It’s Thursday!

To start your morning, TDA journalist Nandini Dhir has a recommendation. It’s the album ‘Heaven knows’ by PinkPantheress (released in November last year).

Nandini says: “I'm simply obsessed with this album, I love PinkPantheress and all her songs. I always listen to her at work because her songs are the perfect pace for me to write articles to!”

If you’re already a PinkPantheress fan, TDA Editor Emma Gillespie recommends her recent interview with Louis Theroux.

Emma says: “It’s the 2024 collab you didn’t know you needed. The pair discuss anxiety, fame, social media and more. I dare you not to laugh at Louis’ rendition of Boy’s a liar.”

Quote of the day
“She said, ‘We don’t accept cash,’ and I said, well, too bad for you, you have to, it’s legal tender. It’s illegal for you not to take cash.”
Queensland MP Bob Katter in an interview with Sky News about a recent clash with a cashier at Parliament’s staff dining room.

Stat of the day
£20,000 ($AU38,700)
How much UK dentists will get as a bonus if they work for three years in ‘dental deserts’ - areas with no dentist services - under a new policy announced by the National Health Service.

Today in history
1587
Mary Queen of Scots was executed after 19 years as a prisoner of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

Some headlines from this morning:

• The Federal Senate inquiry into supermarket prices has received its first submission from Coles. The 33-page document includes financial statements, details about how Coles engages with suppliers, and measures it says it’s taking to lower prices. It said a key factor driving increased grocery costs has been price increase requests from suppliers and farmers. It also blamed rising prices on growing “energy, labour, logistics, packaging, interest and tax costs”. Woolworths is yet to make a submission to the inquiry.

• The Federal Government’s travel safety service SmartTraveller has asked Aussies to “exercise a high degree of caution” if they’re heading to Bali ahead of Indonesia’s elections next week. It’s warned there could be protests and rallies in the coming days, as Indonesians prepare to elect a new president, a new parliament, and new local authorities. Protests turned deadly the last time Indonesia went to an election in 2019.

The Federal Government has announced that telecommunications (telco) providers like Telstra and Optus will be required to give more support to customers struggling to pay their bills.

From next month, telcos will be expected to work proactively to identify customers experiencing financial hardships. Disconnecting those customers will become a “measure of last resort”.

Victim-survivors of domestic violence won’t be required to give evidence to seek financial hardship support from their telco.

The code
Under the code, telcos must develop a financial hardship policy.

Policies must be written in clear language that’s accurate, easy to use and accessible to diverse customers.

The specifics of these policies will be up to the telcos, but they must prioritise keeping customers connected.

Telcos
Providers will be asked to take “all reasonable steps” to identify and support customers believed to be facing financial hardship.

This includes speaking with customers with either more than two consecutive overdue bills or a total of three overdue bills in the last six months.

Telcos will also be required to speak with those who owe more than $200, to find customers who may be struggling to repay their debt.

Support processes
Telcos must share their hardship policy with customers found to be facing financial difficulties.

The policies could include avenues for customer support, such as leniency applications to negotiate a flexible timeline for repayments or a payment plan.

Telcos should complete an assessment within a week of receiving an application, and share that outcome with the customer within the next two business days.

The number of students staying in school until Year 12 is at its lowest level in a decade, according to new education data.

The Productivity Commission’s latest report found that fewer students are entering year 12, while the gap in school attendance between remote and city students is widening.

Retention
The ‘retention rate’ refers to the number of full-time Year 10 students who continue their schooling to Year 12.

Decreased retention indicates fewer students completing their final years of school.

The Productivity Commission’s report includes retention rate data collected from Australian schools between 2013-2022.

It found public school retention rates dropped to the lowest levels in almost a decade in 2022 (73.5%). It follows a peak of 79.8% retention in 2017.

The 2022 retention rate was significantly higher for non-government schools compared to public schools (87.2%). This includes private and religious schools.

Despite this, retention in non-government schools dropped to its lowest level since 2013.

The report also found significantly lower attendance and school completion rates among First Nations students compared to non-Indigenous students.

Attendance
Despite a decline in students completing their final years of schooling, attendance levels for students in Years 1-10 improved in 2023 compared to the previous year.

However, attendance across all groups was still below pre-pandemic levels.

There was also a 23% gap in attendance between students in major cities and students in very remote areas in 2023.

Year 12 certificate
“Attainment” is the percentage of students who complete a year 12 certificate out of the total cohort (e.g. HSC, VCE or equivalent).

The attainment rate in 2022 dropped nearly 3% from the previous year. However, overall attainment rates have increased by more than 2% since 2013.

Students from a low socio-economic background were 14% less likely to complete a year 12 certificate than wealthier students.

Funding
Last week, the WA Government announced it will become the first state to fully fund its public schools, under a joint agreement with the Federal Government.

The AEU is calling for “100% of funding for 100% of schools” by 2028. This would require increased federal funding for all states and territories.

Education Minister Jason Clare said he will work with every jurisdiction to “properly fund our schools”.

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TDA is running a survey on the Government’s changes to the ‘Stage 3’ tax cuts coming in July. (If you’re not sure what they are, you can read our article on them here.)

You can let us know what you think about the changes here. It will only take a minute! We’ll let you know the results in a few days.

A Federal Senate Committee has recommended legal protection of a person’s ‘right to disconnect’ from work during their personal time.

The committee called for “clear expectations about contact and availability in workplaces”.

On today's podcast, we discuss what the reform could mean for you and your workplace.

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The West African country of Burkina Faso has announced a roll out of the malaria vaccine.

It comes after nearby Cameroon became the first country in the world to launch a national malaria vaccine program last month. Immunisations for 250,000 children in regions hardest-hit by the mosquito-borne virus will commence this week.

Taylor Swift has entered a legal battle against a uni student who is tracking the movements of her private jet.

Jack Sweeney is known on social media for tracking the flights of private jets owned by prominent figures like politicians and celebrities. The information he shares is technically considered public data, available via the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to a report by The Washington Post, Swift’s attorney sent a “cease-and-desist” letter to Sweeney, accusing him of “stalking and harassing behaviour”.

Swift’s lawyer said the artist is in a “constant state of fear for her personal safety”.

Sweeney told the publication: “This information is already out there. Her team thinks they can control the world.”

It’s not the first time he’s got in trouble. Sweeney‘s ElonJet account (which tracked private flights taken by Elon Musk) was blocked on X in 2022. That was despite earlier claims from Musk (who was CEO of X at the time) that he wouldn’t suspend the account, to prove his “commitment to free speech”.