Industry News

The Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) is calling for submissions for its50th annual conference at the Swinburne University of Technology on 6 and 7 December later this year.  The event will showcase the latest solar research and highlight the most recent solar energy projects.

AuSES is calling for one-page abstracts to be submitted by the end of June that should “contribute to knowledge relating to the uses and applications of clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, the built environment and sustainability’.

The conference will cover the following range of topics:

• Solar photovoltaics: including system design and performance monitoring
• Solar thermal: CSP as well as SWH and SAH, extending into the production of low-grade process heat for industry
• Built environment and sustainable design
• Energy efficiency
• Public policy
• Grid integration and remote power systems
• Other renewables, including wind, biomass, geothermal, tidal and waste methane recovery

More information can be found here

The Federal Government has announced new funding of $3 million for eight projects to enable scientists to conduct critical research into the Hendra virus, following a fresh outbreak in Queensland.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said the research is aimed at getting a better understanding of the virus, the development of management procedures and improved patient treatments.

Three grants totalling $1.6M will examine immunological responses to exposure to the Hendra virus, creating knowledge about how host organisms react to the virus.

Five grants totalling $1.4M will support research into possible diagnostic markers, vaccines and antiviral drug targets.

Ms Plibersek said the funding as part of an overall $12 million collaborative effort between the Commonwealth, NSW and Queensland governments.

The announcement follows a recent Urgent Call for Research by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The council identified areas for research and subjected the grant applicants to rigorous review with eight of the best proposals having immediate access to funding.  

“The call for research has been highly effective in recruiting the best research proposals to increase the body of knowledge about human health issues related to Hendra virus,” NHMRC Chief Executive Officer Professor Warwick Anderson said.

The managing director of the country’s leading anti-copyright theft body, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), has admitted that online piracy of television programs and movies is an inevitability.

Speaking at a seminar at the University of Melbourne, Neil Gane said that the combination of a desire to access material without cost and to view content as soon as possible was driving the proliferation of piracy, and that the Federal Government needs to intervene.

Fresh from the defeat at the hands of the High Court in a long running dispute over the infringements of copyright of iiNet’s customer base, AFACT is continuing to lobby against the ever expanding illegal use of peer-to-peer software.

Mr Gale says the current legal framework is ill equipped to deal with the problem, saying that more must be done to enforce copyright infringements. 

US based ISP Verizon has announced it will roll out its first ultra-high-speed home broadband service, offering speeds of up to 300 Mbps, in a bid to cater for the boom in demand for bandwidth-intensive applications.

The company says that the proliferation of the number of internet-connected devices per household is driving the spike in demand for bandwidth.

"The ways we used the Internet and watched TV over the past 10 to 15 years have dramatically shifted. With the emergence of smartphones, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, tablets and gaming consoles that also serve as over-the-top devices, consumers need more bandwidth to receive the highest-quality experience,” Bob Mudge, President of Verizon’s consumer and mass market business unit.

Verizon will use its fibre to the home technology, similar to that being rolled out by the National Broadband Network, to supply its customers with the unlimited data service. 

The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has been awarded two significant grants by the Federal Government to continue crucial forestry and aquaculture research.

The grants will fund the two successful projects, the Experimental Aquaculture Facility (EAF) and a National Institute for Future Forest Industries (NIFFI).

The $5 million funding grant will fund future development of the two sectors, which are considered vital for Tasmania.

"Tasmania is recognised as a national and international leader in marine research and, as Australia's largest producer of seafood, it is critical we invest to make sure this industry remains strong and viable into the future,"  Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Sid Sidebottom said.

"Similarly, forestry is critical to the ongoing prosperity of the State, as well as having an important role in the country's environmental and economic future, especially in our regional areas.

The EAF will be a controlled environment to provide essential research into local and national fisheries industries. The facility will become a regional and national seafood research and innovation hub and will allow a host of organisations to work together, with a special focus on graduate student research opportunities.

The facility will allow a greater understanding of issues such as environmental management, food safety, climate change impacts, cleaner technologies and production.

The NIFFI will drive research, development, innovation, extension and training for future forest products and industries. Its research activities will range from plantation management systems and productivity through to sustainable forestry, cleaner technologies and new forest economies including carbon and environmental services.

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Professor Aidan Byrne as the new CEO of the Australian Research Council.

In announcing the appointment, federal Minister for Science and Research Senator Chris Evans said Professor Byrne’s appointment is a key step for the nation’s research effort.

Professor Byrne’s appointment will ensure that Australia continues to be a leading example of an innovative and robust science and research system,” Senator Evans said.

“Professor Byrne is a distinguished leader in research and research management at the Australian National University and has been for 20 years. He brings to the ARC a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise particularly in Nuclear Physics, Physical and Mathematical Sciences as well as Engineering.”

Professor Byrne is currently the Dean of Science at the ANU and the Director of the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Science.

He will commence as CEO on Monday, 23 July. ARC Executive General Manager Ms Leanne Harvey will continue to act as CEO until this time.

The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) has released its Final Price Determination on the 2012-13 regulated retail electricity prices for all regulated retail electricity tariffs in Queensland.

The notified prices for 2012-13 have been influenced by a number of general factors including:

• further increases in network charges, with Energex and Ergon Energy expected to recover additional revenue from network charges of around15.7% and 11.3% respectively;
• an increase in the underlying cost of energy for small customers of around 43%, primarily due to the carbon tax;
• retail operating costs for small customers remaining largely unchanged; and
• the one-off effects of moving from an ad hoc set of tariffs that had evolved over time to a new tariff structure more closely resembling the true costs of supply which will have increased the prices for some tariffs and decreased the prices for others.

The regulator confirmed the most recent modeling by the Federal Treasury on the impact of the carbon price on electricity prices of 2.36 cents per KwH for residential and small business customers.

This would equate to a 10 per cent increase on the 22.76 cents per kWh that Queenslanders on Tariff 11 already pay for their energy. Based upon the standard residential customer referred to in the Queensland regulator’s draft determination*, this would increase weekly household expenditure on Tariff 11 by $2.44 per week.

The final determination can be found here (.pdf)

Following the release of the Queensland Coordinator-General’s report last Tuesday, the Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney issued a statement calling for the Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, to make a decision within 30 days as required by the EPBC Act.

The Queensland Coordinator-General gave conditional approval to the $6.4 billion Alpha Coal project and imposed 128 conditions on the mine proponents GVK-Hancock Coal.

Responding to Mr Seeney’s  statement, Mr Burke said he was shocked by the demand, and claimed the Queensland Government had failed to make a thorough assessment.

“Up until that media statement, I had understood that the Queensland Government was still considering reopening the Queensland Coordinator General’s process to avoid a duplicate process for the environmental assessment of the Alpha project,” Mr Burke said.

“In his media statement the Deputy Premier appears to have reneged on that and is now demanding that I deal with the report in its current, incomplete form and make my decision within 30 business days despite those deficiencies.

“Make no mistake, if I were to deal with a report which does not fully address the environmental issues which I have a legal obligation to consider, then there are serious repercussions for the soundness of the decision which follows.”

Mr Burke warned that Queensland’s failure to provide a complete assessment would could delays to the approval process.

“Because the Queensland government has not provided a sound assessment, I will be required to obtain the information that Queensland has failed to provide.  This will result in unnecessary and costly delays for the project” he said.

“If Queensland had made clear to the Commonwealth some months ago, when the new government came to office, that they did not intend to have a streamlined process for environmental assessments, then the Commonwealth would have dealt directly with the proponent and this work would have commenced some months ago.”

Mr Burke accused Mr Seeney of playing political games,  and called for a single assessment process to the satisfaction of both jurisdictions.

“The streamlining of environmental approvals is an important policy objective, but a childish game which creates a duplicated process so the Queensland Government can point to it and say how bad it is, is a crude and offensive way to treat a major job creating project.”

Mr Seeney responded to Mr Burke’s demand for the approval process to be reopened with a short statement.

“I am advised the Coordinator General is dealing with the matters raised by the Commonwealth and he has committed to work with the proponent and the Commonwealth to address those matters in a way which allows all parties to meet the requirements of the bilateral agreement. This will avoid the need for a separate Commonwealth assessment.”

Mr Seeney later retracted his undertaking and stated the Queensland Government would not work with a streamlined process and repeated his demand for a response within 30 days, which Mr Burke has refused.

A leaked email released by Greenpeace from a staff member of the Queensland Coordinator-General Barry Roe to the Federal Environment Department,  which stated that the coal mine proponents ‘came in with 22 experts to 'discuss' the proposed conditions, 48 hours before the report was supposed to be finished”, has led to claims that the approval process was neither rigorous nor independent.

The Australian Constructors Association has announced the appointment of Lindsay Le Compte as the association’s new Executive Director.  Mr Le Compte will take the role after Jim Barrett retires after 17 years in the position.

"Lindsay Le Compte brings to the Association sound experience in construction industry advocacy and a good working knowledge of government. The Board believes Mr Le Compte has the right skill set to lead the Association in the next stage of its development,"  ACA President Peter Brecht said.

Mr Le Compte was the Chief Executive NSW and ACT Chapters of the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) from 2007 - 2011.In previous roles Mr Le Compte was General Manager, Home Building Service, NSW Department of Fair Trading, Inspector General of NSW Corrective Services and Chief Executive of the NSW Casino Control Authority.

Mr Brecht thanked Mr Barrett for his contribution to the Association and the Australian construction industry.

"Jim Barrett has been an outstanding construction industry leader for many years. He joined the Association in its formative years and has provided great support to the ACA Board. Jim has represented the Association with distinction on a number of industry organisations and his contribution has been highly regarded by Governments and his colleagues across the industry," Mr Brecht said.

A study conducted by Sydney based telecommunications specialist Market Clarity has found that Australian and New Zealand Internet Service Providers (ISP) pay comparable costs for services such as domestic international IP Transit.

The study, which is based on interviews with retail ISPs on both sides of the Tasman, found that Australian ISPs devote more average revenue per users (ARPU) to wholesale service costs (such as ADLS access services, domestic backhaul and IP transit) than their counterparts in New Zealand.

“There is a widespread perception, particularly in New Zealand, that the costs of international services drive the difference between the allowances offered Australian and New Zealand broadband customers,” Market Clarity CEO Shara Evans said.

“However, our research suggests that other factors are more significant. These might include the different domestic regulatory regimes in the two countries, and the competitive pressure brought about by Australia’s much larger number of retail ISPs.”

After all costs are taken into account, the research found that Australian retail broadband ISPs retain a median profit markin of 26.3 percent of ARPU, while New Zealand ISPs have posted a median margin of 38.8 per cent of their ARPU.

“Our interviews with ISPs in Australia and New Zealand also revealed different concerns about what might prevent business growth in the future,” Ms Evans said. 

“In Australia, ISPs are concerned at aspects of the NBN pricing model. In particular, they are worried that the NBN’s CVC pricing could emerge as a future constraint to growth in customer allowances. ISPs are also worried about the large number of NBN POIs (Points of Interconnect).

“However, New Zealand ISPs were more likely to nominate lack of consumer access to content as holding back growth.

“Although some New Zealand respondents to our study said their broadband growth is constrained by factors like IP Transit costs, this was not corroborated by our comparison of their cost base relative to Australian providers,” Ms Evans said.

The study can be found here

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a report that indicates a steady increase in the number of older Australians requiring hospitalisation following a fall.

The Hospitalisations due to falls in older people, Australia 2009-09 found that there were 78,6000 hospitalised injury cases due to falls in people aged 65 over in that period, a 4,000 increase from the 2007-08 year.

Women made up most of the hospitalisations for falls, and the rate of fall cases was higher for women than for men across all older age groups.

“The rate of hospitalised falls for older women is now more than 3,000 per 100,000 older women, continuing the steady increase observed since 1999–00,” AIHW spokersperson Professor James Harrison said.

About one-third of fall injury cases involved injuries to the hip and thigh, and the majority of these were hip fractures.

“Despite a decrease in the rate of hospitalised hip fractures among older people over the 10 years to June 2009, the number of hospitalisations due to falls in older people is rising,’” Professor Harrison said.

Head injuries accounted for about one in five cases and were more common for men than women.

“Falls resulting in head injuries increased at a particularly high rate between 1999 and 2009,” Professor Harrison said.

Falls on the same level due to slipping, tripping, or stumbling (rather than, for instance, a fall involving furniture or stairs) were the most common cause of a hospitalised fall injury.

The majority (about 70%) of hospitalised falls occurred in either the home or an aged care facility. Older people who lived in aged care facilities had a rate of falls nearly six times as high as that for people of the same age who lived in the community and fell in their home.

The report can be found here

Australia Post and Telstra have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see the ISP become a participant in Australia Post’s Digital Mailbox system.

The MoU will also enable Australia Post to use use Australian based hosting and network services, while Telstra expects to be able to boost its capability to deliver more products and services through the Australia Post IT network.

Launching later this year, the Australia Post Digital MailBox will enable consumers to connect to their secure, individual MailBox anywhere, anytime to receive statements and bills, set reminders and make payments using any internet enabled device.

As part of this memorandum, Telstra will also work with Australia Post towards an agreement for the Digital MailBox service to be hosted on Telstra’s Australian based secure cloud computing platform.

 “Part of our digital customer strategy is to provide our customers with access to information through a variety of channels of their choice. The Australia Post Digital MailBox will extend this choice to complement our existing digital options such as our website, and mobile applications,” Telstra CEO David Thodey said.

“Telstra is investing more than $800 million across the next five years to further grow our cloud computing services. We are very pleased Australia Post has chosen to work with us on finalising an agreement that will see the new Digital MailBox Service hosted on the secure Telstra cloud computing platform.”

The Federal Government has warned ‘the clock is now ticking’ on up to 2000 Victorian jobs after the Victorian Government announced its plans to cut $300 million from the state’s training organisations.

The frank warning from Federal Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Senator Chris Evans comes as a recent analysis shows that up to 550 Victorian jobs will be lost by July this year as a result from the State Government cuts.

Projections indicate that a further 1320 positions are ‘on the line’ by early next year, with 400 positions likely to be shed from regional TAFE providers and a further 950 at metropolitan and dual sector providers.

"These cuts will seriously undermine the national training effort and see hundreds of Victorians lose their jobs in the coming weeks,' Senator Evans said.

"These are teaching job cuts - they go right to the heart of our training effort and the future of Victorians across the state.

"If the Victorian Government goes ahead with its training funding cuts, we will not have the skilled workers we need to fill the jobs of tomorrow and employers will be forced to rely more and more on skilled foreign workers.

The NSW Legislative Council’s State Development Committee has received terms of reference for an inquiry into the adequacy of water storages in NSW.

The Committee, chaired by Nationals member, Rick Colless, will examine:

• the capacity of existing water storages to meet agricultural, urban, industrial and environmental needs;
• models for determining water requirements for the agricultural, urban, industrial and environmental sectors;
• storage management practices to optimise water supply to the agricultural, urban,industrial and environmental sectors;
• proposals for the construction and/or augmentation of water storages in NSW with regard to storage efficiency, engineering feasibility, safety, community support and cost benefit;
• water storages and management practices in other Australian and international jurisdictions; and
• any other matter relating to the adequacy of water storages in NSW.

The closing date for submissions is 3 August. More information is here.

The Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, will open the 2012 Cybersafety Summit in Canberra on the 12^th of June.

At the Summit 150 participants, including members of the Youth Advisory Group on Cybersafety (YAG), will have the opportunity to discuss cybersafety issues in person and get expert advice from industry representatives.

“The 2012 Cybersafety Summit will provide a great chance for me to hear directly from YAG members about how the Government can continue to strengthen our approach to cybersafety issues,” Senator Conroy said.

“Last week we finished our online YAG consultations with over 800 secondary students from 95 schools across Australia. We received some fantastic advice and I look forward to continuing these conversations at the Summit.”

Members of the government’s Consultative Working Group on Cybersafety, including Facebook, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, will be at the Summit provide expert advice to participants.

Preliminary findings by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has found that the numbers of students enrolled in the public vocational education and training has risen for its fourth consecutive year to 1.9 million.

Recording a total increase of 4.6 per cent from 2010 to 2011, the Australian vocational education and training statistics shows a snapshot of training activity from the annual collection of student enrolments.

Student numbers increased in most states and territories, with the greatest increases reported in Victoria (14.8%), Northern Territory (1.5%) and Western Australia (1.1%).

Compared with 2010, the largest increases in student numbers occurred in Victoria (77 000 more students) and New South Wales (3 500 more students) and Queensland (2 800 more students).

he largest increase in student numbers occurred in qualifications at Certificate III and higher: Certificate III (9.9%), Certificate IV (20.4%) and Diploma or higher (12.7%).

Hours of delivery and full-year training equivalents in 2011 also increased by 8.6% nationally.

NCVER will release detailed data on training activity in July this year.

Copies of Australian vocational education and training statistics: Students and courses 2011 – preliminary data are available from www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2504.html 

Findings released by data specialist RP Data show that the interest rate hike in November last year is seriously effecting elements of the housing market.

The RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index found an average -0.3 contraction in the sales of an 85,000 home sales control group, with values falling in capital city dwelling values by 1.2 per cent in the three months to April. Expensive suburbs have recorded the largest contraction in the market.

In the 12 months to April, the capital city housing market recorded a 1.5 per cent contraction, with the trend closely followed in regional markets.

RP Data’s research director, Tim Lawless, said that expensive suburbs had dragged the market down, which over the last 12 months have recorded a total 5.4 per cent contraction. RP Data found that the cheapest suburbs had performed well, contracting by only -0.9 per cent.

“The solid performance of cheap suburbs runs against the grain of popular claims that default rates are rocketing up amongst first time buyers, which the RBA recently rejected,” Mr Lawless said.

“The luxury end of the housing market is also showing its volatility. During the growth phase of the cycle the most expensive homes realised the highest capital gains. Yet as the market cools premium home values seem to be losing steam the fastest.”

The national median dwelling price in capital cities is $468,000 based on sales over the three months to April. In the ‘Rest of State’ (i.e., non-capital city) markets, the national median dwelling price is a far lower $325,000. Across all Australian regions, the median dwelling price is currently $418,000.

The South Australian Government has outlined $30.4 million over four years for the development of a new digital system for pathology testing.

“The new Enterprise Pathology Laboratory Information System (EPLIS) is a state-wide electronic storage system for all pathology tests and is an important step in the moving SA Health to a digital health system,” Treasurer Jack Snelling said.

Currently the use of different systems in different hospitals means the results of some tests done in one hospital cannot be viewed in another hospital.

“EPLIS will make test results accessible across the system, including electronic links to private pathology testing. This will result in a reduction in duplication of tests and provide faster results for patients,” Mr Snelling said.

The EPLIS spending forms part of the state's broader $191.7 million in e-health services spending across three major initiatives.

“This includes a new system for electronic health records, the Enterprise Patient Administration System (EPAS), which will transform health care in South Australia, saving lives, time and money and making the health system much more efficient,” State Health Minister John Hill said. 

The South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department for Water will form a single agency after the State Government handed down its 2012-13 Budget.

Treasurer Jack Snelling said the merger will bring together all the policy makers, project managers, natural resource planners and scientists in the areas of environment, conservation, water and natural resource planning.

“Bringing together the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department for Water will result in a more integrated department able to more effectively manage our natural and water resources with increased efficiency," Mr Snelling said.

“The new Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources will continue to focus on managing our unique natural environment and achieving long term water security for South Australians.”

The new agency will also see a new Taskforce secretariat entirely committed to the State's efforts with regards to the Basin Plan will be created. The taskforce will focus on the next steps in the process and on engaging the community in South Australia's response. The Chief Executive of this Taskforce will be Mr Scott Ashby, the current head of the Department for Water.

The State estimates the formation of the new agency will save an estimated $6.7 million.

The South Australian Government has outlined its planned $10.8 billion spending package over the next four years to further develop key infrastructure assets.

Treasurer Jack Snelling said despite record revenue write-downs, the Government was committed to continuing rolling out a record infrastructure build.

Mr Snelling said in 2012-13 alone, the State Government would be spending $2.9 billion in work on infrastructure building and upgrades, including;

• $230 million for the South Road Superway from the Port River Expressway to Regency Road;
•  $191.2 million on the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval into a world class multi-sports venue;
•  $165.5 million on the duplication of the Southern Expressway;
•  $135.8 million on the electrification of rail line and station upgrades on the Noarlunga line;
•  $110 million on the grade separation of the Goodwood rail junction NEW;
•  $80.7 million on the Riverbank Precinct redevelopment;
•  $78.9 million on the North-South Interconnection System Project;
•  $76.3 million on developing the Sustainable Industries Education Centre at Tonsley;
•  $59.5 million on the construction of an electrified rail line from Noarlunga to Seaford;
•  $53.9 million on the Glenside Campus redevelopment, building a new 129-bed mental health hospital;
•  $50 million on the Lyell McEwin Hospital Stage C redevelopment;
•  $35.5 million on construction of new or improvements to existing houses in Aboriginal communities;
•  $30.5 million to extend the capacity of Adelaide, Marryatville and Glenunga International high schools and Brighton Secondary School;
•  $30.5 million on the purchase of new electric railcars for operation on the upgraded electric rail lines;
•  $22.5 million on the pedestrian bridge over the River Torrens connecting the Riverbank precinct to the Adelaide Oval;
•  $20.8 million on upgrading infrastructure at Northfield prisons;
• $19 million to build a dedicated Mining and Engineering Industry Training Centre at Regency Park; NEW
•  $13.2 million on the upgrade and signalisation of the intersection of Tiver Road and Main North Road at Evanston NEW;
•  $12.2 million on the upgrade to the public transport ticketing system;
•  $11.9 million on the Parks Community Centre redevelopment NEW; and
•  $8.1 million upgrading interchanges along the O-Bahn corridor