Industry News

The Federal Government has accepted all recommendations made in a report aimed at improving telecommunication services for vulnerable Australians.

The Review of Access to Telecommunication Services by People with Disability, Older Australians and People Experiencing Illness recommended the following:

• Testing how the National Relay Service could be improved through the use of new technologies and new services;
• Strengthening consultation between industry, the community and the government to explore how new communications services can better support people with disabilities, older Australians, and people experience illness;
• Improving the information available to vulnerable Australians to help them make use of everyday telecommunications products; and
• Facilitating periodic discussions between the government and stakeholders about current and emerging telecommunications access issues.

“The Government accepts all of the report’s recommendations. Therefore, the Telecommunications Universal Services Management Agency will shortly be releasing a tender for an enhanced National Relay Service (NRS),” Senator Conroy said.

A copy of the report can be found at: www.dbcde.gov.au/disability

The Victorian Government has announced the formation of the West Werribee Dual Water Supply Project, aimed at ensuring that water supply for Melbourne’s fastest growth area is secured.

"The West Werribee Dual Water Supply Project will ensure this area has timely access to the infrastructure needed to supply drinking water and Class A recycled water to housing developments currently underway and also to the numerous open spaces across the Wyndham municipality," State Minister for Water Peter Walsh said.

"Once completed, the project will be supplying recycled water to an estimated 20,000 homes and 143 hectares of community open space, and it is expected to save 3.1 billion litres of drinking water each year by 2035.

"The West Werribee project aligns with the Coalition Government's commitment to ensure our state makes better use of all our water resources, including stormwater, rainwater and recycled water, and to increase the livability of Melbourne and Victoria's regional cities. That is what our Living Melbourne, Living Victoria program is all about," Mr Walsh said.

The Federal Government has welcomed the decision by the High Court of Australia to reject the legal challenge against its plain packaging laws.

The tobacco companies, including Phillip Morris, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, lodged a legal challenge against the plain packaging laws, arguing that Federal Government had taken control of their intellectual property and that the law was unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated their right to sell and distribute a legal product.

The High Court ruled that the laws had no such effect on the companies’ intellectual property, clearing the way for the introduction of the law at the start of December.

"I want to say that we are proud as a Government for the action that we've taken. We are very pleased that the highest court in Australia has said that the Australian Constitution allows this measure to be introduced,” Attorney General Nicola Roxon told a press conference following the High Court ruling.

Ms Roxon said the announcement was a crucial piece of health reform, and that it will have a significant effect on forming global legislation around tobacco consumption.

“This is a watershed moment for tobacco control around the world. Australia's actions are being closely watched by governments around the world, including by Norway, Uruguay, UK, EU, NZ, France, South Africa and China. Other countries might now consider their next steps,” Ms Roxon said in a press release.

“The message to the rest of the world is big tobacco can be taken on and beaten. Without brave governments willing to take the fight up to big tobacco, they'd still have us believing that tobacco is neither harmful nor addictive.”

The Victorian Government has launched the next phase of its $80 million New Norlane project, announcing the builders who have won the tenders who will deliver the project aimed at revitalising the suburb.

The Victorian Government has announced Hamlan Homes, Porter Davis and Burbank Australia as the builders who will deliver the majority of the 320 new private and public homes being constructed in Norlane by 2015.

The companies will work with the State Government to build 160 new private homes and a display village in Norlane, along with approximately half of the 160 new public housing homes for the area. All 320 homes are being built on vacant blocks of land.

The remainder of the public housing dwellings are being built by a range of Government approved builders over the course of the project. T.J and H.M Cuell, Rendine Constructions and Hamlan Homes have recently been contracted to deliver 11 of these new homes.

Announced by Ms Lovell last November, the four-year New Norlane initiative is one of the largest public and private housing projects undertaken in Victoria.

"This project will revitalise Norlane, with a mix of public and affordable private housing, along with new local opportunities, jobs and investment," Ms Lovell said.

"The $80 million project will include homes for private sale, with the new homes well-suited to young families. A display village with some of the best value new homes in Geelong will be set up in Norlane."

Telecommunications company TasmaNet has opened its new purpose-built data centre at the Tasmanian Technopark, and is expected to deliver support to a range of local companies.

State Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, David O’Byrne, attended the official opening of the centre, which forms part of the company’s $5.5 million expansion in Tasmania.

"This is both a significant step forward for a local telecommunications company, and an important investment in a key sector in our economy," Mr O’Byrne said.

"This facility is a key digital infrastructure component to enable industry, business and government to take advantage of the Tasmanian NBN footprint.”

TasmaNet Managing Director, Joel Harris, said in the next five years, industry observers predict more than 75 per cent of all businesses will adopt some form of cloud computing for their ICT infrastructure.

"We recognised the need for an enterprise level data centre in Tasmania and we are proud to be delivering this," Mr Harris said.

"Our new data centre at Technopark will enable Tasmanian businesses to move towards cloud computing, with access to the largest data centre in the state.

Australian Universities have taken a larger stake of the world’s top 500 universities, with five universities taking top 100 places.

Melbourne University has consolidated its position in the top 100, climbing from 60 to 57 in world rankings, while the ANU climbed from 70 to 64 from its positon last year.

The University of Queensland slid four spots to finish at 90 for 2012, down from 86 this time last year. The University of Sydney claimed 93^rd spot, up from 96 last year, while the UWA broke through to the top 100 for the first time, finishing at 96.

Monash, the UNSW, Macquarie University, Adelaide and Flinders University all rounded off the top 10 Australian placed universities.

Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, was quick to point to the Federal Government’s historical funding increase as a major contributor to this year’s stellar performance.

"This outstanding result is due in large part to the record $37 billion the Government has invested in our universities, as well as the hard work of Australia's universities,” Senator Evans said.

"Australia now has the third highest number of universities in the top 100. This is an outstanding result when you consider that the top two countries have significantly more universities than Australia's 37. There are 4495 universities in the United States and 115 in the United Kingdom.

The full ranking can be found here  

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have found a 3.7 per cent increase in the average wage of Australian workers.

Overall, the private sector showed a 3.9 per cent boom in wages, while the public sector recorded a total of 3.3 per cent increase in wages.

In quarterly terms, the index for all wages recorded a one per cent increase in average wages.

The full statistics can be found here

The Westpac-Melbounre Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment has fallen 2.5 per cent in the August period, down to 96.6 from 99.1 in July.

Despite continual positive news about the economy over the last month, and generally over the last quarter, consumer sentiment has continued to contract, steadfastly ignoring positive unemployment statistics, which fell to 5.2 per cent, and a steady interest and inflation rate.

The results are the sixth consecutive month that consumer sentiment has registered below the baseline 100 points, averaging 96.2 per cent. The results are uncharacteristic of a non-recession period, given that the only time sentiment has consistently trended below 100 points is over the early 1990s recession and the 2000-01 period.

Westpac’s Chief Economist, Bill Evans, said that media coverage of the RBA’s reluctance to cut the cash rate over the coming sixth months have unsettled already jittery households.

“While the Reserve Bank did not surprise by holding rates steady at its August Board meeting, consumer perceptions of the outlook for interest rates have shifted. Media reports that the Reserve Bank may have decided against future rate cuts are likely to have unnerved households. For example, despite rates staying on hold the confidence of respondents who hold a mortgage fell by 3.9%,” Mr Evans said.

““The print for August indicates that pessimists clearly outnumber optimists. The Index is only 0.6% above the level in March this year which preceded the most recent rate cuts and the cash disbursements.”

Mr Evans also expressed his concern over the retail sectors recent results, saying that the positive results earlier in the year were a result of aggressive marketing and discounting in the industry rather than an overall upswing in in consumer spending.

The Index found that Victoria was the only state to post a boost in confidence, while Queensland recorded the sharpest fall, which Mr Evans attributed to speculation around the forthcoming State Budget.

“The Reserve Bank Board next meets on September 4. We do not expect a rate cut. However, despite current media speculation, we do believe that the case for further cuts is likely to be clear by the December quarter,” Mr Evans concluded. 

The Australian Financial Services Group (AFS) has announced the appointment of Alan Logan as its new Chief Executive.

Mr Logan brings 22 years of experience to the role, having served in a range of senior management roles at the ANZ, Apogee Financial Planning, MLC and BT Funds Management.

"AFS Group's foundations are strong and my focus as chief executive will be to work with the board, senior management and the adviser network to strengthen the dealer group's infrastructure and foster a more competitive, robust organization, capitalising on marketplace opportunities in the new Future of Financial Advice environment," Mr Logan said.

Mr Logan will start on 3 September.

South Pacific countries will experience more severe and extreme weather events as a consequence of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a research paper published in the journal Nature.

The international study, led by the CSIRO’s oceanographer Dr Wenju Cai, found that the increase in emissions will lead to large changes to the South Pacific rain band, the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

The study found that changes to the band as a result of climate change will double the frequency of extreme weather evens in the band.

Dr Wenju and colleagues turned to the extensive archives of general circulation models submitted for the fourth and fifth IPCC Assessments and found that increases in greenhouse gases are projected to enhance equatorial Pacific warming.  In turn, and in spite of disagreement about the future of El Niño events, this warming leads to the increased frequency of extreme excursions of the rain band.

During moderate El Niño events with warming in the equatorial eastern Pacific, the rain band moves north-eastward by 300 kilometres.  Countries located within the bands’ normal position such as Vanuatu, Samoa, and the southern Cook Islands experience forest fires and droughts as well as increased frequency of tropical cyclones, whereas countries to which the rain band moves experience extreme floods.

“During extreme El Niño events, such as 1982/83 and 1997/98, the band moved northward by up to 1000 kilometres. The shift brings more severe extremes, including cyclones to regions such as French Polynesia that are not accustomed to such events,” said Dr Cai, a scientist at the Wealth from Oceans Flagship. 

A central issue for community adaptation in Australia and across the Pacific is understanding how the warming atmosphere and oceans will influence the intensity and frequency of extreme events. The impact associated with the observed extreme excursions includes massive droughts, severe food shortage, and coral reef mortality through thermally-induced coral bleaching across the South Pacific.

“Understanding changes in the frequency of these events as the climate changes proceed is therefore of broad scientific and socio-economic interest."

Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz has been announced as Mirvac’s new Chief Operation Officer following the announcement that Nick Collishaw would be stepping down from the role of CEO and Managing Director as of 31 October.

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz has been appointed as both CEO and Managing director, and will take up the role before the end of the year.

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz is currently Managing Director Europe at LaSalle Investment Management based in London, and has held a number of senior executive roles at Macquarie Group and Lend Lease around the world.

Mirvanc Group chairman, James MacKenzie, commended Mr Collishaw’s ‘long list of achievements’ over his time as CEO of the company.

“Nick has delivered on the Group’s objectives and also established a clear strategy for Mirvac focused squarely on the Group’s core activities. The work that Nick has led to build Mirvac’s capacity and preparedness to partner with wholesale investors will be central to our strategy going forward,” Mr MacKenzie said.

Mr MacKenzie also extended his congratulations to Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz, saying her experience will be vital to the company’s future growth.

“Susan comes to Mirvac with a wealth of experience gained from 23 years working across four continents and many facets of the property sector. She is a respected leader of people and businesses, has a global outlook and is well-versed in the opportunities and challenges associated with all parts of the business cycle,” Mr MacKenzie said.

The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT) has outlined a series of position statements ahead of the August 25 Territory election, calling on all potential members of the legislative assembly to support them as part of their election platforms.

The LGANT has said that it is seeking commitments from a future Territory Government to grow and support local government, both generally and constitutionally, while seeking to improve local government finances and growing partnerships.

The document request support for the local government by advocating the introduction of provisions in any future territory constitution.

The Western Australian Government has introduced the Dog Amendment Bill before State Parliament, which seeks to make significant improvements to existing legislation that governs the management of dog complaints.

The Bill makes amendments to the Dog Act 1976, including:

• Improving community safety through increased controls over dangerous dogs, including restricted dog breeds, and higher penalties encouraging more responsible dog ownership;
• Enabling nuisance dogs, including nuisance barking dogs, to be more effectively dealt with;
• Recognition of assistance dogs as an extension of the guide dog provisions; and
• Meeting changing community expectations in areas such as microchipping, lifetime dog registrations and impounding provisions.

A copy of this Bill and the Explanatory Memorandum are available on the Parliament of Western Australia’s website www.parliament.wa.gov.au in the ‘Current Bills’ section and on the Department of Local Government’s website www.dlg.wa.gov.au in the ‘Legislation Under Review’ section.

The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has lent its voice to the push for the introduction of a cash for containers scheme.

WALGA President Mayor Troy Pickard said the time was right for the introduction of a scheme, saying that the Local Government sector had long been calling for legislation to encourage recycling.

“Container deposit legislation in other states has been proven to be successful in increasing recycling rates and reducing litter,” Mayor Pickard said.

“We were delighted to hear in September last year that legislation was going to be introduced to State Parliament to bring such a scheme into effect, however this was put on hold whilst a national scheme was considered.”

As ALGA Vice President, Mayor Pickard, along with State Environment Ministers will attend the upcoming meeting of the Standing Council on Environment and Water at which they will decide whether to progress a National Scheme.

Mayor Pickard said although a national scheme would be ideal, it was debatable whether it could be achieved in a timely fashion.

“While we definitely support a national process, pressures from the beverage industry, possible flaws in the cost benefit analysis and different State political priorities may slow or halt the process,” he said.

“If the national process stalls, we will be calling on the WA Environment Minister to introduce a ‘cash for containers’ scheme here in WA.” 

The New South Wales Government has welcomed the decision of the state’s two peak local government bodies to form one consolidated group.

State Minister for Local Government, Don Page, said the decision by the members of the Local Government Association and the Shires Association to form a single body would create a stronger voice for councils and enhance the new association’s effectiveness.

“One association will make it easier for the State Government agencies to engage with the local government sector, and for the sector to provide consistent and clear advice on important issues. This will be underpinned by a new Intergovernmental Agreement,” Mr Page said.

“The new arrangements will ensure that the voices of rural and regional communities will continue to be heard, and be better supported by councils from across NSW. Rural/regional councils and metropolitan/urban councils have an equal voice within a set of rules that continues the democratic principle of membership control.  

The Minister noted that NSW Aboriginal Land Councils will continue to be members of the new association.

“This is important for the continued development of Land Councils, which represent Aboriginal communities, and deliver services and functions on which NSW Aboriginal communities depend. ‘’

The South Australian Government has announced the opening of the new SA Arid Lands Natural Resource Centre in Port Augusta.

State Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Paul Caica said the new centre will be critical for all natural resource management issues.

"This centre is the second of eight to open throughout South Australia as part of the State Government’s commitment to support sustainable land use, water quality and conservation,” Mr Caica said.

“It will offer comprehensive advice and services to the region’s residents, ranging from land management issues and sustainable primary production to information on native plants and animals, National Parks, fire management and pest control.

“Ultimately the management of our natural resources and the conservation of native plants and animals are issues for all members of our community, and this centre will help people in the Port Augusta region get involved.”

The Federal Government has called for applications under the 2012-13 Grants to Voluntary Environment, Sustainability and Heritage Organisations (GVESHO) program. 

"These grants are part of the Gillard Government's ongoing commitment to support groups across the nation to value and protect our natural environment and heritage,” Federal Minister for the Environment Tony Burke said.

"There are many great organisations working everyday at local, regional, state and national levels to achieve better protection for our environment and heritage.

"These groups and volunteers work tirelessly and make a real difference in our communities.

"That is why we are continuing the GVESHO program, which has provided funding for environment and heritage groups for many years.

"Last year, I expanded the program to also support sustainability organisations with their ongoing administrative costs, which has been welcomed by a broad range of community groups.”

Last year 163 not-for-profit community-based environment, sustainability and heritage groups received funding under the program to assist with the day to day running costs of their organisation. 

Grant guidelines and application forms are available at www.environment.gov.au/about/programs/gvesho

The Western Australian Government has announced a suite of measures to help secure reliable water supply for the South-West town of Manjimup, following months of poor rainfall.

The two’s main local dams – Manjimup and Phillips Creek – have received well below average inflow since 2010, prompting the move form the State Government.

“A persistent drying climate has meant dam levels have dropped to 28 per cent, or just 529 million litres,” Mr Marmion said.

“This is well below the annual demand for water in the area, which is about 700 million litres.

“Taking this into consideration, along with the upcoming summer and little rain forecast, measures including stage six water restrictions, using contingency sources and possibly carting, will be put in place to secure adequate supplies to the people of Manjimup.”

 The Minister said the Water Corporation would also launch a major water efficiency program in the area, including a behavioural change project and appliance retrofits in the coming weeks.

“The Manjimup community has done an excellent job in terms of saving water over the last few years and I encourage everyone to take up the new opportunities shortly on offer,” he said.

Stage 6 water restrictions, which include full sprinkler bans, will apply from September 1.  The rainfall situation will be continually monitored to determine if these restrictions need to continue into summer.

New research conducted by the Australian National University (ANU) has found that drought significantly increases the risk of suicide among rural males aged 30-49 years.

The multi-disciplinary study, led by PhD student Ivan Hanigan from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at The Australian National University in collaboration with ANU researchers Colin Butler and Michael Hutchinson and CSIRO researcher Phil Kokic, took data on suicides in NSW between 1970 and 2007, and compared it with climatic drought information. 

The research found clear evidence between the relationship between drought and the prevalence of suicide in farmers and farm workers, finding that around nine per cent of rural suicides in males aged 30-39 were due to drought over the entire study period.

“Nine per cent may not sound like a big number,” said Mr Hanigan. “But over the course of the 38 years of our study, it’s a significant figure. This estimate is an average - and we know that the majority of years are not droughts - so the percentage is much greater than nine per cent in the actual drought years, since these are episodic and confined to a distinct minority of years.

“Plus, importantly, a suicide doesn’t only affect one individual. For every person who takes their own life, there are many members of their family, friends, and communities that bear the brunt of that action. Suicide has a devastating impact, particularly on rural towns with close-knit communities.”

The study also revealed that while suicides in males increase during drought, the relative risk for female suicides drop. The absolute number of rural male suicides is much larger however, and so this equates to a larger number of rural male suicides attributable to drought.

The research team took advantage of recent developments in statistical software to fit sophisticated models that also controlled for other well-known trends in suicide data, including that times of unusually high maximum temperatures increased suicide risk, that there was a increased risk in spring and early summer, and that there was a marked drop in suicide rates over the last decade.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs and the Northern Territory Minister for Health Kon Vatskalis have turned the first sod in the construction of the new Indigenous health research centre in the territory.

The $45.7 million project includes a new building and upgrade to the MEnzies School of Health Research facility at the Royal Darwin Hospital, as well as a new building on Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus in Darwin.

The new buildings will be constructed by Lahey Constructions and will create capacity for an additional 244 staff (a total of 446 staff); and a 200-person auditorium on the RDH campus to support Menzies’ teaching and learning activities.

Menzies’ Acting Director, Associate Professor Ross Andrews said new infrastructure will enable the institute to continue its vital medical research in world class facilities.

“By mid 2013, two modern and ecologically sound buildings will be completed that are truly iconic, flexible and functional. This project will secure Menzies’ long-term, productive future, and pave the way for our researchers to continue to improve the health of Australians and those in our region.”

Associate Professor Andrews said Menzies is expanding rapidly in response to the increased demand for rigorous, evidence-based input that helps shape policy and services in the areas of Indigenous and tropical health.