Hackett laps up investors
Generation Development Group,an investment bond business led by former swimmerGrant Hackett,will host its EGM on Wednesday in Melbourne,where shareholders will be asked to sign off on capital-raising to pay for the company’s $320 million-plus purchase of Evidentia,a financial planning advice business which is very on trend. Sweet deal for some:Evidentia is only seven years old,has 29 staff and is barely profitable. The sale is based on 15 times future pre-tax earnings – which some say is more reminiscent of a bull market than whatever’s going on right now. Watch this space.
Mathematically challenged
Colleen Harkin,director of the Institute of Public Affairs’ schools program and research fellow,alarmed the good people of LinkedIn by posting four bulging binders full of Australia’s maths curriculum,next to Singapore’s slimline curriculum.
Colleen Harkin says the left pile is Australia’s maths curriculum and the right pile is Singapore’s.
Harkin explained that Australia’s prep to year 10 maths curriculum is “3500 pages long – bursting with ideology:climate change,Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders History and Culture,Sustainability,social justice etc ( yes,this is in maths)”. Singapore’s maths curriculum is about 80 pages long with “no ideological pollution”.
“It would not be honest to suggest to parents that the National Curriculum is straightforward,” Harkin said. “It is an overwhelming,unwieldy document which ultimately distances teachers from the practical delivery of mathematics and weakens educational outcomes.”
Astounding. Shocking. Also untrue,according to the body,which writes the curriculum.
The Australian Curriculum,Assessment and Reporting Authority says the foundation to year 10 maths curriculum is 273 pages,including optional resources. The core content – the achievement standards and content descriptions – comes in at 33 pages.
The secret CBD
You can tell a lot about a local council’s priorities from their press dispatches. Roads,rates,rubbish? At the City of Parramatta Council,not so much. Councillors have been bragging about some very interesting achievements of late.
First,we had the news that the council had been crowned a five-star employer of choice. Woot-woot! But it was another release that caught our eye:“Council welcomes NCAT decision”,the headline read. A decision in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal? About what? As it turns out,none other than a fight with one of its own councillors.
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IndependentKellie Darley had taken her own council to the tribunal over its refusal to release documents relating to a controversial deal between the city and the Parramatta NRL club. The council was concerned that releasing information about finances behind the deal would compromise its ability to negotiate with future partners.
While Darley said she’d consider appealing the decision,the council lauded it as a win for itself and all councils in NSW. Heck,they even managed to get the CEO of the club to say thanks.
“Being able to have frank and,where necessary,commercial in confidence conversations,ensures that key partners can feel confident in their ability to engage with the City of Parramatta,” Eels CEOJim Sarantinos said in the release. The saga makes us wonder – what is it we’re not allowed to see?