Australia News Live: Data breach in Victorian public schools; South African Prime Minister defends criticism of Randa Abdel Fattah | Australia News
Victorian student data was exposed in the hack
Caitlin Cassidy
The personal data of current and former students in Victoria has been exposed in a cyberattack, the state Department of Education has confirmed.
On Wednesday, an external actor accessed information about Victorian public school students across the school network, including their name, email address, school name, year level and encrypted password.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said it was working with cyber experts and government agencies to investigate the hack, as well as reaching out to schools “to ensure this does not disrupt students when they begin the 2026 school year.”
The safety and privacy of students is our top priority, and we have identified the point of compromise and put safeguards in place, including temporarily disabling systems to ensure no further data can be accessed.
There is no evidence to suggest that the data accessed has been made public or shared with other third parties.
The incident has been reported to the appropriate Commonwealth government agencies.
Main events
Burke says it’s a “ridiculous” coalition criticizing hate speech legislation in the wake of Bondi’s attack
Minister of Interior Tony Burke He said the government could not have had a “more serious impetus for action” on hate speech laws after the Bondi terror attack, saying lawmakers in Canberra should not waste time taking action.
Burke spoke to RN Breakfast just days before the Labor government introduced new legislation in the wake of the mass shooting. The coalition said the timetable was too hasty, expressing major reservations about the bill despite calling for an early return to Parliament by several weeks.
Burke’s change of face was ‘ridiculous’ this morning:
These arguments coming from the Liberal Party now, after having spent the last week after week calling for the early return of Parliament and saying how urgently we need legislation, to now say, “Oh no, you’re rushing us,” are just ridiculous. …
I cannot for the life of me see how the Liberal Party got to the point where they are now effectively opposing legislation.
Burke was asked about this by a neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Network He claimed it would dissolve Before the hate speech law was presented to Parliament. The Minister of Interior said:
Any day the Nazis retreat is a good day. If there is any evidence that this legislation is urgent and that we have got the balance right in what we have put forward, it is that as soon as we saw it, the Nazis announced that they would disband. …
None of this means that the hatred of these individuals will disappear, but it does make it more difficult for them to organize.
Good morning, Nick Visser Here to take you through the morning news. Let’s dig deeper.
Peter Malinauskas defends Randa Abdel Fattah’s criticism
Caitlin Cassidy
Prime Minister of South Australia, Peter MalinauskasHe expresses his criticism of the Palestinian writer and academic Randa Abdel Fattah “It’s not about politics” but “about examining your conscience and doing what you think is right, consistent with some basic principles.”
On Wednesday, Abdel Fattah’s lawyers represented A Formal Notice of Concerns On charges of defaming the Prime Minister, suggesting that the fallout from her cancellation of the 2026 event – which has now been cancelled – is far from over.
In an appearance on the ABC’s 7.30 program on Wednesday evening, the Prime Minister specifically took aim at Abdel Fattah’s social media comments in 2024 in which he said the Zionists He has “no right” to cultural integrityDescribing it as “a very extraordinary opinion that someone can have when they also seek freedom of expression for themselves.”
Malinauskas said he began pushing for Abdel Fattah’s removal from the festival around Christmas, when he had “a number” of conversations with the board chairman, which led to him writing a letter to the board on January 2, “defending” his point of view.
Asked if he was ready to go to court over his comments about Abdel Fattah, the prime minister said he had to “examine my conscience and do what I think is right.”
Ms. Randa Abdel Fattah will do what she will do, and she is entitled to take whatever action she wants, but my responsibilities are to make sure that we do not unnecessarily escalate tensions in this country, especially at a time like this after Bondi, and even more so, when we express our opinions, we can do so with respect.
Read our full story here:
Victorian student data was exposed in the hack
Caitlin Cassidy
The personal data of current and former students in Victoria has been exposed in a cyberattack, the state Department of Education has confirmed.
On Wednesday, an external actor accessed information about Victorian public school students across the school network, including their name, email address, school name, year level and encrypted password.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said it was working with cyber experts and government agencies to investigate the hack, as well as reaching out to schools “to ensure this does not disrupt students when they begin the 2026 school year.”
The safety and privacy of students is our top priority, and we have identified the point of compromise and put safeguards in place, including temporarily disabling systems to ensure no further data can be accessed.
There is no evidence to suggest that the data accessed has been made public or shared with other third parties.
The incident has been reported to the appropriate Commonwealth government agencies.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I Martin Freer With the most important stories overnight and then it will be Nick Visser With main work coming soon.
Prime Minister of South Australia, Peter Malinauskastold ABC 7.30 last night that his criticism of D. Randa Abdel Fattah “It’s not about politics” but “about examining your conscience and doing what you think is right, consistent with some basic principles.” The Palestinian-Australian writer and academic threatened to sue Malinauskas for defamation in the fallout from the cancellation of the Adelaide Book Festival. More to come.
The state Department of Education confirmed last night that the personal data of current and former Victoria students – including names, email addresses, school names, year levels and encrypted passwords – had been exposed in a cyber attack.
Let’s get into it.
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