Industry News

The Western Australian Local Government Association has publically backed legislation introduced before State Parliament that will enable two or more Local Government bodies to establish regional subsidiaries.

The Local Government Amendment Bill will enable multiple Local Government bodies to share in the delivery of services, a change that the WALGA has long campaigned for.

“This change will allow Local Governments to focus on service delivery rather than meeting over- burdening requirements of the current Act,” WALGA President Troy Pickard said.

“It is hoped it will remove the layers of bureaucracy and red tape that has very much paralysed Local Governments from more effectively and efficiently working together to deliver a range of services.”

The passing of the legislation will enable neighbouring Local Governments to create legal entities to share the delivery of critical services, including planning approval, road maintenance, construction and back office functions.

The flexibility that will be delivered by this amendment will strengthen Local Government service delivery and regional collaboration, however the compilation of the regulations will be crucial to the successful operation of these bodies,” Mr Pickard said.

“It is critical to get the content of the regulations that will govern the establishment and administration of regional subsidiaries right. Local Government has much to add to this process and their contribution will ensure an administratively robust and efficient entity.”

The Climate Commission has released its third major report, finding that the world is rapidly moving to address the issue of climate change by adopting sustainable methods of growth.

The report found that there is general consensus on the need to mitigate the effects of climate change through the transition away from reliance on fossil fuels and the adoption of renewable energy production.

The Commission also found that 90 countries, representing 90 per cent of the world’s economy, have committed to limiting their greenhouse gas emissions and have programs in place to achieve their limits.

The need to transition to a low carbon economy is not only in the best interests of the environment, but, according to the report, would benefit Australia’s global standing the report concluded.

The Commission’s Chair, Professor Tim Flannery, has urged the country to continue its efforts to mitigate climate change and, as the world’s 15^th largest emitter, is being closely observed by other nations.

The full report can be found here

A paper released by the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) has shown ‘alarmingly low’ rates of health literacy in ethnically diverse communities in Victoria.

The An Investment Not an Expense: Enhancing Health Literacy in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities shows the financial cost associated with health literacy far outweighs the required investment.

EECV Deputy Chairperson, Eddie Micallef, said the report shows that the healthcare system is under strain when diverse communities did not receive the health literacy assistance they require.

“Low health literacy produces costs for all community members. It places increased pressure on our resources and our healthcare system, the effects of this are universal, so all Victorians have a stake in seeing this situation improve,” Mr Micallef said.’

The paper revealed only 33 per cent of people born overseas have adequate or good health literacy. This figure dropped to 27 per cent for those who arrived in Australia during the past five years.

Mr Micallef said people with low health literacy presented for treatment at crisis point, were unable to effectively manage their own health needs and had reduced quality of life.

“Non-English speaking patients are found to spend more time in hospital, be more likely to suffer adverse clinical reactions and have higher re-admission and diagnostic testing rates,” Mr Micallef said.

He called on the Victorian Government to respond to the paper’s recommendation with a robust and culturally competent healthcare strategy.

Attending the launch of the report, State Minister for Ageing David Davis said the Government remained dedicated to promoting health literacy in the population. 

"The Victorian Coalition Government recognises that improving the health literacy of Victorians is fundamental to better health outcomes for the population, and improves access to a range of programs to help maintain good health," Mr Davis said.

"We know that lower levels of health literacy among culturally and linguistically diverse communities lead to poorer health outcomes.

The full report can be found here

A review of gender discrimination within the ranks of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has concluded that the formation of a sexual misconduct unit is necessary to combat the prevalence of gender discrimination within the armed forces.

In releasing the review, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, said that the Review into the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force, said that more must be done to reverse the culture of discrimination within the ADF.

“Our over-arching finding is that, despite progress over the last two decades, I am not confident that, in all the varied workplaces that comprise the ADF today, women can and will flourish,”  Ms Broderick said.

Having said that, we found much that is positive in the ADF for both women and men.”

“Increasing the representation of women and improving their pathways into leadership goes to the very heart of the sustainability and operational effectiveness of the ADF,” Ms Broderick said.

“To be a strong force into the future and a first class employer with a first class reputation, the ADF must address the problem of a shrinking talent pool, the significant cost of unwanted departures, the lack of diversity among leadership, and the unacceptable behaviour sometimes faced by women.”

“During the course of our Review, we found ambivalence across the ADF about the importance of increasing the number of women in defence environments,” Commissioner Broderick said. “We also found a lack of understanding about the cultural and structural impediments to female representation, as well as a certain level of acceptance of a status quo that no longer reflects the needs of a contemporary fighting force.”

The report makes 21 key recommendations covering iversity of leadership; the participation, recruitment and retention of women; workplace flexibility; harassment, violence and abuse; as well as, crucially, the responsibility of Defence leadership itself to deliver and ensure effective reform. Among these recommendations is the application of targets in a small number of areas.

“In selected areas, targets are crucial to ensuring that women have the same opportunities as men in all aspects of ADF life,” said Commissioner Broderick. “Without these targets, there will be no change - men and women will not be operating on a level playing field.”

“As a foundation for successful reform, we have also stressed the importance of the Chief of the Defence Force and the Chiefs of each Service, having direct responsibility, for the implementation of the recommendations laid out in the Report,” Commissioner Broderick said.

The full review can be found here

Research being undertaken by the Central Queensland University (CQU) is using volcanic rocks to make salty and brackish water a viable source of water for for irrigators.

Using volcanic rocks, researchers from the CQU have used the system at Teys Australia’s Murgon hide processing plant.

The plant currently processes in excess of 10,000 hides a week, and generates over 150,000 litres of waste water, which is high in salt and normally unusable as a source of irrigation. Some of which has been processed by a local desalination plant to be used, but the process has proven inefficient and costly.

However, thanks to the research being undertaken by Ben Kele and his team, the use of the volcanic system is proving to be cost-effective and efficient.

"A lot of rural producers will, when they see their soil getting impacted by sodium, go through and add gypsum," Mr Kele told ABC News.

We have to add less gypsum to get the same bang for the buck, so there's not just environmental sustainability, there is economical sustainability as well."

The Victorian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has found that discharges from the Yallourn Mine are having no serious effects on the surrounding lakes and waterways.

The EPA issued the conclusion following meetings with local fishermen, representatives of the Gippsland Lakes Ministerial Advisory Committee and TRUenergy executives.

“Samples taken and tested by an independent nationally accredited laboratory and verified by EPA show the discharge complies with the limits set within the emergency discharge approval,” EPA Gippsland Manager Dieter Melzer said.

“The science shows that pH levels are neutral, mercury is below detection limits and there are very low levels of coal particles, underpinning EPA’s assessment that there will be no long term environmental impacts.

“A simple visual assessment tells us that the water is muddier, but this still falls within approved limits, and will settle in time.

“The mix of river and discharge water has only this week started flowing into Lake Victoria, and in fact represents a very small proportion, four per cent, of total inflows into the lakes system.”

Mr Melzer said EPA would keep the community informed of further applications for discharge from the mine and of any significant changes to the water quality that could have an impact on the Gippsland lakes.

Work has begun on $6 million in wastewater improvements across Sydney, with piping work at the Concord Submain beginning after work was completed on the Thornleigh, Waverley-Woollahra and East Hills Submains recently.

The work was welcomed by Mr John Sidoti, Member for Drummoyne, and Mr Charles Casuscelli, Member for Strathfield.

“This work is a substantial investment in delivering high-quality wastewater services that protect public health and the environment,” Mr Sidoti said.

“It will improve the performance of the wastewater system for thousands of homes, reducing the risk of overflows and ensuring the people of Sydney have a safe and reliable service.”

Mr Casuscelli said the work was due for completion by the end of the year, with crews currently working from Queen Street, North Strathfield to Railway Parade, Burwood.

“This investment shows the commitment of the NSW Government to provide high quality and reliable services to the community.”

This essential work is part of Sydney Water’s SewerFix program to improve the wastewater system and protect public health and the environment. From 2012-2016, Sydney Water will spend $400 million on its 23,000 kilometre wastewater network.

Pacific Brands has confirmed that Sue Morphet will step down from her role as Chief Executive Officer, to be replaced by John Pollaers at the beginning of September.

Pacific Brands Chairman Peter Bush thanked Ms Morphet for her five years of service, lauding her driving of the company’s transformational restructuring.

“Sue has taken the business from having well over 300 brands and a significant debt load to being the consolidated, key brand‐focused, comparatively low-debt company it is today,” Mr Bush said.

Mr Bush paid tribute to Ms Morphet’s ability in ‘making the difficult but necessary changes’ to the company.

Ms Morphet said that the time had come for a ‘fresh set of eyes’ to take the company forward, thanking the board for their support as Mr Pollaers comes into the role.

Mr Bush said the Board was excited to being Mr Pollaers into the role, saying his significant executive experience will help the company drive future performance of the business.

“John brings a different set of skills and experience to the company. He joins us an experienced public company CEO, having had a distinguished 22 year track record in international consumer products,” Mr Bush concluded.

The New South Wales Government is calling for public submissions for its inquiry into insolvency in the construction industry.

State Minister for Finance and Services, Greg Pearce, said the inquiry, which was established earlier this month, will examine submissions before making a final report for the Government.

“The failure of a business in the construction industry creates a ripple effect that can destroy the financial stability of its sub-contractors and suppliers,” Mr Pearce said.

 “The effects on confidence in the construction industry are also of enormous concern, especially at a time when the NSW Government is embarking on a significant infrastructure investment program.

“We are seeking submissions from construction companies, sub-contractors and experts in the industry,” Mr Pearce said.

Hundreds of construction companies failed between 2009 and 2011 with debts in the billions of dollars, affecting up to 24,000 sub-contractors.

Mr Pearce said the inquiry’s terms of reference include looking at how initiatives such as insurance schemes, trust arrangements or mutual funds could help secure subcontractor entitlements.

Submissions can be lodged on the NSW Government’s “Have Your Say” website, which is www.nsw.gov.au/haveyoursay or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Written submissions should be sent to the Chairman of the Inquiry into Construction Industry Insolvency, MR Bruce Collins QC, GPO Box 15, Sydney NSW 2001.

The Victorian Government has announced the appointment of Serge Sardo as the Chief Executive Officer of the newly established Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF).

State Minister for Gaming, Michael O’Brien, said that Mr Sado’s experience in both senior executive roles and counselling would help him see the Foundation successfully deliver a broad range of services, including research, councselling and treatment services.

Mr Sardo brings 28 years' experience to the Foundation from the private and government sectors, most recently with a focus on human resources and organisational psychology," Mr O'Brien said.

"His experience in senior leadership roles will complement that of the Board and the Foundation's specialist teams in achieving its important objectives.

"For the past five years, Mr Sardo has worked tirelessly to establish the Australian Human Resources Institute and has previously held positions as CEO at the Australian Institute of Management and senior roles in human resources management.

The Victorian Government has revealed a plan aimed at increase and revamp the teaching of languages in Victorian schools, with State Education Minister Martin Dixon saying the move will mean thousands more students will be learning a language in 2013.

Mr Dixon said the Languages Start-Up Grants, totalling $1 million, would allow schools without an existing language program to introduce by in 2013.

Thirty-nine schools will receive Languages Start-Up Grants of up to $30,000 under Round 1 of the program and applications are now open for the second round of grants.

"Speaking another language helps students develop their first language, assists with problem solving skills, equips them with linguistic and intercultural skills and prepares them for a range of careers," Mr Dixon said.

Mr Dixon said the move would redress the ongoing slide in the rate of LOTE education throughout the state.

"In 1999, Indonesian was the most widely taught language in Victorian government primary schools, with 406 primary schools offering Indonesian to more than 82,000 students. By 2010, these numbers had more than halved, with 39,049 primary students studying Indonesian in 195 schools," Mr Dixon said 

"The good news is that we are now seeing signs of renewed interest from schools that now have the opportunity to offer languages, including Indonesian, in 2013."

Successful schools under the first round of the Languages Start-Up Grants program, will introduce languages including Indonesian, Japanese, French, Chinese (Mandarin), Italian, German, Spanish and Wamba Wamba (an indigenous language of north western Victoria).

The most widely taught languages across all government primary schools and secondary colleges are: Italian, Japanese, Indonesian, French, German, Chinese (Mandarin), and Greek.

GE has announced a $10 million funding initiative to help find, fund and bring to market technological innovations that help the company reduce its carbon footprint.

The company’s first Australian ecomagination Challenge is an open invitation competition that calls on businesses, entrepreneurs and students to submit concepts for low carbon solutions and technologies.

Selection of five $100,000 Innovation Award winners will be based on the most progressive ideas that represent entrepreneurship and innovation around technologies, processes and business models. In addition, GE and its Challenge partners will seek to pursue commercial relationships with promising Challenge entrants.

Leading Australian & New Zealand venture capital firms including Southern Cross Venture Partners, MH Carnegie & Co, Cleantech Ventures, CVC Limited and Greenhouse Cleantech are supporting the open innovation Challenge.

The Federal Government has welcomed the initiative, with Minister for Industry and Innovation, Greg Combet, saying that the move is a welcome addition to the country’s ongoing push for carbon reduction in industry.

"GE's ecomagination Challenge demonstrates that big business also recognises the importance of innovation, not only to meet the needs of a low carbon future, but also as a way to improve business competitiveness and productivity," Mr Combet said.

Submissions can be made here

A report released by forensic accountant specialists Warfield & Associates has found that nearly $400 million was lost to industrial fraud, with 89 cases being documented involving 93 employees.

Over the 2001 to 2012 period, the report found that $398 million was stolen, with an average of $4,472,204 per fraud.

The report documented nine cases of over $10 million being stolen, while the largest single amount stolen by an employee was $45.3 million.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, banking was the hardest hit sector, with 30 cases of fraud documented by the report, representing over a third of all cases.

The report also concluded that the main motivation of fraud was to supplement a gambling addiction of the thief, with 46 cases relating to funding gambling of the individual.

Electronic funds transfer was the preferred mode of moving funds, with cheques being phased out by companies. The report warns that EFT theft is likely to increase in prevalence in the future.

The report found that while Victoria recorded the most cases of fraud per state, NSW incurred the largest loss, totalling $153 million.

The full report can be found here

Governor-General Quentin Bryce has appointed Stephen Gageler as the country’s new Justice of the High Court of Australia following the recommendation of the Federal Government.

Mr Gageler’s appointment followes the retirement of Justice William Gummow, who will step down from the role in October after 17 years of service in Australia’s highest court.

Mr Gageler, who will be the 49^th person to be appointed to the High Court since Federation, has served as the Commonwealth Solicitor General since 2008, 

The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has confirmed that Chief Executive Officer, Ben Buckley, has announced he will step down from his role at the conclusion of negotiations of the FFA’s new broadcast deal in about two months.

The FFA has also confirmed that David Gallop, the former CEO of the National Rugby League and Australian Rugby League Commission, has been appointed to replace Mr Buckley.

Chairan of the FFA, Frank Lowy, said that Mr Buckley had first raised the prospect of departing from the FFA a number of months ago, but both men had agreed that the conclusion of the broadcast deal was the ‘logical time to make a career move’.

“The broadcast deal is at the heart of the future of football in this country and it has been the most critical aspect of my work for the past 18 months,” Buckley said.

“I told the Chairman some time ago I was determined to negotiate the best possible deal to underpin the future growth of the game but that once done I would like to work with he and the board to identify a successor.”

Mr Lowy said Buckley had discussed Gallop with him about two months ago. Buckley had contacted Gallop soon after he had left the NRL and had discussed possible opportunities at FFA.

“These discussions created the opportunity for us to consider Gallop as a successor to Ben,” Mr Lowy said.

The Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has cleared the engineers who operated the Wivenhoe Dam during the Queensland floods of 2010 of any wrongdoing.

The CMC finalised its review of the material provided by the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, finding insufficient evidence to indict the engineers on any charges.

After the matter was referred to the CMC by the Premier in March, the commission concluded that the engineers in question could not be faulted for their adoption of ‘Strategy W4’ in Seqwater’s Manual of Operation Procedures for Flood Mitigation at Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam.

The CMC commissioned retired Justice of Queensland’s Court of Appeal, John Jerrard QC, to complete a full examination of the material supplied by the Commission of Inquiry.

Mr Jerrard concluded that the inherrant contradiction in the flowchart which defined procedures W1 through W4, and a flawed definition of Strategy W2 compounded the issue.

“If the engineers had been following the flowchart they could have honestly believed they were in Strategy W2 until the contradictory terms of the definition were adverted to,” Mr Jerrard concluded.

“This contradiction in the manual would provide an explanation for all of the engineers’ inconsistent statements and descriptions of what they had done at the time of the January 2011 Flood Event, and is not evidence of either the commission of a criminal offence or official misconduct.”

Finally, Mr Jerrard noted that implementation of the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations for Seqwater to review/create a new manual, with the assistance of experts such as technical writers and legal review, to ensure compliance during any future flood, should remove any inconsistency or ambiguity.

The International Water Association (IWA) has awarded a Global Honour Award to Sydney Water for its Critical Water Mains Strategy and Implementation Project, the award to be officially presented at the IWA World Water Congress in Korea in September.

“Sydney Water is proud of its world class strategy in maintaining major water mains,” said Sydney Water Managing Director Kevin Young.

“Our robust program provides a risk-based approach to targeting and preventing failure of major pipes in an economically efficient manner.”

“This shows our commitment to delivering the best services at the lowest price for our customers as we avoid unnecessary maintenance costs by only spending on the pipes that need renewal.”

The Federal Government has passed its Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2012 through Parliament, clamping down on what it calls loan sharks by capping the limits on what lenders can charge.

"These laws will place reasonable limits on what lenders can charge. The cap on costs appropriately balances consumer protection while still allowing lenders a return that is commercial,” Minister for Financial Services Bill Shorten said.

Mr Shorten said the law will protect the country’s most vulnerable from lenders who ‘ruthlessly imposes excessive fees and charges’ on those who have no other access to credit.

"At the same time these laws ensure an appropriate balance, ensuring that important sources of micro finance, such as pay day loans, can continue to operate as responsible and sustainable businesses,” Mr Shorten said.

The Enhancements Bill introduces a cap for small amount credit contracts where the amount borrowed is $2000 or less, and the term is 1 year or less. For these loans the maximum any lender can charge is an establishment fee of 20 per cent of the amount of credit upfront and 4 per cent for each month of the loan. This provides for maximum charges of $72 on a loan of $300 over 1 month.

The legislation will also see other reforms introduced, including:

• Applying a cap to other credit contracts based on the 48% cap currently in force in some Australian States. The Commonwealth cap addresses the range of avoidance techniques lenders currently have devised to avoid that cap.
• Responsible lending obligations to address high risk conduct by small amount lenders.
• For seniors who use reverse mortgages, greater certainty as to future outcomes when they enter into such contracts that the amount they are required to pay cannot exceed the value of the equity in their home (through a no negative equity guarantee).
• Simplifying the procedures for borrowers to apply for a variation to their repayments on the grounds of financial hardship, as it is in the best interests of both parties to try and resolve these situations as quickly and simply as possible.

The Queensland Government has flagged sweeping changes to the State Government payroll systems, with Information Minister Ros Bates saying work will begin first on her own department.

Ms Bates said she will go to the market to replace the eight government-run systems with a single outsourced system, with work beginning in the Department of Science, IT, Arts and Innovation.

In announcing the overhaul, Ms Bates says she expects the changes to save Queensland millions of dollars a year.

“It’s ridiculous that one department has eight standalone payroll systems that don’t talk to each other. I’m planning on bringing the eight payroll systems together.”

Ms Bates took aim at the ‘outmoded and heavily customised payroll systems’, with tenders to be called for in the coming months for a new standalone system.

“The payroll systems to be replaced no longer have the protection of the current software versions and have all been heavily customised to keep them going, making them expensive to run and vulnerable to hackers,” Ms Bates said in a statement.

Ms Bates said the new system would be non-complex, straight-forward and would be designed for 9 to 5 workers.

“Our current systems are akin to driving a 1972 Ford clunker with the original tyres which has missed most of its services. We are paying IT specialists exorbitant amounts of money to gaffer tape our system so we can pay our staff,” Ms Bates concluded.

A consortium of water corporations have held the inaugural Rural Water Innovation Awards, with Victorian Water Minister praising the four winners innovation and productivity gains.

"The four winners have all used new and innovative methods to achieve water volume savings, increased productivity and return on investment," Mr Walsh said.

"Global demand for food and fibre is rising steadily and rural water users also face the challenge of a variable climate and competition.

"We need to start producing more food and fibre with less water as we work towards the Government's goal of doubling production over the next 20 years. Innovations in water use are vital to increase production and efficiency," Mr Walsh said.

The Rural Water Innovation Awards are a joint initiative of Southern Rural Water (SRW), Lower Murray Water (LMW) and Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW) together with the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) and the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The inaugural winners are:

Surface water user - Phillip Wratten of Dream-Time Wholesale Nursery at Heath Hill for using the latest innovative systems to grow high quality trees.

Irrigation district water user - Ross and Jo Allen of Boisdale for the evolution of their 1,000 acre property to a highly efficient water use and minimal labour operation.

Groundwater user - David and Michele Sheward of Kanumbra, for development of their 4.5 acre olive grove by the installation of self-watering underground pressurised micro-spray system.

Outstanding excellence in innovation - Col Beasy of Thurla Farms, a fish farming enterprise near Red Cliffs for an agriculture/aquaculture property that demonstrates efficient water reuse.