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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Monday, May 1. It’ll be mostly sunny today with top temperatures of around 25 degrees expected across the city. Here’s what’s making news this morning.
What you will pay under the new fire services levy
How much Sydneysiders will pay under a new system to help fund NSW fire and emergency services can be revealed, with some property owners facing annual bills exceeding $500.
From July 1, NSW property owners will be charged the new Fire and Emergency Services Levy based on land value determined by the NSW Valuer-General, replacing the previous system which was a tax on insurance policies. Read more (SMH)
Sydney suburbs are oversupplied with childcare places
The childcare industry says there is an oversupply of childcare in the inner-city and middle-ring suburbs of Sydney, in news that will surprise parents stuck on waiting lists for the hours they need.
The claim is in stark contrast to warnings from the federal Opposition which says the population boom is driving a national childcare shortage set to worsen over the next three years. Read more (SMH)
Universities to be hit with funding cuts, student fees to rise
The Turnbull government will slash university funding by hundreds of millions of dollars in the May budget while hiking student fees and requiring graduates to pay back their loans faster.
The government will justify the cuts by pointing to a major new report which found universities receive adequate funding for most courses they teach and that their revenues are growing faster than costs. Read more (SMH)
City-Country match plunges to all-time low
The legitimacy of the City-Country clash diminished years ago, however it plunged to a farcical new low on Sunday night with City coach Brad Fittler struggling to find 17 players to take part in the game.
A host of clubs have withdrawn their best players from the match in Mudgee next Sunday, and as of Sunday night City were unable to get confirmation from 17 available players. Read more (SMH)
Storm blow away Dragons
A first half blitz from Melbourne saw the Storm down St George Illawarra 34-22 in their top of the table clash in Wollongong on Sunday.
The Dragons were without Gareth Widdop but there wasn’t much even their inspirational captain could have done to stop the onslaught as the Storm ran in four first half tries – two each to wingers Suliasi Vunivalu and Josh Addo-Carr – to run out convincing 12-point winners. Read more
