SearchArchives for July 2010
29 July, 2010Purchasing changes
to favour SMEs
New rules that simplify requirements for small and medium sized businesses to win Government contracts have been announced by the Public Sector ICT Development Office.Executive Director of the Office, Terry Bietz said amendments to the ICT Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) Participation Scheme had been approved by the Premier.
Mr Bietz said among the changes to the scheme the definition of small and medium enterprises would change from a business with fewer than 500 staff to one employing less than 200, to align with the Australian Bureau of Statistics definition.
“Now, when evaluating tenders, Government Officers will apply the SME participation score to contribute up to 10 per cent to the final evaluation score across all contracts,” Mr Bietz said.
“This simplification replaces the complex process where the percentage varied based on certain conditions.”
He said firms would no longer need to submit Industry Development Questionnaires as part of the offer process because the Government Information Technology Contracting Framework (GITC) accreditation process would manage that aspect of the process.
Mr Bietz said in addition, the Government’s e-tendering website would publish the successful supplier for each tender and the SME participation percentage, if relevant.
“The changes are intended to reduce the information required from industry when making an offer, streamline the evaluation process by Agencies and improve transparency and accountability of the scheme,” he said.
“We are committed to ensuring equitable participation by small to medium enterprises in the Government marketplace and making sure the necessary processes involved are practical, transparent and accountable.”
Mr Bietz said for purchases under $150,000, Agencies would be required to demonstrate they had undertaken a market assessment to identify appropriate SMEs and must seek offers from at least two.
29 July, 2010
New website is guide
to Gov’t concessions
A new website has been launched to help people across Queensland access Government rebates and concessions.Minister for Community Services, Karen Struthers said the Every Dollar Counts website was a one-stop shop for Queensland Government and Federal Government concessions.
“We already have one of the broadest range of concessions, rebates, and discounts in Australia but that’s only half the job,” Ms Struthers said.
“This website will help people know what help is available so they can access it.”
She said Every Dollar Counts brought together information about a number of concessions, including:
- The increased electricity rebate for pensioners and seniors;
- New electricity concessions for low income earners who have multiple sclerosis or other chronic medical conditions significantly affected by changes in temperature; and
- Increased electricity life support concessions for oxygen concentrators and kidney dialysis machines and increased reticulated natural gas rebates.
She said the Government had provided more than $1.3 billion in concessions to Queenslanders.
For more information, or to find out what concessions are available, visit the new website at www.qld.gov.au/everydollarcounts
29 July, 2010
Mobile shopfront
for justice service
A new mobile shopfront dealing with justice-related services is to be established in the coming months, according to Attorney-General, Cameron Dick.Mr Dick told a Parliamentary Estimates Committee that the pilot program would be launched for the new Justice Connect service which would be set up in major suburban shopping centres over the next few months.
“This new mobile shopfront will make it easy for people to register the birth of a new child, lodge an application to become a Justice of the Peace or apply for victim-of-crime assistance and support,” Mr Dick said.
“People will also be able to get help to resolve a neighbourhood dispute or find out whether they have any unpaid fines.”
He said because it could be hard for people to find the time to access these kinds of legal services or find out more about them, the Government was taking them to the people.
Mr Dick said a six-month pilot program would be run in conjunction with Westfield shopping centres and would kick off at Garden City Shopping Centre, Upper Mount Gravatt, in September.
“During the pilot, the Justice Connect service will be provided on a rotational basis at Chermside, Carindale, Helensvale, Strathpine, Garden City and North Lakes shopping centres for a week, including Thursday nights,” he said.
It would also be made available at major urban events such as multicultural festivals, Brisbane’s Ekka and Law Week.
“We will assess the response to the pilot and then investigate the feasibility of taking Justice Connect around the State, including to Indigenous communities and regional events,” Mr Dick said.
29 July, 2010
Consumers win from
OFT investigations
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) helped recover more than $6.5 million for consumers in the past financial year, according to its Minister, Peter Lawlor.“In 2009-10, Fair Trading finalised 17,660 complaints and successfully negotiated $6.55 million in redress for Queensland consumers,” Mr Lawlor said.
“The Office of Fair Trading has achieved $17.82 million in consumer redress in the past three years.”
He cited the example of a consumer who rented a car and was in an accident which resulted in the vehicle being written-off.
He said even though the accident was not the consumer’s fault, the rental company required the consumer to pay the insurance excess and all costs involved.
“After conciliation was undertaken by Fair Trading, we obtained almost $4,000 for the consumer,” the Minister said.
“Another consumer ordered a boat to be constructed and paid more than $32,000 as a deposit. The trader did not deliver the boat, but after lodging a complaint with Fair Trading the consumer received a full refund.”
Mr Lawlor said most traders were willing to help consumers who were unhappy with a product or service.
He said traders did not have to enter into the conciliation process but there were benefits for participating.
“Even though they may not have breached the law, traders who provide redress build goodwill and loyalty,” he said.
Mr Lawlor said Fair Trading also played a role in educating traders and consumers about their rights and responsibilities in the marketplace.
“We provide information to help consumers become more educated about their rights and responsibilities, so they don’t encounter difficulties in the first place,” he said.
29 July, 2010
New police cars
to show the way
Queensland police have enlisted eight new hybrid vehicles to assist with escorting wide loads on busy roads.Four vehicles will remain in south-east Queensland with the other four being utilised in the Central and Northern police regions.
Minister for Police, Neil Roberts said the vehicles featured environmentally friendly technology, high visibility and a forward-facing message bar.
“As a result, oncoming motorists will now be able to easily view instructions and information relating to how best to negotiate each unique wide load and special event convoy,” Mr Roberts said.
“The initiative aims to further improve the safety of Queensland motorists alongside the existing programs that have helped reduce road fatalities.”
Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Col McCallum said the tailored vehicles were part of the new Central Permit Support Unit which would become the lead Agency in providing a consistent approach in the management of wide load escorts and in issuing permits.
“The establishment of this new unit will result in the development of a more professional and businesslike approach to the management and delivery of police permits,” Acting Deputy Commissioner McCallum said.
The hybrid vehicles were an additional resource for the service and would assist in reducing the impact on core policing.
29 July, 2010
QFRS ignites
fire season
The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) has declared 30 August to 2 January to be its next fire danger period and that new rules would apply.According to QFRS, the new rules mean that small fires cannot be lit without a permit during the period. The Service said that previously, people were able to light fires smaller than two metres in height and width without a permit.
Minister for Emergency Services, Neil Roberts said even these small fires were found to be a significant cause of wildfire during last year’s bushfire season.
“Last year many of these fires escaped because the people lighting them lacked the skill to recognise the severity of the fire danger conditions and did not exercise appropriate control and supervision of the fire,” Mr Roberts said.
“A permit system will reduce the number of wildfires started by small fires that get out of control and will also reduce demands on QFRS resources during the upcoming bushfire season.”
He said the change complemented the existing situation in many Local Government areas where Councils had adopted local laws prohibiting small backyard fires.
Mr Roberts said the declaration of a Fire Danger Period across the State meant anyone wanting to light a small fire would need to obtain a permit from their local fire warden.
“The warden can then assess the circumstances around each application and develop appropriate conditions or issue a rejection,” the Minister said.
29 July, 2010
Safe places for
Koalas to bear
The first private properties to be established as koala nature refuges have been approved by the Acting Climate Change and Sustainability Minister, Annastacia Palaszczuk.Presenting the signed Conservation Agreement to landholder Christine Hosking, the Acting Minister said the four-hectare bushland property would be known as Kuta Koala Nature Refuge.
“Koala nature refuges, run in parallel with our program to acquire properties in south east Queensland, offer financial incentives to private landholders to rehabilitate and maintain the properties as safe koala habitat,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Ms Hosking’s nature refuge adjoins Mt Coot-tha forest and provides a continuation of the remnant eucalypt forest dominant across the majority of the property.
“It’s hard to say how many koalas call Kuta home,” Ms Palaszczuk said, “as koalas do not reside in one place but frequently move across and through large areas.”
Ms Palaszczuk also presented Ms Hosking – who is currently completing her PhD on modeling priority koala habitat areas in Queensland under future climate change – with a Certificate of Conservation Achievement.
“I congratulate Ms Hosking on her enormous contribution and commitment to the conservation of koalas by establishing a nature refuge on her property,” the Acting Minister said.
“In addition to koalas, Kuta Koala Nature Refuge is habitat for the tusked frog, powerful owl and the near-threatened grey goshawk.”
She also signed a Conservation Agreement with Justin Bowman who has made almost half of his 22 hectare cattle stud property at Grandchester, west of Ipswich, available for a Koala nature refuge.
Ms Palaszczuk said that under voluntary agreements the Koala Nature Refuges Program would be recruiting other properties of key strategic value for koalas.
29 July, 2010
Numbers wanted
for telco inquiry
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has called for as many examples of customer service problems with telecommunications companies as it can find to include in an official inquiry into the industry. Chair of the national communications watchdog, Chris Chapman said the aim of ACMA’s telecommunications industry inquiry was to improve outcomes for consumers.
“We want to understand what the problems are,” Mr Chapman said. “The way the telecommunications industry is dealing with its customers and the root causes of those problems.
“And critically, we want to identify enduring solutions that will improve customer service and complaints-handling, both now and into the foreseeable future.”
Mr Chapman said ACMA wanted to gather evidence to explain the reasons for the high number of complaints being made to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, problems which were broadly corroborated by strong anecdotal feedback.
He said the Authority would also be looking for ways to facilitate best practice customer service in what was an increasingly complex communications environment.
“We want consumers to regain confidence that they will receive the services they need in a way that meets their expectations,” Mr Chapman said.
Releasing a consultation paper and the inquiry’s Terms of Reference, Mr Chapman urged members of the public, consumer groups, telecommunications companies and other regulatory Agencies to have their say.
He said it was important for ACMA to work with industry players and other key stakeholders, including other regulators, in order for the inquiry to succeed.
He said the paper was designed to allow for both general and more detailed, targeted responses and workshops and other forums would be held to engage with consumers.
More information is available from www.acma.gov.au or phone 1800 062 130.
29 July, 2010
City innovation
is great idea
Brisbane’s achievements in innovation have been demonstrated in a new scorecard released by the Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman.Cr Newman unveiled the initiative at the Lord Mayor’s Leaders of Innovation event, Enable 2010, held recently, saying it was an important measure of the city’s innovation footprint and highlighted its achievements in key industries.
“This initiative positions Brisbane as driver of innovation, both at home and internationally,” Cr Newman said.
“The Scorecard will help showcase Brisbane as a prosperous, entrepreneurial city and further strengthen our reputation as Australia’s new world city.”
He said the Scorecard included the aggregated results of a survey designed to highlight the importance of innovation to businesses and industries and promote Brisbane as an enabler of innovation.
Event organisers said the Scorecard would recognise and reward companies, businesses and individuals who demonstrated excellence in innovation and contributed to Brisbane’s long-term economic growth.
They said the Scorecard would measure innovation and its effects on growth, productivity and the region’s economic prosperity.
A survey of 100 Brisbane businesses would be held with the results providing a measure of innovation with a specific focus on utilities, infrastructure, mining services and manufacturing industries.
Executive Dean of the University of Queensland Business School, Tim Brailsford said cities must become centres of innovation to address issues of energy efficiency, water use, transport, and affordable accommodation, as well as for business purposes.
“The inaugural Brisbane Innovation Scorecard shows the vibrancy of this city as a hub of innovation across all sectors of the economy,” Professor Brailsford said.
“Successful innovators are found in mining, utilities, infrastructure, manufacturing, and food processing industries - not just in biotech and IT,” he said.
29 July, 2010
Phones hook into
transport info
The public transport information websites managed by TransLink and Queensland Rail are now more compatible with mobile phones.Minister for Transport, Rachel Nolan said more than 100,000 people access TransLink’s main website from their mobile phone seeking public transport information and the two mobile websites had been designed for commuters with web-enabled mobile phones who wanted easy-to-read public transport information at their fingertips.
“Both sites are free and easy to use so commuters on the go have all the information they need to travel on trains, buses and river services,” Ms Nolan said.
The TransLink mobile website included an improved mobile journey planner, timetables, service updates and disruptions, fares, information on go card top-up locations, favourite links and a feedback section.
“The new website is very easy to navigate, minimising clicks and allowing commuters to connect with TransLink via Twitter, under the ‘contact us’ section,” she said.
Ms Nolan said both the new TransLink and Queensland Rail mobile websites worked on most web-enabled mobile phones made in the last five years.
“Mapping and positioning technology will be incorporated into future upgrades of the TransLink mobile site,” she said.
TransLink had also made its main website more accessible for multicultural communities by translating important travel information.
“Comprehensive travel information is now available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Serbian, Spanish and Vietnamese at the bottom of each web page of the TransLink site,” Ms Nolan said.
29 July, 2010
Bushfire planners
playing it safe
A program of identifying safe places for communities to gather during bushfires is being rolled out across the State in readiness for the coming bushfire season. Neighbourhood Safer Places, or NSPs, were currently being identified as refuges of last resort.
Minister for Emergency Services, Neil Roberts said the establishment of NSPs was one of the recommendations from the interim findings of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.
“The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) requires NSP locations to meet strict selection criteria,” Mr Roberts said.
“This means not every community will have a suitable location or the need for a location.”
The Minister said the QFRS would reassess the suitability and accessibility of nominated sites on an annual basis, prior to the start of each bushfire season.
Details of NSPs were being progressively uploaded to the Rural Fire Service website, categorised into Local Council areas.
“The website also displays any local fire bans put in place by the Local Council area,” he said.
“It’s important to note that residents in bushfire prone areas should also be preparing a bushfire survival plan, and NSPs should only be accessed if their bushfire plan fails.”
The Minister said the key message for the coming bushfire season was ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’, which highlighted that leaving early was always the best option.
29 July, 2010
Tweet surrender for
twittering mayor
Queensland’s Local Government Councils have burst into the social networking age with the Mayor of Redland City Council launching her own Twitter page.Mayor Melva Hobson is understood to be the first Mayor in South East Queensland to launch a personal Twitter page encouraging residents to tweet her.
Minister for Local Government, Desley Boyle said Redlands residents could now tweet the Mayor in 140 characters or less about what they want their Council to deliver.
“Community engagement is a very important part of Local Government and adding Twitter to the mix is going to give more people more opportunities to have their say,” Ms Boyle said.
“These days community engagement involves anything from traditional street stalls, newsletters and community meetings right though to 21st century social media like Twitter, Facebook and blogs.”
The Minister said more people were spending more and more time online and it made sense for some Councils, Mayors and Councillors to have their own Twitter pages.
Ms Hobson said the Redlands Council had been actively engaging residents using social media for some time.
“People can now use Twitter to give their feedback on the recently adopted Redlands 2030 Community Plan – our community plan launched this year,” Ms Hobson said.
“I want people to tweet me personally with their thoughts, suggestions and feedback on this plan.”
She can be reached at www.twitter.com/MelvaEHobson or follow her on @MelvaEHobson
29 July, 2010
Tourism taking
new direction
A new online program to encourage trainers in the tourism and hospitality industries to develop their skills in sustainable tourism has been announced by the Minister for Tourism, Peter Lawlor.The Minister said sustainable tourism had a low impact on the environment and local culture while helping to generate income and employment for the community.
“The new online program has been developed for teachers and trainers from TAFE institutes, private training providers and schools, to ensure they have the skills necessary to deliver sustainable tourism training,” Mr Lawlor said.
“This will ensure tourism and hospitality workers have the skills and knowledge needed to introduce sustainable practices into their workplaces.”
From next month the Government would follow the program for trainers by offering up to 400 subsidised training places for existing tourism workers whose qualifications pre-date the inclusion of studies in environmental sustainability.
“Participants will be able to select from five units of competency in environmental sustainability that cover the varying needs of tourism and hospitality business owners and senior managers, supervisors and frontline managers, and operational employees,” Mr Lawlor said.
“In addition, all new and continuing tourism and hospitality students will be able to choose the sustainability units as part of their normal training pathway from 1 January, 2011.”
29 July, 2010
Reef study washes up
dirty water findings
A detailed study of water quality on the Great Barrier Reef has found that seaweed increased and coral diversity decreased as the water was affected by high turbidity and levels of nutrients.Conducted by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the study was one of the largest of its type undertaken in the area.
Principal Investigator, Dr Glenn De’ath said seaweed cover showed the strongest response to poor water quality, increasing five-fold with declining water clarity. The diversity of corals was also affected, decreasing in poor water quality.
Coral reef ecologist at AIMS, Katharina Fabricius said research on the impacts of pollution on the Great Barrier Reef had previously been conducted on local scales.
“For this study, we collected ecological data from 150 reefs and at over 2,000 water quality stations across the entire Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, making it a much broader study,” Dr Fabricius said.
She said The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, extending 2,000 kilometres along the North East Australian coast, covered 345,000 square kilometres and contributed billions of dollars per year to the Australian economy.
The findings from this study have already been used by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to develop water quality guidelines.
Dr De’ath said water on 22 per cent of reefs – about 647 reefs – did not meet water quality guidelines.
“The study predicted that if water quality was improved in these areas, seaweed would be reduced by 39 per cent, and the number of coral species would increase by 13 per cent,” Dr De’ath said.
29 July, 2010
Wetland funding
to make a splash
The State Government has announced it will match a Commonwealth funding injection of almost $2 million for the State’s important wetlands.Acting Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomed continuation of the Commonwealth-State Queensland Wetlands Program.
“The Queensland Wetlands Program is a conservation winner and a world leader in promoting the sustainable use of wetlands,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said it had been a successful partnership that was critical to wetland protection.
“In addition to matching funding, the Government will continue to fund a wetland management team that will provide a substantial level of ‘in-kind’ investment to drive the Queensland Wetlands Program,” she said.
“The program has already recorded some important wins, having developed world class maps of wetland extent and significance, created new planning tools to manage wetlands sustainably, and made all its information available for free through a website called WetlandInfo.”
She said no other State had mapped wetlands at such a scale over an area the size of Queensland.
“The Program has developed a new way of understanding the role and function of wetlands with its range of conceptual models for wetlands,” the Minister said.
Future work under the program would include support for the management of Queensland’s internationally listed wetlands; encouragement of community engagement, education and awareness of wetland issues; improvement of mapping Queensland’s wetlands; support for agricultural industries to work in harmony with wetland management and further research into the contribution Queensland’s wetlands make to migratory bird habitat.
29 July, 2010
Tropical tourism
heating up
A new tourism plan for tropical north Queensland has been unveiled by the Minister for Tourism, Peter Lawlor.A total of 18 proposed tourism investment projects had been identified as part of the newly-released Tropical North Queensland Tourism Opportunity Plan (TOP).
“The purpose of the TOP is to provide direction for the sustainable development of tourism in Tropical North Queensland,” Mr Lawlor said.
“The plan, which has been 18 months in the making, is an initiative of the State Government and has been produced by Tourism Queensland in collaboration with the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, and Tourism Tropical North Queensland.”
The vast area of Tropical North Queensland has been broken into six tourism precincts for the purpose of the study.
“The most topical element of the TOP is the recommendations for 18 ‘catalyst projects’ across the region that focus on regional dispersal of visitors,” the Minister said.
He said in addition to these, the TOP had identified another 30 projects considered to be of regional significance that would create a range of investment and employment opportunities for the destination.
“Both lists capture a combination of new ideas and significant projects that have emerged during the period over which the TOP has been developed,” Mr Lawlor said.
“It’s about bringing together a series of ideas and discussions that consider meeting the needs and expectations of future visitors to the Tropical North and gives focus to a series of key development opportunities for the region.”
29 July, 2010
Medicare service just
what doctor ordered
The Commonwealth Department of Human Services has reminded taxpayers that their Medicare benefit tax statements can be accessed immediately online to save time and paperwork.Portfolio General Manager with the Department, Hank Jongen said the statements could help when claiming the net medical expenses tax offset.
“It is based on the Medicare claims processed within the financial year and shows the total amount you were charged, the Medicare benefit paid to you and receipts that were and were not paid in full,” Mr Jongen said.
“Whether you use an accountant or lodge your tax return yourself, having this statement handy can help when claiming the net medical expenses tax offset.”
He said people accessed the statements through Medicare Online Services more than 294,000 times in 2009-10.
He said Medicare Online Services also allowed people to update personal details, record or update bank account details, request a replacement or duplicate Medicare card, view their Medicare Safety Net balance, Medicare claims history, organ donor registration decision and child’s immunisation history statement.
“Most people never have enough hours in the day to do everything, so Online Services is an important way to save time and paperwork when doing business with Medicare Australia,” Mr Jongen said.
He said more than 1.6 million people have already registered for Online Services, including 344,398 in Queensland.
29 July, 2010
Tourism wins again
Tourism Queensland has won the Best National Tourist Office at the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) for the third time.
Tourism Queensland was also inducted into the NTIA Hall of Fame.
The AFTA Awards are determined by travel agents and industry suppliers nationally on the basis of who they believe provides the best service.
Medical Officers unite
The Doctors Union Queensland has been formed as an industrial unit within the Queensland Public Sector Union and will enter into a formal agreement with AMA Queensland.
The agreement means Doctors Union Queensland, which will be run by and for doctors, will collaborate and share resources with AMA Queensland.
Doctors’ Union Queensland will have its own website www.doctorsunionqld.com.au
and will organise a series of meetings open to all public sector medical officers.
Pipeline on tap
The new $50 million Rockhampton to Yeppoon water supply pipeline has been officially opened.
The project gives Yeppoon a secure and ample water supply for the next 50 years and will provide for the strong population growth predicted for the region.
The pipeline also means it will no longer be necessary to obtain water from the Sandy Creek coastal dune system, a high conservation area.
Homeowners caught
A total of 125 First Home Owner Grant rorters were exposed during the last financial year.
Of the 126 applicants who had to pay back the grant just one agreed to do so voluntarily.
The amount repayable totalled close to $1 million, with penalties totalling $352,000.
To obtain the First Home-Owner Grant, applicants must live in the home for a period of six continuous months within the first year of ownership.
Film festival to travel
A film festival aimed at supporting the State’s regional and Indigenous screen industries, will tour regional Queensland from September.
The festival, in association with the In The Bin Film Festival, will be managed by Screen Queensland.
It is part of an initiative that will present six screen events in regional Queensland each year, enabling communities to gain greater access to the State’s creativity.
Tourism targets Coast
The Gold Coast is the subject of a new tourism campaign in association with accommodation provider Wotif.com.
Titled Wave Winter Goodbye, the $115,000 campaign will incorporate online, radio and print components, specifically targeting Sydney and Melbourne residents.
A previous Gold Coast campaign involving Wotif.com netted an estimated $6.6 million for the local economy.
22 July, 2010
Skill upgrades to
make PS sharper
Staff of the Queensland Public Service planning to upgrade their skills can now access subsidised training at their local TAFE institute.The Department of Education and Training has set aside almost 3,000 places in its Productivity Places Program for permanent, temporary and casual Government employees.
PS staff wishing to take up the training offer must undertake studies towards a qualification included on the Productivity Places priority list that is Certificate IV or above.
Eligible qualifications that could suit Government staff development include programs in business, frontline management, marketing, human resources, project management, interactive digital media and Government.
Associate Director-General of Skills Queensland at DET, Rod Camm said the program provided an opportunity for Agencies to work together on the professional development of their employees.
“This program represents an excellent opportunity for Government Agencies to improve capability, productivity and service delivery for the benefit of all Queenslanders,” Mr Camm said.
He said Agencies would be expected to contribute to the cost of training their employees, and their contributions would be negotiated directly with the selected TAFE institute.
Employees must be enrolled in the qualification by 31 December to access the subsidy with training continuing through 2011.
The Productivity Places Program is jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments and aims to increase workforce participation and productivity through high level vocational education and training qualifications.
More information about this and other TAFE programs was available from www.tafe.qld.gov.au and the Productivity Places Priority list was available at www.training.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Health diagnosis for
payroll improving
Queensland Health staff caught up in the payroll debacle are to receive more information and assistance as the Government moves to the next stage of its response to the Auditor General’s report on the troubled system.Minister for Health, Paul Lucas said Queensland Health was on track to move to a local payroll model by September.
“But in the meantime we are pulling out all stops to provide more support and more information for staff,” Mr Lucas said.
He said Queensland Health was in the process of rolling out local payroll support arrangements at major hospitals across the State and would double the size of its call centre.
“We want to ensure staff can get assistance at their workplace when they need it for simple matters and those staff who need more complex assistance can receive the one-on-one support that they need, through prioritised bookings with the payroll hub,” Mr Lucas said.
“This means that wherever a staff member works, they will be able to get the assistance they need.”
He said the new system would enable hard-working payroll staff to get on with the job of getting people paid, while at the same time ensuring frontline health workers received the answers they needed.
“Queensland Health will also provide more resources to assist line managers with the additional load over the next three months,” Mr Lucas said.
The Minister said all existing payroll hubs would move to the new model over the next three months, with two new payroll hubs established at Mackay and the Gold Coast.
Queensland Health has advised that on 30 June, approximately 22,000 staff had received payments in excess of the amount they earned during a particular pay cycle.
Of those, more than half (approximately 11,500) were small overpayments of less than $200.
“The cost of recovering those small amounts is not insignificant and in many cases that cost will outweigh the return to Government,” Mr Lucas said.
“Any staff who have been overpaid up to pay day of 30 June 2010 by an amount up to and including $200 will not be required to pay this back,” he said.
22 July, 2010
Job training review
gets down to work
An independent review of Queensland’s post-secondary education and training sector has been commissioned to prepare for the next cycle of State economic growth. Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said the review was timely in light of continuing national reforms to vocational education and training and higher education.
“The recovery of the Queensland economy is well under way with the resources sector continuing to grow strongly and a raft of new knowledge-based industries emerging,” Mr Wilson said.
“It is critical that the post-secondary education and training system, including vocational education and training and higher education, is able to fully respond to the learning and skilling needs of industry and individuals, particularly in regional Queensland, over the coming decade.”
He said the review would provide advice to the Government on the performance of the current system and recommend ways to improve it to ensure the training sector met the needs of students and industry.
“Key to this process will be a review of the TAFE system to further improve the flexibility and responsiveness of the public training provider,” Mr Wilson said.
The Minister said the review would be led by a consultant and researcher who had played a major role in shaping post-secondary education and training reforms in Australia and overseas for the past 25 years.
TAFE institutes, universities, the private training sector, unions, employer organisations and relevant Agencies would be consulted as part of the review.
A cross-Government steering committee, chaired by the Director-General of the Department of Education and Training, Julie Grantham has been established to oversee the review and the development of recommendations.
22 July, 2010
School’s in for new
education panel
A panel of academic experts has been appointed to steer the State education system in the right direction for the next 10 years.Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said the panel would provide independent advice on how State education could build on current reforms and address the challenges of the future.
“The academic experts have been selected for their diverse areas of expertise,” Mr Wilson said.
“Their specialist areas cover a range of topics from social and gender equity, early years research, middle schooling, teacher education, curriculum, assessment, school leadership, poverty and educational disadvantage, school reform, public sector policy and economics of education.”
Mr Wilson welcomed the nine panel members at their first meeting this week, saying their input would help the Government build on its education reform agenda.
“This is an exciting time in Queensland education with agreement to implement the new Australian Curriculum in 2012, our own Early Childhood reforms introducing kindergarten across the State and the changes proposed in A Flying Start for Queensland Children Green Paper,” he said.
“The panel’s work will complement the Green Paper proposals which include moving Year 7 to secondary school in 2014, a teacher education review and an independent standards authority.”
The panel members are the Dean of Griffith University’s School of Education and Professional Studies, Claire Wyatt-Smith (Chair); the Head of Queensland University of Technology’s School of Early Childhood, Ann Farrell; Head of Griffith University’s School of Education and Professional Studies, Donna Pendergast; University of Melbourne’s Director of the Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Life Long Learning, Richard Teese; Principal Research Fellow from the Australian Council for Educational Research, Brisbane, Gabrielle Matters; Professor at the University of Queensland’s Graduate School of Education, Martin Mills; Executive Director of the Queensland University of Technology’s Stronger Smarter Institute, Chris Sarra; Professor from the University of South Australia, Marie Brennan; and Queensland Chief Scientist, Peter Andrews.
22 July, 2010
Penalty crackdown
gets fine result
Tough new measures to force fine dodgers to pay their unpaid fines and penalties led to a record $166.4 million being collected in 2009-10.Attorney-General, Cameron Dick told a Parliamentary Estimates Committee that the record total was an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year’s total of $143.8 million and a direct result of the tough new laws that took effect this year.
“From 1 January, State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) staff have been trialling new enforcement tools such as wheel clamping and property seizure,” Mr Dick said.
“The latest raft of enforcement initiatives only took effect six months ago but has already prompted fine dodgers to pay up in record numbers.”
He said collections grew by 15.7 per cent in 2009-10, compared with 9.4 per cent the previous year.
“First-half revenues increased by 6.5 per cent between 2008 and 2009, but nearly three times that – 18.4 per cent – between 2009 and 2010,” Mr Dick said.
“Individual months were even higher, with February this year recording a 22.3 per cent increase on last year’s result and March recording a 28.2 per cent increase.”
He said the actual number of payments had jumped by more than half a million, from about 2.7 million in 2008-09 to 3.2 million in 2009-10.
Mr Dick warned fine dodgers that the Government would not rest on its laurels, despite the outstanding result.
Total collections for 2009-10 included $161.4 million in unpaid fines and fees and $5 million in lodgement fees.
22 July, 2010
Plan to replace
plan with plan
The Minister for Infrastructure and Planning has announced that the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2010-2031 (SEQIPP) is to be replaced by a State-wide Queensland Infrastructure Plan (QIP).The Minister, Stirling Hinchliffe said work would soon begin on QIP as the Government continued to make progress on regionalisation plans to relieve pressure on the State’s south east.
“Next year SEQIPP will be replaced with the first Queensland Infrastructure Plan to deliver a State-wide blueprint of road, public transport, health and education infrastructure required to match forecast population growth,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“This will be based on Local Government feedback on population growth and new dwelling targets for their regions.”
The Minister said the QIP would provide a State-wide pipeline of projects aimed at attracting Federal funding and would prioritise projects across the State’s regional planning frameworks.
“The new plan will also incorporate significant economic development activities, such as the new LNG industry, and associated infrastructure needs,” he said.’’
Mr Hinchliffe said SEQIPP outlined $134 billion in spending for South East Queensland transport, water, energy, health, education and community services projects.
He said this year’s updated SEQIPP would be incorporated into QIP to anticipate infrastructure needs in fast growing regions throughout the State.
“Transport projects still account for the lion’s share of SEQIPP with major investments in health, energy, community services, education and training and water maintaining the region’s liveability,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
The updated South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2010-2031 was available for download from www.dip.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Children’s services
to share the care
The Department of Communities is taking full advantage of new Commonwealth arrangements for sharing information about families and children held by Medicare and Centrelink.The success of the sharing program has prompted the Federal Government to include its Child Support Agency in the scheme.
According to the Commonwealth, the information-sharing protocol formalises the process for passing on personal details where a child might be at serious risk of harm or it was in the interests of his or her health or welfare.
With the inclusion of the Child Support Agency, information about the custody arrangements for a child, addresses, and details about other children in a person’s care can now be shared.
The sharing of information is aimed at helping State Child Protection Agencies locate a family, assist in their investigations of abuse and neglect, or help them arrange suitable care for a child who has been removed from a parent.
According to the Commonwealth, the Queensland Department of Communities has made more than 4,000 requests to Centrelink and 737 requests to Medicare Australia since the protocol was first introduced.
Sharing information is also expected to help investigate serious abuse or medical neglect cases by allowing child protection authorities to access a child’s history of doctor visits.
The Medicare number and medical and immunisation history of a child placed into the care of a Child Protection Agency would also be accessible quickly and efficiently.
The information sharing protocol establishes what information can be requested, and under what circumstances it can be provided. It is also being considered for use with other Commonwealth Agencies.
22 July, 2010
School partnership a
lesson in cooperation
A formal partnership between Education Queensland and the State’s peak Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens Associations has created a stronger working relationship between the two organisations.Director-General of the Department of Education and Training, Julie Grantham and President of the Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens Association (QCPCA), Margaret Black signed the Agreement for a Work Interchange Arrangement earlier this week.
Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said the Department and the QCPCA had formally agreed to further their working relationship to support State school Parents and Citizens groups by establishing a position of Client Services Manager to be based in the QCPCA offices and funded by Education Queensland.
Mr Wilson said the Client Services Manager would maintain positive relationships between the Department and the QCPCA, develop and maintain training materials and provide advice on their implementation.
“The new manager took up the position last week and will be a great addition to the team,” he said.
“The position is an extension of the Department’s parental engagement strategy in formalising a joint working arrangement with the QCPCA.”
Mr Wilson said the Government had a long and valuable relationship with QCPCA through joint collaborations such as the Queensland Schools Alliance Against Violence which was tackling bullying in schools.
“We all have a role to play in the education and development of our young Queenslanders and we know the best results are achieved when educators and parents work in tandem,” he said.
“We have committed funding to this new position to ensure Queensland children get the best possible start in their schooling.”
22 July, 2010
Alliance kicks in for
anti-bullying tool
A new anti-bullying toolkit for schools has been launched by the Queensland Schools Alliance Against Violence.The toolkit, titled Working Together: A toolkit for effective school based action against bullying, is an initiative of the Schools Alliance, which was set up in February to provide advice on best practice measures to address bullying and violence in schools.
Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said the toolkit would provide Queensland schools with practical strategies to address student-on-student bullying.
“I thank and applaud the Schools Alliance for their hard work in developing this Working Together toolkit, which is a positive outcome to address an increasingly complex problem,” Mr Wilson said.
Chairperson of the Schools Alliance, Professor Ian O’Connor said the toolkit would give school leaders, teachers, specialists and teacher-aides useful ideas and a working framework to strengthen their schools’ approaches to bullying.
“Although we recognise many Queensland schools already have very well defined and comprehensive approaches to bullying, this new toolkit gives those schools that are still developing their approaches an excellent foundation to build upon,” Professor O’Connor said.
“Within the toolkit, there are also a series of fact sheets that can be downloaded and given to students and parents because, as we know, combating bullying requires a community approach.”
The toolkit has been developed using recommendations and best practice from research by leading bullying experts within Australia and overseas and will be updated as new research becomes available.
It is the second initiative of the Schools Alliance and follows the series of free seminars by leading adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg.
The toolkit could be downloaded from www.education.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Whale cameras put
to good porpoise
Whale rescuers are to trial remote-controlled cameras and sound-based whale alarms in their continuing efforts to save the giant mammals from becoming tangled in shark nets.Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, Tim Mulherin said five cameras would be trialled at eight beaches on the Gold Coast to help identify entangled whales and assist in their swift release.
“The Coastalwatch surfcam system streams footage online of popular swimming and surfing beaches and is used by people wanting to check out surf conditions before heading to the beach,” Mr Mulherin said.
“Our release team officers will now also use the cameras to help confirm potential whale entanglements.”
The Minister said if an entanglement was reported, Fisheries Officers would be able to remotely access the cameras to zoom in on the shark net and confirm if a whale was affected.
“Being able to identify an entanglement immediately means that we can have our response teams on the water faster giving us the best possible chance of successfully releasing the whale unharmed,” he said.
“This approach also means we are not responding to false alarms which can be costly and time-consuming for staff.”
Mr Mulherin said in addition to cameras, whale alarms, or ‘pingers’, would be trialled with a longer and louder sound specifically aimed at whales to alert them to the location of shark nets.
Manager of the Queensland Shark Control Program, Tony Ham said the marine animal release teams, which were made up of volunteers from the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol, were well prepared for any potential entanglements.
Mr Ham said since 2000, 29 whales had been caught in shark nets and 26 had been successfully released.
He called on members of the public to report suspected entanglements to the Shark Hotline on 1800 806 891.
22 July, 2010
Grave new laws for
cemetery offences
New laws targeting vandalism in cemeteries have been announced by the Attorney-General, Cameron Dick.Mr Dick said the measures would provide police and prosecutors with the tools to take action against people who damaged or destroyed graves and other memorials.
“Interfering with graves or headstones is appalling and offenders who engage in this sort of insensitive and stupid behaviour will face the full force of these new laws,” Mr Dick said.
He said the package of measures included increasing the maximum penalty for willful damage of property such as graves from five to seven years in jail; the creation of a new offence of unlawfully interfering with a grave; and removing the need for prosecutors to establish an absence of consent from the grave owner.
“Gravestones have a deep and lasting significance to people’s families and their descendants, and should always be treated with dignity and respect, no matter the age of the grave,” Mr Dick said.
“However, a recent review of the relevant laws showed that changes were needed to ensure prosecutions against this inexcusable conduct could be properly pursued.”
The Attorney-General said the increased penalty for wilful damage would apply to damage or destruction caused to a cemetery, gravestone, place of worship, or war memorial.
Mr Dick said significant community concern arose in April this year when four people charged with damaging gravestones had the charges dismissed over the question of whether the damage had been caused without the owner’s consent.
He said he expected the new legislation to be introduced into Parliament by the end of the year.
22 July, 2010
New standard for
children’s care
A set of draft national standards for protecting children in foster homes and other out-of-home care has been released by the Federal Minister for Families and Community Services, Jenny Macklin.Ms Macklin said under the standards, State Governments and the Commonwealth would work together to strengthen out-of-home care for children across Australia.
“Currently, child protection systems vary markedly across the country with each State and Territory having its own child protection policy, standards and legislation,” Ms Macklin said.
“Out-of-home care standards will provide a national benchmark for the care of children who are no longer with their parents, no matter where they live.”
She said the 14 draft national standards focused on key areas including health, education and training, increased carer support and improving transition planning for young people.
Under the proposed reforms, Ms Macklin said children entering care would receive a comprehensive health assessment and have their own written health record that would move with them if they changed placements.
She said individual education plans would be developed, implemented, and reviewed regularly for children and young people in care, while carers would be assessed and receive ongoing training, development and support.
The Minister said the standards would provide young people with a transition from care plan from the age of 15, detailing the support to be provided after they left care.
She said the plan would be reviewed at least once a year and include input from children and young people.
Developed with input from all States and Territories, the national standards for out-of-home care are among the key actions to be taken under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020.
The National Framework was delivered last year to help protect vulnerable children.
Ms Macklin said as of 30 June 2009 there were over 34,000 children living in out-of-home care, a 9.3 per cent increase on the 2007-08 year.
Further information on the standards was available from www.fahcsia.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Brakes applied to
speeding learners
The Department of Transport and Main Roads has been ordered to change the rules for learner drivers to include a “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” policy for speeding while undertaking a driving test.Minister for Transport, Rachel Nolan said she wanted to send a “clear, consistent message” to the community and learner drivers that speeding was a serious contributor to the road toll.
Ms Nolan said the current driver testing regime only allowed instructors to record three low-level, ‘non-critical’ speeding errors - anything less than 10 per cent above the limit.
She said once a learner reached three of these, further errors were not recorded.
Under the current system, anything 10 per cent or more over the limit is an automatic fail.
“Clearly a testing regime that only records three ‘non-critical’ speeding errors when there may have been many more, needs to be improved,” Ms Nolan said.
Learners will now automatically fail the driving test if they exceed the speed limit by more than 4 kilometres per hour.
Ms Nolan said she believed the new system provided a sensible compromise between judging learners on their speed and taking realistic account of the assessment process.
“The driving examiner sits in the passenger seat, so they are looking at the speedo on an angle,” she said.
“I’m advised this can make the speed look higher than it is, so tolerance is needed.”
22 July, 2010
Timber strategy
grows on trees
A blueprint to support the expansion of the State’s forestry and timber industries has been released by the Minister for Primary Industries, Tim Mulherin.Mr Mulherin said under the Queensland Timber Plantation Strategy 2020 the Government would step up its encouragement of increased investment in Queensland’s timber plantation sector.
“The Strategy signals a new direction for the Government,” Mr Mulherin said.
He said it established a “fundamental change” in the role of Government from direct ownership of timber plantations to one of leadership and strategic direction-setting.
He said the recent sale of the Queensland Government’s plantation estate to the private sector had opened the way for a more commercially-focused approach to the State’s timber plantations.
He said the Strategy aimed to provide an investor-ready environment for a competitive, sustainable timber plantation sector.
Mr Mulherin said the timber plantation sector was a key component of Queensland’s $4 billion forest and timber production value chain, and offered real investment potential.
The Minister said a new land-use planning framework would recognise timber plantations as a legitimate form of agricultural cropping for general land use planning purposes.
In addition, a timber plantation development assessment code will be established to bring timber plantations more in line with long-term agricultural cropping activities in Queensland’s planning framework.
Copies of the Queensland Timber Plantation Strategy 2020 were available at www.deedi.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Fish report a
good catch
A Stock Status Report on Queensland’s fisheries has revealed the State’s fish stocks to be in relatively healthy shape.Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, Tim Mulherin said only one of Queensland’s assessed fish stocks was classified as overfished – the snapper.
“This healthy position is the result of a strong history of monitoring Queensland fish stocks and fisheries management reform,” Mr Mulherin said.
He said it was the first time a Stock Status Report had been released in Queensland and that the report used a ‘traffic light’ system to rate the State’s fisheries.
“Under the new traffic light system, 62 Queensland fish stocks were considered and 47 have been put through rigorous scientific assessment, with only the snapper stock receiving a red light,” Mr Mulherin said.
“Stock assessments show snapper at less than 35 per cent of its unfished levels - it is internationally recognised that fish stocks at 40 per cent or less of their unfished levels are classed as ‘over-fished’.”
The Minister said the red light was alarming for industry and recreational fishers and steps needed to be taken to reduce pressure on snapper.
“We have been consulting with industry and recreational fishers and will continue to consult on options for managing snapper into the future,” he said
“Fishers are also being urged to help protect Queensland snapper by registering their details online with Fisheries Queensland and getting involved in future consultations.”
Mr Mulherin said the fishers could register at www.deedi.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Boats rocked by
danger warning
An increase in the number of boating fatalities in 2009 has prompted the Minister for Transport, Rachel Nolan to warn operators to take more care.The 2009 Marine Incidents in Queensland report, tabled recently in Parliament, shows 14 marine incidents last year resulted in 20 deaths, equivalent to 8.4 fatalities for every 100,000 registered vessels in Queensland.
Ms Nolan said one-third of fatalities were associated with extreme weather events, highlighting the need for operators to make more informed choices about when to go out on the water.
She said the consumption of alcohol and/or illegal drugs was involved in six deaths and four of the marine incidents.
Ms Nolan said judgment errors had contributed to 10 fatal incidents which resulted in the deaths of 16 people, and failure to keep a proper lookout played a role in two single-fatality incidents.
“It’s disappointing that so many of these fatal incidents were arguably foreseeable and avoidable,” Ms Nolan said.
“Boaties need to be aware that their actions or lack of action on the water can have devastating consequences.”
Of the 768 marine incidents reported in Queensland last year, one in 20 included either a fatal or serious injury.
“There are more recreational vessels than ever on the water in Queensland and people need to take more care,” Ms Nolan said.
“Boat operators and their passengers need to understand they are responsible for their actions and if they do the wrong thing, there can be a terrible price to pay.”
The 2009 Marine Incidents Report was available at www.msq.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Water strategy
flush with ideas
A 50-year strategy for the management of water resources in the South East has been released by the Minister for Natural Resources, Stephen Robertson.Mr Robertson said the South East Queensland Water Strategy confirmed the region’s supply was now secure thanks to the construction of the $7 billion water grid and all key storages being full or near capacity.
“This Strategy shows what we can achieve through strong investment in key infrastructure projects, combined with the efforts of individual households to conserve water,” Mr Robertson said.
“South East Queenslanders have turned around their water consumption habits, and thanks to drought-breaking rains in the past year, combined with the delivery of the water grid that provides a gold standard in water security, our region is more than 10 years ahead of the game.”
The Minister said the Strategy highlighted the importance of residential consumption in determining when the next new major supply source would be needed.
“The fact that the average resident is now using far less than the 200 litres a day target sends a clear message that South East Queenslanders are now first class water savers and they want to stay that way,” he said.
“We will continue to educate people across the region about the need to adopt best practice water use.”
Mr Robertson said the Strategy was based upon three key principles: conserving water, being prepared and managing water efficiently.
The South East Queensland Water Strategy could be viewed at www.qwc.qld.gov.au
22 July, 2010
Scam warning
The Minister for Fair Trading has warned members of the public to keep an eye out for scammers posing as Fair Trading or Treasury officials who claim their targets are owned a refund for overpaying bank fees.
The Minister, Peter Lawlor said the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Treasury never phoned consumers offering to get back over-charged bank fees and under no circumstances asked for money or personal banking details.
Mr Lawlor said anyone who received a suspicious call should hang up and report it to the OFT on 13 13 04.
Supreme Court open
The former Supreme Court building in Rockhampton, which is over 120-years-old, has been officially opened as barristers’ chambers.
The building is also open to school groups to visit and host mock trials.
It has been in use since the late 1880s, but was replaced as courthouse when a new one was built in the late 1990s.
12 cleared of Hendra
The third and final round of testing has cleared all 12 people exposed to a horse that died from Hendra virus in mid-May.
Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young said the individuals had been cleared around six weeks after they were first exposed to the virus.
Queensland Health warned anyone involved with horses to take precautions to avoid Hendra virus infection such as not placing horse feed and water troughs under trees where bats could feed or roost.
Translating service extended
Interpreting and translating services for Queensland’s deaf and multicultural communities are to be strengthened after a successful trial.
$300,000 in funding has been made available to extend the Support with Interpreting Translating and Communication (SWITC) pilot program into 2011.
Since the SWITC pilot was launched in February 2009, the number of language services delivered has increased month by month to a total of 416 interpreting and 42 translating.
TAFE wins award
The Brisbane North Institute of TAFE has won a national travel industry award for its innovative travel training program.
The Institute’s Travel and Tourism Team won the Best Registered Travel Industry Training Institute Award at the Australian Federation of Travel Agents Awards.
Finalists were selected via an industry voting process and the Institute received its award at an event hosted by Getaway presenter Jules Lund.
Plans rejected
Proposals to build a high-impact industrial estate in the Mutdapilly-Mt Forbes area have been rejected by the Department of Infrastructure and Planning.
Further planning for the 800-hectare Ebenezer South Investigation Area, south of Goebels Road, will now also be abandoned.
Expert consultants told the Department the site had a limited overall suitability for the establishment of an industrial estate.
Guidelines for schools
New guidelines for State School principals have been announced to make it easier for them to confiscate student mobile phones and other inappropriate material.
Effective from next Monday (26 July), the guidelines make it simpler to confiscate mobile phones, inappropriate magazines, toys, electronic devices, weapons, illegal substances and other items that cause disruption to learning or threaten the safety of students and staff.
Unions, principal associations and other State Government Departments have supported the guidelines.
New Gabba precinct
Plans for a new Gabba precinct based around a major transport hub linked to the Cross River Rail project have been announced.
One of four new underground Cross River Rail stations is to be located at the South Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba.
Construction on the precinct, which is expected to include a public park, pedestrian boulevards and plazas, is due to start in 2012.
15 July, 2010
Directions shared for
Shared Services probe
The terms of reference for overhauling the Government’s shared-services IT provider, CorpTech, have been announced by the Premier, Anna Bligh and Minister for Public Works, Robert Schwarten.Ms Schwarten said the terms of reference would guide the review of CorpTech, which was announced following an audit report on the problems with Queensland Health’s new payroll system.
In response to the audit, the Government announced it would drop its one-size-fits-all approach to payroll and shared services across the State in a bid to meet individual Agency needs better.
Mr Schwarten said accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) had been engaged to oversee the review.
“The work being undertaken by PWC will ensure responsibilities for whole-of-Government shared systems are clearer going forward,” the Minister said.
He said to be effective, the Government needed to operate a range of services on a whole-of-Government basis to allow for efficient service delivery and governance.
“In the future, we need to ensure fit-for-purpose systems to support service delivery at an Agency level,” he said.
The Terms of Reference include the review’s objectives and scope.
Mr Schwarten said the review would evaluate corporate services under the shared services model; investigate a governance model for shared services; and provide recommendations for rolling-out the Government’s Corporate Solutions Program.
He said the review would consider the direction of shared services at the processing and systems level; performance and risk management in shared services; and the risks and benefits of moving to more standardised processes and systems.
The review is also expected to include an assessment of the pros and cons of maintaining a multi-system environment.
Mr Schwarten said secretariat support to the consultancy would be provided by the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Premier Anna Bligh said PWC would advise the Government of the most appropriate arrangements in relation to finance and Human Resources management going forward.
“We want larger Agencies with complex payroll requirements to be able to use the payroll system which suits them,” Ms Bligh said.
“At the same time, smaller agencies should have the ability to cluster with similar agencies and utilise the one payroll system.
“We need the structural arrangements in place which support this approach.”
The consultant has commenced the review and is expected to provide a report to DPC by the end of September 2010.
The full terms of reference were available from www.cabinet.qld.gov.au
15 July, 2010
Directive directs
on parental leave
The Minister for Industrial Relations has issued a Directive on accounting for previous employment when calculating staff entitlements.Directive No. 10/10 Recognition of Previous Service and Employment outlines changes to the recognition of past service when calculating entitlements for re-appointment.
According to the Directive, from 1 July an officer who was previously employed in the Queensland Public Service and is re-engaged within 12 months can count previous service for the purpose of calculating paid parental leave entitlements.
Until now, paid parental leave has not been included on the list of employee benefits eligible for carry-over, which includes sick leave, long service leave, salary paypoints and increments.
The Directive outlines the different entitlements for casual, temporary and general employees, as well as for past employees of PS Departments, Local Government, the Parliamentary Service, tertiary education institutions, Government-owned organisations and other Government entities.
According to the Directive, previous service will only be taken into account if the employee was terminated for reasons other than disciplinary action.
It explains what Agencies should do if an employee has taken a cash payout for unused sick leave or long service leave.
The Directive says recognition of an employee’s previous employment for long service leave and sick leave should be based on information obtained from the former employer including details of service, leave granted, any cash equivalents paid at termination, details of long service leave deductions due to disciplinary reasons and details of special leave granted.
It includes a formula to be used to calculate entitlements and an easy-to-navigate table outlining employer categories and appropriate terms of recognition.
Directive No. 10/10: Recognition of Previous Service and Employment could be accessed at www.psc.qld.gov.au and www.psier.qld.gov.au
15 July, 2010
Skills Commission on
steep learning curve
A new Skills Commission is to be set up to direct and develop skills training across the State.Premier, Anna Bligh said members of the previous Employment Taskforce had agreed to ‘transition’ into a steering group to establish the Commission.
“It’s been 18 months since our Government convened the first Employment Taskforce and at that time - in January 2009 - unemployment was at the start of a sharp rise,” Ms Bligh said, “on the back of the worst financial downturn the world has seen since the Great Depression.”
She said the Taskforce had been “instrumental” in implementing the Jobs Assist program, but that it was now time to change its focus towards helping prevent skills shortages in the future.
Ms Bligh said in recent months unemployment in the State had slowly begun to fall, with 11 consecutive months of job growth recorded.
“There are still 130,000 Queenslanders unemployed but one year from now we will be facing a whole series of new challenges, not least of which are skills shortages,” the Premier said.
She said the Employment Taskforce would now begin working on the establishment of the Skills Commission.
“Employment Taskforce members have been invited to be part of the Steering Committee to work on bringing the Commission into being and defining its key roles and responsibilities,” she said.
“The Commission will be operational by 1 January 2011 and is a key outcome of the Employment Taskforce.”
Ms Bligh said organisations such as the Australian Industry Group and the Queensland Resources Council had helped generate ideas such as the Skills Commission through their advocacy on the Employment Taskforce.
“I look forward to their involvement in the establishment of the Skills Commission,” she said.
15 July, 2010
Streamlined scheme
comes on stream
The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) is to be the first Government Agency to use a new electronic planning system to streamline the processing of Development Applications and save money.Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe announced the move saying DEEDI would use the ‘Smart eDA’ system as both the assessment manager and the referral agency.
Mr Hinchliffe said Smart eDA would transform the existing paper-based development assessment system into an “intuitive internet-based system.”
He said Smart eDA was developed in consultation with the Local Government Association of Queensland, Councils, State Agencies and industry stakeholders.
“My Department has been working to train staff in recent weeks and inform local planners about the system’s efficiencies,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
He said the system would provide Queensland with a more efficient, transparent and consistent development assessment process that would reduce costs for Councils, State Agencies and industry.
“DEEDI officers can also expect to make time savings,” the Minister said.
“There is no need to laboriously scan paper copies of applications; electronic lodgment means applications can be forwarded instantly to internal staff for assessment.”
He said DEEDI followed 15 Queensland Councils in switching to the new cutting-edge system.
He said DAs were referred to DEEDI in cases where the proposed site could impact valuable agricultural land, aquaculture industry or mineral deposits.
The initiative was funded through the Department of Infrastructure and Planning and the Federal Housing Affordability Fund.
Further information on the Smart eDA system was available at www.dip.qld.gov.au
15 July, 2010
Compensation study
pays dividends
A study of workers’ compensation claims by Safe Work Australia has revealed that people in the health and community services sector are the most stressed, with those in education not far behind.Chair of Safe Work Australia, Tom Phillips said the data showed around 7,000 claims were made each year for mental stress, each costing as much as three times more than other claims because of processing times.
“It is concerning to find that there are many Australian workers suffering from mental stress, which can have a very significant impact on people’s ability to function at work and at home,” Mr Phillips said.
He said the study found health and community workers such as law enforcement officers, nurses and ambulance personnel were the most stressed, along with male train and bus drivers.
Mr Phillips said mental stress claims cost an average of $15,500 compared to the $5,400 average for other claims and entailed more time off work – around 11 weeks compared to an average of 4 weeks for other claims.
He said Safe Work Australia supported Lifeline’s ‘Stress Down Day’ which aims to raise awareness of stress in the workplace and to focus on ways to reduce it.
Chief Executive of Lifeline, Dawn O’Neil said her organisation was proud to be working with Safe Work Australia to improve the community’s awareness of mental stress.
“At the end of the day, Australians are too stressed and we are not managing our stress well enough,” Ms O’Neil said.
“That’s why we are bringing these facts into the light today, we want people to better manage their stress.”
Ms O’Neil encouraged people to wear their slippers, dress up or dress down for Stress Down Day.
Mr Phillips said Stress Down Day – to be held on 23 July – was a great opportunity for Australian workers and employers to assess their current working environments to help recognise when a colleague needed support.
Further information on Stress Down Day was available from www.stressdown.org.au
15 July, 2010
Teachers’ DVD
put to the test
A new DVD that improves the early teaching skills of teachers in the most remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has been produced by Education Queensland.Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said the DVD demonstrated best practice in quality early learning programs by showing teachers, teacher aides and school administrators how to build on the learning experiences young children received from their families and communities.
“A key part of the program builds bridges between children’s homes and the early learning program, building on what they already know and bring to the program,” Mr Wilson said.
“It is very much based on children feeling proud and strong about their culture and identity.”
He said the Foundations for Success DVD was a professional development resource aimed at helping educators deliver pre-prep programs across 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Mr Wilson said it would also support the continued professional development of staff.
“Research has shown the importance of the early years in laying the foundation for children’s success in schooling and in later life,” he said.
“A quality early learning program in Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities reinforces personal and cultural identities, connects with families and communities, and provides the foundations for children’s successful learning.”
The Minister said the DVD was developed with the help of feedback from Indigenous and non-Indigenous early childhood academics and practitioners as well as the Queensland Indigenous Education Consultative Committee.
Further information on Foundations for Success was available from www.education.qld.gov.au
15 July, 2010
PS takes poll in
professions survey
An annual poll of Australia’s most trusted professions has once again identified Public Servants high in the top 10.Paramedics and firefighters took the top two places for the sixth year running in the Readers Digest survey and were closely followed by nurses, pilots and doctors.
Minister for Emergency Services, Neil Roberts said the results once again highlighted the important roles played by ambulance and fire personnel in the community.
“These results are not surprising, but they are very pleasing,” Mr Roberts said.
“This once again shows just how critical our Emergency Services workers are to keeping our community safe.
“I would like to congratulate all of Queensland’s paramedics and firefighters on this latest achievement”
Commissioner for the Queensland Ambulance Service, David Melville said the result was well deserved.
“Queensland paramedics are on hand day after day, often during people’s darkest hours,” Commissioner Melville said.
“Paramedics are the people by your side as you are cut from a car wreck and they are the ones delivering babies on the sides of roads or resuscitating you after a near drowning.”
Commissioner for Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, Lee Johnson said the Service was made up of full-time, auxiliary and volunteer firefighters, all of whom had been responsible for saving countless lives and millions of dollars worth of property across the State.
“A great example of this commitment was seen last bushfire season, when there were more than 25,000 firefighter activations in a 36-day period,” Commissioner Johnson said.
“We are very proud of the work Queensland firefighters undertake and it is pleasing to see this sentiment is shared within the Australian community.”
Further details from the survey can be obtained by visiting www.readersdigest.com.au
15 July, 2010
Legal survey to
be by the book
A public survey to gather community opinions on the creation of a national legal profession has been announced by the Federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland.Mr McClelland said the survey would provide a clear and accessible way for consumers to contribute to the consultation process.
He said the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) had established the National Legal Profession Reform Project with the aims of not only creating a single national market for legal services, but also simplifying and increasing the effectiveness of regulation of the legal profession.
Developed by an independent consultant engaged by the National Legal Profession Reform Taskforce, the survey is part of a consumer consultation process which includes consumer panels and workshops, telephone interviews and submissions.
“We are interested in views on the draft legislation, including ideas on how the reforms might better enhance consumer protection,” Mr McClelland said.
The Attorney-General said survey responses would be used to form part of a consumer report to the Taskforce.
He said responses would be confidential and people would not be required to provide their name or other personal information.
“I encourage everyone with an interest in Australia’s legal profession to complete the survey and to make submissions to the Taskforce, as both will form an invaluable part of the reform process,” Mr McClelland said.
The survey was available at www.ag.gov.au as was further information on the National Legal Profession Reform Project.
15 July, 2010
Green light for
energy program
A new conservation program that makes it easier for householders to save on energy use has been launched jointly by Brisbane City Council and the Department of Environment and Resource Management.Brisbane Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman and Acting Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Annastacia Palaszczuk unveiled the new $20 million EzyGreen Energy Reduction Program.
Councillor Newman said EzyGreen would help residents cut their household bills and make it easier for them to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
“The easy-to-use program bundles free and discounted energy-saving appliances with GreenPower and solar power options,” he said.
“Brisbane City Council is proud to join forces with the Queensland Government and a number of local partners to facilitate the rollout.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the Government was happy to get behind the program as its major partner and make it even easier for Queenslanders to live a greener lifestyle.
“By making existing Queensland Government initiatives available through EzyGreen, we’ll work even harder towards our goal to make Queensland the solar State and encourage greater participation in our Climate Smart home service,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“This campaign is a further demonstration of the Government’s Toward Q2 commitment to helping Queenslanders to reduce their carbon footprint by a third by 2020.”
The program includes a number of options such as a free energy-saving powerboard, vouchers for energy efficient appliances and discounted solar hot water systems.
EzyGreen is free to sign-up to and is available to both home owners and renters.
To register, visit www.ezygreen.com.au or phone 1300 EZY GREEN (1300 399 473).
15 July, 2010
New plant planted
for plant products
A $10 million pilot project built by the Queensland University of Technology in Mackay promises to use plants to make products such as fuels, plastics and chemicals.If successful, the ‘Renewable Biocommodities Plant’ will help Australia and Queensland take up leading positions in the new cleaner and greener biomass products industry.
The new QUT plant was officially opened by the Premier, Anna Bligh, Minister for Primary Industries, Tim Mulherin and Federal Minister for Innovation, Senator Kim Carr.
Ms Bligh said diminishing oil reserves and the effects of climate change increased the need for cleaner, renewable alternatives to petroleum-based products and fuels.
“Bio products offer that cleaner, greener alternative,” she said.
“They are renewable, produce less greenhouse gas, and will reduce our reliance on petroleum. They are our future.”
Ms Bligh said in the years ahead the plant aimed to turn sugar cane waste, forest and garden waste, other crops like sorghum and algae into fuel, plastics, paints, adhesives and other chemicals.
The Premier said the pilot plant would road test the technologies and help refine and develop them to prove they could work on a commercial scale.
“This is the only plant of its kind in Australia and one of the few in the world available for this kind of research,” Ms Bligh said.
“Scientists from across the globe are lining up to use this facility.”
Senator Carr said the Mackay plant would lead the push to develop a globally competitive industrial biotechnology sector in Australia and attract world-class researchers and international companies to the area.
“The Queensland University of Technology brings considerable biomass harvesting, transportation, storage, processing and analytical expertise to the plant,” Senator Carr said.
Mr Mulherin said the pilot would help broaden the region’s economy and place Mackay at the forefront of a new field.
The plant is owned and operated by QUT and was established with $3.1 million in funding from the Queensland Government, $5.2 million from the Federal Government and $1.8 million under the Super Science Initiative.
15 July, 2010
Mobile breast unit
goes for bust
Australia’s first four-wheel drive mobile breast screening unit has been launched in Cairns.BreastScreen Queensland is to operate the unit, named Orchid, in the North and Far North of the State and expects to screen around 4,500 women a year.
Launching Orchid, the Commonwealth’s Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler said the unit’s 4WD capacity meant some remote communities in the region would get their first local breast screening services.
Mr Butler said by visiting remote communities, Orchid would boost the screening rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, which is 13 per cent lower than for Queensland women overall.
Mr Butler said Orchid replaced a relocatable analogue screening service that had operated in the region since 1999.
He said this week’s first operational screening tour had taken Orchid through the Cairns hinterland, Cape York and to the Torres Strait islands.
Orchid has been specially designed for the communities and includes an outdoor room and Indigenous art on its bodywork.
Women aged 50 to 69 are invited to have free two-yearly screens for breast cancer.
“I am pleased to learn that BreastScreen Australia, which is jointly funded by the Australian Government, States and Territories, has run a very successful program,” Mr Butler said.
“Since its inception, it has been responsible for a 21 to 28 per cent fall in the number of deaths due to breast cancer.”
However, he said over 2,400 women in Queensland were diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
Breast cancer is now the second-most-common cause of death among the State’s women – with more than 430 dying from the disease each year,” Mr Butler said.
He said the Commonwealth had committed $120 million over four years, through the Health and Hospitals Fund, to roll out digital mammography technology nationwide for BreastScreen Australia services.
He said further information on Orchid was available at www.breastscreen.qld.gov.au
15 July, 2010
Police do number
on phone scams
Queensland Police have issued a public warning to be wary of phone calls from people claiming to be from consumer or Government offices.They say a number of incidents have been reported to police where scammers are calling residential addresses and identifying themselves as a representative of a genuine banking institution or of ‘bank reclaim expert’ companies.
Detective Superintendent Brian Hay said scammers called the victim and convinced him or her to recite personal details including, full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and the banking institution they were with.
“These scams relate to the overpayment of tax and/or bank fees and offer a refund of these overpayments if the victim pays a fee, normally between $200 and $400,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.
“The caller often asks the victim to attend a post office where the fee can be paid, usually via a money transfer service.”
He warned of similar scams relating to carbon offsets and reminded the community to be extremely cautious if contacted by a person purporting to represent any bank or Government organisation.
Detective Superintendent Hay said people should not rely on the contact details provided by the caller and instead encouraged them to conduct their own research and personally initiate contact directly with the institution or company.
“The public is reminded to not confirm personal identification details with the caller but to report this type of scam to the appropriate authorities,” he said.
Detective Superintendent Hay said scams could be reported via www.scamwatch.gov.au or by phoning 1300 795 995.
15 July, 2010
Workers cool after
asbestos training
Workers trained in health and safety issues are more likely to understand the dangers of asbestos according to a report issued by Safe Work Australia.Following up a 2009 study Asbestos Exposure and Compliance Study of Construction and Maintenance Workers the findings of which were published in February, SafeWork Australia said the focus had been on four trades - electricians, carpenters, plumbers and painters.
The follow up report reviewed the literature on worker safety behaviour and the factors that influenced their understanding of the health risks of asbestos exposure.
According to the Chair of Safe Work Australia, Tom Phillips, it also examined the factors that influenced compliance with safe work practices when working with asbestos.
“This report provides reliable information that can influence the safety behaviour of workers,” Mr Phillips said, “however further research is needed to identify additional behavioural factors that may affect the safety of workers.
“It is vital for the safety of all Australians to ensure access to the most current and reliable information to protect workers from exposure to workplace hazards including asbestos.”
He said the report found carpenters were more likely to report an understanding of the risks of asbestos than painters and that workers who had completed asbestos health and safety training were more likely to report an understanding of the risks of exposure to asbestos than those without such training.
Mr Phillips said workers who received information on risks of exposure to asbestos from trade training, trade associations or trade unions were more likely to report having a greater understanding of the risks compared to workers who received information from the media.
He said according to the report, a person’s age and whether they worked alone or with others did not significantly influence their understanding of the risks of asbestos.
The Asbestos Exposure and Compliance Study of Construction and Maintenance Workers: Follow-up Report was available at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
15 July, 2010
New angle on
fish names
The Minister for Fisheries has announced that Queensland has adopted the national standard for naming fish.The Minister, Tim Mulherin, said the step would benefit fishers and fish-lovers who could now be more confident about what they were catching or buying.
“The move to use national standardised common fish names is to ensure there is common understanding about what rules apply to what fish,” Mr Mulherin said.
“The change will also help consumers know what they are buying over the counter and will strengthen consumer confidence in seafood.”
Mr Mulherin said the standardisation would ultimately help the fishing industry by making it clear what was being caught, sold and eaten regardless of location.
“People throughout the State, depending where they live and how they fish, will have the recognised fish names they are used to, so we expect it will take some time for people to adjust to the new names,” he said.
“Consequently, to help anglers become familiar with standard fish names, previous names will be included in brackets in fisheries brochures and web pages for a period of time.” The Minister said standard names had been assigned to 4,500 Australian seafood species that are locally harvested and imported, ranging from fin fish to crabs and prawns.
“For example, not all large prawns are king prawns,” Mr Mulherin said.
“In Queensland we have two species of king prawn, the eastern king prawn - one of the world’s largest prawns - and the blue-legged king prawn.”
He said other updates made to fisheries legislation included getting consistency between fisheries that use satellite technology to track boats; consistency in aquarium management; updates to address ambiguities in the law; and references to commercial quotas for Spanish mackerel.
More information about the standardised fish names was available at www.fishnames.com.au
15 July, 2010
Students booked for
outback adventure
Primary school teachers have been invited to nominate teams of their year six and seven students for an ‘Outback Adventure’ in Queensland’s wide open spaces.The competition is a joint initiative of Tourism Queensland and the Outback Queensland Tourism Association.
Minister for Tourism, Peter Lawlor said the competition could provide students with an exciting school camping expedition in their home State.
“Queensland State schools are encouraged to form teams comprising five students and submit a ‘pitch’ or audio/video presentation detailing what they expect to see in Queensland’s outback,” Mr Lawlor said.
He said the Outback Adventure would include activities such as visiting evidence of a dinosaur stampede at Lark Quarry and discovering the history behind some of Australia’s explorers.
Mr Lawlor said a free resource produced by Tourism Queensland and the Outback Queensland Tourism Association in 2009, Queensland Outback Education Handbook, included a series of itineraries for schools to make use of.
He said the handbook also contained 29 fact sheets designed to help teachers develop lesson plans around fossils, social history and exploration.
“This is an excellent free resource for teaching our children about the State’s cultural heritage and we hope it becomes a valued classroom companion,” he said.
An online web feed will be available for classrooms across the State to allow other students to follow the winning outback adventurers
Teachers and students interested in the competition have until 13 August to submit an entry and could visit www.queenslandsoutbackadventure.com.au for more information.
15 July, 2010
Healthy outlook for
hospital forms
A new computerised system of summarising a patient’s stay in hospital for his or her doctor is now running live in 108 hospitals across Queensland.The Enterprise Discharge Summary project continues to spread and according to Minister for Health, Paul Lucas, recently passed its 200,000th summary milestone.
Mr Lucas said Discharge Summaries could be provided to GPs immediately upon completion, providing the GP was connected to the system.
The Minister said previously doctors had received hand-written summaries by post or fax but the new process would enable Queensland Health to distribute computer-generated discharge information in a more timely and secure manner.
“The new application is gradually being implemented throughout all hospital departments,” Mr Lucas said.
“While the primary benefit is the improvement of post-discharge patient care, the project will also improve relationships between hospitals and GPs.”
He said the Government would continue to work with GPs to ensure all practices were electronically prepared to receive the Enterprise Discharge Summary.
Mr Lucas said the 108 hospitals that used the system were now issuing more than 15,000 discharge summaries per month.
“The rollout of the system to the remainder of Queensland Health hospitals throughout the State will be completed by the end of the year,” he said.
Mr Lucas said the summaries were sent securely using Public Key Infrastructure with Medicare location certificates, ensuring patient information remained confidential at all times.
15 July, 2010
Planning plans out again
The draft Queensland Planning Provisions have been re-released to reflect issues raised during public consultations.
The provisions were first released in December for public consultation and have been amended and re-released for public comment.
The closing date for submissions is 12 August and the draft Queensland Planning Provisions (version 2.0) were available at www.dip.qld.gov.au
Park redeveloped
Work has begun on the $2.5 million redevelopment of Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park in the State’s far north-west.
The park’s campground and day use area are to be redeveloped, a new office, visitor information centre, work shed and storage area will be constructed and the park’s power system will be refurbished.
Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park is situated 340 kilometres north-west of Mount Isa and 220 kilometres south-west of Burketown.
Longest bridge opened
Australia’s longest bridge has opened on time and on budget.
The $315 million Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, which spans 2.7 kilometres across Bramble Bay to the Redcliffe Peninsula, was constructed by 700 workers who used 120,000 tonnes of concrete and 10,000 tonnes of steel.
The bridge includes a 4.5 metre wide pedestrian and cycle path linking to the 150 kilometre Moreton Bay Cycleway, a purpose-built fishing platform and a purpose-built pelican perch.
It was designed to withstand a one in 2,000 year storm, using lessons learned following Hurricane Katrina in the United States.
Cattle Dip cleaned up
The heritage listed Peachester Public Sheep and Cattle Dip in the Sunshine Coast hinterland is to get a $20,000 clean up.
The Dip has been included in the Government’s $100,500 heritage maintenance program.
The Department of Environment and Resource Management will oversee the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Fisheries boat refloated
Ownership of the Gwendoline May Fisheries research vessel which is based in Cairns has been transferred to TAFE Queensland.
An 18-metre converted steel trawler, the vessel has been owned and used by Fisheries Queensland to conduct fisheries sustainability research for the past 28 years.
Under the ownership change the vessel will continue to be used for fisheries research, but will also be used for maritime training.
8 July, 2010
Shared Services gets
share of pay blame
Abandoning the one-size-fits-all approach to corporate services across the Queensland Public Service is one of the major reforms to flow from the Auditor-General’s investigation into the payroll debacle at Queensland Health.Premier, Anna Bligh said all seven of the Auditor’s recommendations would be adopted.
Ms Bligh said the audit report showed fundamental failures within Queensland Health and more broadly across the PS, and as a result, Queensland Health would phase in a localised health payroll model over the next three months.
The Premier said greater payroll flexibility across Government was needed to allow larger Agencies to use a system that suited them and smaller Agencies to cluster together to use the one payroll system if they wished.
Minister for Health, Paul Lucas said introducing localised payrolls would result in more personal contact between payroll staff and hospital unit managers and would be implemented by the end of September.
He said under the local system, payroll staff would also be more familiar with specific pay-related contract terms and conditions in their district.
Ms Bligh said the Government had called on the payroll consultant to show cause why its contract should not be terminated. The Government was also reserving its right to withhold final payment and seek damages.
She said the consultant had been engaged to select the appropriate payroll software for Queensland Health and to design, develop and implement the technology.
The Premier said despite this, the Government accepted its responsibility for ensuring PS staff were treated decently.
She said other changes to come out of the audit included re-examining the WorkBrain rostering system which was run in conjunction with SAP, as well as reviewing payroll and rostering solutions in the national and international healthcare sector.
Ms Bligh said the Corporate Services Division would be restructured to reduce bureaucracy, localise service provision and clarify responsibilities at the executive level and the whole-of-Government IT provider, CorpTech would be overhauled to determine which Agencies would be better-off using their own technical services.
A formal review of the shared services business model is to be conducted with the consultant reporting directly to the Director General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.
Minister for Public Works, Information and Communication Technology, Robert Schwarten has met key staff to discuss implementing the recommendations and the General Secretary of the Queensland Public Sector Union, Alex Scott, said the review into Shared Services would mean another major upheaval for staff and urged the Government to meet with the union.
8 July, 2010
Audit finds balance
in financial reports
The Auditor-General has released a report on the results of the 2008-09 financial and compliance audits of 123 public sector entities, including those whose financial years did not end on the traditional 30 June.Auditor-General, Glenn Poole said the report included the results of audits of universities and grammar schools which had a financial statement balance date of 31 December 2009.
In his report, Auditor-General Report to Parliament No. 8 for 2010, Mr Poole said the audits of universities and grammar schools were completed and unmodified auditors’ opinions issued on their financial statements.
“While modified opinions were issued for some controlled entities of universities, I am satisfied that appropriate governance regimes are in place to maintain their accountability,” Mr Poole said.
The Auditor-General said his eighth report focused on infrastructure, governance and financial management.
He said the results of infrastructure audits undertaken in 2008-09 found recommendations made in previous reports were being implemented, but at a slower pace than originally committed to.
“Policy guidance and procedures for the development and management of infrastructure projects has also improved significantly,” he said.
Mr Poole said two governance audits were conducted across a range of public sector entities.
He said the first looked at whether the Department of Treasury’s Audit Committee Guidelines had been adopted and found all entities audited had established an audit committee.
The second governance audit aimed to determine whether appropriate policies existed to assess employee qualifications, criminal history and conflicts of interest.
Mr Poole said sound procedures were in place to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and established policies.
The Auditor-General said assessing the financial management of public sector entities was a key audit role and that he had focused on the areas of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) systems and compliance with the State Procurement Policy.
He said entities that operated their own EFT systems had satisfactory control over processed payments but there were some cases where controls could be strengthened.
He said audited Departments were complying with the State Procurement Policy, but the Office responsible for the policy, the Queensland Government Chief Procurement Office, should perform on-going monitoring and follow-up of key compliance requirements.
Mr Poole said that as of 31 May 2010, auditors’ opinions had been issued on the 2008-09 financial statements of 98 per cent of relevant public sector entities (603 of 615), 522 of which were unmodified and 81 of which were modified.
The full audit report was available from www.qao.qld.gov.au
8 July, 2010
Queensland Rail
making tracks
A new beginning for rail travel and transport in Queensland has arrived with the launch on 1 July of Queensland Rail.Minister for Transport, Rachel Nolan said the new Government-owned corporation would focus on passenger services and maintaining its vast regional rail network that covers over 8,000 kilometres.
Ms Nolan said the launch meant passenger services would no longer compete with freight trains and coal tracks for Government funding.
“145 years ago, the then Queensland Government Railways started with the purpose of opening up the new colony and connecting people across vast distances,” Ms Nolan said.
“The new entity will restore focus to that core purpose.”
She said south-east Queensland’s two busiest train lines would receive a 9,000 seat boost next month with the introduction of new peak services on the Caboolture line and more on the Ipswich line to follow.
“Community consultation on the new timetables will take place later this year with the aim to implement the timetable in the first half of 2011 with timetable reviews on other lines to follow,” Ms Nolan said.
“Currently, there’s an average of 170,000 passenger journeys on the Queensland Rail network every day, so we need to make sure that those passengers get to where they need to go in the best and most efficient way possible.”
She said the new organisation would kick-off with a $200 million makeover of a third of its train stations.
Interim Chief Executive of Queensland Rail, Paul Scurrah said the organisation had recently been awarded the International Customer Service Standard certificate in recognition of its commitment to customer service.
“There has been a lot of hard work to build this new Government-owned corporation, to bring our new team together for this historic occasion, and I am proud of the work we have done,” Mr Scurrah said.
“We are ready for the new challenge and look forward to getting on with the job of providing a world class rail network for the people of Queensland.”
8 July, 2010
Union operates on
Health Minister
The Queensland Public Sector Union has launched a campaign against the Minister for Health following the problems with Queensland Health’s payroll system.General Secretary of the QPSU, Alex Scott said the union believed there had been an “unprecedented failure of public administration” and that the Minister, Paul Lucas should resign or be sacked.
Mr Scott said the union’s Stand Up Step Down campaign included a website that people could visit to log their objections to Mr Lucas’s handling of the payroll bungle.
Mr Scott said the campaign was not just about the need for the Minister to resign, but was about addressing broader concerns regarding Ministerial and public accountability.
“Ministerial accountability is a living document in Queensland,” Mr Scott said, “which is a real concern to us and every time a Minister doesn't resign the bar gets lowered and lowered in relation to accountability.”
He said the QPSU campaign aimed to give the community a voice and allow it to express its views.
“We believe if we can get tens of thousands of Queenslanders to publicly register on the website, that's something that the Government can't ignore,” Mr Scott said.
Mr Lucas said he had no intention of resigning, and that the Government would work to implement all seven recommendations made by the Auditor-General in his report into the payroll system. See story here.
“Two of the recommendations related to Queensland Health and the Auditor General noted that work was already underway to address them,” he said.
“Twelve months ago I signed on as Health Minister as I am not afraid to tackle tough issues.
“We owe it to our 78,000 staff to see this payroll issue fixed and I intend to do that.”
The Premier, Anna Bligh has been supportive of Mr Lucas continuing to hold the position of Minister for Health and Deputy Premier.
The union campaign’s website could be visited at www.qpsu.org.au
8 July, 2010
Measurement kings
to rule no more
The Queensland Office of Fair Trading has lost the responsibility for Trade Measurement operations after 90 years of service.Under new national arrangements, the duty will be performed by the National Measurement Institute.
Minister for Fair Trading, Peter Lawlor acknowledged the work of the Trade Measurement Branch and thanked it for its contribution to Queensland.
“Today brings to an end almost 90 years of trade measurement administration by the State Government which followed over 60 years of administration by Local Government,” Mr Lawlor said.
He said that in 2007 the Council of Australian Governments agreed to establish a single regulatory national system of trade measurement.
“Traders can expect to benefit from reduced compliance costs and a strengthening of the trade measurement resources under one banner,” Mr Lawlor said.
“I am confident the new arrangement will maintain the same high-level of service.”
He said 21 Queensland Trade Measurement staff had accepted offers to work with the National Measurement Institute.
“I thank them for their continued contribution and wish them the best as they continue this important work with the Federal Government,” Mr Lawlor said.
He also congratulated Queensland’s former Trade Measurement Manager, Malcolm Bartlett who has been appointed by the National Measurement Institute as Manager of Trade Measurement Services.
“Queensland has been a leading force in assisting the National Measurement Institute prepare for the transition,” the Minister said.
“Three of Queensland’s Trade Measurement staff provided specialist services in preparation for the transition.”
He said further information about the new trade measurement arrangements was available from www.measurement.gov.au
8 July, 2010
IPAA delivers on
delivery workshop
The Queensland branch of the Institute of Public Administration Australia is hosting a presentation and workshop on public service delivery in Brisbane on 20 July.Chief Executive of IPAA Queensland, Peter Rumph said Canadian public service delivery specialist, Brian Marson would deliver the presentation.
Mr Rumph said Mr Marson would use the workshop and breakfast presentation to outline his latest thinking on how to create better public organisations and improve citizen satisfaction with government service through what he calls the ‘Public Sector Service Value Chain’.
Mr Rumph said the release of the Australian Public Service Commission’s Staying Ahead of the Game: Blueprint for Reform of Australian Government Administration had demonstrated citizen-centred service delivery in Australia was highly important.
“For several years now the Canadian Government has been researching the link between people, service and public trust resulting in the Public Sector Service Value Chain – a concept that is now paying off with greatly increased public management performance around the world,” Mr Rumph said.
He said attendees would learn how to apply the Public Sector Service Value Chain and achieve cost-effective service delivery.
He said the event also aimed to teach participants to understand service collaboration amongst Government sectors and how to work more efficiently.
“We’re always looking for case studies where ‘it has worked’ and one of the key highlights of the morning will be learning strategies to close the service gap through successful case studies from Canada, and closer to home, New Zealand,” Mr Rumph said.
He said Mr Marson had given organisations five tips to help them improve community satisfaction.
He said talking to clients was a key to improving service access; asking clients to identify where services needed improvement; and focusing on improving timelines were three important steps.
Mr Marson said organisations should also use client feedback to improve telephone services and measure their service performance.
Further information on the workshop was available from www.qld.ipaa.org.au
8 July, 2010
Treasurer taps
into water fight
The State Treasurer has questioned the extent of price increases for water being charged by the Brisbane City Council and has challenged the Council to justify its actions.Treasurer, Andrew Fraser said the Council needed to tell residents exactly what they were being charged and what dividends and other payments the Council would be taking.
“The new Council-owned water businesses have announced a $107 increase in the average water bill for Brisbane residents,” Mr Fraser said.
“Only $44 of that amount is due to increases in State bulk water charges.”
He said the remaining $63 would go to Council-owned water businesses that delivered their dividends and payments back to the Council.
“We’ve been up-front about bulk water charges and the fact that every single cent of this charge goes back into our $7 billion investment in the water grid,” Mr Fraser said.
“The questions that remain unanswered lay squarely at the feet of Council.”
The Minister said residents still didn’t know what they would be paying the Council for water in 2010-11, while the Council had not said what dividends and other payments it would take.
Mr Fraser said while the Gold Coast City Council Budget Papers revealed the Council would take $94 million in taxes and dividends from their water business this year, the Brisbane City Council’s papers didn’t provide the same information.
“It’s time the Council came clean on what benefits it will receive, and owned up to the fact that the Council has set the water price and it is increasing its water price,” Mr Fraser said.
8 July, 2010
New marine powers
swamp leaky boats
New powers that force the owners of unseaworthy boats in Queensland waters to take responsibility for their safety and marine pollution impacts have proven to be winners according to figures released by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.Minister for Transport, Rachel Nolan said 85 vessels had been removed from local waterways in the first three years of the laws’ existence, with almost $500,000 in removal costs being recovered from owners.
The Government introduced the new powers in 2006 to place the onus on vessel owners to remove or remedy unseaworthy vessels.
Ms Nolan said owners were held accountable for the costs incurred by the taxpayer in managing the risks posed by their craft.
“Our waterways are some of Queensland’s best natural assets and the last thing we want is to have our rivers and creeks ruined by dilapidated hulks that owners refuse to take responsibility for,” Ms Nolan said.
“We sent a clear message that boat owners needed to live up to their safety and environmental responsibilities.”
Ms Nolan said maritime authorities had reported a reduction in the overall number of unseaworthy and abandoned vessels being identified since the legislation was introduced.
“In instances when an owner is located, directions are issued requiring the management of the risks posed by these vessels to be undertaken,” Ms Nolan said.
“When owners served with directions are not in a financial position to remediate their vessels, the Government steps in.”
She said remaining vessels continued to be monitored.
8 July, 2010
Babies booked for
reading program
A new program that promises every new baby born in Queensland a free children’s book was kicked off on 1 July with the Premier, Anna Bligh, making the first presentations at Townsville Hospital.Ms Bligh said the Books for Bubs program would see copies of the book, It’s Bed Time, distributed through maternity wards at hospitals across the State
“Reading is so very important to a child’s learning and hopefully this initiative will start a new generation of bookworms,” Ms Bligh said.
“Research shows reading just one book a day with your child can have a positive impact on their literacy, vocabulary and development and is one of the best ways to help prepare them for school.”
Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said Books for Bubs would give away approximately 64,000 books to Queensland babies born over the next 12 months and would encourage parents to read to their children.
“Education starts at home and parents and families are their children’s first teachers,” Mr Wilson said.
It’s Bed Time is a book featuring a collection of short illustrated bedtime stories written by Queenslanders and other Australians, along with an audio CD of appropriate lullaby music.
Queensland author Tania Cox wrote the story and lullaby Time to Say Goodnight especially for the It’s Bed Time book.
The Children’s book also includes handy tips for parents on how to get newborns to sleep.
8 July, 2010
OLGR raises glass to
online liquor permit
The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation has announced that almost 30 per cent of event organisers in Brisbane applied for their one-off community liquor permits online.The Minister responsible for liquor regulation, Peter Lawlor said the online application service was available under a pilot scheme being run by the OLGR.
Mr Lawlor said Brisbane community organisations, event organisers and schools were the first to benefit from the pilot and that a staged roll-out for the rest of the State was on the horizon.
“Brisbane festival, fete and sporting event organisers have taken advantage of the new online application system,” Mr Lawlor said.
“Applicants will still be subject to the same rigorous licensing process as before, but by introducing the online system, the Queensland Government is actively reducing the paperwork for low-risk events.”
He said following feedback from industry, OLGR was focusing on a number of improvements to streamline its licensing process.
“Licensing makes up 90 per cent of OLGR’s day-to-day business, so it’s important to use processes that are both efficient and accessible,” Mr Lawlor said.
“OLGR receives more than 6,000 community liquor permit applications each year, so improvements to the process will affect many groups.”
The Minister said the OLGR had increased its online capability for annual fee payments, introducing increased credit card limits and Bpay.
The Brisbane pilot of the community liquor permit began on 30 April 2010 and will extend to the rest of Queensland later this year.
Further information was available from www.olgr.qld.gov.au
8 July, 2010
Planning program to
program planning
Queensland’s Local Councils are to have open access to the Government’s forward planning program in a bid to ensure they take it into account when developing their own planning intentions.Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe said he had posted a copy of the State Planning Instruments Program (SPI) for 2010-2011 to each Council so they could ensure their planning schemes were aligned with State interests.
“The program (SPI) is a great example of how the Government is finding innovative new ways to streamline State planning arrangements, which the Government pledged to do following the Queensland Growth Management Summit,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“It also means all stakeholders, including industry and communities, are kept informed of the State interests and instruments being developed over the coming year.”
The Minister said the SPI program established a process for ensuring the State’s interests were appropriately represented in land use planning.
He said the program was supported by processes for State Agencies to nominate interests, and for a whole-of-Government assessment to determine priorities and timing.
“By setting clear priorities and improving communications, State and Local Government will be able to use their resources in the most efficient and effective manner possible,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
The forward SPI program covers 13 policies including healthy waterways, coastal protection and the supply of suitable land for industrial development.
The full program could be accessed at www.dip.qld.gov.au
8 July, 2010
Brighter road marks
are streets ahead
Brighter and wider road line markings that light up at night are to be rolled out across the State following a successful trial in the north.Minister for Main Roads, Craig Wallace said the new ‘visibeads’ were large, round glass beads that reflected light embedded in the line-marking paint.
Mr Wallace said the markings were 50 per cent wider than normal line markings and the beads were sprayed on the paint to produce a highly reflective surface that drivers could see more clearly and from greater distances, even in wet weather and at night.
“They also last longer than conventional line marking,” Mr Wallace said.
“The effect is amazing when you consider that each glass bead is only 1.4mm in size.”
Mr Wallace said Rockhampton would be one of the first cabs off the rank when the $6 million project is rolled-out.
Local MP for Keppel, Paul Hoolihan said safer roads was a top priority for the Rockhampton community.
“We’re the undisputed beef capital of Australia and that means there’s a lot of freight movement right across the region,” Mr Hoolihan said.
“These new visibeads will go a long way towards making our roads safer for all motorists, particularly in the wet season.”
The North Queensland trials were conducted on the Bruce Highway between Bowen and Cairns and other major arterial roads, including the Townsville Ring Road.
8 July, 2010
New road laws target
off road influences
New road laws that single out people who influence truck drivers to speed have come into effect in Queensland.Minister for Transport, Rachel Nolan said the new legislation expanded on ‘chain of responsibility’ laws.
“They require employers, operators, prime contractors, loading managers, schedulers and certain consignors and consignees to be responsible for ensuring all the necessary steps are taken to protect drivers from being influenced to speed,” Ms Nolan said.
“Research conducted by the National Transport Commission indicated there would be a 29 per cent reduction in heavy vehicle crashes if all heavy vehicle speeding was eliminated.”
The Minister said the laws gave drivers protection from unachievable work demands that could cause them to speed while on the job.
“In the past, only drivers have been the target for heavy vehicle speeding compliance, but now off-road parties who aren’t behind the wheel will also be the focus,” she said, “making them more accountable for ensuring drivers aren’t influenced to speed because of unrealistic work demands.
“It’s also the first time that operators can be significantly fined for tampering with speed limiters or having contracts with other parties that provide incentive for drivers to speed.”
Ms Nolan said the speed compliance laws were based on the third component of the National Transport Commission’s (NTC) National Compliance and Enforcement Bill, and brought Queensland into line with other States.
“Transport inspectors will enforce the new changes from 1 July, with penalties ranging from $300 to $8,000 for off-road parties, depending on the seriousness of the breach, with repeat offenders likely to face the more significant fines,” she said.
The new laws apply to all heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle mass exceeding 4.5 tonnes.
Further information on the new laws was available from www.transport.qld.gov.au
8 July, 2010
Caravan owners
to tow the line
Inspectors with Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office have reported a spate of caravan fires in recent times, prompting a warning to holidaymakers to double-check the safety of their vans’ on-board electrical appliances.Minister for Industrial Relations, Cameron Dick said a simple check of electrical items could save lives by identifying malfunctioning appliances and reducing the risk of electric shocks.
“Not all electrical equipment is fit for use in caravans, mobile homes or similar vehicles,” Mr Dick said, “it is really a case of double-checking with the supplier or manufacturer to make sure it has been tested and approved for use on the road.”
He said the Electrical Safety Office had recently examined two battery chargers suspected of causing fires in caravans.
Mr Dick said inspectors reported a case where a microwave oven spontaneously started and set fire to a towel that had been placed in the unit to protect parts.
“The microwave, which was in a stationary caravan at the time, may have malfunctioned due to prior vibration damage,” he said.
“Electrical malfunctions can also be caused by extreme temperature fluctuation so it is worthwhile making sure all equipment is up to scratch for the holidays.”
Mr Dick said information about appliances could be found in the instructions or by checking with the supplier or manufacturer.
“Always switch off appliances when they are not in use and regularly check all electrical appliances in caravans to ensure no covers have fallen off and the units are still operating safely,” he said.
Additional information and electrical safety guidelines were available from www.electricalsafety.qld.gov.au
8 July, 2010
Lifesavers rolled
out for retirement
Three long-serving members of the Sunshine Coast State Emergency Service (SES) have been farewelled at a retirement function in Caloundra.Minister for Emergency Services, Neil Roberts congratulated Lloyd Larney, Graham Cheal and Jim Case for their involvement with SES units across the Sunshine Coast for the past three decades.
“Between them they have notched more than 90 years of helping the community in times of need,” Mr Roberts said.
“The experience and knowledge that these men have brought to the SES is invaluable. Their retirement will leave a very big hole on the coast and they will be sorely missed.”
Acting Chief Officer of Emergency Management Queensland, Bruce Grady said the men had shown a willingness to help out wherever and whenever required and had given an enormous amount back to their community.
“Jim Case has been with the State Emergency Service for 35 years and has been heavily involved in almost every aspect, from his role as the Caloundra SES Controller to being involved in the Local Disaster Management Group.,” Mr Grady said.
“In 2000, he received the Australia Day Medallion in recognition of his SES service and received the 2003 Caloundra Citizen of the Year Award for his contribution.”
He said Mr Cheal had led a number of SES rescues around the Glasshouse Mountains during his time with the service.
“He’s been rescuing stranded climbers since 1962 and in 1983 he became the leader of the SES Mountain and Vertical Rescue Group,” Mr Grady said.
“Graham has also received a number of nationally recognised awards for his service including the Australia Day Achievement Medallion, a Bravery Award and the Emergency Services Medal.”
Mr Grady said Mr Larney had been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for Community Service in 2009.
“Not only has he been the group leader of the SES in Maleny, but he’s also worn various other hats including a scout leader, deputy fire warden and coordinator for the local Neighbourhood Watch, which he has run for 16 years,” he said.
8 July, 2010
Park expansion
gets green light
One new national park is to be created and seven expanded to add 7,650 hectares to the national parks in the north and far north of the State.Among them is the new Macalister Range National Park, part of the Wet Tropics Heritage Area north-west of Cairns, which covers over 5,000 hectares of important cassowary habitat.
Acting Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Annastacia Palaszczuk said it the new park was good news for the iconic Australian bird and for the many people who had been working to ensure its survival.
“Another four of the new protected areas also serve as vital habitat corridors and ecosystems for cassowaries and other rare, native species,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said the increases included adding five hectares to Barron Gorge National Park, half a hectare to Kuranda National Park near Cairns, and 13 hectares to Japoon National Park near Mission Beach.
“Creating new national parks is the greatest possible protection we can give our most valuable natural environment and we’ve just added the equivalent of 10,720 soccer pitches to Queensland’s protected area,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Local MP for Barron River, Steve Wettenhall said creating Macalister Range National Park was a huge win for the cassowary.
“I’m delighted that more of this unique bird’s habitat has been locked up forever,” Mr Wettenhall said.
“There’s still a lot that needs to be done to protect the cassowary but this announcement is a huge boost.”
The area covered by national parks in Queensland is now over eight million hectares, the largest national park area in Australia.
8 July, 2010
English centre opens
The Gold Coast Institute of TAFE has opened a new English Language Centre, providing a focal point for English language classes for English teachers, migrants and international students.
The centre aims to help a greater number of international students gain the English language skills they need to undertake further study.
In the year to March 2010 more than 21,000 international students were studying with public and private providers in Queensland – an increase of 23 per cent over the previous 12 months.
Broadband for Brisbane
The possibility of bringing broadband into Brisbane houses via the city’s sewer pipes is being investigated by Brisbane City Council.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the Council was in discussions with a United Kingdom company about laying fibre optic cables into the city using the sewer pipes.
Mr Newman said while the Commonwealth’s National Broadband Network had no firm timetable, the sewer pipe alternative could be installed quickly.
“We want 100 Megabits per second fibre-to-the-home and we want it now,” he said.
Jobs expo success
The Keep Australia Working Jobs Expo in Cairns was kept busy with 5,500 job-seekers coming through the doors and 473 getting a job.
This brings the number of jobs resulting form the 21 Jobs Expos held across the country by the Commonwealth so far to 8,573
Queensland Corrective Services filled 50 jobs as a result of the expo.
Unemployment in Far North Queensland is 8.9 per cent which is above the national average of 5.2 per cent.
Solar rebates paid
The first of the State Government’s Solar Hot Water rebates were due to be paid on 1 July.
Rebates of $600 or $1,000 for pensioners and low income earners were paid to eligible householders who had replaced their electric hot water system with a solar hot water system or heat pump.
The rebates are part of a $115 million, three-year package to support a range of solar initiatives.
Disability awards open
Nominations are open for the annual Disability Action Week Awards to recognise individuals and organisations who have devoted time and energy to the disability sector.
The public can nominate an individual or organisation they feel deserves recognition for their efforts.
Categories are: individual, community organisation, education and the arts, private enterprise, Government, media, reconciliation and diversity and outstanding initiative.
Nominations close Friday, 6 August and could be made at www.disability.qld.gov.au
Working on the railroad
Work has begun on a new railway line that will extend rail services beyond the upgraded Darra railway station to a new station at Richlands by 2011 and on to Springfield by 2013.
Track construction for the 14.5 kilometre line will begin at a junction with the Ipswich line (west of Darra) and is expected to be completed two years ahead of the original schedule.
Queensland Rail and TransLink are currently conducting a review of timetables on the Ipswich and Caboolture lines to utilise the State Government’s new infrastructure.
Mental Health awards
Nominations have opened for the 2010 Queensland Health Mental Health Week Achievement Awards.
The awards recognise the achievements of individuals and organisations who work to improve the lives of people affected by mental illness.
Nominations close on Tuesday 13 August with the awards to be presented during Queensland Mental Health Week at a ceremony in Brisbane on 15 October 2010.
For further information or to make a nomination, visit www.health.qld.gov.au
Legal funding boosted
Funding of more than $460,000 for legal and family services in North Queensland has been announced.
The Cairns Community Legal Centre and North Queensland Women’s Legal Service (NQWLS) will receive $138,000 to partner with the Cairns Family Relationship Centre; $138,000 will go to the NQWLS and Townsville Community Legal Service to partner with the Townsville Family Relationship Centre; and $129,000 was allocated to the NQWLS to provide legal assistance and support for victims of family violence.
A total of $55,000 has been provided to establish the Cairns Family Pathway Network to help coordinate local services across the family law system.
Rail corridor on track
The Coordinator-General has approved the proposed Hancock rail corridor which is one step towards establishing the Alpha Coal Mine and creating up to 1,600 jobs.
The corridor has been approved as an Infrastructure Facility of Significance.
The proposed 495-kilometre standard gauge railway would run from Hancock’s proposed Alpha Coal Mine in the Galilee Basin to the Port at Abbot Point.
Designers awarded
Winners in the inaugural Premier’s Design Awards have been announced.
Alexander Loterzstain won the $40,000 Smart State Design Fellowship and Kent Gration took out the $10,000 Emerging Design Leader Award.
Both designers live in Brisbane and won the awards for their commitment to excellence in design and their contributions to the Queensland design industry.
Homelessness receives boost
New funding has been announced for a homeless legal service run by Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House.
More than $600,000 over three years has been provided to run the Homeless Persons Legal Clinic.
The money will provide pro bono legal assistance at 14 locations across Queensland.
1 July, 2010
Auditor pays out on
Health payroll woes
An audit of three whole-of-Government ICT programs at the Department of Public Works and the new Queensland Health payroll system has found significant improvements are needed in program and project governance.Auditor-General, Glenn Poole said more vigorous control of program budgets, comprehensive testing and implementation regimes and upfront scope management are needed.
In his seventh report to Parliament for this year, Information systems governance and control, including the Queensland Health Implementation of Continuity Project, Mr Poole said specific attention needed to be given to developing robust benefit management plans to ensure appropriate return on investment.
Mr Poole said the Queensland Health Implementation of Continuity Project included SAP, Human Resources and payroll.
He said Health had been experiencing significant problems with the new payroll system, managed by CorpTech, since it went live in March this year, with staff being paid incorrectly or not at all.
The Auditor-General revealed Queensland residents had so far paid $64.5 million for a system that had no contingency plans once failures emerged and said preparation for the system’s implementation was poor with a “lack of awareness” among Queensland Health staff of the full impact of the business rules configured in the new system.
Mr Poole suggested simplifying Health’s complex award structures to reduce the risk of pay inaccuracies and putting contingency plans in place for project and systems risks.
He recommended current action to stabilise the payroll system be continued and that Queensland Health reconsider its current business model to determine the most effective strategy to deliver payroll services.
The Auditor-General said there was no clear understanding of the accountabilities of individual Accountable Officers.
Mr Poole said the governance of the project was unclear between the Director-General of Health, who is accountable for paying staff, and the Director-General of the Department of Public Works who is responsible for managing CorpTech.
“The roles and responsibilities of Accountable Officers in this environment should be clarified as a high priority,” he said.
“Project governance, including managing relationships with key stakeholders was not effective in ensuring roles and responsibilities were clearly articulated and in ensuring there was clear accountability for the efficient and effective implementation of the system.”
In relation to the three programs audited at the Department of Works, Mr Poole said while the Government’s Program Management Methodology was being implemented, all programs were behind schedule.
“Overall, the governance of IT program management across all three programs needed improvement,” he said.
“In addition there was a lack of transparency in relation to key decisions.”
Mr Poole’s audit and recommendations were available from www.qao.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
Women take jobs
in their strides
The Public Service is taking the lead in employing women in senior positions, according to the Minister for Women, Karen Struthers. Ms Struthers said women accounted for about 30 per cent of senior positions across all Queensland Government Departments, while in the private sector they held down just 10 per cent of senior management positions nationally.
Speaking at the Eidos Institute and Wise Foundation’s Understanding and Challenging the Australian Gender Order Forum in Brisbane, Ms Struthers said women occupied 64 per cent of senior positions in Queensland Health, 50 per cent of senior positions in Queensland Police as well as 49 per cent at the Department of Education and Training and 43 per cent in the Department of Communities.
She said the Office for Women had forged strong partnerships with the Association of Professional Engineers, the Australian Institute of Management, the Queensland Resources Council and other organisations to promote improvements in the number of women in top jobs.
“We know there is a way to go and we will keep working for a better deal for Queensland women,” she said.
“With initiatives like Women in Hard Hats and our effective Office for Women, the Government is making it possible for women to choose the career they want, not the one other people expect them to follow.”
Ms Struthers said the Office for Women had staff posted in regional offices to ensure gender issues were embedded in policy development across Queensland.
She said further information on Office for Women initiatives was available from www.women.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
Union rolls out
payroll response
Members of the Queensland Public Sector Union and the Australian Services Union who work at Queensland Health’s Meadowbrook pay hub stopped work for an hour last week to protest against the Department’s strategy to address payroll problems.The QPSU said members were frustrated over the removal of experienced payroll staff to run kiosks in hospital locations.
“Payroll staff, although acknowledging and supporting the role of kiosks, are frustrated with escalating workload problems and the bottlenecks which are being exacerbated by front line operational staff being removed to run kiosks,” the Union said.
“Payroll staff moved a motion demanding a number of matters be addressed so that they are better able to deal with payroll processing matters.”
The QPSU said payroll staff were struggling to manage the workloads created by the troubled new payroll system.
“Union members are strongly committed to the principle that frontline workers in payroll offices should not be forced to carry the blame for mistakes made by Queensland Health management,” the Union said.
The QPSU also responded to the Auditor-General’s audit into the system, saying it highlighted an “unprecedented failure of public administration.”
“The implementation of this new system has been a disaster,” it said.
“It has caused real pain to workers and their families who have been over-paid, under-paid, wrongly-paid or not paid at all.
“There is a massive indignity in being directed to seek charity by your employer because they don’t know how to pay you.”
The QPSU said work was continuing to secure a written guarantee from Queensland Health that no employees will be financially disadvantaged due to the implementation of the new system.
Union representatives and Queensland Health are to meet again before the end of July to discuss the ongoing applicability of the document.
Union members could contact the union via its website, www.qpsu.org.au, for further information.
1 July, 2010
Gender blueprint
planning the future
A blueprint for further reform in closing the gender gap has been released by the national Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick.Entitled Gender Equality Blueprint 2010, Ms Broderick said it was the next stage of reform stemming from her 2007 national listening tour.
Ms Broderick said in the wake of securing the paid parental leave scheme for Australia, there was a risk that gender equality would be considered “finished business”, making further reform unnecessary.
“Nine major national reviews have considered how best to improved gender equality in Australia and, if they tell us anything, it is that there remains a major gap in equality between women and men,” she said.
Ms Broderick said the Blueprint contained 15 recommendations in five priority areas identified during her national listening tour.
She said the recommendations focused on “practical, achievable changes” that could be made immediately and, in some areas, were already under way.
The Commissioner said three main areas of focus were childcare and out of school care, promoting women in leadership and preventing violence against women.
“We need a national childcare body, adequately empowered and resourced, that will oversee ongoing development towards a system of high quality, accessible, affordable universal childcare,” Ms Broderick said.
She said a major national prevention strategy was needed to help stop violence against women and to drive down the incidence of sexual harassment in workplaces.
“We need an independent body to monitor the implementation of the national plan to reduce violence against women,” Ms Broderick said.
The Commissioner urged the adoption of the Blueprint and encouraged the business sector to put innovative gender equality strategies in place.
The Gender Equality Blueprint 2010 was available from www.humanrights.gov.au
1 July, 2010
New curriculum to
make the grade
Queensland school students from Prep to Year 10 will be taught from a new national curriculum from 2012.The move follows agreement between the State, Catholic and Independent education sectors.
Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said a new curriculum in English, Mathematics and Science would be taught in all Queensland schools from 2012 and History would be added from 2013.
“Some Queensland schools may choose to be early adopters by commencing the Australian curriculum from as soon as 2011,” Mr Wilson said.
“In 2011, schools will familiarise themselves with the new curriculum in English, Mathematics and Science as well as teaching, assessment and reporting processes for 2012.
“In 2012, schools will prepare for the new curriculum in History, ready for the State-wide roll-out in 2013.”
Mr Wilson said the introduction of the national curriculum represented one of the most significant education initiatives in decades.
“It is essential that Queensland teachers and schools are well prepared for its implementation,” he said.
“Across the education sectors in Queensland, there is enthusiasm for the new curriculum but after ongoing consultation there is a common concern that adequate time is needed for principals and teachers to be fully prepared to move forward with confidence.”
Mr Wilson said the proposed schedule would give the Queensland Studies Authority and educators time to provide support for the successful implementation of the curriculum.
He said the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, of which he is a member, was recently advised the scheduled release date of August 2010 was unlikely to be met as the curriculum was being revised by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.
The roll-out of English, Mathematics, Science and History is the first phase of the Australian curriculum, with other subjects to follow.
1 July, 2010
PS award showered
on water authority
Water service provider for the Gold Coast City Council, Gold Coast Water, has been recognised for public excellence by the United Nations.Gold Coast Water (GCW) took out second place at the UN Public Service Awards in the Asia and the Pacific category for fostering participation in public policy-making decisions via innovative mechanisms.
A Japanese Agency won first place.
GCW won the award for using the current drought as a catalyst for developing water management strategies in close collaboration with the community.
The UN said GCW’s Waterfuture initiative addressed water supply, demand management, and water recycling.
It said community involvement and the development of a sense of ownership of water resources among the public had changed the way in which the Gold Coast community valued water and led to behavioural changes and an increased understanding of the importance of water conservation.
Prior to the beginning of the drought almost 10 years ago, the average daily water use of the Gold Coast (population of 409,000) was 182 megalitres per day.
According to the UN, during the later stages of the drought (population of 505,000) the average daily water consumption had decreased to just 157 megalitres per day.
The UN Public Service Awards reward the creative achievements and contributions public service institutions make to developing more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.
The Awards aim to promote the role, professionalism and visibility of public service.
Awards were presented on the United Nations Public Service Day on 23 June in a ceremony at Barcelona, Spain.
Twenty-three Public Service organisations were honoured, including the Australian Electoral Commission and the National Blood Authority.
Details of all award winners could be found here.
1 July, 2010
Misconduct charges
light up IT project
The Crime and Misconduct Commission is to investigate anonymous allegations of impropriety in the procurement and funding of critical IT infrastructure for the Government’s centrally-managed IT network, the Foundation Infrastructure Project (FIP).The FIP is being implemented by CITEC, the Government’s primary technology provider.
CITEC is responsible for providing IT services to all Queensland Government Agencies. Last year it absorbed the Technology Transformation Program, which is responsible for implementing a whole-of-Government approach to ICT infrastructure.
One of the main projects in this program is the FIP.
According to CITEC, the aim of the FIP is to establish one centrally-managed network, datacentre and services hub that Government Agencies will be able to sign up to voluntarily.
An anonymous email made allegations of procurement, infrastructure, datacentre and funding issues relating to the FIP, but CITEC said there was no “solid information” to support the claims.
In response to the anonymous allegations, the Department of Public Works launched an internal review into the program and brought in auditing company Deloitte for a two-week review of the FIP.
The Deloitte review did not uncover any critical issues that would prevent the project from proceeding.
“Given that the independent reviews have determined that there are no issues that would prevent the continuation of the tender process and the ICTC program, the Department will not be responding to any further allegations unless detailed evidence is provided,” CITEC said.
However, both reviews have been forwarded to the Crime and Misconduct Commission.
Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Robert Schwarten said it was normal practice for the Department to send the information to the Commission for review.
“This is the normal process that the Department goes through, regardless of whether allegations are red hot or stone cold,” Mr Schwarten said.
“According to the Department of Public Works, no vendor had complained regarding the evaluation process for the FIP contracts and nor has any evidence of CITEC staff receiving money or favours connected to the evaluation process been identified.”
Anyone with evidence of official misconduct or inappropriate dealings has been urged to take their complaint directly to the Crime and Misconduct Commission for investigation by visiting www.cmc.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
School reports
pass the test
The latest information on State school enrolments, numbers, attendance, leavers, class sizes and some disciplinary matters has been released by the Department of Education and Training.Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson said the information gave Queenslanders a comprehensive insight into State schools and their students.
Mr Wilson said it complemented the recently published 2009 Year 12 Outcomes Report and the Next Step Longitudinal Study which followed school leavers’ choices in the years after Year 12.
The Minister said that in 2010 over 488,000 students were enrolled across more than 1,200 Queensland State schools, representing an overall growth of 6.8 per cent between 2006 and 2010.
“Attendance rates in Queensland State schools in 2009 were impacted by the H1N1 pandemic,” Mr Wilson said.
“At 90.7 per cent it was down slightly from the previous year’s 91.1 per cent.”
He said the 2010 snapshot of class sizes showed schools continued to make choices about class formations to best meet the needs of their students.
“It’s important to point out that class size targets are guidelines to help principals and school communities in making a decision, not maximum limits,” Mr Wilson said.
“The 2010 class size data shows 87 per cent of classes are better than target, eight per cent are on target and five per cent are just over target.”
Mr Wilson said the Government had also conducted an Early Leavers Survey to find out more about the pathways taken by students who chose not to complete Year 12.
“Of the State school early leavers surveyed in 2009, more than 95 per cent were studying, working, or actively seeking work, at the time survey was conducted,” he said.
The Minister said that in 2009, expulsion, suspension and other forced absences increased by around six per cent to 61,570, up from 58,167 in 2008.
He said the increase occurred against a backdrop of increased school enrolments.
A more substantial view of the data was available from education.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
Councils in frame for
new framework
New laws delivering a modern framework for Local Government services in Queensland came into effect this week.Acting Minister for Local Government, Stirling Hinchliffe said the Local Government Act 2009 and the City of Brisbane Act 2010 gave Councils a new and improved way of working.
“Importantly they have been written for our time which makes them easier to understand and navigate,” Mr Hinchliffe said
He said while the Acts were comprehensive, they were also flexible enough to recognise one size did not fit all.
“For example, Councillors in isolated and remote areas will be able to join meetings via video-link or teleconferencing,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
The Minister said both Acts commenced on 1 July, the beginning of the new financial year, to reduce the burden caused by having to meet the requirements of the old and new Acts in the same financial reporting period.
“This will give Councils the added capacity of being able to focus on the financial year ahead, minimising unnecessary duplication particularly in the areas of finance, corporate governance and reporting,” he said.
“These preparations are particularly important for Aboriginal Shire and Torres Strait Councils who for the first time come under the same legislative framework.”
Mr Hinchliffe said both Acts were principles-based, with most of the prescription of the former legislation removed.
He said the public administration environment had changed since the original Acts, with Local Governments delivering a more diverse range of services and infrastructure than ever before.
“Modern Councils operate in a complex business environment and the new legislation recognises that,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
1 July, 2010
Minister hails
taxi report
A report into the taxi industry prepared by the Workplace Rights Ombudsman has been tabled in Parliament.Minister for Industrial Relations, Cameron Dick said the Government would liaise with stakeholders, including the taxi industry, to develop a response to the report.
Mr Dick said the 110-page document, Report on Investigation into the Taxi Industry in Queensland, was compiled after an eight-month investigation by Workplace Rights Ombudsman, Don Brown, and included 56 recommendations.
He said the draft Taxi Strategic Plan recommended a model agreement as the basis for fair contracts between drivers and operators.
Mr Dick said it also included requirements that taxi drivers display photo ID and customer feedback numbers clearly in cabs, meet national minimum English standards and undertake training in core driver competencies.
The Minister said the Government would “fully consider the recommendations” before determining its response to the Ombudsman.
“We need to look at the consequences of these recommendations for the industry, the community and the Government, and as part of our deliberations we will consult with relevant stakeholders, including the industry, before any decisions are made,” he said.
Mr Dick said the changes outlined in the draft built on changes introduced last November that required applicants to over 20 and to have held an Australian drivers’ licence for at least 12 months.
The Taxi Industry Compliance Unit, established in 2009, regularly conducts random inspections to ensure drivers and vehicles meet the standards.
The Workplace Rights Ombudsman’s report was available from www.workplacerights.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
New premises for
tenancy watchdog
The Residential Tenancies Authority has moved to larger premises in Turbot Street, Brisbane, gaining an increase in office space and a bigger home to cater for future expansion.Minister for Housing, Karen Struthers said the number of households with rental bonds held by the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) had increased by around 22 per cent in the past five years to total more than 424,000.
“Nearly 30 per cent of Queensland households rent their homes and the new premises mean the RTA can continue to plan for a decade of growth expected in our State’s rental market,” Ms Struthers said.
“Renting a home is sometimes more appropriate than buying one for some families and individuals and it’s important to have a reliable service to provide advice and dispute resolution to both tenants and property owners.”
She said the new facilities would ensure the RTA could cope with the growing number of telephone inquiries, which had increased by 64,000 since 2005 to more than 350,000 calls each year.
“The move has also allowed the RTA to upgrade technology including a new telephone system which allows for improved three-way conferencing for tenancy disputes,” Ms Struthers said.
“The RTA continues to maintain a strong level of client service with people giving the authority 8.4 out of 10 in its recently completed customer satisfaction survey.”
The RTA could be contacted on 1300 366 311.
1 July, 2010
Tourism cooks up
game for Chinese
A new online game designed to take players on a flying tour of Brisbane has been launched in China as a way of attracting tourists.The game, titled Sunshine Exchange, was unveiled at the Shanghai World Expo by the Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland, Tim Mulherin.
Mr Mulherin said it allowed Chinese players to fly through Brisbane’s sights and scenery in an effort to win a family trip to Queensland.
The Minister said the online competition combined the Chinese love of games and travel in the hope of sparking an interest in learning more about Queensland.
“One family from Shanghai will get the opportunity to visit Brisbane on a one-week family exchange,” Mr Mulherin said.
“By encouraging Chinese families to play the game and enter the competition, we will get them thinking about Queensland in the first instance.”
Minister for Tourism, Peter Lawlor said a family from Brisbane would also have the opportunity to visit China by playing the game.
“This will offer a fantastic opportunity for a Brisbane family to travel to Shanghai, meet the locals, tell them about Queensland and invite them to visit,” Mr Lawlor said.
“The two families will be able to meet up in their respective countries to impart a bit of ‘insider knowledge’ on the best things to see and do.”
Executive Director International of Tourism Queensland, Wendy Harch said Queensland was a major tourism destination for Chinese visitors with 153,000 visiting in the year to March 2010, a nine per cent increase on the year before.
“The Sunshine Exchange campaign reinforces the opportunities for people from both China and Australia to experience different cultures,” Ms Harch said.
“Chinese visitors will soon be able to fly direct to Queensland thanks to an arrangement between Tourism Queensland, Brisbane Airport Corporation and China Southern Airlines.”
She said previously flights were only available via Sydney or Melbourne.
“This will allow them to spend more time and money in Queensland,” Ms Harch said.
The game is available at www.queenslandholidays.com.au
1 July, 2010
DERM staff dive in
to help Reef farmers
Staff from the Department of Environment and Resource Management will be available to assist farmers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment areas to prepare their Environmental Risk Management Plans (ERMPs).Acting Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Annastacia Palaszczuk said ERMS are to be sent out to sugarcane farmers with over 70 hectares in the Wet Tropics catchment and cattle graziers with more than 2,000 hectares in the Burdekin Dry Tropics catchment.
“Affected farmers are receiving a document titled Cattle Grazing or Sugar Cane Growing Environmental Risk Management Plan (ERMP),” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“To help them complete their plan they will also receive a comprehensive ‘how to’ guide which also includes contact details for our dedicated Reef Protection Officers who are based in the key catchment areas to provide direct assistance.”
She said officers would be on hand to visit and talk to affected farmers and had already organised or attended more than 160 meetings with over 2,600 farmers.
Ms Palaszczuk said the plans were the next phase in the Government’s legislation to improve the health of the Reef by reducing the amount of harmful nutrients, fertilisers, chemicals and sediment entering its waters.
“Operators are encouraged to identify the particular risks on their property and include actions in their plans that are reasonable and practical and suit their budget and timeframe,” she said.
“These plans are a new approach—they put tailored solutions and risk management practices in the hands of the farmer who knows the property better than anyone.”
Ms Palaszczuk said affected farmers had until 30 September to provide their completed ERMPs to the Department of Environment and Resource Management for accreditation.
About 650 grazing properties and about 1,200 sugarcane farms will be required to have the plans.
She said Reef Protection Officers were located in regional offices in Cairns, Townsville and Mackay and website support was available at www.reefwisefarming.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
New direction for
traffic controllers
A new Traffic Management Registration Scheme is to be introduced next year to ensure only accredited traffic control companies direct traffic on or near roadworks.Minister for Main Roads, Craig Wallace said the TMRS was part of a comprehensive roadwork safety review being undertaken by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
“It follows recommendations from a report by the Queensland Workplace Rights Ombudsman to improve working conditions and the safety of traffic controllers,” Mr Wallace said.
“We’re working in partnership with the Traffic Management Association of Queensland and the Australian Workers Union to introduce the new scheme across the State.”
Mr Wallace said by early next year, only accredited companies would be permitted to work on State-controlled roads.
He said between July 2003 and March 2008 there were six deaths and 22 serious injuries related to roadwork and civil construction in Queensland.
“We’ve simply got to turn those figures around,” Mr Wallace said.
“Our new registration scheme is all about improving safety for the State’s 27,000 traffic controllers, road workers and motorists by ensuring all companies working on State-controlled roads become registered.”
The Minister said the scheme required companies to demonstrate safety, quality and consistency within their organisations with a focus on financial stability, occupational health and safety, industrial relations and training.
He said standards would be enforced through regular audits and on-the-spot site checks, with companies that fail to meet new quality checks facing deregistration.
“This means companies will need to employ consistent methods for traffic control at worksites across the State, with properly trained workers using training material provided by my department to ensure they are best equipped to deal with traffic in a high-speed environment,” Mr Wallace said.
Application forms and further information on the scheme were available from www.tmr.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
Crocodile survey is
population snap shot
A survey of East Coast rivers has found no evidence that the numbers of estuarine crocodiles are increasing.The 2009-2010 Survey of estuarine crocodiles in Queensland waterways, the most comprehensive ever undertaken in Queensland, revealed a stable crocodile population along the east coast, with no evidence of crocodiles heading south beyond known croc country.
Acting Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Annastacia Palaszczuk said the survey results would be invaluable for monitoring crocodiles in populated areas and minimising the risk of dangerous encounters.
“Wildlife Officers from the Department of Environment and Resource Management surveyed 48 rivers between Cooktown and Maryborough, covering 735 kilometres and using internationally accepted vessel-based survey methods,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“The survey showed no evidence of crocodiles in waterways south of the Boyne River, near Gladstone.”
She said the average estimated number of crocodiles was less than one animal per kilometre in the surveyed area.
“This is very low compared with the Northern Territory where crocodile populations can be up to 12 animals per kilometre,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
A total of 293 crocodiles were sighted, of which 258 were estuarine and 35 were freshwater.
Ms Palaszczuk said the Government had a number of measures in place to ensure public safety while maintaining a viable population of estuarine crocodiles in the wild.
“Commercial shooting ended more than 35 years ago in 1974, but the species is still considered vulnerable,” she said.
The Minister said the Department of Environment and Resource Management remained vigilant in protecting human safety in crocodile country.
“The Department responds to all reported crocodile sightings, and any crocodiles of concern are removed from the wild and placed in captive facilities,” she said.
The survey results were available from www.derm.qld.gov.au
1 July, 2010
Plain sailing for
new whale boats
Two new specially-designed boats used to free whales from shark nets are to be stationed on the Sunshine Coast in the coming whale migration season. Local MP for Morayfield, Mark Ryan said with the whale population now estimated at 13,000 and increasing, Queensland Boating and Fisheries (part of Fisheries Queensland) needed to be well prepared for the possibility of entanglements.
“Volunteers from the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol come together each whale migration season to make up the State’s Marine Animal Release Teams,” Mr Ryan said.
“Releasing an animal which weighs 500 times that of an average person from a shark net is challenging, but I am hoping these new response boats will make the job easier and safer.”
He said the inflatable boats were smaller, making them more manoeuvrable, and would replace the current older models.
Mr Ryan said the boats, which cost nearly $50,000 including motor and trailer, had also been modified to include a double bow rope.
“Obviously there are a number of members of the Marine Animal Release Team together in the boat as it travels through the surf zone, and the double bow rope means there are more places for the team to hold on,” he said.
“To further enhance safety, the boat is brightly coloured.
“Yellow has been used to make it more visible in the surf zone and while working with the animal.”
Mr Ryan said the teams did a “fantastic” job encouraged members of the public to contact the Shark Hotline on 1800 806 891 if they suspected an animal was entangled in shark control equipment.
1 July, 2010
Speed cameras for north
Covert speed camera vehicles have been deployed in the Northern and Far Northern Police Regions for the first time this week.
Up to 30 per cent of mobile speed camera enforcement will be undertaken through covert cars, vans and motorcycles.
Deputy Police Commissioner, Ian Stewart said the use of covert cameras was about saving lives and police made no apology for using all available means to decrease speeding.
QLD winning on gambling
Queensland is heading in the right direction when it comes to gaming regulation according to the Productivity Commission.
In its final report on gambling, the Commission has recommended a number of initiatives be rolled-out Australia-wide, however they are already part of Queensland’s strategy.
These include pre-commitment, mandatory training and patron education – all of which are on the Queensland gambling regulatory agenda.
Pig cull a success
A cull of feral pigs in the national parks on Cape York has reduced the population by more than 700.
Three national parks were targeted with 566 pigs removed from Lakefield, 106 from Mungkan Kandju and 70 from Cape Melville.
As a result of regular culls, feral pig numbers have declined in Lakefield over the past four years.
Rest stop upgrade
Plans are underway to build a new rest area for heavy vehicles on the Castlereagh Highway in the State’s south west.
A total of $750,000 is expected to be spent on the new rest area and revamping an existing one in the region.
The new area is being built at the intersection of Noondoo-Thallon Road and Castlereagh Highway, south of St George while a truck stop in Dirranbandi is being upgraded.
