Sweeping reforms for Queensland’s planning and development system
Source: Queensland. Minister for Infrastructure and Planning. Media Release
"Major reforms to Queensland’s planning approvals system will see building developments get off the ground within weeks rather than months – creating and sustaining construction industry jobs as the state experiences the brunt of the global economic crisis. Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Sustainable Planning Bill 2009, approved by Cabinet today, will result in the biggest reform to planning approvals in over a decade. “It will mean massive reductions in red tape and unnecessary delays which anyone in the building industry will tell you can result in significant extra costs,” Mr Hinchliffe said."

Bligh Government launches $280,000 Fraser Coast tourism campaign
Source: Queensland. Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading. Media Release
"A new marketing campaign focussing on luring fun-seeking Sydneysiders to the Fraser Coast was officially launched by Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor at the Fraser Coast Industry Forum held in Hervey Bay. “Tourism Queensland’s Get closer to nature on Queensland’s Fraser Coast campaign, valued at $280,000 runs until 12 July and is hoped to stimulate about a $1.5 million tourism boost to the region,” Mr Lawlor said. Run in partnership with Fraser Coast South Burnett Tourism, Fraser Coast Council, and local operators, the campaign aims to promote and raise awareness of the Fraser Coast region."

Brumby Labor Government Delivering Fairer Workplaces
Source: Victoria. Minister for Industrial Relations. Media Release
"The Brumby Labor Government today came one step closer to delivering fairer workplaces when the Fair Work Commonwealth Powers Bill 2009 was passed by the Legislative Assembly.
Victoria is set to become the first state to legislate referral of industrial relations matters to the Federal Government, giving the greatest possible protection to the maximum number of Victorian workers and employers. Industrial Relations Minister Martin Pakula said the new Bill will replace the previous referral made in 1996 and would ensure that the Federal Government’s Fair Work Act, which seeks to provide Australia with a national workplace system will apply to all Victorian employees and employers."

Victoria Launches New Biosecurity Strategy
Source: Victoria. Minister for Agriculture. Media Release
"The Brumby Government launched a comprehensive new strategy that provides Victoria’s agricultural industries, environment and human health with greater protection from emerging biosecurity threats. Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said growing global trade, tourism and migration, coupled with changing climate, land use and agricultural practices made safeguarding Victoria from new animal and plant pests and diseases increasingly complex.“The Brumby Labor Government is taking action to protect Victoria from biosecurity threats, to secure jobs and protect the economy,” Mr Helper said."

Sentencing Act to Take into Account Hate Crimes
Source: Victoria. Attorney General. Media Release
"The Brumby Labor Government will amend the Sentencing Act to require judges to take into account hatred for or prejudice against a particular group as an aggravating factor when sentencing. Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said the Sentencing Advisory Council would advise Government on the best way to amend the Sentencing Act. This will bring this aspect of sentencing in Victoria into line with the approach taken in New South Wales,” Mr Hulls said."

Victoria Leads the Nation in Native Title Settlement
Source: Victoria. Attorney General. Media Release
"Native title claims will be settled faster out of court in Victoria in one of the biggest shake-ups to native title since the Mabo judgement. The Brumby Labor Government announced it had agreed to a new way of settling native title claims which would save taxpayers money and lead to better outcomes for Indigenous communities. Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said the Victorian Native Title Settlement Framework would become the preferred method for negotiating native title settlements in Victoria. Mr Hulls said under the endorsed Victorian framework, traditional owner groups could choose to negotiate directly with the state to settle their native title claim rather than go through the courts. "

Faster Access to Justice Under Streamlined Procedures
Source: Victoria. Attorney General. Media Release
"A trial of streamlined court procedures at the Ballarat and Heidelberg Magistrates’ Courts has reduced court delays and victim trauma. Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said changes to police work and briefing practices had led to a reduction in the time to bring matters to court from an average of 210 days to 32 days. The number of contest mention hearings had also been reduced from 40 to six a week.The changes are part of the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, which passed Parliament in February and represented the most significant overhaul of Victorian criminal procedure."

New Laws to Shut Down Licensed Venues Making the Community Safer
Source: Victoria. Minister for Consumer Affairs. Media Release
"New laws tackling alcohol-related violence in and around Victoria’s licensed venues come into effect today, enabling Victoria Police and the Director of Liquor Licensing to respond more quickly and effectively to crime and public safety threats caused by poorly managed pubs, bars and nightclubs. Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson said the Liquor Control Reform Amendment (Enforcement) Act 2009 strengthened the powers of the Director of Liquor Licensing and Victoria Police to shut down venues to protect patrons and the local community from potential harm."

Landmark Gaming Industry Restructure Goes Ahead
Source: Victoria. Minister for Gaming. Media Release
"The Brumby Labor Government’s historic restructure of the Victorian gaming industry is on track, with legislation establishing the new venue-operator model for gaming venues passing the Upper House. Gaming Minister Tony Robinson said the passing of the Gambling Regulation Amendment (Licensing) Bill 2009 laid the foundations for clubs and pubs to own and operate gaming machines from 2012.“The Gambling Regulation Amendment (Licensing) Bill 2009 underpins the Government’s decision to introduce a fairer, community based venue-operator structure for the Victorian gaming industry,” he said. The industry structure will deliver greater control to venues and give them the opportunity to derive a greater share of revenue from their business operations.”

New National Safety Laws to Better Protect Kids in Cars
Source: Victoria. Minister for Roads and Ports. Media Release
"All Victorian children up to the age of seven years will need to be secured in an approved restraint or booster seat when travelling in vehicles, under new road safety laws to be introduced in November this year to better protect children from serious injury. Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas said the new laws were part of a national approach to protect children travelling in vehicles and are based on the latest safety research available. Parents are currently moving their children into adult seat belts from about the age of five and half years – but research suggests this is too early. Children up to seven years are at least four times more likely to sustain a head injury in a crash when sitting in an adult seat belt."

New Web Service to Support Senior Victorians
Source: Victoria. Minister for Senior Victorians. Media Release
"A new Brumby Labor Government online information service will help prevent and respond to the abuse of senior Victorians. Senior Victorians Minister Lisa Neville and Member for Monbulk James Merlino MP launched the new service www.seniorsrights.org.au, at the Eastern Community Legal Centre in Boronia. Ms Neville said the online information service is part of the Brumby Labor Government’s $5.9 million campaign to prevent elder abuse and safeguard the rights, dignity and independence of senior Victorians."

Victoria Enters New Era of Climate Change Action
Source: Victoria. Premier. Media Release
"Victoria will focus its efforts to combat climate change on areas such as new energy technology and green building initiatives that will create jobs and build the state’s economy, as outlined in the Victorian Climate Change Green Paper, released by Premier John Brumby. The Victorian Climate Change Green Paper outlines the importance of Victoria’s climate change policies to focus on actions that complement the national Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

New campaign to target WA’s outlaw bikie gangs
Source: WA. Minister for Police
"Police Minister Rob Johnson and WA Police today launched a new initiative to target outlaw motorcycle gangs in Western Australia. A print and radio advertising campaign will promote a public phone-in on Tuesday, June 23, when the Crime Stoppers phone number (1800 333 000) will become a special bikie information hotline for 16 hours. The Crime Stoppers phones will be staffed from 7am until 11pm on that day to take anonymous calls from anyone with knowledge of bikie activities."

Strategy Released on World Environment Day
Tasmania. Minister for Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts
"The Waste Strategy was developed in close consultation with local government, the three regional waste authorities, industry groups and associations and the broader community. It is clear following this broad consultation that there is a need for further action to improve waste and resource management in Tasmania."

New measures to support investment in the Territory
Source: ACT. Treasurer
"The ACT Government has today (08/06/09) announced the start of a range of new initiatives to support investment in the Territory. Reduced Change of Use Charges will be available for applications made from the start of this month for a period of one year. A Change of Use Charge is payable if the lease provisions are changed to a higher value use - such as converting a lease from residential use to commercial. "

New Commonwealth - Victorian Water Agreement
Source: Victoria. Premier. Media Release
"The Australian and Victorian Governments have agreed on landmark reforms to return more water to the environment in conjunction with Victoria’s irrigation modernisation program. The new agreement will enable the Australian Government to acquire 300 billion litres over the next five years from 2008/09, over and above those purchases already permitted under Victoria’s four per cent annual cap from irrigation districts. A significant part of this agreement is greater co-ordination of Commonwealth purchases with the $2 billion Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP). Under the agreement, and subject to a review of progress on the modernisation project, Victoria will begin to phase out the four per cent cap on permanent water trades from irrigation districts from July 2011, with a view to removing the cap entirely by 2014."

Sex Industry Laws Review
Source: Tasmania. Attorney-General
"Attorney General Lara Giddings today said she expected a recently completed review of Tasmania’s sex industry laws to generate considerable debate among those who have strong views on the issue, including sex workers themselves.
The Government tabled the review of the Sex Industry Offences Act in State Parliament today (28/05/2009)."

Tougher seatbelt penalties on the way
Source: Tasmania. Minster for Infrastructure
"The State Government will introduce tougher penalties for motorists and passengers who fail to wear seatbelts. The new penalties will be:
· Driver without a seatbelt – an increase from $110 to $300;
· Passenger over 16 without seatbelt (passenger fined) – increase from $110 to $300;
· Passenger under 16 (driver fined) – increase from $110 to $350.
Mr Sturges said that this last penalty would be slightly higher to reflect the increased responsibility of drivers to ensure that children are properly restrained."

Better justice for victims of sexual assault and violence
Source: ACT. Attorney General
"These reforms are designed to minimise the potential re-victimisation that can be experienced by victims of sexual and violent offences when they interact with the criminal justice system.
While the right to a fair trial is a central pillar of the criminal justice system, for too long now, maintaining the balance of fairness between the competing rights of victims and offenders in the prosecution of sexual assault has been heavily weighted against the complainant. These changes to the committal laws aim to decrease the number of minor matters heard in the Supreme Court. "

Strategy to stamp out the scourge of domestic violence
Source: Queensland. Premier and Minister for the Arts and Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women. Media Release
"The Bligh Government will establish an expert Death Review Panel in an effort to identify gaps in services for victims of domestic and family violence and prevent further deaths in the future.
Premier Anna Bligh said the panel, approved by Cabinet, will investigate the circumstances surrounding domestic violence-related deaths over the past five years as well as examine any new cases as they arise in the future. Ms Bligh said the establishment of the panel – to be comprised of both government and non-government members - was the first step in a long-term strategy to help stem the tide of domestic and family violence in Queensland."

Bligh Government moves to reduce problem gambling with new technology
Source: Queensland. Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading. Media Release
"The Queensland Government is leading the way in the prevention of problem gambling in Queensland by completing further trials of ‘cashless gaming’ technology in two Brisbane venues. Minister responsible for gaming, Peter Lawlor said the new card-based gaming technology allowed patrons to set limits on the money or time they spend on the pokies. “This harm minimisation concept offers gaming patrons more control over their spending and could potentially be rolled out throughout the state."

Bligh Government Turns White Goods Stores Green
Source: Queensland. Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability. Media Release
"White goods stores have become Queensland’s latest army in the campaign to reduce energy use and save more water in households. Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones today launched a new Bligh Government program that would see retailers help turn Queenslanders into Australia’s biggest carbon busters. Ms Jones said the Bligh Government had so far enlisted nearly 40 major stores across Queensland to better educate their customers that the choices they make can have a huge bearing on their home’s electricity and water use, and ultimately, their hip pocket."

Tenders called for adoption support service
Source: Queensland. Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Sport. Media Release
"The Bligh Government is looking for a community organisation to run a new support service for people involved in adoptions, Child Safety Minister Phil Reeves said.
Mr Reeves said applications were being sought from non-government organisations to provide the statewide service as part of the government’s adoption laws reforms currently before Parliament. The new adoption support service will have a free call helpline, local counsellors in the south-east and later in regional Queensland, as well as providing training in adoption issues for health professionals and other counsellors."

Community- by-community – there will be change
Source: Queensland. Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. Media Release
"Mayors from 14 Indigenous communities, Ministers, State Members of Parliament and senior government officers met in Cairns and vowed to work in partnership to create jobs, houses and economic development opportunities. Local Government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Minister Desley Boyle and Community Services and Housing Minister Karen Struthers listened to the Mayors and committed to action – community-by-community. “There will not be a one-size fits all approach on-the-ground because we recognise that each community has its own priorities, good ideas and challenges,” Minister Boyle said. “What we must have is action now - not later. We have State money and Federal money to apply, but first we must remove the blockages to moving forward,” she said."

New Brisbane CBD congestion busting pilot starts Monday
Source: Queensland. Minister for Transport. Media Release
"Some lucky Brisbane commuters will be sleeping in from Monday and others will be up at the crack of dawn as part of a new flexible workplace pilot program aimed to ease traffic congestion.
Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the month-long flexible workplace Pilot, which includes both government and private industry in the Brisbane CBD, encourages employees to work from home, compress their working week, and change their typical working hours.
“By encouraging working from home or staggering work hours, we can ease traffic congestion and promote a better work-life balance,” Ms Nolan said."