Archived News for Professionals in Federal Government

Industry and business groups have launched the first volley of a new anti-carbon tax advertising campaign.

The Federal Government has announced it will conduct three new energy market reviews to ensure the efficiency and transparency of the sector ahead of the planned carbon tax.

Monash University’s Centre for Population and Urban Research has published a research report that challenges the sustainability and viability of the Government’s net 180,000 immigration target.

The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler has released the Report of the Independent Review of the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002.


Mr Butler said the independent Review Committee, chaired by the Hon Peter Heerey QC, had indicated its view that the basic structure of the legislation should remain, while making recommendations about the framework for human embryo research.


“The 33 recommendations that were produced relate largely to updating and clarifying the legislation, or keeping existing requirements.  The recommendations reflect the Committee’s careful consideration of more than 260 submissions, as well as information provided in appearances before the Committee," Mr Butler said.


“The legislative framework will need to continue to balance the needs of health and medical researchers, who aim to improve human health, with the social and ethical challenges in human embryo research."


The Report of the Independent Review of the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 can be found at www.legislationreview.nhmrc.gov.au.

A new committee to undertake the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review that will examine telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia has been appointed, chaired by Rosemary Sinclair, Director, External Relations, at the Australian School of  Business at the University of New South Wales.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released an issues paper relating to the preparation of explanatory material on new non-discrimination provisions that form part of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

As part of the National Broadband Network reforms, NBN Co and other designated superfast telecommunications networks will be prohibited from discriminating between access seekers, except under limited circumstances.

"This issues paper provides an important opportunity for all stakeholders to express their views on the operation of the non-discrimination provisions and the guidance the ACCC should provide within its explanatory material," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.

"The guidelines that the ACCC are developing will serve as an important part of the framework for a fair and level playing field across the NBN and superfast telecommunication networks."

The ACCC is required to publish explanatory material relating to these non-discrimination provisions on its website. The issues paper is the first step in a consultation process that will inform the development of the explanatory material.

The ACCC is now accepting comments from interested parties. Submissions to the issues paper should be provided to the ACCC by COB on Monday 8 August 2011.

The ACCC expects to release final explanatory material in late 2011.

The issues paper will be available on the ACCC’s website http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/996290

A majority of economists surveyed by the Economic Society of Australia at the Australian National University (ANU) have supported the implementation of the Federal Government’s planned carbon tax as a sound economic policy.

Three major energy innovation initiatives have been announced as part of the Federal Government’s carbon price package.

A new Climate Change Authority (CCA) is to be established to provide expert advice on the Federal Government’s carbon pricing mechanism. It will be chaired by the former Reserve Bank Governor and former Treasury Secretary Bernie Fraser.

Health care businesses generated $43 billion in income, and spent over $32 billion on expenses, according to a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).


Australia's private sector health care businesses operated from 101,725 locations providing medical and other health care to 22.3 million people.


These businesses employed or contracted 188,000 registered practitioners and other health care professionals, at the end of June 2010, with a further 145,000 other staff providing support for the same period.


Primary health care services (general practitioner, specialist and dental services) operated from 68,877 locations with the majority of these services (over 75%) located in capital cities and suburbs.


Primary health care services employed or contracted 111,000 registered practitioners and other health care professionals and saw 6 million patients in an average working week.


Further information is in Health Care Services, Australia 2009-10 (cat. no 8570.0).

The Federal Government is planning to push its proposed carbon tax through parliament and senate before the end of the year after it announced that a draft plan of the legislation is due for release within weeks.

Dr Tony Fleming has been appointed as the new Director of the Australian Antarctic Division.

Dr Fleming has held senior executive positions within both the Federal and New South Wales public service for more than 20 years and more recently in the not-for-profit sector.

He has been the Director of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Deputy Director-General of the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change.

He worked with the Commonwealth to develop the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and was responsible for the Environment Department’s environmental science and reporting activities.

Most recently he was National Operations Manager with not-for-profit organisation the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, which manages over 2.5 million hectares of Australia for conservation purposes.

Dr Fleming holds a Bachelor of Science and a PhD in Forestry from the Australian National University.

Dr Fleming also has strong family connections with Antarctica. His grandfather Sir Raymond Priestley went south with both Shackleton (Nimrod expedition in 1907-09) and Scott (Terra Nova expedition 1910-1913).

Additionally his grandfather’s sisters married Thomas Griffith Taylor and Charles 'Silas' Wright, who were both members of Scott's Terra Nova expedition.

Dr Fleming will take up his position in August.

A $1.3 billion package has been announced as part of the Federal Government's carbon price plan to support companies with high levels of fugutive emissions in the mining process.

Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) head Dr Stephen Gumley has announced his resignation, effective immediately.

The Coalition and Greens have jointly initiated a Senate inquiry into foreign investment in Australia's agricultural land.

The Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 has been passed in Parliament, introducing a range of amendments to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and the Criminal Code Act 1995 that will affect operations of security and intelligence agencies.

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, chaired by Independent MP, Rob Oakeshott, has called for the Australian Taxation Office to report back in six months on action it has taken to improve complaint handing and to address the causes of complaints.

In its annual report to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), Infrastructure Australia has warned that ‘frustratingly slow’ progress of reforms to infrastructure planning and delivery had caused a slowing of Australia’s productivity.

Appointments to the inaugural governing board of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) have been announced, effective from 1 July, 2011.