Labor’s federal election win means university fees and costs are set to change. But some of these changes will not be immediate.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already said planned cuts to student debt will be a top priority for the the new parliament. A new student debt repayment system will follow soon after.

But humanities students paying nearly A$17,000 a year for their studies – thanks to the Job-ready Graduates scheme introduced by the Morrison government – will probably have to wait until 2027 for lower fees.

Reduction in student debt

People with student debt will benefit from a 20% cut to how much they owe. As the Greens support wiping student debt entirely, Labor is likely to only need one or two other senators to…

Government-appointed commissioners are to intervene in running a Surrey council with debts of more than £1 billion.

Jim McMahon, Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said the government had appointed officials to oversee Spelthorne Borough Council.

The interventions come after government inspectors expressed concerns over its record of implementing recommendations from external auditors and from the Local Government Association.

Council leader Joanne Sexton said the council was “determined to address the challenges facing the authority” and would work “collaboratively with the commissioners to ensure long-term improvement in the areas highlighted”.

Under the intervention, which will last until May…

A former St Helens pub owner who failed to disclose his bankruptcy when he applied for Covid support funds has been handed a suspended prison sentence.  Gary Wright did not inform the bank that he was bankrupt when he obtained a £25,000 Bounce Back Loan in the summer of 2020.

The 46-year-old made the application on behalf of the Talbot Ale House on Duke Street in St Helens town centre, the pub he ran before his bankruptcy earlier that year.

Wright, of Bleak Hill Road, St Helens, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, April 24.

He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,500 in costs.

The Bounce Back Loan was repaid in full shortly…

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Facebook App: Open links in External Browser

There is a specific issue with the Facebook in-app browser intermittently making requests to websites without cookies that had previously been set. This appears to be a defect in the browser which should be addressed soon. The simplest approach to avoid this problem is to continue to use the Facebook app but not use the in-app browser. This can be done through the following steps:

1. Open the settings menu by clicking the hamburger menu in the top right

2….

Siewert & Kau, a well-known IT distributor based in Bergheim, has filed for insolvency proceedings at the Cologne District Court, marking a significant development for one of Germany’s largest medium-sized IT retailers. The company, which has been in operation for over 30 years, employs around 400 people across several European locations, including Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.

As of Monday, May 5, 2025, insolvency administrator Marion Rodine and her team have been on site to stabilize business operations. Their primary goal is to secure purchasing and delivery capabilities for outstanding orders in the upcoming months, ensuring that the company can continue to serve its customers effectively.