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🗞️ Very behind
Australian 15-year-olds have come out of the latest global school test more than 2 years of learning behind the ones who sat it in 2003, dropping to 16th in maths out of 91 countries.
Pick & Scroll News
September 09, 2026
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Good morning. Australian 15-year-olds have come out of the latest global school test more than 2 years of learning behind the ones who sat it in 2003, dropping to 16th in maths out of 91 countries.
Australia also ranks 69th out of 80 countries for how orderly the classroom is, and 44% of students had skipped school in the fortnight before the test, against an OECD average of 24%.
All the headlines and more below...
EX-KPMG CHIEF COLLECTED $4M AFTER RESIGNING OVER AUDIT MISCONDUCT SCANDAL
The payout comprised 52 weeks' pay, 9 months' notice and accrued leave after Andrew Yates resigned as KPMG chief executive in May, as the firm's audit division was found to have misused confidential client documents, accepted corporate hospitality from clients including Taylor Swift and Pink tickets, and leveraged former partners now sitting on client boards to win work.
A whistleblower flagged the chief operating officer for storing confidential Lendlease documents in her locker. KPMG initially dismissed the allegations and exited the whistleblower, but a later investigation confirmed she had printed the documents to share with a partner. She was fired and is now suing the firm.
The pitch for Westpac's $38M audit contract is under review after KPMG's then-chair hosted Westpac's audit committee chair, a former KPMG partner, for a sleepover during the pitch in breach of the bank's policy. He was forced to resign as a Westpac director. Macquarie Bank fired KPMG from an $80M audit contract after discovering a Macquarie director who is a former KPMG auditor met with KPMG partners during the pitch. Clients and government departments have axed or are reviewing $442M in KPMG contracts.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS
The RBA has banned most card surcharges and sharply cut interchange fees from October 1, stripping an estimated $660M a year from banks and triggering reduced rewards and perks. LINK
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index has fallen 5.2% to 84.4 in September as rising fuel prices, rate hike fears and weaker housing markets batter household confidence. LINK
The government has introduced draft digital duty of care laws giving Australian social media users the choice to opt out of algorithmic recommendations, with platforms facing fines of more than $100M for non-compliance. LINK
The Fair Work Commission has warned that AI-generated unfair dismissal and deactivation claims from gig workers have surged to 569 in 2025-26, driving rising backlogs, delays and proposed reforms. AFR
Temporary graduate visa holders have jumped 170% in 3 years, with that cohort now growing faster than the student visa cohort as the post-pandemic international student surge shifts into a permanent migration pathway. AFR
1,800 SACKED QANTAS WORKERS FINALLY RECEIVE $35M IN PENALTY PAYMENTS
Former Qantas ground crew illegally fired in 2021 received their court-ordered penalty payments late last week, roughly $2,000 per full year of service and $1,700 for each partial year. The penalty payment is separate from the $120M compensation fund Qantas paid in May 2025 for the actual firings. Workers are still waiting on that money, which covers loss and suffering, and Maurice Blackburn has until 31 October to complete the process.
The $35M comes from the $90M fine imposed on Qantas by the Federal Court in August 2025 - half went to the Transport Workers Union, $5M was paid out before Christmas, and the remainder has now been disbursed to approximately 1,800 workers. The Federal Court had to intervene last month to decouple the penalty payments from the compensation fund after delays drew criticism from both victims and Justice Michael Lee.
The sackings began in 2020 when Qantas moved to outsource ground handling operations at 10 Australian airports, wiping out more than 1,800 jobs. Justice Lee ruled the outsourcing illegal and described Qantas' apology as "the wrong kind of sorry" when handing down one of the largest corporate fines in Australian history.
COMPANY NEWS
ANZ has begun moving Suncorp Bank’s 1.2M customers under its $4.9B takeover as regulators impose branch, employment and Bank@Post conditions amid competition concerns. LINK
IGA has overtaken Aldi for fresh produce satisfaction in Canstar’s 2026 fruit and veg award as shoppers prioritise freshness over price and cut weekly produce spend by 26% to $32. LINK
Former KPMG chief executive Andrew Yates received about $4M in payout entitlements as the firm faces a devastating audit ethics scandal and $442M in lost or threatened contracts. AUS
Canva is rushing to test its Canva AI 2.1 tools and a new in-house image model after its valuation fell US$7.1B as Google launched rival Google Pics. AFR
ONE MORE SCROLL
Editor’s Pick: A landmark Australian study has found brain disease CTE in 31 of 51 donated brains from former rugby league players, at every level of the game.
Draft Pick: Next year’s Rugby World Cup draw has been called “self-destructive recklessness” by one columnist, with the Springboks and All Blacks likely to meet in a quarter-final and one of them heading home early.
Doctor’s Pick: Why do we trust chatbots and how can we use them more wisely? A psychologist explains.
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The hottest part of Earth (its core) is solid.
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