Industry News

The South Australian Government has joined an Australia-wide initiative to reduce level crossing and trespass incidents on rail networks following the launch of a national rail safety foundation, trackSAFE.

Minister for Transport Services Chlo Fox, who is attending the annual Rail Safety Conference in Sydneytoday, said the foundation will pool industry resources and take a national, cohesive approach to safety on all rail networks, including SA.

ìIt is so important that we do all we can to ensure that here in South Australia and across Adelaide we have a safe rail network for those travelling on and around trains, as well as the employees running the network,” Ms Fox said.

“While the safety of customers and the community is of the utmost importance, itís the trauma that train drivers and other rail employees suffer as a result of witnessing near collisions, serious injuries or fatalities, that the community often forgets,”

The South Australian Government has announced that South Australian irrigators will begin the 2012-13 water year with 100 of their allocations.

State Minister for Water Paul Caica said the announcement will give irrigators and other water users the certainty required to make important business decisions for the coming year. The full allocations are in stark contrast to the drought period, which saw the season opening with as little as 2 per cent of the allocation.

“Over the past four months, there has been a sequence of substantial rainfall events across the Murray-Darling Basin,’’ Mr Caica said.

“This 100 per cent opening allocation is due to the high volume of water in upstream storages and confirmation by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority that South Australia will receive its full 1,850 gigalitre entitlement flow during 2012-13. It is the second successive year that our irrigators have started the water year on a full allocation.”

“This further emphasises the importance of the State Government’s preparedness to take all actions necessary to ensure we get a strong Basin Plan that is not only capable of restoring the Basin to a sustainable level of health, but which also underpins the security of all water entitlement holders.”

Mr Caica said the new carryover policy, developed in consultation with irrigators and other waters users, is operational from 2012-13.

“Given the current conditions, South Australia is prevented from deferring and storing entitlement flow for carryover under the Murray Darling Basin Agreement, therefore there will be no ability to carryover water into the 2012-13 water year,’’ he said.

The South Australian Government and the city of Adelaide have announced a comprehensive overhaul of the city’s planning laws.

The reforms to the planning and development system will unlock millions of dollars in investment potential according to the State Government.

Premier Jay Weatherill said the agreement has spelled the end of decades of disagreements between the city’s council and the state government.

“This plan was endorsed by the City Council nine votes to one and the consensus represents a new era in State Government and City Council co-operation,” he said.

“This reflects a new constructive approach to solving the big issues South Australia faces and adds to the growing confidence in our state’s future.

“South Australians are justifiably proud of Adelaide’s reputation as a beautiful city but want it to become more vibrant, while retaining its character and charm.”

The planning reforms include:

• a new Capital City Zone providing for framework to stimulate investment across the square mile, while also setting high standards for design excellence
• A change in allowable building heights
•  greater mix of uses (housing, shops, cafes, restaurants and offices)
• better links between ground floors and public spaces and more vibrant main streets
• better defined boulevards (such as King William, Grote and Wakefield streets)
• activation of the city squares and park lands
• innovative development on ‘catalyst sites’ that encourage more vibrant neighbourhoods
•  quality outcomes with design at the forefront of the planning process through theestablishment of a new city design review panel
• faster decisions - answers within 10 days of lodgement with design review panel input

Deputy Premier and Planning Minister John Rau said the reforms would bring more people into the city, more investment into the city and more jobs into the city.

“The city centre is the heart of the State’s civic, commercial and cultural life and must be a place we can showcase the best of South Australia to the rest of the nation and the world,” he said.

News Release“The measures outlined in this package represent a significant and dramatic reform to our city planning system, helping Adelaide to maintain and improve its edge as the nation’s most liveable capital city—a place to live, work and do business.”

The announcement comes after Adelaide scored the highest review of city infrastructure, land management and economics of all capital city’s in the latest review published by the Reform Council of COAG. 

The Western Australian Government’s pay offer has been accepted by the state’s  27,000 teachers and school administrators after they voted in favour of the December agreement.

The total packaged deal includes wage increases of 12 per cent across three years (3.75 per cent, 4 per cent and 4.25 per cent) and includes initiatives to further support collaboration and school decision making.

“This outcome once again demonstrates the ability of Wages Policy to deliver fair, balanced and economically sustainable outcomes for the Government and its employees.  This should send a strong message to groups currently negotiating with Government,” State Commerce Minister Simon O’Brien said.

Education Minister Liz Constable said the deal would ensure WA school teachers remained the highest paid across the country.

“The majority of teachers will be earning in excess of $99,000 per annum by December 2013,” Dr Constable said.

“Teachers play an instrumental part in our society, and their pay continues to reflect the esteem in which they are held by this Government.”

The Northern Territory Government and Envirobank has announced the new cash for containers mobile depot will be operational shortly after Easter and will service large and small-scale volumes of returned containers.

“We’ve got normal depots, mini-depots, and now we’ve got mobile depots which can do it all,” Territory Minister for the Environment Karl Hampton said.

“I welcome today’s news from Envirobank that they are setting up a mobile depot in Shoal Bay to further expand the locations Territorians are able to turn their containers in for cash.

“Getting a scheme of this magnitude up was never going to be easy and we knew that, but we also realise Territorians want it, and is proven to be successful – that’s why the scheme is continues to grow.

“The ever increasing interest from the community and their involvement in Cash for Containers means that the flow of returned containers has not slowed down. If anything, it continues to increase, and a number of sporting groups and organisations are taking advantage of this scheme to raise funds to great effect.

The Federal Government has announced it will allow skilled workers from the United States, such as electricians, plumbers and other trades, to get their licence to work in Australia on arrival.

Federal Skills Minister Senator Chris Evans said the move will ease shortages in trades and engineering.

"This is a great opportunity to address skill shortages in Australia by filling shortfalls in particular areas with qualified candidates from the US, with applications expected to open from mid-April," Senator Evans said.

“While the Government’s first priority is to train Australians for jobs in the resources and construction sectors, projections show that we will need workers from overseas for a peak in activity in the next three to five years.”

“I understand some of the relevant unions have been talking to their US counterparts about the opportunities for skilled US workers to fill shortages in the resources sector over the next three to four years.

”Currently, such workers need to be assessed onshore which can mean waiting months between entry and starting work.”

The reform will allow for prompt offshore processing of applications, which have traditionally had to be done with the applicant in country and could take months.

Under the new agreement, US workers will be assessed against Australian requirements before entering the country.

To support employers in linking with potential skilled workers, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the Australian Government had also decided to run its overseas program of Skills Australia Needs expos in the United States for the first time to attract skilled workers in the resources, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Mobile wireless broadband connections (excluding mobile handsets) accounted for 47% of all internet connections as at 31 December 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Overall, the number of internet subscribers in Australia climbed 6.3% to 11.6 million in the six months to December 2011, up from 10.9 million in June 2011. 

There were 5.5 million mobile wireless broadband connections (excluding mobile handsets), an increase of 14.7% compared with June 2011. Over the same time period, DSL connections increased by 1.3%, to 4.6 million.

The number of internet subscribers with advertised download speeds of 24Mbps or greater reached the 1 million mark for the first time, accounting for 10% of subscribers. 

However, the advertised download speed with the highest number of subscribers was the 1.5Mbps to less than 8Mbps range, with 5.1 million, or 44% of subscribers.

At the end of December 2011, there were 11 million mobile handset internet subscribers in Australia, an increase of 13.6% from June 2011.

Further information is available in Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0).

Energy Resources of Australia has announced it will invest $120 million to further explore its Ranger mine site.

ERA will invest a total of $120 million in the Ranger 3 Deeps Exploration Decline Project to conduct close spaced underground exploration drilling and to explore areas adjacent to the Ranger 3 Deeps resource.   Work on the construction of the box cut and exploration decline is scheduled to commence in May 2012.

ERA's Chief Executive Rob Atkinson said the Ranger 3 Deeps exploration decline project formed a very important component of the business' future plans.

"This is a significant step in the process of determining the viability of an underground mine on the Ranger Project Area," Mr Atkinson said.

"With mining operations in Pit 3 nearing completion, we have increased our focus on potential exploration opportunities on the Ranger Project Area.

"In addition to investing in the Ranger 3 Deeps Exploration Decline Project, we have also invested in a three year drilling programme at a cost of $40 million to define and determine other resources at Ranger.

EPA announced it will award the contract to Macmahon holdings. 

The Victorian Government has unveiled a new model for industry engagement which will aim to ensure employers’ and industries’ training needs are better met.

State Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall said the reforms are needed to better support the state’s demand driven training system and to promote a skills based economy.

Under the old model, which predates Victoria's move to a demand driven training system, 16 Industry Training Advisory Boards (ITABs) provide advice to government on the skills needs of the industries they represent.

Mr Hall said the changes, to be implemented over the next nine months, followed extensive consultation with business and industry and reflected the findings of two independent reviews of Victoria's industry advisory arrangements.

"The new industry participation model will enable government to engage more directly with industry and give industry a greater role in shaping training provision," Mr Hall said.

"While ITABs have previously played a constructive role in Victoria's training system, the new model will use the bodies and associations employers already value to directly influence the training market ensuring training is more responsive to the needs of a skilled workforce and economy."

Mr Hall said key elements of the reforms would:

• Establish a more direct model of consultation with industry built around strengthened partnerships between the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD)and other government departments, employers and industry associations.
• Strengthen industries' and employers' opportunity to talk directly to government about the effectiveness of the training market.
• Make better use of the existing industry consultation mechanisms across government to reduce duplication of efforts.

"Under the new model the DEECD will work in partnership with other government departments and their networks to access more than 12,000 direct industry consultations, a far greater network than previously available," Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said those industry sectors that wished to retain their existing ITABs could elect to do so through their own funding.

The reform legislation will be introduced later this year.

The Reform Council of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has savaged the planning of the country’s capital cities, publishing a review that urges governments to do better in planning future land use, infrastructure assets and economies of the country’s major cities.

Chairman of the COAG Reform Council, Paul McClintock AO, said governments need to get better at bringing together different aspects of their city planning.

“Just like you can't solve a Rubik’s cube one side at a time, you can't deal with land use, infrastructure and economic development separately,” Mr McClintock said.

The council was critical of all major cities with the exception of Adelaide.

“Our report found that while governments have shown strong commitment to improve their planning systems, none of their systems are entirely consistent with COAG’s agreed criteria to re-shape our capital cities,” Mr McClintock said.

The report found that all governments share a number of common issues and challenges and that no one single government has all the policy assets and expertise to deal with issues.

Mr McClintock said that COAG’s reforms and the review process demonstrate the value of collaboration by governments on planning capital cities.

“It is absolutely essential that all nine governments continue to work together to achieve COAG’s objective for our capital cities.”

“The value of improving planning in our cities is clear–around 75 per cent of Australia’s population live in our major cities and these cities generate nearly 80 per cent of GDP.”

“Governments have shown a strong commitment to improve their planning systems and we appreciate their active participation in our review,” Mr McClintock said.

The council has made a number of recommendations to COAG on the need to engage more with community, businesses and other stakeholders; focus more on implementing plans and getting results in cities; and consider ways to improve investment and innovation by the private sector.

The review can be found at http://www.coagreformcouncil.gov.au/reports/cities.cfm

The Western Australian Government has passed the gas services Information Bill, with State Energy Minister Peter Collier saying the legislation will play a key role in securing the state’s gas supply and security.

The passage of the Gas Services Information Bill provides for the establishment of a Western Australian Gas Bulletin Board and Gas Statement of Opportunities and implements a governance framework that will enable the Independent Market Operator to operate the Bulletin Board and the publish Statement of Opportunities periodically.

“The Gas Bulletin Board will benefit consumers and industry by increasing the levels of transparency in the sector through a specific website containing near-term information on gas production, transmission, storage capacity and demand. It will also include an emergency management facility to help Government and industry manage gas supply disruptions,” Mr Collier said in a statement.

The Gas Statement of Opportunities will periodically publish a comprehensive picture of the gas industry in WA and provide an outlook of the industry for a period of up to 10 years.

Leighton Holdings has issued its second profit loss warning in six months as the company struggles to stem the losses incurred from its troubled Victorian desalination plant and Brisbane airport tunnel.

The company announced it expects the desalination plant to cost a further $106 million, while the airport tunnel link is expected to cost a further $148 million.

Leighton Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, Mr Hamish Tyrwhitt, said that he was deeply disappointed with the results which represent a significant deterioration in performance since the December 2011 Quarterly Reviews. 

“Following the December 2011 Quarterly Reviews, we believed that the operational performances at both the Airport Link and Victorian Desalination Project had stabilised and that good progress was being made on both projects.

“However, circumstances on each project have conspired to bring about the results today which are very frustrating. Wet weather in Brisbane, productivity below expectations at both sites combined with the complexity of the commissioning of the integrated systems at APL have see unanticipated increase in forecast costs and denied us the level of performance that we were expecting or needed on those projects,” said Mr Tyrwhitt.

The disappointing results are expected to slash between $100 and $150 million of profits, resulting In a slide to a net profit after tax of around $400 to 450 million.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has announced the formation of the new Ministry.

The Ministry will include both experienced members and newcomers according to Mr Newman.

“The new faces in the Ministry reflect the depth of talent in the LNP and the experienced members will continue their outstanding work for the people of Queensland,” Mr Newman said. 

Cabinet members are:

• Campbell Newman Premier and Cabinet 
• Jeff Seeney Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning 
• Tim Nicholls Treasurer and Minister for Trade 
• Lawrence Springborg Minister for Health 
• John-Paul Langbroek Minister for Education, Training and Employment 
• David Gibson Minister for Police and Community Safety 
• Jarrod Bleijie Attorney General and Minister for Justice 
• Scott Emerson Minister for Transport and Main Roads 
• Bruce Flegg Minister for Housing and Public Works 
• John McVeigh Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 
• Andrew Powell Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection 
• Andrew Cripps Minister for Natural Resources and Mines 
• Mark McArdle Minister for Energy and Water Supply 
• David Crisafulli Minister for Local Government 
• Tracy Davis Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services 
• Ros Bates Minister for Science, IT, Innovation and the Arts 
• Steve Dickson Minister for National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing 
• Jann Stuckey Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and Commonwealth Games 
• Jack Dempsey Minister for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander & Multicultural Affairs and Assisting the Premier 

Assistant members are:

• Lisa France Assistant Minister for Natural Resources and Mines 
• Tim Mander Assistant Minister for Sport and Racing 
• Chris Davis Assistant Minister for Health 
• Gavin King Assistant Minister for Tourism 
• Steve Minnikin Assistant Minister for Public Transport 
• Rob Molhoek Assistant Minister for Child Safety 
• Ian Walker Assistant Minister for Planning Reform 
• Deb Frecklington Assistant Minister for Finance, Administration and Regulatory Reform 
• David Kempton Assistant Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs 
• Saxon Rice Assistant Minister for Technical and Further Education 
• Robert Cavallucci Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs 

Parliamentary roles:

• Fiona Simpson Speaker 
• Glen Elmes Deputy Speaker/Chairman of Committees 
• Ray Stevens Leader of the House 
• Vaughan Johnson Chief Whip 
• Rosemary Menkens Senior Whip 
• Ted Sorensen Deputy Whip 
• Tarnya Smith Deputy Whip 

The Federal Government has announced reforms to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that will reduce the prices of over 1000 generic drugs, with some prices set to drop as much as $15 per packet.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said that the reforms to the PBS will see generic versions of 60 different types of medicines will be cheaper for general patients when they fill their script starting this month.

Ms Plibersek said under the PBS Price Disclosure program the price paid for the cholesterol lowering drug Simvastatin, sold under many brand names, will be up to $14.64 cheaper for a packet of 30, 40mg tablets. 



The estimated savings for patients average $3 a packet or up to $1.6 billion over the next 10 years. 



As part of these reforms, price disclosure and other price reductions will also deliver over $1.9 billion in health savings for taxpayers over five years, which will ensure the PBS remains sustainable and that health dollars can be spent adding new life-saving drugs to the scheme. 




“Previously, when medicines came off-patent, they could be sold far more cheaply under different brand names, but they were still eligible for the full reimbursement amount under the PBS,” Ms Plibersek said.


“Price disclosure means the price the Gillard Government subsidies medicines for is being brought into line with the market price, ensuring the cheapest possible prescriptions for patients.” 



In its preliminary estimates, the Federal Government estimated the following savings:

• Up to $8.83 for Alendronate, for osteoporosis.
• Up to $8.23 for Baclofen, a muscle relaxant.
• Up to $8.25 for Ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic.
• Up to $8.66 for Citalopram, for depression.
• Up to $7.32 for Gemfibrozil, for high cholesterol.
• Up to $9.48 for Omeprazole, for reflux and ulcers.
• Up to $7.97 for Paroxetine, for depression and anxiety.
• Up to $12.90 for Pravastatin, for high cholesterol.
• Up to $8.49 for Sertraline, for depression and anxiety.

A full list of PBS changes can be found here

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released its report into the medical workforce trends between 2006 and 2010, finding the number of practitioners in Australia increased by 13 per cent in that time.

The report, Medical Workforce 2010, provides information on the demographic and employment statistics of registered medical practitioners.

The report found that the supply of medical practitioners in rural Australia had increased, while the proportion of women in the medical practitioner workforce has continued to grow, from 34 per cent of employed practitioners in 2006 to 37 per cent in 2010.

Across Australia (excluding Queensland and WA), over 90% of all medical practitioners worked as clinicians, of whom 36% were specialists and 35% were GPs.

The average weekly hours worked by employed medical practitioners decreased slightly from 43.5 hours in 2006 to 43.3 hours in 2010. Over the same period, average hours worked by men decreased slightly, while hours worked by women increased.

The supply of medical practitioners varied across areas of remoteness, ranging from 400 full-time equivalent (FTE) medical practitioners per 100,000 people in Major cities to 185 per 100,000 people in Outer regional areas.

‘The larger supply of medical practitioners in Major cities reflects the much higher numbers of specialists and specialists-in-training working in Major cities,’ said AIHW spokesperson Teresa Dickinson.

‘When looking only at the supply of general practitioners (GPs), the numbers are quite similar—105 FTEs per 100,000 people inMajor cities and 103 FTEs per 100,000 people in Outer regional areas.’

Between 2006 and 2010, the number of employed medical practitioners in Major cities increased by 10.0% and in Outer regional areas, by 11.9%, which was more than the population growth in these areas.

Medical practitioners in Outer regional areas in 2010 worked, on average, 2 hours per week more than the national average (45.3 compared with 43.3). GPs in Outer regional areas worked an average 44.5 hours a week compared with the national average for GPs of 39.2 hours.

The full report can be found here

CSIRO has won a $220 million settlement over the use of its patented wi-fi technology currently in use by over 3 billion electronic devices worldwide.

The CSIRO invented wi-fi technology in the 1990’s and has since experienced a boom in use, with mobile phones, personal computers, video games and mobile phones all making use of the technology.

Science and Innovation Minister Chris Evans welcomed the patent victory, saying its time Australian scientists were recognised for their work.

"It was important that Australia protect its intellectual property, and that those major companies who are selling billions of devices pay for the technology that they were using,” Senator Evans said.

The latest agreement will see the CSIRO flushed with $430 million in revenue from the technology.

CSIRO’s Nigel Poole said that the organisation will continue to benefit from the exponential growth in the use of the technology.

"The wireless LAN technology, commonly known as wi-fi, is in over three billion devices worldwide – and it will grow to five billion products by 2013 when the patents expire,” Mr Poole told the ABC.

"We guess that means most households in the developed world have more than five wi-fi consumer devices connecting themselves reliably to the internet and to each other without wires."

CSIRO now has licence agreements with 23 companies worldwide, including Dell, Microsoft, Intel and Toshiba.

The patent runs out next year. 

The Queensland Government has announced it has appointed Peter Costello as the head of the Independent Commission of Audit into the state’s finances.

The Independent Commission has been tasked with providing an interim report covering the Government’s current financial position by mid-June, with a complete final report finished by February next year.

Mr Costello AC will be joined by two other commissioners Dr Doug McTaggart and Professor Sandra Harding.

The Commission will have a broad terms of reference, covering Queensland’s current and forecast financial position; opportunities to improve Queensland’s finances, service delivery and infrastructure.

It will also be asked to look at ways in which the Government can improve Queensland’s economic performance.

The New South Wales Government has announced it will fund the employment of an additional 200 full-time teachers to target underperformance in literacy and numeracy across government and non-government schools.

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said the extra $24 million in school funding in 2012 is the start of the government’s plan to provide an extra 900 teachers across NSW schools.

The Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli also announced the NSW Government had accepted the recommendations of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Literacy and Numeracy established last year.

"Under the expert leadership of Dr Ken Boston AO, the advisory group has recommended a plan of action to boost the literacy and numeracy of students in NSW and those recommendations will now be implemented," Mr Piccoli said.

The key recommendations of the advisory group are:

• early identification of the level of attainment in literacy and numeracy of each individual child and tailoring a specific program of learning to that child's needs
• change in teaching practice from a focus on the whole class to a focus on the needs of the individual student
• using tiered interventions according to need where remediation in literacy or numeracy is needed.

Mr Piccoli said the change to the focus on the needs of individual students will involve three key elements:

• personalised learning
• diagnostic assessment
• teacher professional development in the classroom under the direction of an instructional leader.

"What the Ministerial Advisory Group has made clear, is that not all students requiring special attention were being identified and given the appropriate attention – that needs to change," Mr Piccoli said.

A five-year independent evaluation of the program will start later this year

A full council meeting of the State's peak union body will tonight consider applying an interim Green Ban to work on a former James Hardie site riddled with asbestos at Camelia, in Sydney's west.

The site was shut down over a decade ago when James Hardie realised the level of asbestos threat at the site and laid a concrete slab over it.

The waste management firm, Remondis now wants to build a waste treatment plant on the site despite deep concerns from local residents and the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia (ADFA).

Unions NSW Secretary, Mark Lennon, said a motion for a green ban would be debated on the request of ADFA President, Barry Robson.

"There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, and on the face of it, this proposal represents a risk to the health and safety of Camellia residents," Mr Lennon said.

"We expect to get overwhelming support at tonight's meeting of Unions NSW for an interim green ban to be enacted until those concerns can be addressed."

There are concerns that the concrete cap containing the asbestos could be cracked over time, due to the movement of heavy vehicles at the site.

The proposal will be the considered both by Parramatta Council and the NSW Planning Assessment Commission.

"Asbestos has had a devastating effect on far too many Australian lives," Mr Lennon said.

"The utmost precaution must be taken when dealing with asbestos and that principle is crucially important in this case."

The Housing Industry Association has announced it will spearhead a campaign to address non-compliant building products in the country’s residential construction sector.

“The problem of non-genuine and non-tested building materials and components making their way into in residential building is growing,. our view is that regardless of where something is manufactured, it should meet Australian standards,” said HIA Managing Director Shane Goodwin.

“With more and more products being manufactured offshore, and increased access to these products by individuals, the need to focus on compliance has never been greater.”

“A key concern is that the evolution of compliance and enforcement in Australia has not kept pace with changes to our economy and how or where products are manufactured or sourced.”

The HIA also announced it push to:

• Establish an evidentiary basis of the extent of the problem
•  Work with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) in a review of the existing Codemark and Watermark certification schemes;
• Work collaboratively with existing credible industry based compliance programs to ensure their ongoing success;
• Develop an industry education and information program to increase the understanding amongst builders, contractors and suppliers about the importance of compliance; and,
• Continue to support buildings standards that include Deemed to Satisfy solutions and press for the modernisation of the housing provisions in the Building Code of Australia (BCA).