Industry News

A team of researchers have discovered a how a specific protein that determines the length of a sperm’s tail significantly effects male fertility.

The latest Australian Bureau Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures show that Australian retail turnover rose 0.2% in August 2012, seasonally adjusted, following a fall of 0.8% in July 2012.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Building Approvals show that the number of dwellings approved rose 6.4% in August 2012, in seasonally adjusted terms, following a fall of 21.2% in the previous month.

Dwelling approvals increased in Victoria (30.2%), Western Australia (16.1%) and Queensland (1.8%) but decreased in New South Wales (-18.3%), South Australia (-1.0%) and Tasmania (-0.9%) in seasonally adjusted terms.

In seasonally adjusted terms, approvals for private sector houses fell 0.5% in August. Private sector house approvals fell in New South Wales (-10.4%) and Queensland (-3.6%) but rose in Western Australia (11.0%), South Australia (1.4%) and Victoria (0.8%).

The value of total building approved rose 9.4%, in seasonally adjusted terms, after falling for 2 months. The value of residential building rose 9.2% while non-residential building rose 9.8%.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at www.abs.gov.au

The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has announced the beginning of major fibre installation works in the country’s capital.

89 per cent of women with breast cancer between 2006 and 2010 are still alive five years after their initial diagnosis according to the latest Cancer Survival in Victoria 2012 report.

The Queensland Government has confirmed it will sell $1.5 billion worth of shares in rail freight company QR National.

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), the world’s fastest radio telescope and one the most powerful radio-astronomy instruments on the planet, has been officially opened in Western Australia’s remote Murchinson area.

AGL Energy and joint venture partner Meridian Energy has announced that the first turbines have started turning and generated energy at the Macarthur Wind Farm in South Western Victoria after 23 months of construction.

The Victorian Government has released its Victorian Solar Atlas tool, which maps the state’s solar energy resources in a bid to help investors and developers to make decisions about the best sites for new solar projects.

The Victorian Government has announced a commitment of $10 million in funding for the next stage of the large-scale Solar Systems Project, which will see a new 1.5 megawatt solar pilot plant build near Mildura, consisting of 40 photovoltaic dishes.

The UK’s Chief Scientist, Sir John Beddington, will visit Australia later this month to share his insights on scientific policy in the UK.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has called on Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey and Opposition Communications Spokesman Malcolm Turnbull to “stop misleading the Australian public about the cost of the National Broadband Network.”

The New South Wales, Victorian and Queensland Governments have called on the Commonwealth to roll back regulatory reform of the energy sector and grant more consumer protection at a special meeting of Energy Ministers held last week.

The Western Australian Government has outlined new water efficiency programs for regional towns experiencing low water storage levels, which it estimates could save as much as 4.3 billion litres in the first year of operations.

The Federal Government has announced $17.69 million in funding for a suite of projects aimed at boosting the healthcare workforce in regional and remote areas.

Work on rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN) has begun in Launceston, with 10,500 homes and businesses in the town due for connection by 2015.

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a new set of principles aimed at ensuring that the rights of international students are observed by organisations.

The South Australian Government has welcomed the unlocking of the Woomera Protected Area (WPA) after the Federal Government lifted the initial moratorium phase, seeing it replaced with a standardised Deed of Access.

Global electric car charge network company Better Place has announced the appointment of David Thornley as the company’s new global Chief Executive Officer.

The country’s construction sector has fallen the sharpest rate in the last 12 months in September, according to the Australian Industry Group’s (AI Group) and Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI).