Industry News

The Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the compulsory licensing provisions in the Patents Act 1990.

The purpose of the inquiry is to assess, advise and recommend on the impacts and mechanisms of compulsory licensing invoked by the Patent Act's public interest and anti-competitive safeguard.

The Terms of Reference require the Commission to:

• assess whether the current Australian provisions can be invoked efficiently and effectively
• recommend any measures to efficiently and effectively exercise these safeguard provisions, in a manner consistent with Australia's international obligations
• recommend any alternative mechanisms, to ensure that the balance between incentives to innovate and access to technology best reflects the objectives of reasonable access to health care solutions, maximising economic growth and growing the Australian manufacturing industry.
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In undertaking the inquiry, the Commission is to have regard to recent changes to the intellectual property system reflected in the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 (Cwlth), and the range of international approaches.

The Commission will consult widely with all relevant stakeholders and welcomes submissions from them. More information is here.

Australian businesses can now access the R&D Tax Incentive program to help with the costs of innovation.  The R&D Tax Incentive will support firms of all sizes in all sectors to invest in research and development.

Businesses can now register to receive the R&D Tax Incentive for eligible activities undertaken in the 2011-12 income year.

"The R&D Tax Incentive is a generous, targeted, and easy to access program that offsets some of the costs of doing R&D so that more businesses innovate," said Greg Combet, the Minister for Industry and Innovation.

"We know that innovation is important - ABS statistics show businesses that innovate are twice as likely to boost their productivity and are 2.5 times more likely to increase staff.

"More businesses doing R&D will strengthen Australia's innovation culture and secure our nation's economy into the future."

For businesses with a turnover of less than $20 million, the R&D Tax Incentive doubles the rate of support compared to the old R&D Tax Concession. For all other businesses the R&D Tax Incentive increases the support available by a third. 

AusIndustry is holding registration-ready workshops to help SMEs, first time registrants and smaller consultants/tax agents better understand and register for the R&D Tax Incentive.

A smart form is now available so that Australian businesses can register for the new R&D Tax Incentive.

The registration smart form is available at www.ausindustry.gov.au, together with detailed guidance material and the details of upcoming workshops, or contact AusIndustry on 13 28 46.

The Federal Government’s landmark shipping reforms have come into effect, with the cornerstone reform seeing the establishment of an Australian International Shipping Register (AISR).

Designed to promote investment in Australia’s involvement in international shipping, the AISR will be responsible for increasing Australia’s trading vessel fleet, up from the all time low of 4 international trading vessels.

The reforms will see companies which place vessels on the AISR will receive the government's zero tax rate, the seafarer tax exemption (where companies do not have to pay employee income tax) and other fiscal incentives in the government's shipping reform package, including:

• provision for accelerated depreciation of vessels via a cap of 10 years to the effective life of  those vessels;
• rollover relief from income tax on the sale of a vessel; and
• an exemption from royalty withholding tax for payments made for the lease of a shipping vessel.

In addition to reducing the cost of owning and operating an Australian ship, under the government's shipping reforms AISR vessels on international voyages will pay international wages and conditions as set by the International Transport Federation. AISR vessels will be able to hire foreign seafarers; though the master and chief engineer have to be Australian.

Online depression therapy programs can have a positive impact on more than just depressive symptoms, a new study from The Australian National University reveals.

Dr Lou Farrer, from the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research, part of the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, trialled the effectiveness of online programs MoodGYM and BluePages with users of Lifeline’s telephone crisis line. She found that the online programs had a positive influence across a range of problems – not just depression.

“In addition to reducing depression symptoms, we found that the online programs were effective in reducing hazardous alcohol use in Lifeline callers. There was a significant drop in alcohol use among those who used MoodGYM and BluePages,” she said.
 
“The results also showed that people who used the online programs had a marked increase in their quality of life, as measured by a scale that assessed satisfaction with different areas of daily living.

“We also found that after treatment, people’s knowledge of depression increased. This is essential to enable people to be able to better understand and recognise the signs and symptoms of future depressive episodes.”

Dr Farrer said that these results follow on from her original study published in 2011, which showed that the use of online programs for Lifeline callers was effective in reducing symptoms of depression.

“We worked with Lifeline centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Lifeline telephone crisis supporters identified callers who seemed to be experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety. These people were then split into different groups who were asked to complete different programs using the online intervention tools MoodGYM and Blue Pages.”

Dr Farrer said that these results showed that depression treatments can have important flow on effects.

“We didn’t expect these results, as the programs are designed specifically to treat depression.  It’s exciting to see that by alleviating depression, these programs may also be helpful in improving how people function in their day-to-day lives,” she said.

“What we need now is funding to roll these programs out into Lifeline on a more permanent basis so that callers can benefit.”

The research is published online in the Journal of Medical Internet Research: http://www.jmir.org/2012/3/e68/

MoodGYM and BluePages are free online depression treatment programs developed and managed by ANU, and can be accessed at http://moodgym.anu.edu.au and http://www.bluepages.anu.edu.au

Australia's bulk commodity (coal, iron ore and LNG) export volumes are projected to more than double in between 2012 and 2025, according to a report released by the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).

The report examines the outlook for Australia's bulk commodity exports in the context of projections of world import demand, competition from other suppliers and the availability of Australian port and rail infrastructure out to 2025.

"The increase in Australia's bulk commodity exports over the next decade will be underpinned by strong demand in Asia and Australia's position as a world class exporter of iron ore, coal and LNG." said Professor Quentin Grafton, BREE's Executive Director and Chief Economist.

Future growth in coal, iron ore and LNG import demand will largely be underpinned by demand from Asia, including China and India.

Australian exports to these markets will face increased competition from countries such as Indonesia and Mongolia (coal), Brazil and West Africa (iron ore) and North America (LNG).

Based on a market share scenario analysis, Australia's exports to 2025 for thermal coal could increase to between 267 and 383 million tonnes, metallurgical coal to 260 to 306 million tonnes iron ore to 885 to 1082 million tonnes and LNG to 86 to 130 million tonnes.

Export volumes to 2025 are predicted to increase from 119 to 235 million tonnes for thermal coal, 127 to 173 million tonnes for metallurgical coal, 446 to 643 million tonnes for iron ore and 67 to 111 million tonnes for LNG.

"The large projected volume increase will help offset expected declines in bulk commodity prices and allow Australia to maintain the value of its mineral and energy exports," Professor Grafton said.

BREE projects that port and rail infrastructure either in operation, under construction or planned will meet all bulk commodity export volume scenarios in 2025.

Infrastructure at the planning stage will provide for an increasing proportion of this.

For downloads of the Australian bulk commodity exports and infrastructure – outlook to 2025 report and a 12 page supplementary report, visit the BREE website.

A recent survey by ICT consultancy firm Telsyte shows that that 85 per cent of respondents had a desire to connect to the internet at 50 mbps and higher, while most are reluctant to switch providers.

While the survey showed a keen interest in faster connection speeds, it also showed that the majority of ISP customers remain confused about what the happenings of the National Broadband Network.

Telsyte found that, in a survey of 1143 consumers, only 16 per cent of respondents correctly identified the NBN as a wholesale service, while 70 per cent remained unsure.

Furthermore, according to the survey, only 10 per cent of people were correct in understanding that the fibre service will replace existing copper infrastructure.

Telsyte says the results show that the NBN must ramp up its deployment efforts over the coming 18 months if it is to properly sell the benefits of the Network fibre-to-the-premises (FttP) rollout. 

Laws establishing the new eHealth system include a new role for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as the system's independent privacy regulator.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, welcomed the extension of his role to cover the new eHealth system, and reminded Australians to make informed decisions about their privacy.

 "The eHealth system is an important initiative aimed at improving the delivery of health services in Australia. I encourage individuals to read the terms and conditions of the system carefully."

"You are in control, so make sure you understand how your personal and health information will be collected, used and disclosed. You can decide which healthcare providers can see your record and what information they can access. Have a conversation with your healthcare provider about what will be uploaded and accessed from your eHealth record," Mr Pilgrim said.

The Privacy Commissioner also reminded Healthcare providers participating in the eHealth record system that they need to take steps to understand their obligations under the eHealth laws. These laws impose new obligations in addition to the existing obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.

"Healthcare providers' obligations include not collecting more information from a patient's eHealth record than is necessary, and making sure their staff are trained in how to handle eHealth records correctly," Mr Pilgrim warned.

The Commissioner also encouraged people to exercise their privacy rights.

"If you think that information in your eHealth record has been mishandled you can make a complaint.  I now have the power to seek civil penalties and accept enforceable undertakings from health providers who don't protect this information," Mr Pilgrim said.

The Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012 (PCEHR Act) provides strict controls on the collection, use and disclosure of health information included in an individual's eHealth record. A collection, use or disclosure which is not authorised by the legislation is both a contravention of the PCEHR Act and an interference with the privacy of the individual under the Privacy Act 1988. The legislation also imposes mandatory data breach notification obligations on the System Operator, repository operators and portal operators. 

The OAIC regulates the handling of personal information under the eHealth record system by individuals, Australian Government agencies, private sector organisations and some state and territory agencies, instrumentalities and authorities (in particular circumstances).

The OAIC's regulatory role includes investigating complaints about the mishandling of health information in an eHealth record, as well as conducting 'own motion investigations'. Along with the System Operator, the OAIC will also accept data breach notifications and assist affected entities to deal with data breaches in accordance with the legislative requirements.

The OAIC will have a range of enforcement powers available to it following an investigation, including:

• the power to seek civil penalties
• the power to seek an injunction to prohibit or require particular conduct
• the power to accept enforceable undertakings
• existing Privacy Act investigative and enforcement mechanisms, including complaint conciliation and formal determinations.
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The OAIC will issue Enforcement Guidelines which will outline the Commissioner's approach to enforcement issues under the legislation.

For further information, see the fact sheets and agency resources available on the OAIC website at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/law/other/the-ehealth-record-system.

The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has announced its third satellite ground station will be constructed at Geeveston in Tasmania’s Huon Valley.

The ground station will act as an essential transmission centre to deliver fixed wireless NBN services to homes, farms and business in remote areas. Locations in Tasmania such as Port Davey, Strathgordon and Cradle Mountain are set to benefit from the service which is expected to be up and running by the end of 2015.

“The NBN satellite service is designed to bridge the divide between the city and the bush and ensure all Australians can receive fast broadband. The site at Castle Forbes Bay near Geeveston is ideally located for this purpose. It is also close to reliable power and other infrastructure including the NBN’s core fibre transit network – the main fibre transmission lines linking towns and our exchanges.”

Construction of the facility is expected to commence early next year and is scheduled for completion by 2015.

The satellite ground station at Geeveston is a key component of NBN Co’s Long Term Satellite Service, designed to bring broadband at speeds of up to 12 Megabits per second to wholesale customers who deliver retail services to homes, farms and businesses in the outback and other isolated parts of Australia.

The facility at Castle Forbes Bay is the third of 10 sites to be chosen for an NBN ground station following the announcement of two stations in New South Wales. 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found that Telstra breached its customer privacy obligations when it leaked the personal information of about 734,000 of its customers to a freely available website.

On 9 December 2011, Telstra advised the Australian Communications and Media Authority that the names and in some cases addresses of up to 734,000 Telstra customers had been accessible via a link available on the internet. Usernames and passwords of up to 41,000 of these Telstra customers had also been accessible.

“Under clause 6.8.1 of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (TCP Code) a Carriage Service Provider must protect the privacy of each customer’s billing and related personal information,” said Acting ACMA Chairman, Richard Bean.

The findings by ACMA come after the Australian Privacy Commissioner also found that Telstra had breached the Privacy Act 1988 for failing to protect the personal information of its users.

Telstra explained that they used a web-based customer management tool called the Visibility Tool to track orders for bundled products. Personal information such as usernames, passwords and addresses, and in some cases drivers licence numbers and dates of birth, were publicly accessible on the Visibility Tool from 29 March 2011 to 9 December 2011. The number of customers in the database increased from March to December, peaking at 734,000 customers by December 2011.

“We are most concerned about the length of time–more than eight months–during which a significant number of Telstra customers’ personal information was publicly available and accessible,” Richard Bean added.

Telstra has been fast to offer an apology, with the company’s Executive Director of Customer Service, Peter Jamieson, saying that Telstra deeply regrets the incident.

“We deeply regret the incident. As we did at the time, we sincerely apologise to any of our customers impacted by this incident,” Mr Jamieson said.

“An incident like this is unacceptable.  We take our privacy obligations very seriously and invest considerable time and resources in ensuring the privacy of our customers’ personal information.

Health services to the Hunter Region of NSW are being compromised by dangerously short staffing levels – with 106 vital positions currently advertised as vacant on the NSW Health website, Shadow Minister for Health Dr Andrew McDonald has warned.

The unfilled positions include registered nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, occupational therapists psychiatrists, surgeons and sexual assault health workers.

"Health services in the Hunter have become dangerously short-staffed under the O'Farrell Government," Dr McDonald said today.

"The fact that 106 positions were unfilled as of 1pm today is truly shocking – and points to a mounting crisis in health services in the Hunter.

"While the hospital corridors and parking lots are clogging up with patients, there are not enough staff to see them and care is being compromised.

"The frightening thing is that these are just the 106 vacancies we know about.

"The Minister has ordered a recruiting go-slow and many others positions are being left permanently unfulfilled. The 15,000 job cuts announced in the Budget will only wreak further havoc.

"The Hunter is always being forgotten.

"This month's State Budget contained no extra funding to boost beds or staff capacity in the emergency ward at John Hunter, Calvary Mater and Maitland Hospitals.

"Instead, all this Government has delivered is staff shortages. It's left healthcare services in the Hunter basically running on fumes."

Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for the Hunter Linda Burney said: "After 15 months of Barry O'Farrell administering the hospital budget for the Hunter, resources are failing to keep up with population growth.

"It is the O'Farrell Government which has capped the wage rises of nurses and other medical staff in our public hospitals at 2.5 percent – well below the rate of inflation.

"Last week, the Government rammed through sweeping cuts to workers' compensation. A nurse at John Hunter who has to pacify an ice addict or crashes while driving home from night-shift has now had their entitlement decimated.

"Thanks to the O'Farrell Government, the recruiting environment for healthcare professionals in the Hunter has never been worse.

"This is a crisis of the Premier's own creation – and Mr O'Farrell needs to explain how he will direct our locally-trained healthcare professionals to the Hunter where patients are growing more desperate every day."

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIA) has been strengthened with new powers to help customers with telecommunications complaints, and will see a significant increase in the monetary value of complaints the TIO can help with.

“An increase in powers is always a good thing for consumers who cannot resolve the issues they are having with their service providers,” Ombudsman Simon Cohen said.

The changes will mean the TIO will have the power to give legally binding directors to service providers of up to $50,000 in value, and to make recommendations of up to $100,000.  This is an increase from direction powers of $30,000 and recommendation powers of $85,000.

“The adjustment to our monetary limits means that consumers who previously had disputes too large for us to deal with will now have access to our fast, free and independent service,” Mr Cohen said.

The TIO can assist small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $3 million and up to 20 employees (or up to 100 staff in the case of seasonal operations or manufacturing businesses).

Even where these conditions might not be met, the TIO will consider other aspects such as the issues in dispute, the nature of the business (for example, whether it is not for profit or it operates from home), and whether the business is independently owned and funded by a small number of individuals who make most of the important business decisions.

Queensland’s independent health watchdog has released the first in a series of special reports about its investigations into healthcare complaints in Queensland.

The Health Quality and Complaints Commission’s (HQCC) Investigating for improvement  special report was tabled in Parliament by Health Minister, Lawrence Springborg.

The report features case summaries of 29 formal investigations finalised between 1 July and 31 December 2011, together with the HQCC’s recommendations and the progress healthcare providers have made in implementing improvements.

CEO Cheryl Herbert said the HQCC is sharing the investigation case summaries to maximise the health system’s ability to learn from the experience of patients and healthcare providers when things go wrong.

“We investigate widespread, systemic problems that impact on numerous health services as well as health services that have, or could, put patient safety at risk.

“Many of the problems we find in investigating one healthcare provider may be common to other organisations or practitioners.

“We want healthcare providers to use the information in this report to review and improve their own health services.

“It’s our job to identify opportunities for improvement—we don’t lay blame or decide negligence; nor do we prosecute or discipline healthcare providers. We refer concerns about individual practitioners to the relevant registration board for action.

“We aim to drive positive change in healthcare. Our recommendations are based on sound evidence and independent clinical advice. They generally include changes in individual and organisational practice, and specific initiatives to address health service failings,” Adjunct Professor Cheryl Herbert said.

Each year the HQCC receives about 5000 complaints and enquiries from Queenslanders concerned about the safety and quality of health services.

Most complaints are resolved or closed in the early stages of the HQCC’s complaints process, either directly between the healthcare consumer and the provider, or through the HQCC’s informal 30-day early resolution process, or following a thorough assessment to determine whether further action is required. Formal investigation is just one of the options following complaint assessment. The HQCC also conciliates healthcare concerns and refers complaints to other agencies for action.

More information is at http://www.hqcc.qld.gov.au.

The Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Warren Snowdon, has announced a new $1.3 billion contract between Defence and Medibank Health Solutions (MHS), to provide health care services to ADF personnel across Australia. The MHS agreement is for an initial four-year term.

MHS won the contract after a competitive tender process and will deliver a broad range of services, including on-base health support, pathology, imaging and radiology and a 24-hour ADF national health hotline.

“Defence’s highest priority is the health and well being of its personnel. Under this contract, our servicemen and women will continue to receive the highest quality health care services. The agreement will support Defence’s goal of seamless health care from point of injury to recovery,” Mr Snowdon said.

There will be no change to health care entitlements for ADF personnel.

“This contract with MHS will also assist Defence to streamline the delivery of health services, and optimise current services through the adoption of new innovations and technology.”

Medibank Health Solutions has a proven record for providing high quality, innovative and cost-effective health care services to the community, to business and to government at a national level for over 35 years.

“The Australian Government is committed to ensuring support for our ADF members is seamless, particularly during the transition from active service into the veterans community,” Mr Snowdon said.

The current health services contracts have been extended to November 2012. MHS and Defence will facilitate a smooth transition to the new contract and will work closely with the outgoing service providers, to ensure no disruption to services for ADF personnel.

Transition of contracted health services will begin next week and will be completed by 5 November 2012. 

There will be no change to health care on deployment with ADF health professionals to continue providing these services.

The South Australian Opposition is calling on the SA Labor government to release an impact statement into the closure of the SA Blood Service’s testing and processing capabilities on the state’s health system.

“The loss of 60 highly skilled employees from the SA Blood Service is likely to have a significant effect on the local health system and medical workforce,” Shadow Minister for Health Martin Hamilton-Smith said.

“The impact of the cut will mean blood donated in South Australia will now have to be delivered to Melbourne for processing and testing before being returned to Adelaide hospitals and health services for life-saving procedures.

“Such a move would create a potential risk of further gaps in the supply of blood to metropolitan and regional hospitals in South Australia for life-saving procedures.

“Just last week, it was the Red Cross confirmed that SA’s stocks of red cell packs were at a 12 month low of only 1.7 days supply.

“Despite these developments, Health Minister John Hill has stayed quiet on the issue, seemingly happy to let the cuts pass.

“Employees at the SA Blood Service are particularly concerned that the scientific expertise will be lost to the state, and Adelaide relegated to the status of a regional outpost of Melbourne.

“The SA Government provides an annual grant to the National Blood Authority, last year totalling $29.4 million, and therefore has a vested interest in the operation of the SA Blood Service.

“The Minister needs to assure South Australians that their health system will not be undermined by the centralization of blood supply and the loss of 60 jobs,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.

Hip, knee and shoulder joint implants will be reclassified as high risk, Class III medical devices from 1 July 2012, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King has announced.

"This new classification will bring greater rigour to the way the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) assesses these devices before they can be used in Australia," Ms King said.

“It will also ensure an improved level of monitoring is undertaken once the product is on the market, and will allow easier product recall.

"This change will also allow better identification of these products on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) as they will now be included as individual products rather than allowing a number of products to be included on the ARTG under a single entry.

"Overall it will better assure the safety, quality and performance of joint replacement devices."

Ms King said the reclassification is in response to recommendations of the Health Technology in Australia review and following concerns over the quality of some hip replacement implants that have needed to be recalled in recent years.

"There has been widespread stakeholder consultation and I believe all parties see the need for closer scrutiny of joint replacement devices," Ms King said.

People wanting to manufacture or supply new hip, knee and shoulder joint implants will need to apply for inclusion on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) as Class III medical devices.

Manufacturers and suppliers of existing hip, knee and shoulder joint implants will have two years to transition these to be reclassified as Class III medical devices.

The TGA is writing to affected organisations to provide details of the new arrangements, including that some fees and charges will be waived to facilitate the transition.

Further general information on the reclassification of hip, knee and shoulder implants, is available in the medical device section of the TGA website.

Master Builders Australia has released the results of the survey of Australia’s builders, which it says shows the non-mining building is in ‘survival mode’ as activity fails to show any signs of improvement.

Chief Economist for Master Builders Australia, Peter Jones, said the June quarter survey of more than 500 builders and contractors revealed sentiment is approaching GFC levels and the industry is at risk of a recession.

“Nearly all key survey metrics fell in the June quarter and index readings are well below 15 year averages. Builders and contractors are in survival mode.

“Building activity is down by 20 per cent, profitability down 22 per cent and builder’s expectations for industry activity down 23 per cent on 15 year averages.

“The outlook for the residential and commercial building sectors is bleak. Forward indicators show no signs of an imminent recovery.

A recent report published by the Council of Australian Government’s Reform Council (COAG) shows that over three in every five of the nation’s lowest income earning households continue to pay more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.

Council Chairman, Mr Paul McClintock AO, said the third annual report on the National Affordable Housing Agreement shows that in 2009–10, 61 per cent of the lowest 10 per cent of Australian households by income were in rental stress. This is up from 49 per cent in 2007–08.

“We are talking about the Australians who can least afford the extra financial burden,” Mr McClintock said at the release of the report in Parliament House, Canberra.

“The more money these households have to spend on rent, the less they have for other basic necessities.”

The report also shows that for the lowest 40 per cent of households by income, the proportion in rental stress in 2009–10 was 42 per cent, an increase on the 37 per cent reported in 2007–08.

In 2009–10, affordability for renters was significantly worse in NSW than the national average, while South Australia and the ACT were significantly more affordable.

The report assesses the progress of governments toward meeting the objective of COAG’s National Affordable Housing Agreement: to ensure Australians have access to affordable, safe and sustainable housing.

In addition to the poor results for rental affordability, between 2008–09 and 2009–10:

• fewer homes were affordable for low and moderate income households to buy
• underlying demand for housing exceeded supply of new dwellings
• the proportion of low income households in mortgage stress remained largely unchanged
• the rate of home ownership remained the same.

A new report released by the COAG Reform Council shows that under the National Indigenous Reform Agreement, which sets six targets for governments to improve health, education and employment for Indigenous Australians, only the Northern Territory is on track to make significant improvements by 2031.

Council Chairman, Mr Paul McClintock AO, said the report shows that the overall death rate of Indigenous Australians will need to fall faster to meet COAG’s 2031 target to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

“We welcome the progress toward halving the gap in death rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children in the four jurisdictions–New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory–for which we have reliable data.”

While the Indigenous child death rate remains twice that of non-Indigenous children, the rate for Indigenous children decreased faster than for non-Indigenous children between 1998 and 2010.

The Reform Council found that the rate of improvement in education outcomes for Indigenous Children was disappointing, with improvement stalling.

Despite progress in halving the gap in literacy and numeracy by 2018, a relatively small proportion of Indigenous students reach the national minimum standard. Nationally, across Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, between 66% and 77% of Indigenous students meet the national minimum standard in reading and between 72% and 84% in numeracy.

“In literacy and numeracy, most jurisdictions met their halving the gap progress points but this is based on a low level of achievement and little actual progress–so the news isn't as good as it seems,” Mr McClintock said.

The report also finds that school attendance for Indigenous students got worse in every jurisdiction from 2007 to 2012. Attendance fell steeply in Years 7 and 8 (the early years of secondary school), most notably in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

“While it is pleasing that the council can report some improvement in the health and education outcomes for Indigenous children, Australian governments have a lot of hard work ahead to achieve the targets set out in the National Indigenous Reform Agreement,” the Chairman said.

The Barangaroo Delivery Authority has announced that Baulderstone has been selected as the preferred contractor to design and construct Barangaroo’s Headland Park.

The park will complete the harbour foreshore walk from Walsh Bay to Pyrmont and include six hectares of parkland, cycle ways, walking paths, sandstone rock pools and the construction of the core of a new cultural space.

Baulderstone’s NSW General Manager Frank Lorenzetto said the contract builds on Baulderstone’s reputation as the contractor of choice for delivering complex inner city infrastructure and building projects such as the Port Botany Expansion, the University of Sydney Law Faculty Building, the Inner West Busway, the Atrium Building at Pyrmont, the Sydney Harbour Bridge Upgrade and the Cross City Tunnel.

“There are very few other contractors who have genuinely top tier building, engineering and marine capacity. Baulderstone is very fortunate to have the people, skills and experience in all three of those disciplines – and this project will demand them all,” Mr. Lorenzetto said.

The Headland Park will become a case study for sustainable development, having been largely created from materials excavated and remediated, from the basements in Barangaroo South, and the northern cove.

“Baulderstone has a track record of developing new project delivery efficiencies, environmentally sustainable design, and ground-breaking construction practices and methodologies. We want to make sure that we leave a positive legacy with this project – and that’s not just in terms of the final product,” Mr. Lorenzetto concluded.

RailCorp has awarded Siemens a multi-million dollar contract for new intuitive train control technology on the Sydney Blacktown rail network that is based on a similar system used in New York City.

The technology will modernise this part of the network to improve reliability, punctuality and ultimately passenger satisfaction.

Siemens’ Vice President of Mobility and Logistics, Paul Bennett said the Control System is capable of re-routing and prioritising trains automatically in the event of a disruption on the line.

“This intuitive technology helps to predict the best outcome for RailCorp and its assets to effectively respond to any new situation,” he said.

The Siemens Control System can be used to review and verify new timetables offline with the ability to create virtual disruptions and monitor the effects, ensuring accuracy of timetables before they enter service. These same algorithms can be used in the online system during any disruptions to intelligently route and prioritise trains giving the optimal recovery solution.

Siemens and RailCorp’s engineers have begun working to deliver the control system for the Blacktown line which is due to be completed by early 2014, with a phased introduction of the system to be supported by Siemens’ 24/7 technical support and maintenance.