Industry News

The New South Wales Government has announced the release of a new Planning White Paper, which Premier Barry O’Farrell says will result in the ‘biggest overhaul of the State’s planning system in over 30 years’.

The Queensland Government has unveiled a $3.7 million children’s health care plan that it says will improve access to specialist paediatric services.

The Tasmanian Government has announced it will postpone the state’s local government elections to coincide with major reforms in the sector.

Queensland is looking to foot a $2.5 billion clean up bill for the flood events of 2013, according to State Treasurer Tim Nicholls.

The nation’s economic activity has hit 4.2 per cent in February, comfortably above the 2.8 per cent long term trend growth, according to the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index.

The value of residential and non-residential building work done throughout the country has increased by 1.2 per cent over the last quarter, according to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The Federal Government has announced it will move to improve measurement and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from coal seam gas exploration and production.

Australian researchers will soon have access to a wealth of scientific data collected by Scientific Collections International (SciColl) following the signing of a new agreement.

The CRC for Water Sensitive Cities has announced the opening of two new PhD scholarships to undertake new research into urban water use and design.

The first scholarship will see the candidate undertake research on Statutory Planning for Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), and will be based out of Monash University for a three year full-time candidature.

More information can be found here

The second scholarship will see the candidate join a project which focuses on how to engage communities in the transition to water sensitive cities.

The overall goal fo the project is to benchmark current levels of water literacy in Australia and identify and evaluate community-friendly strategies that promote more sustainable urban water management.

More information can be found here

The number of placed job advertisements has fallen 1.5 per cent in March, following a 3 per cent rally in February, according to ANZ’s latest job advertising data.

The Fair Work Commission and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which formalises the ‘strong and longstanding relationship’ between the two bodies.

The Queensland Government’s decision to withdraw water dividends and tax equivalent payments has provoked an angry response from Gladstone Regional Council, who has accused the Government of a $4.19 million per annum grab’.

Goulburn-Murray Water (GMV) has announced it has received final approval to increase the Annual Use Limits (AUL) for all customers in the 2012/13 season.

A new collaborative effort between the Water Services Assocation of Australia (WSAA) and Sydney Water will attempt to examine just how the nation’s $120 billon worth of water assets can be bets managed and protected in the face of extreme climate events.

The Victorian Government has announced the appointment of chairs of the state’s 14 TAFE institute boards following the unceremonious sacking of seven chairs in late March.

The Victorian Government has announced the official start of the new Victorian Cancer Agency (VCA) Consultative Council, to be led by Professor Robert Thomas.

The South Australian Government will commit $119 million to ensure that the state’s community sector workers receive their pay rise announced under last year’s Fair Work Australia wage decision for low-paid workers.

A team of researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) have identified exactly when new neurons become important for learning.

Australia’s carbon pollution has recorded a slight decline in 2012, according to the National Greenhouse Accounts released by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government has announced a number of key appointments to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).