Early childhood is one of the most important but also most at-risk areas in Australian education, according to a new report by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University.

Today’s report, Quality Early Education for All finds that better access to quality early years services improves children’s capabilities and wellbeing that in turn lifts school outcomes and national productivity—but these critical services aren’t getting enough support.

Mitchell Institute Director, Dr Sara Glover said governments should heed the evidence and treat early childhood education as just as vital as schooling.

“This year’s election battle is being fought across education, so it is timely for governments to look closely at what works across the whole system and target spending to get the greatest return on investment,” Dr Glover said.

“Today’s report tells us improving access to quality education in the early years must be on the table.”

The report shows that nearly five years after National Quality Standards (NQS) were introduced, a quarter of services have not been assessed and of those that have, a third are not meeting minimum standards.

More than 60,000 children start school vulnerable—less able to engage in learning or build relationships with their peers. These children show poor social skills and emotional wellbeing when they start school, then experience behaviour problems that can harm progress throughout the rest of their school years.

Most worryingly, the latest data from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) shows the learning and wellbeing gap between wealthiest and poorest children is widening.

While good early education could help turn some of these issues around, the report finds one in three children are not getting the number of hours needed to make a difference.

The findings also highlight a need to move away from talking about early years services as ‘child care’ that allows parents to return to work to ‘early education’, which sets children up well for a lifetime of learning.

The Mitchell Institute makes clear recommendations for change, urging governments to ensure all services meet minimum NQS levels by next year, invest in high quality intensive services in communities that need it most and introduce an early education campaign to build awareness of the importance of early years.

Dr Glover said today’s report confirms that early years development should be a policy priority.

“We need to maximise the potential of all children by providing quality early education opportunities that target areas where we can make the greatest difference.

“Getting the early years right will give Australian kids the best chance of success in life,” Dr Glover said.

The full report is available online at www.mitchellinstitute.org.au.

The Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) 2016 annual lunch promotes conversations

By being present at the annual lunch today, I have now become a part of the conversation, here’s what I learnt.

Perinatal anxiety and depression affects both mothers and fathers.

It is important as an outsider, whether a friend, a family member or a health professional, to recognise when a parent is not coping and to act immediately by asking them about their emotional wellbeing.

Perinatal anxiety and depression sufferers tend to hide their symptoms from everybody, even doctors, causing the illness to manifest and stalling early intervention.

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The Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, has paid tribute to
Mrs Mununggurr who passed away in Arnhem Land earlier this week.

Mrs Mununggurr was a senior traditional owner of the Gumatj Clan and a visionary Yolngu who was instrumental in establishing the Garma Festival in North East Arnhem Land, the annual celebration of
Yolngu culture, Minister Scullion said.

“I treasure the times I spent with Mrs Mununggurr in Arnhem Land,
particularly at Garma, an event I know was particularly dear to her heart.”

She was a foundation member of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, which
hosts and coordinates Garma, an event that draws thousands of people
from across Australia and beyond to Gove Peninsula to experience and
learn about the Yolngu.

The Chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Mr Galarrwuy Yunupingu AM,  describes the festival as an integration of Yolngu and Balanda culture, an opportunity for Yolngu to speak of their dreams and visions for their future.

“I acknowledge Mrs Munungurr’s legacy in the establishment and ongoing success of this important event.”

Minister Scullion extended his deepest condolences to Mrs Mununggurr’s family and her community at this difficult time.

Opinion Article

By Madison Manning

 

Jesinta Campbell, Danii Minogue and Megan Gale have all been featured in the Marie Claire magazine’s latest issue, in an attempt to bring awareness to domestic violence*.

The magazine has been active in raising awareness about domestic violence concerns, including the publication of an article about makeup being a tool for domestic violence sufferers, and the sharing of a story about an abuse counsellor who was also a victim of abuse.

This month, Marie Claire launched a campaign of editorials featuring celebrities with younger children, in an effort to promote the following message:

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By Abigail R. Hall Blanco, Jennifer Schneible

For a new college graduate, finding a job is stressful. That first job is more than a paycheck. The job represents the accumulation of hours of hard work and a start on a stable future. In a job market dominated by resumes, connections and previous work experience, college students will often turn to internships, paid and unpaid, to gain a competitive edge.

While paid internships are usually seen as similar to other jobs, unpaid internships have come under increased scrutiny. Critics contend that since employers know students are desperate for experience, employers can abuse their interns with long hours and poor work conditions, all without compensation.

Two interns who worked on the film “Black Swan” recently sued their former employer, with one claiming that unpaid internships “rob … people of the value of their labor.”

In light of such concerns, some perhaps well-intentioned critics want unpaid internships outlawed. But there is nothing exploitative about unpaid internships.

The charge that companies exploit unpaid interns is false and misleading. They do receive benefits. Economics teaches us that people engage in exchanges only when each party expects to come out ahead. Unpaid internships are no different. No one forces anyone to take an internship, so students must expect to gain even if unpaid. How so? They expect to learn on the job.

Prohibiting unpaid internships is a bad idea for many reasons. It would make the competition for paid internships skyrocket. An estimated 500,000 to 1 million unpaid interns are employed annually, and there wouldn’t be enough paid internships to go around if unpaid internships were abolished. Many companies may not be able to afford the added expense and wouldn’t hire interns at all. This means many students would miss out on the opportunity to gain work experience. Continue reading

A stripper agency using females for advertising has been taken to the Advertising Standards Bureau Board meeting.

Strippers Wanted Agency will be under discussion at this week’s Advertising Standards Board (ASB) meeting after too many complaints were sent through about a billboard on Hoddle Street, Melbourne.

Members of the public expressed concerns about the nature of the billboard perpetuating issues like domestic violence, rape and incest.

The advertising image is of six females wearing lingerie, facing away from the camera. Strippers Wanted contacted the Outdoor Media Association and ironically, ASB, before deciding on an image to use.

“We wanted to ensure that we complied to all of the advertising guidelines, we want to promote the agency, not offend people” said Strippers Wanted.

“In fact, we were quite surprised when we learnt the word ‘strippers’ could be used, but definitely not shocked when the photo of the six girls was sent back with a red line running across their hips, where the image had to be cropped.”

The agency offers private party and function services, with a variety of different semi-nude and nude waitresses and showgirls.

And although the services offered are classed as adult entertainment, some of the Melbourne (and Sydney) public think the billboard represents much more than that.

When Strippers Wanted was contacted by the ASB, it was assured this was not an attack on its company or its industry, and that brands such as Bonds are constantly under scrutiny for promoting females in lingerie for advertising purposes.

“Some people just don’t like females in underwear on public display, it’s that simple,” said an ASB staff member.

Sexuality is used in advertising to sell us an ‘idea’, and we tend to be OK with that, until the sexuality is contextualised.

For example, a topless Rihanna selling her Rogue fragrance doesn’t really make a heap of sense when you think about it. What does perfume have to do with semi-nudity?

Nothing.

I never spray some sweet-scented fragrance on my neck and then head out with just my knickers on; the use of sexuality is out of context with the product.

But what else is a strippers agency going to utilise to sell their services?

Semi-nude females are what you get, so using their image for advertising is completely in context.

Some will argue the core issue here is the adult entertainment industry feeds into the sexualisation of females (and men; let’s not forget there is a market for both genders), and of course this is true to an extent.

I’m not here to raise issues about the adult entertainment industry, but I will call it what it is.

But to ascribe problems such as domestic violence and rape, and use Rosie Batty‘s name to support the opinion, is disproportionate to the advertisement and demonising to those working within the industry.

There is already enough of a stigma attached to the industry, and to accuse it of directly contributing to violence and sexual abuse against women across all of society is unproductive, misguided and not going to solve the issue.

This particular billboard represents the industry with more tact than I’ve previously seen.

At the very least, it is refreshing to see some strippers who are not a bad shade of orange and laying on their sides with their legs slightly ajar.

The decision to leave it or take it down now rests in the hands of the ASB jury. What do you vote?

Note: The billboard has been public on Hoddle Street since, 27^th of November 2015.

Images courtesy of Madison Manning.

1938 – 2015

If you or your children studied Modern Hebrew, chances are you benefited from the work of Ilana Meydan who dedicated her life to promoting the language that she loved.

Ilana arrived from Israel in Australia in 1969, in Perth. For the next three years, she taught Modern Hebrew to children and adults at the Carmel-Korsunski College, where she introduced audio-visual methods. After moving to Melbourne, she kept in touch with WA, often having long telephone conversations with Hebrew teachers, who continued to seek her guidance. While with VCAA, (Victorian  Curriculum  and Assessment Authority) Ilana conducted phone examinations of WA students for their Hebrew HSC.

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By Hugh Harris

First appeared Hugh’s blog  The Rational Razor

 

Following the US Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v Hodges its worth reflecting on some of the more hair raising departures from rational thought in our own recent debate on a Bill of Rights and Marriage Equality.

Tim Wilson echoed Coalition concerns about Gillian Triggs by suggesting her comments on a charter of rights indicate activism and that she should run for parliament (Activists Should be Politicians, The Australian, 21 June, 2015).

But since Abbott appointee Tim Wilson is a well-known opponent of a charter of rights and has made his comments on Gillian Trigg public, thus politicizing the issue, his argument is self-defeating. Why does his opinion have a special exemption? And, isn’t a charter of human rights an appropriate topic for a human rights commissioner?

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25 May 2015: KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter today dubbed the Government’s proposal to remove the restrictions on cabotage in Northern Australia as potentially sabotaging domestic airlines and safety.

Cabotage is the carriage by international airlines of domestic passengers and freight between cities within another country and is restricted in most countries around the world.

Mr Katter said today that the Government’s proposal to unilaterally remove the restrictions on cabotage in Northern Australia would compromise Australian industry and jobs, with no benefit in return.

“Canberra is announcing they’re looking at cabotage, but I think they’re looking at sabotage.

“We only have one airline flying between Cairns and Townsville, and obviously if their competitor is paying their staff half of what Qantas is paying their staff, then they will break Qantas.

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On the night of the eighth of May 2013, Mr Homayon Hatami rescued a woman who had jumped from a pier near Eastern Beach in Geelong Victoria. For his action, Mr Hatami was awarded the Royal Humane Society of Australasia Silver Medal for bravery. With the authority of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second, Queen of Australia, Mr Hatami was also awarded the Commendation for Brave Conduct by The Governor General His Excellency Sir Peter Cosgrove.

Mr Hatami, a karate champion, was selected to represent Australia several times. Unfortunately he could not go because Mr Hatami is an asylum seeker on a bridging visa which will not be renewed when it expires in April. His allowance (tiny though it may have been) has been cancelled.

This attempt to expel Mr Homayon Hatami, despite the recognition he has been awarded by this country, and achievements in sport, stand in stark contrast to a bunch of losers some public servants, and some politicians, thought were worthy of citizenship and/or protection.

David’s Republic will run a campaign, supported by The Australia Times to right what we believe is a wrong!

We are collecting signatures for a petition to the Minister for Immigration MR Peter Dutton asking him to issue Mr Hatami with a Visa that will enable him to remain and work in Australia.

Click here to sign the petition

Read the full story in the latest Forum Magazine

Image Courtesy of Amie Jessop