SearchArchives for June 2008
25 June, 2008PS best in line for awards and medals
Nominations are being called for the Premier's Public Sector Awards 2008 and the Public Service Medal.
Each award recognises excellence in public service with the Premier’s Public Sector Awards presented annually to recognise the achievements of NSW Public Sector Agencies and the Public Service Medal awarded within the Australian Honours System to recognise Public Sector Officers who had made outstanding contributions to the community.
Director General of The Department of Premier and Cabinet, Robyn Kruk, has encouraged all Chief Executives to nominate achievements from their organisations for Premier’s Awards and to nominate officers for the PS Medal.
Ms Kruk said the Premier's Public Sector Awards provided an important opportunity to showcase progress and achievements against the priorities of the NSW State Plan and to facilitate information exchange about leading practice in the sector.
She said the Premier’s Awards were open to all Public Sector Agencies including Departments, Authorities, Government trading enterprises and State-owned companies, and included awards in the following categories:
Rights, Respect and Responsibility
Delivering Better Services
Fairness and Opportunity
Growing Prosperity Across NSW
Environment for Living
Delivering the Plan
Delivering Locally
Ms Kruk said the Public Service Medal was awarded by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Premier.
She said all Public Sector employees of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and Local Governments excluding members of the Defence Force, Police and Fire Services, were eligible for the Medal.
She said nominations for the Premier’s awards were to be submitted electronically or in hardcopy by 28 July, and those for the Public Service Medal would close on 1 August.
Further details were available from www.dpc.nsw.gov.au
25 June, 2008
Boys in blue win as red tape cut
NSW police officers are set to save up to 100,000 hours a year in red tape following an overhaul of the rules for arresting and charging suspected offenders.
Police Minister David Campbell has announced a number of measures aimed at reducing the amount of time it took police to process an offender, thereby freeing them up for service on the “front line," Mr Campbell said under current rules it could take up to five hours for an offender to be arrested and subsequently charged.
"The decisions I'm announcing today are all about reducing that time, freeing up police resources back on the front line," Mr Campbell said.
"One is to change the way that police are required to read someone their rights when they are arrested.
"That is a very legalistic and detailed process now, and by simply changing it to plain English, we anticipate there will be a reduction in time."
Mr Campbell said the changes would also reduce the frustration of many officers forced to remain in the office completing paperwork while urgent work needed to be done in the community.
The proposed changes were welcomed by police with Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch describing the current process as "tedious."
Assistant Commissioner Murdoch said the rights that were read to a detained person by the custody manager at present were “just a lot of mumbo jumbo."
"What we are trying to do is put those rights in plain English and make them more easily understood."
Mr Campbell said another change to be introduced included the use of tamper-proof property bags which would eliminate the need to record each item of property taken from an accused person.
The changes were also applauded by the Police Association which said they were a step in the right direction.
Vice President of the Association, Scott Weber said red tape was the single most frustrating issue for police officers on the frontline.
“The Police Association welcomes any moves to free up police time for the most important part of their job fighting crime and protecting the community,” Mr Weber said.
He said, however there was still a long way to go on the issue.
25 June, 2008
Ambulance makes call for paramedic
The Ambulance Service of NSW has gone into bat for one of its own, convincing the Nine Television Network to feature Fairfield Paramedic Rick Newman and his family on the first edition of its latest season of “Domestic Blitz.”
Designed to bring welcome joy to the lives of true Australian heroes and make some of their dreams come true, the program took up the challenge of ‘blitzing” the Newman home in recognition of wife Natalie’s fight against an aggressive form of ovarian cancer.
Natalie is a police officer who, despite her illness, is determined to enjoy family life at home.
When the ‘blitz’ makeover was complete, the new garden and home renovation was unveiled in front of the couple’s ambulance and police colleagues and a large crowd of family, friends and onlookers.
The Ambulance Service has wished Rick, Natalie and their daughter Emily, the very best and hopes they enjoy their new home and garden.
Domestic Blitz is shown on Channel Nine on Sunday nights at 6:30pm.
25 June, 2008
Electric sale fight crosses power lines
The Public Service Association of NSW has announced that an international union has joined the fight against State Government plans to sell its power generation assets.
Choosing World Public Services Day on 23 June to make the announcement, the PSA said the International Public Sector union PSI had thrown its support behind unions involved in the dispute.
PSI is a global union federation made up of more than 650 trade unions around the world, representing more than 20 million PS workers in 160 countries.
PSA said the Asia-Pacific Chair of PSI, David Carey, told them that the International Union supported those unions fighting against the privatisation of power in Australia.
"All round the world today public sector workers are declaring their support for a strong public sector which delivers quality public services," Mr Carey said,
"The sale of New South Wales power is likely to be another in a long series of privatisation failures."
Mr Carey, who is also National Secretary of the State Public Sector Federation which represented 120,000 State Government Public Servants across Australia said that after 20 t=years of Government sell-offs “the world is neither a better nor a fairer place.
"Whether it is the sell-off of school cleaning and maintenance in Queensland, the Cross City Tunnel in Sydney, or the Victorian power and railways, privatisation has led to job losses, poorer services, higher prices and all too often, a Government bailout at taxpayers expense,” he said.
“There are many examples of privatisation failing, particularly in water and energy services".
Mr Carey said privatisation examples in the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Africa and the USA revealed a common result.
“The International union was right every time. Power privatisation has led to the same thing - higher costs, poorer services.
He called on the Government to learn the lessons of the past and invest in public services, not sell them.
25 June, 2008
State develops as film-friendly
NSW Parliament has approved measures to make the State more ‘film-friendly’ by cutting red tape and improving access to locations for the world’s film-makers.
Minister for the Arts, Frank Sartor, said the legislation followed moves supporting the local entertainment industry that were endorsed by Parliament earlier this week.
Mr Sartor said the Government could now deliver on plans to help the live music and entertainment industry by abolishing rules requiring venues to obtain place of public entertainment (POPE) licenses.
“Owners will no longer have to go through unnecessary processes and incur great expense to allow musicians and comedians to perform in their venue,” he said.
“Now Parliament has endorsed our Film Friendly initiative, which is designed to provide practical assistance to the film and television industry and cement NSW as the State of choice for screen production.”
Mr Sartor said they were important reforms that would help support local production and encourage big international films to come to NSW.
“All in all, this has been an important week for the entertainment industry in NSW,” he said
Former Blue Heelers star and Logie winner, John Wood, welcomed the Film Friendly changes.
“I am delighted that the NSW Government has taken this important step,” Mr Wood said.
“The film and television industry is important in telling our stories and promoting Australia to the world.”
Producer of the Australian films Clubland and Eternity Man, Rosemary Blight, said the Government’s Film Friendly policy would make a big difference to films being made in the State.
“The streamlining of processes and the support it will provide will give producers an added incentive to film in Sydney,” she said.
“Having just completed The Eternity Man, filmed entirely on the streets of Sydney, I look forward to shooting my next film in Sydney very soon.”
Mr Sartor said key elements of the Film Friendly package included Local Councils and Governments being obliged to approve film projects unless there were excellent reasons not to; filming activities were to be allowed on community land unless expressly excluded in the applicable plan of management; fees for location must be reasonable; and the Government would revisit previous Local Government Filming Protocol.
25 June, 2008
Stats snaps off snapshot of NSW
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its annual snapshot of New South Wales, revealing that the State had the highest costs of housing in the country and that growth was beginning to slow down.
The ABS report found recent home buyers in NSW were spending 26 per cent of their gross income on housing costs compared to the rest of the nation’s 22 per cent.
The report found in 2005-06, first home buyers in NSW were spending 29 per cent of their gross income on housing costs, up from 21 per cent in 1999-00.
Also, the snapshot showed the NSW economy had been between 0.2 and 1.9 percentage points behind the Australian average for the past six years.
In 2006-07, the NSW economy had the second slowest growth at 1.8 per cent.
The report found over the past five years that the average household income in NSW had risen by 17 per cent and that in 2005-06 the average income per week was $1,378.
The snapshot showed 33 per cent of all Australians lived in NSW, and one in five people spoke a language other than English at home.
With regard to environment, the ABS report found NSW had the second lowest household water consumption in Australia at 84 kilolitres per person in 2004-05.
It found households accounted for 10 per cent of all water use in NSW, while agriculture accounted for 70 per cent.
The report found life expectancy in NSW was improving and in 2006 men lived to an average of 78.6 years and women to an average of 83.4 years.
The snapshot showed unemployment had dropped from 7.5 per cent in February of 1998 to 4.7 per cent in February 2008 and it said there were 8.6 million hours of work potentially being sought by unemployed and underemployed people in NSW.
25 June, 2008
Campaigner campaigns against campaign
The Commonwealth Minister for Human Services has taken aim at a misinformation campaign making false claims about the entitlements paid to Australian refugees.
The Minister, Senator Joe Ludwig, said the internet-based campaign was creating confusion and discontent in the community, alleging refugees were receiving significantly more financial support than other social security recipients.
He urged people not to be sucked in by the campaign.
“These claims are completely false and deliberately try to divide our community by gutter wedge politics,” Senator Ludwig said.
The campaign, which operates through the internet, emails, blogs and chat rooms, claimed that refugees received $2500 in welfare payments each month and suggested senior Australians would be better off as refugees.
“The claims have been repeated in numerous media stories over the past year and the urban legend even has its own Wikipedia page outlining the campaign’s origins in Canada and the United States.
“I’m very disappointed people are continuing to perpetuate these myths – it’s only causing unnecessary concern and angst among both refugee groups and age pensioners.”
Senator Ludwig said refugees to Australia did not receive higher rates of payment than age pensioners and there were no separate rates of payment for refugees and they were not eligible for more assistance from Centrelink than any of its other clients.
“As with any Centrelink customer, the rate of payments available to a refugee depends upon individual circumstances,” Senator Ludwig said.
“As an example, a refugee who qualifies for Age Pension, would receive exactly the same rate as an Australian citizen whose income, assets and relationship circumstances were the same.”
Senator Ludwig urged anyone receiving the campaign messages to reply and tell the sender they have been the victim of a hoax.
He said the false allegations detracted from the spirit of National Refugee Week, which ran from 15 to 21 June which had as its theme this year “A Place to Call Home”.
He said since the end of World War II Australia has provided a safe haven to more than 700,000 refugees
“It’s never easy to pack up and start a new life in a country where you don’t know the language or culture, even more so if you’ve suffered torture and trauma,” Senator Ludwig said.
“Centrelink and its teams of specialists such as the Refugee Servicing Team and Multicultural Service Officers understand the challenges faced by refugees.
“Many of these officers have themselves arrived in Australia as refugees from war-torn countries,” he said.
25 June, 2008
Taskforce takes tourism to task
Public submissions on the future of tourism in NSW’s national parks have been invited for consideration by a Ministerial Taskforce.
The Taskforce has been set up by the Ministers for the Environment and Climate Change, Verity Firth, and Tourism, Matt Brown and charged with the task of advising them on the opportunities available to enhance the level of sustainable tourism in parks and reserves, compatible with the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage values of those areas.
The Taskforce is to advise the Ministers on practical methods to increase visitation to national parks and reserves by 20 per cent by 2016, in line with objectives in the NSW State Plan. It is expected to identify ways to promote and protect the parks and reserves biodiversity and cultural heritage; create a platform where visitor numbers and tourism expenditure could be increased; and identify ways to increase management resources and conservation benefits from tourism.
Over the next one to three years, the Taskforce is to propose conservation, visitation and tourism objectives, targets and measures for Parks and related land tenures to support State Plan targets and identify planning, development and promotional strategies to support the objectives.
It has also been asked to identify and consult with other potential partners, including industry, other land managers such as NSW Forests and the Department of Lands and other States to help make recommendations on the delivery of agreed tourism objectives.
The Taskforce was expected to review existing research and information, especially from other relevant jurisdictions, to understand potential impacts of tourism on conservation and biodiversity values of parks, and to commission new research where appropriate.
The Taskforce would identify legislative, regulatory and structural constraints to the achievement of the State Plan visitation objectives and make recommendations on how to overcome them.
It would also assess a wide range of considerations including the development of opportunities associated with the Parks estates; ticketing and pricing structures to promote tourism; licensing and accreditation standards for commercial operators; and training needs for guides and visitor services.
The Taskforce is to research case studies and development models for successful tourism activities in protected areas of Australia and overseas, highlighting positive aspects and cases that have relevance to NSW.
Its interim report is expected by September and a final report submitted to the Ministers by November.
Submissions from interested individuals and organisations close on 21 July, and can be emailed to parksandtourism@tourism.nsw.gov.au
25 June, 2008
Model Code uncoded for Local Government
The Department of Local Government has released a revised Model Code of Conduct for Councils which every local Government Authority in the State is required to adopt.
In a Circular issued by the Department, Director General, Garry Payne said the revised code was established after the Department had completed a review of the Model Code.
Mr Payne said the review included the establishment of a reference group; a call for written submissions; a survey of Councils; and consultation through focus groups and telephone interviews with local Council representatives and specific industry groups.
He said the Code had been organised into three main parts – Context, Standards of Conduct and Procedures.
Mr Payne said under the revised Model, the Standards of Conduct were phrased in operational language rather than aspirational language and that administrators would also be bound by the provisions that applied to Councillors.
He said under the Context section, definitions had been included or clarified; the key principal of ‘objectivity’ had been amended to ‘impartiality’; and the guide to ethical decision making added to and relocated.
He said the Standards of Conduct section covered general conduct obligations, conflicts of interest, personal benefit, relationships between Council officials, access to information and Council resources and reporting breaches.
Mr Payne said a number of aspects had been revised such as adding and removing clauses; including clearer definitions; clarifying that action was required if a Council official had a non-pecuniary conflict of interest; changes to the political donations provisions; clarification of token gifts and benefits; and changes to the reporting breaches section.
He said the Procedures section was a new to the Model Code and contained the complaint handling procedures, complaint assessment criteria and operating guidelines for the conduct review committee or reviewer.
“The complaint handling requirements and the complaint assessment criteria now provide for the use of a range of methods for the resolution of complaints,” Mr Payne said.
He said they gave clearer guidance about the referral of complaints, clarified the role of the Mayor and general manager and provided for annual reporting of code of conduct complaints to the Council.
Mr Payne said Councils could now set up review committees or individual reviewers could undertake enquiries into breach allegations,
“Members of these committees or the sole reviewers will now be independent of council and can act in the role for more than one Council,” he said.
Mr Payne said the Model Code Education Package Facilitator’s Guide would be updated to incorporate the new provisions.
He said the revised Model code had taken effect from 20 June and was achieved by an amendment to the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.
Mr Payne said a separate email had been sent to all Councils and County Councils with a copy of the revised Model Code to help them adapt to the changes.
A copy of the Model Code was available from www.dlg.nsw.gov.au
25 June, 2008
Volunteer list is community resource
The Community Relations Commission has issued a call for community volunteers to join a program helping Police and the Department of Juvenile Justice deal with young offenders from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The CRC is setting up a ‘Community Resource List’ of respected members of the community who could assist NSW Police in giving cautions to young people and advise on youth justice conferences.
Research obtained by the Commission indicated that the re-offence rate of juvenile offenders going through youth conferencing was 24 per cent lower than for those who going to Court.
According to the Department, the Young Offenders Act 1997 provided alternative processes for dealing with juveniles who committed certain offences, including warnings, cautions and youth justice conferencing.
Community members on the List would be asked to advise on relevant cultural issues relating to the alternative measures and play a part in reducing the risk of re-offending by young people. They would also enhance their links to the community.
The project is to be trialled for 12 months in the Fairfield, Manly and Ku-ring-gai areas of Sydney where statistics for juvenile offenders showed most referrals were made.
If an assessment of the program judged it to be successful, it could be continued and possibly expanded.
Members of the community interested in volunteering to join the Community Resource List have been invited to contact the CRC on (02) 8255 6795 for an information pack.
25 June, 2008
Memories flood back for tsunami research
The State Emergency Service is calling for recollections of the damaging 1960 tsunami that impacted on the NSW coast.
SES Manager of Planning, Andrew Gissing said the SES was interested in the information to help inform current tsunami emergency planning initiatives.
Mr Gissing encouraged people who remembered the tsunami and its impacts to contact the Service.
He said the 1960 tsunami was caused by a large undersea earthquake off the coast of Chile and impacted the New South Wales coastline on the 23rd and the 24th of May.
He said it caused abnormal ocean behaviour, strong currents in harbours and estuaries and localised coastal erosion and flooding.
In Newcastle Harbour a coal carrier was sunk and boats along the coastline were pulled from their moorings.
In Balmain logs were swept from a barge into the harbour and the Bundeena Ferry was affected by strong currents.
Mr Gissing said that along the coast, seawater caused some flooding near Eden, fishermen became trapped on rocks at Batemans Bay and at Clontarf in Sydney, currents caused erosion of the foreshore.
The SES has requested that members of the public who can help with recollections contact them on (02) 4251 6665 between 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays.
25 June, 2008
Hospitals rug up for winter flu season
NSW’s hospitals have geared up for winter with the Premier, Morris Iemma, announcing a multi-pronged plan to deal with an expected increase in demand during the coming flu season.
Mr Iemma said the 2008 Winter Health Strategy was designed to reduce the average stay for up to 20,000 additional hospital patients by better managing people susceptible to winter illnesses.
“We know that demand for hospital services climbs significantly during winter, particularly from older patients and those suffering from influenza or respiratory illness,” Mr Iemma said.
“Admissions to hospital between July and September typically increase by six per cent and the average length of stay rises by around two per cent, depending on the severity of the winter flu.”
He said during winter last year, an additional 1,000 children visited NSW hospitals each week, an extra 500 adults visited emergency each week and 40,000 people were diagnosed with a respiratory illness, compared to summer hospital demand.
Mr Iemma said winter placed added pressure on the ability to move patients from the Emergency Department to a hospital bed, despite the Australian Health and Welfare Institute confirming the NSW Emergency Departments were the best performed in the country.
“That is why our winter strategy is aimed at moving patients through our hospitals more efficiently and better supporting people outside hospital to keep them well,” he said.
Mr Iemma said key strategies in place to deal with winter demand this year included 124 additional acute care beds; 2,916 extra packages of non-clinical home based support; 2,356 extra community acute/post acute places; and the introduction of the FirstNet electronic Emergency Department patient-tracking system and the NSW Influenza Surveillance Program.
The Premier joined the Minister for Health, Reba Meagher at the Emergency Department of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney to launch the strategy.
Ms Meagher said the winter plan was supported by the recently launched NSW Immunisation Strategy 2008-2011.
She said the latest advice showed influenza levels appeared to be tracking at normal levels so far this year, but warned against complacency.
“Our immunisation strategy aims to achieve at least 80 per cent immunisation coverage for influenza vaccine for people 65 and over,” she said.
“We are also aiming to improve the uptake for the influenza and pneumococcal vaccine in Aboriginal adults aged 50 years and older.”
Ms Meagher said NSW Health had developed a winter advertising campaign aimed at keeping people fit and healthy.
“Print and radio advertisements are on air now to help people to understand how to stay healthy and avoid illnesses such as colds and flu this winter,” she said.
Ms Meagher said some general tips for staying well included washing hands with soap regularly, receiving the flu shot annually, covering coughs and sneezes and staying at home to avoid spreading the virus if you were already sick.
She said more information could be accessed from www.health.nsw.gov.au
25 June, 2008
ACCC puts house on new mortgage website
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has added a new page to its website to help homeowners suffering problems meeting their mortgage repayments.
ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, said the Commission was aware of the increased pressure on families resulting from higher mortgage commitments.
Mr Samuel said he was concerned about reports that some businesses were employing unscrupulous practices to take advantage of vulnerable home owners.
“The ACCC has received reports that some businesses are targeting home owners struggling to meet mortgage repayments with the promise of a quick sale at prices below market value,” he said.
Mr Samuel said the Managing Your Mortgage web page aimed to provide some practical steps home owners experiencing financial difficulties could take before considering selling.
He said key tips included seeking independent financial advice; talking to the lender to discuss options; checking the terms and conditions of new loans before deciding to refinance; and arranging a number of house valuations if a sale was necessary.
“The information contained on the Managing Your Mortgage page is general guidance only and recommends that home owners seek independent advice as soon as possible if they are experiencing financial difficulties,” Mr Samuel said.
He acknowledged the assistance provided by consumer groups including Kildonan Uniting Care, Consumer Action Law Centre, the Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association and the Consumer's Federation of Australia in the preparation of the material.
Mr Samuel said the page was located on the For Consumers pages of the ACCC website, www.accc.gov.au
He said the page provided links to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission consumer website FIDO where home owners could find in-depth guidance on managing loans and mortgages and protecting wealth in the family home.
25 June, 2008
Interest free survey creating interest
A survey asking consumers to record their experiences with interest-free deals offered by many furniture, white goods and electrical retailers has been launched by the Office of Fair Trading.
Minister, Linda Burney said the ‘no deposit, no interest and no repayment’ deals had become increasingly popular with retailers and consumers but there were concerns at the level of information provided to buyers at the time the contracts were signed.
Ms Burney said consumers should be on the lookout during the current end-of-financial-year sales.
“While there are great bargains to be had, there are plenty of pitfalls for the unwary,” she said.
Ms Burney said the deals that allowed consumers to receive household goods immediately with no payment required for a set period were a great way to buy a “new sofa or a computer for the kids”, but warned consumers to be careful.
“We are conducting an online survey because we want customers’ feedback about their experience with interest-free deals – what they’re being told, their satisfaction with the deal and what they wish they’d known before signing up,” she said.
Ms Burney said some consumers had complained that when they signed up for a deal they weren’t told about the high interest rates, extra fees or that by repaying the minimum repayment only they would not pay off the debt within the interest-free period.
“Consumers who don’t keep track of their debt and don’t pay it off by the due date can find themselves owing much more than the original price of the goods,” she said.
Ms Burney urged shoppers to think carefully when signing up to a deal, and to make sure they read all the material carefully.
“This is particularly important for consumers who may not have the experience or skill to realise what they’re signing up for, such as those from a non-English speaking background or vulnerable young people,” she said.
Ms Burney said Kelda Murray from Bondi had bought a new mattress from a major retailer on a 20 month interest-free deal, but that when she signed the contract was not told about any of the fees and charges.
“Ms Murray called Fair Trading, where she was advised to talk to the trader to negotiate a resolution. She eventually received a cash reimbursement to resolve her dispute,” she said.
Ms Burney said to avoid the problem consumers should do their own calculations on repayments and check the fees, charges and the interest free period end date.
She said if there were any problems solving disputes, her Department should be contacted.
“But a word of caution; if the contract you have signed includes the fees, Fair Trading’s hands may be tied,” Ms Burney said.
She said the survey results would help Fair Trading develop a targeted campaign to help consumers and traders better understand their rights and responsibilities with interest-free deals.
She said consideration might also be given to modifying credit disclosure laws to make the deals more transparent.
Ms Burney said the survey, which would close on 21 July, could be accessed from www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
25 June, 2008
Police fly flag for airport security
NSW police training teams are visiting regional airports in the State’s south this week to review and reinforce local transport safety. The teams will join members of the Police Force Counter Terrorism Co-ordinated Response Group, the Federal Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government and Australian Federal Police Regional Response Deployment Teams in exercises and on-site security reviews as part of the Securing Our Regional Skies 2008 Education and Awareness Program.
According to the Commander of the Counter Terrorism Co-ordinated Response Group, Superintendent John Stapleton, the key objective of the program was to provide an overview of the current security environment relating to regional airport security.
He said the exercise would involve local Police and emergency service organisations, Council representatives and airport owners and operators.
Assistant Police Commissioner and Southern Region Commander, Bob May and Assistant Commissioner Peter Dein of the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command said the training was funded by the Commonwealth’s but conducted jointly by the NSW Police Force and the Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government.
"The program will provide an opportunity for key stakeholders, involved in management, security and response to learn from the experience of other regional airports and validate their security planning and response arrangements," Assistant Commissioner May said.
"The NSW Police Force is working closely with the Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government to deliver a program that effectively develops the protective security and incident response capabilities of regional airports," Assistant Commissioner Dein said,
"Together with funding provided to regional airports for basic security measures, the Securing our Regional Skies package further demonstrates the commitment of the NSW and Australian Governments to strengthen aviation security in regional areas."
As part of the project, the teams were visiting airports at Wagga Wagga, Albury, Cooma, Merimbula and Moruya.
25 June, 2008
Pharmacy network is the right medicine
A national network that uses chemist shops to make it easier for people to join community groups has been welcomed by the Federal Minister for Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin.
Ms Macklin said the new scheme would harness the resources of up to 5000 of the nation’s pharmacies and would soon be in operation across the country.
“With Australian Government support, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Our Community group are rolling out the national Join In Join Up network which will use an extensive data base and trained pharmacy staff to link people with local community groups,” Ms Macklin said.
Telstra has also announced it would join the partnership and be a key player in the marketing and communications campaign.
“All the research shows that participation in community groups gives people a sense of belonging and inclusion,” Ms Macklin said.
“It’s a positive for health and wellbeing. And at a time when people can feel overwhelmed by external pressures, the companionship and security is even more important.”
She said trained pharmacy staff would be able to access a comprehensive, national data base, profiling the 55,000 community groups that already subscribed to Our Community.
“Using this information and their training to recognise people at risk or in need, staff will provide advice on local community organisations that best suit the needs, interests and life circumstances of their customers,” Ms Macklin said.
“For example, new parents can be linked with playgroups, people with chronic illnesses put in touch with health support groups, young people on methadone programs connected to rehabilitation and the elderly with senior’s clubs.”
Ms Macklin said while pharmacies already offered professional advice and assistance through Join In Join Up they would have an expanded capacity to link up the people coming through their doors with relevant community groups.
“It is an innovative, practical way to connect people, especially those at risk of social isolation, to the groups which can give them the support and help they need.”
25 June, 2008
Guardians to network
The Private Guardian Support Unit has invited guardians to attend the Inaugural Private Guardian Networking Day on 24 October.
The day is expected to help guardians develop the knowledge and skills needed to make the best decisions for people under their guardianship.
For more information or to register, email informationsupport@opg.nsw.gov.au or phone
(02) 8688 6060 or 1800 451 510.
Forest warnings
Forests NSW has issued a public safety alert urging forest users to heed warning signs associated with harvesting operations in its pine plantations and native forests.
Agency spokesman Tijmen Klootwijk said Forests NSW recognised the recreational value of the forests to the public for recreational pursuits including bush walking, horse riding, mountain bike riding, fishing, walking the dog etc.
He said it managed safety by employing warning signs to define active harvesting worksites within the forests.
NSW Police in control
The Australian Federal Police have contacted NSW Police about the ongoing investigation into politicians at a Gosford restaurant.
The AFP was requested to join the investigations by the Federal Government
NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione and AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty agreed that NSW Police would remain in charge of the investigation until its conclusion.
Restrictions eased
Water restrictions have been eased for Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains.
Sydney water has decided to ease the level 3 restrictions to allow vehicle and house washing with a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle.
It said Sydneysiders had saved more than 415 billion litres of water since restrictions were introduced in October 2003 and with dam levels consistently above 65 per cent it was time to take the pressure off.
Sydney Water estimated that the new measures would increase water consumption by less than a half of one per cent a year.
Queanbeyan seminar
The New South Wales Electoral Commission is to run a candidate information seminar in the southern city of Queanbeyan in readiness for the coming Local Government elections.
The seminar is to inform local council candidates of their obligations and legal responsibilities.
The free Queanbeyan seminar will be held on Saturday 28 June in the Queanbeyan City Council Chambers from 10.30am to 12 noon.
Immigration outreach
Officers from the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship visited Broken Hill earlier this week.
The visit was part of the Department’s outreach program and was undertaken by staff form DIAC’s Adelaide office.
It was the fifth regional visit by Departmental officers this year who have been taking their information and services into regional towns and cities.
18 June, 2008
PS waste watchers on reduction target
A Progress Report on the Government’s Waste Reduction and Purchasing Policy (WRAPP) found the NSW Public Sector was on track or exceeding a number of waste reduction targets.
Introduced in 1997 as a part of the Government’s commitment to showing leadership in sustainable management of its processes, operations and public assets WRAPP required all Government Agencies and State Owned Corporations to develop and implement plans aimed at reducing waste and increasing the purchase of recycled products.
The waste reduction targets, formed under the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Strategy 2007, included increasing recycling rates and the purchase of recycled materials.
The recycling rate of agency construction and demolition materials grew to 93 per cent in 2007 compared to 89 per cent in 2005, ahead of the 2014 WARR target of 76 per cent.
The 2005/07 WRAPP data showed the overall recycling rate for paper and cardboard packaging by Agencies had remained high at 79 per cent, slightly lower than 2005’s 82 per cent.
Despite the slight decrease, the 2007 figure exceeded the WARR Strategy target of 63 per cent for commercial and industrial materials.
The report found key results for 2005/07 included a large increase in the recycling rate of computers and monitors, up 22 per cent over the period; an increase in the purchase of recycled toner cartridges and copy paper containing recycled content; increased purchase of recycled content aggregates; and an increase in the overall recycling rate for construction and demolition waste.
The report found that Agencies diverted over 5.4 million tonnes of waste to recycling which resulted in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by around 137,000 tonnes.
According to the Progress Report, between 2005 and 2007 progress by State Agencies in reducing waste, improving recycling rates and increasing the purchase of recycled materials remained constant, while substantial improvements were made in 2003/05.
To further improve Agency performance under WRAPP, during the 2007/09 reporting period the Department of Environment and Climate Change is to facilitate networking groups of Agencies, undertake staff training in waste management and sustainable purchasing, improve sustainability requirements in new Government Supply Contracts and disseminate information on sustainability and waste management.
More information is available from www.wrapp.nsw.gov.au
18 June, 2008
Red tape costs in black and white
The Better Regulation Office has published a Guide to help Agencies breakdown and calculate the costs of new regulatory proposals.
The costing tool, Measuring the Costs of Regulation, was developed to supplement the Government’s Guide to Better Regulation which was released in April.
The new document provides Agencies with information on how to measure the costs of proposed new regulations and tools to help them determine whether the regulation would minimise costs and provide cost savings to the community.
The document gives decision makers an overview of the most likely costs of regulation and how to calculate them accurately.
It says the most useful regulatory cost information for decision makers was the ‘incremental’ cost of a regulation to a business or stakeholder, rather than its total cost.
This was the difference between the cost of complying with current regulation and the cost of doing the same for the proposed new rule.
The Guide identified five categories of costs that applied to regulation:
- administrative costs,
- substantive compliance costs,
- regulatory charges,
- indirect costs, and
- economic impacts and delay costs.
The Guide said substantive compliance costs were related to the capital and production costs required by a regulation such as the purchasing of new equipment or training programs needed to understand and comply with the new rule.
According to the document, regulatory charges were the easiest to calculate as they concerned fees set for licences, permits and other direct financial transfers to the Government.
It said the indirect costs and economic impacts of new regulations related to the costs it might impose on market structures and consumption patterns which could be particularly noticeable when regulations created barriers to entry, limited competition or led to opportunity costs.
Measuring the Costs of Regulation said regulatory delays such as waiting for approvals could mean businesses would lose revenue and incur other costs, but it supplies a formula to help estimate how much this would be.
The document urged Agencies to apply a robust methodology to provide the best regulatory cost information for decision-makers.
It said this included consultations with stakeholders; correct use of resources; clear statement of any assumptions made in cost calculations; consistent application of methodology; avoiding counting costs twice; and retaining all documentation for future reference.
The document suggested two tools to assist Agencies with their calculations, the Business Cost Calculator (BCC) and the Standard Cost Model (SCM)
It said the BCC would help estimate administrative and other compliance costs while the SCM only considered administrative costs.
It warned that while the two tools provided detailed frameworks for cost estimations, they would not account for all costs incurred in processing regulations.
A full copy of Measuring the costs of Regulation could be accessed from the Department of Premier and Cabinet website: www.dpc.nsw.gov.au
18 June, 2008
Planning hits roof in house code mix-up
The Department of Planning has acted to correct misinformation in the media relating to the NSW Housing Code.
In a statement declaring that a serious misconception about the Government’s draft housing code was being regularly aired, the Department said it needed to be addressed once and for all.
It described the repeated blunders as “blatant inaccuracy”.
“There have been a number of local newspaper reports recently claiming that under the proposed code only a listing on the NSW State Heritage Register would stop buildings with heritage significance being able to be demolished without the need for development application approval,” the Department said.
“This is not true.”
The Department said as well as items that were State listed, every item listed through a Council’s local environmental plan and all items within local heritage conservation areas would also need approval to be demolished.
“Clearly this provision ensures that any item that has been identified as being of heritage significance is appropriately protected,” the Department said.
“Moreover, the draft code currently on exhibition for public comment only applies this demolition provision to single storey dwellings on lots over 600 square metres in size, not to any other type of building, including commercial or industrial buildings.”
The DoP said suggestions that buildings such as the Queen Victoria Building or Centrepoint Tower were under threat of demolition due to the draft code were “completely fanciful”.
It said the draft code had been designed to allow homeowners to achieve no more than a 10-day turnaround for small-scale home designs which protected privacy and sunlight access for neighbours; provided sufficient outdoor space; and did not overcrowd the block.
The Department said the draft code would be on exhibition until 4 July, and that is was vital the proposed changes were reported accurately without misleading members of the public.
18 June, 2008
No complaints over OFT complaints deal
Complaints handling at the Office of Fair Trading is to become more efficient with the announcement of a $10 million injection of funds for new technology.
Fair Trading Minister, Linda Burney announced the plan saying $5 million would go to developing a new customer and complaints system and another $5 million to upgrading the rental bonds system.
Ms Burney said the projects would be fully funded by Fair Trading over two years, and were announced in the recent State budget.
“The new fully integrated customer and complaint management system will mean better service delivery for our customers,” she said.
“In future, when customers register a complaint or enquiry through any communication channel – email, online, phone, post, fax or in person – they’ll have their matter dealt with even more seamlessly and efficiently than ever.”
Ms Burney said the new system would help Fair Trading detect and take action against unfair practices more quickly and would improve the organisation’s efficiency.
“The timely upgrade to the rental bond system will ensure that our technology is cutting edge,” she said.
“We’re ensuring the security of information stored on more than 600,000 rental bonds held in trust, valued at about $700 million.”
Ms Burney said both systems were expected to be operational by 1 July 2010.
“Fair Trading is always looking at ways where we can improve our customer service and efficiencies,” she said.
18 June, 2008
IPART makes splash with water price hike
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved increases in water charges of up to $245 a year (in today’s dollars) for Sydney residents.
The decision sets prices to be charged by Sydney Water for water, sewerage and
stormwater services for the four years commencing 1 July 2008.
Chief Executive and full time Tribunal Member of IPART, Jim Cox said that for households consuming 200kL per year, the increases would be $103 for the costs of the desalination plant; $63 for maintenance and additions to existing infrastructure; $60 for improving financial viability; and $19 for recycled water projects.
Mr Cox said the increases in revenue would allow Sydney Water to renew and expand water mains, reduce leakages, invest in wastewater infrastructure and recycled water schemes, and service new urban development.
“The price increases are necessary to support capital works such as the desalination
plant and a range of other projects, which will provide an insurance policy against water shortages in the future,” Mr Cox said.
He said the price of a sewerage service for residential customers would increase by $75.80 from $419.19 in 2007/08 to $494.99 in 2011/12 but stormwater charges would only increase by CPI over the same period. All estimates had yet to be adjusted for inflation.
“The $245 a year increase for a household consuming 200kL per year is $4 more than that proposed by Sydney Water in its submission to IPART.
“This reflects changes in allowable costs since the draft report, including an increase in Sydney Water’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) to 7.5 per cent due to increases in interest rates and other changes in financial conditions.” IPART had assessed Sydney Water’s WACC at 7.1 per cent for the draft report.
Mr Cox said the proposed increases would allow Sydney Water to achieve at least a BBB+ credit rating.
Sydney water welcomed the increases saying they amounted to 17 per cent, plus CPI in the first year.
It said the increased cost of water over the four years would be:
2007/08 |
2008/09 |
2009/10 |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
|
200 kL/year household |
$752 |
$878 |
$933 |
$974 |
$997 |
% increase |
|
16.7% |
6.3% |
4.4% |
2.4% |
$ increase |
|
$126 |
$55 |
$41 |
$23 |
She said much of the funding would go towards supporting people who were isolated through age, disability or cultural or language barriers, and those in need of financial assistance.
The Government would spend about $440 million over the same time to fund rebates for eligible pensioners.
IPART’s Final Determination and Report, Review of prices for Sydney Water Corporation’s water, sewerage, stormwater and other services was available at www.ipart.nsw.gov.au
18 June, 2008
Memo recognises recognition treaty
The Premier, Morris Iemma has issued a Ministerial Memorandum reminding Ministers of their obligations under the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) and the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (TTMRA) relating to the sale of goods and the registration of occupations.
Mr Iemma said under the agreements, any good that could be legally sold in any of the participating jurisdictions could also be sold in NSW and any person registered to practise an occupation in a participating jurisdiction could practise that same occupation in NSW without the need to undergo testing or examination.
He said these principles also applied the other way with participating jurisdictions required to allow NSW-produced goods to be sold inside their borders and NSW-registered occupations to be recognised.
Mr Iemma said the MRA applied to the Commonwealth and all Australian States and Territories and the TTMRA included New Zealand as well.
“The MRA and TTMRA have helped facilitate the growth of trade opportunities by removing unnecessary regulatory impediments to trade in goods within Australia and between Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Iemma said.
“The benefits flowing from mutual recognition include lower costs to business, improved industry competitiveness, greater choice for consumers and improved occupational mobility.”
He said all relevant NSW Government officers should be aware of the State’s obligations under the schemes and ensure that, where appropriate, the principles were considered early in legislative and other regulatory policy processes.
“It is particularly important that these obligations are taken into account where prohibitions or restrictions on goods or occupations are being considered,” he said.
Mr Iemma said the Productivity Commission had recently commenced a review of the schemes at the request of the Council of Australian Governments and would present its findings to Australian Heads of Government and the New Zealand Prime Minister in January 2009.
He said the Department of Premier and Cabinet was the main coordinating agency for mutual recognition issues and it would work closely with other NSW Government Agencies during the review.
More information on the schemes can be found on the Council of Australian Governments website: www.coag.gov.au and the Ministerial Memorandum at www.dpc.nsw.gov.au
18 June, 2008
New competition for PS innovators
New South Wales Public servants are eligible to take part in a $50,000 Federal Government competition for Young Innovators that could also significantly boost their career.
Winners in the 2008 Australian Agricultural Industries Young Innovators and Scientists Awards will receive up to $20,000 each to explore an emerging scientific issue or innovative activity over a 12-month period.
One winner will also be recommended to receive the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Award, valued at an additional $30,000, to advance their research outcomes and career.
Projects can relate to agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food and natural resource management industries.
Funding may be used for a research project, an industry visit, further study into a specific area or attending a conference.
Applications are open to anyone between 18 and 35 years of age with an innovative idea that would help boost the competitiveness of Australia's agriculture, fisheries or forestry industries.
All eligible applications would be assessed against the following criteria:
- the project is related to an innovative or emerging scientific issue in an agriculture, fisheries, forestry related industry (including food and sustainable natural resource management;
- the project demonstrates dedication to the future of rural and regional industries with a commitment to promoting science and innovation as an integral part of that future;
- the project is likely to provide long-term benefits to the related industry;
- the project is likely to provide benefits to the applicant; and
- the project activities represent good value for money.
This award is to give extra recognition to the overall most outstanding project and the criteria for winning it are the same as those applicable to the Industry Awards.
Further information and application forms are available at www.daff.gov.au/scienceawards or by contacting the Awards Coordinator on (02) 6272 5039.
The awards are restricted to Australian citizens or permanent resident visa holders.
Applications close on 14 July.
18 June, 2008
DECC branches into forestry training
The Department of Environment and Climate Change has held water protection and occupational health and safety workshops for landholders and logging contractors involved in the private native forestry (PNF) industry.
The Department has allocated $4 million to develop and introduce the training and accreditation packages for people involved in the industry.
According to DECC’s Director of Landscapes and Ecosystems Conservation, Tom Grosskopf, the workshops would increase the understanding of PNF regulations, improve safety in the industry and ensure the environment was protected.
“DECC and TAFE have been working together to tailor the educational material, and the workshops in Grafton and Kempsey are the first in the State,” Mr Grosskopf said.
He said the new arrangements for PNF were introduced last year.
“Under the new arrangements, a PNF property vegetation plan (PVP) is required for all new and existing private native forestry operations without consents under the Native Vegetation Conservation Act.”
He said DECC officers would assist landholders to prepare a PNF property vegetation plan quickly and free of charge.
“We've had a good response on the North Coast and there are now 313 PNF property vegetation plans in place and 56 more with landholders for sign-off," Mr Grosskopf said.
He called for anyone involved in private native forestry to contact the Department to discuss what the changes would mean for them.
The workshops were held in Grafton on 11 and 12 of June and in Kempsey on 13 June.
Mr Grosskopf said further information was available at www.environment.nsw.gov.au or by phoning 131 555.
18 June, 2008
Opera House in frame for photo competition
The Sydney Opera House has launched a photographic competition to uncover the most creative image of itself.
The House in Focus competition is open to all aspiring photographers with the prize a month-long exhibition of the winner’s photograph in the Opera House throughout September.
According to the Chief Executive of the Opera House, Richard Evans, the competition would offer one talented photographer the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their photo viewed by thousands of visitors to the World Heritage Listed building.
Mr Evans said members of the public would vote for their favourite images with the top 10 presented to a judging panel of architect Jan Utzon (son of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn), photographer Eric Sierens and Michael Mendenhall from the sponsor, Hewlett-Packard.
“Creativity, originality and a fresh way of looking at one of the world’s most photographed buildings are what the judges will be looking for,” Mr Evans said.
“What they don’t want is another shot of Sydney Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background.”
The winner would also receive a Hewlett Packard HP Touchsmart computer.
The second and third placed entries would win a large scale canvas of their work, a roof tile from Sydney Opera House collected during the construction of the building and a copy of the book Building a Masterpiece: the Sydney Opera House.
Mr Evans said people could submit up to five entries per person but they must be submitted electronically.
Full details of how to enter the competition can be found at www.sydneyoperahouse.com and the closing date for entries is midnight 30 July 2008.
18 June, 2008
Uni gets to work on retirement project
The University of Wollongong and the Royal Australian Navy have joined forces in a project to determine how to retain specialist knowledge in organisations when long-standing employees retire.
Professor Lee Astheimer of the University and Commodore Steve Gilmore of Navy Systems Command have signed up to the $240,000 study.
Commodore Gilmore said the outcomes of the knowledge management project undertaken by the University would be directly applied to Navy’s maritime engineering community.
“Like many Australian organisations, Navy’s maritime engineering community has long-standing personnel approaching retirement age who have specialised corporate knowledge amassed over many years,” Commodore Gilmore said.
“This project will provide the methodology to ensure effective transfer of this valuable corporate knowledge.
“It will contribute to maintaining the Nation’s security through the sustainment of Navy’s military and naval engineering capability.”
He said another benefit would be the accelerated knowledge growth and enhanced future career prospects of Navy’s newer civilian and military maritime engineering personnel.
Professor Astheimer, who was Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Wollongong, said the research had major implications for all Australian organisations.
“Managing specialised corporate knowledge is critical to an organisation’s operational effectiveness,” Professor Astheimer said.
“Knowledge loss represents the most significant business risk in the 21st century.
“Organisations face the very real threat of substantial knowledge resources walking out the door en masse, due to increasing retirements and employee turnover.”
He said the new joint project would maximise retention of irreplaceable knowledge by capturing and sharing valuable corporate knowledge before it left the organisation.
Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council, Professor Margaret Sheil congratulated the Navy for recognising the importance of collaborative research to Australia’s ongoing prosperity.
“The outcomes achieved and the relationships developed through ARC Linkage schemes help to strengthen our national innovation system and solve real world problems,” Professor Sheil said.
“The results of this project will benefit the Navy, but they will also benefit the wider community because the knowledge gained by the University of Wollongong researchers will have wider applications,” she said.
“In addition, the project will provide expert training to a talented postgraduate research student.”
She said the ARC would provide $180,000 to the project over three years.
18 June, 2008
Customer report delivers the goods
A report into how Governments can improve their customer service performance has found that catering to the ‘customer experience’ can not only significantly reduce costs but also improve effectiveness.
Conducted by accounting firm Deloitte, the report One Size Fits Few: Using Customer Insight to Transform Government includes case studies, methods and tools that could be used to convert an idea on customer experience into actual service enhancement while reducing operational costs at the same time.
The report demonstrated how public managers could utilise leading customer management practices to increase decision-making capabilities and enhance the Government’s ability to execute major program and policy initiatives.
Author of the report, Bill Eggers said making effective use of the approaches meant public managers had to understand the full range of tools and techniques available to them.
“The study illustrates how leading Governments are examining the challenges they face from the user’s perspective, drawing from a robust customer experience toolkit as warranted, to improve the delivery and effectiveness of public services,” Mr Eggers said.
Deloitte Government Services Consulting Partner, Simon Cook, said the global research demonstrated that leading businesses had trained people to expect high quality, personalised service standards which people were now applying to Government.
Managing Director, Global Public Sector with the company, Greg Pellegrino, said customer strategy was at the heart of the next wave of government transformation.
“A more customer-focused approach actually reduces costs,” Mr Pellegrino said, “and improves the level of service they offer to their clients simply by adapting some of the reforms pioneered by leading commercial companies.
“Fuelled by the success of consumer-oriented companies, more public sector leaders are revolutionising their approach to service delivery,” he said.
The report could be accessed at www.deloitte.com.au
18 June, 2008
Enrol to Vote week on AEC’s books
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that national Enrol to Vote Week would be held in secondary schools across Australia from 28 July to 3 August this year.
Electoral Commissioner Ian Campbell said last year’s Enrol to Vote Week was successful in contributing to young Australians being correctly enrolled at the close of rolls for the 2007 Federal election.
“Enrol to Vote Week received strong support from secondary schools last year and we are looking forward to their assistance again this year,” Mr Campbell said.
“This year we are reminding students that being enrolled to vote is an ongoing right and responsibility.
“Between Federal elections there are State and Local Government elections and young people who delay enrolling may miss out on having their say.”
Mr Campbell said one in four 18 year olds were not enrolled to vote, and many 17 year olds were not aware that they could enroll early so they were able to vote as soon as they turned 18.
More than 1750 secondary schools and colleges from around the country participated last year and the Electoral Commission was hoping to register all the schools who held an Enrol to Vote Week last year, plus others.
“Schools will soon be receiving invitations to participate in Enrol to Vote Week and we encourage them to register to be involved as soon as possible,” Mr Campbell said.
A search could be made see if a local school was participating, or schools could register on the Enrol to Vote Week website, http://enroltovoteweek.aec.gov.au
18 June, 2008
War memorial is good Korea move
A memorial to the soldiers who fought in the Korean War is to be erected in Sydney’s Moore Park.
Minister for Volunteering, Linda Burney, announced the memorial and said the NSW Government would to contribute $350,000 of the $750,000 cost.
Ms Burney said the Commonwealth Government would contribute $25,000 while the remainder of the funds would be raised by the Korean community and veterans’ groups.
“The whole community, especially our younger generation, needs to be reminded of the sacrifices made by Australian service personnel in this terrible war,” Ms Burney 0said.
“We also need to acknowledge the heroic efforts of our brave South Korean allies to protect their homeland from Communist aggression.”
Korean War veterans Harry Spicer and N Y Paik joined Ms Burney in welcoming the memorial, saying it would help ensure Korea was no longer considered “the forgotten war”.
“Our generation is passing on and we want this memorial to tell our story long after we are gone,” Mr Spicer and Mr Paik said.
Also present at the announcement were the Consul-General of the Republic of Korea, Woong-nam Kim, RSL State Vice President (Metropolitan) John Haines and Director and Chief Executive of the Centennial and Moore Park Trust, Steve Corbett,.
Mr Corbett said he was proud that Moore Park was able to host the memorial.
“Moore Park is a beautiful place for Korean War veterans and their families to come and remember those who gave their lives for freedom,” he said.
Ms Burney said the memorial would be located at the northern end of Moore Park, which was heritage listed as a place of national significance to the Australian people.
She said the memorial would honour a friendship between two countries, cultures and communities, and would be a place that remembered the war with dignity.
The memorial design, submitted by artist Jane Cavanough in partnership with Pod Landscape Architecture, was chosen by a jury chaired by NSW Government Architect Peter Mould in a completion held last year.
The memorial Committee will be holding information sessions for community input between 10am and 12pm on 28 June at the Rotunda, Moore Park West.
The project is expected to be completed next year.
339 Australians and 230,000 South Koreans died during the war, which lasted from 1950 to 1953.
18 June, 2008
Treasuring trash at souvenir exhibition
The Australian National Maritime Museum at Sydney’s Darling Harbour is to mount an exhibition of travellers’ souvenirs, some dating back 1000 years.
According to exhibition curators, there is an extraordinary range of more than 200 travel souvenirs and the exhibition asks the question of all of them: trash or treasure?
Entitled Trash or Treasure? Souvenirs of travel, dating from the 10th-11th century, the exhibition includes souvenirs that are hand-made, quaint, cheap, compact, expensive, stylish, mass-produced, kitsch, unique or beautiful … what they have in common is their ability to carry memories of a distinctive place somewhere else in the world.
The earliest souvenir on show is a miniature of the temple at Bodhgaya, India, where it is said Buddha attained enlightenment. The model, finely carved in stone with scenes from the life of Buddha, may have ended up on a pilgrim’s home altar.
Several Christian pilgrim souvenirs from the 14-16th centuries including badges, dress pins and an ampulla (tiny vessel to carry holy water) are also included, along with contemporary equivalents produced for national and international pilgrims coming to Sydney this year for World Youth Day and Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.
In other areas of the exhibition there is a collection of items that a well-to-do Australian family brought home from Europe in the 19th century – including an intricate model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and a boxed set of Italian teaspoons; a cross-section of sea travel souvenirs including the familiar cruise company branded keyrings, ashtrays and sailor dolls; and an assortment of items representing Indigenous Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Souvenirs brought home by Australian servicemen and women are well represented with a collection of items ranging from a Chinese silk robe to a belt made from butterfly wings and a picture frame made from ammunition rounds.
According to the museum, souvenir-hunting is nothing new.
Pilgrims voyaging to sacred or holy sites were among the world’s first tourists and not surprisingly they often had a desire to bring home a holy relic or a physical part of the sacred site such as oil, earth, dust or water.
The exhibition will continue to the end of January 2009.
18 June, 2008
Sky the limit for aircraft sale
Albury City Council is to sell its replica of an historic DC-2 aircraft that made an unscheduled landing in the area during the 1934 London to Melbourne air race.
General Manager of AlburyCity, Les Tomich said the city’s Uiver DC-2 replica was officially on the market.
Mr Tomich said AlburyCity had launched a national advertising campaign calling for Expressions of Interest from parties interested in purchasing the aircraft for restoration purposes.
He said specialist aviation magazines, museums and special interest groups were being contacted as part of Council’s determination to find a new home for the
DC-2.
He said the unscheduled landing in 1934 would be commemorated with a wall mural inside the new Albury Airport terminal.
Mr Tomich said the Council wanted the DC-2 plane preserved.
“We don’t want the aircraft used for scrap metal,” he said, “rather for it to be restored and placed on permanent display as a tribute to the pioneers of air travel.”
A condition report released by Worland Aviation Services in 2002 found the plane to be in severe need of restoration.
The report author, Stephen Bigelow said due to the age and outdoor location of the aircraft, there was excessive corrosion to the airframe structure.
“The Uiver Memorial Aircraft is a prime example of the degenerative forces of nature with the nacelles and rudder in danger of major failure at any time,” Mr Bigelow’s report said.
“Corrosion just does not stop, and left unabated will eventually consume the whole aircraft.
“Without a huge expenditure of time, effort and materials it is only a matter of time.”
More information can be obtained from www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au
18 June, 2008
Pilot station sails onto Heritage List
One of the few remaining coastal pilot stations in NSW at South West Rocks is to be entered on the NSW State Heritage List.
Planning Minister, Frank Sartor has approved the listing, saying the complex, built in 1902, was a fine example of the facilities built for piloting services in NSW in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
“Only in Kiama do we find a similar Pilot’s residence with a comparable array of associated buildings,” Mr Sartor said.
“These buildings a rare example of an important period of our maritime history.”
He said in those times it was customary to have a Pilot with the necessary knowledge of local waters stationed at each coastal port to guide ships safely into and out of the harbour.
“The first pilot station in Australia was established at Watson’s Bay, Sydney Harbour in 1792,” Mr Sartor said.
“Subsequent Pilot Stations developed in pace with the extension of settlement north and south of Sydney during the 19th Century.”
He said at the height of its service, a total of 21 pilot stations stretched along the NSW coastline from the Queensland border to Eden in the south and were central to the development of coastal transportation in NSW and consequently, the expansion of commerce, industry and migration.
“The South West Rocks complex of buildings is substantially intact, in its geographic setting and as a result retains a strong representation of this form of maritime precinct,” Mr Sartor said.
“The complex to be listed consists of four cottages which once housed the pilot and his four crewmen and was positioned to offer uninterrupted views of the movement of vessels at Macleay River to the northwest and Trial Bay to the east.”
He said State Heritage listing would protect the station for future generations.
18 June, 2008
UN’s PS day next week
Next Monday, 23 June, has been designated Public Service Day by the United nations.
The UN encourages all Governments to mark the day by recognising the contribution made by public services in all parts of the world to improve the lives of citizens.
In many places the Day is marked by the appearance of promotional materials such as posters, stickers and leaflets and is often used to announce new PS policies and initiatives.
Rental bond movement
Rental bond transactions can no longer be made at the Renting Services Branch of the Fair Trading Office in Sussex Street Sydney.
The office has moved to the Sydney Fair Trading Centre on the ground floor of the McKell Building on the corner of Pitt Street and Rawson Place, opposite Central Station.
For more information, contact 13 32 20.
Police team of century
New South Wales Police have named their Rugby League team of the century, made up of players who combined a first grade League career with another in policing.
The team from all eras – most of whom represented their State and country – was Fullback - Vic Bulgin; Wingers - John Greaves & Bob Landers; Centres - Bob Keyes & Brian “Chika” Moore; Five Eighth - Steve Rogers; Halfback - Kevin Roberts; Front Rowers - Craig Young & Frank “Bumper” Farrell; Hooker - Kevin Schubert; Second Rowers - Paul Sironen & Jack Rayner (C); Lock - John Raper; Reserves - Dick Thornett, Neville Glover, Harry Pierce, Pat Jarvis; Manager - Barry Nelson; Referee - Bill Harrigan.
Sheriff’s cottage to shine
The historic Sheriff’s cottage in Grafton is receiving an $87,000 makeover, according to Attorney General John Hatzistergos.
Mr Hatzistergos said the cottage, which was once Grafton’s courthouse, had been a landmark in the Clarence river Valley since 1862.
The project is due for completion by the end of the month.
Surf beach dedicated
Crescent Head has been named a National Surfing Reserve in a dedication ceremony held at the weekend.
It has become the third legally protected reserve of its kind in NSW, and covers around 170 hectares and includes 3.5 kilometres of coastline.
CTTT information session
Workers and organisations assisting people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have been invited to an information session on the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.
Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney said the session would be held on Monday, 30 June in the Wattle Room at the Blacktown Workers Club, Level 1/55 Campbell Street, Blacktown from 1pm to 3pm.
Immigration visit
Officers from the commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) visited the Illawarra region on 17 June for a regional outreach visit.
A DIAC spokesman said the outreach trips were a great way for people in regional areas to discuss immigration-related issues face-to-face with an officer.
He said the most popular topics in the past related to citizenship, working visas, visas for people overseas and how to sponsor refugees.
Services recognised in honours list
The hard work and commitment of many NSW Public Servants are once again highlighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
A summary of those who were rewarded for their public (and sometimes private) service, including officers to receive the Public Service Medal, are listed below.
PS News congratulates each one on their award:
AO
OFFICER IN THE GENERAL DIVISION
GELLATLY, Dr Col
Awarded for service to the community as a leader in policy reform and administration in the New South Wales public sector, particularly through the coordination of whole-of government program initiatives.
Dr Gellatly was Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet from 1994 to 1995 and 1996 to 2007;
HODDINOTT, Dorothy Jane
Glebe
Awarded for service to education and the teaching profession, particularly through the Australian Joint Council of Professional Teaching Associations and through the professional development of teachers of English as a second language, and to the community through the support of immigrant and refugee students.
Mrs Hoddinott has been the Principal of Holroyd High School since 1995.
SLOAN, Professor Ian Hugh
Frenchs Forest
Awarded for service to education through the study of mathematics, particularly in the field of computational mathematics, as an academic, researcher and mentor, and to a range of national and international professional associations.
Professor Sloan has been Professor of Mathematics (Personal Chair) at the University of New South Wales since 1983.
AM
MEMBER IN THE GENERAL DIVISION
BIRCH, Professor Louis Charles
Darling Point
Awarded for service to science, particularly in the field of biology as an academic and researcher, and through contributions to the understanding of the relationship of science to religion.
Professor Birch held the Challis Chair of Biology at Sydney University from 1960 until his retirement in 1984.
ELLIOTT, Professor Elizabeth Jane
Hunters Hill
Awarded for service to paediatrics and child health as an academic, researcher and educator and through the establishment of the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit.
Professor Elliott has been Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at Sydney University since 2005;
GROSS, Professor Miraca Una
NSW
Awarded for service to education as an academic, researcher and author through the design and delivery of programs and policies for gifted students and their teachers, to professional development and educational practice.
Professor gross has been Professor of Gifted Education and Director of the Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre at the University of New South Wales since 1997.
LOVEJOY, Ms Frances Hewlett (deceased)
Kensington
Awarded for service to education, particularly in the fields of sociology and women's studies as an educator, author and mentor.
Ms Lovejoy was a Senior Lecturer in the School of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of New South Wales for more than 30 years until 2007.
WILSON, Karen Louise
Balmain
Awarded for service to botany as a researcher and through the recording and documentation of Australian biodiversity.
Mrs Wilson is Acting Manager, Plant Diversity Section at the Botanic Gardens Trust in Sydney. She has been a botanist or Special Botanist since 1973.
PSM
PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL
BRACKEN, Tarryn Kay
Berkeley
Awarded for outstanding public service in the delivery of speech pathology services in the Illawarra region.
Ms Bracken is a senior Speech Pathologist with the Illawarra Community Support Team and is always looking for innovative ways to streamline processes, increase accountability and improve outcomes for Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) clients.
CASEY, Deputy Superintendent Gordon James
Malabar
Awarded for outstanding public service in the delivery of correctional services, particularly at the Long Bay Complex of Prisons.
Mr Casey is the longest serving correctional officer in New South Wales, having commenced duty as a temporary warder at the Long Bay Complex of Prisons in 1961. He is currently Deputy Superintendent and Tactician for the Inner Metropolitan Region.
CHARD, Benjamin Paul
Eleebana
Awarded for outstanding public service, particularly in the Hunter region.
Mr Chard has been a dedicated member of the NSW public service for over 40 years and has made a noteworthy contribution to the growth of the Hunter region as Regional Coordinator of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
CREAGH, Beverley Ann
Fletcher
Awarded for outstanding public service, particularly to NSW Fire Brigades and the Newcastle community.
Mrs Creagh has made a significant contribution to the Newcastle community through her work with NSW Fire Brigades and has been instrumental in developing the Fire Brigade infrastructure in the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie area.
DARLOW, Denise Gloria
Condell Park
Awarded for outstanding public service as Private Secretary to eminent statesmen.
Ms Darlow has provided outstanding public service for many years as Personal Secretary to former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam and then as Private Secretary to Neville Wran since 1976.
DUFF, Dianne Mary
Wolli Creek
Awarded for outstanding public service in the development of performing arts within the public education system in New South Wales.
Ms Duff has made an outstanding contribution to public education in New South Wales and has been responsible for implementing performing arts programs in a number of city and country schools.
GALLAGHER, Robert John
Gymea Bay
Awarded for outstanding public service in the area of government advertising and information.
Mr Gallagher has demonstrated outstanding service and leadership in the area of government advertising and information over a career spanning more than 40 years.
GILLIGAN, Lindsay Bernard
Largs
Awarded for outstanding public service, particularly as the Director of the Geological Survey of New South Wales.
Mr Gilligan has made an outstanding contribution to geoscience, mineral resource assessment and management, and mineral exploration in New South Wales through strong leadership in several senior positions through periods of significant change.
HENRY, Paul Joseph
Inverell
Awarded for outstanding public service, particularly to the Inverell Shire Council.
Mr Henry has made an outstanding contribution to the betterment of Local Government across New South Wales as General Manager of the Inverell Shire Council.
MATENGA, Richard Runga
Birrong
Awarded for outstanding public service to the NSW Department of Corrective Services, particularly the Indigenous community.
Mr Matenga’s contribution to improving the delivery of services and outcomes for offenders, particularly Indigenous offenders, has been exceptional during his 24 years’ service.
TURNER, Captain Timothy James
Coal Point
Awarded for outstanding public service to the Port of Newcastle.
Captain Turner is recognised as one of the leading Harbour Masters in Australia.
APM
AUSTRALIAN POLICE MEDAL
JOHNSON, Detective Chief Inspector James
(Special Services Group)
KALDAS, Deputy Commissioner Nick
(Specialist Operations)
McCOULLOUGH, Sergeant Andrew
(Protocol and Awards Unit)
McGILLICUDDY, Detective Sergeant Lindsay
(Hurstville LAC)
PLOTECKI, Superintendent Michael
(Lake Illawarra LAC)
SALAFIA, Sergeant Garry
(St Mary’s LAC)
SINGLE, Superintendent Stanley
(Orana LAC)
WALES, Senior Constable Norman
(Highway Patrol, Corowa)
AFSM
AUSTRALIAN FIRE SERVICE MEDAL
ALEXANDER, William George
Albury
CANNON, Gerard Charles
Tamworth
DAVIES, Edward William
Narromine
DUNN, William Frederick
NSW
EWING, Mr William Anderson
Padstow
HARVEY, Roy Leslie
Wentworth
JOLLOW, Ronald James
Wendoree Park
SAUNDERS, Dennis James
Guyra
SMITH, James
Blacktown
SWAYN, Mark Andrew
Ryde
WHYBRO, Mark Robert
Beaconsfield
YORKE, Steven George
Scotland Island
11 June, 2008
Pat on the back for maternity leave
The Federal Government’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency has joined calls for a national paid maternity scheme to encourage women’s participation in the workforce and remove disparities between jobs and industries.
The Agency pointed to higher return-to-work rates in organisations that provided paid maternity leave as a condition of service such as the ANZ bank, Macquarie University and Overnewton Anglican Community College, compared to those organisations that didn’t.
EOWA’s submission to the Paid Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave Inquiry recommended that once the initial period of maternity leave had been provided for women to recover from childbirth, all other kinds of leave should be referred to as Parental Leave and be accessible to either parent.
The submission recommended significant weight should be placed on ‘workplace attachment’ as improved attachment would improve gender equity by increasing women’s workforce participation.
The Agency’s submission acknowledged the role of fathers in the shared caring of children, with particular regard to gender equity and workforce participation.
It highlighted the rate of increase in the provision of paid paternity leave was less than that for paid maternity leave with 61.5 per cent of organisations failing to provide paid leave to fathers in their employment.
“The overwhelming employer bias is that men belong at work and women caring for their children,” the submission said.
EOWA has encouraged the adoption of a leave model that would allow either parent to take paid time off after the leave given to women to physically recover from childbirth.
The Agency released figures showing the provision of paid maternity leave had increased from 23.7 per cent in 2001 to 48.9 per cent in 2007 among medium to large organisations.
The figures, based on information collected in an EOWA survey, showed there were significant disparities across industry sector occupations and organisational size.
Conducted 2007, the survey was sponsored by Alcoa of Australia and examined paid maternity and paternity leave, flexible workplace practices and part time work in Australia.
The full survey results and detailed analysis are to be published and released in August but the EOWA submission is available at the EOWA website www.eowa.gov.au
11 June, 2008
Displaced staff get integrated policy
Government policies and practices on managing displaced employees have been consolidated into a single document.
Premier, Morris Iemma has issued a Ministerial Memorandum outlining the new single document structure.
Mr Iemma said the arrangement set out in the policy would apply to all Public Sector Agencies and employees in the Government Service, which included Public Service Departments, Non-Public Service Divisions and Special Divisions.
He said State Owned Corporations, the Teaching Service, the Police Force and the Health Service were excluded, but that Agencies not covered were encouraged to apply.
He said the key features of dealing with displaced persons revolved around:
- an emphasis on redeployment;
- salary maintenance for up to 12 months;
- mandatory registration of all displaced employees;
- voluntary redundancy where redeployment was not practicable; and
- support for displaced employees.
Mr Iemma said the new single policy would replace all previous policies and Memoranda and Circulars regarding the management of organisational change and displaced employees.
He said the NSW Government remained committed to utilising the skills and experience of its displaced employees.
He said Agencies should continue to manage organisational change in a fair and transparent way.
11 June, 2008
SES guidelines get the job done
The fifth edition of the SES Guidelines has been issued.
Comprehensively updated and providing advice on the legislative and policy framework for employing officers in the Chief and Senior Executive Services, the new Guidelines are available on the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s website www.dpc.nsw.gov.au
They cover such aspects of CES and SES employment as recruiting and selection, advertising for positions, interviewing, remuneration, salary packaging, conduct, performance, removal from office and more.
Issuing DPC Circular C2008-17 announcing the new edition, Director General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Robyn Kruk, said it would be a resource of value to the NSW PS.
“I encourage human resource practitioners, SES administrators and SES officers to access the latest version,” Ms Kruk said, “to ensure that current legislation and policies about executive employment are followed.”
She said the Guidelines would be regularly updated to reflect changes to executive employment policy and that user feedback would be welcome.
Ms Kruk said comments on the Guidelines could be sent to the Public Sector Workforce Office.
11 June, 2008
Whistleblower call would fine-tune Act
A call has been made to strengthen the State’s whistleblower laws.
NSW Opposition Leader, Barry O’Farrell has used the experience of former electorate officer, Gillian Snedden to lead the call, as well as legal action taken by RailCorp against a former employee.
Mr O’Farrell said the Government should strengthen the Protected Disclosures Act, a call first made by the ICAC Committee in 2006.
“Public submissions formed the primary source of the ICAC Committee’s final recommendations,” Mr O’Farrell said. “So these changes are not just the will of the Parliament but also the will of the people.”
He said the changes he proposed would draw NSW into line with other States.
Mr O’Farrell said the Protected Disclosures Act was passed by a Coalition Government in 1994 to protect whistleblowers and was a key aspect of government integrity.
Among his measures to strengthen the Act, he called for a Protected Disclosures Unit to be set up within the Ombudsman’s Office to provide advice to whistleblowers, monitor responses from public authorities and to report annually on disclosures made across the NSW public sector.
He also called for a set of standard guidelines to cover the lodgement, investigation, handling and reporting of protected disclosures and a statistical program to provide a reliable foundation for future performance assessment.
Mr O’Farrell said the Act should be renamed the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994 and amended to protect whistleblowers in cases where they had an ‘honest belief on reasonable grounds’ that their disclosure was covered by the Act.
He said authorities should be explicitly required to investigate a whistleblower’s claims subject to exceptions prescribed in regulations, and for whistleblowers to be given the right to seek damages if they suffered from reprisals.
Mr O’Farrell described as “appalling” the treatment of Ms Snedden who blew the whistle on disgraced former Minister, Milton Orkopoulos.
11 June, 2008
Investigators to be investigated
The NSW Crime Commission is to come under the aegis of the Police Integrity Commission following the alleged implication of a senior investigator in an international drug smuggling syndicate.
The change, announced by Police Minister David Campbell, brings all NSW crime fighting Agencies under the purview of the PIC, which was established in 1996 to expose police corruption.
According to Mr Campbell it had been intended to extend the PIC coverage to the Commission for some months but the ongoing investigation into the drug syndicate meant it had to be put on hold.
"There is no doubt that the investigation into the activities of one individual have focused attention on this issue," Mr Campbell said.
"Future oversight arrangements have been something that have been under consideration for some months, but it was inappropriate to make any announcement.”
Mr Campbell also revealed the Independent Commission Against Corruption had been aware of the allegations against the Crime commission investigator since last September, as his girlfriend was working on secondment with ICAC.
He rejected the call for a judicial inquiry into the Crime Commission because there was no evidence of criminal involvement from any other officers
A statement released by ICAC Commissioner, Jerrold Cripps confirmed the investigator’s girlfriend was working on secondment but the Commission was aware of the link and the investigation.
“An officer is currently on secondment to us from the NSW Crime Commission, and is working in our Assessments Section,” Commissioner Cripps said.
“Senior Management has been kept informed at all times about the Australian Federal Police investigation, including her involvement with the subject officer.
“This information has been kept strictly confidential within the Executive of the Commission and managed in a way which would not in any way jeopordise the integrity of the investigation by the Federal Police.
“The Commission has been informed by the Federal Police that this officer is not a suspect in this matter.”
11 June, 2008
Election workers to get on a roll
The NSW Electoral Commission is encouraging young and multilingual people looking for casual work to apply for employment at polling places during this year’s local Government Elections.
NSW Electoral Commissioner, Colin Barry, said it was a great opportunity for young people on the electoral roll and looking for casual work to help in the administration of one of the States “most important democratic events”.
“We are particularly interested in bilingual people who speak a community language such as Chinese, Arabic, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Spanish, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog and Macedonian,” Mr Barry said.
He said people who worked at the 2007 State or Federal Election would be sent an email or SMS in early June to invite them to apply for a position.
He said those without previous elections experience could lodge an expression of interest through the Commission’s website from Tuesday 3 June, and successful applicants would receive an offer of employment in August 2008.
Mr Barry said casual staff would be employed as election officials at one of 2,200 polling place locations on Election Day, 13 September.
He said their main duties would be to issue ballot papers to electors, act as ballot box guards and scrutiny assistants and help the Returning Officer with the count of ballot papers after voting was closed.
“This is a unique opportunity to work behind the scenes of an election and to be paid for it,” Mr Barry said.
“Election Officials can earn over $300 by working on Election Day. Other rates will depend on the type of work and number of hours on duty.”
Mr Barry said the NSWEC would put robust arrangements in place to ensure the elections were consistent across the state and conducted to the same high standard as a state and federal election.
He said more information on employment was available from www.elections.nsw.gov.au or by calling the NSWEC’s hotline on 1300 135 736.
11 June, 2008
Honour offer in PM’s PS Awards
Public Service Departments and Agencies across Australia are being encouraged to enter the seventh annual Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management.
The aim of the Awards is to encourage and recognise better practice and innovation in all levels of Government in Australia with the Awards designed to honour the achievements of public sector work groups, units and teams rather than individuals.
The Awards also place a particular focus on specific projects, initiatives or change processes.
The Awards are an initiative of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (ACT Division) and are supported by the Australian Public Service Commission, the Australian National Audit Office, SAI Global Professional Services and the ACT Government.
In urging PS organisations to nominate for the Awards, the IPAA said there were many benefits to be gained. It said these included helping to maintain a focus on outcomes and results; using the preparation of the nomination as an opportunity to review a major project; receiving comprehensive feedback on a project; and identifying areas for improvement.
It said Agencies that achieved recognition also enjoyed the added benefit of public recognition of the work their teams performed and a raised profile for the organisation.
“However, given the considerable amount of effort required in preparing a nomination, Agencies should have a clear idea of their primary motivation for applying,” the Institute said.
“This will help them get the most out of the nomination process and also from the feedback report that they will receive at the end of the assessment process.”
It said nominations were evaluated by teams of assessors with the highest scoring entries submitted to a panel of judges.
“Any work unit, group or team within the Commonwealth, State or Territory and Local Government Public Sectors may nominate for the 2008 Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management.
“Whilst the nominating organisation must be the leading organisation, initiatives that involve other organisations, private sector and community based organisations are also eligible.” It said cross-Agency initiatives were also eligible to be nominated.
“Initiatives can be large in scale and impact across the entire organisation (or multiple organisations), or they can be small in scale and impact at a more local level,” the IPAA said.
“The Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Department, Agency, Authority or Office must endorse each Award nomination (and) this endorsement signifies agreement to the conditions of the Awards.”
A nomination kit containing the necessary instructions to enter the Awards could be obtained from www.act.ipaa.org.au
11 June, 2008
CityRail study on right track
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has released two discussion papers relating to CityRail’s regulatory framework.
Chairman of IPART, Dr Michael Keating, said the first paper focused on the costs of providing CityRail services and what portion of those costs should be met by passengers, and the second on how fares should be structured.
Dr Keating said the cost increases recommended in the first paper were justified.
“CityRail passengers should not be asked to pay for inefficient costs, but they should pay their fair share of the efficient costs of the services that they use,” he said.
He said CityRail’s costs had increased by more than the rate of inflation and that taxpayers had been paying more to fund these costs than CityRail passengers.
He said since the 2001/02 financial year CityRail’s costs had risen by 7.9 per cent in real terms, fares had decreased by 1.4 per cent in real terms and the proportion of costs funded by passengers had decreased.
Through its discussion papers, IPART sought to establish the efficient cost of CityRail’s services and a fair sharing of those costs between taxpayers and passengers.
The NSW Government requested IPART to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for CityRail that would provide it with stronger incentives to improve efficiency and deliver a high standard of services at a low cost.
IPART engaged L.E.K Consulting to undertake a total cost review of CityRail’s regular passenger services and CRA International to assess benefits of CityRail services to the community from reductions in road congestion, greenhouse emissions and road accidents.
L.E.K identified achievable savings over the period 2008/09 to 2011/12 that would bring CityRail’s costs more in line with those of other Australian rail operators, and would reduce its annual operating and maintenance costs by around 18 per cent per year by 2011/12.
L.E.K found that to achieve the savings, CityRail would need to undertake additional capital investment of approximately $800m over 4 years.
CRA International found the benefits to the community were worth around $1.6 billion per year and would increase to around $1.7 to $2 billion by 2008/09 to 2011/12.
These figures represented around 70 per cent of the cost of providing CityRail services, and led IPART to the view that around 30 per cent of costs should be funded by passengers through ticket prices by 2012.
Based on affordability and the level of patronage however, IPART has recommended fares be increased by 20 to 30 percent over the next four years.
The papers released by IPART recommended that establishing CityRail’s revenue requirement for the next four years would lead to greater budget certainty to allow better forward planning and should make CityRail more accountable for service delivery.
IPART said the strategy would provide Government and taxpayers with greater certainty about the need for Government funding, and passengers with a better indication of how fares would change.
IPART examined fare structures to establish if changes to the distance-based on and off-peak fares and periodical fares would lead to a more efficient use of the network, efficient investment decisions and increased equity between different passenger groups.
Submissions on the papers would be welcomed until 18 July, with IPART expected to release its draft fare determination in September.
The papers could be downloaded from www.ipart.nws.gov.au
11 June, 2008
IPART rail increases judged as un-fare
An Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal review of CityRail has been challenged by State Transport Minister, John Watkins.
The report from IPART recommended ticket prices be increased by up to 30 per cent over the next four years and that hundreds of jobs be cut to improve the efficiency of Sydney trains.
But Mr Watkins greeted the report by saying while CityRail was always looking at ways to improve its services, it did not intend doing so at the expense of commuters.
“We have no plans to reduce the level of customer service to our passengers by reducing staff numbers in key customer service areas,” he said.
The IPART review said CityRail was inefficient and that hundreds of train guards, station staff and manager jobs should be removed.
It said combined with a four-year $800 million investment, the cuts would save CityRail around $480 million a year.
However, Mr Watkins said ticket sellers and customer service staff were important and would not be cut.
He said the review would be considered by the Government.
"It is a discussion paper from IPART, it's not Government policy, it’s not the Government's position,” Mr Watkins said.
“We will obviously listen to what IPART says but we'll obviously listen to what the general public's got to say.”
Mr Watkins said however he would not rule out increases in fares.
“Fare increases come and go,” he said. “We've had them in the past, we're going to have them in the future.”
According to some reports, CityRail passengers were believed to be paying 26 per cent of network operating costs and that the remainder was being funded by the Government.
IPART Chairman, Dr Michael Keating, said price increases would be fair considering CityRail’s costs had risen by 7.9 per cent in real terms since the 2001/02 financial year while fares had decreased by 1.4 percent after taking inflation into account.
Dr Keating said the general community was paying more than commuters were for their travel costs.
“A fair sharing of the costs between passengers and the rest of the community would be passengers pay about 30 per cent,” he said. “That's more than they're currently paying.”
The secretary of the Rail Tram and Bus Union, Nick Lewocki, said rail workers would join commuters in opposing the recommendations made by IPART.
Mr Lewocki said plans to cut staff would make the rail network more dangerous and less reliable for commuters.
“Cutting station staff will lead to station closures, longer queues and reduced service levels across the network,” he said.
“Our members are not prepared to stand by while the rail system is in run into the ground.”
11 June, 2008
Lands maps show way to revised directory
The high standards of mapping at the Department of Lands and Tourism NSW have been recognised by the publications industry with the producer of the revised third edition of the NSW Road Directory turning to the Government to provide the best maps and holiday information available.
The NSW Road Directory has long been an essential navigation and information aid for drivers and tourists exploring regional NSW and Canberra and the inclusion of the official maps is an accolade well-deserved by the Department and Agency.
The Directory has been increasingly relied on by NSW emergency services because of its detailed road maps and information relating to regional towns.
All maps and cartography were produced by Lands and included 406 detailed town maps (for every town with over 400 residents); 149 state-wide maps with geographic coordinates; 14 maps of Sydney and surrounding suburbs; detailed maps of all major urban areas; 38,000 indexed roads; and information on touring NSW.
This was the third edition of the popular road directory which has been endorsed and is sold by the NRMA.
It is also available for sale for $44.95 at major booksellers and newsagents.
11 June, 2008
Courts plead guilty to going green
NSW’s Courts and Tribunals have joined the green revolution, doubling their funding to reduce greenhouse emissions and their carbon footprint.
Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos said the State’s Courts and Tribunals had already embarked on environmentally-responsible projects and the extra funding would ensure more was done.
“The installation of water tanks, energy efficient lighting and native vegetation at metropolitan and regional Courts were among the projects funded last year through the $50,000 Green Grants scheme,” Mr Hatzistergos said.
“This year, the NSW Government has doubled the funding to $100,000 for courts to
implement green initiatives.”
The Attorney-General made the announcement close to World Environment Day and encouraged all NSW Courts, Tribunals and offices of the Attorney General’s Department to start thinking about how they could contribute to an environmentally sustainable future.
Mr Hatzistergos said his Department was taking a leadership role in reducing
greenhouse gases and creating energy efficient workplaces.
“The Department’s headquarters, the Justice Precinct Offices, received a ‘five green
star’ rating for office design and was a finalist at the 2008 Property Council of Australia/Rider Levett Bucknall awards for innovation and excellence,” he said.
Mr Hatzistergos said this year, the Department’s staff were being encouraged to donate their old mobile phones to the Spastic Centre’s Don’t Dump It, Donate It campaign and to register for a toner cartridge recycling service.
He said applications for 2008/09 Green Grants had to be submitted by December.
A Director of the Earth Trust, Brynnie Goodwill, addressed Departmental staff on Climate Change Leadership on World Environment Day.
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972 and has been held each year on 5 June. The slogan for this year’s event was Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.
11 June, 2008
Whirlybirds fly in to protect bird life
The Royal Australian Navy has assisted Landcare Australia to protect bird life in the Shoalhaven area by using its Sea King helicopter to transport a tractor and slasher to Numbaa Island.
Commanding Officer of the Navy’s 817 Squadron, Commander Rob Gagnon, said the helicopter based at HMAS Albatross was asked to transport the equipment to the island to slash areas where regeneration works would take place.
CMDR Gagnon said the slashing would take place where weeds were strangling native vegetation.
Local dairy farmers and community groups Riverwatch, Shoalhaven Landcare, Numbaa Landcare Group and the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority have teamed up with the Department of Lands to help improve the biodiversity of Numbaa Island and the Shoalhaven River catchment.
CMDR Gagnon said a local grazier was leasing the land, but the arrangement involved sustainably managing the agricultural and environmental values of Numbaa Island.
“National Landcare Program funding will be used to assist with the construction of a stock proof electric fence, as well as revegetating the northern and south-eastern parts of the Island,” CMDR Gagnon said.
“Mangroves will be planted on the north-western side of the Island to help control bank erosion.”
CMDR Gagnon said it was an “obviously unusual” task for Navy.
“We were happy to assist when we found out what the project was about,” he said, “the great outcomes that will be achieved both for the local community and environment, whilst also providing a significant real world training opportunity for our crews.”
“We are pleased that Navy has been able to help Landcare with this important project.”
11 June, 2008
Privacy Awards not kept secret
Government Departments and Agencies have been urged to enter the inaugural Australian Privacy Awards 2008 before the nomination period closes on 9 July.
Australian Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, has invited public and private organisations to show off their privacy initiatives and possibly be honoured with recognition, acclamation and reward.
“No-matter what size your organisation is or the scale of your privacy initiative, we encourage you to enter the Australian Privacy Awards,” Commissioner Curtis said.
She said the Awards offered organisations the opportunity to be publicly recognised for their good privacy practices and enhance their reputation and raise their profile.
“You never know - you may be chosen as a finalist or a winner and you could well become a privacy role model for thousands of other organisations in the years ahead!” she said.
Commissioner Curtis said the awards would be presented in four categories.
There would be a Large Business Award for businesses with over 100 employees, an award for businesses with less than 100 employees, a community and Non-Governmental Organisation award for not-for-profit organisations and a Symantec Government Award for Government Agencies at a local, State or national level.
Commissioner Curtis said an overall Grand Award would be presented to the most outstanding entrant.
The awards, which were sponsored by Symantec, Microsoft, Clayton Utz and Australian Finance Conference, would be presented at a gala dinner on 27 August.
More information could be found at www.privacy.gov.au/about/awards/
11 June, 2008
Minister puts money on wagering review
An independent review of wagering in NSW has been requested by the Minister for Gaming and Racing, Graham West.
Lawyer and former Chairman of the Australian Securities Commission, Alan Cameron has been appointed to undertake the review to provide a framework for future growth and sustainability of the racing industry.
Starting orders for the review include considering racing as a significant industry and employer and to look at bookmaker structures and operating conditions, the publication of betting odds, TAB fixed odds betting and pooling.
The review is expected to investigate new technology and wagering; sports betting; betting exchanges; advertising laws; and impacts from national Competition Policy.
Mr Cameron is being supported by accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers and has released an issues paper and called for public submissions.
A background paper covering specific issues relating to wagering has also been released.
Submissions to the review are to be published online unless presented in confidence and would be received until 31 July.
Copies of the papers could be accessed from the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing website www.olgr.nws.gov.au
11 June, 2008
Giant Courtroom sets bigger bench mark
A super-sized civil Courtroom is to be built for the NSW Supreme Court, enhancing Sydney’s standing as a centre for excellence in commercial litigation.
Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos announced the plan saying it would be one of many Courtroom upgrades to be funded under his Department’s capital expenditure budget of $50.9 million in the coming financial year.
Mr Hatzistergos said the $2 million Courtroom would be almost twice the size of a standard Courtroom at 220 square metres.
“It will be able to comfortably accommodate hearings involving a large number of barristers and lawyers, such as C7, HIH and One.Tel,” he said.
“The courtroom upgrade will form part of a two-year redevelopment of the ninth floor of the Queens Square Law Courts in Sydney’s CBD.”
Mr Hatzistergos said the NSW Budget also provided almost $13 million for an upgrade of Parramatta Courthouse.
He said as the “high-tech $330 million” Parramatta Justice Precinct was now complete, the Government would focus on giving the neighbouring Parramatta Courthouse a makeover.
“The Courthouse will receive a new roof, cells complex, a purpose-built Drug Court registry and additional security facilities.
“Videoconferencing technology will also be upgraded in four of the building’s courtrooms.”
Mr Hatzistergos said additional remote witness facilities would be installed and upgraded in NSW Courts following a $3.25 million allocation in 2008/09.
“These facilities enable vulnerable witnesses, such as sexual assault victims, to give evidence via Closed Circuit Television from a private location,” he said.
Mr Hatzistergos said other projects to receive funding this financial year would include the Goulburn, Dubbo, Broken Hill, Newcastle, Tamworth, Griffith, Belmont and Gosford Courthouses and the NSW Sheriff’s Office.
He said the Government’s $46.1 million investment in Court-related facilities would ensure the NSW Court System remained the best in Australia.
“In NSW we have the smallest backlog of cases in any State or Territory, even though we handle more cases than any other jurisdiction,” he said.
Mr Hatzistergos said the Government would also invest $5.8 million in 2008/09 in programs to help reduce rates of re-offending by 10 per cent by 2016.
He said the funding would include $1.9 million to run the Forum Sentencing program which allowed victims of crime to have a say in sentences, and $3.5 million toward drug and alcohol treatment programs.
11 June, 2008
Home costs hit PS staff
A national survey has found that 480,000 of the nation’s nurses, police officers, teachers and paramedics were being pushed out of capital cities as their wages failed to keep pace with soaring house prices.
The BankWest study found house and unit prices had jumped 66 per cent across Australia in the past five years, while the average key worker’s pay had only increased by 31 per cent.
The study found Sydney was the least affordable capital city followed by Perth and then Canberra.
CRC banks on Commonwealth
The Community Relations Commission For a multicultural NSW, has welcomed the Commonwealth Bank as a new major sponsor for the National Multicultural Marketing Awards.
Commission Chair, Stepan Kerkyasharian said the Bank had decided to revive its public connection with immigration by helping to promote the economic benefits of cultural diversity.
The bank joins other sponsors the NSW Government, the Australian Newspaper, Qantas, Integral Energy, CMC Markets, the Westin Hotel and Yellow Tail Wines.
The National Multicultural Marketing Awards have been conducted by the CRC for the past 19 years.
Massacre site on list
The Myall Creek massacre site and memorial, near Inverell, have been included on the National Heritage List.
Federal Heritage Minister, Peter Garrett announced the listing saying it would protect the site for future generations.
Mr Garrett said the Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site would be formally recognised as a pivotal moment in Australia’s history.
Aboriginal graduates
NSW Health's Aboriginal Trainee Environmental Health Officer program has added another two graduates to its list of successful participants
Wendy Bryan-Clothier from Western Sydney and Robert Barnett from the Mid-North Coast recently received their Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Health) qualifications after joining the program in mid 2002.
Ms Bryan-Clothier and Mr Barnett have commenced work with the Sydney West and North Coast Area Health services respectively as trainee Environmental Health Officers.
Rescue units announced
The State Rescue Board has announced two additional rescue units for the Hunter region and one additional unit to be established in the Sutherland Shire.
SRB Chairman, Brigadier Philip McNamara, said the Board had endorsed the accreditation of firefighters from the NSW Fire Brigades’ Engadine fire station as a secondary rescue unit for the Sutherland Region.
Brig McNamara said firefighters from the NSWFB had been accredited as primary rescue providers at Belmont and Toronto to improve services in the Hunter region.
Justice group formed
An Aboriginal Community Justice Group is to be formed in Tamworth to develop grass roots solutions to local crime issues.
The new group would be made up of respected volunteers from the local Aboriginal community, would examine crime and related issues in Tamworth and develop ways to address them.
Mary Slater has been appointed coordinator of the Group.
Firefighters to fight
Over 60 NSW Fire Brigades firefighters are heading to Morisset this week for the third round of the 2008 NSWFB Firefighter Championships.
Firefighters from 14 NSWFB stations across the state are to compete in 13 firefighting related events designed to hone their skills.
Three teams from the NSW Rural Fire Service are also to compete in the competition.
4 June, 2008
Crisis looms as age wearies PS
The NSW Public Service Association has released the results of a survey it says shows that the NSW Public Service was facing a staffing crisis.
General Secretary of the PSA, John Cahill said a study of the Association’s members has revealed that one-third of the NSW Public Service was planning to leave the Service in the next five years, threatening to make a “huge dent” in the PS workforce.
Mr Cahill said this crisis would be heightened by the Government’s PS pay policy which was an effective cut in salary.
He said the survey, which covered 2589 public sector workers, revealed that:
- one in 10 respondents planned to leave the public sector within the next year;
- one in three said they didn’t expect to be working in the public sector in five years; and
- 72 per cent believed management’s priority was more about meeting budgets than serving the public.
He said the Government’s own research showed the public sector was on average, 10 years older than the rest of the workforce.
“The facts are Public Servants are reaching retirement age at alarming rates.”
He said research by the Department of Premier and Cabinet had found that 57 per cent of public sector workers over 45 will have retired by 2015 and 27 per cent of those will be gone by 2010.
He said replacing those retiring workers would become “impossible” if the Government persisted with its plan to deliver a real wage cut to Public Servants.
“Delegates representing 100,000 workers across NSW will reject the Government’s bid to cut their take home pay as a further threat to public services in NSW,” he said.
“NSW taxpayers will be left holding the can when the public sector reaches crisis point and service cuts begin to take effect.
“The public deserves better.”
Mr Cahill said the current wage claim was about “more than dollars and cents.”
“It is about ensuring we can maintain the quality of public services in NSW beyond 2010.
“The skills drain out of the Public Service will reach crisis point during the term of this industrial agreement,” he said.
4 June, 2008
Budget spend is right on the money
New South Wales is to spend a record $47.6 billion on Government goods and services in the coming 12 months according to the 2008-09 State Budget detailed in Parliament this week by Treasurer, Michael Costa.
Included in the expenditure will be $13.2 billion on health, $11 billion on education and an increase to $2.4 billion for policing services.
Mr Costa said the Budget outcome would be realised with the assistance of $6.4 billion in new debt, most of which would be spent on capital works.
He said the decision to allow a “temporary increase in borrowings” was made instead of reducing public services.
He said the Government remained committed to keeping a tight rein on expenditure.
“For the third year in a row we’ve brought operating expenses in on target,” Mr Costa said.
He said however that the Government’s financial liabilities as a share of the State’s economy (at 8.5 per cent) would exceed the 7.5 per cent target contained in the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2005, but that the level was expected to fall over time.
“The deviation from the target is caused by higher general Government net debt and unfunded superannuation liabilities,” the Treasurer said.
“The higher unfunded superannuation liabilities arise from the negative returns on investments in 2007-08 caused by significant financial market volatility.
“The plan to fully fund superannuation liabilities by 2030 remains on track.”
Mr Costa said productivity savings in the public sector would again ensure that PS wages growth would be restricted to keep the cost to the taxpayer at no more than 2.5 per cent per year.
“I can report that over the past 12 months the Government and Unions have struck 11 agreements where the cost to taxpayers has been limited to 2.5 per cent,” Mr Costa said.
“Because of productivity offsets, wage rises for employees under those awards have been as high as 5 per cent.”
He reported that the actual Budget result for 2007-08 was on track to be a $700 million surplus and that the expected outcome for the coming year was another surplus of $268 million.
4 June, 2008
Guidelines track Indigenous safety
WorkCover NSW has launched a set of protocol Guidelines to ensure workplace safety messages were effectively delivered to Indigenous business communities.
Chief Executive, Jon Blackwell, said the Guidelines were for use by WorkCover staff to educate them in how to work with Indigenous people in a way that respected their culture and community.
“WorkCover is committed to working collaboratively with Indigenous communities in New South Wales,” Mr Blackwell said, “to communicate the importance of workplace safety to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
“The protocol guidelines will help WorkCover staff build effective partnerships with Indigenous groups across New South Wales and enhance community understanding of occupational health and safety and workers compensation issues.”
He said the Guidelines would also assist WorkCover inspectors and business advisory officers in the field communicate more effectively with their Indigenous clients.
“The protocols Guide will assist us to work more closely with Indigenous communities to develop programs to improve occupational health and safety and workers compensation outcomes for Aboriginal people,” Mr Blackwell said.
He said the new Guide supported the Government’s Two Ways Together initiative that required Agencies to work together with Indigenous communities to ensure the services they accessed were culturally appropriate.
Mr Blackwell said WorkCover’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Network provided a link to the Indigenous community and delivered a formal network of support and encouragement to the organisation’s 25 Indigenous staff.
“WorkCover regularly supports Indigenous activities in the local community through sponsorship of events and participation in key celebrations such as Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week,” Mr Blackwell said.
He said his organisation was also a proud sponsor of the Reconciliation Week 2008 Aboriginal Artists Art Exhibition and Competition, being held at Gosford Regional Gallery until 13 July.
4 June, 2008
Parents’ leave plan is PSA’s new baby
The Public Service Association of NSW has presented a submission to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Paid Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave.
The PSA has called for 28 weeks paid leave, starting with a minimum 2 weeks prior to the birth of the child and a minimum of 6 months after and has also called for a base salary, paid by the Government to all women, irrespective of whether they were casual, full time, part time, contractors or stay at home mums.
The submission suggests that a system of wage replacement be developed and that the payments available to women should also be accessible to their partners if they acted as the primary carer of the child.
It also calls for a minimum of four weeks support for partners which could be used concurrently with the other partner to provide support.
According to the PSA, the submission was based on members' responses to its Paid Parental Leave Survey.
To support the PSA proposals, the Association has urged members to download a petition from www.psa.labor.net.au/women and ask their friends, family and co-workers to sign it.
The completed petitions can then be returned to the PSA Women's Unit at GPO Box 3365, Sydney NSW 2001 or by fax to (02) 9262 1623.
4 June, 2008
Ladder of success awaits fire recruits
A recruitment campaign to find 160 new firefighters for the State over the next 12 months has been launched by Emergency Services Minister, Nathan Rees and NSW Fire Brigades Commissioner Greg Mullins.
The pair joined forces to announce the drive at the Fire Brigades Open Day at Crows Nest Fire Station. “People can now apply for full-time firefighting roles and climb the ladder to a satisfying career with the Fire Brigades,” Mr Rees said, “protecting our communities in both city and regional areas from fires and other emergencies,”
He said this was the first campaign of its kind in over two years, but the last campaign received 5,000 applications.
“Thousands of people who are considering careers with Australia’s largest fire and rescue service have waited more than two years for this opportunity,” he said.
Mr Rees said the NSWFB was seeking more applicants from women and others from Indigenous and culturally diverse backgrounds.
He said NSW Emergency Services was among the best in the world, and the Government was committed to providing firefighters with the best equipment and training.
Commissioner Mullins said he joined the Brigade as a recruit and rose through the ranks to eventually occupy the top job.
He said becoming a firefighter could lead to a life-long career as there were plenty of opportunities to “climb the ladder”.
“While team work, communication and physical fitness are considered important traits of a firefighter, we are looking for people from all walks of life who can bring a variety of skills to the job,” Commissioner Mullins said.
“As a firefighter, you are constantly testing yourself and your skills. Many firefighters choose to specialise in areas such as rescue, hazardous materials and fire investigation.”
Commissioner Mullins said the NSW Fire Brigades had expanded its work in community education and fire prevention.
Successful applicants would complete 16 weeks of basic training and work at a fire station for three years to become a fully qualified firefighter.
Applications close on 27 June, and further information can be found at www.fire.nsw.gov.au
4 June, 2008
New jury resources are free to go
A new website and brochure aimed at improving understanding of the NSW jury system has been launched by the Attorney General, John Hatzistergos.
Mr Hatzistergos said the new resources would be of value to prospective jurors as they answered many questions people often had about jury service.
He said the resources explained how the jury system worked and what potential jurors could expect if they responded to a jury summons.
“Approximately 100,000 members of the community are called up for jury service in
NSW each year,” Mr Hatzistergos said.
“They play a critical role in helping administer the NSW criminal justice system by
ensuring an accused is judged by a panel of their peers.”
He said for many people the thought of serving on a jury could be intimidating, particularly if they had limited knowledge of the legal system but the Government was “dedicated” to providing the best possible resources to future jurors to ensure the experience of jury duty was as easy as possible.
Mr Hatzistergos said the new resources would answer questions relating to the role of the jury in a criminal or civil trial; how long jurors would be expected to serve; employment and jury duty; and correct court etiquette.
He said all prospective jurors would receive a copy of the brochure with their summons and that a new telephone number would allow residents to contact the information line for the cost of a local call.
Mr Hatzistergos said he was committed to improving the jury system to ensure it was fair and sustainable.
“That is why I have introduced amendments to the Jury Act 1977 into Parliament to
give Judges the power to discharge individual jurors without having to abort an entire
trial,” he said.
“These reforms will ensure Judges will be able to discharge a juror who, for example,
was wrongly empanelled or has engaged in misconduct.”
Mr Hatzistergos said avoiding unnecessary retrials would ensure Courts’ resources and jurors’ time were not wasted.
He said the new website could be accessed at www.sheriff.nsw.gov.au, and the information line could be contacted on 1300 722 574
4 June, 2008
ACT pushes borders on PS job transfers
The Public Service of the Australian Capital Territory has launched a media campaign to attract staff from other Public Services around Australia.
Aimed primarily at personnel from the Australian Public Service concerned at Federal cost cutting and workload increases, the campaign is a response to a long-standing skills shortage in the national capital.
According to ACT Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, there had never been a better time to move to the ACT.
“The combination of a strong economy and skills shortage means that th-ere is a wealth of opportunity here,” Mr Stanhope said.
“We have a number of programs aimed at attracting workers from interstate and overseas.”
He said the information campaign would create awareness of the many jobs available in the ACT Public Service, across a wide range of occupational groups.
“The campaign will also benefit the private sector which has, for some time, had difficulty in attracting suitable numbers of employees,” he said.
“Our low levels of unemployment, combined with the strong ACT economy and record high level of investment places increasing demands on our labour market and it highlights the need for us to be proactive about keeping workers here in Canberra.”
Mr Stanhope said the campaign would be supported by a website www.jobs.act.gov.au and by a specialist human resources officer who will be on hand to provide personal customer service by answering any HR questions.
4 June, 2008
Ombudsman on for young and old
The NSW Ombudsman has developed guidelines and a training program for the staff of his office to improve the services they provide to young people.
NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, said the Guidelines for Dealing with Youth Complaints were developed as a part of Youth Week and distributed to State and national organisations, including other watchdog agencies.
“Young people have a voice that should be heard and opinions that should be considered,” Mr Barbour said.
“I hope that these Guidelines will help Agencies to more effectively engage with young people and as a result not only improve their practices but also make better and more inclusive decisions.”
He said complaint systems were often designed by adults, for adults, and could be intimidating and confusing for young people.
Mr Barbour said the guidelines would assist Agencies handle complaints from young people and their advocates.
Director of the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, James McDougall, said the Office of the NSW Ombudsman was to be congratulated on the initiative.
“This Guide is a landmark publication - a clear and practical aid that should be required reading for any Government or community Agency that makes decisions that impact on children and young people,” Mr McDougall said.
“Use it in your office and let the children and young people that you meet tell you if it works!”
Copies of the guidelines can be accessed from the NSW Ombudsman website www.ombo.nsw.gov.au
4 June, 2008
Justice tips scales at new Court hub
A major study that proposes a $60 million Justice Precinct for Newcastle has been warmly welcomed by Attorney General, John Hatzistergos.
The precinct, which would feature at least 10 Courtrooms, is to be located close to the Newcastle CBD.
Mr Hatzistergos said upgrading facilities at the Newcastle Courthouse was a priority for the Government.
“Given the rapid growth of the Hunter region, both in terms of its economy and its population, an expanded and improved justice facility is required,” he said.
Mr Hatzistergos said a feasibility study on the precinct, completed by the Attorney General’s Department, had identified a number of potential sites for a new justice precinct.
MP for Newcastle, Jodi McKay, said the precinct would cater to the entire region.
Ms McKay said existing District and Local Courts and Registries in towns surrounding Newcastle would form a “hub and spokes model” for the delivery of justice services.
“A new justice precinct would be a tremendous boost for the Hunter region, which would provide hundreds of jobs and make Newcastle a centre for excellence when it comes to the administration of justice,” she said.
Ms McKay said the Commonwealth Government was looking at locating Federal courtrooms at the precinct to further its commitment to cooperative federalism.
She said the University of Newcastle was exploring the possibility of locating a new law school at the precinct to accommodate students.
The study proposed four rooms be fitted with audio-visual equipment and secure dock areas; facilities for other related Agencies such as the Department of Corrective Services and the Police be in or near the precinct, advanced security arrangements be made, and remote witness rooms equipped with videoconferencing for vulnerable witnesses be considered.
Mr Hatzistergos said the study projected a “final business case” which detailed a “preferred option” would be completed by the end of the year.
4 June, 2008
PSA plugs into power campaign
The Public Service Association of NSW has thrown its weight behind a campaign opposing the restructuring of the State’s electricity industry which includes privatising State Government assets.
Linking up with the “Stop the Sell-off Campaign,” the PSA has urged its members to contact Government and Opposition MPs and register their views on the proposals.
The Bills, Electricity Industry Restructuring Bill 2008 and the Community Infrastructure (Intergenerational) Fund Bill 2008 were due to be debated in the NSW Parliament this week.
The Stop the Sell-off Campaign has encouraged all opponents of privatisation to lobby Members of Parliament by calling, visiting, emailing or faxing them.
The PSA has identified a priority list of 14 Labor MPs and urged opponents to contact them along with the Liberals and Nationals.
It has provided members with contact details for Coalition Leader Barry O’Farrell and for Labor MPs Marie Andrews, Alan Ashton, David Borger, Cherie Burton, Barry Collier, Robert Coombs, Geoff Corrigan, Phillip Costa, Tanya Gadiel, David Harris, Grant McBride and Andrew McDonald,
Les Carr, from the Association, has supplied a link to the campaign template that members could use to send their email the 14 ‘priority’ Labor MPs.
The email would go to all 14 MPs with a standard message that could be amended as desired.
More information about the campaign could be obtained by visiting www.stoptheselloff.org.au and the PSA role by visiting www.psa.labor.net.au
4 June, 2008
Film and TV School projects new image
The Australian Film, Television and Radio School has been relocated to Sydney’s entertainment precinct at Moore Park.
Opening the AFTRS new building, Federal Arts Minister, Peter Garrett, said the school played a central role in Australia’s screen industry as its key educator and trainer.
“The Australian Film Television and Radio School’s new home will provide our next generation of film-makers, broadcasters and technicians with the best chance of success in a challenging and dynamic industry,” Mr Garrett said.
He said the new building was geared toward the digital culture of content-on demand, collaboration, and convergence.
“This modern facility will help prepare the next generation of graduates for long careers in a dynamic industry,” he said.
The school includes a theatre with High Definition capability and multi format film projectors; 30 technical suites for picture, sound, screen composition and digital production; digital post production facilities; five shooting studios; mixing studios; computer labs; and digital radio broadcasting suites.
“These new facilities will build on the school’s reputation for the high quality of its teaching and training, and for the excellent calibre of its graduates,” Mr Garrett said.
He said future students would benefit from the relationships the school enjoyed with leading industry practitioners and studios and the industry experience of its teachers.
Mr Garrett said relocating the school was a key element in the Government’s strategy to revitalise the screen industry, restore investor confidence and deliver new and high quality productions for Australian audiences.
4 June, 2008
Opera House book hits high note
A new book tracing the history and design of the Sydney Opera House has been released by Opera House Chief Executive, Richard Evans.
Published by Alpha Orion Press and selling for $19.95, Sydney Opera House idea to icon was written by Michael Moy who through text, images and drawings, details the history and engineering of Australia’s most recognised building.
“Sydney Opera House turns 35 this year and this latest book captures its history and unique design through anecdote, description and image,” Mr Evans said.
“Michael Moy commenced his research by asking himself the question, ‘What is the book I would like to buy?’
“With his background as a teacher of mathematics and physics, his technical descriptions of the engineering and construction of Sydney Opera House are easy to grasp and his natural curiosity about the human side of the building has led him to uncover many stories of vision, opposition, courage and even tragedy.”
Mr Evans said Sydney Opera House idea to icon covered the history of Bennelong Point from the arrival of the First Fleet just off its shore, as the site of a house built by Governor Phillip for his Aboriginal envoy, Bennelong, as convict-designed Fort Macquarie and later as a utilitarian tram depot.
“Whereas every single rivet hole of the Harbour Bridge was planned before work commenced on its construction, such was the political urgency to get the Opera House project underway, no-one was completely sure Jørn Utzon’s soaring sail-like shells could be built the way he had drawn them,” Mr Evans said.
“Moy uses photographs by Max Dupain and Ern McQuillan, some of which have never been published, along with detailed drawings by Yuzo Mikami who worked with Utzon on the project, to explain how the impossible became possible and then extraordinary.”
He said while the personal story of Mr Utzon was central to that of the Opera House, Mr Moy acknowledged other people of vision and passion without whom the Opera House would not have been a success.
“Sydney Symphony Orchestra conductor Eugene Goossens, Premier Joe Cahill, and engineer Ove Arup were a few of the people vital to the completion of the building.
He said no story about Opera House would be complete without reference to the politics behind the architect’s departure, the difficulties around the completion of the project, Mr Utzon’s re-engagement by then NSW Premier Carr, and finally, in 2007, the building’s listing on the World Heritage register.
“A separate section lists Sydney Opera House facts, figures, trivia and tragedy. For example, the tip of the highest shell is 9m above the deck of Sydney Harbour Bridge, the first concert was by black American political activist Paul Robeson who sang to workers during their lunch break in November 1960 and Moy recounts the tragic story of an Opera House Lottery winner.”
Mr Evans said Sydney Opera House idea to icon was available from Sydney Opera House shops and was ideally sized for tourists at 22cm by 15cm. He said it made the perfect souvenir for any visitor.
4 June, 2008
Convict history has heritage in sites
A number of important sites in the history of New South Wales have been nominated for World Heritage Listing by Commonwealth Heritage Minister, Peter Garrett.
Among the sites are Old Government House and the Domain at Parramatta, Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney, the Cockatoo Island Convict Site and the Old Great North Road, near Wiseman’s Ferry.
Mr Garrett said the nomination of Australian Convict Sites would share the history of migration and transportation of people to Australia.
“The exile of convicts from one side of the world to the other is both a dark and uplifting tale, from isolation and punishment to extraordinary opportunities for starting a new life,” Mr Garrett said.
He said the World Heritage Centre had informally indicated the nomination was “excellent”, and would be considered in 2009.
He said he was disappointed there was a delay, but was confident the nomination had a good chance of being formally included in the World Heritage List in 2010.
“The Centre regularly receives more nominations than it can assess in any given year,” Mr Garrett said.
He said he was looking forward to continuing to work with parties from the World Heritage Convention to protect places of universal value.
He said sites from other States, including Tasmania and Western Australia were included in the nomination.
“The sites nominated for World Heritage listing – from Tasmania’s Brickendon and Woolmers Estates to Western Australia’s Fremantle Prison - are a reminder of that important chapter in this nation’s history,” he said.
4 June, 2008
DECC guidelines keep grass greener
The Department of Environment and Climate Change has published Guidelines for use by Councils and other authorities when assessing development applications that could impact on land managed by the Department.
These areas could include land and reserves used by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Parks Authority or aquatic reserves under the State Fisheries Management Act.
DECC said the Guidelines aimed to help the planning authorities minimise adverse impacts on the value of the land managed by the Department.
It said Councils and other consent authorities were urged to consider erosion and sediment control; storm water runoff; the management of pests, weeds and edge effects; fire and the location of asset protection zones; boundary encroachments; visual, odour, noise, air quality impacts and amenity; and threats to ecological connectivity when assessing applications.
If the development was likely to impact on the adjoining land, DECC recommended the assessor either refuse the application or seek advice from the relevant National Parks and Wildlife Service Regional Office.
The Department said the land it managed played an important role in protecting flora, fauna and natural features such as wetlands, estuaries and caves.
It said the land helped protect natural and cultural landscapes supporting Indigenous and non-Indigenous sites and cultural heritage values.
The direct benefits of the reserved land were provided to the community through opportunities for recreation, education and scientific research.
The Department said the potential for cumulative impacts from developments along DECC boundaries should be considered in addition to case-by-case considerations.
It said there were legislative requirements for development in the locality of marine parks, aquatic reserves, or wild rivers declared under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
Copies of the Guidelines are available from www.environment.nsw.gov.au
4 June, 2008
Oil smoothes way for wildlife science
A scientist with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has discovered the key to attracting rare marsupials to areas where they can be monitored and observed for research.
Dr Andrew Claridge has found that the aroma of European black truffle oil is irresistible to bandicoots and potoroos and has been using it to further his wildlife research.
Dr Claridge said he was frustrated by the lack of progress in monitoring native wildlife before he came up with the idea of using the oil.
He said he placed the oil, which he bought from delicatessens and cooking shops, in a specially made container which was inedible to the animals.
“Truffle oil is a surrogate for the smells produced by native truffles that are found in the diet of these animals,” Dr Claridge said.
He said once the odour attracted the animals to a certain spot, an infra-red camera took images of them for identification purposes.
Being able to observe and monitor how the animals were faring was important for his management goals.
“For example we can find out whether our fox-baiting programs are making any difference to these marsupials in certain areas,” he said.
“Previously our measures of success were poor at best and wrong at worst.”
In a recent study in Ben Boyd National Park south of Eden, Dr Claridge and his research partner Dr David Paull, were witnesses to a minor miracle.
“The bottom line is that our ability to detect bandicoots at that site, or success rate, has gone from below 1% to around 60% - using imported French black truffle oil,” Dr Claridge said.
“This is a staggering result.”
He said the two researchers were placing the truffle oil and the infra-red cameras in spots across the south east of NSW and were working with Victorian land management Agencies in neighbouring East Gippsland.
“We await the next set of results, quite literally, with baited breath,” he said.
4 June, 2008
Cold start to fire danger season
NSW Fire Brigades has seized on 1 June as the first day of winter to launch its 2008 Winter Fire Safety Campaign.
The Minister for Emergency Services, Nathan Rees joined forces with the Minister for Fair Trading, Linda Burney and fire service Commissioners to warn residents that the winter months were the most dangerous time for fatal fires in the home.
Mr Rees said more people died in house fires in NSW between June and August than in any other period in 2007.
“NSW Fire Brigades and Rural Fire Service figures show there were 1,403 home fires last winter which claimed a total of 10 lives and left 188 people injured,” he said.
He said almost half the fires occurred in the kitchen, often as a result of people leaving stove-top cooking unattended.
He said the arrival of winter forced more people indoors and increased their reliance on heating, lighting and electrical appliances.
Mr Rees said there had been a slight increase in the number of winter home fires over the past three years.
“Working smoke alarms and home escape plans are very important in giving households an early warning and can help people quickly and safely escape a fire this winter,” he said.
NSW Fire Brigades Commissioner, Greg Mullins and Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons were also present at the launch at Crows Nest Fire Station.
Commissioner Mullins said fire experts had identified a number of concerning trends in winter house fires.
“NSWFB research shows nearly one in three winter house fires occur between 4pm and 8pm,” Commissioner Mullins said, “and the number of fires caused by household objects such as curtains and blankets being placed too close to heat sources has also steadily increased in recent years.”
Commissioner Fitzsimmons said homes in rural and regional areas faced an even greater threat of house fires due to isolation and a higher use of open fires.
“Complacency is our greatest threat in winter,” Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
“Many people believe once summer is over, fire no longer poses a serious risk, but this is certainly not the case.”
Ms Burney reminded parents to supervise their children around open fires, cooking appliances and heaters, and said it was important for all households to heed fire safety advice.
“All households should be aware of potential fire dangers in the home this winter,” Ms Burney said.
She said Fair Trading officers had removed non-compliant children’s nightwear from four stores during an annual winter product safety blitz and had inspected electric room heaters and electric blankets, with officers visiting over 160 stores.
“With winter here, please check electric blankets for damaged or frayed cords before placing them on the bed,” she said.
“If you use a clothes dryer, make sure the lint filter is cleaned every time you use it.”
More information on winter fire safety could be found at www.fire.nsw.gov.au or www.rfs.nsw.gov.au
4 June, 2008
Milestone for news
The readership of PS News set a new milestone in May with readers clocking up over two million hits for the month.
Editor, Frank Cassidy welcomed the national result saying it took two years to reach the first million-a-month traffic figure last November and then just another six months to double it.
In addition, independent net management company Rotapix reported that PS News now ranked No. 1 on the world’s three largest search engines for Public Service news.
Award guide for IR
The Office of Industrial Relations has launched an online guide to the industrial relations system that applies to the State’s workplaces.
Responding to the considerable changes that have occurred in industrial relations in recent years, the Office will direct an employer to the respective Federal or NSW IR system that applies to his or her workplace.
The guide can be accessed at www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au
DECC drives golf course management
The Department of Environment and Climate Change has issued a Guide to improve the environmental management of New South Wales golf courses.
The educational manual has been designed to provide golf course superintendents with information on how to improve the environmental performance of their courses, operate more efficiently and save resources.
The guide can be downloaded from www.environment.nsw.gov
IPART valuing valuer
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is conducting a review of the prices the Office of the Valuer General charges Local Councils for valuation services.
The Valuer General has made a submission to the review and IPART has published a draft report and determination but further consultation is being entered.
Submissions and reports are available on IPART’s website www.ipart.nsw.gov.au
Water troubles settled
Sydney Water and PricewaterhouseCoopers have settled legal action dating back to 2003 relating to a customer service IT system.
An eight week hearing which began on 27 May has been avoided and both Sydney Water and PwC said they were pleased to have settled the case.
Airport plans high on list
Albury City Council has confirmed that a plan to expand its airport terminal topped the list of new capital infrastructure projects for the coming year.
New check in facilities, a secure departure lounge, new amenities, a cafeteria and increased floor area of over 1000m2 were the key features of the multi-million dollar project .
Mayor, Cr Stuart Baker said the need to increase the size of the terminal was the result of increasing passenger numbers, with traffic in the past 12 months reaching 220,000, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year.
More time for power station
The Department of Planning has extended the exhibition time for a proposed new power station 24km from Port Macquarie.
Approval is being sought for the $50 million distillate-fired power station, including a switchyard, water storage and treatment facilities, staff amenities and landscaping on the four hectare site.
The Environmental Assessment for the project has been on public exhibition since 30 April and was due to end on 2 June but strong public interest in the proposal has prompted the Department to extended the exhibition time to give interested parties enough time to comment.
Bridge work extended
The Roads and Traffic Authority has advised motorists that roadwork on Martin Bridge is to be extended until 13 June.
The remaining resurfacing work will occur on 5th and 6th of June and from 10 to 13 June.
From 6pm to 8pm, only one lane will be open to traffic and will operate under alternate flow.
The resurfacing of the deck has been completed.