Industry News
Acting Chair of the National Water Commission Stuart Bunn has released a position statement calling for Australia to draw on its experience and knowledge to protect and sustain the unique water resources in the north.
The Commission’s position statement outlines five principles to support the sustainable management of water resources as this important region develops.
The Commission encourages the three northern jurisdictions and the Australian Government to apply the following principles and actions to water resource management in northern Australia as a priority:
- Fully adopt and implement the National Water Initiative (NWI) water reform framework. The NWI provides the right framework for developing and managing water resources and is equally applicable to northern Australia as it is other regions. Failure to adopt the NWI in full can create risks and limit opportunities. The NWI enables greater regulatory certainty and confidence for water related investment decisions, provides a community-wide, transparent and robust process for water planning decisions, and allows for adaptive management of water resources as new knowledge comes to hand.
- Enactment of NWI-consistent legislation should be a priority in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
- Leadership is required in all jurisdictions to maintain resourcing over the long life of the reform process and to stand firm in the face of short-term challenges to reform actions.
- Undertake transparent and inclusive water planning as an essential prerequisite to effective water management. Settling tradeoffs between competing outcomes for ground and surface water systems involves judgements informed by best available science, socio-economic analysis and community input. Water planning and management needs to consider broader natural resource management planning initiatives and be inclusive of all stakeholders, including Indigenous communities.
- Manage water resources in a manner that balances environmental and cultural water requirements with development aspirations. Water planning and allocation decisions should take into account all water uses and balance economic, social, cultural and environmental considerations.
- High conservation value systems should be recognised through NWI-consistent transparent planning processes.
- Mining activities should be incorporated into state and territory water planning and management regimes from their inception.
- Develop an informed and shared understanding of northern Australia’s unique water resources based on robust science and socio-economic information. After a decade of significant investment to deepen the knowledge base of northern Australia for water planning and management, governments now have a greater understanding of the relationships between the ecological systems and hydrological regimes, how they interact with socio-cultural and economic factors, and how these would be impacted by water resource development. This has had an impact on the development of water policy, such as the establishment of Strategic Indigenous Reserves, the use of decision support tools for determining sustainable extraction regimes and for engagement of stakeholders in water planning.
- As stewards of Australia’s water resources, governments need to continue to invest in science and monitoring so that decisions about development and management of water resources are well informed and stand up to scrutiny.
- The improved knowledge of the interrelationship of northern Australia’s hydrological and ecological systems should be used to build public understanding of the nature and characteristics of northern Australia’s water resources, especially the monsoonal weather patterns and low relief landscape.
- Recognise Indigenous interests in water planning and management. The NWI requires that Indigenous interests and aspirations be factored into water planning; all the more important in northern Australia where Indigenous Australians make up a large percentage of the population and are significant landholders.
- The Commission supports efforts in the Northern Territory and Queensland to provide specific water allocations to Indigenous people. Access to water is an important mechanism for enabling Indigenous communities to achieve economic development and as such should be considered a legitimate strategy contributing to the ‘Closing the Gap’ agenda.
- Continued effort to build Indigenous community capacity to participate in water planning is necessary and could, in part, be achieved by utilising existing resources such as the expanding Indigenous community ranger network.
- Strengthen cross-jurisdictional institutions and forums across the north to support efficient and effective water management and planning. The establishment of the Northern Australian Ministerial Forum represents an important mechanism for Australia’s northern jurisdictions to collaborate and coordinate their activities. The Indigenous Water Policy Group (IWPG), facilitated by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), is a good example of a mechanism to coordinate the effective engagement of Indigenous people across northern Australia.
Stuart Bunn said, ‘Because the diverse hydrological and ecological systems in our north differ so much from other systems, development in northern Australia presents inevitable challenges for water management.
‘We now have a historic opportunity to make sure that these largely undeveloped water systems support productive and healthy ecosystems, vibrant communities and rich Indigenous cultures.’
Stuart Bunn explained, ‘Transparent and inclusive water planning that balances development aspirations with environmental and cultural water requirements will be critical to building community confidence in decisions about how we share resources.
‘Achieving this will require an informed and shared understanding of northern Australia’s water resources based on robust science and socio-economic information.
‘The Commission is encouraged that progress is being made in achieving Indigenous access to water through cultural flows and water for economic purposes. It is vital that Indigenous interests in water planning and management continue to advance and are properly recognised.’
Through strategic investments and partnerships such as the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge Research Hub, the Commission has worked to improve understanding of the area’s hydrology, river ecology and water-dependent ecosystems.
Recognising that the National Water Initiative (NWI) provides the right framework for managing water resources and is equally applicable to northern Australia, the Commission calls for NWI-consistent water legislation to be enacted in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Stuart Bunn added, ‘We also acknowledge the importance of collaboration across governments and welcome the establishment of the Northern Australian Ministerial Forum.
‘The Commission believes that Northern Australia’s water resources can be developed in an culturally, socially, ecologically and economically sustainable way by pursuing these principles and associated actions.’
The Position Statement is available on the Commission’s website at www.nwc.gov.au
Victoria announces library funding
The Victorian Government has announced $12.7 million in spending for the state’s local libraries.
Outlined in the state’s 2012-13 budget, the spending also includes $3.1 million per year for the delivery of key library services.
"In addition to the traditional book lending services our public libraries now offer connection to the internet, the ability to borrow DVDs and CDs, support for book clubs, events for seniors and programs aimed at school-age children,” State Local Government Minister Jeanette Powell said.
"The Victorian Government is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of Victorian library services and funding arrangements, being led by the Ministerial Advisory Council on Public Libraries, a bipartisan committee which includes a representative from the Opposition.
"This budget delivers for the more than half of the Victorian population who are currently library members and the many more who will become members in the future," Mrs Powell said.
Philippines tops Business English Index list
Nearly four out of ten workers can’t understand the basic information shared on global conference calls, read or write emails in English, or deal with complexity and rapid change.
GlobalEnglish Corporation announced the results of its annual Business English Index (BEI), the only index that measures Business English proficiency in the workplace. The 2012 BEI shows that a lack of Business English proficiency is threatening the productivity of companies, industries and country-specific economies this year.
With a growing number of companies operating across ten, 15 or even more than 20 countries with different native tongues, the majority of the world’s business conversations now take place between non-native English speakers in English. The current shortage of talent with the aptitude to speak, present, write, sell and service customers in English has become a high-performance challenge for leaders of multinational companies at a time when more international business growth has been fueled through expansions in emerging markets.
Based on a scale of 1-10, providing a ranking of employee Business English competency from beginner to advanced skills, the average 2012 BEI score across 108,000 test takers around the world is 4.15. A BEI score of 1.0 indicates an ability to read and communicate using only simple questions and statements, and a score higher than 10.0 represents an ability to communicate and collaborate in the workplace much like a native English speaker. There was an overall decrease in the average BEI score from last year’s inaugural index, which dropped from 4.46 to 4.15.
Nearly four out of ten (38.2 percent) global workers from 76 represented countries were ranked as Business English beginners, meaning that, on average, they can’t understand or communicate basic information during virtual or in-person meetings, read or write professional emails in English or deal with complexity and rapid change in a global business environment.
The majority of global workers (60.5%) from the represented countries scored between a 4.0 and 7.0, below an intermediate level, indicating an inability to take an active role in business discussions or perform relatively complex tasks such as presentation development and customer or partner negotiations.
Only the Philippines attained a score above 7.0, a BEI level within range of a high proficiency that indicates an ability to take an active role in business discussions and perform relatively complex tasks. Joining the Philippines in the top five were Norway (6.54), Estonia (6.45), Serbia (6.38) and Slovenia (6.19).
Both struggling economic powers (Japan, Italy and Mexico) and fast-growth emerging markets (Brazil, Columbia and Chile) scored below a 4.0 in Business English proficiency, placing them at a disadvantage when competing in a global marketplace. Three out of four BRIC countries did not attain a spot in the top-ranking 25 countries, including Brazil (2.95), Russia (3.60) and China (4.44).
$10 million for Office of Living Victoria
The Victorian Government has announced a $10 million spending allocation to create the Office of Living Victoria, which will be responsible for overhauling the urban water system to make greater use of stormwater, rainwater and recycled water.
"The money in today's Budget will establish the Office of Living Victoria (OLV) to reform the urban water sector and improve the way we use water,” State Water Minister Peter Walsh.
Mr Walsh said the OLV would improve water use by ensuring integrated water management is built into greenfield developments during construction.
"We need to make better use of all of our water resources, including rainwater, stormwater and recycled water, to drive change and increase liveability in Melbourne and Victoria's regional cities," Mr Walsh said.
"The OLV will bring together experts from across government who will work to drive the integration of water and urban planning."
Victoria announces school capital works
The Victorian Government has announced a $200 million school capital projects spending package as part of the state’s 2012-13 budget.
State Minister for Education Martin Dixon said the state government was making significant investments in high-priority school capital works to drive employment and stimulate local economies.
"These include a new school in the Hume growth area, the first stage of a promised new school for students with autism spectrum disorder in the western region and a number of major building projects at regional schools,” Mr Dixon said.
A full breakdown of spending can be found here
NT announces water infrastructure spend
The Northern Territory Government has flagged $380 million for the state’s Power and Water Corporation’s in the territory’s Budget.
“In Budget 2012 the Territory Government is rolling out more than $294 million to upgrade and deliver new power, water and sewerage infrastructure, as part of a five year, $1.8b capital and maintenance program,” Minister for Essential Services Rob Knight said.
The Territory Budget also delivers $38 million in capital and repairs and maintenance for the Indigenous Essential Services program, which services 73 remote communities. This includes, $7 million to upgrade the supply of water to Lajamanu, Maningrida and Ntaria.
Victoria to boost rail freight
The Victorian Government has announced a $10 million initiative aimed at encouraging to the use of rail freight to relive road congesting.
Announced in the State’s Budget, State Roads Minister Terry Mulder said scheme would be rolled out over two years.
"We have secured funding in this year's Budget for the Mode Shift Incentive Scheme (MSIS) which will encourage industry to shift freight from road to rail through a competitive funding framework," Mr Mulder said
"By targeting the most cost-effective rail services, the MSIS will contribute to a commercially-sustainable intermodal freight sector in regional Victoria.”
Victoria announces energy security spend
The Victorian Government has announced $33.7 million spend over four years for a package of energy security measures in the State’s Budget.
The measures include stronger government oversight of the beleaguered smart meter program and protecting the state’s interests during the introduction of the Federal Government’s carbon tax.
State Minister for Energy and Resources said Victoria would take action to improve the Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or 'smart meter', program following the recommendations of the 2009 Victorian Auditor-General's report and the 2011 independent Deloitte cost-benefit analysis.
The Auditor-General's report found an historical lack of governance and central oversight of the smart meter rollout and that government had a responsibility to better support the implementation of the project.
Victoria to slash WorkCover premiums
The Victorian Government has announced a major cut to WorkCover premiums, cutting them by three per cent from the beginning of July.
Premier Ted Baillieu said the reduction, outlined in the state’s budget, forms part of the Government’s aim to support businesses in ‘challenging economic times’.
"Victoria already has the lowest workplace insurance premiums in Australia and this cut will strengthen Victoria's competitiveness to attract business investment, reduce costs for business and support economic growth," Mr Baillieu said.
The cuts will see WorkCover premiums reduce from1 .338 per cent of an employer’s remuneration to 1.298 per cent.
"The reduction will benefit almost 60 per cent of Victorian businesses, of which nearly 59,000 will have their premiums cut by more than 10 per cent," Victorian Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips said.
$66 million for Victorian water management
The Federal Government has outlined $66 million in budget spending to improve water management over the next four years, with State Water Minister Peter Walsh saying the move will establish the state as a world leader in water practice.
"Over the next four years $50.4 million will be invested to improve water resource measurement and management," Mr Walsh said.
"This money will be used to improve surface water monitoring and data management, groundwater monitoring through the State Observation Bore Network, the Victorian water register and integrated water analysis and reporting.”
"Importantly funds will be used to manage potential risks to water availability to minimise the impacts of future droughts.”
The State Government will also invest $7.25 million to review Victoria's water legislation and co-ordinate activities under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Health researcher wins Humboldt Award
A Monash University researcher who is designing the next generation of medical implants using nanotechnology has been awarded the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Award for the second time.
Professor Yuri Estrin will use the award to travel to the RWTH Aachan University in Germany to collaborate on improving the stability of the nanomaterials he is currently developing.
Professor Estrin received his first Humboldt Award in 1999, which he also used to do research at RWTH. Recipients of this highly competitive award must be nominated by an established academic in Germany.
The Awards are granted to "academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.”
RBA slashes rates
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut the country’s official cash rate by 50 basis points, bringing the country’s interest rate to 3.75 per cent.
In making the announcement, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said a slower than expected world economy was key in informing the board’s decision.
Below trend output growth, combined with a slackening CPI increase were also considered major influences in the board’s decision to make the largest cut to the rate since February 2009, where it dropped the rate by 1 per cent.
“In considering the appropriate size of adjustment to the cash rate at today's meeting, the Board judged it desirable that financial conditions now be easier than those which had prevailed in December,” Mr Stevens said.
A reduction of 50 basis points in the cash rate was, in this instance, therefore judged to be necessary in order to deliver the appropriate level of borrowing rates.”
Australia helps East Timor with groundwater management
Mount Gambier and the wider South East community recently hosted a water official from East Timor who was keen to learn from local experts about water resource management in the region.
Ms Juviana Jeronimo Neto from the National Directorate of Water, East Timor, spent two days with Department for Water staff as part of a work and knowledge exchange to help inform the future of groundwater management in East Timor.
Nick McIntyre from the Department for Water said the exchange was a great opportunity to provide East Timor Water Directorate staff with the benefit of South Australian experience.
“East Timor shares some similar groundwater issues with the South East region, and both areas’ groundwater systems are karstic systems,” said Mr McIntyre.
“During the exchange, the importance of groundwater monitoring to assess resource conditions was highlighted. Other points raised included the need to develop an understanding of recharge to groundwater from rainfall, making provision for environmental water needs, and having a licensing system to regulate the volume of extraction from the groundwater resource, including the use of water meters.
“Ms Neto informed us that they are just starting to look at ways to further use and manage their groundwater, and she was particularly interested to learn about the legal and planning aspects of South Australia’s water management systems.
“Formal regulation of groundwater is a fairly new concept in East Timor and we provided Ms Neto with detail around South Australia’s well permitting process as, under the current situation in East Timor, water is obtained primarily from rising groundwater springs.
“We also outlined some of the potential issues that could occur if wells are drilled or excavated without some level of permit control, such as potential groundwater contamination, improper construction standards or over-extraction from the groundwater resource.”
Nominations open for Water Wise Award
The Federal Government has opened nominations for the 2012 Prime Ministers Water Wise Award for commercial and industrial companies that can demonstrate significant recent water savings.
Announcing the opening of nominations, Senator Don Farrell, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, said the award was a great way to celebrate companies that make outstanding efforts to conserve water.
"This is Australia's premier award recognising water efficiency excellence in the commercial and industrial sectors, which typically account for between 15 and 20 per cent of all water used in Australia," Senator Farrell said.
Judging is based on water savings and takes into account innovation, excellence in project delivery, and the ability for approaches to be replicated at other facilities.
The Prime Minister's Water Wise Award is part of the Water Efficiency Opportunities program, under the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative.
Nominations will close on Friday 20 July 2012.
For more information visit:www.environment.gov.au/water/policy-programs/weo/pm-awards/index.html
CHF hits out at 'horrifying' dental crisis
The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) has stressed the Federal Government to take action to avert an imminent dental health catastrophe after it released figures that show the public waiting list for dental health services has stretched out to 650,000 across the nation.
The figures indicate the average waiting time is in excess of two years for any kind of dental help, with only 11 per cent of those on the list receiving any treatment.
CHF CEO Carol Bennett describes the situation as a national embarrassment, saying that close to two million Australians who urgently needed dental care missed out because they could not afford it, contributing to an estimated national loss of $2 billion in productivity losses.
“More than 30% of all adults and close to 47% of concession card holders are delaying or avoiding dental treatment because of the cost. This is undoubtedly a crisis,” said Ms Bennett.
“We know the community is very concerned about this issue. There needs to be clear leadership from the Federal Government and commitment from State and Territory Governments. Something has gone badly wrong when you have nearly three quarters of a million Australians on a public waiting list with the national average wait time over two years.”
Obesity exacerbates glass ceiling
Obese women are significantly more likely to be discriminated against when applying for a job and receive lower salaries than their non-overweight according to a research study published by Monash University.
The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, examined whether a recently developed indicator of anti-fat prejudice, the universal measure of bias (UMB), predicted obesity discrimination.
The study also examined whether or not body image and dimensions of personality such as authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, were related to obesity discrimination.
“Participants viewed a series of resumes that had a small photo of the supposed job applicant attached, and were asked to make ratings of the applicants’ suitability, starting salary and employability,” Lead Researcher Dr Kerry O’Brien said.
“We used pictures of women pre-and post-bariatric surgery, and varied whether participants saw a resume that had a picture of an obese female attached, or the same female but in a normal weight range having undergone bariatric surgery.
“We found that obesity discrimination was displayed across all selection criteria, such as starting salary, leadership potential, and likelihood of selection for the job.”
Regional universities booming
Recent figures released by the Regional Universities Network show that between 2009 and 2012, offered places rose 19.2 per cent, 3.1 per cent above the national average.
Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, attributed the boom to the Federal Government’s introduction of demand driven offerings and removal of placement caps.
"Our reforms have given record numbers of regional and rural Australians the opportunity of a university education,” Senator Evans said.
"Until now benefits associated with higher education have eluded many Australians, particularly regional and rural students.”
"Australia needs more skilled workers with graduate degrees and we cannot afford not to tap into the talent of regional students and quality regional universities.
"Expanding the number of graduates in Australia is an economic imperative. An elitist model of university education will consign Australia to second rate economic growth."
ATO releases tax statistics
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released its Taxation statistics 2009-10 report, providing a comprehensive statistical publication on tax in the country.
The highlights of the report include:
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Canberra to start e-waste recycling service
Canberra is set to roll out the country’s first free e-waste recycling service, allowing residents to dispose of their unwanted televisions and computers under a national scheme.
“This is the start of a nation-wide roll-out of services as part of an extremely exciting initiative under the Gillard Government’s landmark Product Stewardship legislation. Services like these will be rolled out across Australia, boosting television and computer recycling rates to 30 percent in 2012-13 and 80 per cent by 2021-22, providing a long-term solution to television and computer waste,” Minister for Sustainability Senator Don Farrell said.
“Televisions and computers contain valuable non-renewable resources, including gold and other precious metals, as well as hazardous materials including lead, bromine, mercury and zinc. By recycling them, we can recover useful materials and at the same time reduce health and environmental risks.”
From the middle of May, DHL Supply Chain will be providing the free, ongoing service for households and small businesses.
ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the implementation of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme was an example of Canberra continuing to lead the way in recycling and waste management.
The DHL Supply Chain services will begin on 15 May 2012 and will operate from the Mugga Lane and Mitchell Transfer Stations, which are open from 7.30am to 5pm, seven days a week.
The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme is funded and implemented by the television and computer industry and regulated by the Australia Government under the Product Stewardship Act 2011 and the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulation 2011.
Further information on the scheme can be found atwww.environment.gov.au/settlements/waste/ewaste/index.html
Data security addressed
Over 180 business leaders from some of Australia’s largest organisations have met with the Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim to discuss how to prevent data breaches and how to respond to one, if or when it occurs.
“The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) was notified of 56 data breaches in the last financial year, equivalent to a data breach a week. This is up from 44 in the previous year, an increase of 27 per cent,” Mr Pilgrim said.
Data breaches can occur in a multitude of ways, ranging from stolen laptops or portable storage devices, hacking or mistakenly providing information to the wrong person.
“Serious harm can befall people when the security of their personal information is compromised”, Mr Pilgrim said. “It is our view that whenever there is a real risk of serious harm, affected individuals should be notified.”
Data breach notification is not a mandatory obligation applying generally to government and business in Australia. However, there is increased pressure on the Government to introduce laws to make it a general legal requirement as it is elsewhere — data breach notification is already a mandatory requirement in Europe, the UK and the United States.
“As legislative change is considered by the Government, the OAIC has updated a guide to assist agencies and organisations to respond to data breaches,” Australian Information Commissioner John McMillan said in launching the revised guidelines.
Data breach notification: A guide to handling personal information security breaches outlines four steps to consider when responding to a breach or suspected breach and also outlines preventative measures that should be taken as part of a comprehensive information security plan.
Government expands apprenticeship program
The Federal Government has added 23 new organisations to the Australian Apprenticeships Support Service providers fro the 2012-14 period.
Federal Minister for Skills, Senator Chris Evans, announced the expansion of the program after recent projections from Skills Australia show that Australia will need an additional 2.1 million skills qualified people in the workforce by 2015.
"It's vital that we maintain the momentum from our record investment in apprenticeships - a more skilled and adaptable workforce is critical to Australia's long-term economic success,” Senator Evans said.
Our reforms of the apprenticeship system will ensure the apprenticeship system can provide the skilled workers that Australia's new economy will need."
Across Australia, 23 organisations have accepted two-year contracts worth more than $400 million to deliver Australian Apprenticeships Support Services for apprentices and their employers, including job matching and centralised, nationally-consistent administration.
"These new contracts will better support both employers, to meet the skills needs of their business, and apprentices to complete a life changing qualification" Senator Evans said.
"The new support service providers will ensure apprentices, and the businesses taking them on, have the support they need to begin and complete their training.
The full list of participating organisations can be found here