’s longest-ever federal election campaign, Dr Dominic O’Sullivan examines whether the long haul battle between Labor and Liberal will make for informed voting choices at the polls.
The Prime Minister’s risk in naming the election date six and a half months earlier than constitutionally necessary has, so far, not paid off. For many of her colleagues and political commentators it was always just another example of poor Prime Ministerial judgement and, for some, yet another reason to recall Kevin Rudd to the Labor party leadership.
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UncategorisedChinese New Year Festival
Open Forum | February 9, 2013
Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and 2013 is the Year of the Water Snake. Chinese New Year, beginning Sunday 10 February, is longest and most important festival in the Chinese calendar and is celebrated with a host of events in capital cities across Australia.
