Jade goes gold at Centrelink
Jade Howard, from Newcastle, has been judged the best and brightest of 1800 Centrelink employees under 25, winning the prestigious Centrelink National Youth Award.
   The Awards recognise the valuable contribution the Agency’s young employees make to the community they work and serve in.
   The awards also highlighted the outstanding achievements of young employees over the past year.

Museum wins cup
The National Museum of Australia has acquired the 1934 Melbourne Cup won by the great chestnut champion Peter Pan.
   Peter Pan was one of only five horses to have won the Melbourne Cup twice and had a record of 22 wins from 38 starts.
   The 1934 Melbourne Cup is scheduled to go on display next to the huge heart of Phar Lap, the most popular object in the National Museum of Australia’s collection.

New page for Library
The refurbished Papua New Guinea National Library was opened by the Autralian Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan,30 years after its official opening in 1978.
   The National Library was Australia’s gift to PNG on independence in 1975.
   In 2005, Australia announced it would fund the refurbishment of the Library to mark 30 years of independence.

Touring for ads
Tourism Australia has selected seven advertising agencies and two media agencies to manage its $180 million advertising program.
   Advertising Agency, M&C Saatchi, which was behind the Laura Bingle “So where the bloody hell are you” campaign is on the list, as well as the incumbent media management agency, Carat.

Decommission petrol paper
The Department of Resources and Energy is calling for public comment on a Discussion Paper exploring issues involved with decommissioning offshore petroleum production facilities.
   The Paper is a first step towards developing principles and guidelines to govern future decommissioning activities.
   It is available at www.ret.gov.au

Chinese scams
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has received an increasing number of complaints from members of the Australian Chinese community who have lost money to bogus cash lottery wins and other fake prizes claims.
   The ACCC has advised them and their families and friends to be alert to scammers.

Researchers share $23M
Fourteen outstanding researchers have been awarded Australian Research Council Federation Fellowships worth more than $23 million over five years.
   They successful scientists are:
   Dr Christopher Carilli, CSIRO - Australia Telescope National Facility;    Professor Dr Peter Teunissen, Curtin University of Technology;
   Professor Frances Baum, Flinders University;
   Professor Michael Bird, James Cook University;
   Associate Professor Trevor Lithgow, Monash University;
   Dr James Whisstock , Monash University;
   Professor John Dryzek, Australian National University;
   Professor Michael Eastwood, Australian National University;
   Professor Tanya Monro, University of Adelaide;
   Professor Brett Neilan, University of New South Wales;
   Professor Michelle Simmons, University of New South Wales;
   Professor Aibing Yu, University of New South Wales;
   Professor Gaoqing (Max) Lu, University of Queensland;
   Professor Peter Robinson, University of Sydney.

Foreigners get more time
The Government plans to change its foreign investment policy to extend the timeframe for the development of vacant commercial land from 12 months to five years.
   Assistant Treasurer, Chris Bowen said the change would increase competition in the economy.
   He said the current time limit on foreign investors discouraged new competitors from entering the market and prevented some existing competitors from expanding their business because they could not secure forward purchases of land in growth areas.

Wheat waves at experts
 The Government has called for interested experts to apply to serve on the new independent regulator for bulk wheat export marketing, Wheat Exports Australia.
   The aim is to appoint members to the regulator with a broad skills base, including expertise in international trade and marketing, commodity trading, foreign exchange trading, finance, economics, regulation, public policy, business, law, grains production and grains handling.
   The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is establishing a selection committee to produce a list of names for the Government to consider.

22 April, 2008
Government by blog is still on the line
An official Government Consultation Blog should be supplementary to existing consultation mechanisms - not a replacement for them - according to submissions received on a discussion paper circulated last year by the Department of Finance and Deregulation’s Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO).
   AGIMO opened the issue to public discussion to gauge community views on setting up a formal Government blog and sought views on a range of related issues including the features the blog might have, the expectations of users, participation rules, censorship and control as well as privacy and security issues.
   The Office has now published a summary of the 20 submissions it received and will use the on-line comments along with others including surveys and focus groups, to assess public interest in a Government consultation website.
   According to AGIMO, three Government Agencies made submissions on the proposal: Centrelink, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and one other that did not want to be named.
   “Overall, respondents indicated support for an Australian Government Consultation Blog, noting it would be a welcome step in public policy development in Australia,” the AGIMO summary says.
   “Many respondents acknowledged that online consultations are an effective way to encourage the free and frank expression of opinion across social and economic divides.”
   It said the website could encourage the internet savvy members of generations X and Y to consult with the Government, as well as those in generation “V” who were people preferring to communicate through digital methods, regardless of age.
   It said that because online discussion forums provided exposure to the views of others, respondents believed the posted submissions would be likely to be thoughtful and include a broad range of perspectives.
   “Online consultation approaches however, raise issues about credibility and representation, which are critical to participation,” the report said.
   It said many respondents also said the site should be moderated to avoid offensive language and racial vilification.
   “The overall success of a Government discussion forum will depend on the skill and expertise of the people managing and contributing to discussion,” it said.
   “The concept of a ‘one-stop-shop’ for consultation is important and has the potential to facilitate much greater citizen engagement.”
   AGIMO is to continue evaluating the proposal.

22 April, 2008
Emergency managers safe from Auditor
An audit of the Commonwealth’s emergency management arrangements has found the Agency charged with the responses has done so in a timely and appropriate manner, but there was room for improvement.
   The Auditor-General’s examination of Emergency Management Australia (EMA) made five recommendations, all of which were agreed to by the Agency.
   According to Auditor-General, Ian McPhee, EMA has a coordinating role when disasters occurred that were too big for individual States or Territories to deal with or when a national response was required.
   The Agency is a Division within the Attorney-General’s Department and employs 140 staff and services a Budget of $23.5 million.
   “EMA is not an emergency response Agency,” the Auditor said, “but rather is the coordinator of the Australian Government’s response when a request for assistance comes from a State or Territory.”
   While finding that its core activities were dealt with in a “timely and responsive” manner, the Auditor found the Agency could define its roles and responsibilities more clearly, review its approach to delivering individual training courses and improve the structure and content of its website to make it more useful to the emergency management sector.
   It also found that shortcomings in the financial reporting model used by the Attorney-General’s Department meant EMA could not estimate the costs of its activities and attempts to overcome the problem and develop a usable costing system had “stalled.”
   “Given the increasing demands being placed upon EMA, the Australian National Audit Office considers that EMA’s monitoring of performance would be strengthened by a capacity to estimate the costs of its key emergency management activities and outcomes,” the report says.
   It also found there had been friction with other Agencies when EMA had responded to emergencies overseas.
   Among the five recommendations made by the Auditor were suggestions that EMA monitor the progress of projects better and that it make clear its broad principles of operation when called on to assist with responses overseas.

22 April, 2008
Fuel scheme to blow lid off price hikes
Federal Cabinet has approved the establishment of a National FuelWatch Scheme.
   Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd said the Scheme would promote competition and transparency in the petrol market.
   “The National FuelWatch Scheme will help motorists buy the cheapest petrol, at the cheapest petrol stations, at the cheapest times,” Mr Rudd said.
   He said FuelWatch had been introduced in Western Australia six years ago and had been a welcome tool for WA motorists looking to save money.
   “Analysis undertaken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last year concluded that under the WA FuelWatch scheme the relevant weekly average price margin was around 1.9 cents per litre less on average,” Mr Rudd said.
   He said under the national Scheme, petrol stations in all metropolitan and major regional Centres would have to notify the ACCC of their future prices in advance; maintain the advised price for 24 hours; and apply the scheme to a wide variety of fuels.
   Mr Rudd said consumers would be able to access petrol price information through an email and SMS alert service, a toll free number and a National FuelWatch website.
   “By giving motorists highly detailed and up to date information about local petrol prices, FuelWatch will help motorists avoid being ripped off.”
   He said although the restrictions included in the FuelWatch Scheme meant there would be less flexibility for temporary upward and downward movements in prices, the ACCC said the effect of the scheme was to force retailers to post their most competitive prices every day.
   The Prime Minister warned consumers the Government could not monitor price rises due to fluctuations in international oil markets.
   “The National FuelWatch Scheme is not a silver bullet that breaks this nexus,” he said. “No Government policy can guarantee that petrol prices will always go down.
    “FuelWatch will ensure that drivers don’t pay one cent more than they have to when filling up at the bowser.”
   Mr Rudd said the scheme was a part of the Government’s response to the ACCC report into the price of unleaded petrol.
   He said it would cost $20.9 million over four years and would commence on 15 December this year, with a review to be undertaken in December 2009.

22 April, 2008
Aviation paper takes to the skies
The Minister for Transport, Anthony Albanese has announced that a White Paper to guide the future of the aviation industry would be developed by the Government.
   Mr Albanese said the Paper would be the first national policy statement to bring together all aspects of aviation policy into a single statement.
   He said the aim of the White Paper would be simple: “to provide greater planning and investment certainty for the industry as well as address the wider community and environmental impacts associated with air transport and airport development.”
   He said, as the first step on the road to the White Paper, an Issues Paper would be released to stimulate public debate.
   “The Government is asking all those with an interest in the future of the Australian aviation industry to consider the questions posed by the Issues Paper,” Mr Albanese said.
   He requested that all input and ideas be submitted by the end of June.
   When comments on the Issues Paper had been received, Mr Albanese said a ‘Green Paper’ would be released outlining possible policy directions, settings and reforms.
   He said this Green Paper would provide another opportunity for public input before the White Paper was finally developed.
   “Following this second round of consultation, the Government will finalise the White Paper, addressing each of the key short, medium and long term challenges identified,” Mr Albanese said.
   He said the White Paper would be completed by the middle of next year.
   Mr Albanese said the aviation industry underpinned domestic economic growth and provided an essential gateway to the global economy.
   “At present, the aviation industry directly supports nearly 50,000 jobs and contributes $6.8 billion to Australia's GDP,” he said.
   Mr Albanese said the Issues Paper was available at www.infrastructure.gov.au

22 April, 2008
Iraqi supporters to call Australia home
The Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzibbon has announced that Iraqi citizens employed by the Australian armed forces in their country are to be eligible for permanent resettlement in Australia.
   Mr Fitzgibbon said the locally-engaged staff included translators and interpreters and the resettlement policy recognised the personal security situation they would face when Australia withdrew its Overwatch Battle Group from southern Iraq later this year.
   He said people working with Australian troops and other forces in Iraq had been targeted in the past.
   Mr Fitzgibbon and the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans said a new visa policy would be adopted to allow the permanent resettlement in Australia of the local people and their families who would otherwise be at risk because of their links to the Australian troops.
   “The policy will apply only to Locally Employed Employees (LEEs) and their families specifically designated by the Government as eligible for a humanitarian visa,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
   He expected it would apply to about 600 applicants.
   Mr Fitzgibbon said the first group of LEEs to benefit from the policy would be a select group of Iraqis who had worked with, or for, the withdrawing elements of the Australian Defence Force.
   He said these people had repeatedly shown their commitment to the security of Australians in Iraq and the reconstruction operations they were undertaking.
   Senator Evans said the LEEs and their families would be granted permanent humanitarian visas after undergoing health, character and national security checks.
   He said they would be settled throughout Australia and those with relatives already living in Australia would be settled in the same State or Territory as their families, if that was possible.

22 April, 2008
Governance governs Faulkner speech
The Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service, Senator John Faulkner, has proposed that a Commission be set up to reform of the Australian Constitution.
   Speaking before the recent 2020 ideas summit in Canberra, Senator Faulkner described the Constitution as “creaking” and said it was struggling to cope with the demands of 21st century Government.
   “Today, the body that comes closest to making the Australian Federation workis the Council of Australian Governments,” he said.
   “Dig down into COAG and you find a complex web of inter-Governmental agreements and Ministerial Councils – a superstructure built around the Federation inconceivable to the framers of our Constitution.”
   He said a mature democracy should strive for better solutions.
   “A mature democracy should have a Constitution that reflects the realityof the body politic.
   “The nineteenth century structure of our Federation is creaking, if not being stretched to breaking point, to meet twenty-first century demands.”
   Senator Faulkner said a vital aspect of modern public administration was not even part of the debate.
   “Governance is the Cinderella of discussions about our polity,” he said.
   “Governance is not just about choosing a Government - nor determining what that Government will do. It is also about the nitty-gritty, the nuts and bolts, the often boring detail of how a Government goes about its work, implementing policies and delivering programs.
   “It is the concrete steps we take after announcing our purpose.”
   He said to achieve real reform in governance, the idea that there was a division of purpose and process, of ends and means must be overcome.
   He said the problems with the Constitution and the way Governments approached it showed the need for reform.
   “Governments are reluctant to press for structural change,” he said.
    “They expect rebuff from citizens - and with reason: 36 of 44 referenda for constitutional change have been defeated.
   “This leads to impasse, not balance - stagnation, not equilibrium”
   Senator Faulkner said the result was that the integrity of governance was compromised.
   “We have seen a period when the apolitical nature of the Public Service has been tested and Public Servants’ role in policy development constrained,” he said.
   “We have seen increased emphasis on security and secrecy undermining openness and transparency.
   “And we have seen new laws restricting rights and freedoms pass without a yardstick to measure or restrain them.”
   He said the way to resolve these issues was for:

• Greater transparency in the electoral system;
• Tough codes of conduct for everyone in the political system;
• Guidelines to keep partisan politics out of Government advertising;
• A ‘pro-disclosure’ culture in Government; and
• Government appointments made on merit.

• Registration as an “alternative remittance” provider
• Australian financial services licence holders
• What constitutes a reporting entity
• Access to AUSTRAC information
• Suspect transactions and suspicious matter reports
• Threshold transactions.

SBS in modern upgrade
 The Special Broadcasting Service is to launch a new channel logo and reintroduce its slogan ‘six billion stories and counting’.
   The change, to be introduced on May 7, followed audience research on the need to modernise the SBS image.

No-one called on Do Not Call
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has confirmed that no telemarketing companies had been fined for breaching the Do Not Call Register which ais approaching its first birthday.
   ACMA’s Grant Simons said, however that investigations into some companies were under way.
   Launched last year, the Register makes phone calls by telemarketers to registered numbers illegal. Fines could range from $1,000 to $1.1 million.

Auditor in print
The Australian National Audit Office has published three new information leaflets detailing its functions, operations and financial and performance audits.
   The colourful publications explain the role of the ANAO, with an introduction to each one written by Auditor-General, Ian McPhee.
   Mr McPhee says the ANAO aims to add value to public sector performance by helping improve the efficiency and administrative effectiveness of the APS and by providing an independent  assurance of its financial reporting, administration, control and accountability.

OHS awards
The National Safe Work Australia Awards are to be held on 28 April at Parliament House, Canberra.
   The awards are to recognise Occupational Health and Safety excellence in the Public and Private sectors, and would be presented by Bill Scales and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard.
   For more information visit www.ascc.gov.au

ABARE abuzz with bee study
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics is to undertake an Australia-wide survey of Australia beekeepers.
   The survey, to be conducted on behalf of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation’s Honeybee program would explore the characteristics of honeybee businesses in a bid to develop strategies to improve the industry.
   Results were expected to be released in July.

ACMA in spectrum call
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has invited comments and feedback on the recommendations made in the Final Report of the Independent Review of Government Spectrum Holdings and the Commission’s response paper.
   The review addressed achieving a balance between Government and community use of the radiofrequency spectrum.
   For further inquiries, email christopher.hose@acma.gov.au or visit www.acma.gov.au

Airservices expands trial
Airservices Australia has announced it would expand the aviation safety trial of the Universal Communications Frequency to Port Macquarie, Hervey Bay and Karratha.
   Chief executive of the Agency, Greg Russell, said the move came as the regional airports were experiencing growth in passenger movements and expansion of the mining and tourism industries.
   He said Airservices would fund the trial.

15 April, 2008
PS in line for IT reboot
An independent review of the management of information and communication technology across the Australian Public Service has been announced by Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner.
   The review is to be conducted by the former Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Treasury’s Office of Government Commerce, Sir Peter Gershon.
   Mr Tanner said the review would be aimed at identifying ways to strengthen the whole-of-Government management of ICT and maximise efficiency while providing better services.    He said the review would examine the way Agencies manage their ICT investments, including maintenance, intra-agency links, development and staffing.
   “The Australian Government has approximately $10 billion in ICT assets,” Mr Tanner said, “and spends around $6 billion per annum on ICT encompassing procurement, maintenance, development and staff costs.”
   He said the expenditure had been uncoordinated in the past, leading to serious inefficiencies and cost blowouts.
   "There are clear opportunities for efficiency gains in information and communication technology.
   “But we also want to use this review to ensure Australians can access convenient and high quality Government services.”
   Mr Tanner said Sir Peter Gershon had undertaken several major strategic reviews for the UK Government on procurement including one that examined ICT and public sector efficiency. He said those reviews achieved an estimated £23 billion in budget savings.
   "Sir Peter’s track record at the most senior levels of both industry and government in the UK speaks for itself," Mr Tanner said.
   "His expertise as an industry leader, strategist and highly effective reviewer of public administration makes him a compelling candidate to review the way in which the Australian Government manages its use of ICT."
   Sir Peter is to be supported by the Department of Finance and Deregulation and is to report to the Minister by September 2008.
   Mr Tanner said the review was part of a broader ongoing reform agenda to improve the efficiency of Government spending and deliver better value for money.

15 April, 2008
PS ticked off in workforce survey
A survey by an employment company has shown that Australia’s Public Servants enjoy their working hours and conditions, are continuously on the lookout for another job but don’t particularly like their bosses.
   The study, by internet placement agency SEEK, highlighted mixed feelings among Public Servants when it came to their jobs.
   There was strong support for flexible working hours and family-friendly working hours but more than half the staff surveyed felt unappreciated at work and 28 per cent were unhappy with the quality of overall management.
   SEEK surveyed 5159 jobseekers and found that despite the perceived difficulties in the profession, Public Servants were the workers most likely to plan another decade or more with the same employer. Flexible conditions were the highlights of the job, with one in five Government workers saying they loved that part of their deal.
   The National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, Stephen Jones warned that the impact of cuts to the Public Service, widely expected as part of the Government’s first budget, could result in a loss of talent from the Australian Public Service.
   “Public servants will play a crucial role in implementing the Government’s election promises, so ensuring the APS is adequately resourced will be an early test,” Mr Jones said.
   “While there’s been plenty of early enthusiasm, commitment and long hours from Public Servants, the realities of a tight labour market, unsustainable workloads and insufficient resources could mean our best and brightest start to look elsewhere.”
   Mr Jones said that while the CPSU was opposed to the “blunt instrument” of the blanket 2 per cent efficiency dividend, the union recognised that the Government had announced the measure during the election campaign and accepted that it would be implemented over the coming year.
   However there was a need to “develop more sophisticated, comprehensive and innovative strategies to deliver sustained efficiencies and build the productive capacity of the Public Service, similar to the challenges faced by other sectors of the economy.”
     SEEK sales director Joe Powell said while Government work might be the last bastion of the job-for-life, it had a downside for job placement agencies.
   “The public sector has set the benchmark for flexible working conditions, however, there comes a point where conditions can become so comfortable that it is difficult for staff to move on,” he said.

15 April, 2008
APSC gives jobs website more work
The Australian Public Service Commission has improved the service offered by the website www.APSjobs.gov.au, announcing a series of changes and enhancements in an APS Circular.
   The website, launched in August 2007, provides a single entry point for Australian Public Service employment opportunities and some of the features now available include:
   • an improved search function allowing job seekers to look for jobs in a specified category, classification or location enhanced facilities for both job seekers and agencies. It includes:
   • an improved search function allowing job seekers to look for jobs in a specified category, classification or location
   • a service that allows a job seeker to save selected notices from their search results for future reference
   • an improved search function for promotions
   • a facility for job seekers to receive weekly email alerts of job vacancies
   • a new page for Agencies to advertise mobility and movement opportunities across the APS and for current APS employees to register their interest in mobility
   • another page for Agencies to advertise upcoming large scale recruitment initiatives
   • a new section bringing together all Senior Executive Service and other senior vacancies, promotions, engagements, and other employment actions
   • a gazette download page that allowed access to 12 months of Gazettes
   Other changes include:   
   • Reducing Agency deadlines from seven to two days for lodging notices in the electronic APS Employment   
   • New selection arrangements for Agency Head and Statutory Officeholder positions.
   • Improved reporting services for Agencies including:
     * Hits per notice;
     * Allowing agencies to view the number of employment decisions related to an original employment opportunity;
     * Announcements usage; and
     * User reports.
   The Circular says some other features of the site included an improved search function allowing job seekers to look for jobs in a specified category, classification or location; and Ready Now, a register of former APS employees ready for short term work

15 April, 2008
Pensions watchdog told not to bite
Centrelink has been called on to stop chasing clients to repay small debts that had been forgiven by the previous Federal Government.
   Shadow Minister for Human Services, and Minister in the former Government, Senator, Helen Coonan, made the call, saying Centrelink had referred written-off debts to debt collectors who were “hounding” people unable to pay.
   “I have received numerous complaints from distraught Centrelink customers about the unfair treatment they are receiving,” Senator Coonan said.
   “Many people have moved and have not received the debt collection letter at all. Others are in no position to pay with just seven days notice.”
   She described the process as a Government ‘back-flip.’
   “I am calling on the Minister for Human Services Joe Ludwig to show some commonsense and stop persecuting hardworking Australian families over minor debts that have been waived by the previous Government.”
   Senator Coonan said it would cost more to pursue the minor amounts involved than would be realised in the likely recovery.
   “There is a serious question whether there is any legal basis to pursue debts that have been forgiven,” she said.
   “Any person who receives a claim for a debt that they believe had been waived should seek legal advice as to their position.”
   Senator Coonan directed people affected to Community Legal Centres.
   “Centrelink has an obligation only to recover what was lawfully owed,” she said.

15 April, 2008
APSC and Archives in old records duet
The Australian Public Service Commission and the National Archives of Australia have signed a “Records Authority” which allows the APSC to decide what happens to the records it created and manages.
   Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner, announced the deal which passes both a legal authority and a framework to the APSC to officially deal with its own records.
   Senator Faulkner encouraged other Departments and Agencies to negotiate their own Records Authorities with the Archives, saying it was necessary to identify important Commonwealth records so they could be preserved.
   “The process can also free up a lot of expensive storage space that’s housing material that the Archives could class as disposable,” Senator Faulkner said.
   He said the APSC Records Authority was one of 10 entered with the Archives since a new, streamlined approach to record keeping was introduced last August.
   He said other Departments and Agencies to enter Records Authorities included the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the (former) Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Department of Parliamentary Services.
   Director-General of the Archives, Ross Gibbs welcomed the arrangement with the APSC saying it would lead to an ongoing culling exercise and could lead to “nine out of ten” documents being done away with.
   “The Archives takes only about nine per cent of Agencies’ materials for the national record,” Mr Gibbs told the Canberra Times.
   “Most of what they’ve got, once it’s time-expired, can be removed and destroyed,” he said.

15 April, 2008
Horse doctors past post on Equine Flu
International animal health authorities have been officially informed that Australia is free of equine influenza.
   Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Andy Carroll said formal notifications had been sent to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Animal Health Trust and ProMED.
   “On 14 March 2008 horses were again able to move freely within Australia,” Dr Carroll said. “This is a significant animal health achievement.”
   He said the outcome of the program highlighted Australia’s capacity to identify, diagnose and manage animal disease incursions, as well as the nation’s highly developed and effective emergency management systems.
   Dr Carroll said assuming no evidence of active EI infection was found, on 30 June Australia would confirm that the EI virus was no longer present.
   He said monitoring and surveillance for EI would continue, consistent with OIE requirements and as part of Australia’s ongoing surveillance for exotic disease.
   “Since December 2007 over 32,000 horses have been tested with negative results,” he said.
   “The multi-faceted surveillance program has included epidemiological, clinical and laboratory investigations.”
   Dr Carroll said following the diagnosis of EI in late August 2007, Australia implemented a rigorous control and eradication program.
   He said the response included an initial national horse standstill, movement controls, trace-forward and trace-back, strict biosecurity measures and strategic vaccination in buffer zones and infected areas and extensive surveillance was also undertaken in both affected and unaffected regions.

15 April, 2008
Posties to put their stamp on Olympics
Three posties from Australia Post have been chosen to carry the good wishes of Australians to their favourite Olympians at this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.
   The winning trio is Malcolm Richmond, 54, a postal manager at WA’s Perth GPO; Kevin Ruddell, 51, a postal delivery officer at Victoria’s Ferntree Gully Delivery Centre; and Sue Merrett, 43, the licensee of Highgate Licensed Post Office in South Australia.
   The three were chosen from the nation-wide Olympic Postie competition conducted by Australia Post among its nearly 35,000 employees.
   National Sponsorship Manager at Australia Post, Terry Hearity said it was the fourth time since 1992 that the corporation had sent a team of posties to the Olympics.
   “We have been a long-time supporter of the Australian Olympic team and the Olympic movement,” Mr Hearity said.
   “We believe the posties make a significant contribution to the morale of the team when you consider they could be delivering more than 10,000 letters a day to the athletes.”
   He said during the Beijing Olympic Games - to be held from 8 to 24 August – the posties would l each spend one week sorting and delivering mail from families, friends and supporters of Australia’s Olympians.
   He said they would also deliver letters from children involved in the Australia Post Letter Link program which encouraged children to write to members of the Australian Olympic team and express their support and well wishes. The program involves more than 12,000 primary, secondary and special schools throughout Australia and aimed at encouraging literacy and letter writing by children.
   “The stint of the posties in Beijing will be no holiday,” Mr Hearity said.
   “The trio will be under immense pressure every day to sort and deliver a mountain of mail which peaks when our team’s medal tallying gets underway.”
   Australia Post first provided Olympic Games’ posties for Australian athletes in Atlanta in 1996.

15 April, 2008
Film body gives profits the flick
The Australian Film Commission has overhauled its terms of trade in a bid to ensure Australian film producers benefit more from the long-term use and exploitation of their projects.
   Chief Executive of the AFC, Chris Fitchett said the new arrangements would return more money to film producers and make their film businesses more viable.
   “The AFC is thrilled to announce these changes and is committed to assisting producers develop sustainable screen businesses,” Mr Fitchett said.
   “We hope that the revisions to our terms of trade will allow producers to benefit financially from further commercialization of their projects.”
   He said the AFC would now revert its share of revenue to the producer seven years after completion of AFC-funded projects. This reversion of revenue would apply to revenue generated by the project after 1 April 2008.
   Mr Fitchett said the completion date would be taken as the date of the final AFC payment made to the production and the AFC would also remain the disbursement agent unless the producer obtained written permission from all investors that permitted the producer to take on this responsibility.
   He said the AFC would retain its copyright share and credit and reporting obligations to the AFC would continue.
   He said these terms were in addition to the changes announced in January 2008 which abolished the 10 per cent reassignment premium, payable when the AFC’s share of copyright was reassigned; allowing the producer to retain the AFC’s share of Screenrights royalties; and making investments in short films, short animation films and digital media projects in the form of a grant with the AFC’s share of revenue assigned to the producer.
   Mr Fitchett said the AFC was able to rollover its development investment into an equity investment on projects that were greenlit for production by the Film Finance Corporation Film Australia and contracted for production between 1 January and 30 June 2008.

15 April, 2008
Privacy Awards go public
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has inaugurated an annual awards scheme to reward individuals who show outstanding commitments in the field of privacy.
   The Commissioner, Karen Curtis, has called on businesses, community organisations and Government Agencies to support the awards by making a nomination for the Australian Privacy Medal 2008.
   “Organisations’ good privacy practices, systems and projects demonstrate that our society is one that is generally committed to protecting and respecting people’s privacy,” Ms Curtis said.
   “In order to recognise and reward organisations for their positive contribution to privacy, I urge businesses, community bodies and Government Agencies to enter the Australian Privacy Awards program.”
   The Australian Privacy Awards and Australian Privacy Medal were launched by Senator John Faulkner, Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary.
   “The most effective protection of Australians’ privacy is in the day-to-day decisions and actions of both public and private institutions and organisations,” Senator Faulkner said.
   “Over the past 20 years of the Privacy Act there have been many individuals, businesses and community groups who have made substantial contributions to the role of privacy in Australia. These awards will provide the chance to recognise these achievements.”
   Commissioner Curtis said the Awards would be presented in four categories:
   * Large Business Award - for businesses with more than 100 employees.
   * Microsoft Small-Medium Business Award - for businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
   * Community and NGO Award - for not-for-profit organisations, such as charities, NGOs, industry bodies, advocacy organisations, and social, cultural, sporting or community groups.
   * Symantec Government Award - for any Government Agency at a local, state or national level.
   She said a Grand Award will be presented to the most outstanding entrant.
   The Australian Privacy Medal is open to any individual who has exhibited an outstanding level of achievement in advancing privacy in Australia.
Commissioner Curtis said the deadline for nominations for the Awards and Medal was 9 July and the presentation to the winners would take place at a gala dinner on 27 August.

15 April, 2008
ACCC to suck and see on water markets
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has called for public comment on an issues paper exploring options for the development of water market rules.
   The water market rules form a key component of the Water Act 2007, which creates new institutional and governance arrangements to address the sustainability and management of water resources in the Murray-Darling Basin.
   The rules will ensure that policies or administrative requirements of operators of irrigation infrastructure who hold a group water access entitlement on behalf of their member irrigators, do not unreasonably prevent or delay trade.
   “The purpose of the water market rules is to free up the trade of water within the Murray-Darling Basin,” the Chairman of the ACCC, Graeme Samuel said.
   “A well-functioning water market will contribute to improved water use efficiency as well as send clearer signals about efficient investment in water infrastructure assets.
   “Reducing restrictions on the trade of water provides irrigators with greater flexibility in managing their water rights.”
   Minister for Water, Senator Penny Wong said Government policy was to free up water trade across the Murray Darling Basin.
   “These regulations will help ensure stakeholders have a clear role as the ACCC develops water charging and market rules,” Senator Wong said.
   She said the ACCC was expected to report on water market rules later this year, with water charging rules to be developed by early 2009.
   “I encourage community involvement in the process, and call for comments from the Basin States along with key water stakeholders and the public,” Senator Wong said.
   She said the agreement forged recently with the States to secure the sustainable future of the Basin included a commitment to further strengthen the role of the ACCC in the Basin’s water market.
   The ACCC will accept submissions until 9 May 2008 and details of how to make a submission can be found in the issues paper, which will be available from the ACCC website.
   Mr Samuel said the ACCC intended to release a suite of issues papers covering bulk water charges, charges of irrigation infrastructure operators and charges levied to recover the costs of water planning and management activities in due course.

15 April, 2008
Film ushers in science anniversary
A special documentary on the history of the Australian nuclear industry is to be screened in Sydney to mark 50 years of nuclear science.
   Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum will show the documentary about the history of the Australian nuclear industry and the contribution Australia’s first nuclear research reactor, HIFAR (High Flux Australian Reactor) made to Australian science.
   Commissioned by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, (ANSTO) to record HIFAR’s historical role and achievements through the voices of some of the staff who worked there and scientists who used the facility, the documentary is said to give an entertaining and educational insight into what HIFAR delivered for Australia and how it touched peoples lives.
   During its lifetime, HIFAR - which has now been shut down and in the process of decommissioning - supplied millions of patient doses of nuclear medicines to Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and allowed cutting-edge nuclear science to take place.
   The date of the screening – 18 April – also marks the exact date that HIFAR was officially opened 50 years ago by Prime Minister, Robert Menzies.
   The Powerhouse Museum’s permanent exhibition, Nuclear Matters, gives people the chance to really understand what nuclear is all about.
   The exhibition is divided into five areas: nuclear basics; nuclear in our lives, including nuclear medicines and internal body scanning; nuclear sciences; nuclear power generation; and nuclear perspectives which includes changes in social attitudes over the last century.
   The documentary will screen on between 10am and 3pm with a guided tour of the permanent exhibition at 11am, 1pm and 2pm.

15 April, 2008
Agencies up front on leader training
A number of Government Departments and Agencies have been successful in winning grants to host future leaders form the Asia-Pacific region under AusAID’s Australian Leadership Awards -Fellowships program.
   Eighteen organisations, including Government departments, universities, courts, research, and planning bodies, have been given grants to host 173 Australian Leadership Awards Fellows from 13 countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
   AusAID is providing funding of more than $4 million for Fellows to undertake professional development placements to help strengthen Australia’s ties with the Asia-Pacific region and advance regional reform.
   The program allows Fellows earmarked as current and future leaders in their fields, gain access to Australian ideas and expertise across a broad range of development areas including pandemics, climate change, international trade, regional security and governance.
   The Fellows will be able to use the knowledge and experience gained to drive social and economic reform in their own countries and enhance links with Australia.
   According to AusAID, the Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships program continues to engage with a wide cross-section of the Australian community on aid delivery issues and priorities for development in the region.
   Fellows will gain valuable experience through placements with organisations across the Australian Government, university, research and private industry sectors.
   Fellows have been selected from countries as diverse as China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Bhutan and East Timor.

15 April, 2008
Librarians plug in to internet info
An international gathering of librarians and archivists in Canberra has warned that the explosion of internet communications was threatening the worldwide loss of irreplaceable information about human history, commerce, political movements and its creative life.
   Director-General of the National Library of Australia, Jan Fullerton, said at the second General Assembly of the International Internet Preservation Consortium that the world risked losing its digital memory and that libraries around the world were working together to try to save it.
   “Capturing and ensuring access to content on the Web for future generations – not just as an historical and cultural record but also as raw material for research and creativity – is a challenge gaining momentum across the world,” Ms Fullerton said.
    “The National Library is a world leader in this area and has saved many notable Australian websites since 1996, including the Sydney Olympic Games and election campaign sites, but much more needs to be done.”
   She said more could be done with greater resources and copyright changes to ensure ongoing access to online materials.
   “But without adequate recognition, policy development, planning and investment in research and infrastructure development, much of Australia’s ever-increasing digital memory will be lost,” Ms Fullerton said.
   The NLA’s Director of Web Archiving and Digital Preservation, Colin Webb, compared the situation around the world to book-burning on a grand scale.
   “If this loss of information was deliberate we would all be appalled,” Mr Webb said.
   “It will only be in the future that it is realised how much we have lost accidentally and how important it was.”
   The General Assembly brought together experts from around the world to share and discuss policies, methods and standards for web archiving, strategies for preservation and ongoing access, and to collaboratively develop the open-source software tools needed to achieve these objectives.
   Organisations represented at the meeting include the US Library of Congress, the British Library, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Japan’s National Diet Library and the Internet Archive.

15 April, 2008
Study of exit fees worth banking on
The findings of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s review of mortgage entry and exit fees have been released.
   According to Treasurer, Wayne Swan the review reveals that exit fees varied dramatically, thereby highlighting the importance of ensuring banks and other lenders faced as much competitive pressure as possible.
   “The Government asked ASIC to undertake this review as part of our efforts to foster a more competitive banking system that works for Australian families, not against them,” Mr Swan said.
   “We want the banking system to offer families a real choice of financial products, including on the important issue of the level of fees and the services provided.”
   Mr Swan said the Government understood there was widespread concern in the community about various aspects of the mortgage industry – including the conduct of mortgage brokers and the level of fees charged on mortgages.
   He said that was why the Commonwealth and States had reached an historic agreement to develop a national regulatory framework for mortgage lending, to be overseen by the Commonwealth.
   He said the framework would be informed by the ASIC report which shone a light on high exit fees, and would help ensure full disclosure of fees and boost competition in the banking sector.
   Mr Swan said he had been encouraged to see that one major bank had already offered a new mortgage product free of exit fees and he noted the ASIC report showed various other lenders also offered products free of exit fees.
   He said by increasing competitive pressure on the banks, the Government was helping to ensure that those banks and other lenders which offered the best value would be rewarded.

15 April, 2008
Art attack brings Agencies together
The Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have entered a strategic partnership to deliver more and better arts services to the Australian community.
   The arrangement will see more arts programs on ABC TV presented on a wider selection of digital delivery platforms.
   Australia Council Chairman, James Strong and ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott explained the benefits of the partnership.
   Mr Strong said, “Each year the Australia Council invests more than $150 million in the creation of high quality works by Australian artists and arts organisations, and we are continually looking for ways to access new and bigger audiences for this work.
   “This partnership with ABC TV will help us grow and diversify our support for Australian artists and give more Australians the opportunity to experience and enjoy Australia’s arts in new and more accessible ways.”
   He said ABC TV, through ABC2, the ABC’s strong presence on the internet, as well as its new internet channels, could provide a digital platform for Australia’s artists and arts organisations to reach audiences nationwide. He said it could also lead to artists and arts organisations exploring issues around rights’ management and business models in the digital era.
   Mr Scott said the national broadcaster looked forward to an enhanced engagement with Australia’s creative communities.
   “Through this groundbreaking venture, the ABC will be able to play a key role in supporting the creation and distribution of contemporary artwork via all its digital platforms,” Mr Scott said.
   He said under the partnership, the Australia Council and ABC TV would develop a number of initiatives spanning the breadth of arts genres and practice, in a range of formats, including live performance.
   He said ABC TV would present the arts programming across the schedules of ABC1, ABC2, ABC online, Second Life, internet channels, and through mobiles, vodcasts and user-generated content.
   The first project in the partnership was a live broadcast of Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake, performed by The Australian Ballet at Sydney Opera House which was screened live on ABC2.
   It was also beamed direct to the Australian Film Commission’s digital cinemas around Australia and to Federation Square in Melbourne.
   The next project would be My Favourite Australian, an initiative with the National Portrait Gallery, which would see the production of film and video art portraits of much-loved Australians.
   Mr Strong and Mr Scott said other initiatives in the pipeline included other musical, performance and digital art events.

15 April, 2008
IGOT makes tax return
The office of the Inspector-General of Taxation is to been retained as a separate independent statutory office.
   Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, Chris Bowen announced the decision, which he said was taken after consultation with the accounting and legal professions.
   The Government had decided to consider the transfer of the IGOT’s functions as a cost-saving measure.

Button dies
Former Minister for Industry, John Button has died of pancreatic cancer.
   Following a career as an industrial lawyer during the 1960s, Mr Button entered the Senate in 1974, serving Victorians in this capacity for nearly 20 years.
   He was a Minister in both the Hawke and Keating Governments, retiring as Industry Minister in 1993.
   He was 74.

Visas to be looked at
 Industrial Relations Commissioner, Barbara Deegan has been asked to examine the integrity of the temporary skilled migration program.
   Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans said Commissioner Deegan would look into concerns about the exploitation of migrant workers, salary levels and English language requirements under the section 457 scheme.
   She is to report by 1 October.

Navy to be capable
The Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal has approved the introduction of a Navy Capability Allowance in a bid to retain workers.
   It is the first time a Capability Allowance has been sought by the Defence Force but has the backing of the Commonwealth Government and the Returned Services League.
   The Allowance would be short-term and its effectiveness evaluated.

AEC chases youth vote
The Australian Electoral Commission has used the opportunity of National Youth Week, to encourage all young Australians to enrol to vote and to make sure their enrolment was up to date.   Electoral Commissioner Ian Campbell said enrolling to vote was an important step for young people as it meant they could have their say in federal, state and local government elections.
   Youth week ran from 5 to 13 April.

Literary Chair a good read
The Government is to fund a new Chair in Australian Literature to be established at the University of Western Australia.
   $1.5 million is to be provided towards the initiative which is aimed at re-invigorating the study of Australian literature at university, in schools and throughout the community.
   The funding decision follows a competitive process which was open to all Australian universities and was drawn from the Diversity and Structural Adjustment Fund.

Air Force lands recruit centre
The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd, has opened a new recruit training precinct at RAAF Wagga Wagga in NSW.
   The new facilities for 1RTU were part of the RAAF College Relocation project which attracted about $60 million in funding. The project has been delivered on time and on budget.
   According to Air Marshal Shepherd, the new state-of-the-art facilities include a new headquarters building, multi-storey living-in accommodation buildings, training facilities, a physical fitness centre, medical and dental facilities, weapon and field training areas, improved mess facilities and a recruit recreation facility.

Sub wins second cup
Rockingham-based Collins Class submarine HMAS Rankin has won the Gloucester Cup for a second time.
   The Cup, which was instituted in 1947, acknowledges excellence against a range of performance criteria including operational efficiency; seamanship; supply and administration; officer and sailor training; maintenance and resourcefulness.
   Every RAN ship undergoes thorough evaluation and assessment in the selection process for the prestigious award.

8 April, 2008
Faulkner relates on relationship with PS
The Minister responsible for the Australian Public Service Commission, Senator John Faulkner, has detailed the Government’s attitude to the APS, saying there was a lot of work to do to restore it to its former position of trust and integrity in the Australian community.
   Addressing the Governing Council of the Community and Public Sector Union, Senator Faulkner said he was concerned that there was a perception that elements of the traditional Westminster approach to the appropriate relationship between Government and the Public Service have been watered down in recent years.
  “It is of course a favourite accusation for those opposed to a Government’s policies: that the Public Servants charged with carrying out those policies are ‘politicised’,” he said.
   “However, I think there is evidence that in recent years there have been instances when ‘politicised’ is the only appropriate word.”
   He said the re-establishment of the relationship would be underpinned by a comprehensive framework of ethics, professionalism and transparency.
   “For the Public Service, this means frank, comprehensive, impartial and evidence-based advice to Government from Public Servants,” Senator Faulkner said.
   “It means maintaining open, merit-based processes for appointments and promotions, including at senior level.
   “It means leaders who model probity and lead by example.
   “It also means fair and equitable employment decisions and adequate protections for Public Servants whose professionalism is under pressure or being threatened.”
   He said without these standards, the APS could not hope to retain the skilled and experienced staff that were central to the Government’s programs of reform - or attract candidates of similar calibre.
   He said the relationship between the Public Service and the Government was unique.
   “The Government is not only their Government, but also their employer,” he said.    “Governments too are dependent on the Public Service - on your competency, capability and professionalism. The best policies in the world would be judged failures by the public if poorly delivered.”
   Senator Faulkner said a healthy relationship between the Public Service and the Government was one based on respect and co-operation.
   “The Government must respect the independence and professionalism of the Public Service, and must not expect or pressure Public Servants to become servants of the political needs of the Government.”
   He said Australia needed a strong, unified, professional and apolitical career Public Service that was able to respond to changing needs.
   He said the Government was aware the PS had been going though “a time of uncertainty” since the election and said Ministers and MPs were aware not only of that trepidation but of increased workloads as well.
   “The Public Service will play a crucial role as we continue to move to implement our policies,” he said.
   “The enthusiasm and professionalism with which our requests have been met has been fantastic.”
   The Minister warned, however that would continue to be change and adjustment in the Australian Public Service.
   “As priorities and agendas change, the structure and organisation of the APS must change in response,” he said.
   “This is an ongoing part of Public Service administration but inevitably it is more intense when a change in Government brings a more pressing adjustment to policy orientation.”
   In concluding his address, Senator Faulkner said he hoped he would continue to have “fruitful dialogue” with the CPSU during his time as Minister but acknowledged they might not always agree.
   “I will always take your views into account,” he said.

8 April, 2008
Razor Gang sharpens its focus onto IT
Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner has launched phase two of his razor gang’s cost-saving blitz, taking aim at Public Service information technology.
   According to Mr Tanner, the PS could do better in procurement and fighting duplication in its IT services and stood to save tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars.
   “Clearly there is a problem,” Mr Tanner told ABC radio,
   “We’ve got 164 different IT systems across the Commonwealth for processing individual grant applications.
   “We’ve got 800-odd websites. We’ve got eight different secure networks for all kinds of national security and defence and policing arrangements.”
   He said in recent years Agencies had been able to buy and install IT systems that suited their needs without regard for cross-agency integration.
   “Information technology in particular was $6 billion a year spent in a very haphazard and fragmented way.
   “And every time somebody wants to do something fractionally different from the Agency down the road, instead of being able to use the same system… they have their own.”
   He said the Government was looking for “very large” additional savings by tightening up on IT, well beyond the savings to be identified in the Budget.
   “I would certainly hope that in net terms we can get very substantial savings and that over time they’ll end up being in the hundreds of millions a year, not the tens of millions,” Mr Tanner said.
   “This is part of the second stage of the razor gang.”
   He denied new IT purchasing and management arrangements would be centralised, saying he had a hybrid model in mind.
   “We don’t want to go to a centralised arrangement because that will just produce a different set of inefficiencies and waste.”
   He said there was a lot of work to be done on the new arrangements.
   “We‘ve just got to get the model right so that we get some of these disasters completely out of the system.”

8 April, 2008
Principles to teach redeploying Agencies
The Australian Public Service Commission has released the eight principles to be observed by Agencies when managing staff reductions at an Agency level.
   Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner directed the APSC to issue the principles when he announced the establishment of the APS Career Transition and Support Centre recently.
   “These principles will provide consistency and transparency in the management of excess staff across the Public Service as well as a continued focus on skills building within Agencies,” Senator Faulkner said.
   “The Government is determined that Public Servants and their families are not put under undue stress during this transition period.”
   The eight principles are:

1. Agencies are to explore redeployment options for excess staff both internally and, if no suitable positions are available, within the wider APS.
2. Agencies with excess (or potentially excess) staff will need to consider them for appointment before undertaking external advertising.
3. Agencies recruiting employees should give consideration to staff seeking redeployment opportunities from other Agencies.
4. Downsizing processes will need to be clear and transparent, with strong communication and consultation with employees and their representatives.
5. Agencies should make every effort to continue training and skills development.
6. Care will need to be taken to ensure that downsizing does not unreasonably reduce the diversity in Agency workplaces.
7. Targeted Voluntary Retrenchment packages may be offered if it means retaining highly valued employees.
8. Compulsory retrenchments are to be avoided.
   

   Among the points made in elaborating on the principles are that there is to be no recruitment freeze, redeployed staff are to move into new positions as early soon as possible, (4 weeks is a guide) and redeployment should not be used to unload underperforming staff
   More details on the principles can be found on the APSC website www.apsc.gov.au

8 April, 2008
Union action to strike out threats
The Community and Public Sector Union has resolved to launch a new industrial campaign to deal with immediate and on-going threats to public sector jobs and quality public services. It will also try to prevent forced redundancies.
   A recent meeting of the Union’s 60-member Governing Council in Canberra decided to strongly support a recommendation that it fight against the threats over the next 12 months and campaign for abolition of arbitrary efficiency dividends from future budgets.
   According to CPSU National Secretary Stephen Jones, Australia has not automatically become a “workers’ nirvana” since the November Federal election.
   “The CPSU makes no apology for campaigning for a change of Government. However the election outcome will not change the way the union operates,” Mr Jones said.
   “We will still need to stand up and fight for the things we believe in under this Government, just as we did under 11½ years of Coalition Government.
   He said the CPSU would do all it could to secure decent workplace rights into the future and ensure Australian workers’ rights were never again threatened as they were by WorkChoices.
   “There remains plenty of unfinished business around existing agreements made under WorkChoices, transitional issues and fixing the previous Government’s changes to health and safety rights, workers’ compensation and superannuation,” he said.
   The Governing Council endorsed a plan to improve paid maternity leave in the APS to 14 weeks by 2008, 20 weeks by 2011 and 26 weeks by 2013.
   This was just one of the issues outlined in the detailed report Next Steps, which covered the CPSU’s agenda for the next five years and beyond. Other issues the Union will seek to have a significant influence on include:
   • transition to retirement;
   • professional and career development;
   • environmentally friendly workplaces;
   • a modern and equitable superannuation system for all members, including bringing super in the ACT and NT Public Services up to 15 per cent;
   • engaging members as volunteers around issues and beyond workplace activism; and
   • building union capacity.
   Mr Jones said there would be a comprehensive consultation process to get members’ input into all of the above beginning in May-June with section councils and issue groups. There would also be externally provided focus groups, polling and research on these plans.   
   This would be followed in August by regional delegates’ conferences before presenting the results for endorsement at the next Governing Council in September.
   A number of changes to the CPSU Executive Committee were also announced with Louise Persse taking over as National President, former President Mark Gepp becoming Assistant National Secretary, and Michael Tull and Lisa Newman Deputy National Presidents with Rupert Evans and Nadine Flood Deputy Secretaries.

8 April, 2008
Industrial Tribunal is award job winner
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has been asked to overhaul and modernise Australia’s industrial awards system.
   Minister for Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard officially requested the AIRC to take on the project following passage of the Transition to Forward with Fairness Act 2008.
   The request was developed in consultation with members of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council.
   “The Government understands that modernising and simplifying our award system is a huge job, but it is a job that needs doing to ensure this nation moves forward with fairness,” Ms Gillard said.
   She said together with the 10 National Employment Standards, modern awards would ensure a fair and simple minimum safety net for all employees when the Government’s new workplace relations system commences full operation in January 2010.
   She said modern awards would:
   • build on the 10 National Employment Standards with industry-specific detail;
   • protect a further 10 important conditions for employees such as minimum wages, penalty rates, overtime and allowances;
   • promote flexible modern work practices and the efficient and productive performance of work; and
   • be simple to understand and easy to apply and reduce the regulatory burden on business.
   Ms Gillard said the AIRC would develop the modern awards in consultation with key stakeholders including unions and employer groups.
    In addition there will be open and transparent consultation on exposure drafts of modern awards so members of the public can have their say.
   The Commission has been asked to complete the award modernisation process by 31 December 2009.

8 April, 2008
Workplace watchdog puts young to work
The Workplace Ombudsman has issued a warning to tertiary and vocational students to take care that they don’t get ripped off in the workplace.
   The Ombudsman, Nicholas Wilson used the occasion of National Youth Week, which runs until 13 April, to urge part-time and casual workers to take the trouble to get to know their workplace rights.
   “For most students, undertaking part-time or casual work is essential in order to support their lifestyle and supplement living and study expenses,” Mr Wilson said.
   “This doesn’t mean employers should see this is an opportunity to exploit young workers.”
   He said as many students would be securing new working arrangements over the coming months, it was a timely announcement of the protections that existed in the workplace.
   He said a new young workers fact sheet, Don’t Get Ripped Off, had been released and could be accessed via the Workplace Ombudsman website at www.wo.gov.au
   Topics covered include information on workplace agreements, correct rate of pay, holiday entitlements and tips on what to expect when finishing up with a particular employer.
   He said younger workers needed to pay particular attention to:
   • correct rates of pay;
   • accurate time and wages record-keeping and issue of timely pay slips;
   • avoidance of unfair workplace practices such as delayed starts and unpaid training; and
   • steps to resolving workplace disputes and issues.
   Mr Wilson said in his experience, most employers wanted to do the right thing by their employees but there was still a need to equip young working Australians with information about their workplace rights.
   He wrote to all Universities and TAFE colleges across Australia to inform students about their rights and obligations in the workplace. Each institution was provided with copies of the fact sheet for use within student careers/employment resource Centres.
   “Often starting formal study and training is the first time a young person lives independently [from their family] and the transition can be very stressful,” Mr Wilson said.

8 April, 2008
RAAF joins jetset on Facebook, YouTube
The Royal Australian Air Force has launched its own Facebook and YouTube websites to communicate more effectively with its widely dispersed personnel.
   Accepting that not all RAAF members have access to the internet at work but almost all do at home, the RAAF is to use the popular websites to provide and update important information on topical issues and events and encourage communications between staff.
   According to Air Force News, Facebook allows photographs and video clips to be posted as well as facilitates networking and group discussions between members on line.
   It also allows news to be disseminated and noticeboards set up for important personnel issues.
   RAAF management make clear that the new sites will not replace existing formal communications channels but will provide a less formal method for sharing information.
   Director -General of Air Force Personnel, Air Commodore John Hewitson said the move would drive personnel management into the future.
   “It is important for members of the Air Force family to keep in touch,” Air Commodore Hewitson said.
   “That is something that can be difficult with a workforce that is so mobile and dispersed.”
   He said the new sites would allow Air Force families to communicate with one another all over the world as well as share photos and videos.
   He said the new initiative could also grow into a useful recruiting tool.

8 April, 2008
Immigration paid off on detainee debt
The Commonwealth Ombudsman has found that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship was dealing with bad debts from immigration detainees properly.
   In his report into detention debt waiver and write-off at DIAC, the Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan found that the Department was acting in accordance with legislative and policy requirements but there was scope for improvement.
   Under the law, non-citizens detained by immigration authorities are liable to repay the Australian Government’s costs of detention, including transportation and a daily maintenance allowance.
   During the year to 30 June 2007, DIAC raised debts of over $28 million for the detention of unlawful non-citizens and although it had the power to write off a debt, only the Department of Finance could waive it.
   The Ombudsman said DIAC had an obligation to be particularly careful in the way it handled these debts.
   “The Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s administration of detention debt needs to be of a high standard because a detention debt can have significant consequences for an individual,” Professor McMillan said.
   “We examined this issue because complaints to my office highlighted some areas of concern.”
   He said his office investigated whether DIAC’s administrative processes and procedures were appropriate and whether they were applied reasonably and consistently across the Department to individuals.
   “We found that overall DIAC is administering detention debt waiver and write-off according to legislative and policy requirements,” Professor McMillan said.
   “However, we also found scope for improvement in the timeliness and prioritisation in processing cases, the consistency and reasonableness of decisions on debt waiver and write-off, and in record keeping and communication with clients.”
   He called for DIAC to provide clear and consistent information about a person’s options and regular updates on the amount of their debt while in detention.
   He made six recommendations, including that DIAC change its policies and practice on both the management of debt waiver and debt write-off; that it review the circumstances of people in detention awaiting removal from Australia; and that it update relevant information systems in a timely manner.
   The Secretary of DIAC, Andrew Mertcalfe, accepted all the Ombudsman’s recommendations.

8 April, 2008
OH&S review is a call for the doctor
A national review into Model Occupational Health and Safety Laws has been announced by Workplace Relations Minister, Julia Gillard.
   Ms Gillard said the Government had committed to work cooperatively with State and Territory Governments to harmonise OHS legislation within five years of coming to office.    She said harmonising OHS laws would cut red tape, boost business efficiency and provide greater certainty and protections for all workplace parties.
   Ms Gillard said three eminent panel members had been appointed to conduct the review, including Robin Stewart-Crompton who will chair the panel and Barry Sherriff and Stephanie Mayman.
   Mr Stewart-Crompton is a former Chief Executive Officer of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission and has continued to work in the OHS field as a consultant.
   Mr Sherriff is the lead partner of Freehills’ OHS law practice and has extensive experience in advising on OHS issues with a focus on proactive strategies for compliance and accident prevention.
   Ms Mayman is a Commissioner in the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission and Chairperson of the Occupational Safety and Health Tribunal appointed under Western Australia’s OHS legislation.
   Ms Gillard said the team will review OHS legislation in each State, Territory and Commonwealth jurisdiction for the purpose of making recommendations on the optimal structure and content of a model OHS Act to apply nationally.
   She said the panel would consult with a broad range of stakeholders and submit its final report to the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council by the end of January 2009.
   Terms of Reference for the Revieware available on the National OHS Review website at www.nationalohsreview.gov.au

8 April, 2008
Financial factsheets right on the money
The Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, has launched a series of fact sheets for women who want to learn how to manage their money better.
   The Women Understanding Money fact sheets, which have been published online, are designed to help women of all ages and income levels improve their financial security, especially as they approach retirement.
   Ms Plibersek said there were 14 topics detailing real life stories that would provide women with essential and practical information on important financial issues, making the fact sheets relevant and easy to understand.
   “The Australian Government recognises the barriers women face in ensuring their long-term financial security,” Ms Plibersek said, “and these fact sheets provide a simple way for women to access the practical information they need.”
   She said women often made the day-to-day spending decisions in families as well as important decisions about their financial future.
   She said while women now had more choices than ever before about how they managed their money, they were still more likely to have time outside the paid workforce, have lower incomes and live longer than men, and these factors could limit their ability to accumulate adequate superannuation.
   She said figures released recently by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that women were less financially independent in retirement.
   ABS Retirement and Retirement Intentions figures showed that in 2006-07, almost half (47 per cent) of women at retirement rely on their partner’s income as their main source of income, followed by a government pension or allowance (33 per cent) and superannuation or annuity (7 per cent).
   By comparison, men relied predominantly on a government pension (52 per cent) and on superannuation or annuity (22 per cent).
   Ms Plibersek said topics covered by the factsheets included managing on a low income, superannuation, understanding financial terms, managing money when a relationship ends and the financial considerations when starting a family.
   She said the Women Understanding Money fact sheets were available for free online at www.ofw.facsia.gov.au and www.understandingmoney.gov.au

8 April, 2008
Price attack to track tax
Planned changes to consumer protection laws would ensure consumers know how much they pay in tax and Government charges when making a purchase at an advertised price.
   Minister for Consumer Affairs, Chris Bowen has announced that amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 would ensure consumers knew the total price they would have to pay for goods and services.
   He said the practice of Component Pricing would be dealt with by the law changes.
   “Component pricing is the practice of advertising prices as the sum of separate components,” Mr Bowen said.
    “For example, advertising an airfare as $100 plus $48 tax, fees and charges.
   “No longer will consumers feel ripped off when they suddenly discover that what they thought they were paying doesn’t take into account hidden taxes and charges.”
   Mr Bowen said without this information, consumers could not easily compare prices and so it made it even more difficult for consumers to shop around.
   He said the Government was serious about empowering consumers and strengthening the consumer’s right to know the total price of a good or service.
   “We are taking on reform in an area where the previous Government acknowledged there was a problem and talked about changes but never got around to doing anything about it.”
   He said the legislation would require that where a business advertised the price of a good or service to consumers, it would be required to display it as a single figure, the total price of the product, to the extent that it was quantifiable at the time of making the representation.
   Mr Bowen said he’d reviewed the previous Government’s draft legislation and had made some key changes, including:
   • removing postage and handling charges from the scope of the changes;
   • ruling out applying the rules to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 meaning that financial services would be exempt; and
   • clarifying that the changes would only apply to business to consumer transactions.
   “The Government is not interested in placing an undue burden on business or trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist,” Mr Bowen said.
   “These changes are sensible and achieve a commonsense balance between addressing the concern of consumers who quite rightly want to know what they are paying before they buy a product or service without placing an unnecessary burden on business,” he said.

8 April, 2008
Rare films shown light at Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive has uncovered rare films of former Australian leaders, believed never to have been screened before.
   Rare colour film of Prime Minister John Curtin visiting London, Washington and Ottawa in 1944 was one of the many collection items brought to light in a project undertaken by the NFSA.
   For more than three months NFSA staff have been identifying all existing film and sound records relevant to Australia’s 26 Prime Ministers, as a project with the support of the Australian Prime Ministers Centre.
   More than 6700 film and sound items have been confirmed with footage of all the PMs except John Watson and recorded sound of all but five (Barton, Deakin, Watson, Reid and Fisher).
   Director of the NFSA, Paolo Cherchi Usai said some very rare material had been identified.
   “The colour film of Curtin from 1944 is quite breath-taking,” Mr Cherchi Usai said.
   “It is unedited and shows, among other things, Curtin walking in discussion with Winston Churchill in a garden setting and other activity from the Conference of Dominion Prime Ministers.”
   He said the NFSA was indebted to the John Curtin Library for bringing the footage to light.
   Mr Cherchi Usai said NFSA’s holdings included many records of momentous historical events such as the declaration of the Commonwealth in 1901 involving Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin; Robert Menzies’ declaration of war in 1939; and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to members of the stolen generation earlier this year.
   He said what was probably the first televised political debate in this country, featuring Harold Holt, H.V. Evatt, William McMahon, Arthur Calwell and chairman Angus Maude, the Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald from 1958, was also in the NFSA collection. A 1935 recorded sound item of Joseph Cook recalling how he drove uptake of the telephone is fascinating, Mr Cherchi Usai said.
   Lighter moments are also in the collection including footage of Bob Hawke aged seven; the recording of a teenage John Howard on the Jack Davey radio show; and out-takes of Gough Whitlam appearing in a Bazza McKenzie film.
   “The film and sound media have documented Australia’s political journey since Federation in 1901 and the National Film and Sound Archive’s role is to preserve these records for all to research and enjoy,” Mr Cherchi Usai said.
   “We will build on the results of this project in the future and welcome feedback from the public on the work completed to date.

8 April, 2008
Public to have say in health diagnosis
Public input is to be welcomed in the quest to design a new national health system.
   The recently established National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission is seeking input from the public, frontline health workers, professional and consumer groups, and other interested people and organizations and has set up a dedicated website and an 1800 number collect ideas, innovations and suggestions to make the Australian health system better.
   Chair of the NHHRC, Dr Christine Bennett, said the Commission would engage with the community and health professionals as it worked to design a health system that provided what people and families needed and, importantly, was geared to serve the Australian community well into the future.
   “We need to hear from the people who use the health system and the people who work in it,” Dr Bennett said.
   “There are great ideas out there and we would like to know about them.”
   She said the Commission had developed draft principles for the Australian health system and was also inviting comment on these. The draft principles are available on the Commission’s website.
   Dr Bennett said there would be several stages of the NHHRC engagement program over the life of the Commission to link with key reporting dates.
   The NHHRC intended submitting an interim report in November 2008 with the final report completed in mid 2009.
   Individuals and organisations can make submissions by email to talkhealth@nhhrc.org.au, by mail to PO Box 685 Woden ACT 2606, or by calling 1800 017 533.
   Submissions will be accepted until the end of May and further details including the terms of reference of the Commission, the principles and a guide to making submissions, are available at www.nhhrc.org.au

8 April, 2008
New kilogram is weighty issue
Australian scientists with the National Measurement Institute may have redefined the “kilogram”.
   Small Business Minister Dr Craig Emerson, the Minister responsible for Australia’s National Measurement Institute, recently handed over two silicon spheres to the international measurement community during a special ceremony.
   He said the kilogram, the unit of mass in the International System of Units, was presently defined as the mass of a platinum-iridium cylinder sitting in a vault in France. He said there was evidence that the mass of the 119-year-old cylinder may have slowly changed over time in a small but measurable way.    “This presented a unique opportunity for staff from the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Precision Optics and the NMI to take part in the Avogadro Project,” Dr Emerson said.
   “The project is a global collaboration that aims to link the weight of the kilogram directly to the mass of atoms. It’s about scientific breakthroughs and providing the world with a reliable standard of mass.
   “More importantly, we have a standard in which we have complete confidence, to underpin present and future technological innovations.”
   Dr Emerson said the definition of the kilogram was the peak measurement standard of mass to which all others worldwide are traced.
   “I understand that not only are measurements of mass affected, the definition of the kilogram links directly to measurements for energy, electrical and chemical quantities,” he said.
   “Improving the kilogram will improve our measurement capabilities in these and other areas.
   “This is great news for those industries that rely on accurate measurement such as aerospace,” Dr Emerson said.

8 April, 2008
Mint big noting new contract
The Royal Australian Mint has signed a major contract for the upgrading of its materials handling and warehousing system.
   Family owned Australian business, Australis Engineering has won the tender, which will be aligned with the current building refurbishment project. Delivery is set for March 2009 and the total value of the contract is $7.4 million
   “Australis’s proposal is state of the art,” said Janine Murphy, CEO of the Mint.
   “Along with the refurbishment project, the new automated system using robots, automated guided vehicles and a unique multi-axis bucket elevator blank delivery system will ensure the Mint is a truly modern manufacturing facility that will not only meet all the Mint’s stated requirements but will attract thousands of additional visitors to the upgraded public gallery when the refurbished Mint reopens to the public in early 2009.”
   The Managing Director of Australis Engineering, Phillip Gustafson said his company was proud to have won the contract, which incorporated high levels of process automation, modernised infrastructure and equipment, and re-engineered processes to:
   • increase the physical security of coinage blanks and coins;
   • reduce OH&S risks through the physical separation of people and equipment;
   • reduce or eliminate manual handling;
   • automate real time accounting and auditing of blanks and coins as they progressed through the receipt, production, storage and delivery processes; and
   • minimise time wasted with work in progress and the transportation of materials around the Mint’s premises.
   The project provides for the complete design, supply, installation and commissioning of equipment and systems and will address all aspects of materials handling, warehousing and inventory control from receipt of blank coin, through manufacturing and production, quality control and warehousing, to the despatch of finished circulating coins.

8 April, 2008
Ship Inquiry to get to bottom of sinking
A Commission of Inquiry is to be launched into the fate of the recently discovered WWII battleship, HMAS Sydney II.
   Terence Cole has been appointed President of the Inquiry.
   Acting prime Minister, Julia Gillard announced the Inquiry saying information likely to become available as a result of the discovery of the shipwreck could lead the Commission of Inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the loss of the vessel with its entire crew in November 1941, following an engagement with the German raider HSK Kormoran.
   The wrecks of both ships were found recently off the coast of Western Australian.
   Ms Gillard congratulated the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, for establishing the Commission of Inquiry which would examine the 66-year mystery of how Sydney II was lost with all hands.
   “More than 600 of our nation’s finest sailors and airmen lost their lives and we still don’t know exactly how Sydney II met her end,” Ms Gillard said.
   “I hope that through this inquiry we have a better understanding of what happened on that fateful day. In particular, I know that this Inquiry will have special significance to the families of those who lost loved ones on Sydney II.”
   Air Chief Marshal Houston said Commissioner Cole was eminently qualified to preside over one of Australia’s greatest maritime mysteries.
   “I am extremely pleased that Mr Cole has accepted this appointment. He has a wealth of judicial experience and is very capable of undertaking this important task,” Air Chief Marshal Houston said.
   “During his distinguished career he has presided over two Royal Commissions, served as a NSW Supreme Court Judge, Judge of the NSW Court of Appeal and has held the position of Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Australian Defence Force.”

8 April, 2008
APSC Direction redirected
The Australian Public Service Commission has acted to remove ambiguities from a Direction covering the employment of non-ongoing Senior Executive Service staff for less than 12 months.
   The APSC has amended Clause 6.3 of the Directions to make clear that the employment must also satisfy the normal minimum requirements set out in the Directions.

DHA buys charity house
Defence Housing Australia has bought a house in Mawson Lakes, South Australia, that was built to raise funds for the redevelopment of the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
   The home was scheduled for auction mid-March but was purchased by DHA beforehand for $500,000.
   The money from the sale completes a $1 million target set by the fundraisers to complete redevelopment of the Fourth Floor Medical and Newland Wards of the hospital.

Lobbyists exposed in code
An exposure draft of the Lobbying Code of Conduct has been released to enable lobbyists and interested persons to comment on the proposed Register of Lobbyists.
   The proposed Register will allow Ministers and other Government representatives who are approached by lobbyists to establish whose interests the lobbyist represents so informed judgments can be made about the outcome they are seeking to achieve.
   This will be the first formal lobbyists register ever adopted by a Federal Government.

Unions honoured
Thirty-six members of the Community and Public Sector Union have been recognised for their outstanding contribution during the Rights At Work campaign.
   Margaret Gillespie, Lynton Sherry and Simon Cocker were awarded Life Membership of the Union and Steve Mastwyk was awarded a Meritorious Service Award.
   Others recognised included: Al Randall, Annette Clark, Carolyn Allen, Dianne Churchill, Frances Prentice, Bill Thomas, Brenda Higham, Dan Gerritsen, Ella Mullins, Glenys Lindner, Greg McCarron, Ivan Matthews, Kerri Lee, Lewis Albanis, Nick O’Gorman, Pauline Kreibig, Terri Brown. Alison Lapidge, Allison Wood, Andrew Kristjanson, Anna Hyland, Catherine Fitch, Lucy Gormly, Margaret Anderson, Margaret Close, Mary Molan, Tara Booth, Tiffany Karlsson, Victor Rodziewicz, Wendy Spicer, Tony Hyams, and Vanessa Ferguson.

ABC goes green
ABC offices and studios across the country are to implement changes to reduce energy, water consumption and waste while at the same time encouraging others to do so.
   The ABC has launched its Green At Work website at www.abc.net.au/greenatwork a straight-talking guide to going green at work, pulling together some of the best Australian resources to give the basics on what to do, plus a range of experts to answer green at work questions.

Galaxy mappers win prize
A team of astronomers from Australia and Great Britain has won the first Group Achievement Award from the British Royal Astronomical Society.
    The 33-member team has spent 10 years mapping the distribution in space of 220,000 galaxies using the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope in New South Wales - a project called the 2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey.
   The scale of the project was ground-breaking and for the first time the positions of a huge number of galaxies were able to be mapped and the subtle effects that revealed the different types of matter in the universe seen.

Science nominations sought
Australia’s scientists and science educators have been encouraged to nominate outstanding colleagues for this year’s Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science.
   The Prizes recognise the achievements of outstanding individuals and research teams, and reward the excellent work of Australian scientists and science educators.
   The Prizes will be awarded in five categories: Prime Minister’s Prize for Science ($300,000); Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year ($50,000); Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year ($50,000); Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools ($50;000); and Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools ($50,000).

Supplier fined
Canberra-based company, Serco Sodexho Defence Services has been fined $7500 in Sydney’s Federal Magistrates Court after it was found to have breached the Workplace Relations Act 1996.
The Court found thecompany applied duress to a young person when negotiating an Australian Workplace Agreement by telling a 19-year-old that is she didn’t sign up she would be sacked.
   Serco Sodexho Defence Services employs more than 6000 non-military people on Defence Department sites.

Australia Post licks charges
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued its third report on whether Australia Post’s competitive activities were being cross-subsidised by its monopoly activities.
   According to ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, the Commission was unable to find any evidence that Australia Post was benefiting by cross subsidisation, although one of its monopoly services was propped up from funds from other reserved activities.

1 April, 2008
Job clearing house gets the all-clear
The Government has recognised the personal impact of its proposed job-cutting policies in the Australian Public Service by establishing a Career Transition and Support Centre in the Australian Public Service Commission.
   The move followed calls from the Community and Public Sector Union for an effective whole-of-Government response to the redeployment process.
   Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner announced the new Centre saying it would “minimise the personal impact of the Government's planned efficiency measures on affected Public Servants.”
   Senator Faulkner said the Centre would manage and co-ordinate opportunities for excess staff to be redeployed across the APS.
   He said the Government was determined that the Public Service should be able to retain its corporate knowledge as well as the expertise and skills of its workers.
   “Our approach will ensure the retention and reallocation of staff with skills essential for implementing the Government's new policy agenda,” Senator Faulkner said.
   “The Centre will provide career transition advice and support services to excess APS employees, will assist with the redeployment of excess staff, and will provide strategic advice to Agencies on recruitment and redeployment matters.”
   He said it would commence operations on 1 May 2008.
   In addition, Senator Faulkner said, the Public Service Commissioner had provided Agencies with a set of eight principles to govern the handling of staffing reductions at an Agency level.
   He said these principles would provide consistency and transparency in the management of excess staff as well as ensure a continued focus on building skills within Agencies.
   He said the Government did not want to see Public Servants and their families put under undue stress during the transition period.
   As well as calling for a coordinated approach to redeployment, the CPSU demanded that no “involuntary” redundancies be ordered; that the Government give a commitment that workloads would be adjusted if staff numbers were; and that it confirm the 2 per cent increase in the efficiency dividend was a one-off exercise.

1 April, 2008
Senate pays off for PS pensions
Retired Public Servants have received a boost in their campaign to improve their pension arrangements with another Senate Committee urging the Government to change the rules and bring PS pension indexing into line with the age pension.
   The Senate Community Affairs Committee has recommended that Public Service and military superannuation pensions be linked to movements in average weekly earnings in preference to the Consumer Price Index.  
   The recommendation has been welcomed by the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association, a spokesman saying it was “very pleasing.”
   Indexation Campaign Manager with the SCOA, John Coleman said the Association submitted 13 recommendations to the Committee which handed down its findings last month.
   He said the main one was the need to address the “unfair” means of indexing Commonwealth and Defence superannuants’ pensions.
   “It was very pleasing to see that our recommendation re indexation was picked up by the Committee along with several other of our recommendations,” Mr Coleman said
   In its report, the Senate Committee called for increased standardisation of the indexing methodologies being used to maintain the purchasing power of pensions, social security and other Government retirement benefits.
   Its report entitled “A Decent Quality of Life” said the Government should note the limitations of the Consumer Price Index as an indexing device as well as the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Household Expenditure Indices.
   The Government… should index Commonwealth funded superannuation benefits and the military pension to Male Total Weekly Earnings or the Consumer Price Index , whichever is the higher,” it said.
   The report also noted that pensioners on fixed incomes were disproportionately affected by price increases for essential goods and services such as food, rent, petrol and household utilities.
   It said the lack of affordable dental services and the cost of pharmaceuticals were of particular concern.
   It said those most under stress were single pensioners – particularly women – and warned that many older people would need to work beyond the normal retirement age if they were to have enough superannuation to retire on.

1 April, 2008
ABC upgrade pulls plug on studio staff
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has unveiled plans to modernise some of its production facilities and has flagged the likelihood of staff losses and redundancies.
   ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott announced the plans, saying the moves would lead to greater multi-skilling of staff, although fewer employees, but that there would be full consultation with news staff, studio crews and unions.
   “We will be seeking to minimise redundancies through redeployment and retraining where possible,” Mr Scott said.
   The plan that threatens the jobs is the creation of ABC Resources, a new division combining production resources and resource hire to improve the Corporation’s ability to respond to changing demands in the digital media environment.
   Mr Scott said ABC Resources would provide the ABC with a more flexible, multi-skilled production workforce, able to provide facilities and skilled staff for both internal and external production.
   “The ABC is committed in the future to being a broadcaster and a producer of its own material - as it is today,” Mr Scott said.
   “That means sourcing the best quality material at the best price from both our own producers and the independent production sector.”
   He said the creation of ABC Resources would move production staff onto a sustainable model, better suited to the current and future needs in the digital media world in which the ABC now operated.
   “ABC Resources will formally start operation from 1 July. It will have a guaranteed level of internal production for ABC Television, underpinned by a more transparent system of transfer pricing to improve efficiency,” Mr Scott said.
   “By incorporating the ABC’s existing Resource Hire business, ABC Resources will also be well placed to market spare capacity, both labour and facilities, to external clients, improving efficiency and generating returns to the ABC.”
   Mr Scott said the creation of ABC Resources followed a detailed review of the ABC’s Television production methodology and practice.
   “One of the great challenges for the ABC is to keep faith with our traditional audiences on radio and TV, while keeping pace with audience trends in the rapidly emerging digital media space, notably the delivery of content via broadband,” he said.
   “To meet this challenge we need to harness the potential of new technology and have a more flexible workforce.”
   The Community and Public Sector Union was concerned it might be too late for the promised consultation.
   The Union’s Graeme Thomson was reported as saying he was not optimistic that discussions with staff would change the Corporation’s position.

1 April, 2008
Summit volunteers are 2020 vision
Commonwealth Public Servants are being asked to put in 20 hours of unpaid work at the upcoming 2020 ideas summit.
   Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the call for volunteers and the new Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and cabinet, Terry Moran, has written to Department heads asking them to nominate staff.
   The memo from Mr Moran said working at the ideas summit would provide a “unique opportunity to be part of the Government’s policy development process and represents an excellent professional development opportunity”.
   He said with up to 40 concurrent discussion groups, the summit secretariat was looking for 80 scribes to keep an accurate record of the discussions and summarise the essential elements, plus another 12 or so volunteers to help with media inquiries and facilitate media movements around the venue.
   National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, Stephen Jones said the CPSU supported the summit, but thought the Government had an obligation to do the right thing by its employees.
   “Obviously we support the summit and hope it’s a great success, but from what I’ve heard, the roles that people are being asked to perform seem like normal duties,” Mr Jones said.
   “If people are there in an official capacity, then normally you’d expect them to be paid. They’re normal sorts of arrangements, when people work additional hours, they do overtime or get time off in lieu or get some sort of recognition for the work that they perform.”
   The summit secretariat was reported as saying the response from the APS had been “extremely positive, with a large number of people from a number of Departments volunteering their services for both roles”.

1 April, 2008
Democrat voted in for Budget scrutiny
Australian Democrats Senator for Western Australia, Andrew Murray has been appointed by the Government to review transparency issues for the Budget as part of the Operation Sunlight reforms.
   Making the appointment, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said Senator Murray was widely-respected with major expertise in issues of financial transparency and parliamentary accountability.
   “He has been active in numerous Senate inquiries that have recommended major Budget and financial reforms,” Mr Tanner said.
   “Senator Murray will review options for greater disclosure of Budget and financial information, and provide a report to the Government before 30 June 2008.”
   Mr Tanner said the appointment was a significant down-payment on Operation Sunlight, the Government’s plan to improve Budget accountability and transparency.
   He said the Government was determined to improve Budget and financial information provided to Parliament and the public.
   He said key practical reforms to be implemented included:
   • streamlining and enhancing the information Agencies provided to Parliament;
   • simplifying the presentation of Budget Papers; and
   • requiring Agencies to provide clear information about currently funded operations.
   Further improvements would be made during the course of 2008 and be informed by the work of Senator Murray, Mr Tanner said.
   “The Government is delivering on its election commitment to improve transparency, openness and accountability in the presentation of Budget and financial information.”

1 April, 2008
2007 not so super for super funds
The country’s financial industries watchdog, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, has reported that the combined assets of superannuation accounts fell in the December quarter but there was overall growth for the year.
   APRA said industry and public sector funds grew in the quarter but the value of retail and corporate assets fell.
   APRA’s December 2007 Quarterly Superannuation Performance publication showed total assets over the 12 months to 31 December rising to a total of $1.18 trillion, despite a fall of $4.3 billion during the December quarter.
   Industry funds’ assets grew by 1.4 per cent ($2.9 billion) to $207.4 billion, and public sector funds’ assets increased by 0.2 per cent ($0.3 billion) to $181.5 billion. Retail funds’ assets fell by 1.3 per cent ($4.8 billion) to $373.3 billion, while corporate funds’ assets fell by 1.6 per cent ($1.2 billion) to $70.2 billion over the period.
   Contributions to funds with at least $50 million in assets over the December quarter were $20.8 billion, with employers contributing $13.7 billion and members contributing $6.6 billion. Other contributions, including spouse contributions and Government co-contributions, totalled $528 million.
   As the prudential regulator of the financial services industry, APRA oversees banks, credit unions, building societies, insurance companies and most members of the superannuation industry. It is largely funded by the industries it supervises.
   APRA supervises institutions holding approximately $3 trillion in assets for 21 million Australian depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members.

1 April, 2008
Army digs toes in over boot policy
The Australian Army has reviewed its policy on combat boots to offer soldiers more choice in footwear.
   Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy has released the new policy which he said was needed to cater for soldiers working in differing operations under differing conditions.
  He said it was clear that the standard in-service boot was not envisaged to meet the requirements of all soldiers in all conditions and that other boots could be more suitable in desert, tropical, temperate or cold weather operations.
   Director of Logistics with Army, Colonel Andrew Bottrell said the new policy allowed soldiers to purchase and wear four types of boots.
   “This policy…. provide(s) soldiers with a greater range of choice when on exercise or operations,” Colonel Bottrell said.
   He said the four boots that endorsed for selection were the Altama 4158 3LC, the Belleville M590; the Bates 30501 Durashock; and the Crossfire Peacekeeper Plus.
   “In barracks we’ll continue to wear the Terra boot,” he said. “Colonel Bottrell said the Army was continuing to assess non-issue boots and more could be added to the list.
   He said the current policy would be in place until the next generation of combat footwear was introduced, and that was unlikely before mid-2009.
   Lt-Gen Leahy said feedback he had received indicated most soldiers were happy with the standard in-service boot which had seen five versions developed since it was introduced in 1999.
   He had ordered that a boot-fitting specialist be posted to stores outfitting new recruits to ensure they were correctly fitted.

1 April, 2008
HR holdin’ key to job engine room
Human resource professionals have been urged to broaden their focus to consider new pools of potential labour as a means of increasing the number of people in Australia’s workforce.
   Minister for Employment Participation, Brendan O’Connor told a recent conference of the Australian Association of Career Counsellors that despite 17 years of continued economic growth, there were significant challenges ahead if it was to be sustained.
   “Australia is already experiencing significant shortages of skilled labour while the ageing of our population will impact on our ability as a nation to continue to grow and remain globally competitive,” Mr O’Connor said.
   “In order to boost the number of people in the workforce, we need to tap into alternative pools of potential workers including young people, mature age Australians, parents seeking to return to work, and people with a disability who have the capacity to work.”
   Mr O’Connor said the needs of those people who were employed but wanted to work more hours also needed to be addressed.
   “Australia cannot afford to have potential workers, who can and want to work, excluded from the labour force for economic, social and other reasons,” he said.
   The conference’s 500 delegates included representatives from small business, educational institutions, Government and the corporate sector.
   “Career counsellors are an important part of Australia’s training system by helping people make job and study decisions, as well as manage careers and plan career transitions,” Mr O’Connor said.
   The national conference discussed issues that were important to Australia’s future including the early years of education, to pathways and transitions to careers, and to expanding the career landscape for mature age workers.
   Mr O’Connor also presented the 2008 Group Training Australia Partnership Award to Swinburne University’s youth education, training and employment service - First Stop and the AFL’s SportsReady program.
   He said Swinburne University and AFL SportsReady were recognised for establishing an innovative pilot program for Indigenous school-based apprentices working in sport and recreation.

1 April, 2008
Weather Bureau 100 in the shade
The Bureau of Meteorology marked its 100th anniversary this year with a function in South Australia on World Meteorology Day, 26 March.
   An event at the Bureau’s Regional Office in Kent Town acknowledged the importance of the work of the Bureau over the past 100 years, and the linkages it had with the World Meteorological Organisation in ensuring weather services were appropriate to the needs of the community.
   The dedication and professional conduct of staff who had provided more than 30 years of service to the Bureau were also formally recognised through the presentation of long service awards.
   South Australian Regional Director of the Bureau, Andrew Watson said, like his colleagues who received long service awards, he had seen great changes at the Bureau in the past 30 years.
   “When I started with the Bureau in Perth in the late 1970s, our weather forecast was for tomorrow only. Nowadays we forecast for seven days, with just as much accuracy as we managed for one day in 1978 and we are likely to extend our forecasts to 10 days in the near future.”
   A new book that captured many personal stories of people who had worked for the Bureau in South Australia, Weather Prophets of South Australia, was released at the function. It includes tales from the Antarctic to the tropics, from the early 20th century to the present time.
   The book was written by a dedicated group of volunteers who gave many hours and much energy to the project.
   “The stories in the book are a snapshot of some the activities that the Bureau has been involved with over the years, and an interesting insight into some of the characters who have worked with this organisation,” Mr Watson said.
   Change, innovation and a commitment to the community have been hallmarks of the Bureau over the past 100 years, he said.
   “Our confident forecast for the future is to continue to improve our weather services by utilising the latest advances in technology and the continuing efforts of our dedicated and professional people.”

1 April, 2008
Students jump gap to march out at Defence
School leavers joining the Defence Forces for a gap year have graduated from their first 12 weeks of basic training with a March Out Parade.
   Commandant of Army’s Recruit Training Centre, Colonel Bill Hanlon said the Gap Year participants were now fully integrated and entitled to the same pay and benefits as any other member of the Defence Force.
    “This is a unique opportunity for school leavers to sample Army life, as well as gain independence and skills while being paid,” Colonel Hanlon said.
   “It gives these young Australians space and resources to make good decisions about what they are going to do with their life.”
   He said the Gap Year Program was part of a $3.1 billion commitment to boosting ADF recruitment and retention.  
   Members of the program had no obligation to Defence following the agreed 12-month term of employment but were entitled to a $10,000 bonus if they re-enlisted into the regular Army on completion of a civilian trade or tertiary qualification.
   Colonel Hanlon said he was very pleased with the way the recruits had developed over the past three months.
   “There are some very fine young Australian men and women marching out here today and they should be justly proud of what they have achieved so far,” Colonel Hanlon said.
   Members of the group would now go on to be trained in a specific employment stream before being posted to a Land Command unit.

1 April, 2008
SMOS bites ballot on electoral reform
A green paper on potential reforms to the electoral system has been foreshadowed by the Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner.
   Senator Faulkner said the Government planned to introduce legislation in the next Parliamentary sitting to fix problems with political donations in the system, but would also “kick-start a green paper process to reform and modernise our electoral processes.”
   He said the Prime Minister would ask the States and Territories to join the Commonwealth in examining electoral issues.
   Senator Faulkner said the reforms to the donation regime were a priority because they needed to be in place an operating by the start of the next financial year but the Electoral Reform Green Paper would be released in two parts.
   He said the first part would look at disclosure, funding and expenditure issues and the second would examine a broader range of options aimed at strengthening other areas of the electoral law.
   Part one would be released for discussion in July 2008 and part two, in October 2008.
   “The Prime Minister is writing to the Premiers and Chief Ministers to seek their cooperation in progressing electoral reforms and asking them to nominate a relevant Minister to work with the Commonwealth on the green paper process,” Senator Faulkner said.
   “The Government will also ask the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to consider the green paper, and expects to work closely with JSCEM as the process of electoral reform moves ahead.”
   He said the measures would lead to more transparency and openness in the electoral system and improve mechanisms to ensure voters could effectively enrol and vote.

1 April, 2008
DIISR has formula for chief scientist
The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research has launched a search for a full-time Chief Scientist.
   Minister for Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr said the search was in keeping with a Government promise before the last Federal election to upgrade the position in recognition of the fundamental contribution science made to the nation’s wellbeing.
   “By upgrading the current part-time position, this Government is giving the position the prominence it deserves,” Senator Carr said, “sending a clear message about the crucial role science will play in building a world class innovation system.”
   He said the advertisement would call for a Chief Scientist who was able to provide expert advice to Government that was current and covered the full spectrum of innovation, science, engineering, and research.
   “The new Chief Scientist will be someone who is able to maintain strong academic, industry and community links whilst holding this position.
   “Someone who not only has an outstanding record of achievement in innovation and science but also has the respect of the science and research community.”
   Senator Carr said making the position full-time would enable the appointee to:
   • carry on a strong science advocacy role;
   • promote increased participation in science in educational institutions; and
   • strengthen collaborative links with science and research institutions, industry, and State and Territory Governments.
   “Dr Jim Peacock AC has served Australia well since 2006 and has agreed to extend his term to continue the critical work of the Chief Scientist while the search for the new appointee goes on,” Senator Carr said.
   “I wish to thank him for his contribution and wish him well in the future.”

1 April, 2008
Bureau doles out non-working stats
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that 5.5 million Australians over 15 years of age were not in the workforce and most didn’t want to be.
   It said this number represented 33 per cent of the population.
   The Bureau’s report Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia, 2007 said of the people not in the labour force in September 2007, most (85 per cent or 4.6 million) did not want work. Almost half of them (48 per cent), were 65 years or older, 18 per cent were aged 55-64, and 12 per cent were aged 15-24.
   The Bureau said that people not wanting work included people who simply said so; some who were permanently unable to work, and some who wanted to work but were not looking and not available to start work within four weeks.
   It said these people were “without marginal attachment” to the labour force.
   Nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of non-working Australians were women.   The bureau said the women who did not want to work most commonly reported that their main activity was “home duties or caring for children” (39 per cent) and “retired or voluntarily inactive” (30 per cent).
   For men, their main activity was “retired or voluntarily inactive” (45 per cent), had a “long-term health condition or disability” (18 per cent), or “attending an educational institution” (17 per cent).
   According to the ABS, there were 845,000 people not in the labour force who said they wanted to work.
   Of these 8 per cent were actively looking for work but were not available to start work in the previous week and the remaining 92 per cent were not actively looking but were available to start work within four weeks.
   Of the people who wanted to work, nearly a third (29 per cent) were aged 15-24 and 18 per cent were aged 25-34.
   Two-thirds (66 per cent) of the people who wanted to work were women.
   Women who wanted to work most commonly reported that their main activity was “home duties or caring for children” (61 per cent). For men, “attending an educational institution” (39 per cent) was their main activity when not in the labour force.
   Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia, 2007 was available for free download from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ website www.abs.gov.au

1 April, 2008
US fingerprinting goes for perfect 10
The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced that it had begun collecting additional fingerprints from international visitors arriving at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
   The change is part of the Department’s upgrade from two- to 10-fingerprint collection. It says this will enhance security and facilitate legitimate travel more accurately and efficiently by establishing and verifying visitors’ identities.
   It said for more than four years, US Department of State consular officers and US Customs and Border Protection officers had been collecting biometrics - digital fingerprints and a photograph - from all non-US citizens between the ages of 14 and 79, with some exceptions, when they applied for visas or arrived at US ports of entry.
   “Quite simply, this change gives our officers a more accurate idea of who is in front of them,” said Paul Morris, Executive Director of Admissibility and Passenger Programs, Office of Field Operations, CBP.
   “For legitimate visitors, the process becomes more efficient and their identities are better protected from theft. For those who may pose a risk, we will have greater insight into who they are.”
   The Department’s US-VISIT program currently checks a visitor’s fingerprints against DHS records of immigration violators and Federal Bureau of Investigations records of wanted persons and known or suspected terrorists.
   Mr Morris said checking biometrics against the watch list helped officers make visa determinations and admissibility decisions.
   He said collecting 10 fingerprints also improved fingerprint matching accuracy and the Department’s ability to compare a visitor’s fingerprints against latent fingerprints collected by the US Department of Defence and the FBI from known and unknown terrorists all over the world.
   Additionally, visitors’ fingerprints are checked against the FBI’s Criminal Master File.
   Mr Morris said, on an average day at JFK, almost 14,400 international visitors completed US-VISIT biometric procedures.
   Visitors from Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Japan comprised the largest numbers of international visitors arriving at JFK.

1 April, 2008
School reform is on steep learning curve
The Government’s education revolution has taken a step forward with the recent meeting of the Council of Australian Governments agreeing to develop a new schools reform plan for the 21st century.
   Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Julia Gillard said the reforms would target disadvantaged school communities, improved teacher quality, greater accountabilities and boosting parental engagement.
   “It is a major plank of the historic COAG agreement reached in Adelaide… which outlines a productivity and participation agenda that spans early childhood to adulthood,” Ms Gillard said.
   “The agenda will be outcomes-focused, transparent and reward improved performance. It will underpin the creation of a modern, productive and inclusive Australia.”
   Ms Gillard said at the centre of the schools reform plan was a National Partnership payment from the Commonwealth to State and Territory Governments for the delivery of better education outcomes from disadvantaged school communities.
   She said the Governments would work together to identify disadvantaged school communities which would receive well-targeted and integrated support.
   New targets were to be written into the Specific Purpose Payments to be negotiated with State and Territory Governments this year. Ms Gillard said the NP payment would be based on the outcomes achieved from those disadvantaged schools.
   In addition, COAG has agreed to at least halve the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates by 2020.
   “This is about giving every child the best possible chance in life and ensuring that we have a productive economy,” Ms Gillard said.
   She said the COAG Working Group on the Productivity Agenda would work closely with the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs and the Catholic and Independent schools sectors to develop the next step in the Government’s Education Revolution.

1 April, 2008
Emergency meeting avoids disasters
Emergency Management Services across Australia are to adopt common procedures and practices following a meeting of Police and Emergency Ministers in Canberra.
   Meeting as the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management, the Ministers issued a communiqué which said they endorsed draft Australian Emergency Management Arrangements which would assist in creating more informed, safer and sustainable communities that were better able to withstand natural disasters.
   Chaired by Commonwealth Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, the Ministerial Council comprises State and Territory Ministers for Emergency Services, and the Australian Local Government Association. The Council welcomed New Zealand as a new member, represented by NZ Minister for Civil Defence, Rick Barker.
   The Ministers set up a working group to report to the Council of Australian Governments on the development and implementation of a nationally consistent emergency warning system in Australia.
   All Ministers agreed such a system had the potential to save lives and all expressed a willingness to work to together to ensure better responses to emergencies.
   The Council also agreed to work towards implementing the National Emergency Management Strategy for Remote Indigenous Communities which they saw as critical to prepare vulnerable and isolated Indigenous communities from serious disaster. The Council noted the potential for training, education and employment opportunities for Indigenous people.
   It also recommended implementing a national standard for the introduction of reduced fire risk cigarettes by early 2009 and noted progress towards a single incident management system and enhancing urban search and rescue capacity including working closely with New Zealand.
   The Council acknowledged the invaluable contribution of volunteers and requested a report from the Australian Emergency Management Committee on appropriate methods to recognise, recruit and retain volunteers.
   It also asked the Australian Emergency Management Committee to advise on a new public information campaign to better prepare local communities for emergencies and make them more resilient when it came to responding to natural disasters.

1 April, 2008
Courts count costs
A Joint Costs Advisory Committee has been established by the High Court, Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court to inquire into, and to make recommendations on variations to costs allowable to legal practitioners.
   Interested persons and organisations are invited to submit their views on the costs to JCAC.

Regiment coming of age
The second edition of a book recounting the history of the Royal Australian Regiment has been launched by the Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy.
   Entitled Duty First, the book was edited by David Horner and Jean Bou, and brings the RAR’s history up to date to 2006, from the birth of the Regiment in 1948.

Games adults play
Community views are to be sought on whether to introduce an R 18+ classification for computer games.
   Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus said most other countries with comparable classification schemes had an adult rating for computer games.

Jackson to Oxford
ABC journalist, Elizabeth Jackson has won the 2008 Donald McDonald ABC Scholarship to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in Oxford.
   Ms Jackson has been with the ABC for 16 years and is currently Executive Producer and Presenter of Saturday AM and Correspondents Report on Radio National.
   Her Oxford studies will allow her to investigate international Freedom of Information legislation.

Women good sports
Australian women are to have more opportunities to become leaders in sport following announcement of the latest round of development grants.
   Totalling $400,000, the grants are to help women undertake accredited training and development in coaching, officiating, governance and sports management.   
   Already 15,500 women from around Australia had been assisted by the scheme.

DIAC travel changes
Changes to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s Electronic Travel Authority system are to be introduced from 21 April,
   Under the changes, the Department will continue to process most ETA applications instantly, however in a small number of cases, some additional processing will be required.

Train study on track
An official study has been launched to determine the economic benefits and likely success of a multi-billion dollar standard gauge inland railway between Melbourne and Brisbane. At present, the only north-south rail corridor in eastern Australia runs along the coastline via Sydney.
   An inland route through the Central West of NSW has the potential to slash the time it takes to move freight from Melbourne to Brisbane by rail from 36 hours to 21.

Explosive code is cracker
The Australian Forum of Explosives Regulators has called for public comment on a draft of the third edition of the Australian Code for the Transport of Explosives by Road and Rail.
    The Code has been revised to update the technical provisions and operational content, including the listing of explosives.
   AFER will accept public comment until 7 May 2008 and the draft is online at www.ascc.gov.au