Australia news live: McCarthy welcomes ‘milestone’ as one Closing the Gap target reached; three dead in Sydney house fire | Australia news
Jillian Segal to lead royal commission hearings
According to the Australian Associated Press, the special envoy responsible for combating antisemitism will be in the hot seat of the royal commission again today.
Jillian SegalThe Prime Minister, who was appointed to the post by the federal government in 2024, will testify to the royal commission today as it examines education and training as well as its effectiveness in combating antisemitism.
The special envoy called for Holocaust and antisemitism education to be included in national and state school curricula in a report published in 2025.
Education plans will be coordinated with government, independent and Catholic school systems.
important events
Child care safety training launched to detect care
Krishani Dhanji
The government has announced that the second phase of mandatory safety training for childcare workers will begin on Friday; this training focused on preventing child safety concerns and detecting grooming.
This follows serious security breaches and several high-profile arrests of child care workers in multiple states for alleged abuse of children in child care centers.
Minister of Education, Jason ClareIt says the first phase of training, which focuses on staff behavior and reporting obligations, has been completed by 99% of initial trainers.
In a statement he said:
Our early educators are the best asset we have to keep our children safe. They had six months to complete the first stage of compulsory education and 99 percent completed the training within 4 months. This tells you a lot about how seriously they take the job.
This year the government also created a register of child care workers and is working on nationalizing control over working with children.
Three people die in Sydney house fire
Three people have died after a house fire broke out in Sydney’s south-west last night, NSW police said.
Emergency services were called to a house in Cornelia Street, Wiley Park, at around 9.45pm following reports of a fire.
Fire and Rescue NSW teams intervened and extinguished the fire, which caused extensive damage to the property.
After a search of the house, the bodies of 3 people were found inside.
Officers from Campsie Police Area Command located the scene and an investigation into the fire is ongoing.
The goal of closing the gap for early preschool enrollment has been officially achieved
Douglas Smith
One of the 19 Closing the Gap targets has been officially achieved after the enrollment rate of First Nations children in early childhood education reached 95% nationwide.
The annual data compilation report released today by the Productivity Commission showed an increase in enrollment from 61.3% in 2016 (the base year) to 95% in every state and territory today.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthyHe said that although this was a “major milestone”, state and territory governments needed to “bring back” their commitments as other targets continued to deteriorate.
This result is encouraging, as are improvements in eight other goals, including employment and education.
But it’s concerning that we’re still seeing worsening outcomes in early childhood development, children in out-of-home care, incarceration rates, and suicide.
Our government remains committed to Closing the Gap; By working in partnership with First Nations communities, building on what works and investing in areas where we can make the biggest difference in intergenerational change.
Provincial and territorial governments must also support their commitments under the national agreement, which include investments and policies that improve outcomes for First Nations people.
You can find more information about goals here. Sarah Collard‘s story from earlier this year:
Jillian Segal to lead royal commission hearings
According to the Australian Associated Press, the special envoy responsible for combating antisemitism will be in the hot seat of the royal commission again today.
Jillian SegalThe Prime Minister, who was appointed to the post by the federal government in 2024, will testify to the royal commission today as it examines education and training as well as its effectiveness in combating antisemitism.
The special envoy called for Holocaust and antisemitism education to be included in national and state school curricula in a report published in 2025.
Education plans will be coordinated with government, independent and Catholic school systems.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. Jillian SegalThe government’s special envoy to combat antisemitism will give evidence to the royal commission today as it examines education and training to combat antisemitism, as well as its effectiveness. More is coming.
One of the 19 Closing the Gap targets has been officially achieved after the enrollment rate of First Nations children in early childhood education reached 95% nationwide. More is coming.
I Martin Farrer with the best night stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
