Rebecca Urban | Author at The Australian

ExclusiveGender course to be axed

Setting the page on fire with some hard work

21:14 PMRebecca UrbanThe NSW government will dump a contentious sex education course for senior high school students, Crossroads.

exclusiveFunding model ‘biased to rich’

0:00 AMJOHN FERGUSON, REBECCA URBANCatholic educators accuse government of huge financial advantages for high fee independent schools.

ExclusivePoorer schools lumped with elites

0:00 AMREBECCA URBAN, JOHN FERGUSONMore than 100 poorer Catholic schools have been classified as socially and economically equal to an elite Sydney school.

exclusiveCurricula ‘dumbed down’

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANEducation standards will continue to slide unless steps are taken to boost teacher quality.

Catholics demand $330m injection

Fed Lib MPs to visit schools to spruik new gonski program

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANEducation Minister Simon Birmingham is under pressure from within Coalition ranks over schools funding.

exclusiveCatholics blame Gonski for hikes

0:00 AMREBECCA URBAN, JOHN FERGUSONCatholic schools along the east coast are warning families that fees will rise as much as 12 per cent next year.

ExclusiveDeath kits exposes post loophole

0:00 AMRebecca UrbanMP Sarah Henderson was horrified to discover ready-made suicide kits could be delivered via the post.

Mastectomies for trans teens

Isabelle and Dr Michelle Telfer, adolescent physician, at Melbourne Children's Hospital.

20:02 PMREBECCA URBANBreast removal surgery has been included as part of new treatment guidelines for transgender adolescents.

exclusiveIdentity politics in schools push

Prominent Australians Discuss Human Rights Challenges Facing The Country

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANEnglish students face being drilled in the politics of class, race, gender and sexuality.

Same-sex marriageSafe for schools but not TV

10:46 AMREBECCA URBANThe “No’’ campaign’s latest TV ad featuring Safe Schools founder Roz Ward is deemed too rude and classified unacceptable for general viewing | WATCH

exclusiveSuicide bill at risk as MPs desert

Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews speaks to the media as he arrives for a special meeting on counter-terrorism of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, October 5, 2017. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING

0:00 AMJOHN FERGUSON, REBECCA URBANDaniel Andrews is blindsided as two key MPs pull support for euthanasia laws after warnings by Paul Keating and Tony Abbott.

Ex-PMs call for euthanasia block

0:00 AMSAMANTHA HUTCHINSON, REBECCA URBAN, GREG BROWNFormer PMs from opposing sides of politics urge Victoria to abandon euthanasia bill, calling it a milestone in society’s decline.

exclusiveHistory ‘lost’ in identity politics

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANIdentity politics has become a dominating force in history courses offered by Australian universities.

NT ‘threat to religious freedoms’

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANReligious schools could lose the freedom to hire based on their doctrines under new laws flagged by the NT government.

Westpac blasted for Yes email

A poster with a message in support of a Yes vote in the marriage equality postal survey seen at a store in Sydney's inner west, Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett) NO ARCHIVING

0:00 AMJOE KELLY, REBECCA URBANWestpac has been accused of ‘blackmailing’ staff into supporting same-sex marriage.

‘Stick to your knitting’ on vote

15:38 PMREBECCA URBANPeter Dutton has delivered a rebuke to Westpac over a staff email telling employees to vote Yes in the SSM postal survey.

EXCLUSIVE‘Strip gender’ from sex-ed class

Coalition for Marriage spokesman Lyle Shelton speaks at a press conference in Hyde Park, Sydney, Thursday, September 7, 2017. The High Court has ruled that the same-sex marriage postal vote is lawful and can proceed as planned. (AAP Image/Paul Miller) NO ARCHIVING

12:06 PMREBECCA URBANA push to make sex education inclusive of transgender kids could see the terms ‘penis’ and ‘vagina’ ousted from schools.

Flu claims teen after month-long battle

Confirmed photo of Nathan Brown (19) who died of the flu in Newcastle today. Picture has been confimred by his parents who have spoken to the Newcastle Herald which is also running the photo - Picture from GoFundMe page.

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANNathan Brown, 19, is the latest person to succumb to this year’s flu epidemic.

Ticket tales of two finals

0:00 AMJAMIE WALKER, REBECCA URBANWhile you can’t get a ticket for the AFL grand final, they’re talking about giving away seats for the NRL.

MCG link in feared spread of measles

AFL Grand Final Preparations In Melbourne

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANFootball fans at Saturday’s AFL preliminary final are warned to watch out for measles symptoms after two new confirmed cases.

BROWNLOW MEDALBiggest hit on red carpet

0:00 AMREBECCA URBAN, GLYNIS TRAILL-NASHJust a year ago Jarryd Roughead was given the all-clear from aggressive cancer — last night his wife Sarah revealed she was pregnant.

Yes vote vandals attack church

25/09/2017 A Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Leura NSW was vandalised with Vote Yes. Source: Facebook

0:00 AMREBECCA URBAN, TESSA AKERMANA vandal attack on a Blue Mountains church has been linked to tensions over the same sex marriage vote.

Tigers roar as Crows take flight

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANIt’s been a long time between drinks, and some fans won’t let anything get in the way of grand final glory.

Yes ‘to overrule parents’ will’

Canadian father Steve Tourkoulish as warned Australian parents that same-sex marriage will have profound consequences for their children's education, urging them not to take the plebiscite lightly. The Coalition for Marriage is set to launch the next phase of its No campaign, airing ads during prime time television on Friday night. Screen grabs from the ad. Supplied

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANA father fighting for seven years to withdraw his children from classes that teach homosexuality will star in No ad.

Teen fights for life as flu hits

0:00 AMREBECCA URBANNewcastle’s Nathan Brown has been on life-support for three weeks after influenza led to infections and organ failure.

Flu deaths expected to rise

0:00 AMREBECCA URBAN, GREG BROWN, SIMONE FOX KOOBAustralia’s flu outbreak could last for 12 more weeks with experts warning the death toll will likely rise

EXCLUSIVENew Muslim group voting No

20:00 PMREBECCA URBANA new Islamic organisation has kicked off its political advocacy by denouncing a push for same-sex marriage.

ExclusiveRosie, 8, taken by ‘horror flu’

Image confirmed by family to be of Rosie Andersen who has died of a flu in Melbourne. Source: Supplied

0:00 AMREBECCA URBAN, TESSA AKERMANFamily and friends of a Melbourne girl who died from the flu are in shock over how it could have claimed an otherwise healthy child.

EXCLUSIVEFlu kills ‘beautiful princess’

8 Year old Rosie Andersen who became another flu fatality. Supplied by her father Christen Brealey

19:50 PMRebecca Urban, Tessa Akerman, Simone Fox-KoobA heartbroken Melbourne man has spoken out about losing his eight-year-old “princess” to influenza, after a “bad cold” quickly deteriorated.

EXCLUSIVEChinese Christians’ SSM warning

18:00 PMREBECCA URBANSydney’s Chinese Christian churches say SSM could lead to legalised polygamy and radical gender theory in schools.