Industry News

The Tasmanian Southern Council’s management committee has handed down a set of new schemes for all southern Tasmanian council, which represents a major step in the overhaul of the state’s planning system according to Deputy Premier Bryan Green.

Nearly 10,000 people will be going to the polls this week for the local government by-election being held in Ararat.

Major electricity and water sector reforms will start delivering more than $3 billion in savings, Queensland Minister for Energy and Water Supply Mark McArdle said.

National mental health organisation, beyondblue, has launched a new campaign aimed at creating a culture of mental health awareness with the Australian male cohort.

The Queensland Government has announced $4.2 billion will be allocated in the 2013-14 State Budget to rebuild the state after this year’s floods, with $2.1 billion of that going to road rebuilding.

The Queensland Government has announced $80 million dollars for natural resource management (NRM) in the State’s budget.

Parliament has voted down a motion by the Coalition to kill of the Federal Government’s network of marine parks.

Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show that in seasonally adjusted, current price terms, the current account deficit decreased $6,249m (42 per cent) to $8,510m in the March quarter 2013. Exports of goods and services rose $2,450m (3 per cent) and imports of goods and services fell $3,130m (4 per cent). The primary income deficit fell $681m (7 per cent).

The Federal Government has announced that 350 government and non-government special schools across the country will share in $76 million in funding to better help deliver education outcomes.

The University of Queensland‘s (UQ) research efforts into dementia have received a $9 million shot in the arm, after the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research (CADR) won the funding from the Queensland Government.

The CSIRO has announced it has successfully developed a new test to identify unsafe stem cells, the first of its kind to accurately test for human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS).

The Federal Government has announced it will convene the 4^th Australian Council of Local Government in Canberra on 16 June this year.

The Victorian Government has released an action plan it claims will reinvigorate the State’s earth resources industry by streamlining processes, establishing a new single point of contact for investors and launching a major new investment attraction program.

The South Australian Government has announced it will invest $27 million to spend on training over the coming two years in a bid to help the state’s industries meet critical skills needs.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced the appointment of Paul Dean as the Chief Financial Officer for Rio Tinto Diamonds.

The Fair Work Commission has handed down its National Minimum Wage decision, which will see a 2.6 per cent increase to the nation’s minimum wage.

The Federal Government has announced it will form the first National Asbestos Exposure Register to be maintained by the newly formed national Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.

The Federal Government has tabled its official response to a House of Representatives Committee report on pay equity and boosting female workforce participation.

The Queensland Government has announced the roll out of a new, two-year, $350 million plan to tackle the state’s rising road toll.

The Western Australian Government has announced a range of regulatory support changes for the sustainable use of water by the mining industry.