Latest news with #JonnoDuniam
News.com.au
10 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Top Aussie unis slip down global rankings
Australian universities have fallen down the international rankings. However, the prestigious tertiary institutes still leave Australia ranked as the fifth-best nation for higher study. Released on Thursday, the QS World University Rankings show only Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland have more top-100 universities than Australia on a relative basis. The top-ranked University of Melbourne fell from 13th to 19th spot, while the University of NSW, The University of Sydney and ANU also slipped. Australia has 36 universities in the total list of 1501 THAT QS ranked this year. Nine Australian unis made the top-100, a fifth place result. federal opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam, called a slip in the rankings a 'disappointment'. 'The government must take note of our constant slide down the rankings and implement policy and funding solutions to get our universities to where they need to be,' he said. 'It is simply not good enough.' Analysis of the rankings show 70 per cent of Australian universities have reduced their academic staff-to-student ratio. 'We want education policies that meet the 21st century skills that our economy demands, not just funding injections from which Australian taxpayers cannot see a reasonable return on their investments – not to mention our university students who deserve better,' Mr Duniam said. The University of NSW fell from 19th to 20th spot in this year's rankings. The University of Sydney came down from 18th to 25th, and ANU slipped from 30th spot to 32nd. Monash rose one spot to 36th, and the University of Queensland fell two spots to 42nd. UWA held steady at 77th. The unopened Adelaide University debuted in the 82nd spot. The University of Technology Sydney fell from 88th to 96th. The Group of Eight is a combined body representing Australia's top eight universities; chief executive Vicki Thomson said Australia punched above its weight. 'At a time when global collaboration underpinned by quality has never been more important, the ranking result for Australia and in particular the Go8 is impressive,' she said. 'This comes against a backdrop of global uncertainty and mixed messaging from our largest research partner, the United States, which threatens our very capacity to deliver on our mission of education and research. 'And yet despite these headwinds, Australia continues to punch above its weight, ranking fifth overall as the best higher education system in the world.' The strong showing was testimony to the quality of our universities and academic and research staff, Ms Thomson said. 'That we have two Go8 members ranked in the top 20 and six in the world's top 50 is an outstanding result and must not be taken for granted but rather leveraged in these contested times,' she said. 'Singularly impressive is the debut of the new Adelaide University at 82. This result confirms that Adelaide University will create quality at the scale needed to deliver far-reaching benefits for Australia's research and higher education.' Adelaide University, set to open in 2026, is an amalgamation of the University of South Australia and The University of Adelaide.
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘Not good enough': Uni slide ‘disappointing'
Australian universities have fallen down the international rankings. However, the prestigious tertiary institutes still leave Australia ranked as the fifth-best nation for higher study. Released on Thursday, the QS World University Rankings show only Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland have more top-100 universities than Australia on a relative basis. The top-ranked University of Melbourne fell from 13th to 19th spot, while the University of NSW, The University of Sydney and ANU also slipped. Australia has 36 universities in the total list of 1501 THAT QS ranked this year. Nine Australian unis made the top-100, a fifth place result. federal opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam, called a slip in the rankings a 'disappointment'. 'The government must take note of our constant slide down the rankings and implement policy and funding solutions to get our universities to where they need to be,' he said. 'It is simply not good enough.' University Rankings Analysis of the rankings show 70 per cent of Australian universities have reduced their academic staff-to-student ratio. 'We want education policies that meet the 21st century skills that our economy demands, not just funding injections from which Australian taxpayers cannot see a reasonable return on their investments – not to mention our university students who deserve better,' Mr Duniam said. The University of NSW fell from 19th to 20th spot in this year's rankings. The University of Sydney came down from 18th to 25th, and ANU slipped from 30th spot to 32nd. Monash rose one spot to 36th, and the University of Queensland fell two spots to 42nd. UWA held steady at 77th. The unopened Adelaide University debuted in the 82nd spot. The University of Technology Sydney fell from 88th to 96th. Of Australia's top 15 universities, 13 fell down this year's rankings. Dina Rudick /The Boston Globe / Getty Images Credit: Supplied The Group of Eight is a combined body representing Australia's top eight universities; chief executive Vicki Thomson said Australia punched above its weight. 'At a time when global collaboration underpinned by quality has never been more important, the ranking result for Australia and in particular the Go8 is impressive,' she said. 'This comes against a backdrop of global uncertainty and mixed messaging from our largest research partner, the United States, which threatens our very capacity to deliver on our mission of education and research. 'And yet despite these headwinds, Australia continues to punch above its weight, ranking fifth overall as the best higher education system in the world.' The strong showing was testimony to the quality of our universities and academic and research staff, Ms Thomson said. 'That we have two Go8 members ranked in the top 20 and six in the world's top 50 is an outstanding result and must not be taken for granted but rather leveraged in these contested times,' she said. 'Singularly impressive is the debut of the new Adelaide University at 82. This result confirms that Adelaide University will create quality at the scale needed to deliver far-reaching benefits for Australia's research and higher education.' Adelaide University, set to open in 2026, is an amalgamation of the University of South Australia and The University of Adelaide. Globally, MIT, Imperial College London, Stanford University, Oxford and Harvard make the top five in that order.
Perth Now
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Murky waters surround federal salmon farm review
Contentious salmon farming in a remote harbour remains under federal assessment despite law changes aimed at safeguarding the industry. Labor and the Coalition in March teamed up to pass legislation designed to halt a challenge by environmentalists to aquaculture approvals in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour. The major parties said the changes to the nation's environmental act would end the environment minister's review process, sparked by the challenge in 2023. The move was welcomed by the salmon industry but lashed by others as rushed and designed to grab votes before the federal election on Saturday. The harbour sits within the marginal electorate of Braddon, which Labor hopes to win from the Liberals. There were fears the salmon industry could be reduced in size or shut down as part of the review of the 2012 approvals. A spokesperson for the department of climate change, energy, the environment and water on Wednesday said the harbour assessment remained "subject to deliberative processes". It is still listed as active on the department's website. "The minister must undertake an appropriate regulatory process, to apply the law," the spokesperson said. "This involves considering advice that is legally robust and meets the decision-making requirements of the (environmental) act." The Bob Brown Foundation in March launched a legal challenge against the law changes which is set to first come before the Federal Court on May 27. The foundation argues the law changes don't apply to salmon farming in the harbour because operations have not been static. When asked about the assessment remaining active, a government spokeswoman said "the law was updated in March. The government, as always, will follow the law". Experts have previously raised concerns the changes may not withstand legal challenges. Tasmanian Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam, whose party voted for the changes, said Labor had been "exposed" by the fact the assessment remained active. "All they were concerned about was trying to neutralise the issue politically," he said. Senator Duniam said, if elected, the coalition would take whatever action necessary to extinguish the assessment. Salmon Tasmania, which represents the three major salmon farming companies in the state, in March hailed the law changes. "This is about our people, their families and the community ... who have been living and working with uncertainty and under intense scrutiny for over 18 months," then-CEO Luke Martin said. Conservationists challenged the original approvals with the aim of protecting the endangered ancient Maugean skate which only lives in the harbour. Salmon farming operations have been linked to reduced water quality, but the industry points to studies showing the health of the harbour is improving and skate numbers have stabilised.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Senator slammed for car park claim after disease outbreak: 'Won't be emotionally blackmailed'
An Aussie senator has been met with a barrage of criticism after declaring he will "proudly continue to buy" Tasmanian salmon, insisting it remains "healthy," even as authorities scramble to assess the full extent of a disease outbreak that has recently led to mass fish deaths and rotting carcasses washing up on beaches in the state. Tasmania's Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, also the shadow minister for the environment, posted on social media from the car park of a supermarket on Monday, saying he "won't be emotionally blackmailed into stopping." "[I] will proudly continue to buy it from Hill Street and every other shop that will sell it. It's healthy. It's Tasmanian," he wrote. The post drew a wave of backlash, however, particularly from locals demanding greater transparency in the self-regulated industry. Critics claimed that farmed salmon are fed harmful antibiotics, contaminating waterways and posing potential risks to human health. "No one's blackmailing anyone. By their own admission the fish have a new bacteria that even the farms don't know what it is OR what the impact will be," one constituent fired responded. "If you honestly believe it's healthy Jonno, please eat it to your heart's content ... I'd rather see you pollies eat this toxic crap that you are promoting, than feed it to my family," another fired back. "You're supporting a toxic system that is not even locally owned anymore. Enjoy your dinner," commented a third. The debacle comes weeks after Tasmania's salmon industry first revealed it was grappling with a significant outbreak of a rickettsia bacterial disease, leading to elevated mortality rates across multiple fish farms in the region. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Tasmanian Government are investigating the issue, though the exact scale of the die-off remains uncertain as mandatory mortality reporting requirements are not yet in effect. Independent federal Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, accused the Tasmanian government of taking a "hands-off" approach with regard to the salmon industry, worth an estimated $1 billion. "The EPA only does what it's allowed to do and resourced to do by the Tasmanian government, so this, in essence, goes back to the state government's responsibility and … [it] doesn't seem to care about all these unknowns," Wilkie told the ABC. "It was very worrying [the EPA] didn't know how many fish had died, didn't know which kind of rickettsia had affected them, didn't know the effect of the big spike in antibiotic use both on the natural environment as well as human consumption. "The problem here is … both Labor and Liberal governments for many, many years have been beholden to the salmon industry and have accepted that the industry will largely self-regulate and self-report." Images shared by the Bob Brown Foundation show rotting salmon carcasses in pens and along shores of state's beaches such as Verona Sands and Bruny Island. Alistair Allan, the group's Antarctic and Marine Campaigner, said Australian consumers "are now seeing the disgusting truth" about the industry. "We are hearing that local tips can't manage all the rotting fish and it's being dumped on farmland," he said last week. Yahoo News has contacted major farmers Huon and Tassal for comment. Lifeline thrown to Aussie salmon workers Locals 'not happy' as 'foul-smelling chunks' wash up 'Disgusting' photos of popular Aussie food spark furious debate Last month, shocked Tasmanian residents of a small coastal town discovered mysterious "foul-smelling chunks" scattered along the shoreline at their local beach, thought to come from salmon farms. "The smell was terrible, and locals are not happy," community group Neighbours of Fishfarming said alongside photos of the stinky substance. "It's no secret that the salmon farms are having huge mortality events ... and we are concerned that this foul pollution is a direct result of mishandling of the fatty diseased salmon carcasses." Verona Sands beach lies on the Huon River in southern Tasmania, near salmon farms operated by Huon Aquaculture. The chunks were spotted by locals who said there was "tonnes and tonnes and tonnes" of the fishy material on the sand, with speculation it was possibly fish feed. Huon Aquaculture later said confirmed chunks were not rotting pieces of fish, but believed to be "fish oil", creating "chunks of oily sand on the beach". Tasmania has the largest marine salmon farming industry in the country and is responsible for more than 90 per cent of Australian Atlantic salmon production, according to the state government, with an annual value of over $1 billion. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
