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🗞️ The next generation isn't as tech saavy as we thought
Two-thirds of Australian Year 10 students just failed basic digital literacy testing - the worst result since testing began in 2005, when only a third failed.
Pick & Scroll News
May 28, 2026
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Good morning. Two-thirds of Australian Year 10 students just failed basic digital literacy testing - the worst result since testing began in 2005, when only a third failed.
60% are now using AI to write homework at least once a month, but half haven't been taught how to check whether the output is even accurate.
If you thought you were falling out of touch with your current grad cohort, wait til the year 2035.
All the headlines and more below...
DATA CENTRES MAY SOON USE MORE ELECTRICITY THAN EVERY AUSTRALIAN HOME COMBINED.
Australia's AI-powered data centre boom is projected to consume 13% of the country's total electricity by 2040, up from 2% today. That's more new demand than the entire residential or automotive sector over the same period.
13% of Australia's total electricity could go to data centres by 2040, up from 2%.
One major grid operator has already warned it doesn't have the capacity to power every data centre in the planning pipeline. The surge comes as Australia tries to close coal plants and replace them with renewables - a transition now competing with an energy load no one planned for 5 years ago.
Energy ministers agreed this month that data centres should "fully offset" all their power use with new renewable energy. Queensland was the only state that didn't back it. The Australian Energy Market Commission reports back in July on how that would work in practice.
The government says it won't approve projects that don't align with emissions expectations, but the grid can't currently support the demand and offset rules don't exist yet.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS
Surging demand from AI-powered data centres could consume up to 13% of Australia’s total energy by 2040, threatening renewable transition efforts. LINK
Australia’s inflation rate dropped to 4.2% in April as a government fuel excise cut drove petrol prices down 7%, bolstering RBA rate hold expectations. LINK
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has found that two-thirds of Year 10 students failed baseline ICT standards as digital skills have declined for 20 years. LINK
The government is overhauling the $2B annual employment services system by introducing a three-tiered, more personalised approach for 1M jobseekers, allocating $312M for reform. LINK
The Australian Tax Office has raised the cents-per-kilometre tax deduction rate for business car use from 88c to 91c starting in the 2026-27 financial year. LINK
ATO LIFTS WORK CAR DEDUCTION TO 91C PER KILOMETRE FROM JULY.
The cents-per-kilometre tax deduction for business car use jumps from 88c to 91c from 1 July. Two cents of that is a one-off adjustment for fuel volatility - the ATO says recent price spikes hit too late in the March quarter to flow through the base rate.
91c per kilometre, capped at 5,000km per car per year.
The rate covers fuel, rego, servicing, insurance and depreciation. Sole traders and some partnerships can claim without receipts or logbooks. It won't apply to returns lodged this tax season - it kicks in for the 2025-26 return due mid-2027. Future increases revert to inflation indexing off an 89c base, not 91c.
For someone claiming the full 5,000km, that's an extra $150 back.
COMPANY NEWS
PwC has hired a law firm for an external review and started an internal probe into its audits of Corporate Travel Management, after whistleblower concerns over ignored red flags. LINK
Dexus told staff it will cut its workforce by 5% to slim down in a tougher office market, with chief operating officer Melanie Bourke the most senior departure. LINK
KMD Brands launched a sweeping strategic review that may include breaking up its Rip Curl and Kathmandu business as it appoints external financial and legal advisers. LINK
Telstra has overhauled the telco’s technology structure into 2 new divisions, cutting more than 100 jobs and making global network chief Shailin Sehgal redundant. LINK
Eagers Automotive posted FY25 revenue growth of 16.5% to $13B and a 17.3% rise in profit before tax to $393.7M as net debt fell to $100M. LINK
Web Travel Group reported FY27 underlying earnings of $148.4M, up 23%, as TTV rose 20% but early FY27 TTV fell 6% amid Middle East geopolitical instability. LINK
TPG Telecom has warned that a federal government-imposed $7.3B spectrum bill will lead to years of regular mobile plan price hikes. LINK
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CHART OF THE DAY
Measles and whooping cough are the most contagious diseases shown (R0 of 12-18 and 12-17 respectively), while Ebola - currently driving a WHO-declared emergency in the DRC - sits near the bottom with an R0 of just 1.5-2.5, highlighting that its danger comes from fatality rate and healthcare transmission rather than airborne spread. Notably, Covid-19's Omicron variant (R0 8-10) proved far more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain (2-4), roughly tripling in transmissibility through mutation alone.
ONE MORE SCROLL
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TRIVIA
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Khao Soi
Bunny Chow
Tourtière
Ceviche
Bún bò Huế
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