A new report says making teachers more effective would achieve better results than reducing class sizes, as Michael just mentioned. That report by the Grattan Institute says increasing teachers’ effectiveness by just 10 per cent would make Australia’s education system one of the best in the world. It says it would also improve productivity, potentially lifting economic growth by $19 million by 2050. 

 

That latest OECD report on Australia is a mixed bag for the Gillard government. It says the planned mining tax should be reworked, because the rate is too low. It also questions the structure of the National Broadband Network, saying it could stifle competition. But the report does support pricing carbon as soon as possible. 

 

The Greens’ chances of winning Lower House seats in this month’s Victorian state election have been dealt a serious blow. The Liberals have decided to direct preferences to Labor instead, significantly improving the LP’s chances of hanging on to some vulnerable inner-city seats.

 

And Somali pirates have freed a retired British couple who’ve been held hostage for more than a year. Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped after their yacht was hijacked by pirates off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean in October last year.