Australia news live: Jillian Segal returns to antisemitism royal commission; three dead in Sydney house fire

Jillian Segal, Australia's special envoy tasked with combating antisemitism, is set to appear before a royal commission today. Her testimony will focus on the effectiveness of education and training programs designed to address antisemitism, particularly within school curriculums.

Segal, appointed in 2024, previously recommended that Holocaust and antisemitism education be integrated into national and state school systems, with coordination across government, independent, and Catholic schools. The commission's examination today will delve into the current approaches and their efficacy.

In other news, the government has initiated the second phase of mandatory safety training for childcare workers. This stage emphasizes identifying grooming behaviors and addressing child safety concerns, following previous training on staff conduct and reporting obligations. Education Minister Jason Clare noted that 99% of early educators completed the initial training, highlighting their commitment to child safety.

Separately, emergency services responded to a house fire in Wiley Park, Sydney, where three individuals tragically lost their lives. Police have established a crime scene, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the blaze. In a piece of positive news, one of the national Closing the Gap targets has been met, with early childhood education enrollment for First Nations children reaching 95% nationwide.

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Our early educators are the best asset we’ve got to keep our children safe. They had six months to do the first stage of the mandatory training and 99 per cent of them completed it within 4 months. It tells you a lot about how seriously they’re taking this.