Guy on Rocks: Certified gold hits from the Drummond Basin
This week on Guy on Rocks, host Guy Le Page puts Queensland-based epithermal gold explorer GBM Resources (ASX:GBZ) under the scope.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
'Enrolment crisis' for performing arts students at Virtual School Victoria
Amid surging enrolments a state-run virtual school is tightening its entry criteria, making it effectively impossible for talented performers to be accepted into the school. Many singers, actors and dancers who are attending private performing arts colleges get their high-school education from Virtual School Victoria (VSV), formerly called Distance Education Centre Victoria. The industry peak body, Ausdance VIC, has told the ABC if change comes into effect at VSV next year, the academic future of over 100 high-school students could be in doubt. From 2026, performance students enrolling in VSV require support from specific creative organisations. The problem, according to Ausdance VIC, is the listed companies cannot provide references. "None of the organisations on that list knew they were going to be required to give these references," Ausdance VIC spokesperson Eilannin Harris-Black said. "Accordingly they've got no policies in place, and they are just generally unable to provide these [references] through lack of remit, lack of insurance, lack of procedures and no communication at all from the Department of Education. Since April, Ausdance VIC has been trying to negotiate with VSV and the Department of Education to find a way forward. It is calling on VSV to "urgently suspend" the new criteria until a workable solution has been found in consultation with the sector. Only students re-enrolling for years 11 and 12 can apply under the existing requirements. "The dance sector is happy to participate in proper checks and balances — but there needs to be consultation before action." The Department of Education said the enrolment criteria had been strengthened to ensure the category remained focused on elite students. A spokesperson said the changes were to "ensure alignment with the category's original intent — to support elite athletes and performers with extraordinary commitments, and to support students to engage meaningfully in their education and meet minimum instructional hours." "VSV is supporting students and their parents to explore alternative educational options if they are no longer eligible to attend VSV and can give special consideration on a case-by-case basis". Following questions from the ABC and stakeholders, the ABC understands the Department was reviewing VSV enrolment requirements for 2026 and will update the school community in term 3. VSV was contacted for comment. Transit Dance trains around 30 high school students annually. The school's artistic director and Ausdance board member, Jayden Hicks, said if the proposed criteria goes ahead in 2026, it would create an "enrolment crisis". "Anyone below year 10 couldn't continue and we couldn't accept new students, even if they were exceptional." He wants VSV and the Department of Education to see how performance arts high schools operate before making any changes. "We have classroom set-ups, we have high school teachers — we are a great alternative to mainstream school for creative students," he said. Mr Hicks said he was happy for independent oversight of incoming students, but the current list of "recognised organisations" was unworkable. "Our governance body is Ausdance, they should be able to assess if students are elite or advise on who would be an appropriate referee." Imogen Premraj knew she wanted a career in musical theatre from the moment she saw MAMMA MIA! on stage as a three-year-old. Now 14, Imogen has already performed professionally with the Melbourne Theatre Company, and at Melbourne's Regent Theatre. When she was accepted into the Ministry of Performing Arts College (MOPAC) for year 8, she was elated. "The community at MOPAC is amazing and my skills have definitely improved," she said. "I think my academic performance is going really well with VSV." Imogen's mother, Bridie Premraj, said the planned enrolment changes for 2026 "don't make sense". She hoped performance students, including her daughter, could continue with the virtual school. "Having access to VSV means communities like MOPAC can exist, accessing really high-quality [performance] training while also accessing high quality education," Ms Premraj said. "Since starting at MOPAC we have seen a huge growth in her confidence and skills, far beyond what we would have imagined. "It would be disappointing if Imogen couldn't continue with VSV." VSV describes itself as "the state's leading virtual school". In recent years enrolments at VSV have exploded — from 3,530 students in 2018 to 6,673 in 2025. Most pupils are school-based students completing VCE subjects not offered at their home school. Others attend VSV full time because they cannot attend a mainstream school due to elite sports or performing arts commitments, mental or physical health conditions, travel, or living remotely. Of the non-school based students, it appears most of the enrolments come from the medical "mental health" category, which was previously named "social emotional". VSV's 2022 annual report said there were "1,431 students enrolled in this category including 895 students referred to the school by medical practitioners due to school refusal". Some people questioned whether the change in criteria for the sports/performance category was an effort to reduce enrolments and push students back into mainstream schools. This was despite the sports/performance category accounting for just three per cent of VSV's total enrolments in 2025. VSV and the Department of Education didn't respond when the ABC asked if the new criteria are designed to reduce enrolments. In October 2024, VSV announced an update to the sports/performance enrolment category to "clarify and standardise the requirements for elite athletes and performers seeking enrolment at VSV". Previously students were required to get a letter from their current school stating the student had left for performing arts commitments and that "in their view, VSV is an appropriate alternative educational experience". The students sporting or performing arts organisation was then required to confirm: New criteria means that from 2026 only Victorian residents entering years 9-12 with exceptional abilities will be eligible. Applicants will also require support from a recognised sports or performing arts organisation. The problem for these performing arts schools is that even if students are "exceptional" the artistic companies listed are not in a position to provide references, according to Ausdance VIC. The ABC has contacted several of the listed organisations — those that responded said they were not notified of the change and could not provide the detailed endorsement asked for in the guidelines.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
The male breadwinner is gone. Why working from home is necessary for modern families
Eb Yusuf had to return to work when her daughter was just eight months old — an experience she describes as traumatising. "I was with my girl 24/7 up until that point and then I had to leave for eight, nine hours a day," the Sydney mother says. Yusuf's employer at the time required her to return to the office full-time but she later found a part-time role that allowed her to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 42-year-old is one of many Australian parents who say working from home and other flexible arrangements have become essential to the smooth functioning of their households and satisfaction with their family life. Yusuf, who has since returned to full-time hours but continues to work from home three days a week, says she doesn't want to miss out on raising her child. "I think in 2025 [work from home is] crucial," she says. I enjoy being able to be there for all those milestones [for my daughter], I don't want someone else to be having more time with my child than I am. Yusuf's husband also works from home three days a week, and she says this helps them to pick up their daughter at a reasonable time from after-school care. On days she works from home, she is also able to use some of her 30-40 minute commute time for exercise or other activities. "[It gives me time to] do those things that make me a good mum, and a good employee, and a good wife, and happy within myself, so I think that's really important," she says. Cost of living pressures force both parents to work Demographer Liz Allen, of the Australian National University, says workplaces have historically lagged in supporting parents in working effectively while maintaining their priorities as parents and their own personal well-being. But working from home is enabling that and also breaks down barriers to gender equality in the workplace. "It gives an expectation to workers that they have a right to work from home to make that work-life juggle [easier]," Allen says. For many women, staying home to look after their children is no longer an option. We are no longer in a situation where we've got that male breadwinner — single income earner — in a family where a woman stays home and does everything by way of unpaid work. "In order to pay for housing, we need dual-income earners," Allen says. According to the property listing company Domain, property prices have jumped by 777 per cent over the past three decades in some capital cities, such as Sydney, where the median price of a house is now $1.7 million — compared with a median of $192,819 in March 1993. House prices in Sydney increased by 777 per cent between 1993 and 2025, according to data from Domain. Source: SBS News But wage growth over a similar period has not kept pace, which has put extra strain on families. Wages in NSW grew by 131.1 per cent between September 1997 and March 2025. Wages growth in Australia has failed to keep pace with the increased cost of housing. Source: SBS News Women are more likely to work now Social researcher Mark McCrindle points out that women in their early 30s — an age when many would be having children — are now twice as likely to be working compared to their own mothers at the same age. He explains: "77 per cent of women in their early 30s are in the labour force — it was less than a third a generation ago." Employment for women aged in their 30s once dropped sharply but now it barely dips. Source: SBS News Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Time Use Survey, conducted between November 2020 and July 2021, McCrindle notes that a third of Australians also report feeling rushed or pressed for time often or always. Around 38 per cent of women reported this, and 32 per cent of men. Women aged 35 to 44 years were the group most likely to report feeling rushed for time (55 per cent). McCrindle says working from home is seen as a way of reducing that stress or time pressure, as workplaces are traditionally located in CBDs well away from where people live, and where schools, childcare, shopping and other family and social connections are located. The rising cost of housing has pushed people even further away from workplaces. "The only way to really make all of that work is to have less time conducting that commute, and that's where I think work from home achieves that," McCrindle says. Work from home has become a lifeline for parents Yusuf, whose daughter is now seven years old, has been promoted to the senior leadership team at her work, and says her experiences motivated her to support flexibility for employees returning from maternity leave, so they can return to work in a way that makes them comfortable. "[There's] no clock watching, so you're not making sure people arrive at a certain time or leave at a certain time," she says. I've heard of businesses saying you need to prove that you've got child care — somebody in the house helping you with the child — in order to be paid for this day of work. "We don't do anything like that because we just know that our people will make it work.," Yusuf says. She hopes flexible work arrangements will ultimately enable women to take on leadership roles while still allowing them to be the parents they aspire to be. "I know a lot of women in senior roles who have the house husband or the au pair, but I don't want to miss out on that time with my child," she says. Eb Yusuf is ambitious about her career but doesn't want to miss out on spending time with her daughter. Source: Supplied Yusuf's heard messages directed towards women that if they want to be a boss or CEO, they need to be in the office. But she points out she has a vested interest in the business performing well. "I've worked in this business for nearly five years. They know that I want to do a good job and I'll get it done," she says. "Whether it's [because I'm clocking on] outside of work hours or whether I just do it quicker ... because I'm a mum and I need to be efficient with my time." 'I just love my life so much more' Kerrie Cullimore, 41, has 12-year-old twins and says she left her previous job because the demands of full-time work and commuting for almost three hours a day were unsustainable with young children. Cullimore says it felt like work took up a huge part of her life. "I was gone from the house for like 13 hours a day or something ridiculous. [I was home at] 7 o'clock at night," she says. I remember standing in the bus line looking around at everyone [one] night ... thinking ... 'I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. This is horrible'. Cullimore, who found a part-time role closer to home in the finance department of a media company, says being allowed to work remotely meant her family could make a life-changing move from Sydney to Port Stephens. "I can take my dog for a walk in the morning, the kids get on the bus [just outside my house], I'm here in the afternoon when the kids get home [and] I can make dinner," she says. "I can jump on and off online depending on my work schedule, and I just love my life so much more." The arrangement is also beneficial for her employers as she logs in every day, even though she has a part-time role. "If I had to go into the office, I would definitely go in for the three days only," she says. Kerrie Cullimore loves her life after working from home enabled her family to move to Port Stephens. Source: Supplied Cullimore also appreciates that her workplace allows staff members who work from the office to leave around 2.30pm to pick up their children from school. "Nobody cares ... they go home and finish the rest of their work at home," she says. "It's just so lovely to work for a company that is really accommodating to parents, and understands that parents can be more part of their children's life." Push to get workers back in the office While working from home is valued by employees, some employers have pushed to get staff back in the office. Welsh says the research agency, which conducts focus group polling, observed how voters began to view Dutton as a risk to their finances because working from home was valued for helping them save money on things like public transport, food and childcare. "When you've got people that are in survival mode and they see [work from home] as a solution to it — and a solution that is fair — [it's] pretty hard to come out and argue against that," he says. Redbridge's research found working from home also made mothers feel better about themselves and relieved some of the stress of parenting. "[Mothers] don't feel like they're neglecting their kids ... they can be there to pick the kids up from school rather than having the kids go to an after-school program," he says. "That matters to fathers as well, but it's particularly acute for women." Dutton is not the only leader trying to roll back work-from-home arrangements. LISTEN TO SBS News 30/04/2025 03:56 English A survey of 500 employers conducted in November by recruitment agency Robert Half found 39 per cent wanted workers in the office five days a week in 2025, up from 36 per cent in 2024. Overall, the number of mandated in-office workdays was expected to rise from an average of 3.43 days a week in 2024 to 3.64 days a week in 2025. Among employers planning to mandate in-office days this year, around 40 per cent believed this would help improve productivity. The benefits of working from home The Albanese government has identified productivity as a key economic focus of its second term, following data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that shows the productivity growth rate has slowed to its lowest level in at least 20 years. But a report from the Productivity Commission released in September 2021 recommended that governments not stand in the way of working from home. Productivity Commission chair Michael Brennan says: "On balance, working from home can unlock significant gains in terms of flexibility and time for employees, and could even increase the nation's productivity." "Risks can be managed but we should keep an eye on them and be ready to intervene if necessary." Brennan says the COVID-19 pandemic had greatly accelerated the take-up of technology that assisted work-from-home opportunities. "In less than two years, we have gone from less than 8 per cent of Australians working from home to 40 per cent," he says. "While this percentage may not always remain so high, it is inevitable that more Australians will work from home." Work from home is unlikely to disappear McCrindle believes a hybrid model, where at least some work is done at home, is "baked in" and not just because it benefits families. Working from home gives people more time for hobbies, social engagements, volunteering, and even a side hustle or entrepreneurial activity. It enables older workers to help out with grandkids and those who are neurodivergent to participate in the workplace more fully. It may also help parents who don't want to put their children in childcare to manage care with help from grandparents or extended family while continuing to work. Mothers may also be able to breastfeed for a longer period. "The bigger picture has to be beyond purely GDP [gross domestic product] measures to the other social measures of wellbeing, social fabric, engaged family, and investment in the next generation," McCrindle says. "Any flexible practices that can help accommodate that, I think, is an investment in the future." This is part one of a series looking at how modern families are balancing the pressures of working life. Next week, we will look at whether other workplace changes can make a difference.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Australia's ancient export brings new jobs to WA
Shark Bay or Gathaagudu is on Australia's most westerly point. A world heritage area where the bronzed earth meets turquoise waters abundant with marine life. Here you'll find turtles, dugongs, whale, dolphins and scattered across the sea floor a coveted delicacy containing centuries of seafaring history. The sea cucumber is Australia's first ever export. From the early 1700s, Makassan fisherman, from the island of Sulawesi - now Indonesia - sailed the trade winds south to Arnhem Land to trade with Aboriginal people. "From what the records show, they used to swap sea cucumbers for iron for their spears. So I thought it was incredible that there was a trade before colonisation and you can actually record it. So why not try and recreate it?" That's Malgana Traditional Owner Michael Wear. He heads an Indigenous-owned business which is reviving the ancient industry. Tidal Moon draws on traditional knowledge to harvest sea cucumbers sustainably. Hand-picked, one by one, the marine animal will soon be dried and processed at a brand-new export facility in the West Australian town of Denham. And then they're sent to a Singaporean partner for export across South East Asia. Tidal Moon also has its sights set on Western markets, with emerging research highlighting the potential health benefits of the marine animals. The hope is that as the business scales up, so too will employment opportunities in the region. "The lack of indigenous people in the commercial fishing industry is so, so unfortunate. If you can create a business that's sustainable, that's culturally directed, you can create jobs and a middle class within small coastal towns." Since 2017, the company has trained around a dozen Indigenous divers, including 28 year old Malgana and Amangu man Alex Dodd - the company's lead diver "Tidal Moon, what it's actually doing is making that middle class ground so people can move back home and have jobs and then buy a house, settle down with their family and kids up here and move back home. A lot of the time you get young fellas that grow up here and then they're moving away going to the mines or going to Perth or something like that because it's not sustainable for them to work here." Conservation is also at the heart of the business Gathaagudu is home to the planet's largest reserve of seagrass both a food source for marine life and a carbon storage powerhouse But more than a quarter was razed in a marine heatwave in 2011, and it's still recovering while also grappling with a new heatwave. In February, the waters were four degrees warmer than usual. Tidal Moon is leading one of the world's largest seagrass restoration projects. While scouring the seafloor for sea cucumbers, the divers also replant seagrass reserves. "One of the key things that we're trying to do is keep the carbon captured in the sea floor. So without seagrass restoration, you have these carbon bombs that go off and there's about 40 million tons of CO2 that are at risk in Shark Bay." The team have also catalogued over 4000 hours of footage – a 'living library' of marine observations noticing a symbiotic relationship between the seagrass and sea cucumbers. Jennifer Verduin, a marine scientist at Perth's Murdoch University, agrees that the relationship might be 'mutually beneficial,' saying sea cucumbers are 'the worms of the ocean.' "The function of sea cucumbers overturning the soil and redistributing nutrients. It's very good to get those nutrients in within the sediment. So it's good for the seagrasses and they grow better. But seagrasses, in turn, also then protect the sea cucumbers." She says Tidal Moon's divers, have a 'careful' and 'circular' way of approaching marine conservation. "We have lost the art of observation as western scientists, very often. And that's why I think Tidal Moon is really important to getting that back up to a better understanding of a circular ecosystem, if you like."
