Latest news with #student debt
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Australia politics live: Australia joins 24 countries to demand immediate end to Gaza war
Update: Date: 2025-07-21T20:38:28.000Z Title: Albanese promises an 'ambitious government' Content: The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken to ABC's 7.30 program ahead of the first day of parliament sitting tomorrow following Labor's resounding electoral victory. Asked about how he will avoid falling into the trap of excessive caution, Albanese said 'with determination making sure we are an ambitious government'. Albanese flagged the changes announced at the beginning of the month (including increasing the minimum wage, Centrelink payments and parental leave) and said he has an 'ambitious agenda' for this coming week with three important pieces of legislation: reduction student debt, the childcare reform to give parents and legislation to protect penalty rates. But in order to have those medium and longer-term objectives, you need to make sure you're looking after people's living standards and making sure you're making those immediate changes to make people's lives better. Update: Date: 2025-07-21T20:31:34.000Z Title: foreign minister, Penny Wong Content: Australia and 24 other countries have signed a joint statement condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of 'human dignity' and calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. In the statement, signed by the , the countries called on Israel to 'immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid' and to allow aid organisations 'to do their life saving work'. It said: The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law. The statement added that Israeli proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a 'humanitarian city' were 'completely unacceptable'. Permanent forced displacement was a violation of international humanitarian law, the statement said. Read our full story here: Update: Date: 2025-07-21T20:23:15.000Z Title: Welcome Content: Good morning and welcome to our live blog of the first day of Australia's 48th parliament. I'm Martin Farrer with the best of the early stories and then it'll be Krishani Dhanji to bring you the main action. Australia has joined 24 other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, in condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of 'human dignity' as they issued a call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, called on Israel to 'immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid' and allow aid organisations 'to do their life saving work'. More coming up. Anthony Albanese told ABC's 7.30 last night that he finds some of Mark Latham's views 'repulsive' after the Labor caucus voted yesterday to add text to a portrait of the former leader at Parliament House condemning his actions since he departed federal politics. More coming up. It was a busy pre-parliamentary night for the prime minister as he fielded a range of other questions from the ABC host, Sarah Ferguson. These included her pressing him on his relationship with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and whether or not he has spoken to US officials about how Australia would respond if China attacked Taiwan. All this and more from Albanese's interview coming up. The first day of the parliament will be marked by rallies and vigils urging the Albanese government to do more to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This will include the culmination of three days of rolling protests calling for sanctions on Israel and a 24-hour vigil orgainised by Amnesty International for children killed in the conflict. More shortly.
Fox News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Why Trump's $3 billion wake-up call to higher ed is exactly what America needs
When President Donald Trump recently suggested taking $3 billion from Harvard's federal funding and redirecting it toward trade schools, he didn't just launch a headline, he launched a national reckoning. And as a university president, I believe he touched a nerve that desperately needed to be hit. For too long, higher education has drifted from its purpose. Elite institutions have grown wealthier and more disconnected, while everyday Americans shoulder massive student debt for degrees that no longer guarantee opportunity. The result? A broken pipeline, rising costs, shrinking returns, and students who feel forced to choose between meaning and mobility. But here's the truth few are willing to say out loud: not every student is called to a traditional university path. And that's not a problem to fix, it's a reality to embrace. In my role, I've seen firsthand the power of aligning education with calling. That includes aspiring teachers, ministers and entrepreneurs, but also electricians, HVAC technicians, mechanics and builders. I've met students who feel more alive on a construction site than in a lecture hall. And I've seen how learning construction technology can do more than build a career, it can restore confidence, dignity and purpose. This is personal for me. I lead a university, yes, but I also lead with the conviction that education should serve the whole person: spiritually, practically and vocationally. That's why I believe the future of higher ed must include the trades, not as a fallback, but as a foundation. Christian tradition understands this well. Jesus worked with wood and nails before preaching in synagogues. Paul made tents to support his ministry. Scripture doesn't draw a line between spiritual work and skilled labor. It lifts both as sacred. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life… and to work with your hands." What we need now is a cultural reset. One that stops looking down on trades and starts investing in them, not just with funding, but with respect. That means parents affirming their child's calling, even if it leads to a job site instead of a boardroom. It means pastors reminding their congregations that all honest work is sacred. And it means more universities embracing flexible, high-quality training that equips students for lives of both character and competence. The goal isn't to pit trade schools against traditional universities. It's to restore balance. Because the future of our country won't be built from ivory towers. It will be built from the ground up, by people with tools in their hands and purpose in their hearts. We need welders with wisdom. Carpenters with character. Lineworkers with leadership. And institutions with the courage to say so. This isn't just good politics. It's the path to national renewal.
