Industry News

The second stage of Western Australia’s Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (SSDP) has been completed with the first intake of sea water, marking a major milestone in commissioning the State Government’s $450million expansion project.

The medical workforce is continuing to grow, with improved supply across all regions of Australia, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The Victorian Government is seeking feedback on a plan to expand the opportunities for Victorian businesses to participate in the Energy Saver Incentive scheme to reduce their energy use. 

An initiative to help humanities scholars create, archive, share and re-use electronic scholarly editions in a collaborative environment has attracted more than $600,000 in project funding

Australia’s first environmental planting projects have been registered under the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative, which rewards landholders for cutting or avoiding carbon pollution on the land.

Five new members have been appointed to the Australian Research Council (ARC) Advisory Council.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released a report showing that in May 2012, one in ten full-time employees earned $2,364 or more per week. It was also found that one in ten full-time employees earned $738 or less per week.

 The Victorian Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell has encouraged Victoria’s newly-elected Mayors and Councillors to embrace the Victorian Government’s plans to improve Councils’ transparency and accountability.

ActewAGL  has been granted environmental clearance for its plans to construct a large-scale solar farm south of Canberra.

The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS)is providing expert assistance to United Nations workshop into the state of the marine environment in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.

The Australian Government is hosting the workshop in Brisbane on February 25-27.

The workshop is part of the United Nations Regular Process of Global Assessment and Reporting on the State of the Marine Environment, looking at sustainable, ecosystem-based policies and measures for oceans and coasts. It will be attended by representatives of Pacific governments as well as scientists and other experts.

ANCORS has been invited to provide expert assistance to the organisation and facilitation of this important workshop. Dr Quentin Hanich, who is Fisheries Governance Program Leader at ANCORS,  is a member of the Workshop Steering Committee and will be facilitating the Food Security theme.

Dr Hanich said the significant impacts of human activities and climate change on marine environments meant that it was vital that policies and measures for oceans and coasts were supported by sound scientific assessments of ecosystem condition at national, regional and global scales.

“The Regular Process is an important mechanism that can build capacity, alongside ongoing efforts, for sustainably assessing the marine environment,” Dr Hamich said.

The workshop will bring together experts from across the region, with expected outputs to include:

• Enhanced dialogue between marine experts within governments, intergovernmental organisations, civil groups and regional organisations;
• Development of an inventory of environmental and socio-economic marine assessments for the Southwest Pacific, which will be catalogued and made electronically available;
• Identifying marine assessment capacity-building needs of the Southwest Pacific and considering the means to address those needs, specifically related to data gathering, collation and maintenance;
• Facilitating the integration of current marine ecosystem assessments in the region.

The Federal Government has announced a further $29.6 million in a new agreement with the Western Australian Government to help boost literacy and numeracy results in the state’s schools under the Improving Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership

The Western Australian Government’s 2011-12 Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest has been released showing that WA returned resources sales of $106 billion during the year.

Rural clinical schools designed to encourage medical students to take up rural practice have failed to increase the proportion of Australian medical graduates moving to work outside the major cities, according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) medical consultant Emeritus Professor John Dwyer.

The Victorian Government is introducing guidelines on the use of Councils' differential rating powers.

All Western Australian public schools will be invited to become part of the State Government’s Independent Public Schools initiative with the introduction of a new selection process.

The Northern Territory is enjoying a surge in building as the benefits from major projects feed the local economy, according to the NT Chief Minister, Terry Mills.

CommSec’s quarterly State of the State report has found that WA remains Australia’s best performing economy, ahead of the Northern Territory and both economies are likely to hold their top positions over 2013, underpinned by rising population growth.

Legislation to make it illegal for unregistered practitioners to provide midwifery services in South Australia is being prepared by SA Health.

Adolescent boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to be shorter and slimmer than their same-age peers, according to a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Paediatric and respiratory researchers from the University of Newcastle, along with national and international collaborators, are a step closer to identifying the source of serious virus-and allergen-induced asthma attacks after detecting important molecular signals generated very early in the disease process.