Latest news with #CaitlinCassidy
The Guardian
01-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Do Naplan results matter? Who are they even for?
Every year, Naplan results are released, and every year there's an annual media frenzy and resulting panic for educators and parents alike. Australia's largest nationwide standardised test, Naplan was launched in 2008 to assess students across the country in literacy and numeracy. The test is meant to help governments, education authorities and schools determine whether students are meeting performance targets, and compare between jurisdictions and demographics. Flash forward to 2025, and Naplan has become a very different beast. The tests have been criticised for placing unnecessary pressure on young students, exacerbated by the media coverage hyping up high performers and pointing the finger over low results. Guardian Australia's education reporter, Caitlin Cassidy, explains
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The controversy over Jillian Segal's antisemitism plan
The federal government's special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has released a report that recommends 49 key actions to stamp out abuse towards Jewish Australians. There are elements of Segal's plan that have bipartisan support – but other recommendations have faced strong criticism, with some saying it has the potential to silence debate and dissent. Political reporter and chief of staff Josh Butler and education reporter Caitlin Cassidy speak to Reged Ahmad about why the proposed antisemitism plan has some people worried.
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Australia news live: Watt predicts ‘easier' time in Senate; Liberals need ‘timeless values', says NSW leader
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Caitlin Cassidy Labor to deliver more on housing in second term, Murray Watt says Labor will be 'able to deliver' action it has promised on housing in its second term, the minister for employment and workplace relations, Murray Watt, has flagged. The Labor senator told ABC's 7.30 on Monday evening that Labor's agenda in its first term was 'more ambitious' than it is credited for, particularly on housing. I think this term … we'll actually now be able to deliver a lot of the things that we have promised in housing. Pressed on whether Labor would make tax changes in its second term, including to negative gearing, he said the party had been 'very clear' that it wasn't proposing to change its policy and wouldn't 'start scrapping policies' either. We think that we can meet the needs of younger Australians through the policy platform that we took to the election. Of course, the commitment to reduce Hecs debts by 20% was very popular among younger people. The commitments we've made to build more homes for first home-buyers. The 5% deposit scheme backed in by the government was very popular among young voters. Labor MP Murray Watt. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP Share Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before the main action kicks off. Labor have not been given enough credit for policies to ease the housing crisis, Murray Watt said last night, as the Labor senator promised that the new Albanese government 'will be able' to deliver more to help in its second term, expecting things to be a little easier for Labor's policy agenda in the new Senate. It came as the prime minister warned crossbenchers last night to 'get out of the way' and allow the private sector to get on with building more homes. More coming up. It's an altogether different outlook for the Liberals who are well on their way to a full-blown existential crisis. Gina Rinehart has suggested the party needs to become more Trumpian while others, especially former senior women MPs and senators such as Linda Reynolds say the party has to reform and get more women into parliament. In New South Wales, the Liberal leader says the party needs to revert to 'timeless values' after the drubbing. More on that in a few minutes. Share
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Australia news live: inflation figures to give interest rates clue; verdict due in Struhs murder trial
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Caitlin Cassidy for the bulk of the day. It's not often that the release of economic statistics can be described as highly anticipated. But it holds true for millions of Australians about today's inflation numbers and their potential impact of interest rates. And that's not to mention Anthony Albanese, who is trailing Peter Dutton in the polls and could do with a better story to tell about the economy. More coming up and the figures are out at 11.30am. Verdicts are expected later this morning in the trial of Jason Struhs and 13 other members of the religious group he belonged to over the death of his eight-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who suffered from diabetes. One of the people attending the commemoration at Auschwitz was Australia's attorney general, Mark Dreyfus. Three of his grandparents died at the hands of the Nazis and today he writes a moving piece about the 'shocking rise in antisemitism in Australia' and how attempts to politicise the issue must be rejected. He simply says: 'Today I say never again.' Share
