Australia news live: NSW schools may ban take-home tests over AI concerns; minister calls urgent meeting over airport chaos

Health minister says bulk billing rate has increased to ۸۴%

The federal government is trumpeting “big benefits” from its Medicare investments, announcing bulk billing rates across the country are up nearly five percentage points since last year.

Health minister Mark Butler said the national bulk billing rate for the June quarter had increased to ۸۴.۱%, announcing increases in every state and territory.

Bulk billing was up ۵.۷% in Victoria (to ۸۵.۷%), up ۶% in South Australia (۸۲.۵%), up ۴.۱% in NSW (۸۷.۵%) and up ۱۳% in the Northern Territory to ۹۰.۸%.

Other states saw smaller increases, with the ACT coming in last, with bulk billing still lagging at ۵۹.۳% – by far the lowest rate nationally.

Butler said the Labor government’s Medicare investments had helped raise that rate.

“Across the country more and more GP practices are becoming fully bulk billing clinics meaning all patients need is their Medicare card, not their credit card,” he said.

Catherine King, the federal transport minister, has asked Air Services Australia to speak with her today about a “pathway forward” after two aircraft were involved in a near-miss at Sydney airport on Sunday.

The two planes, owned by Jetstar and Qatar Airways, almost collided at Sydney airport, the nation’s busiest, on Sunday morning. A Jetstar spokesperson said its plane was following instructions from air traffic control when the pilots were forced to break “firmly” when another aircraft came within “close proximity”.

Inquiries suggest a tug vehicle pulling the Qatar jet may not have followed instructions.

The incident came after delays to more than ۱۵۰ flights passing through Sydney on Saturday as the airport struggled with staffing shortages.

Airservices Australia, which oversees air traffic control, was managing reduced air traffic movements and had been unable to roster enough staff for three consecutive days, the Airlines for Australia and New Zealand chief executive, Stephen Beckett, told the ABC this weekend.

King told ۷ News yesterday:

We’re not happy. No one wants to see passengers disrupted in the way they have been.

That meeting is expected to happen in Canberra today, the ABC reports.

Prue Car, the NSW deputy premier, has asked the NSW Education Standards Authority (Nesa) to impose a ban on unsupervised take-home assessments during a broad review of AI’s impact on student learning.

Car said she has asked Nesa to “urgently” examine artificial intelligence and move to protect student learning amid growing evidence the technology is affecting student’s cognitive development. Half of students’ HSC result is based on school-based assessments, some of which is finished outside the classroom.

She said in a statement:

Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to support teaching and learning, but it should never replace the thinking, creativity, and hard work that education is designed to develop.

The purpose of schooling extends beyond producing an assessment task. It is to build knowledge, judgment, resilience, and critical thinking over time. If students rely on AI to bypass that learning process, we risk undermining both their education and the integrity of the HSC.

Subject to Nesa’s advice, any interim changes would be applied from the beginning of term ۴.

Good morning, and happy Monday. Here’s what’s on deck:

Catherine King, the federal minister for transport, said she has asked Air Services Australia to come and talk to her today about a “pathway forward” after two aircraft were involved in a near-miss at Sydney airport on Sunday.

And the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and former foreign minister Bob Carr will speak before a public inquiry into the Aukus submarine deal today. Stick with us.