BREAKING NEWS Mr Potato collapses: Popular fast food chain goes into liquidation
The Adelaide-based franchise was appointed Phil Robinson of Deloitte as liquidator at a court hearing on Friday for wind-up action brought by the ATO over a $151,000 debt.
Miss Universe entrant Jess Davis, who founded the chain with husband Tyson Hoffman, aka Tyson Finau, who played for the 36ers NBL team, is the sole director of Mr Potato Management.
More to come.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Two-division Test cricket on agenda after ICC decides to consider WTC expansion
The International Cricket Council has set up a working group to explore moving to a system of two-division Test cricket for the first time in what would be one of the most radical changes in the 133-year history of the global game. In the first annual general meeting under the new all-Indian leadership of the chair, Jay Shah, and the chief executive, Sanjog Gupta, held in Singapore at the weekend, the ICC appointed an eight-strong working party with a remit to report recommendations to the board by the end of the year. Any changes would be introduced for the next cycle of the World Test Championship, due to run from 2027 to 2029, and involve an expansion from the current nine-team format to two divisions of six. Gupta, who joined the ICC this month from Indian broadcaster JioStar, will chair the working party which also features the England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive, Richard Gould, and the Cricket Australia chief executive, Todd Greenberg. The two-division concept first emerged from meetings between CA and the ECB during the women's Ashes last January. CA, in particular, is major advocate and has pushed a model that would involve Australia, England and India playing against each other twice every three years rather than the current set-up of two series in four years. Although this would appeal to broadcasters and be hugely lucrative, the ECB is understood to have reservations about scheduling more Test series between the so-called big three, as it would further entrench their huge financial advantage over other international sides. The presence of Gupta, Gould and Greenberg on the working group suggests there is a strong possibility the two-division model will be adopted, although the devil will be in the detail of their findings. With such a significant change requiring the support of a two-thirds majority of the ICC's 12 full members, the biggest challenge will be to agree on a system of promotion and relegation between the two divisions to prevent the smaller nations being cut adrift. An increased package of financial support for countries starting in division two may also be required. Under the current ICC Test rankings, the world Test champions, South Africa, plus New Zealand and Sri Lanka would join the big three in division one, with Ireland, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh in line to be admitted to the World Test Championship for the first time to join Pakistan, West Indies and Zimbabwe in division two. This development came as the ICC announced in Singapore that England will stage the next three World Test Championship finals. All of the first three showpieces have been held in England, most recently last month with Lord's the venue as South Africa were crowned champions for the first time by defeating the holders Australia. The ICC also discussed creating a new Twenty20 Champions League or World Club Championship that would feature franchises from the Indian Premier League, the Hundred and the Big Bash, but no formal proposal was tabled. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion A previous T20 Champions League run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, CA and Cricket South Africa was launched in 2008 and lasted until 2014, but collapsed after the main broadcaster ESPN Star failed to pay rights fees. The ICC has expressed interest in running its own version, but it would be a complex undertaking, not least as many of the IPL owners have bought franchises in other countries including South Africa's SA20, Major League Cricket in the and ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates. The owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad are also in the process of buying into four Hundred franchises. Some of the world's top T20 players represent as many as four or five franchises each year, so determining whom they would represent would not be straightforward, with 2027 seen as the most likely start date for a new global tournament as that coincides with the end of the ICC's $3bn Indian TV deal with Disney Star.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Labor's signature Hecs debt relief will be introduced to parliament this week. Here's what it means for you
When Anthony Albanese fronted the media in November to announce Labor would cut 20% of all student debt if he won government, he described the move as 'about opening the doors of opportunity – and widening them'. Almost nine months later, the key election promise will be among the first pieces of legislation the federal government introduces when parliament returns on Tuesday. Here's what you need to know about how it will work, who it will help, and what's missing. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email If the legislation passes, 20% of student debt will be wiped from the 3 million Australians with outstanding loans, equivalent to around $16bn according to the federal government. The minimum repayment threshold will also be raised from $54,000 to $67,000, which is expected to save the average debt holder about $680 a year, and reduce the amount low income earners have to pay. The measures are being sold as providing cost-of-living relief for young Australians, who hold the bulk of student debt. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, the education minister, Jason Clare, said the average Australian with a student debt would have about $5,500 shaved off their loans. For Australians on an average income of $70,000, he said the bill would reduce the minimum amount they were required to repay by about $1,300. 'It'll take a lot of weight off the shoulders of a lot of young Australians who are just out of uni … looking to move out of home or save up to get a mortgage,' Clare said. 'You don't start paying off your university degree until your degree starts to pay off for you.' Students have broadly welcomed the changes, while arguing they don't go far enough. The president of the National Union of Students, Ashlyn Horton, said cutting debt was a 'long overdue move' that indicated Canberra 'might finally be listening' to concern about the rising cost of degrees. But she said the bill 'doesn't come close to fixing the structural mess that got us here'. 'The core problem remains: students are still paying some of the highest fees in the Oecd under a system that punishes them for choosing the 'wrong' degree,' she said. 'That system has a name – the Job-Ready Graduates package (JRG) – and Labor has left it untouched.' The Coalition's widely canned JRG scheme drastically increased the prices of arts degrees, which cost $50,000 as of 2024, to incentive students into other courses. The Greens and the Coalition haven't confirmed whether they will support the Labor bill but sources have suggested it would be unlikely for them not to back it, given the demand for cost-of-living relief. On Sunday, the shadow education minister, Jonathon Duniam, indicated the Coalition wouldn't block the bill in parliament despite still holding some concerns. 'We're not really in the business of standing in the way of cost-of-living relief … [and] it is one of those things that Australians wanted, they voted for,' he said. 'We've expressed our concerns. Australians have had their say. We've got to move on.' While proving to be a popular policy among voters, the bill has been critiqued for not addressing the root of student debt – which is indexation and the rising cost of degrees. Analysis conducted by the parliamentary library for the Greens and provided exclusively to Guardian Australia shows the 20% cut will be reduced to just 8% since Labor entered office when accounting for indexation since the 2022 election. That's despite the federal government's changes to indexation by tying Hecs/Help debts to whatever is lesser out of the wage price index (WPI) or consumer price index (CPI). For instance, a student debt balance of $30,000 in 2022 would have had their debts rise to $33,454 before the student debt reduction as a result of indexation. Following the 20% cut, their debt would drop to $26,763, and with 2025 indexation, rise to $27,619 – just 7.9% less than in 2022. The modelling assumes no repayments had been made. The Greens' deputy leader and spokesperson on higher education, Mehreen Faruqi, said 'Labor crowing about a small one-off debt reduction won't fix the enormous burden of uni fees or student debt that keeps growing every year'. 'Of course any student debt relief is better than none, but we are demanding all student debt be wiped and a return to free uni and Tafe, funded by taxing big corporations,' she said. Clare has flagged that more will be done in Labor's second term to reform the higher education sector, but it may not happen fast. This year, the federal government is planning to introduce legislation to improve the integrity of the international education system, and to permanently establish a new Australian tertiary education commission. The independent body was a recommendation of the Universities Accord, handed down early last year. A priority of the commission will be reforming the pricing of degrees, including introducing needs-based-funding into higher education, as is being rolled out at primary and secondary schools. On Wednesday, Clare confirmed that part of its work on funding would be assessing the JRG package, without a timeframe for reform.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australian training organisation criticised for using chatbots to run job seeker course
A training organisation co-run by a vice-president of the Collingwood football club has been criticised for using chatbots to help teach a course to adult job seekers. Duke Education, a registered training organisation (RTO), offers a certificate III in community services. A chatbot takes students through some of the coursework, such as how to write an email and recognise hazard signs. Duke Education, co-run by Collingwood co-vice-president and former AFL player Paul Licuria, offers courses for unemployed Australians. Workforce Australia providers cover the cost of training for participants through the Employment Fund, a pool of taxpayer funding used to place job seekers into training and to buy work-related items such as clothing. 'Sarah', whose real name has been withheld, was put in the certificate III course by her job provider, MatchWorks, after she said she wanted to study social work. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'It was a chatbot-based learning system,' she claimed. In the first week of the course, Sarah was put in a chat room with classmates and taught how to message them, she said. The online course had pre-determined answers for students to choose. 'It doesn't really matter what answer I picked,' Sarah said. 'You can't ever have your own input in the class, it is always just to agree with the other classmates or with the teacher.' Screenshots shared with Guardian Australia show the chatbot teaching students how to write an email, including starting 'with a friendly and professional tone' and explaining the email's purpose before ending with a 'positive and encouraging note'. Sarah lives in Perth, has two casual jobs in youth work and runs children's programs. Her casual work is not currently enough to live off, so her income is supplemented by jobseeker payments. Sarah said her job provider pushed her to do the course. 'I've written emails before,' she said. 'It felt kind of irrelevant. I thought it was going to be more driven towards community work.' 'I did ask them if I could do a different course but they were adamant that they already used the funding and that switching without any reasonable cause wouldn't be possible to fund for.' In other parts of the course, which runs for six months, students are taught what hazard signs mean, including 'first aid' and danger. In a previous version of its student handbook, Duke Education spruiked its use of AI. 'Utilising AI-driven conversational learning, our trainers and assessors monitor each student's progress, providing valuable guidance and feedback,' the handbook said. 'Additionally, AI facilitates realistic simulated scenarios, allowing students to apply theoretical knowledge with the ongoing support of our dedicated trainers and assessors.' However, in a statement to Guardian Australia, a spokesperson said no AI was used to run the course. When asked about the handbook, Duke Education provided a new version without mention of AI. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'The course is not delivered via artificial intelligence,' the spokesperson said. 'While chat-style delivery is used, it is fully developed and structured by qualified learning designers and trainers to meet national competency standards. Students also receive learner guides, access interactive quizzes, and participate in one-on-one sessions with real trainers and assessors.' The organisation also defended the course material: 'Workplace skills such as professional email writing and hazard identification are core competencies in community services. 'These units are nationally endorsed and assessed through contextualised, practical tasks that mirror real work environments, such as communicating with support agencies or identifying risks in client homes or service settings.' 'Whilst the conversational learning part of the experience has responses that are multiple-choice, learners are encouraged to reflect and think critically throughout,' the spokesperson said, adding that all formal assessments in the course involved 'a combination of multi-choice, written or verbal responses, marked by a qualified assessor, so students can demonstrate their knowledge in their own words'. The Antipoverty Centre's Jeremy Poxon said: 'All throughout the employment services system, companies look to extract the maximum amount of money.' 'It sadly comes as no surprise to see an RTO using chatbots … the minister should come clean about how much public money is being used on these AI chatbot courses. 'The employment fund should be used to help the poorest people in the country afford vital things they need.' MatchWorks said the course content was a matter for Duke Education. 'MatchWorks ensures a tailored and personalised service to each participant based on their individual needs, circumstances and choices,' a spokesperson said. 'MatchWorks encourages all participants to provide feedback about the education services they are receiving to ensure their needs are being met.' Duke Education's spokesperson said 'concerns about the broader employment services system do relate not to individual training providers like Duke'. Licuria was contacted for comment.
