Key events
Government consultation for early childhood strategy
The Albanese government is encouraging Australians to be part of a public consultation on early childhood development to help it form strategy in the policy area.
Ahead of its Early Years Summit to be held on 17 February, the government is seeking input as it hopes to “break down silos and create an integrated, whole-of-Commonwealth approach” to ensure children aged five and below have the “tools and supports to thrive no matter where they are born or raised”.
Minister for social services Amanda Rishworth said:
“We want to hear from a diverse range of voices in the community, including parents, families, carers and caregivers, educators, child and maternal healthcare providers, social workers, early years experts and anyone who wants to contribute to improving the lives of Australian children.
Getting it right in the early years’ means not only that children and their families are supported to thrive in these critical years of development but also that any investments we make now can have broader, sustained benefits for our society and economy across current and future generations.”
Minister for early childhood education Dr Anne Aly said “our children are our most precious resource, investing in them now is an investment in our future”. She added:
“We know that 90 per cent of brain development happens in the first five years, which is why it’s so important we have a holistic approach to the early years.”
Visit the department of social services website to access the discussion paper to make a submission and for other opportunities to contribute to the strategy. Submissions are open until 30 April.
Mostafa Rachwani
Sydney renter hit by 35% hike as housing crisis sparks calls to cap increases
Millie Bannister was already anxious about how much the rental market had skyrocketed in Sydney when she received a letter from her landlord saying they wanted to increase her rent by 35%.
“Last time, it only increased by $60, but now it’s going to increase by $270 a week, which is a 35% increase, and around $12,000 per year. For me and my roommate, two people in their mid-20s, it is not [easy] to wrangle with.”
The 26-year-old heads up the mental health charity Allknd, and says the rent increase will change her life and her aspirations, amid calls for the state government to consider regulating rent caps.
More on the surging rental crisis in Sydney, where renters have faced an 11% increase in the past year:
Bushfire emergency warning in southwest WA
A bushfire emergency warning has been issued for communities in the shire of Nannup in Western Australia’s southwest, with residents told “to act immediately to survive”.
The Parks and Wildlife Service warning is in place for people in areas bounded by Cundinup-Kirup Road and Cundinup-Dudinyillup Road in the Maidment locality and Dudinyillup.
“If the way is clear, leave now for a safer place. Do not wait and see, leaving at the last minute is deadly,” the warning said.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes.”
People have been advised to shelter in their homes if they cannot leave the area safely.
The fire was fast moving and uncontained and there had been multiple ignitions.
Watch and act alerts are also in place for surrounding districts in the Nannup shire.
Around 50 firefighters are battling the blaze and strengthening containment lines.
The emergency warning has been issued as extreme or high fire danger ratings are in place for multiple weather districts across WA.
-AAP
Court ruling paves way for shakeup of decentralised finance
Self-proclaimed bitcoin creator Craig Wright’s lawsuit against bitcoin network developers to try to recover billions of dollars can continue to trial, a London court says.
The ruling paves the way for a trial on whether developers owe duties to the owners of digital assets – which a lawyer representing some developers said could pose a fundamental challenge to decentralised finance if Wright won.
Australian computer scientist Wright is suing 15 developers in an effort to retrieve about 111,000 bitcoin – currently worth about $US2.5 billion ($A3.6 billion) – after he lost the encrypted keys to access them when his home computer network was allegedly hacked.
Wright’s Seychelles-based company Tulip Trading is taking legal action against the developers of three networks, arguing they are obliged to write software patches to help Tulip recover the bitcoin.
Tulip’s case was thrown out last year but the court of appeal ruled on Friday that developers arguably do owe duties to owners, which should be determined at a full trial.
Judge Colin Birss said Tulip had a realistic argument that cryptocurrency is “entrusted” to network developers, who could therefore have a duty to, for example, “introduce code so that an owner’s bitcoin can be transferred to safety”.
Wright says he wrote the bitcoin white paper which first outlined the technology behind the digital assets under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, however the claim is hotly disputed. He said in a statement that he was delighted with the ruling.
James Ramsden, a lawyer who represented 13 of the 14 developers involved in the appeal, told Reuters that code writers are “incredibly nervous” about the case, which could leave them liable for massive sums of money if Wright wins.
-AAP
Good morning!
The medical community is reacting to a major government report into Medicare funding, which has put forward suggestions to update the system for Australia’s healthcare needs in 2023.
The proposals include different specialists working better together, allowing pharmacists and nurses to do more tasks and take pressure off GPs, and changes to how the government pays for doctor’s visits.
The head of the Australian Medical Association, the peak body representing doctors, said the report had nothing in it to help Australians immediately access more affordable and timely health care.
While opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said while the report pointed out the flaws with the system, it failed to provide specific actions or timelines for improvement.
“The government needs to stop talking about the challenges facing Australians and start doing something about them,” she said.
“Actions speak louder than words and what we have here is just more words and still no actions.”
We’ll be bringing you more updates and reactions to that news throughout the day.
Making news elsewhere:
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The Biden administration is being urged to fast-track research into submarines that do not use weapons-grade uranium, as four Democratic politicians warn the Aukus deal with Australia makes the task “even more pressing”.
We’ll have plenty more news throughout the day. Stay tuned.
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