Farmers market planned for City Beach school site

By James Pearson, 18 April 2011

The State Planning Commission will hear plans for a farmers market in city beach.

A public hearing was held on the 15^th of March to discuss Kapinara Primary School’s plans to hold a community run farmers market on Saturday mornings. 

Many residents objected to the proposed plan stating that it would cause traffic issues, safety issues and it would disturb the quiet weekend mornings.

A petition with signatures of 156 residents objected the proposed plan.

The Council committee rejected the plans, but made recommendations to the school.

The committee suggested that approval be limited to 12 months, they give the council an access traffic plan and parking on the school oval be free of charge instead of a gold coin donation.

But the Council of Cambridge does not have the power to approve a farmers market at Kapinara Primary School.

 As the farmers market is planned to be held at a public school, it comes under the jurisdiction of the State Planning Commission.

“The Cambridge Council is a mediator between the two parties,” the Manager of Governance for Cambridge City Council, Neil Costello, said.

“It makes recommendations to Kapinara Primary school and to the State Planning Commission.

“The Planning Commission handles it because the school is public property and it has to be handled by a public authority,” he said. 

A flood of complaints has hit the Council due to its inability to stop the market.

Kapinara Primary School’s P and C has assured residents it will comply with all of the council’s recommendations.

“The request has gone to the State Planning Commission and it is being processed,” P and C member Ellie Munt said.

“We have taken the Council’s recommendations and have put them in our plan.”

Mr Costello assured residents if the Planning Commission does approve the farmers market, the council will try to make it less of an impact on residents.

“We will have rangers patrolling on Saturday mornings, and parking restrictions on street parking.”    

Changes to visa rules ‘disheartening’ say students

By Melissa Westwood April 12 2011

Changes to the immigration act have dashed the hopes of many international students of gaining permanent residency in Australia upon completion of their studies.

Introduced in 2010, these changes were designed to limit the number of students staying on in Australia and to refocus immigration policy onto filling the gaps in the labour force which has seen the Commonwealth Skilled Occupation List (SOL) reduced from 400 to 130.

For many students the numbers of job opportunities have disappeared including that of University of Notre Dame communications student, David Lough.

“I came here thinking I was going to have a lot more opportunities than I have,” said Mr Lough.

“It’s a little disheartening that mid-way the rules of the game have changed, especially considering I pay $1000 a term to go here.”

Earlier this year Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, conducted an interview on ABC Radio National talking about the issue of international students gaining permanent residency.

“...they came to Australia to study, frankly, courses which were designed to maximise their chance for permanent residency – courses such as hairdressing and cookery and others – and when they were removed from the Skilled Occupation List because there wasn’t a view that they were needed, skilled migration in those particular areas, then it did become harder for those people to become permanent residents,” he said.

“I think it’s very important to the nation on a whole range of levels that we have a very strong international student presence in Australia, but I’m also of the view that our skilled migration should be driven by the needs of the economy.”

While some changes to the Immigration Act have made it more difficult for some students to get a visa this is not always the case, said Elda Rizk, the International Student Coordinator at the University of Notre Dame.

 “Old regulations emphasised that students had to have full-time work experience that was related to their degree, casual work at Woolworths or Coles didn’t count,” she said.

“Now new changes to regulations allow students who have no work experience to apply for permanent residency.”

Applicants for permanent residency and work or students' visas must prove their competence under the International English Testing System (IELTS), which is relied upon by the Department of Immigration.

My School Anger

By Mitchell Sutton, 2 April 2011

A little over a year on from the release of the Federal Government’s controversial My School website, local Catholic school principals are still not convinced that the criticisms that plagued the system in its first few months have been resolved.

Media furor over the website has died down recently, there is still widespread discontent about the accuracy and necessity of the website, especially in Catholic and independent school circles.

“It’s the sort of data parents are entitled to, but I don’t think it’s revolutionary for them,” Shaun Kenny, headmaster of a local high school in Fremantle claimed in a recent interview.

“The information’s accurate in a sense; the problem is that it’s limited.”

“You’re having one small snapshot to represent what goes on day in and day out,” claimed John Ryan, principal of Saint Patrick’s Primary School.

“I wouldn’t be basing what I read on a website for choosing a school for my own children.”

Earlier concerns that the system inaccurately portrayed the finances of some private schools also appears to remain unaddressed.

“Probably some of the more affluent independent schools have that concern and have more complex financial arrangements,” Mr Kenny stated.

“I think there are some school leaders who believe that their financial information is not accurately represented.”

The My School website was a Federal Government initiative backed by then Education Minister Julia Gillard designed to allow parents of school students to compare the performance and financial data of schools in their area.

There has been widespread criticism of the website from within the education community since its launch on January 28 last year, especially with regards to the financial data of private schools and concerns that the system unfairly stigmatised schools in low socio-economic areas.

In February this year the government declined to publish the financial details of some private schools, after allegations that the system miscalculated the amount of income that they used to pay off loans.

This put off the release of the much vaunted “My School 2.0” which was to contain much of this new financial information.

For some however, criticism seems more focused on the idea of school comparison itself.

“I think there are other factors that contribute to results,” Mr Ryan said.

“I would hate for a school to have a bad name even when they have brilliant programs and are doing a great job.”

New Dean of Arts and Science for Fremantle Campus

Plant ecophysiology, ecology and histology – just some of the areas of research undertaken by The University of Notre Dame Australia’s new Dean of Arts and Science on the Fremantle Campus.

Vice Chancellor Professor Celia Hammond announced that Associate Professor Dylan Korczynskyj will commence in January 2011.

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Assoc Prof Professor Dylan Korczynskyj as Dean,” said Professor Hammond.

“Dylan has been at the University since 2003, and has been acting in the position of Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Fremantle since the middle of 2009.

“He has been a regular recipient of letters of commendation for teaching excellence and in 2009 was a recipient (alongside colleagues) of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council’s Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.”

Assoc Prof Korczynskyj has played a pivotal role in developing the Science program on the Fremantle Campus since 2003. He has also maintained a research profile alongside his teaching and leadership roles at the University.

Assof Prof Korczynskyj said that he welcomed the opportunity to work amongst such a range of disciplines and talented people.

“I believe the School of Arts and Sciences speaks volumes about what this Catholic University strives for: commitment to teaching excellence; preparation of our students for professional and meaningful careers; commitment to social justice and indigenous issues; pastoral care for our students and our fellow colleagues; we have built a reputation for research rigor; and we continue to further develop our research profile,” he said.

“I also value the chance to stay in contact with teaching and research and to have the chance to head to places such as Tanzania with our students for immersion programs to explore issues of social justice, subsidiary and community development!