Commencement of the Australian Government Fair Work Principles
Australia. Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Minister for Social Inclusion. Deputy Prime Minister. Media release
"The Acting Minister for Workplace Relations, Kim Carr, today released a comprehensive User Guide for the Australian Government’s new Fair Work Principles which commence on 1 January 2010. The Fair Work Principles support the creation of quality jobs and decent work by ensuring that Commonwealth procurement decisions are consistent with the aims of the Fair Work Act 2009 and promote fair, cooperative and productive workplaces...The Fair Work Principles User Guide has been developed following consultation with industry, unions and community representatives via the Australian Government’s Procurement Consultation Committee. The User Guide contains material to assist Commonwealth agencies and suppliers to the Commonwealth implement and comply with the Fair Work Principles."

Review of Regional Provision of Higher Education
Australia. Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Minister for Social Inclusion. Deputy Prime Minister. Acting Minister for Workplace Relations. Joint Media release.
"The Acting Minister for Education, Senator Kim Carr, today released an issues paper to encourage discussion within the Australian higher education sector about the best way to fund flexible and sustainable regional higher education. The Review of Regional Loading – Issues for Regional Provision is part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to Transforming Australia’s Higher Education System and response to the Bradley Review. The Review of Regional Loading will examine the cost of providing quality teaching and learning in regional Australia as well as current funding arrangements, with the aim of developing a new, more logical basis for funding..."

My School website launched
Australia. Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Minister for Social Inclusion. Deputy Prime Minister. Media release.
"The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today officially launched the My School website during a visit to Tempe High School in Sydney. My School contains important information about each of Australia’s 10 000 schools including the number of students at the school, the number of teachers at the school and how the school is performing in national literacy and numeracy testing. Parents and school communities are also able to compare their school’s results with neighbouring schools and up to 60 statistically similar schools...To view the My School website, visit http://www.myschool.edu.au"

Digital dividend green paper
Australia. Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Media Release.
"The Rudd Government today released a Government green paper seeking public comment on the benefits and costs of maximising Australia’s digital dividend. The ‘digital dividend’ is the term used to describe the radio-frequency spectrum made available up as a result of the switchover to digital-only television..."Releasing the digital dividend will be an important microeconomic reform that will boost productivity in the Australian economy by enabling new services and applications."The green paper establishes a Government target of 126 megahertz (MHz) of contiguous ultra-high frequency spectrum. Achieving this will involve moving some digital television services to new channels.The Government is committed to achieving a maximised digital dividend while maintaining Australians’ existing access to free-to-air digital television services. However, before making its final decision on the size and location of the digital dividend, the Government is inviting comments on the benefits and costs to the Australian community and economy of realising its target."I encourage all interested parties to access the green paper and provide comments by the 26 February deadline," Senator Conroy said."

NEW PEAK BODY TO LEAD TOURISM ALONG THE MURRAY
Source: Victoria. Minister for Tourism and Major Events. Media Release
"The Brumby Labor Government announced the creation of a Regional Tourism Board for the Murray region and committed $180,000 to help fund its activities. Speaking at a tourism roundtable in Mildura, Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said the new Murray Regional Tourism Board would provide the Murray region with a united, strategic direction to managing tourism in the region as early as mid this year. “The Brumby Labor Government continues to support tourism which is a vital economic driver for the Murray region, boosting economic activity and providing local jobs,” Mr Holding said."

CRUSHING AND SELLING HOON CARS WITH FUNDS TO GO TO VICTIMS OF CRIME
Source: Victoria. Minister for Transport Accident Commission. Media Release
"The Brumby Labor Government will this year move to further strengthen the State’s anti-hoon laws, which will result in either selling or crushing hoon cars, or selling the cars and donating additional funds to victims of crime. The Minister for the Transport Accident Commission, Tim Holding, said the Brumby Labor Government’s already tough anti-hoon laws were producing results, but the Premier and the Government believed the time was right to take the regime even further.“Victoria has one of the toughest anti-hoon laws in Australia, which have already forced almost 10,000 dangerous drivers to hand over their car keys across Victoria, with very few repeat offenders,” Mr Holding said. But as the Premier said this week after recent road tragedies, our Government is considering and will move to implement new laws for repeat hoon offenders."

VICTORIA’S REGIONAL ECONOMIES TO GROW EVEN STRONGER
Source: Victoria. Minister for Regional & Rural Development. Media Release
"Victoria’s regional and rural economies are set to grow even stronger after the Brumby Labor Government combined Regional and Rural Development portfolio with Industry and Trade. Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan acquired Industry and Trade and said the economic development super-portfolio would make it easier to attract more investment to regional Victoria as well as ensuring continued investment in metropolitan Victoria.“With both portfolios allocated to one Minister, investors will be more aware than ever before of the incredible opportunities in regional and rural Victoria,” she said.“This will mean more jobs, stronger investment, and secured lifestyles for regional and rural cities and towns.” Ms Allan said regional and rural Victoria was an integral part of Victoria’s industry and trade future."

GOVERNMENT MOVES TO CUT GREEN TAPE
Source: Victoria. Treasurer. Media Release
"The Brumby Labor Government has foreshadowed cuts to unnecessary green tape to make it easier and cheaper for Victorian businesses to meet their environmental obligations. Treasurer John Lenders released the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC) Report, A Sustainable Future for Victoria: Getting Environmental Regulation Right, as well as the Government’s response outlining the measures to reduce the regulatory burden.“We are standing up for Victorian business by cutting green tape and making it easier to protect our environment,” Mr Lenders said.“We are focused on ensuring that environmental objectives are delivered in the most efficient and effective manner, with minimal costs to business.
Building on this, the Government will:• Review corporate and standard licences issued by the EPA to simplify and move to risk-based conditions. This process is already underway and will exceed timeframes recommended by the VCEC; • Simplify WaterMAP reporting requirements, from an existing 90 or so requirements to a core of around 15 one-off and 20 ongoing reporting requirements; and • Establish a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of new and existing environmental regulation."

GM choice for WA canola growers
Source: Western Australia. Premier. Minister for Agriculture and Food
"The State Government today announced genetically modified (GM) canola could from this year onwards be grown in Western Australia. Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman has approved an exemption order under the Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Act 2003 to permit the cultivation of GM canola, which will offer growers added choice in their cropping systems. This decision brings WA in line with the other major grain-growing States, New South Wales and Victoria, where growers have been able to grow GM canola commercially since 2008."

Monitoring Stations Keep Public Informed on Air Quality
Source: Tasmania. Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage
"The Minister said real-time air quality data is now available on-line from the major stations at Hobart, Launceston, and Rowella, as well as from eight stations of the new BLANkET network (Base-Line Air Network of EPA Tasmania). Data from the major stations is updated every hour and the BLANkET network uploads information from stations in the Huon Valley and North East Tasmania every 10 to 15 minutes. The public can access this information as tables and graphs on the EPA Division website. While the main purposes of BLANkET is to obtain information on smoke movement and monitor public exposure to smoke produced by planned burning, the stations also record seasonal concentrations of smoke from domestic wood heaters as well as wildfire smoke."

Roadwork signage safety review to reduce driver frustration
Source: Queensland. Minister for Main Roads. Media Release
"Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace announced the State Government will review signage around roadwork sites to reduce driver frustration and ensure motorists receive a clear and consistent message across the state.“I understand the frustration that motorists must feel when having to slow down through the many roadwork sites across the state,” Mr Wallace said.“You can’t spend $18 billion on roadworks like we’re doing over the next five years without causing a bit of disruption.“What we do want to ensure though is that the signage being used to advise motorists is clearly displayed and consistent at all worksites so it remains effective.“We know we can reduce driver frustration by ensuring smooth reductions in speed around worksites and by ensuring speed reductions through inactive worksites at night and on weekends are only in place when required for safety due to changed road conditions."

Councils getting the good oil on community grants
Source: Queensland. Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. Media Release
"Local Government Minister Desley Boyle said community groups, from time-to-time, complain about how their councils allocate community grants. While Ms Boyle said many councils have processes in place to guide the open and transparent allocation of community grants, some do not. New guidelines released by the Minister will help guide councils solve the problem. “Sometimes community groups can think others are getting favoured when it comes to the allocation of community grants,” Ms Boyle said.“These guidelines have been developed especially to give community groups greater peace of mind and give councils direction in how to ensure they are open and transparent when allocating community grants,” she said."

DEPUTY PREMIER LAUNCHES AUSTRALIA FIRST IN CHRONIC CARE
Source: Queensland. Deputy Premier and Minister for Health. Media Release
"Darling Downs residents suffering from chronic disease will be the first to trial a new chronic care program that aims to improve the quality of life and reduce the rate of unplanned hospital admissions for patients with heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other long-term chronic illnesses.
The LINCS (Linking Chronic Disease Services) program, the first of its kind in Australia, was launched by Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas.
The Queensland Health funded initiative is a partnership between BlueCare, GP Connections (Toowoomba and Darling Downs Division of General Practice), RHealth (South East Queensland Rural Division of General Practice) and Queensland Health.
$875,000 has been provided by Queensland Health over two years from the Queensland Strategy for Chronic Disease 2005-2015 and is distributed through participating partners including RHealth, GP Connections and Bluecare, with an estimated 100 patients to participate in the early part of the trial."

Government Submission to CMC Inquiry commits to new staff contract clause
Source: Queensland. Premier. Media Release
"The State Government has committed to developing new standard Ministerial staff contracts to prevent those staff members from inappropriately directing public servants. Premier Anna Bligh said the decision was one of several contained in the government’s submission to the CMC Inquiry into Interaction Between Government Ministers, Ministerial staff and Public Servants which was lodged today. Ms Bligh said the government had made the decision to develop Ministerial staff contracts with a clause inserted clearly stipulating Ministerial staff do not have the power or authority to direct public service officers unless the direction is made on behalf of their Minister. “This has been a grey area and this new clause within standard Ministerial staffer’s contracts would make it perfectly clear how direction is to be delegated,” Ms Bligh said."

National Standards for Children in Care
Source: Australia. Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Media Release
"New national standards to safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of children living in foster homes in all States and Territories will be developed by the middle of the year as a key measure under the Australian Government's National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020...Ms Macklin said some of the options canvassed include best practice standards for the assessment of foster carers as well as appropriate training and support. Another measure could be setting a benchmark for regular health checks for children in foster care....The Australian, State and Territory Governments and non-government organisations will work with an advisory team from KPMG to develop the national standards for out of home care...
From next month, national consultations will start in all capital cities, as well as four regional locations in Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory. A copy of the National Standards for Out of Home care paper."

Caring for our Country
Australia. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Joint Media Release

"Reducing the impact of pest animals, improving the health of the Great Barrier Reef and protecting Australia's coastline from the effects of climate change are among the key priorities for investment in the second annual business plan for the Australian Government's $2 billion Caring for our Country initiative. Announcing the launch of the 2010-11 Caring for our Country business plan today, Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, and Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister, Tony Burke, said more than $300 million would be invested in environmental protection and sustainable resource management. ...Mr Garrett and Mr Burke said the 2010-11 business plan sets out clear targets for investment which would contribute to the achievement of the five year outcomes for Caring for our Country. "

MAJOR OVERHAUL OF CASEWORKER TRAINING
Source. NSW. Minister for Community Services. Media Statement.
"Training for Community Services caseworkers has undergone a major restructure with a
stronger focus on practical experience to improve their work with vulnerable families, Minister
for Community Services Linda Burney today announced.
“The new Caseworker Development Program (CDP) places greater emphasis on hands-on
training in the field. The majority of the learning will now take place outside the classroom, at
Community Services Centres,” Ms Burney said."

NEW GUIDELINES TO HELP PROTECT SCHOOL STUDENTS
Source: NSW. Minister for Education.
"The NSW Government today announced that new guidelines to assist schools in managing students with behavioural issues will be in place for the start of Term 1. The guidelines will enable agencies and schools to share information about violent students and take steps to minimise risks to other students, staff and the student concerned."

NSW KIDS TO IMPROVE CHILD HEALTH CARE
Source: NSW. Premier. Media Release.
"A new child health branch focused exclusively on child healthcare and protection in
NSW will be created under a State Government proposal. NSW Kids will for the first time bring together the full range of acute and community care services currently available across the state for all children, from birth to sixteen years of age."

Between the Flags: New Patient Safety Program
Source: NSW. Minister for Health. Media Release.
"NSW Acting Premier and Minister for Health, Carmel Tebbutt launched Between the Flags, a world-first program designed to improve the safety and care of patients in NSW hospitals.
"Between the Flags uses the analogy of Surf Life Saving Australia's lifeguards and lifesavers, who mark out safe zones on the beach, observe swimmers closely and prevent them getting into danger. Importantly, they also rescue them if anything goes wrong," Ms Tebbutt said."

Wave energy project powers up
Source: Western Australia. Energy, Environment
"Energy Minister Peter Collier and Environment Minister Donna Faragher have announced the next stage in the development of a 5MW demonstration wave power station near Garden Island.
Carnegie Wave Energy Limited today celebrated the installation of a mooring off Garden Island for a prototype CETO (wave energy converter) unit, which coincides with the official launch of the wave energy project.
CETO technology is capable of converting wave energy into zero-emission electricity and also powering the desalination of water.
The State Government has provided $12.5million to the project through the Low Emissions Energy Development fund, which was established to support new, low emissions technology."

State Government developing pipeline of Public Private Partnership projects

Source: Western Australia. The Treasurer

Treasurer Troy Buswell today confirmed the State Government was planning a significant number of infrastructure projects for delivery as Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
Mr Buswell said projects announced today by the Attorney General were the first transactions in what would become a pipeline of PPPs in health, education, correctional services and utilities in Western Australia.

Reporting of Tasmanian Healthcare Associated Infections to Become Routine
Source: Tasmania. Specialist Medical Advisor, Tasmanian Infection Prevention & Control Unit, DHHS
From today, infection surveillance reports will be published on a quarterly basis and posted on the Tasmanian Infection Prevention & Control Unit’s (TIPCU) website.
“The data contained in today’s report remains in line with previous publications and while the good news is that there have been no significant increases in infection rates, significant decreases are still to be witnessed. The rates of infection in Tasmania are comparable to other states, however we are seeking improvement. TIPCU strongly believes that by raising the profile of healthcare associated infections through public reporting, healthcare staff, patients and the broader community will become more aware of this important issue.”

Data Centre Industry Development Strategy To Create More Jobs
Source: Tasmania. The Premier
"The contribution of call centres to the Tasmanian economy has been recognised by the Premier at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Hobart’s Qantas Call Centre today.
Premier Bartlett also used the event as an opportunity to announce the State Government is developing a strategy to attract digital infrastructure and services industries such as data centres to Tasmania."

Land rent scheme a success: Stanhope
Source: ACT. Chief Minister
"More people are achieving their dreams of home ownership thanks to the success of the ACT Government's Land Rent Scheme, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said today (19/01/10).
Owners of the first house to be built under the scheme have just moved in some 17 months after the launch of the initiative which was aimed at addressing Canberra's land shortage and affordability. The scheme allows Canberra families to rent a block of land from the ACT Government and then finance the cost of the home only. "