Sunday's news in under 2 minutes.

By MAMAMIA NEWS

UPDATE:

The Governor-General Quentin Bryce has offered to resign from her position, to avoid accusations of bias now that Bill Shorten – her son-in-law – is Opposition Leader.

However, Prime Minister Tony Abbott did not accept her resignation.

In a statement he said, “The Governor-General offered to leave office early to avoid any perception of bias but due to the fact that she will retire in March next year and that the Government commands the House of Representatives with a significant margin, I have thanked her for her magnanimity but declined to accept her resignation, instead asking that she conclude her full term. I am grateful that she has kindly agreed to my request.”

1. The NSW Families Minister, Pru Goward, is set to propose changes to the Care Act, which aims to boost the number of adoptions in the state. In an exclusive report in The Sunday Telegraph Ms Goward said that she hoped these proposed changes would see the number of children adopted in NSW rise ‘by hundreds’. Last year only 78 foster children were allowed to be adopted into a permanent home.

For things to change Ms Goward believes that, “We need to say to people you can adopt an Australian child and we invite you to become part of the foster care system and we can make sure that process is as expeditious as possible.” The changes will be discussed in parliament next month.

2. In a rare interview with ABC’s Insiders, former Speaker Peter Slipper has said that he believes the federal MPs who have been recently accused of misusing taxpayer funded entitlements should face criminal charges – and if they don’t, his own charges on the basis of musing Cabcharge services should be dropped. Slipper is scheduled to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court in December.

Mr Slipper told ABC, “I think there’s a double standard here.” He continued, “I think it’s grossly unfair and when you look at the fact that there have been numerous occasions when members have been able to repay disputed amounts, no questions asked, matter closed, I have to say why have I not been afforded equivalent treatment?”

3. Over 500,000 people have been forced to flee the Indian coastline, after one of the most powerful storms on record hit the shorelines of the country. Hundreds of families were forced to evacuate from their houses, due to the storm dubbed Cyclone Phailin. In addition, the Philippines have been struck by a typhoon, which has killed at least 13 people.

4. Republican Senators have met with Barack Obama at the White House, but there is still no plan to reopen the US Government. However, US tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon have been reopened today, as states decided to fund the costs and avoid loosing millions of tourist dollars.

5. Fairfax media has revealed that children who attend private schools don’t perform any better at NAPLAN tests than those at public schools. A new study from the University of Queensland also revealed that, “Victorian children performed better at reading, and Queensland children performed better at numeracy. All the other states consistently recorded lower test results than NSW in NAPLAN.”

Are there any other newsworthy stories you have seen today?