Latest news with #educationminister
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Tackle racism in whatever form': Labor to wait for university discrimination review before antisemitism response
The federal government will defer its response to Jillian Segal's contentious plan to address antisemitism on campuses until after it has received a broader review of racism at universities and a separate report from the Islamophobia envoy, the education minister has confirmed. Jason Clare outlined the process to reporters on Wednesday, saying he wanted to 'tackle racism in whatever form it comes'. The antisemitism envoy's 20-page plan, released last Thursday, made a range of recommendations for the higher education sector, including launching a 'university report card' and withholding government funding from universities that 'facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism'. The powers would also allow public grants provided to university centres, academics or researchers to be terminated 'where the recipient engages in antisemitic or otherwise discriminatory or hateful speech or actions'. Peak Jewish groups backed the envoy's plan, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry saying the measures were'urgently needed'. But some academics, human rights groups and peak bodies have expressed concerns that moves could be weaponised to stifle free speech and dissent. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Clare said racism existed at universities 'in all its ugly forms', not just antisemitism. He said he would wait until a report from the special envoy in combating Islamophobia was handed down in August, and a broader review into racism at universities was released by the Australian Human Rights Commission in October, before his government responded to Segal's plan. 'Before we consider those recommendations to their final conclusion, I want to look at the recommendations of the special envoy on Islamophobia, and I also want to see the work of the race discrimination [commissioner],' Clare said. 'I think that's fair, I think that's the right thing to do. But it's not just antisemitism and it's not just Islamophobia. Ask Indigenous kids at university today and they'll say 'well, don't forget me'.' 'I do think I need to look at all of those reports that might make different recommendations. I want to tackle racism in whatever form it comes.' Asked if providing the capacity for the federal government to intervene in funding mechanisms might echo the Trump administration's intervention into universities including Harvard and Columbia, as the Jewish Council of Australia has argued, Clare said he made 'no comment on that'. 'Teqsa, the regulator, has powers here already,' he said. 'They're different in kind to what's being recommended in this report, but they enable Teqsa to go in and either put conditions on a university or to penalise them, to apply to a court to issue fines.' The federal government first tasked the Australian Human Rights Commission with undertaking a study into racism at universities in May 2024, with initial consultations taking place amongst First Nations, Jewish, Muslim and other 'negatively racialised communities'. The race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, said when the interim report was released in December that one of the 'catalysts' of the project was the need to respond to the 'alarming increase in antisemitism on university campuses over the last 12 months'. 'Themes emerging from our consultations so far include … dissatisfaction with complaints mechanisms, the disconnect between universities' policies on racism and their practice, and the challenge of finding a common language and understanding around racism,' he said. Labor MP Ed Husic on Wednesday raised concern with the envoy's recommendation of wider adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which is contested in some quarters due to concerns it was being used to conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel, and is already facing pushback from Labor MPs and rank-and-file members. Husic said the government should be 'very careful' about such a move, adding: 'it's not antisemitic to criticise the actions of the government of Israel.' Prime minister Anthony Albanese and home affairs minister Tony Burke have not indicated which parts of the plan the government will take up, but Labor sources downplayed the prospect of terminating university funding. It is widely expected the government could focus its response on the education and prevention measures in Segal's plan. The Coalition has endorsed Segal's plan, but also not nominated specifically which measures it would support. In comments to Guardian Australia, shadow home affairs minister Andrew Hastie urged the Labor government to focus on a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at universities, a visa crackdown and a dedicated law enforcement taskforce. Hastie said the Coalition would 'work constructively' with the government on its response. He also said a Coalition priority would be 'preventing taxpayer money going to organisations with extremist views.' 'The Special Envoy's plan makes it clear that there is an antisemitism crisis gripping Australia, and it is past time the prime minister stopped admiring the problem and started showing leadership,' Hastie said.
RNZ News
16-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Review of early childhood education funding announced
David Seymour said the review was designed to ensure the $2.7 billion for early childhood education prioritised the right things and went as far as it could. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone A group reviewing funding for the early childhood sector has been told to consider making trade-offs between the quality of early learning and its cost. Associate education minister David Seymour on Tuesday announced the launch of a review of how the government funds early childhood education. The review's terms of reference say an advisory group will provide advice on matters including how government funding could be structured to provide better participation, education outcomes, and labour market participation. It would also advise on: "The balance between quality and affordability for services and parents/caregivers reflected in the funding system, including its contribution to an appropriate mix of minimum standards and quality inputs, such as adult-to-child ratios or proportions of qualified teachers." The document said too high a cost restricted access to early childhood education. "Higher cost is partly driven by quality factors, particularly better adult-to-child ratios and higher teacher pay," it said. It also said the funding system was complex. "For example, multiple funding mechanisms concurrently operate to incentivise higher levels of certificated teachers, designate levels of teacher pay, and reduce costs for particular groups of children. In a system with multiple funding streams, this creates complexity for both parents and services." The document will fuel fears that regulations protecting the number of qualified teachers and their pay are under threat. The review document said too high a cost restricted access to early childhood education. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Currently, at least 50 percent of the teaching staff in licensed services must be qualified teachers and services receive higher rates of government subsidy if they have more teachers and if they agree to give their teachers pay parity with kindergarten and school teachers. The government has watered down the pay parity requirements - last year removing any obligation to pay qualified relief teachers pay parity rates and this year allowing centres to pay newly-qualified teachers at the bottom step of the scale regardless of prior qualifications and experience. The latter move prompted the Teaching Council to warn the government not to undermine a well-qualified early childhood sector. In a statement, David Seymour said the funding review would ensure families had better access to affordable services. He said the review was designed to ensure the $2.7 billion set aside by the government for early childhood education prioritised the right things and went as far as it could. Seymour said the current funding system was too complicated and support might not reach families who needed it most. "It confuses families, providers struggle to forecast financial sustainability, and parents take time off work when they can't access care," said Seymour. He said there weren't plans to cut funding, and any changes would allow the industry to expand. Seymour said it was important taxpayers got value for money. "We want to be certain that taxpayer money is being used effectively," he said. "The ECE funding system should provide the best return on investment for taxpayers." He said each family had different requirements when it came to early childhood services. "We don't know if the 'one size fits all' funding approach in ECE works for parents who don't have traditional working arrangements or consistent patterns of child attendance." "These parents are often the most disadvantaged," Seymour said. The review group will be chaired by early childhood centre owner Linda Meade, and includes Early Childhood Council chief executive Simon Laube, Auckland Kindergarten Association chief financial officer Melissa Glew, early childhood centre owner Kelly Seaburg, Auckland University academic Dr Kane Meissel, social policy expert Dr Michael Fletcher, and Fletcher Building chief people officer Kylie Eagle. The group is expected to report its findings this time next year.
Free Malaysia Today
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Teacher suspended over alleged affair
Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said her ministry took such matters seriously, whether or not they were shared on social media. PETALING JAYA : A secondary school teacher in a southern state has been suspended from teaching following allegations that she had an affair, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said today. She said her ministry is currently conducting an internal investigation, as the matter involved teacher integrity and conduct, Sinar Harian reported. However, Fadhlina said the teacher is still working pending the investigation. 'She has only been suspended from her teaching duties. We need her to help out in the investigation process,' she was quoted as saying. Fadhlina said her ministry took such matters seriously, whether or not they were shared on social media. 'We are responsible for ensuring that all our teachers comply with standards of integrity and teachers' ethics set by the ministry,' she said. Fadhlina reminded all teachers to watch their conduct both within and outside the school. The case has gone viral on social media, with people sharing video clips of the man's wife confronting the teacher. Also shared were screenshots of lewd conversations on WhatsApp, said to be between the cheating pair.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Govt increases funding to tackle serious truancy
education politics 24 minutes ago In a pre-Budget announcement, associate education minister David Seymour said he wants to overhaul and improve the attendance services charged with getting chronically absent kids back to class. He unveiled a 140 million dollar package to get attendance numbers up over the next four years. The move follows a critical ERO report last year that said the services were under-funded and ineffective. Education correspondent John Gerritsen reports.
