2005 school statistics.  The ABS has released a set of statistics on Australian schools for 2005. Schools are categorised by level of education, public or private status and denomination. Students and teachers are also categorised in a number of ways, including level and sex. A quick look at the statistics shows that 70% of Victoria's schools are government schools, 21% are Catholic/Christian and 9% are independent. (ABS: Schools, Australia, 2005; ABA stats show Indigenous students attending schools is increasing.)

International student enrolments.  AEI has released statistics on international student enrolments for 2005. The figures show that there was an increase of 7% in the number of international enrolments over 2004. The largest percentage of enrolments is from China (23.5%), followed by India (8%) and South Korea (7.6%). (AEI Releases 2005 International Student Enrolment Data.)

Chief scientist.  After a 9 month vacancy of the position, Jim Peacock has been appointed Australia's new Chief Scientist on a part-time basis. He will also continue part-time as a senior science leader at the CSIRO. He has already made comments supporting greater use of nuclear power and genetically modified crops. (Dr Jim Peacock: Australia’s New Chief Scientist; New Chief Scientist - a good appointment; New chief scientist makes waves; Let's go nuclear: scientist.)

Copyright.  The details aren't entirely clear to me as yet, but Australian IT is reporting that the Copyright Agency wishes to charge schools when teachers advise students to browse websites. (Copyright makes web a turn-off.)