02 PM | 21 May

“Tony Abbott’s daughter did not have to pay for $60,000 design degree…” [#geekgirl]

[Source: Caroline McCredie/Getty Images AsiaPac Via Zimbio]

[As reported by The Guardian] “Tony Abbott’s daughter Frances received a “chairman’s scholarship” for a degree costing more than $60,000 from the Whitehouse Institute of Design where an Abbott donor sits as chairman on the board of governors, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The revelation raises questions for the prime minister over whether the scholarship should have been declared on his interests register.

The Coalition government is also under pressure over changes to higher education funding announced in the budget.

Frances Abbott undertook a bachelor of design at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney from 2011 to 2013. Guardian Australia has confirmed that she received a scholarship during her time at the institute.

“Frances definitely was a student with us and received a chairman’s scholarship,” Leanne Whitehouse, director of the Institute told Guardian Australia. She declined to detail how many times the “chairman’s scholarship” has been awarded previously, but the institute’s website makes no references to the scholarship and states the institute “does not currently offer scholarships to gain a place into the Bachelor of Design”.”

02 PM | 01 May

The National Commission of Audit Recommendations Sounds Like They’re Straight Out of The Onion

[Image from ABC News 24]

[Image from ABC News 24]

[Via Sbs News] “WHAT THE NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT RECOMMENDED: *Raise age pension age to 70 by 2053. * Include the family home in a new means test from 2027. * Raise superannuation preservation age to 62 by 2027. * Slow the roll-out of the national disability insurance scheme. * $15 co-payment to visit the doctor and access Medicare services. * Require wealthy Australians to have private health insurance. * Increase co-payments for taxpayer-funded medicines. * Open pharmacy sector to competition, such as supermarkets. * Allow the states to impose a personal income tax surcharge, offset by reduction in federal rates. If you have a PAN card and need to correct something on it here is a correction form for changes. * Scrap Family Tax Befit Part B and new means test for Part A with maximum rate cut out at $48,837. * Lower the paid parental leave scheme salary cap to $57,460 – average week earnings – and use the savings for new child care payment. * States to be responsible for allocating all schools policy and funding. * Uni students to pay more for their degrees and lower local repayment threshold to the minimum wage. * New benchmark to lower growth in the minimum wage to 44 per cent of average weekly earnings. * Force young job-seekers to relocate or lose welfare benefit. * Reduce the number of government bodies. * Privatise Australia Post, NBN Co, Defence Housing, Snowy Hydro amongst other government-owned enterprises. * Abolish the Australia Network.”