Education in the Budget
4 May 2016
The Liberal party have realised that cutting funding to Education, their previous approach, will not sit with the electorate. They have increased funding to $1.2 billion over 2 years between 2018 - 2020, but this is significantly less than the $4.5 billion Labour promised to implement the Gonski reforms.
There have been continued devastating cuts to higher education and some funding for performance based teaching which has never been shown to work.
It seems better than it could have been. Let's see what the Opposition reply is.
Read expert analysis here
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We're mid Autumn
3 May 2016
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May E News out this week!
2 May 2016
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Last Day of April
30 April 2016
Cold weather is looming....
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July Election: What's in it for schools?
28 April 2016
Labour has released their education policy in two documents Growing Together: Labour's Agenda for Tackling Inequality in Schools and Your Child, Our Future and Innovation through Education.
We also know they are committed to implementing the Gonski recommendations.
The Coalition has yet to release it's policy, but polling by ANU has shown voters want good education policy, so they may yet return to Gonski. Funding education well would obviously sit with their Innovation Agenda.
Let's see what happens..
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Looking for a TERM 2 show?
26 April 2016
There's been a sudden flurry of bookings of shows for this term. Don't stress. There are lots available. If your first choice doesn't work out, just let us know and we'll help you with alternatives! Think of us as your show angels. (That may be a stretch - but we wanted to use this great image from Black Swan's Angels in America!)
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ANZAC Day
25 April 2016
Lest we forget
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Paris Climate Change - Signing of new law today
22 April 2016
Leaders from 150 countries are in New York today to sign the Agreement made at the December 15 Climate Change meeting in Paris.
If enough countries sign it, then it will become international law 30 days after being signed.
For this to happen 55% of the world's countries, who together make up at least 55% of the world's emissions have to sign. These requirements are so the action will actually happen. It's not enough that small countries, most threatened by climate change - such as islands in the Pacific and Caribbean, can sign. Their emissions are negligible. Countries who cause the emissions need to be involved. Both China and the US, who make up about 40% of emissions, have jointly indicated they will sign.
Although Australia is there to sign the treaty, it might not be able to comply with it. It will depend which party is in power. The Turnbull government agreed to sign and although Turnbull himself is a supporter of an emission trading scheme, the Coalition is strongly opposed to it. Since the Abbott Govenment repealed the Carbon Trading Scheme introduced by the Gillard Government, our carbon emissions are actually rising for the first time in a decade.
Bill Shorten has said if elected, the ALP would reintroduce a carbon trading scheme.
Whoever is in Government, legislating Australia’s climate targets, setting a national cap on emissions, and pricing carbon pollution are vital if Australia’s signature on the Paris Agreement is to mean anything at all.
The world has collectively realised that rapid, transformative action is required to decarbonise the global economy by 2050, Australia needs to do it's bit.
Read further in The Conversation
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A long weekend - time to reflect
22 April 2016
ANZAC Day is a great time to reflect on where we are as a nation. We may have come of age in 1915, but here we are 101 years later, still not an independent country.
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Go Vego to save our forests
21 April 2016
How the world is going to sustain an increased population? Become vegetarian.
A new study discovered a meat-eater requires at least double the resources of a vegan or vegetarian. The problem is that grain is fed to cattle. In the US it takes an astonishing 25kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef. Why not just eat the grain? The grain currently fed to US cattle, could feed 800 million people.
The other problem with eating meat is that cattle require grazing land, so forests are destroyed to run beef. An area the size of Panama is deforested every year for grazing. If the world suddenly went vegetarian in 2050, we'd save an area the size of India from deforestation, and if we went one step further and became vegan, we'd save an area the size of the Amazon.
Luckily I've always liked a chick pea. Read all the details here
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Community Consultation and Boaty McBoatface
19 April 2016
Perhaps organisations will at last think twice before opening up naming rights to community consultation.
Just because it works for the latest cute baby at the zoo doesn't mean it will for, say, a scientific vessel or, say, a new vegemite brand.
Why shouldn't people have fun with it? After all, it's to get people talking about the item and that has certainly happened, but after Kraft's experience with their vegemite and cheese combo that gained the name iSnack2.0 by popular vote, it seems bizarre that the public relations people at the NERC didn't envisage a less than distinguished name. It now seems they will reject the publicly voted name which then causes a new wave of criticism.
I find Boaty McBoatface an hilarious name, and so was the spoof video for Kraft's iSnack2.0. Wonder when we'll see another public vote for the launch of something?
Read more in The Conversation, here.
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Enjoy your first day of holidays, SA!
18 April 2016
The rest of the country is in school!
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