Dutton ‘wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach’, education union boss says
Caitlin Cassidy
Haythorpe also pointed to Donald Trump’s agenda in the US, including his declaration to dismantle the department of education, significantly cut annual funding to the sector and crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Why should we care here? There is much at risk for preschools, schools and Tafe if a Dutton government is elected.
Peter Dutton has spent three years attacking and undermining teachers, making clear he will address what he sees as ‘woke agendas’ and ‘indoctrination’. He wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach it. That includes mandating explicit direct instruction in every classroom.
The politicisation of education – such as attacking a ‘woke agenda’, as Peter Dutton puts it – sends a dangerous message about the role of knowledge in society.
Turning to policy, Haythorpe said Tafe had experienced an “extraordinary turnaround” under Labor with the rollout of fee-free places, while also backing commitments to fully fund public schools within the decade.
We must ensure that every parent, principal, teacher and support staff member knows when they vote what is at stake in early childhood education, in schools and in Tafe … See you on the campaign trail.
Key events
Stephanie Convery
I’m going to hand you over to my esteemed colleague Caitlin Cassidy now, who will take you through the rest of the afternoon’s news.
Extreme fire danger expected in parts of SA and western and central Victoria, including Melbourne
South-eastern Australia can expect extreme fire danger this weekend, with high temperatures and strong winds forecast for Saturday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
High fire danger ratings were already in place in much of the south-east on Friday, but conditions are expected to peak on Saturday, with extreme fire danger expected in parts of South Australia and western and central Victoria, including Melbourne, meteorologist Jonathan How said this afternoon.
Tasmania would also see high fire danger, with bushfire still burning in the north-west of the state.
Dry lightning was also a possibility over the weekend, worsening the risk of new fires.
Forecast temperatures for the region on Saturday include 36C in Melbourne, 38C in Adelaide and up to the low-30s in Tasmania. Inland on the mainland temperatures are expected to reach into the low 40s. Sydney can expect 28C on Saturday.
A cool change is expected on Sunday but it’s unlikely to be accompanied by much rainfall.
Adeshola Ore
Bird flu detected at third property in Victoria
A highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has been detected at a third property in Victoria, with farmers warning it could exacerbate Australia’s egg shortage in coming months.
Agriculture Victoria on Thursday said the H7N8 strain of avian influenza had been detected at a third poultry farm at Euroa in Victoria’s north-east.
Thousands of chickens were euthanised after the outbreak was detected at the first two properties earlier this month.
Meg Parkinson, the president of the Victorian Farmers Federation Egg Group, said the latest outbreak would extend the timeframe of supply issues that are being seen at supermarkets and grocery stores across the nation:
It just means that it’ll take longer for the shelves to fill up.
Parkinson said it would take six months for the impact of the latest outbreak to flow through to stock on store shelves:
It just depends on what happens. Hopefully this will be the end of it, but if there’s more [outbreaks] it will take longer.
Read the full story here:
RBA says Australia ‘not as exposed as other countries’ to impact of tariffs
The impact of US tariffs are factored into the Reserve Bank’s forecasts but Australia is less vulnerable than other countries, politicians have been told and AAP reports.
Australia’s gross domestic product will be impacted negatively by America’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, but the central bank assures it will be “relatively small”.
“We’re not as exposed as other countries,” assistant governor Sarah Hunter told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday.
Tariffs can have really dislocating impacts in the short term, and that’s what can generate these big downturns in the economy, and have implications both for GDP and for inflation.
Here, our trade patterns are different.
Australia has relatively low tariffs and trade barriers, and in the past the exchange rate has been a “substantial” buffer. This means the impact of the US tariffs, which come into effect in March, depends on how it plays out with other countries.
The Reserve Bank is expecting a further escalation with China but if Beijing can no longer export to the US, it might choose to engage in cheaper trade elsewhere and Australia could benefit.
Dutton ‘wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach’, education union boss says
Caitlin Cassidy
Haythorpe also pointed to Donald Trump’s agenda in the US, including his declaration to dismantle the department of education, significantly cut annual funding to the sector and crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Why should we care here? There is much at risk for preschools, schools and Tafe if a Dutton government is elected.
Peter Dutton has spent three years attacking and undermining teachers, making clear he will address what he sees as ‘woke agendas’ and ‘indoctrination’. He wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach it. That includes mandating explicit direct instruction in every classroom.
The politicisation of education – such as attacking a ‘woke agenda’, as Peter Dutton puts it – sends a dangerous message about the role of knowledge in society.
Turning to policy, Haythorpe said Tafe had experienced an “extraordinary turnaround” under Labor with the rollout of fee-free places, while also backing commitments to fully fund public schools within the decade.
We must ensure that every parent, principal, teacher and support staff member knows when they vote what is at stake in early childhood education, in schools and in Tafe … See you on the campaign trail.
Caitlin Cassidy
First Nations justice ‘at stake’ with ‘risk of a Dutton government’, education union head says
The federal president of the Australian Education Union, Correna Haythorpe, has told the body’s annual federal conference that First Nations justice is “at stake” this federal election with the “risk of a Dutton government”.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, education minister, Jason Clare, and Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne are in attendance.
Haythorpe:
We cannot allow rightwing governments to pull back from their responsibility to the First Nations peoples and communities that they purport to represent and serve.
Peter Dutton has built his career in politics by stoking culture wars. His recent and vocal refusal to stand in front of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag is just the tip of that iceberg.
Frankly, these are blatant attempts to revive the Howard-era culture wars that are divisive and destructive and need to be left where they belong – in the ash heap of history.
Haythorpe said education was a powerful tool that could “challenge biases, dismantle stereotypes, and create inclusive environments”.
With that opportunity comes immense responsibility – to unflinchingly examine the truth of colonisation, and to ensure that the complexities and contradictions of contemporary Australian society are understood in the classroom and beyond.
Benita Kolovos
Jacinta Allan on ‘appalling’ alleged behaviour of students
Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has called the alleged behaviour of two students at Gladstone Park Secondary, who have reportedly been suspended over explicit AI images, “appalling”.
Speaking to local media in Bendigo this afternoon, she said:
This behaviour is appalling. This behaviour is outrageous and it has no place in our classrooms here in Victoria, it has no place in any room or any community in our state. Young girls and women deserve to feel safe and respected in the classroom …
This behaviour breaches that trust, breaches that respect, it holds not just women and girls back, it holds boys and men back too. That is why police will do their investigations into this outrageous, appalling behaviour, but it’s also why it’s just so important that the programs we’ve got rolled out in our schools like respectful relationships, dealing with this toxic culture that we see led by the Andrew Tate types that are not providing the role models for anyone of any gender.
It’s about working with boys and girls, women and men, in classrooms and in communities, about how we can provide a safe and respectful environment for everyone.
Sian Cain
Neighbours cancelled for second time
The long-running Australian soap Neighbours has been cancelled – again, just two years after it was revived by streaming giant Amazon.
“We are sad to announce that Neighbours will be resting from December 2025,” read an official statement from the show on Friday morning.
Production on Neighbours will wrap in July, its producer, Fremantle, confirmed. New episodes will continue to air on Amazon Prime Video globally and Australia’s Channel Ten four times a week until the end of 2025 – “with all the big soapie twists and turns that our viewers love”, the statement read.
Neighbours first ended production in 2022, capping off a record 37-year run, when Fremantle failed to secure another UK broadcaster after Channel 5 withdrew support. The subsequent outpouring of affection for the show after the cancellation led to Amazon announcing a few months later it would reboot Neighbours for its now-defunct Freevee streaming service, with Neighbours: A New Chapter launching in 2023.
Channel 5 backed out for financial reasons, but the show had continued to rate well in the UK’s busy soap market, attracting 1.5 million UK viewers a day in 2022.
With Amazon withdrawing now, Neighbours is yet again dependent on locking in another international sale or streaming deal to save it, as Ten has previously said it was not commercially viable for it to fund production alone.
Read the full story here:
Benita Kolovos
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan was asked this afternoon about the decision not to renew the contract of deputy police commissioner, Neil Paterson, just days after Shane Patton resigned as top cop.
Allan said:
I’d like to acknowledge the significant period of service deputy commissioner Neil Paterson has provided to both Victoria police and also to the wider Victoria community. We thank him for his service. It is absolutely clear that we are entering a period of transition for Victoria police, and we’ll continue to work and support the Victoria police, as we have done in providing them with the tools and the resources and the powers and the support they need that they do in turn to keep our community safe.
She would not say whether it was the government or the new acting chief commissioner Rick Nugent’s decision not to renew Paterson’s contract.
Allan said:
I’m not going to go into detailed discussions that may be occurring with the leadership of Victoria police.
Dutton says he is ‘completely opposed’ to nationalising the steelworks
Dutton:
The company is not going to be sustainable. A new buyer is not going to be willing if they’ve got the government in the boardroom.
Asked if he would face similar challenges with his nuclear power plant proposal, Dutton says:
No, if you look at what has happened in other comparable economies, 19 of the top 20 have nuclear power and Australia is the only one that has not signed up to it.
Dutton is asked if Coalition will provide same amount of money for Whyalla steelworks
Dutton responds:
We’ll provide the same amount of money for packages that will provide support to the steel industry and South Australia. That’s our commitment. But not the green hydrogen hoax product. It’s just not going to work. And no investor is going to invest when there’s no certainty about the premier’s own position.
The premier’s walking back from the prime minister’s position at a million miles an hour. There’s a huge divide between where the premier is and the prime Minister. I’m with the premier to support those workers who need to keep their jobs and to keep that steelworks open. But let’s be serious about it. It’s going to require gas, and it’s going to require a significant amount of gas. And the prime minister is talking about hydrogen – not because it’s a commercial reality. Look at what’s happened in other projects – in Queensland, in Western Australia, in Europe – it’s not commercially viable. One day it might be. And – fantastic. But it’s not.
And this dream and the emotion needs to be replaced with reality. Because people’s livelihoods are on the line here. People are going to lose their jobs if Anthony Albanese keeps prioritising the interests of Green voters in inner-city Sydney and Melbourne over the workers of Whyalla.
