What we learned today, Wednesday 16 March
And with that we are going to put this blog to bed - thank you for joining us today. Before we go, let’s recap the big ones:
- Man dies in NSW flood waters in Broken Hill
- A man was charged with murder over a NSW boarding house fire; he later appeared in court
- Coalition to spend $243m on four mining projects
- New Zealand border to open to international travellers in April
- NSW adds 10,000 additional Covid cases from RATs
- Lawyers seek stay of prosecution for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins
- ‘Chilling silence’ from China on Russia: PM
- NSW records 30,402 Covid cases and five deaths, Victoria 9,426 cases and eight deaths, QLD records three deaths and 6,136 cases, while WA records one death and 6,062 cases, and the ACT records 1,226 new Covid cases
That’s it from me for today – I will see you all again tomorrow afternoon!
Updated
LGBTIQ+ equality, health and parents’ groups have joined the NSW Teachers Federation in welcoming the NSW government’s outright rejection of One Nation’s anti-LGBTIQ+ education bill.
Ghassan Kassisieh, legal director of Equality Australia:
Every child deserves a quality education in a school where they have a place and feel valued.
The LGBTIQ+ community in New South Wales will breathe a little easier today, as the NSW Government has stood up to One Nation’s bullying of trans and gender diverse kids, affirming their right to connect, succeed and thrive at school.
The government’s position is contained in its response to Parliamentary Education Committee’s report into the bill, opposed at the time by committee members Anthony D’Adam (Labor) and David Shoebridge (Greens).
Teddy Cook, the sole trans person invited to give evidence at the committee hearings, and acting director, Community Health and Wellbeing at ACON, said:
It’s fantastic to see the NSW government today stand by trans kids and their families, who already face so many barriers, and experience disproportionate levels of bullying and harassment.
Trans kids already experience extremely concerning negative mental health impacts, as we see in research findings all over the world. One Nation’s bill would only have made schools less safe for trans students, and placed lives at risk.
Updated
