Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new maths and literacy syllabus for kindergarten to year 2 focuses on basic skills and leaves no room for misinterpretation.

It’s an ambitious plan, and perhaps the only certainty is the expectation of more than a little blow-back along the way, but according to Rob Stokes, “it has to be done”.

The ageless Roosters winger says he has no idea how he has outpolled teammate James Tedesco in the opening two rounds despite setting a new rugby league record.

Two years ago, mother-of-three Amanda Montoya considered pole dancing “the last thing I would ever do”. Today, at 41, she is a passionate competitor and one of many embracing what has become a global fitness phenomenon.

There are now more statues of kelpies than Indigenous Australians or Australian women in Canberra’s parliamentary triangle.