Industry News

The Western Australian Government has posted a surplus of $196 million for the state’s 2012-13 Budget, with surpluses projected to continue for the period going to 2015-16.

State Treasurer Christian Porter said the state’s projected growth of 4.75 per cent GDP underpinned the state’s ongoing strong growth.

“Business investment is strong, particularly in the resources sector, and exports will drive growth in 2012-13 and the next three years of this budget period,” Mr Porter said.

But the Treasurer said despite the strong economic outlook, the State faced a challenging revenue and fiscal outlook.

“This reflects growth being concentrated in areas not covered directly by the State’s revenue base, most noticeably the massive LNG projects such as Gorgon and Wheatstone which fall under the Commonwealth’s Petroleum Resource Rent Tax,” he said.

The Treasurer said the 2012-13 State Budget contained major re-prioritisation of service delivery, with a range of new State Government initiatives being introduced and funded through savings measures.

Mr Porter said the savings initiatives totalled $4.9billion over four years and included:

• an efficiency dividend to be applied to public sector agencies from 2012-13, starting at two per cent for all departments (one per cent for Education), with additional one per cent dividends to be achieved in each of the three financial years to 2015-16
• a further efficiency dividend for Government Trading Enterprises to be measured as a percentage of the discretionary spending, starting at 2.5 per cent in 2012-13 with an additional 1.5 per cent in 2013-14, 1.5 per cent in 2014-15 and 0.5 per cent in 2015-16
• a two-year cap on the growth in the number of public sector workers to further control public sector salaries expenses. This measure will require all departments to operate for the next two financial years inside their FTE cap as it was set in 2011-12
• a formal policy of limiting general government sector FTE growth to 1.5 per cent per year in 2014-15 and 2015-16
• deferral of spending on a range of capital works projects across a number of agencies.

Swinburne University of Technology Vice-Chancellor Professor Linda Kristjanson has announced the appointment of Professor George Collins to the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development).

Professor Collins has more than 30 years experience in research and research management, and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the CAST Cooperative Research Centre. He is also Professor of Materials Science in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering at The University of Queensland.

Professor Collins was previously Chief of Research at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) where he coordinated research in environmental science, radiopharmaceutical development, materials engineering and applications of neutron scattering.

As a researcher, Professor Collins has achieved international recognition in the field of plasma surface engineering.

Professor Collins will take up his appointment with Swinburne on 1 August 2012.

A Deakin University study, funded by VicHealth, shows significant economic savings and health benefits could be achieved if Australian adults cut their alcohol consumption by 3.4 litres a year.

Deakin health economists, working with researchers with the National Stroke Research Institute, estimated the economic savings and health benefits from reducing alcohol consumption in Australia.

They found that a 3.4 litre cut per adult per year could result in a $789 million annual saving to the health sector and in one third fewer cases of alcohol related disease (such as alcohol dependence, suicides, injuries and cancers), deaths and working days lost.

“Excessive alcohol consumption is a global health issue, with around 13 per cent of the Australian adult population having long term drinking problems,” said Anne Magnus, a Senior Research Fellow with Deakin’s  Population Health Strategic Research Centre.

“Through this study we calculated the potential economic and health benefits if a realistic reduction in alcohol consumption were achieved, which is an important consideration in light of the current political and policy interest in Australia, and overseas.

“We found that considerable economic and health benefits could be gained if Australian adults drank an average of five standard drinks less each week. This is equivalent to three-four less glasses (150 ml) of wine or four-six less cans (375ml) of beer (full to light strength respectively) each week.”

The researchers modeled the likely outcomes of a drop in alcohol intake from the average 9.8 litres per adult per year to 6.4 litres. They looked at economic and health impacts as well as the effect on workforce productivity, household duties (such as cooking, shopping, cleaning, child care and maintenance) and leisure time.

They found potential cost savings of $789 million in the health sector, $427 million in workforce productivity and $21 million in home-based productivity. These savings were due to 98,000 (35 per cent) less cases of disease and 380 (38 per cent) less deaths related to long term high risk levels of alcohol consumption and 21,000 (34 per cent) less healthy years of life lost as a result of this risk factor.

The results also showed five million fewer working days lost and a drop of 54,000 lost days of household duties would be possible.

However the results were not all positive, with the researchers estimating a potential 1000 additional early retirements because the data showed that high risk drinkers reported staying in the workforce longer than lower risk drinkers.

Ms Magnus said this work showed, in understandable concrete terms, the sizeable benefits of prevention efforts that aim for realistic and achievable reductions in alcohol consumption in Australia.

“It also shows where those benefits are most likely to be felt,” Ms Magnus said.

“Most benefits will occur in the health sector, followed by the paid work force with not so much benefit going to the unpaid workforce or leisure time of individuals.

“These results can be compared with the benefits of realistic reductions in other harmful behaviours such as smoking or physical inactivity, so that policy makers concerned with disease prevention can assess more accurately where the largest gains are realistically possible and hence where to direct their efforts.”

The results of this study will be published in the American Journal of Public Health and currently appears ‘ahead-of-print’ online on the journal’s website.

This study was part of a project funded by VicHealth,            completed in 2009, to evaluate the health, economic and financial benefits of reduction in prevalence of six health risk factors – alcohol, physical inactivity, high BMI, tobacco smoking, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, and intimate partner violence.

The Victorian Government has announced it will introduce legislation to extend the Administration of the Brimbank City Council through until March 2015.

Brimbank Council was sacked in 2009  following a report by the Ombudsman report that found that councillors had behaved improperly in relation to funds, and the Council was “generally dysfunctional and marked by in-fighting and interpersonal conflicts”.

The decision to extend the period of Administration was recommended by two independent reports which led the Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell to the conclusion that the best course of action was to maintain Administration while work was finalised.

"Both reports identified that the premature return to an elected council carries the very real risk of a return to the discredited and damaging practices of the past and the derailing of numerous important projects commenced under Administration,” she said.

Ms Powell said that, subject to the passage of the legislation, a rotation and refocusing would occur amongst the team of administrators at Brimbank.

"Jo Anderson and Meredith Sussex will step down at the end of October this year, roughly in line with the general Local Council elections. Peter Lewinsky will relinquish his role as Chief Administrator but remain a member of the Administration team.”

Ms Powell said that she wanted to put on the record her personal thanks to the current Administrators for the outstanding job they have done at the council and acknowledge the role of the former Minister Richard Wynne in the decision to appoint them.

"The community of Brimbank have been fortunate to have the skills and dedication of Jo and Meredith working for them during this difficult period," Mrs Powell said.

"The final phase of administration will feature a comprehensive community engagement strategy to prepare for the return of an elected council. I have asked the current Chair Peter Lewinsky to stay on as an administrator, thereby giving the team important continuity.

"John Watson, the current Executive Director of Local Government Victoria, will retire in October and will then assume the role of Chief Administrator at Brimbank.

"John Watson is highly respected for his skills and abilities throughout the sector and by both sides of politics. Upon learning of his intention to retire from LGV, I asked him to take on the role of Chair of the Brimbank Administrators.”

The third administrator's position will go to an individual with strong qualifications in community engagement.

Santos has announced the loading of the 1000^th cargo from its Port Bonython liquids processing plant in South Australia.

Port Bonython has been in operation since 1983, and has loaded over 40 million tonnes of product, including crude oil, LP and naphtha.

Cargoes from the port have gone to all Australian domestic refineries, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Hawaii, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Gross revenue generated by Port Bonython totals over $14 billion and total gross wharfage paid to the South Australian Government exceeds $70 million.

“We’re very pleased to celebrate this significant milestone,” said Lou Dello, Santos’ General Manager Oil & Offshore Business.

“Port Bonython has long been an important part of Santos’ business, processing liquids from the Cooper Basin in South Australia’s remote north and shipping them right across the country and the Asia-Pacific.

In the first study of its kind in Australasia, scientists have used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1000 years.

The study was led by researchers at the University of Melbourne and used a range of natural indicators including tree rings, corals and ice cores to study Australasian temperatures over the past millennium and compared them to climate model simulations.

Lead researcher, Dr Joelle Gergis from the University of Melbourne said the results show that there are no other warm periods in the last 1000 years that match the warming experienced in Australasia since 1950.

“Our study revealed that recent warming in a 1000 year context is highly unusual and cannot be explained by natural factors alone, suggesting a strong influence of human-caused climate change in the Australasian region,” she said.

The study published today in the Journal of Climate will form the Australasian region’s contribution to the 5^th IPCC climate change assessment report chapter on past climate.

She said using what is known as ‘palaeoclimate’ or natural records, such as tree rings, corals and ice cores, are fundamental in evaluating regional and global climate variability over centuries before direct temperature records started in 1910. 

Dr Gergis collated these natural records provided by decades of work by more than 30 researchers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world.

The reconstruction was developed using 27 natural climate records calculated in 3000 different ways to ensure that the results were robust. 

She said reconstructions of regional temperature not only provide a climate picture of the past but also a significant platform to reduce uncertainties associated with future climate variability.

The study is part of a global collaboration, PAGES, Past Global Changes Regional 2K initiative, which is working to reconstruct the last 2000 years of climate across every region in the world in order to reduce uncertainties associated with future climate change projections.

Collaborators include the Climate Change Research Centre and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, University of New South Wales where the climate modeling was conducted.

The study was funded by the Australian Research Council, Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and Past Global Changes (PAGES).

Research and demonstration grants totalling $72.5 million have been awarded as part of the first round of the Federal Government’s  Filling the Research Gap and Action on the Ground programs that are part of the $429 million Carbon Farming Futures program.

The Filling the Research Gap program has been allocated a total of $201 million to fund research into new technologies and practices for land managers to reduce emissions and store soil carbon.

The Action on the Ground program will invest a total of $99 million to assist industry and farming groups test and apply research outcomes in real farming situations.

The first round of the Filling the Research Gap program will invest $47.3 million into 58 projects in five key research areas including reducing methane emissions (from livestock and manure), reducing nitrous oxide emissions (from fertilisers and soils), increasing soil carbon and improving modelling capability.  The Filling the Research Gap program has been allocated a total of $201 million to fund research into new technologies and practices for land managers to reduce emissions and store soil carbon.

The first round of the Action on the Ground program will invest $25.2 million into 59 projects involving 424 properties around the country which will trial and demonstrate on–farm technologies and innovative practices that store carbon, reduce or mitigate emissions of nitrous oxide and methane and improve farm productivity.

The next funding round for Filling the Research Gap will be announced later this year.  The second round of Action on the Ground is expected to open for applications in the first quarter of 2013.

For more information on the successful projects visit Climate Change.

The Federal Government has announced a $1 million funding boost to assist dairy farmers to lower their energy costs.

Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fishers and Forestry Sid Sidebottom said the funding will be provided to Dairy Australia, who will then give tailored energy advice to fairy farmers.

“This grant will help dairies, who have high energy needs, to identify energy efficiency measures that will save them money,” Mr Sidebottom said.

“Dairy Australia will provide energy efficiency advice to dairy farms, including on-farm energy efficiency assessments at over 900 farms.”

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its first paper in the review of the radiofrequency spectrum between 1427.9 and 1510.9 Mhz (the 1.5 GHz mobile band).

The paper investigates the potential use of the 1.5GHz mobile band for mobile broadband services, which was previously identified by ACMA as one of a number of candidate bands for mobile services.

The paper details drivers for reviewing the 1.5 GHz mobile band and some preliminary options for future arrangements. The primary goal of the paper is to gather views and information from industry to inform the next stage of the review, where more detailed proposals will be developed.

Due to current planning arrangements, the 1.5 GHz mobile band is heavily used in remote and regional areas, but only lightly in metropolitan areas and major population centres and where usage is dominated by one licensee.

The paper can be found here

The Federal Government has announced $20 million in grants to improve the energy efficiency at small and medium businesses and community groups.

Forming part of the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Future package, round two of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants program will aim to assist businesses save money on operating costs will minimising their greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal Minister for Cliamte Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, said the response to Round One of the EEIG program had been overwhelmingly successful.

"Small and medium businesses and community groups are under a lot of time pressure. As a result, they often don't have the time, resources or information to find out how to save money by improving energy efficiency."

Applications were assessed by an independent committee on value for money, project effectiveness and delivery, particularly focusing on the strength of relationship between the grant recipient and their network.

Round two of the EEIG program will open in October.

Airservices Australia has announced that its long serving Chief Executive Officer, Greg Russell, has tendered his resignation.

“Mr Russell has been CEO for almost seven years and during this time he has led an extensive transformation of the organisation,” Chairman of Airservices Australia David Forsyth said.

“This includes the rebuilding the Airservices asset base with the replacement of radars, communication systems, control towers and fire stations throughout Australia;  the implementation of new satellite based surveillance technology; increased emphasis on training and workforce development; and the commencement of an acquisition process with the Department of Defence for a new jointly operated air traffic system for Australia.”

Andrew Clark, Airservices’ Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed Acting CEO during the search for a new CEO.

AMP Capital has obtained South Australian Government approval to acquire the South Australian Schools Public Private Partnership (PPP) project on behalf of a number of its funds and clients, including AMP Capital’s Community Infrastructure Fund and Core Infrastructure Fund.

AMP Capital Head of Infrastructure Australia and New Zealand Paul Foster said the project has an enterprise value of $232 million.

The project includes six newly constructed schools in Adelaide, ranging from primary, middle, secondary, special education schools and child care centres.

Mr Foster said this acquisition gives AMP Capital managed funds and client’s access to a PPP asset providing availability-based revenue backed by the AAA rated South Australian Government.

“This transaction was sourced through a non-competitive, direct negotiation process and is expected to deliver attractive, double digit investment returns to our clients across the project's remaining 27 year concession period,” he said.

Funds and clients managed by AMP Capital are acquiring 100 per cent of the equity in the project from Lend Lease and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. In addition, AMP Capital is becoming the asset manager of the project.

“This latest deal demonstrates that AMP Capital managed funds and clients are well placed to benefit from the strong flow of opportunities we are currently seeing within the social infrastructure sector. It also reinforces AMP Capital’s strong, ongoing commitment to the Australian PPP market,” he said.

Mr Foster said as governments grapple with a reduced tax base, they are increasingly turning to the private sector to fund the development and delivery of critical economic and social infrastructure assets.

“In addition, a significant number of assets are now coming onto the secondary market from developers looking to exit assets following the construction phase and recycle capital for new projects.

“This is creating good investment opportunities for our clients, many of whom are superannuation funds who are the natural long term owners of these assets,” he said.

Since acquiring management of the AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund in September 2010, AMP Capital has acquired four additional social infrastructure assets bringing the total number of assets in the portfolio to eight.

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has announced it will put in place a world-class subsea response solution to mitigate and control any risk of uncontrolled discharges from offshore wells.

“The continued development of offshore oil and gas is essential for Australia’s prosperity and energy security, but the industry must ensure we have access to the latest systems, technology and expertise to achieve the highest standards for our environment and safety performance,” APPEA Chief Executive, David Byers, said.

“The funding and development of a Subsea First Response Toolkit (SFRT) not only demonstrates the industry’s technological advancement, but also its commitment to continuous improvement and world’s best practice.”

The APPEA have made the move to an industry-wide practice following the Montara and Macondo offshore incidents, saying that subsequent inquiry recommendations have highlighted the need for an coherent, ubiquitous approach to safety regulations of offshore management.

A University of Queensland researcher has discovered nine new genes that drive the development of breast cancer, taking the tally of all genes associated with breast cancer development to 40.

Published recently in Nature journal, the study is part of an international initiative to sequence the genomes of a variety of cancers. Professor Sunil Lakhani from the UQ Centre for Clinical Research along with an international team of breast cancer researchers lead by Professor Michael Stratton (Sanger Institute, UK), examined all the genes in the genomes of 100 cases of breast cancer.

Professor Sunil Lakhani said mutated cancer-causing genes (called driver genes) were different in different cancer samples, indicating that breast cancer is genetically very diverse.

“Understanding the consequences of this diversity will be important in progressing towards more rational treatment,” Professor Lakhani said.

“The idea behind the work was to establish ‘the landscape' of genetic changes in breast cancer with a view to understanding which genes drive a breast cell to become cancerous.”

“Recently, we have begun to appreciate that breast cancer is not one disease but has several different subtypes. However, what the study shows is that the diversity and differences between patients is much greater than appreciated. Although 28 of the 100 cancers had a single driver mutation, some had as many as six. There were 40 different cancer genes implicated in the development of the cancer and in 73 different combinations – almost every cancer is therefore unique.”

“It is showing us that we will have to use broad information about cancer subtypes (as we do at present in the clinic) and combine it with the unique genomic features of each patients cancer in order to provide individualised treatment plans – which will be a challenge, but hopefully will also improve outcomes by providing new opportunities to target the mutations with specific drugs.”

The research was carried out at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, one of the world's leading genome centres, located in the UK.

A report compiled by the Australian Industry Group (AI Group) shows that the resources sector remains the main driver of growth in the non-residential construction sector for 2012 and 2013.

According to the latest Australian Industry Group/Australian Constructors Association Construction Outlook survey, construction businesses expect the total value of engineering and commercial construction to expand 14.7 per cent in 2012, and 13.8 per cent in 2013.

Mining investment and heavy industrial projects, led by the oil and gas processing will drive growth in the sector by 17.1 per cent in 2012 and 15.4 per cent in 2013.

"Australia's engineering construction sector is powering ahead by virtue of its role in the massive scaling-up of Australia's mining capacity. This part of the industry is bursting at the seams with skill shortages widely anticipated and rising expectations of shortages of raw materials and equipment,” AI Group CEO Innes Willox said.

“The Construction Outlook Report also points to a tentative, although very welcome recovery in commercial construction after a particularly tough period since the Global Financial Crisis.”

Australian Constructors Association (ACA) President, Peter Brecht, said: "The survey underlines the continuing strong growth phase in Australia's non-residential construction industry driven by the resources sector and backed by the sustained expansion of a range of non-mining infrastructure projects.

The key findings of the survey include:

• After a growth of 8.2% in 2011 (current prices), the latest Australian Industry Group/Australian Constructors Association Construction Outlook survey forecasts growth in the total value of engineering and commercial construction work of 14.7% in 2012 and 13.8% in 2013.  
• This growth will be driven by engineering construction which is expected to increase by 17.1% in 2012 and 15.4% in 2013.
•  Within engineering construction, the value of mining infrastructure work and heavy industrial resource based construction is forecast to expand at annual rates of 20% plus in 2012 and 2013.
• Other key growth areas include telecommunications, electricity generation and supply projects and other civil projects such as port upgrades and terminals.
• Supply constraints and input cost pressures are at high levels within the industry: Almost two-thirds (63.6%) of businesses reported major or moderate difficulty recruiting qualified labour in the six months to March 2012 while 45.4% reported the same level of difficulty when it came to sourcing building materials.
•  A higher proportion of businesses (69.7%) expect moderate to major difficulty when recruiting skilled labour over the next six months.
• These supply constraints are being reflected in upward pressures on costs. 78.8% of businesses expect moderate or major lifts in direct labour costs in the six months to September 2012.

The full report can be found here (PDF)

Billabong has announced the appointment of Launa Inman as the company’s new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective this week.

Ms Inman will replace outgoing CEO Derek O’Neill, who has resigned from the company after a 20-year long stint at the surfware giant.

Billabong Chairman Ted Kunkel said Ms Inman’s skills and depth of knowledge of the retail sector will be crucial to the company’s future growth.

“Launa has proven leadership capabilities in managing and delivering results in challenging environments and uncertain times.,” Mr Kunkel said.

Ms Inman has spent the last two months consulting with the company, which she describes as one of the most iconic Australian brands.

“We need to continue to drive our turnaround strategy, moving to a fully integrated operating model powered by the strength of our brands. The first priorities of the turnaround strategy will be to extract greater value from our retail network and strengthening supply chain management,” Ms Inman said.

Prior to her appointment at Billabong, Ms Inman was the Managing Director of Target for seven years, prior to which she was the Managing director of Officeworks. 

WorkSafe Victoria has announced a free workshop aimed at providing employers with advice they need to help reintegrate injured workers into the workforce.

Held in Santurary Lakes on 24 May, the two-and-a-half hour workshop will focus on key knowledge and communication skills required by employers to improve return to work outcomes.

Medical Doctor David Bolzonello will provide a key address to help employers understand the health perspective of reintroducing injured workers, while also helping employers build a collaborative relationship with the injured worker’s doctor.

WorkSafe’s Return to Work project manager Danielle Jacobs said it was essential businesses had the necessary skills needed to help get injured workers back to safe work.

“Helping an injured worker to return to safe, sustainable work sooner – even if it’s on reduced hours and modified or alternative duties – can achieve a better return to work outcome in the long-term.”

“It also helps the business maintain productivity and keep the cost of WorkSafe premiums down.”

Ms Jacobs said a recent employer performance analysis revealed employers who attended the WorkSafe return to work co-ordinator events on average achieved better return to work outcomes than those who didn’t attend.

“Attending this workshop will help you build your return to work knowledge, give you a chance to discuss your return to work issues with experts and meet and learn from other Return to Work Coordinators from your area and industry.”

The event will be held from 9.30am to midday at the Sanctuary Lakes Resort Greg Norman Drive, Sanctuary Lakes, 3030.

Employers are encouraged to register to the event by clicking on the ‘workshops and events section’ at: www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/rtw

For more information on the event, please contact WorkSafe’s Return to Work Project Manager, Danielle Jacobs on 9940 4283.

The Victorian Government has announced the appointment of John Wylie AM as the new President of the Library Borad of Victoria.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu welcomed the appointment of Mr Wylie, a Rhodes Scholar, to the role. Previously, My Wylie has held senior roles in the investment banking and global corporate advisory fields, such as holding the role of CEO of Lazard Australia.

"John's outstanding career history, which has seen him advise global companies and governments for more than 25 years, will stand him in good stead to lead the library as it continues its commitment to being a library of the 21st century," Mr Baillieu said.

Mr Wylie holds degrees of Bachelor of Commerce with first class honours from Queensland University, and a Master of Philosophy from Oxford University. He is currently a Trustee of the Global Rhodes Trust and Chairman of Rhodes Scholarships in Australia Pty Ltd.

He has held a number of corporate and honorary directorships and was appointed Chairman of the MCG Trust in 1999, a position he still holds. In that capacity he oversaw the redevelopment of the ground from 2001 to 2006 for Melbourne's 2006 Commonwealth Games.

"I am honoured to be asked to serve as President of this iconic Victorian cultural institution, and look forward to working with CEO Sue Roberts and the Board as the Library adapts to the new online environment," Mr Wylie said.

Mr Wylie has been appointed for three years and will work closely with new CEO of the State Library, Sue Roberts, who took up her role in April.

A record La Niña event coupled with tropical cyclone Tasha generated most of the record deluge of rain that devastated much of Queensland in December 2010, but a new study has found that record high sea-surface temperatures off northern Australia was also a significant contributor.

While it was thought that the twin impacts of the La Niña and the cyclone alone could explain why Queensland’s December rainfall was an all-time high at 154% above normal, the new calculations by climate researchers have revealed that evaporation from the warmer seas to the north and north-west of Australia probably contributed about a quarter of the total.

Sea-surface temperatures off northern Australia in the Indian Ocean, Arafura Sea and Coral Sea  were unusually warm at the time, in places as much as 2 degrees C, the study notes: analysing 30 years of historic measurements, the study identified a general warming trend there of at least 0.2 degrees C per decade.

“If the observed warming trend in the sea-surface temperatures continues, this result suggests that future La Niña events are more likely to produce extreme precipitation and flooding than is present in the historical record,” says Dr Jason Evans, of the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre. Dr Evans led the study, to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, with a French co-author, Dr Irène Boyer-Souchet.

“If the sea-surface temperature increases can be attributed to global warming, then the probability of La Niña events producing extreme precipitation responses similar to December 2010 will increase in the future.”

The researchers caution, however, that this was the strongest La Niña event during the satellite record and that equally extreme events may have occurred before the satellite record began.

The extreme December rains – coming after a wet spring - produced nine floods that affected almost 1,300,000 square kilometres of land, caused billions of dollars in damage, led to the evacuation of thousands of people, and resulted in 35 deaths.

La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean are well known to enhance Queensland’s rainfall. The heaviest falls occurred between December 23 and 28, 2010, when a moist easterly airflow covered most of Queensland and Cyclone Tasha made landfall south of Cairns. Large parts of eastern Queensland received more than 100 mm of rain and several stations set all-time daily records, with some receiving around 300 mm in one day.

Modelling reconstructions showed that on December 14, a low-pressure centre formed off the north-west coast of Australia and moisture-laden air was carried east to New Guinea then south into Queensland, contributing directly to heavy rain between December 23 and 26.

Black carbon aerosols and ozone, both man-made pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere’s low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further poleward in that hemisphere, new research has shown.

While depletion of the ozone layer high up in the stratosphere has already been shown to be the primary driver of the expansion of the tropics in the Southern Hemisphere, the researchers are the first to report that black carbon and ozone pollution nearer the Earth’s surface are probably doing likewise in the Northern Hemisphere.

The study results appear in the May 17 issue of the journal Nature. The research team was led by climatologist Robert J. Allen, at the University of California, Riverside, and included Professor Steven Sherwood, co-director of the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre.

The observed tropical belt expansion by 0.7 degrees latitude per decade has been greater than climate models predicted, but this study considered newer estimates of regional trends in air pollution. When this data was included, the models more closely agreed with the observations.

The researchers note that an unabated tropical belt expansion would have an impact on large-scale atmospheric circulation, especially in the subtropics and mid-latitudes.

“Both black carbon and tropospheric ozone warm the tropics by absorbing solar radiation,” Allen says. “Because they are short-lived pollutants, with lifetimes of one to two weeks, their concentrations remain highest near the sources: the Northern Hemisphere low- to mid-latitudes. It’s the heating of the mid-latitudes that pushes the boundaries of the tropics poleward.

 “If the tropics are moving poleward, then the subtropics will become even drier. If a poleward displacement of the mid-latitude storm tracks also occurs, this will shift mid-latitude precipitation poleward, impacting regional agriculture, economy, and society.”

Climate scientists have observed that the tropics have widened by 0.7 degrees latitude per decade in recent times, with warming from greenhouse gases also contributing to the expansion in both hemispheres.

“This has typically been blamed on global warming, although in the Southern Hemisphere some studies have suggested the ozone hole may be playing a lead role,” says Sherwood.

“We have confirmed the finding that ozone loss has been the main driver in the Southern Hemisphere, but also that air pollution trends - mainly increases in China and to some extent India - appear to have been the dominant counterpart driver in the Northern Hemisphere. Both are beating out global warming driven by greenhouse gas increases.

“The ability of air pollutants to cause such an expansion derives from the geographic pattern of the changes, with increased emissions from Asia and decreased emissions from Europe, rather than any trend in the worldwide amount of pollution.”