One of the 19 Closing the Gap targets has officially been reached after early childhood education enrolment for First Nations children hit 95% across the country. The Productivity Commission's annual data compilation report showed an increase from 61.3% enrolments in 2016 (the baseline year) to hitting the 95% mark across every state and territory today. Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy called it a “significant milestone,” but warned state and territory governments should “back in” their commitments as other targets continued to worsen. “This result is encouraging, as are improvements in eight other targets including employment and education,” McCarthy said. “However, it is very concerning that we are still seeing outcomes worsening for early childhood development, children in out-of-home care, incarceration rates and suicide.”

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher called yesterday's inflation figures “encouraging” but noted the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and surging oil prices meant “uncertain times” would likely have an ongoing impact on the economy. She also maintained the government's line that the end of the fuel excise discount is imminent, because apparently temporary measures must eventually face the music.

In other news, Australians' trust of each other has hit the lowest point recorded this decade, with a new Australian National University (ANU) poll showing average life satisfaction has also hit rock bottom. ANU Professor Nicholas Biddle told AAP he was shocked to see interpersonal trust had fallen to 5.32 out of 10 - below levels recorded during the Covid-19 lockdowns. The way Australians feel about how the country's democracy operates also fell significantly, dropping nearly 3% to 62.8%. However, those surveyed indicated they still support democracy as a governance system, because apparently nothing says commitment like lukewarm approval.

Victoria will push for a national crackdown on hidden ticketing fees and deceptive dynamic pricing practices when Australian consumer affairs state ministers meet today. Victoria's consumer affairs minister, Paul Edbrooke, has written to the federal government seeking national reforms to address unfair practices in the ticketing industry, pointing specifically to ticketing companies not publishing prices before consumers are partway through the purchasing process and the use of “potential undisclosed dynamic pricing.” Edbrooke noted this situation is “exacerbated by the increasing dominance of a small number of very large players in the Australian ticketing market.”

The government has announced the second stage of its mandatory safety training for childcare workers will begin Friday, focused on preventing child safety concerns and detecting grooming. Education Minister Jason Clare says the first stage of training has been completed by 99% of early educators, which focused on staff conduct and reporting obligations. “Our early educators are the best asset we've got to keep our children safe,” Clare said. “They had six months to do the first stage of the mandatory training and 99 per cent of them completed it within 4 months. It tells you a lot about how seriously they're taking this.”

Three people have died following a house fire in Sydney's south-west last night. Emergency services were called to a home on Cornelia Street, Wiley Park, at about 9.45pm following reports of a fire. Fire and Rescue NSW crews attended and extinguished the blaze which caused extensive damage to the property. Following a search of the home, the bodies of three people were located inside. Officers from Campsie police area command have established a crime scene, and an investigation is underway into the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Finally, the special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, will make another appearance in the royal commission's hot seat today to examine education and training in handling antisemitism. In a report released in 2025, Segal called for Holocaust and antisemitism education to be put in place in national and state school curriculums, coordinated with government, independent and Catholic school systems.