Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

Today the Albanese Government introduced legislation to Parliament to lift child safety in early education and care services.

This legislation will give the Commonwealth Government power to cut off funding to child care centres that don’t meet the National Quality Standard when it comes to safety and quality, where there’s a breach of the law, or where centres are acting in a way that puts the safety of children at risk.

The legislation will also allow Commonwealth officers to perform spot-checks without warning to detect fraud and non-compliance across the sector.

Governments, State and Federal, need to do more to ensure the safety of children. These new powers are part of that.

They will be used in close collaboration with states and territories regulating quality and safety under the National Quality Framework.

This is just one of a number of steps the Albanese Government is taking with the states and territories to protect children in early education and care.

Speeding up work on a nationwide register of early educators will be on the agenda at the Education Ministers’ Meeting in August, as well as the role of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training for educators.

The Attorney-General has also put reform of Working with Children Checks as the first item on the agenda for the Standing Council of Attorneys-General meeting next month. 

Today’s legislation builds on the work the Albanese Government and state and territory governments have already done implementing the recommendations of the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority’s Child Safety Review. These include mandatory 24 hour reporting of any allegations, complaints or incidents of physical or sexual abuse, and restricting the use of personal mobile phones in centres.

The highest priority of the Albanese Government is strengthening safety in early education and care to make sure our kids are safe.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“This legislation is not about shutting centres down, it’s about raising standards up.

“This is about making sure the safety and quality in child care centres is what parents expect and children deserve.

“We are determined to do what needs to be done to rebuild confidence in a system that parents need to have confidence in.

“It’s a system that more than a million mums and dads rely on to care for and educate the most important people in their world – their children.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Early Childhood Education Dr Jess Walsh:

“Every child deserves to be safe in their early learning centre and this legislation requires providers to put safety first.

“The Australian Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that children have a positive, rewarding and safe early education experience to get the best possible start in life.”
 

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

NT Police are calling for information following two separate aggravated robberies that occurred in Katherine on Monday evening.

Around 9:40pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre (JESCC) received reports of a stolen motor vehicle from a facility on Riverbank Drive.

It is alleged that three male youths approached an employee at the facility and threatened him with a knife. They demanded their keys and subsequently stole the victim’s vehicle.  While attempting to exit the location, the offenders crashed into a fence, causing them to abandon the vehicle and flee the scene on foot.

Police attended, and a crime scene was established. The alleged offenders remain outstanding, and investigations are ongoing.

Later, in a separate incident, around 11:05pm, the JESCC received a report that a group of youths had entered another business premises in Katherine South.

An employee working at the location was threatened with a knife for their vehicle keys. The employee was able to secure themselves in the staff room with the offenders banging on the door until they heard the victim called police.

Before fleeing the scene, the group allegedly attempted to steal a vehicle that was parked outside but were unsuccessful.

Police attended and a crime scene was established. The group remain outstanding, and investigations are ongoing.

It is not known at this stage if the two incidents are linked.

Police urge anyone with information pertaining to either incident to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number P25195157. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

The Albanese Labor Government is today introducing legislation to cut 20 per cent off all student debts. 

This will wipe more than $16 billion in debt for more than three million Australians. 

Our number one focus is continuing to deliver cost of living relief for the Australian people. 

Cutting student debt by 20 per cent will ease pressure on workers and students across the country. 

For someone with the average debt of $27,600 this will see around $5,520 wiped from their outstanding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loans. 

Backdated to 1 June, it will reduce the burden for Australians with a student debt – including all HELP, Vocational Education and Training (VET) Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, Student Startup Loans, and other student loans. 

In addition to cutting student debt by 20 per cent, the legislation raises the minimum amount before people have to start making repayments from $54,435 to $67,000 and reduces minimum repayments. 

For someone earning $70,000 it will reduce the minimum repayments they have to make by $1,300 a year. 

This builds on our reforms to fix the indexation formula, which has already cut more than $3 billion in student debt. 

This means, all up, the Albanese Labor Government will cut close to $20 billion in student debt for more than three million Australians. 

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: 

“This is another way my Government is continuing to deliver cost of living relief to Australians. 

“We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in Parliament – and that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

“Getting an education shouldn’t mean a lifetime of debt. 

“No matter where you live or how much your parents earn, my Government will work to ensure the doors of opportunity are open for you.” 

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare: 

“We promised we would cut your student debt by 20 per cent and we are delivering. 

“This is a big deal for 3 million Australians, in particular, a lot of young Australians. 

“Just out of uni, just getting started, this will take a weight off their back. 

“It will also cut their annual repayments. For someone earning $70,000 a year, it will cut the amount they have to repay every year by $1,300.” 

“That’s real help with the cost of living. It means more money in your pocket, not the government’s.” 

Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles: 

“From speaking with students at TAFEs across the country, I know that cost can often be a barrier to Australians pursuing an apprenticeship or qualification. 

“This bill will deliver cost of living relief to almost 280,000 students in the VET sector – cutting half a billion dollars of student debt from this group alone. 

“Our Government is focused on reducing the barriers to further study and training, so that every Australian can get the skills they need for secure, well-paid jobs.”

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 23-year-old male after he assaulted a worker at a business in Alice Springs yesterday.

Around 12:05pm, it is alleged the offender assaulted a 24-year-old male staff member with a wheel spanner at a business on Railway Terrace. The offender had been refused service before he retrieved the spanner from his car, returned to the store and assaulted the victim.

The victim suffered injuries to his head and torso, and was conveyed to Alice Springs Hospital by St John Ambulance for assessment.

Members from Strike Force Viper and general duties responded, and at 12:25pm the offender was located and arrested.

He has since been charged with Assault worker and Going armed in public, and was remanded to appear in Alice Springs local court today.

Police continue to urge anyone who witnesses crime or antisocial behaviour to contact police on 131 444. In an emergency dial 000. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au.

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

SALLY SARA, HOST: Legislation aimed at stripping funding from child care centres that fail to meet minimum standards will be introduced to the Federal Parliament today here in Canberra. Child care safety has been pushed to the top of the agenda following a string of shocking allegations of child abuse. In the latest development, lawyers for former child care worker Joshua Dale Brown have told a Melbourne court yesterday they expect the alleged child abuser will be hit with further charges on top of the more than 70 he already faces. Jess Walsh is the Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Senator for Victoria. She joined me a short time ago.

SENATOR DR JESS WALSH, MINISTER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND MINISTER FOR YOUTH: Thanks for having me, Sally.

SARA: Tell me about this legislation that’s going to be introduced today. What’s in it exactly?

WALSH: We’re introducing tough new legislation today, Sally. I think people have been hearing a lot about the safety issues facing children and their families in early childhood education, and this legislation will give us a tough new lever to make sure that children are kept safe in our early learning settings. What it will allow us to do for the first time is withdraw Commonwealth funding from those providers who fail to put child safety ahead of profits.

SARA: And so, what is the threshold there, what sort of incident or systemic incidents would need to happen in a child care centre for the Government to withhold funding?

WALSH: Yes, we are looking at serious repeat offenders here when it comes to breaching our National Quality Standard when it comes to serious incidents and when it comes to complaints. So, services and providers who are failing to meet the standards that children need and the families, that families expect, they’re the services and providers that we’re looking at with this legislation.

SARA: To be clear, are we talking about centres failing to meet expectations or will funding only be withheld if there’s been an actual incident there?

WALSH: So the legislation gives us the ability to put all of that information and for the secretary of my department to make a decision to identify those repeat offenders, those providers, those services that persistently and consistently fail to meet standards and fail to keep our children safe. From there, there are a number of steps that the legislation gives us. We can start by issuing a show-cause notice as to why that provider, that service, should maintain their Commonwealth funding through the Child Care Subsidy. And we can make that show-cause notice public. We think that is a really strong step that will drive change. At that point, we think that those providers who are doing the wrong thing regularly will make the investments that they need to keep our children safe.

SARA: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that transparency for families who are trying to make decisions about the safety of their infants, of their kids, in the middle of all of this. What kind of information will be available so that parents can make an informed decision?

WALSH: Yeah, that’s right, Sally, and I do want to reassure families that the vast majority of early childhood and education providers are meeting and exceeding our National Quality Standard, over 90 per cent. We are talking here about a minority of repeat offenders, a real minority of providers here. If families are in the services of those repeat offenders, they will be notified when we issue show-cause notices.

SARA: What about the public generally? If I’ve got a child and I’m looking at that centre, will I know that something’s happened there?

WALSH: Yes, those notices will be public. But you’re also raising a bigger issue there, Sally, about the next tranche of work that is underway as well, which is the child safety package that we’re putting together with education ministers who are meeting in just a couple of weeks’ time. So there are measures beyond this legislation as well. When education ministers come together, we want to announce the first-ever nationwide register of early childhood educators. We want to do work on mandatory child safe training, and we also want to provide much more transparent information to parents, so they know what the quality is and whether there are any issues in the services that they’re thinking about or currently sending their children to.

SARA: So, at the moment, can parents see the quality assessments of child care centres?

WALSH: Yes. What they can see is the national quality rating. They can see that.

SARA: Can you see the reports of inspections?

WALSH: You can’t see at the moment, Sally, compliance issues that may have been taken against your provider. And we think that families have the right to know if there are issues in their services. That’s one of the big pieces of work that we’re doing with the states and territories. And I do want to say, Sally, we’re working shoulder to shoulder with the states and territories on what we see as being a really strong and significant package to bring forward on quality and safety in early learning.

SARA: So, we’re talking, I guess, with an assumption here that with information, parents can make an informed choice or decision, but in plenty of parts of the country, particularly in regional areas, there is no other centre. Is this part of the problem – the demand exceeds the supply of child care? What do parents do if there are concerns about their only centre?

WALSH: So, if we get this right, Sally, this is going to drive more investment in quality, safe early learning. We are giving ourselves a big stick to wield here in being able to stop providers from opening more services, and indeed to be able to shut down existing services. We don’t expect that it will get to that because we expect, as soon as those providers get those show cause notices, that they will make the investment that children and families need to provide that quality and safe early learning.

SARA: Is there a concern, though, that investors and companies might not want to come into this sector, given there’s going to be more regulation and compliance costs money for child care operators?

WALSH: Well, there needs to be more regulation, Sally. I think we’ve been really open that the current sector settings are not strong enough to keep children safe. We’ve seen that in the really distressing reports that we’ve had. That’s why strong action is needed. And there are really two sets of actions we’re taking. One is the legislation that we’re introducing this week into the Parliament today, and that will allow us to withdraw Commonwealth funding from those providers who don’t do the right thing. And the second part of the action is the big package of reforms we’re working on with the states and territories.

SARA: Labor’s already had control in the previous term of government, three years – why weren’t these measures put in place during the previous term?

WALSH: I think we’ve been really open, Sally, that more needed to be done over a period of time.

SARA: Did the Government fall short in your view?

WALSH: I think we’ve been open that more needed to be done, and we’ve had recommendations for many years, almost a decade, that have sat there, and we are expediting those recommendations. One of the recommendations that’s been there for a while is that we do need to know where our early childhood educators are actually working. That’s why we want to develop the first-ever nationwide register of early childhood educators.

SARA: When will that come into effect?

WALSH: So, we’re having our next meeting, a stand-alone meeting, an urgent meeting of education ministers from around the country. We’ll have more to say about that then. What we’re working towards is getting agreement that all states and territories will participate in that nationwide register. We do need information about where our educators are working. We do need to know whether there are red flags that are being raised.

SARA: But just to bring you back to the question, when will that be in place?

WALSH: So, Sally, we have a meeting in just a couple of weeks’ time. We are working really hard on that register. We’ll have –

SARA: By the end of the year, do you think?

WALSH: We’ll have more to say on that, Sally, in a couple of weeks.  It is an absolutely urgent item that we are all working on.

SARA: Jess Walsh, Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Senator for Victoria, thank you very much for your time this morning.

WALSH: Thanks, Sally.
 

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The NT Police Force are calling for information in relation to an aggravated robbery that occurred in the Daly River Region on Tuesday morning.

Around 8am, police received reports that an 84-year-old male had been assaulted and had his vehicle stolen approximately 1 kilometre from the Woolianna Road and Daly River Road intersection.

It is alleged that a group of four youths threw rocks at an 84-year-old and his vehicle after her refused to give them a lift.

The victim exited his Toyota Hilux, and one male youth entered the vehicle and attempted to drive away from the location, but the vehicle stalled. At this time the victim attempted to remove the keys from the Hilux; however, the group allegedly began assaulting him before stealing the vehicle and fleeing the scene.

Daly River Police attended, and the 84-year-old male was transported to the Daly River Clinic for assessment with minor injuries.

The vehicle and the alleged offenders remain outstanding, and investigations are ongoing.

Police urge anyone with information to make contact on 131 444, quoting reference number NTP2500073955. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

Source:

Around 50 young women from across the state recently took part in the ‘Girls on Fire’ program at CFA’s training ground at Bangholme, aimed at engaging more women in the emergency services sector.

The program offers women aged 14 to 19 the opportunity to participate in an action-packed day of interactive fire and emergency service simulations.

Guided by experienced emergency personnel, participants build confidence and leadership skills in a safe, inclusive space, by trying new things, and discovering how they can support their communities during a crisis.

Over the course of the action-packed day, CFA ran the teens through the Breathing Apparatus and Thermal Imaging Cameras used for search and rescue, along with live fire demonstrations on the gas pad.

Participants also explored radio communications using the Edithvale Mobile Command Vehicle and its crew, giving them deeper insight into CFA operations.

The event brought together representatives from CFA, Fire Rescue Victoria, Victoria State Emergency Service, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Ambulance Victoria, and Emergency Management Victoria to support the activities.

Shandelle Ross, a volunteer with Keysborough Fire Brigade and one of the trained CFA mentors, said the event was an incredible opportunity for the participants.

“CFA is grateful for the chance to be part of a program that uplifts young girls from across Victoria,” she said.

“To see the smiles on their faces as they tried new things was heartwarming, and we hope to see them return as the next generation of emergency service volunteers and workers.”

CFA was invited by Girls on Fire to deliver fire-based activities for the day, coordinated by Southeast Region Volunteer Sustainability Team member Olivia Duffy and District 8 Brigade Administration Support Officer Megan Angel, with support from volunteers across the district.

Submitted by	CFA media

Source:

23 July 2025

Researchers at the University of South Australia are calling for a major shift in how cities manage tree root intrusions into household sewer systems that cost millions of dollars in repair bills each year.

A new study by UniSA’s Sustainable Infrastructure and Resource Management (SIRM) team reveals that current maintenance strategies are falling short, resulting in repeated pipe blockages, environmental contamination, and mounting damage bills.

Instead, the engineering researchers propose a smarter, preventative approach using predictive analytics to identify high-risk areas before damage occurs.

In a new paper published in Sustainability, the UniSA team reviewed global literature and maintenance practices, concluding that removing tree roots using mechanical and chemical measures is not the best solution. Roots can grow back, and the damage is costly to fix.

In Adelaide alone, SA Water reported more than 30,000 cases of tree root intrusion in 2020, accounting for nearly 60% of all sewer failures. Each year, the utility spends approximately $5 million on repair works and maintenance caused by blocked sewer pipes.

Tree root intrusions are a global headache, costing countries millions of dollars each year. Worldwide, remediation options include mechanical and chemical techniques to clear pipe systems and control root growth, as well as proactive approaches such as planting trees well clear of pipes.

But the traditional responses are only temporary fixes, according to UniSA Water Science and Engineering Professor Chris Chow, a senior author on the paper.

“Tree roots are the most common cause of pipe failures in many cities around the world,” Prof Chow says.

“The challenge is that cutting roots or applying chemicals are not permanent solutions. The chemicals can contaminate the soil, and the roots often grow back more aggressively.”

Instead, his team is advocating for a predictive approach, analysing key risk factors – such as pipe age, material, diameter, soil type, tree species and climate conditions – so that water utilities can model where tree root problems are most likely to occur.

“It’s essentially an early warning system,” says lead author Oliver Yang, a Master of Research graduate at UniSA.

“We can map out high-risk zones and guide smarter planting choices, better pipe materials and targeted maintenance,” Yang says.

While predictive models already exist for pipe failures based on material or age, few incorporate environmental or vegetation factors. This gap is significant, the researchers say, given the complex interactions between roots, soil, moisture and infrastructure.

Fast growing species such as eucalyptus, poplars, willows, jacarandas and desert ash are particularly aggressive, with root systems that can spread many metres in search of water – especially in dry or compacted soils.

Trees such as hackberry, varnish or lacquer species, brush box, willow myrtle and kurrajong trees are less intrusive and better choices for street planting.

“Globally, cities are spending millions each year fixing the same problems over and over,” says Yang. “With the right data and modelling, we can address this, saving money, protecting infrastructure and still enjoying the benefits of urban greenery.”

The researchers are calling for more region-specific studies and the development of locally-calibrated predictive tools that incorporate tree, pipe, soil and environmental factors.

‘Review of Root Intrusions by Street Trees and Utilising Predictive Analytics to Improve Water Utility Maintenance Strategies’ is published in Sustainability. DOI: 10.3390/su17125263

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Researcher contact: Oliver Yang M: +61 401 857 790 E: chizhengping.yang@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin