What we learned: Monday, 25 August
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back first thing tomorrow with all the latest in the world of AusPol.
Until then, here’s a recap on today’s news:
The Labor party has brought forward its 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers to 1 October. The policy, committed to in the election, means first home buyers can use a smaller deposit guaranteed by the government.
The minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, said it was “very legitimate” for Labor to allow time for Barnaby Joyce’s private bill to dump Australia’s net zero target to be debated during today’s question time if there was a side of politics against climate action.
Liberal senator Jane Hume labelled finance minister Katy Gallagher a “mean girl” after debate over superannuation policy kicked off in the Senate.
The independent senator for Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie, said the crossbench was “not important” any more after Labor’s landslide victory in May.
The education minister, Jason Clare, moved to legislate a code for tertiary education institutions to better respond to, and prevent, gender based violence.
Brisbane city council “unlawfully discriminated” against protest group Extinction Rebellion, a court has found.
And a UNSW Sydney study has found 90% of Australian teachers are experiencing severe stress, and nearly 70% say their workload is unmanageable.
Updated
National code to protect university students from sexual violence becomes law
A national code to protect students and staff from sexual violence in higher education has just passed into legislation.
In a joint media release, the minister for education, Jason Clare, and the social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, said not enough had been done in Australia’s universities to address sexual assault and harassment.
Students haven’t been heard. For the first time, the National Code will set standards and requirements that all higher education providers must meet to make students and staff safer, including in student accommodation.
Under the code, universities will be required to educate students and staff on preventing gender based violence and publicly disclose annual reports, with serious penalties for non-compliance ranging up to regulatory intervention.
Clare said every student deserved to feel safe on campus, and the national code “makes that non-negotiable”.
Plibersek said one in six students had reported sexual harassment and one in 20 reported being sexually assaulted on campus in the most recent survey by Universities Australia in 2021.
How a survivor of violence is supported by their university has lifelong consequences. Victim-survivors must be heard and supported, and universities must make every effort to stop violence in the first place.
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