Specialised training to support the introduction of electric buses in Australia will form the basis of a new partnership between TAFE NSW and Volvo Bus Australia.
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee and Minister for Transport Andrew Constance today announced the NSW Government, through TAFE, will develop short courses with Volvo to help mechanics upskill and work safely with industry-leading bus technology.
Mr Lee said the training will play a key role in helping NSW transition to a zero emissions bus fleet by 2030.
“The adoption of electric buses introduces a new range of skills needs that we must address such as working with high voltage systems and understanding the way
vehicles are built, operated, and serviced,” Mr Lee said.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Volvo Bus Australia, to ensure the safety of people working in this industry.”
Mr Constance said the training will provide a framework as more businesses adopt new products in bus assembly, servicing, driving, and managing emergency service
responses.
“With the NSW Government’s commitment to introduce more electric buses, the number of workers who need to be retrained and upskilled to support these vehicles
is growing.
“Volvo is well known for its commitment to safety and I’m pleased to see this collaboration between industry and TAFE,” Mr Constance said.
General Manager of Volvo Bus Australia Mitch Peden said the courses developed with TAFE will set a standard in the industry.
“We see the need for a national approach to training, skills and certification of staff, and are delighted to be partnering with TAFE NSW on these new programs.
“Our operator partners and industry have done a fantastic job in recent years delivering safe public transport – now we have an opportunity to lift safety standards even
further,” Mr Peden said.
Member for Holsworthy Melanie Gibbons said the training was a win for local jobs.
“This training will ensure local mechanics have the ability to upskill as the industry advances so they are ready for the jobs of tomorrow,” Ms Gibbons said.
The training will be delivered nationally as part of TAFE’s Micro Skills strategy, where targeted skillsets are designed with industry to meet current or emerging skills needs
in a range of jobs.
Month: June 2021
Continuing support for Australia’s polio survivors
More than $400,000 has been invested by the Federal Government to continue support for polio survivors who have life-long impacts from the disease.
Tens of thousands of Australians survived the infection, and now endure the debilitating neurological condition, Late Effects of Polio (LEoP)/Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS).
Regional Health Minister and co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Polio Survivors, Mark Coulton said Australia had been declared free from new polio infections since 2000.
“Most polio survivors are now aged over 50, and LEOP or PPS can have significant and debilitating impacts on their lives,” Minister Coulton said.
“Australians are fortunate that the successful polio vaccine was incorporated into our Australian National Immunisation Program in 1975. Within 25 years we had eradicated the deadly and disabling disease from our shores.
“We want to ensure the Australian survivors are supported to live fulfilling and healthy lives, so we have provided more than $400,000 to continue Polio Australia’s Community Information Program.”
Minister Coulton said the program helps polio survivors to identify and better understand their condition, and the available strategies to manage that condition.
Gillian Thomas, national president of Polio Australia and a survivor of polio herself, said after a successful trial of community programs on a smaller scale, Polio Australia is thrilled to have the opportunity to increase its reach to the polio community across the country.
“Many people who had polio are unaware that symptoms they are now experiencing relate directly to that childhood infection. And they don’t know who to see or what they can do to manage their own condition,” Ms Thomas said.
“Our Community Information Sessions, printable resources and online engagement can help to bridge that gap.”
PPS is a diagnosed neurological condition which can affect people who had paralytic polio in their younger years. The main symptom is muscle weakness that develops and gradually worsens.
People with LEOP/PPS can also experience general fatigue, muscle and joint pain, weakness and muscle atrophy, spasms or twitching, breathing and sleep problems, difficulties with swallowing and speaking, and cold intolerance.
Minister Coulton said as the survivors of polio age, health services must be ready and aware of the need to offer increased care for this group.
“Luck had a lot to do with many people surviving paralytic polio in years past. Now, as these survivors age, and for many their health deteriorates, they can depend more on skilful and knowledgeable health professionals to look after their care and health – and on their own self-management strategies – and less on luck,” he said.
$60 million to continue life-saving COVID-19 support for aged care
The Australian Government is investing $60 million to extend support for COVID‑19 response measures for Australia’s impacted aged care facilities until 30 June 2022.
The extension means a second tranche of COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program grants will be available from this week to support providers with costs incurred from 28 May 2021 to 31 March 2022.
Surge workforce arrangements will also remain in place to meet future demand in the event of further outbreaks.
In a response to the current situation in Victoria and the emerging concern in New South Wales, significant efforts are being made to protect senior Australians in aged care, including more resources being made available should they be needed.
The Morrison Government is ensuring providers affected by an outbreak can access surge workforce staff and receive financial support for eligible expenses.
The program supports costs including additional or replacement staff, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning and infection control, waste management, and travel and accommodation.
The COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program started on 27 March 2020 and has, to date, provided $61.2 million in grant funding, reimbursing providers for certain expenses incurred from managing care recipients and staff needing to isolate due to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection.
The established surge workforce program and associated arrangements are keeping people in aged care safe, ensuring their continuity of care, while managing potential infection risk at times of community transmission of COVID-19.
To date, the department has assisted aged care providers dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak to fill more than 39,000 nursing, personal care and ancillary shifts and more than 750 clinical first responder deployments.
Labor Commits to New Youth Engagement Model
An Albanese Labor Government will provide young Australians with strong and formalised engagement in government and policy making.
Under the Morrison Government, young people have been denied the opportunity to be part of forming the policies and making the decisions that impact their lives and futures.
As a result, younger people now face a future of high underemployment, depleted retirement savings, significant barriers to education and training, and a rent and housing affordability crisis.
Since 2013 when the Abbott Government abolished the Youth Advisory Council and the Office for Youth, both introduced by the previous Labor Government, there has been no framework for direct engagement between young Australians and the Federal Government.
Unlike the government, Labor is already consulting with and listening to young people, in particular through our online national youth survey.
More than 50 per cent of the young people who completed Labor’s survey said the biggest barrier to being part of decision making in politics was feeling they won’t be taken seriously or listened to at all.
By failing to engage with young people on the issues and policies designed to help them, the government’s programs specifically for young people have continually and spectacularly failed – including JobMaker, the Youth PaTH program, and the Youth Taskforce.
It is clear there is a two-way benefit to involving young Australians in policy making – young people need and deserve a say on the issues that impact them, and government needs the input of young people to develop successful youth policies.
That is why an Albanese Labor Government will introduce a new youth engagement model, to provide a voice and structure for younger Australians to directly engage with government and contribute to policy development.
If elected, an Albanese Labor Government will:-
- Establish a framework to directly and formally engage with young Australians on an ongoing basis.
- Establish an Office for Youth so that, rather than youth engagement being an afterthought or duplicating functions across departments, there is a dedicated unit within government to feed in the contribution from young people and advocates, improve and harmonise policy across government, and ensure government is communicating effectively with young people.
- Commit to a Minister for Youth to improve and facilitate a holistic response across portfolios on issues affecting young Australians.
The new framework will involve a number of strategies to provide a channel for direct communication between young Australians and the Federal Government.
The framework will be driven by a steering committee of up to 15 young people, under the direction of the Minister for Youth and Office for Youth.
However engagement will go beyond the committee, by incorporating local forums, workshops, and town halls for young Australians to directly engage in debate and offer their perspectives and ideas.
The new model will also aim to conduct annual youth summits to encourage young Australians across the country to participate in debating and shaping government policy.
Younger Australians have suffered a disproportionate impact from COVID-19 on their employment prospects, financial security, and social wellbeing.
Yet the Coalition Government continues to ignore the voices of young Australians and leave them out of the decisions that disproportionately affect their future.
Labor is committed to genuine, ongoing and two-way engagement with young Australians, and ensuring they have a voice in an Albanese Labor Government.
Scholarships spell success for students
More than 1,140 of the state’s most disadvantaged young people will be supported to achieve their academic aspirations and training goals through $1,000 cash grants as part of a NSW Government scholarship program.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Alister Henskens said the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) Scholarships would help lift the load for students in their final years of high school and early years of tertiary education.
“A good education provides the foundation for the future and these scholarships are about giving young people a helping hand to pursue education or work,” Mr Henskens said.
“We want to see young people growing up in social housing or out-of-home care break the cycle of disadvantage and live long, happy and healthy lives. These scholarships are one of the ways the NSW Government is helping to make that happen.”
The program is available to young people living in social housing or on the housing register, students receiving private rental assistance, or those living in crisis, supported accommodation or out-of-home care.
This year, 727 new and 414 returning students will benefit from the scholarships. Young people can receive the scholarship for up to three years, providing they are still studying and meet eligibility criteria.
Recipients can use their funds for education-related expenses such as textbooks, IT equipment or internet access.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the aim of the program is to improve school completion rates, boost vocational and tertiary qualifications for disadvantaged young people and develop work readiness.
“These scholarships are about removing barriers for young people to finish the HSC or to go on to tertiary education. More than 2,290 students have been supported by these scholarships since they were established in 2017 and hundreds more will benefit this year,” Ms Mitchell said.
The scholarships are funded under Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW, a ten-year plan to drive better outcomes for social housing tenants.
First look at new vocational high school facilities
Work on the pilot initiative to deliver new specialist VET facilities at two NSW public high schools is progressing with the first artist’s impressions released to the community last week.
Seven Hills High School and Tweed River High School will benefit from the construction of specialist learning spaces, supporting students who want to further their studies in vocational education.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the new facilities will be an opportunity for students to gain practical skills while gaining qualifications for their future careers.
“We want our students to be inspired when they come to school and be excited to engage in learning that is relevant to them and where they want to go in their post school lives. The schools will be a place for these students to get hands on experience,” Ms Mitchell said.
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee said the future focused learning spaces will support pathways to apprenticeships, traineeships and trade qualifications, as well as pathways to higher education.
“Integrating vocational training into schools is a game changer for students who are looking to take advantage of the pipeline of skills-related jobs created from major projects like the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and other industries this will attract,” Mr Lee said.
Member for Seven Hills Mark Taylor said he was looking forward to seeing students benefit from the new facilities, focusing on the industries of construction, logistics and health services.
“It is very exciting to see the concept designs finalised for the upgrade at Seven Hills High School and that we can provide the best for our teachers and students,” Mr Taylor said.
Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest said he was pleased the NSW Government is delivering this important upgrade for the Tweed Heads community.
“Tweed Heads is a growing regional centre, and investments in educational facilities that build skills in the areas of construction, hospitality, primary industries and business will further build the capability and strength of this region while supporting economic growth,” Mr Provest said.
The NSW Government is investing $7 billion over four years, continuing its program to deliver more than 200 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This is the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of NSW.
Funding boost for Cyber Infrastructure in NSW
The NSW Government’s Defence Innovation Network (NSW DIN) is funding a world leading technology project for civilian and military intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR) applications.
The $850,000 initiative is being funded by the NSW Government, through Investment NSW, and the Commonwealth’s Next Generation Technology Fund.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the project was an example of critical cyber infrastructure that will lead to job creation opportunities.
“This will lead to greater collaboration between the NSW defence industry and industry experts to commercialise the next generation of cyber technologies for Defence,” Mr Ayres said.
“The project has a variety of software applications to deliver highly reliable data analysis for defence, government, business, emergency and health services.”
NSW DIN Director Professor Bradley Williams said the initiative exemplified the DIN’s drive to accelerate the commercialisation of new technologies by connecting NSW industry and academics within high-priority projects.
“This ground-breaking project will have significant implications for both technical and economic sustainability of cyber infrastructure across Australia.”
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, said the DIN was facilitating collaboration to provide world-class solutions for tomorrow’s problems.
“This innovative project will leverage untrusted and partially compromised distributed systems to provide timely and robust ISR solutions across civilian and military networks without propagating risks and vulnerabilities that would normally occur.”
NSW Defence Advocate Air Marshal (Ret) John Harvey AM PhD said the NSW DIN Strategic Investment Initiative is an excellent opportunity to connect defence and industry with the vast capabilities of NSW universities.
Further details about Investment NSW are available at www.investment.nsw.gov.au, and for Defence NSW at www.defence.nsw.gov.au.
Service NSW to assist in vaccine push
The Service NSW app is the latest tool to be used in the NSW Government’s push to rollout the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly and as safely as possible.
From today people aged 40-49 will be able to register their interest for the vaccine directly on the Service NSW app, with other age groups to follow when it is their turn.
People who register will be contacted to book via email when appointments become available.
These invitations can be targeted by location depending on booking availability and supply of the vaccine in their local area.
Those aged 50 and over should visit nsw.gov.au to book their AstraZeneca vaccine now.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Service NSW app is used by five million people across NSW.
“The Service NSW app has been a game changer during the pandemic and will now play an important part in our vaccine rollout,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It will now be even easier to register your interest for the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said this is another example of the NSW Government using technology to strengthen our state’s response to the pandemic.
“In a pandemic you need to respond with speed and accuracy and the Service NSW technology will bring millions of customers a step closer to receiving the vaccine,” Mr Dominello said.
All Victorians must have access to JobSeeker if they need it during lockdown
The Greens are calling on the Government to ensure all workers impacted by the snap Victoria lock down have urgent access to the JobSeeker payment.
The Government ended JobKeeper much too early despite warnings of second and third waves,” Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said.
We know that casual workers, those in hospitality and services roles are the ones that will lose a week’s wage going into lockdown.
Many people on low incomes in highly casualised sectors are already living from week to week and missing a week’s pay has a huge impact.
The Government needs to take responsibility and ensure that people who won’t be able to go to work this week and who won’t get their pay can call up Centrelink and be granted an emergency JobSeeker payment, with the waiting period waived, for the period of the lockdown.
There also needs to be support provided to small businesses.
It’s outrageous that those who can least afford it have to bear the brunt of the costs because the Federal Government has fundamentally messed up the vaccine rollout and failed to get quarantine facilities up to standard.
Emissions fall to lowest level on record
Today the Morrison Government released the December 2020 Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
In the year to December 2020, emissions were 499.0 million tonnes – 5.0 per cent or 26.1 million tonnes lower than in 2019.
This is the lowest level on record and 20.1 per cent below 2005 levels (the baseline year for our 2030 Paris Agreement target).
When exports are excluded, domestic emissions are now 37.4 per cent below 2005 levels.
Emissions from electricity generation continued their long-term, structural decline in 2020, down 4.9 per cent or 8.7 million tonnes relative to 2019.
Fugitive emissions also fell 8.8 per cent or 4.8 million tonnes, with the ramp up of the Gorgon carbon capture and storage facility in Western Australia making a significant contribution. The Gorgon CCS facility will permanently store around 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year at full rate, making it the largest, purely emissions reduction facility of its kind in the world.
COVID-related restrictions on transport activity reduced emissions from that sector by 12.1 per cent or 12 million tonnes. Land sector emissions were slightly higher over the year to December.
The Government’s strong management of the economic and health response to the pandemic saw the Australian economy grow by 3.1 per cent during the December quarter, while emissions fell 0.6 per cent on a seasonally adjusted and weather normalised basis.
Reductions in electricity and fugitive emissions more than offset a small rise in transport emissions during the December quarter.
In the year to March 2021, emissions in the National Electricity Market fell 5.6 per cent.
The continuing structural decline in emissions from electricity is driven by Australia’s world-leading deployment of solar and wind. Since 2017, Australia has invested over $35 billion in renewables and in 2020 deployed new wind and solar PV at eight and a half times the global per capita average.
The production of exports for overseas markets generates 39.1 per cent of Australia’s total emissions. The value of Australia’s overseas exports has increased by around $110 billion since 2013, reflecting the Government’s strong economic management.
Despite upward pressure from growth in exports and industry, emissions per capita and the emissions intensity of the economy continue to fall and are at their lowest levels in three decades.
The Government has a comprehensive suite of policies to meet its emissions reduction commitments, encourage innovation and back new and emerging low emissions technologies.
The Government has announced, as part of the 2021-22 Budget, a further $1.6 billion to bolster Australia’s position as a leader in low emissions technologies and to meet Australia’s emissions reduction targets, taking our total expected investment to more than $20 billion over the decade to 2030.
Investing in low emissions technologies will enable Australia’s continued success in meeting and beating our emissions reduction targets. Australia beat its 2020 target by 459 million tonnes and we are on track to meet and beat our 2030 Paris target.
Over the last two years, the projected emissions reductions required to achieve that target have fallen by 639 million tonnes – the equivalent of taking all of Australia’s 14.7 million cars off the road for 15 years.
Between 2005 and 2019, the last year for which comparable data is available, Australia reduced emissions faster than many similar economies, including Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United States.
The Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: December 2020 can be found here: https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/…
In the year to December 2020, emissions were 499.0 million tonnes – 5.0 per cent or 26.1 million tonnes lower than in 2019.
This is the lowest level on record and 20.1 per cent below 2005 levels (the baseline year for our 2030 Paris Agreement target).
When exports are excluded, domestic emissions are now 37.4 per cent below 2005 levels.
Emissions from electricity generation continued their long-term, structural decline in 2020, down 4.9 per cent or 8.7 million tonnes relative to 2019.
Fugitive emissions also fell 8.8 per cent or 4.8 million tonnes, with the ramp up of the Gorgon carbon capture and storage facility in Western Australia making a significant contribution. The Gorgon CCS facility will permanently store around 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year at full rate, making it the largest, purely emissions reduction facility of its kind in the world.
COVID-related restrictions on transport activity reduced emissions from that sector by 12.1 per cent or 12 million tonnes. Land sector emissions were slightly higher over the year to December.
The Government’s strong management of the economic and health response to the pandemic saw the Australian economy grow by 3.1 per cent during the December quarter, while emissions fell 0.6 per cent on a seasonally adjusted and weather normalised basis.
Reductions in electricity and fugitive emissions more than offset a small rise in transport emissions during the December quarter.
In the year to March 2021, emissions in the National Electricity Market fell 5.6 per cent.
The continuing structural decline in emissions from electricity is driven by Australia’s world-leading deployment of solar and wind. Since 2017, Australia has invested over $35 billion in renewables and in 2020 deployed new wind and solar PV at eight and a half times the global per capita average.
The production of exports for overseas markets generates 39.1 per cent of Australia’s total emissions. The value of Australia’s overseas exports has increased by around $110 billion since 2013, reflecting the Government’s strong economic management.
Despite upward pressure from growth in exports and industry, emissions per capita and the emissions intensity of the economy continue to fall and are at their lowest levels in three decades.
The Government has a comprehensive suite of policies to meet its emissions reduction commitments, encourage innovation and back new and emerging low emissions technologies.
The Government has announced, as part of the 2021-22 Budget, a further $1.6 billion to bolster Australia’s position as a leader in low emissions technologies and to meet Australia’s emissions reduction targets, taking our total expected investment to more than $20 billion over the decade to 2030.
Investing in low emissions technologies will enable Australia’s continued success in meeting and beating our emissions reduction targets. Australia beat its 2020 target by 459 million tonnes and we are on track to meet and beat our 2030 Paris target.
Over the last two years, the projected emissions reductions required to achieve that target have fallen by 639 million tonnes – the equivalent of taking all of Australia’s 14.7 million cars off the road for 15 years.
Between 2005 and 2019, the last year for which comparable data is available, Australia reduced emissions faster than many similar economies, including Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United States.
The Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: December 2020 can be found here: https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/…