What we learned today, Tuesday 18 July
Thanks for joining us during what was a busy day on the blog! That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage.
Here’s a summary of today’s biggest moments:
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced the state had withdrawn as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, saying it was not prepared to spend up to $7bn on “a 12-day sporting event”.
Andrews instead announced a $2bn regional package, which includes investment for the legacy benefits of the Games, tourism support, and social and affordable housing.
Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, labelled the decision a “massive humiliation” for the state, while the shadow sports minister, Anne Ruston, called on the federal government to “take responsibility” for Australia’s “damaged” reputation.
Following Victoria’s withdrawal, all Australian state premiers were quick to rule out the possibility of hosting.
The Commonwealth Games Federation said it only received eight hours’ notice of the “hugely disappointing” cancellation. Meanwhile, Games’ CEO Craig Phillips cautioned sport bodies over “doing business in [Victoria] in the future”.
This morning, the AEC published the official pamphlets for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum. You can read the full yes case here, and the full no case here.
There was a wide range of responses to the arguments put forward, with some coming forward to state they had been quoted without permission – such as Indigenous voice supporter Prof Greg Craven.
The independent senator Lidia Thorpe, meanwhile, argued that a treaty is “the only way forward”.
The Senate inquiry probing consultancy firms continued today. You can read a full breakdown on what happened from my colleague Henry Belot here.
Updated
Boosted private school funding down to enrolments and governments’ split responsibilities: Independent Schools Australia head
The head of the Independent Schools Australia has said funding to private schools has likely increased more than public schools due to rising enrolments as well as the way the funding is split between the commonwealth and state governments.
It comes as Guardian Australia revealed on Monday that government funding to private schools has increased almost twice as much as funding to public schools.
Graham Catt, chief executive of Independent Schools Australia, said if enrolments to private schools had increased, that would result in funding flowing more into the private system.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, enrolments to independent and Catholic schools grew by 3.3% and 1% respectively.
But he said the major issue was the commonwealth funding cap of 20% for public schools, with the remainder to be covered by state governments. For private schools, the caps are the reverse, with the federal government covering 80% of its government funding needs.
The commonwealth has funded that share. But states and territories haven’t been able to.
Minister Clare’s intention is to try and ensure that every student in every school gets to 100% of the [school resourcing standard]. And we fully support that.
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