News Today Wednesday 16th Febuary, 2022
NSW government misses the point on nurses strike
8500 nurses participated in a strike yesterday campaigning for better pay and staff ratios, desperate for recognition of the absolute crisis occurring in NSW hospitals. The government’s reaction was to threaten to charge the union for proceeding with a strike considered unlawful by the Industrial Relations Commission, proving that the nurse’s grievances are not being heard.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association organiser Mark Murphy said that members were beyond breaking point.
"What we're hoping for today is for the NSW government to listen to our claims for safer patient care through nurse-to-patient and midwife-to-patient ratios, to commit to a pay rise greater than 2.5 per cent, and to abandon any plans they have to change the current workers' compensation legislation."
Andrew Forrest purchases land earmarked for Aborignal use
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest continues to buy up large parts of Western Australia with his company’s latest purchase of farmland in New Norcia. The land contains a former ‘native reserve’ that was set aside in the 1880’s specifically for the welfare of Aboriginal people according to old documents.
The Yued people, who are traditional owners of the piece of land, will meet with Mr Forrest to discuss his plans.
Private schools get higher public funding
School funding continues to be a contentious issue as federal funding for private schools increased well beyond funding for public schools. Independent and Catholic school pupils received $3338 compared to $703 per pupil for public schools according to a study conducted by Save our Schools, a public school advocacy group. While states are responsible for spending on public schools, the report concluded that their contribution has dropped in real terms by $478 per student. The report can be found here.
Neolithic world celebrated at British Musuem
A huge excavation on Orkney, an archipelego on the northeastern coast of Scotland has unearthed a Neolithic settlement including six-metre wide surrounding walls and numerous intact pots and stone tools. The settlement sits in inside the Ring of Brodgar, a series of monoliths known as the Stones of Stenness. In the stone age, Orkney was a main thoroughfare providing a link to Ireland, mainland Britain and Europe, as revealed by materials originating in many parts of the continent including jadeite axes from the Italian Alps.
Artifacts from the dig will be displayed at the World of Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum
Mortgage rate pain to come
Interest rates are tipped to rise in June, so mortgage owners should start to prepare for that eventuality. Setting your budget at a few percentages higher will help ease the financial pain when the time comes and will also provide a buffer for your repayments. As many current home owners have never experienced mortgage increases, economists are concerned about the effects this rise may have on household spending. Monthly repayments on an $800,000 loan would increase by $440 with a one per cent increase and $900 if rates increased by 2%.
Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie fans who werr disappointed with Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, complete with the unedifying spectacle of Poirot pulling out a gun and attacking another character, should probably avoid this movie as well. His latest Christie adaptation, Death on the Nile, has more of the same, writes Stuart Richards, focussing heavily on a newly devised characterisation of the beloved Poirot including an origin story of his moustache. The film appears to be made for an audience who are not familiar with any previous adaptations or the books – faithful fans be warned.