Industry News

The annual review of the Eyre Peninsula Demand and Supply Statement, released today, shows that the South Australian region’s drinking water supplies are secure until at least 2023-24.

Department for Water Executive Director, Policy and Strategy, Julia Grant, says the review of the State’s first Demand and Supply Statement is part of an ongoing commitment to assessing water security across the State to 2050.

“The review is based on the most recent, best available information, provided by a range of organisations including local government, state agencies and industry. The data covers aspects such as actual water use, climate change impacts, population growth and industry development,” Ms Grant said.

“There have been a number of significant changes in the past 12 months which have led to a 2,040 ML surplus of drinking quality water recorded in the Eyre Peninsula region, compared with projected worst-case scenario surplus of 904 ML.

“It is important that we continue to monitor those changes and review the needs of our communities appropriately.”

As well as the climate change report, other key factors that have led to the updated demand-supply projections include:

• Total licensed allocations from the Southern Basins and Musgrave Prescribed Wells Areas will increase in 2012-2013 based on recharge to the aquifers
• Advice, derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics data, suggests that population growth rates in the region should be revised to a lower rate
• Demand for water from the mining sector is expected to be higher, however, the supply of water for the mining sector from private desalinated seawater supplies is also likely to be higher and therefore counteract the demand.

Water trade proving a valuable tool for Basin communities, where the society, environment and economy is able to sustain because of it.

Launching a new National Water Commission report at the Australian Water Congress 2012, National Water Commissioner Laurie Arthur said water markets have helped regional communities in the southern Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) to remain productive, even during drought.

Mr Arthur said, ‘Australia’s water markets have allowed water to be reallocated to where the need is greatest and reduced the impact of the drought on regional production. Water trade is playing a major role in achieving the National Water Initiative (NWI) objective of maximising the economic, social and environmental values of scarce water resources.

‘It is increasingly valued as a business tool and is now supported by the majority of the irrigators surveyed by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences for this report’, said Mr Arthur.

The Impacts of Water Trading in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin between 2006-07 and 2010-11 report is the second report produced by the Commission to fulfil its NWI obligation to monitor the impacts of interstate trade in the southern MDB.

The report confirms the main drivers of hardship in these communities include drought, commodity prices and exchange rates. Water trading is part of the solution in managing these difficulties.

The report also assesses the impact of government programs that purchased water for environmental flows over the four year period ending in mid-2011.　　

This report focuses on the five-year period from 2006–07 examining the impacts of water trading on individual irrigators, industries and regional communities.

You can see the full report here.

It appears that fewer Australians are taking up bottled water and are instead opting for the environmentally conscious option, tap water.

According to the Roy Morgan Research Non-Alcoholic Drinks Survey, 26% of the Australian population consumed bottled water in 2007 compared to 23% in 2011.

Efforts to curb the consumption of bottled water for environmental reasons are the reason behind this change, with bans on bottled water in place in the NSW town of Bundanoon, the University of Canberra, the Southbank campus of the Victorian College of Arts and the Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College in Sydney.

The largest declines have come from the 25-34 year age group (36% in 2007, to 29% in 2011) and the 14-25 year age group (35% in 2007, down to 31% in 2011). Lesser declines were seen among older age groups, who typically have lower proportions of bottled water drinkers.

Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr announced Australia will join the global Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Partnership. Being a member of SWA will allow Australia to add its voice to the global call to support the world's poor with improved access to safe water and basic sanitation.

“In Australia, we are fortunate to have access to clean, safe drinking water and modern water and sewage systems,” said Senator Carr. “Yet for many of the world's poor, the simple act of quenching their thirst is fraught with danger.”

“Sanitation and Water for All is an important partnership between developing countries, donors, multilateral agencies, and civil society that aims to put an end to this situation.

“It provides an opportunity for partners to discuss and address obstacles to the world achieving universal and sustainable access to sanitation and drinking water.”

Australia works to increase access to safe water and basic sanitation, promote good hygiene practices, and strengthen water and sanitation systems in developing countries through the overseas aid program.

The announcement follows the SWA High Level Meeting in Washington DC, where Australia was represented by the Director General AusAID, Peter Baxter.

BHP has secured additional exploration plots at its Olympic Dam site in South Australia after partnering with Minotaur Exploration.

The mining giant has paid $9.5 million for another joint venture with Minotaur for five tenements in the Olympic Dam zone.

The announcement comes months after the company secured State Government approval of the expansion of the mine, which will become the largest open pit mine in the world.

Linfox has announced it has partnered with retail giant Steinhoff Asia Pacific to form a closely integrated supply chain network.

Steinhoff, owner of Freedom, Snooze and Bay Leather Republic, will be supplemented with Linfox services in the December to January peak periods.

“Our national road and rail network delivers bulk and flat pack furniture from Steinhoff’s Sydney DC to Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth,” said Linfox Linehaul’s Account Manager Scott Paul. 

“Linfox distributes to Freedom Furniture cross-docks in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth from which point the customer manages local transport.”

More than 100 delegates, representing more than 40 councils likely to be affected by carbon pricing have met in Canberra for the Carbon Price and Council Landfill National Forum to gain a better understanding of how to manage their responsibilities under the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Act.

The Australian Government’s Carbon Price Mechanism (CPM) will commence on 1 July, 2012, with a fixed carbon price for three years, before moving to a floating carbon price from 1 July, 2015.  

All landfills, including council landfills, that produce more than 25,000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions will be liable and will need to factor in the CPM costs associated with the price of disposal from 1 July, 2012.

Information has been provided to assist council staff in understanding issues such as measurement of emissions, assessment of abatement opportunities, pricing waste to account for the CPM and contingent liabilities associated with a future floating carbon price.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.1% in the March quarter 2012, compared with no change in the December quarter 2011.

The most significant price rises in the March quarter 2012 were for pharmaceutical products (+14.1%), secondary education (+7.7%), automotive fuel (+2.5%), medical and hospital services (+2.1%), tertiary education (+4.7%) and rents (+1.0%). The most significant offsetting price falls were for fruit (–30.0%), international holiday travel and accommodation (–4.8%), furniture (–6.0%), audio, visual and computing equipment (–6.3%) and domestic holiday travel and accommodation (–2.0%).

The CPI rose 1.6% through the year to the March quarter 2012, compared with a rise of 3.1% through the year to the December quarter 2011.

Further information is available in Consumer Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6401.0).

A study into Victoria’s population growth has found the state is set to boom over the next 20 years.

The study, Victoria in Future 2012, attempts to calculate the state’s population and household projects for the years between 2011 and 2031 for Victoria and its regions.

The highlights are below:

• At 30 June 2011, the population of Victoria was 5.6 million.
• Melbourne is home to nearly three-quarters of the state’s population (4.1 million), while almost 1.5 million people live in regional Victoria.
• Over the 40 years to 2051, Victoria’s population is projected to increase by 3.2 million to 8.7 million. Over the same period, Melbourne’s population is expected to grow to 6.5 million, while regional Victoria is projected to grow to 2.3 million.
• On current trends, overseas migration is expected to be the largest driver of population change in Victoria over the projection period, although the impact of natural increase should not be discounted.
• VIF 2012 projects that Melbourne will receive the majority of Victoria’s overseas migrants and also experience high levels of natural increase (the excess of births over deaths). Regional Victoria is expected to gain residents from Melbourne over the projection period. This migration from Melbourne will be the main contributor to the change in regional Victoria’s population.
• As its population ages and the number of deaths increases, regional Victoria is projected to experience natural decreases in the later years of the projection period. (There are a number of municipalities where deaths already outnumber births each year.)
• Victoria’s population age profile is projected to be older in 2051 than in 2011. The median age of the population is expected to increase from 37 years in 2011 to 41.0 years in 2051. The proportion of the population aged 65 years and older is projected to increase from 13.9% to 22.1%. The greatest proportional change for any age group is projected to be in the oldest age group: the number of Victorians aged 85 years and older is expected to almost quadruple to over 400,000 by 2051.
• The rate of change of the number of households in Victoria is projected to exceed the rate of change in the population as the average household size gradually decreases over the projection period. As the population ages, there is projected to be a lower proportion of families with children and a higher proportion of lone person and couple-only households

The full report can be found here.

The OHS Body of Knowledge has been launched at the recent SIA National Convention, Safety in Action. The OHS Body of Knowledge describes the core knowledge expected of OHS professionals, and provides a basis for accrediting OHS graduate and post graduate courses (not VET courses such as OHS Certificate III or IV).

Greg Tweedly, CEO of WorkSafe Victoria explained that “The accreditation process will play a significant role in both raising the standard of professional OHS advice and giving employers great confidence when engaging OHS expertise.”

The need for a body of knowledge for OHS professionals was identified in reviews of OHS legislation and OHS education in Australia.

The OHS Body of Knowledge has been developed as an e-book and will be regularly amended and updated as people use it and as the evidence base expands. Whether you are an OHS professional, an educator or use or employ the services of OHS professionals then make sure you are part of the discussion.

The CEO of the SIA, Mr Keith Brown, said “This is an important step for the generalist OHS profession”.

For OHS educators the OHS Body of Knowledge will inform program development and learning materials. Prospective OHS students will have their accredited education programs developed by taking account of the OHS Body of Knowledge.

For OHS professionals seeking professional certification, their practice will be assessed considering the scope of the OHS Body of Knowledge, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will be structured with reference to the OHS Body of Knowledge. For OHS regulators, employers or recruiters the OHS Body of Knowledge provides a benchmark for professional practice.

The process of developing and structuring the main content was managed by a Technical Panel with representation from Victorian universities that teach OHS and from the Safety Institute of Australia. Input was obtained from OHS educators and OHS professionals Australia wide.


Specialist authors contributed chapters, which were then subjected to peer review and editing.


For further information go to www.ohsbok.org.au

Professional services specialist Hays has published its Quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April-June quarter for this year.

The report finds that non-boom states are struggling to contend with employers in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory thanks in part to a number of large projects maturing.

Western Australia and the NT are recording high demand for professionals within most disciplines of engineering for the construction and operation of new Coal Seam Gas projects and projects in the North-West Shelf.

“With increased demand coming from major projects in Western Australia and Northern Territory, as well as from Queensland CSG projects, we anticipate growing demand for candidates. The major employers in this sector are ramping up production, new programs to improve efficiencies and major infill drilling programs,” the report found.

The full report can be found here

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

There is a booming demand for Civil Machine Operators - Excavator, Auto Electricians, HD Fitters and HR Truck Drivers in our mining and oil & gas states.

“A number of civil projects in the mining sector are creating this demand, such as the Northern Territory’s Inpex project which needs an accommodation village and marine supply base expansion,” explains the report.

Due to an increase in exploration drilling and recruitment needs following the wet season back log, Diesel Fitters and Certificate 3 Drillers are also sought.

The report can be found here.

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

The approaching end of financial year has increased demand for candidates with reconciliation and processing skills, also those with tax and financial accounting skills. 

In response to legislative changes around public funding and grants, there has been an increase in the need for Business Analysts who can provide accurate costing analysis – in particular for the not-for-profit sector.

Payroll, Assistant Accountants and Accounts Payable candidates are also needed. This is mainly a response to secondments which then open up these positions.

The report can be found here.

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

Demand remains constant for Internal Auditors, while demand for External Auditors is rising due to the end of the financial year. A large number of SMEs need recovery services so Insolvency candidates are in high demand.

Small to mid tier firms are seeking Business Services and Tax candidates and candidates with experience in restructuring and reorganisation, due diligence and niche skill sets.

Large boutique firms are expanding their teams in the area of Forensic accountancy and are also looking for Data Analytics experts.

“In general, Accountants/Analysts with one to two years post qualified experience remain an area of demand since many are moving out of the profession into commerce," says the report.

The report can be found here.

Resent research published in the Science Translational Medicine journal suggest that shift-workers are significantly more likely to develop diabetes and other weight problems thanks to glucose imbalances as a result of sleep disturbances.

Prolonged periods of sleep restriction, usually associated with shift-work, has been found to disrupt glucose regulation and metabolic rates, leading to increased risk of obesity and diabetes.

The study followed a number of subjects who were allowed to sleep for 10 hours at night, which was followed by three weeks of disruption to sleeping patterns to simulate shift-work conditions.

“Exposure to prolonged sleep restriction with concurrent circadian disruption, with measurements taken at the same circadian phase, decreased the participants’ resting metabolic rate and increased plasma glucose concentrations after a meal, an effect resulting from inadequate pancreatic insulin secretion,” the report concluded.

The study also found that patterns normalised after nine days of recovery sleep.

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

A number of auditors make a career shift into this line of work to diversify their skills, especially since new regulatory measures are on the horizon for financial services.

“As the use of technology increases, candidates with a strong appreciation for management information systems (MIS) or business intelligence (BI) tools will be in greater demand as organisations seek to drive process improvement and efficiencies within their business,” says the report.

The report can be found here.

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

As we approach the end of the financial year, we’ll see a high demand for Financial Accountants which is fuelled by a shortage of candidates as well as normal attrition.

The demand for Budget Officers and Management Accountants has risen, as has Asset Accountants, as companies look towards preparing budgets for the new financial year. Analysts and Credit Controllers are sought as companies focus on cutting costs, reviewing expenditure and negotiating with suppliers.

“We’ve also seen demand for IT Auditors, Financial Reporting Managers, Indirect Tax Analysts and Business Transformation Specialists for both project vacancies and permanent job openings,” says the report.

In the NT and QLD, Project Accountants and Cost Controllers are in demand as mine sites expand and attempt to control costs. Assistant Accountants are being sought mainly by the mining, construction and energy sectors as they consider future growth and succession planning.

Payroll experience is in demand, in particular candidates with experience with ERP systems such as SAP, Pronto or Oracle.

“Accounts Payable candidates are also needed as companies forge ahead with projects and expansion plans previously on hold,” says the report. “In addition, payment of supplier invoices is becoming more crucial and a much larger task as volumes significantly increase.”

The report can be found here.

The Federal Government has announced preparations are underway to start work on the second and final stage of the reconstructing and upgrading of the Bruce Highway through Wide Bay township of Tiaro.

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said with good progress being made on the project's first stage between the town's truck stop area and Mungar Road, the contractors were now in position to ramp up work on the section between Mungar Road and Eaton Street.

“As well as resurfacing the Highway following the damage inflicted by the recent floods, we will also build dedicated right turning lanes at the intersection with Mungar Road and John Street, and install a new signalised pedestrian crossing near the information centre,” said Mr Albanese.

“Once this multimillion dollar, two stage project is fully completed by the end of the year, the 9,200 motorists and truck drivers which use this section of the Bruce each day can expect safer, smoother driving conditions.”

The Federal Government has announced a new freight terminal to be built in Sydney’s south-west.

Tipped to take 3,300 trucks of Sydney roads per day, the terminal is also expected to generate thousands of jobs for the region.

The Federal Government has announced its intention to call for tenders from the private sector to design, build and operate the intermodal terminal at Moorebank.

The project will see a rail link constructed from Sydney’s Port Botany to a new freight terminal and warehousing facilities.

“Moorebank is the ideal location because of its close proximity to major connecting routes such as the M5, M7 and the Southern Sydney Freight Line, and has been assessed by independent firms KPMG and Greenhill Caliburn as the most appropriate location for an intermodal terminal,” Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Penny Wong said.

The project is expected to generate up to 1650 full time jobs during the creation and employ a further 1,7000 peiople in the Liverpool region when the project is completed.

“Forecasts suggest the Terminal would see an injection of $135 million a year into the economy of the south-western Sydney alone,” Senator Wong said.

“The tender process will be managed by a Government Business Enterprise, to be established, and which will include an experienced private sector Board with a strong commercial focus.”

More information on the Moorebank Intermodal Project Terminal, including the KPMG and Greenhill Caliburn assessments can be accessed on the Department of Finance and Deregulation website.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Greg Combet has announced he belives the formation of an Asian carbon trading scheme is inevitable , and that Australia’s system would eventually be linked with those in China and other major Asia-Pacific nations.

Speaking in Beijing, Mr Combet is currently meeting with senior Chinese officials about the legislative formation of a future Chinese carbon trading system, before he flies to South Korea, where a carbon trading legislation is currently before Parliament.

Although China has a number of regional based trading schemes, it is the first time the country has made a move to a nationwide trading scheme, which it is currently piloting in major urban centres. 

Australia and New Zealand have got emissions trading schemes, California has got one, provinces in Canada are introducing emissions trading, Korea is introducing emissions trading. There are these pilot schemes being generated within China," Mr Combet told the ABC.