This might be an unpopular opinion but I think that the root of all the issues we have with education in Australia today is because of the frankly DISGRACEFUL approach to education in our primary schools. When I was in Year 6, there were still people who DIDN'T KNOW THEIR SIX TIMES TABLES and couldn't spell words like giraffe. Hell, there are people in senior high school whose handwriting could be mistaken for a Year 4's, and cannot spell Naplan's so-called higher-order words like eucalyptus. This is not to shame anyone for not being able to do so, but to highlight that THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IN AN APPARENTLY FIRST-WORLD COUNTRY.
The tall poppy syndrome in some primary schools is ridiculous (and is encouraged by the teachers themselves!), where you get shit on for supposedly being "unnecessarily ahead" when primary schools are really just big babysitting centres. If students were actually educated properly and being NURTURED instead of being fed the "school is only about play and having fun!!", we would have well-informed young people specialising and becoming exceptional achievers in critical fields from HIGH SCHOOL and not TURNING AWAY from STEM in senior high school and uni because they think they're "not smart enough" or the subject is "not interesting" or "boring".
It is ENTIRELY the fault of the education system for blatantly throwing young minds with limitless potential for STEM in the GARBAGE. Shame on this country's education system.