Daily News Roundup

FRIDAY, JUNE 19

**BREAKING NEWS

Scott Morrison addressed the nation this morning in a live press conference announcing the Cyber Attack that has been played out on Australia. Through a speech referring to all of the measurements and investments they have made over the years on cybersecurity, Scott Morrison didn’t reveal the State-side attackers, however, did urge people to go to the cybersecurity website to register any disturbances and find out more information to ensure businesses are keeping online systems and footprints safe.

www.cyber.gov.au

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The cost of studying “job-relevant” course such as nursing, teaching, agriculture and maths at university will be slashed while fees for doing humanities is set to double, under an overhaul of tertiary education announced by the Federal Government today.

Announcing the move, Education Minister Dan Tehan said an extra 39,000 university places for Australian students will be funded by 2023.

Demand for 2021 is already soaring, with the estimated 20,000 year 12 students who usually defer university now less likely to take a gap year because of travel restrictions and the poor jobs market.

The rising unemployment rate is also driving demand with many unemployed people typically turning to universities during a recession.

“We are facing the biggest employment challenge since the Great Depression,” Mr Tehan said in a speech to the National Press Club today.

“And the biggest impact will be felt by young Australians. They are relying on us to give them the opportunity to succeed in the jobs of the future.”

The Government is using a carrot-and-stick approach to funnel students into the industries it believes will drive job growth.

Subjects, where fees will be drastically slashed, are agriculture and maths degrees (62pc decrease); teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages degrees (46pc decrease); science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering degrees (20pc decrease).

Subjects where fees will increase are law and commerce degrees (28pc increase and humanities degrees (113 per cent increase).

There will be no change to medicine, dental and veterinary science degrees.

Critics of Australian universities decry their increasingly business-oriented focus, and this policy shift will add to those concerns.

Humanities staff will also worry about job security as a $45,000 arts degree will likely see some students change their plans.

The Minister says this will give the taxpayer best value for money.

“Students will have a choice,” Mr Tehan said.

“Their degree will be cheaper if they choose to study in areas where there is expected growth in job opportunities.”

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The US Supreme Court has dealt President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies a major setback, ruling against his bid to end a program that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children from deportation.

The justices on a 5-4 vote upheld lower court rulings that found that Mr Trump’s 2017 move to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, was unlawful.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s four liberal judges in finding that the administration’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious” under a federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act.

The ruling means that the roughly 649,000 immigrants currently enrolled in DACA — who are mostly young Hispanic adults born in Mexico and other Latin American countries, and are often referred to as “Dreamers” — will remain protected from deportation.

They will also remain eligible to obtain renewable two-year work permits.

The ruling does not prevent Mr Trump from trying to end the program again, however, it is unlikely his administration will be able to end DACA before the November 3 election in which the president is seeking a second four-year term in office.

“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies. We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action,” Justice Roberts wrote.

The ruling marks the second time this week that Justice Roberts has ruled against Mr Trump in a major case, following Monday’s decision which found gay and transgender workers were protected under federal employment law.

In a tweet posted after the ruling was released, Mr Trump described the two decisions as “shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives.”

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Legendary World War Two singer Dame Vera Lynn, whose song “We’ll Meet Again” became an anthem of hope during the conflict, has died aged 103.

The singer’s family confirmed she died on Thursday morning surrounded by her close relatives.

“The family are deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers at the age of 103,” a statement said.

Dame Vera was widely known as “the Forces’ Sweetheart“, and gave outdoor concerts for the troops in Egypt, India, and Burma during the war as part of Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA).

 The songs most associated with her are “We’ll Meet Again” whcih was released at the start of the War in 1939, “The White Cliffs of Dover“, “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” and “There’ll Always Be an England“. 

Born in East Ham on the outskirts of London in 1917, Lynn began performing aged seven.

From the age of 18 she began performing with orchestras in the UK, and released her debut solo recording, Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire, in 1936.

During the second world war, she became popular among soldiers and earned the nickname “Forces Sweetheart”.

The Queen referenced one of Dame Vera’s most beloved songs earlier this year when she told the country, separated from families and friends during the coronavirus lockdown: “We will meet again.”