Re-energising Australia
Source: Green Senator Christine Milne. Greens Greenhouse Strategy
"The paper, Re-Energising Australia, sets out what we need to achieve, a suite of policy options and strategies to do so, and the array of opportunities that such action presents. The report sets out the current knowledge on climate change and oil depletion, using that to set targets and policies that will put Australia on a path to manage the transition to a low carbon economy. "

Reducing Red Tape for Patent Applications
Source: Australia. Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources. Media Release
"The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Bob Baldwin, has announced that consultations have commenced on removing a regulatory burden faced by applicants for Australian patents. IP Australia, the Government agency responsible for examining patent applications, has been reviewing the requirement for patent applicants to provide search results from foreign patent offices."

Apec Energy Ministers Launch the Darwin Declaration
Source: Australia. Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources. Media Release
"After two days of meetings, the eighth APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting in Darwin has concluded with the release of the 'Darwin Declaration', recognising the need to deploy cleaner, more efficient and sustainable energy technologies. This is a landmark achievement for the APEC member economies. Energy Ministers from across the 21 economies have agreed to a number of ways forward to achieve energy security and sustainable development, Australian Industry Minister and Chair of the meeting, Ian Macfarlane, said."

Howard Government Supporting Safe Australian Schools
Source: Australia. Minister for Education, Science and Training. Media Release
"The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, launched National Safe Schools Week 2007, and announced funding of $200,000 for two important research projects into bullying."

New national pest animal strategy
Source: Australia. Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation. Media Release
"The first national strategy to tackle existing populations of wild pigs, foxes, dogs and other pests has been agreed. Minister for Conservation, Senator Eric Abetz, said the plan, agreed to at the recent Primary Industries Ministers’ Council meeting in Brisbane, was a major step forward in the fight against feral pests."

Grants to fund gourmet food production
Source: Australia. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Media Release
"Gourmet food production in regional Australia has been further strengthened, with the Government announcing $2.3 million in grants for food processing projects. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran, said the funding for 24 companies would build on rural Australia’s already strong food production capacity."

Information Session to Help Sports Combat the Challenge of Water Restrictions
Source: ACT. Chief Minister. Media Release
"“A Sport and Recreation Water Taskforce has been established to work directly with the industry and ACTEW. This Taskforce will seek to better inform the entire industry on the issue, inform any process for the granting of exemptions, and work with local venues and sporting organisations to help them manage and adapt their activities with the significantly reduced number of facilities available."

A New Partnership with Indigenous Australians
Source: Australian Labor Party. Policy
"The life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains one of the starkest indicators of inequality in Australian society. Federal Labor commits to a comprehensive set of policies within the framework of an agreed national objective of closing the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within the next generation..."

Drought Report Will Inform National Energy Market
Source: Victoria. Minister for Energy and Resources. Media Release
"Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources Peter Batchelor said a contingency report on the potential impact of continuing drought on electricity supplies would enable the National Electricity Market to start planning for the possibility of constraints on supply. Mr Batchelor said today’s meeting of Commonwealth and State Energy Ministers in Melbourne agreed to release a National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) report so that market participants could make investment decisions and plan for contingencies with confidence. "

Boost for Victorian Industry with New Procurement Reforms
Source: Victoria. Minister for Industry and State Development. Media Release
"Minister for Industry and State Development, Theo Theophanous, announced that Victorian businesses would be the big winners from improvements to the Victorian Industry Participation Policy (VIPP). The Bracks Government introduced the VIPP in 2001 to help local businesses to benefit from public sector spending on procurement contracts, major projects, major events and industry and infrastructure grants while delivering value for money for taxpayers. "

New $10M Health Innovation Centre an Australian First
Source: Victoria. Minister for Innovation. Media Release
"The Minister for Innovation, John Brumby, officially opened Australia’s first purpose-built facility for testing and evaluating new healthcare products and services within a near clinical environment."

Innovative Boost for the Future of Kid's Playspaces
Source: Victoria. Minister for Youth Affairs. Media Release
"An innovative new guide to help local councils provide better playground spaces has been launched by the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Youth Affairs, James Merlino. Mr Merlino said The Good Play Space Guide: “I can play too” is the first of its kind and a one-stop resource to assist local councils in improving the quality and accessibility of playgrounds."

Targeting Bus Emissions in Victoria
Source: Victoria. Minister for Climate Change. Media Release
"The Bracks Government will invest in developing hybrid electric bus technology by funding the design, building and trial of a state of the art green bus to operate in Melbourne next year. The Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, John Thwaites, and Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky, unveiled plans to build a trial hybrid electric bus that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent and will be powered by battery with a small diesel powered generator."

E-learning to boost workforce skills
Source: South Australia. Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education. Media Release
"Workplace training is being given a boost through a new strategy to promote the use of ‘e-learning’ with information technology such as the web, CD-ROM and computer-based learning resources. Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education Paul Caica will launch the South Australian e-learning strategy website, which harnesses e-learning as a tool to train and up-skill members of our workforce. "

Major shake-up of teacher recruitment practices recommended
Source: Western Australia. Minister for Education and Training. Media Release
"Sweeping changes will be made to teacher recruitment practices at the Department of Education and Training as a result of a report released by the State Government. Releasing the ‘Review of Teacher Recruitment Practices’ prepared by international recruitment company Gerard Daniels, Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan said the report recommended a major shake-up of recruitment procedures."

Industry to cover the cost of environmental compliance
Source: Western Australia. Minister for Environment. Media Release
"Fees for the State's 860 licensed premises will be increased over the next two years to ensure industry covers the cost of monitoring their environmental compliance - not the community. Environment and Climate Change Minister David Templeman said the licensing and works approval fees for licensed premises would rise on average about 50 per cent over the next two years according to the level of emissions and the amount of monitoring required."

New building standards to help save the environment and deliver savings
Source: Western Australia. Minister for Housing and Works. Media Release
"Western Australia’s booming building industry has thrown its support behind the State Government’s initiative to make houses more energy and water efficient. Outlining the new building standards, Housing and Works Minister Michelle Roberts said the new codes, known as Five Star Plus, would apply to all new houses approved for construction after September 1, 2007."

Students take a lesson in reality
Source: Western Australia. Minister for Education and Training. Media Release
"Every Western Australian student must now complete 20 hours of community service to graduate from high school. Launching the compulsory Community Service Program, Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan said the new policy would help instil discipline and standards in young people."

States agree to consider mandatory energy efficiency program
Source: Western Australia. Minister for Energy, Resources, Industry and Enterprise. Media Release
"All Australian States have agreed to investigate the implementation of a mandatory energy efficiency program for big and medium-sized power consumers. The move was adopted at last week’s meeting of State and Federal Energy Ministers in Melbourne. Western Australia will take a lead role in developing the design of the scheme, and investigation of the costs and benefits."

Wheat Decision the Right One for Growers and the Economy
Source: Australia. Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Media Release
"The Howard/Vaile Government announced a plan to secure Australia's multi-billion wheat industry into the future, the Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of The Nationals, Mark Vaile, said. Mr Vaile said the new arrangements for a single desk structure would best serve the interests of growers and the Australian economy. "Under the new arrangements, growers will be given until 1 March 2008 to establish a new entity to manage the single desk, completely separate from AWB Limited," Mr Vaile said. "

$5.5 Million to Identify Australia's Biodiversity
Source: Australia. Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. Media Release
"To mark the International Day for Biological Diversity the Minister for the Environment and
Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, announced $5.5 million funding to develop a national
approach to identifying Australia’s rich biological tapestry. Mr Turnbull said leading Australian scientists in the field of taxonomy - the science that identifies and names biodiversity - will form a network to help us better access and understand information about Australia’s biodiversity."

$9.8 Million Investment in Environmental Economics and Water Management
Source: Australia. Minister for Environment and Water Resources. Media Release
"The Australian Government will invest $9.8 million into economic and scientific research to help address Australia’s major environmental and water challenges, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Malcolm Turnbull announced. Mr Turnbull said $7 million would be used to establish an Environmental Economics Research Hub, through the Australian Government’s $100 million Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) programme."

Progressing in the race to capture greenhouse gasses
Source: Australia. Minister for Education, Science and Training. Media Release
"The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, today opened the new headquarters of a leading research centre focussed on the capture and geological storage of greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian Government is committed to investing in programmes that build on research, development and innovation capacity, and the CRC programme will contribute $27.9 million to the Centre over 2003-10. Total resources to the CO2CRC will be $160 million.”

Boost for industry-focused research
Source: Australia. Minister for Education, Science and Training. Media Release
"The Australian Government will provide $60 million over five years to 217 industry-focused research projects to commence this year under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects funding scheme, the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, announced."

World-leading Carbon Capture Project Planned
Source: Australia. Prime Minister. Media Release
"I welcome the announcement today that Hydrogen Energy, a new joint venture of BP Australia Pty Ltd and Rio Tinto Limited, will study the feasibility of a world-leading carbon capture and storage project in Western Australia. Carbon capture and storage projects such as this are crucial to the future of Australia's important coal industry, and to the national and global challenge of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions."