Australian kids are reading for pleasure at alarming rates: 52.5% never read for fun in 2022, up from 10.8% in 2019. Daily social media use jumped from 26% to 85.4% in the same period. NAPLAN reading results dropped from 74.5% to 71% for year 5s. One in three kids can't read at grade level. Library funding is a postcode lottery, so poorer areas lose out. Literacy groups are calling for a national reading strategy and mandated, properly resourced school libraries. The case is overwhelming. You can't improve literacy without the infrastructure that supports it. #auspol #education https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-05/national-reading-strategy-urged-kids-do-not-read-for-fun/107103602