Archived News for Professionals in Federal Government - GovernmentCareer

Professor Ian Chubb, until February this year the vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, has been named as Australia's new Chief Scientist.

Professor Chubb will take up the three-year full-time appointment on 23 May. He replaces Professor Penny Sackett who resigned from the position part-way through her term, citing “personal and professional” reasons, and later stating that she had not met with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

Prior to his ten-year term as Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, he was Vice-Chancellor of Flinders University of South Australia for six years and the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Monash University for two years while simultaneously the Foundation Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics for 16 months.

National Greenhouse Accounts released

National Greenhouse Accounts released by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency show carbon pollution is continuing to rise, highlighting the need for action on climate change.

Productivity Commission releases draft urban water report

Australia's urban water sector needs major changes to meet the challenges of providing services that minimise costs and maximise benefits to the community, according to a draft report released by the Productivity Commission.

2011 Roadmap for research infrastructure open for discussion

The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) has released a discussion paper about the development of a 2011 Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure which will identify Australia’s national research infrastructure priority areas.

Government procurement to drive indigenous jobs

The first Indigenous Training, Employment and Supplier Plan has been approved under the Federal Government’s enhanced Indigenous Opportunities Policy (IOP).

Urban water utilities and rural water service providers performance report released

Two National Water Commission reports on the performance Australia’s urban water utilities and rural water service providers have been released by the Federal Government.

International Clean Energy Ministerial forum meets

Energy Ministers from 23 different governments have met in Abu Dhabi earlier this week as part of the second Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) focussed on speeding up global efforts to transition to clean energy technologies.

Inquiry finds Government should "justify" snooping

The Federal Government should justify why mandatory collection and retention of personal data is necessary for law enforcement, a senate report into online privacy has found.

New CSIRO Climate and Health Cluster launched

CSIRO has launched a new Climate and Health Cluster, with funding of $3.15 million over three years from CSIRO’s Flagship Collaboration Fund.

Government avoids carbon tax speculation

The Federal Government says it is too early to speculate how much the proposed carbon tax would increase household expenses, after Treasury documents revealed it may add almost $900 a year to bills.

Renewable energy strategic directions report released

The Australian Centre for Renewable Energy (ACRE) has released its Strategic Directions report setting out priorities for renewable energy technology development and recommends initiatives to support its development, commercialisation and large scale deployment.

Australia elected to the Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency

Australia has the opportunity to play a leading role in international efforts to increase the deployment of renewable energy technologies and drive down their costs with its election to the Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

National Water Commission calls for overhaul of urban water supply management

The National Water Commission has issued a landmark report urging Australian governments to overhaul the way urban water supplies are managed.

Anti-fraud measures for Commonwealth agencies

The Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Brendan O’Connor has launched new measures to help Commonwealth agencies prevent and combat fraud.

Government to develop National Digital Economy Strategy

The Australian Government has announced plans to develop a national strategy to guide the uptake of the National Broadband Network (NBN) with the aim of making Australia a world leading digital economy by 2020.

Garnaut calls for clean technology funding and a national electricity market

Two new papers have been released by Professor Ross Garnaut as part of his Climate Change Review for the Australian Government.

Government sets out carbon price schedule

The Federal Government has announced that the carbon price scheme will begin on 1 July 2012, subject to the passage of legislation to be introduced in the Spring sittings of Parliament.

Audit calls for improved cyber security in government agencies

An audit of four federal government agencies by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has found that while overall they were taking appropriate steps to protect sensitive material from cyber attack, in some instances their information security policies were out of date.

Better Practice Guide for fraud control released

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has released a Better Practice Guide for fraud control in Australian government entities, designed to complement a recently updated version of the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines (the Fraud Control Guidelines).