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Australian Leadership on show on World Food Day
World Food Safety Day is an opportunity to recognise Australia’s contributions in providing safe, premium food for consumers here and abroad.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said food integrity and safety was everyone’s business.
“As a major food exporter, Australia has an outstanding reputation as a trusted and reliable supplier in international markets,” Minister Littleproud said
“Underpinned by strong food safety standards, our farmers and food processors continue to provide confidence to the domestic and international community with strong food safety controls to deliver food that remains safe and reliable.
“We’re always looking to improve our food regulatory system to ensure it remains robust and agile into the future.
“One way we are doing this is through chairing the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems which is currently meeting virtually.
“The committee provides guidance and a trusted framework for efficient and transparent inspection and certification systems, which are vital for open trade in reliable and safe foodstuffs.
Senator Richard Colbeck, who has portfolio responsibility for food regulation, said production and consumption of high-quality, safe product had immediate and long-term benefits for individuals, the economy and the rest of the world.
“World Food Safety Day draws global attention to need to prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks and highlights importance of access to safe, healthy and nutritious food,” Minister Colbeck said.
“Our food safety standards are among the highest in the world.
“Australia prides itself in implementing effective food safety standards throughout food production and distribution chains to ensure the safety and quality of Australian produce.
“The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of strong food safety systems.
“We will continue to be a key producer of high quality, safe, reliable and globally recognised food products.”
Fast Facts:
- This year marks the third United Nations World Food Safety Day.
- The theme this year’s is ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’.
- Foodborne diseases are a major inhibitor to growth and development in children.
- Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems 25th meeting is being hosted virtually by Australia over 7 days. Australia has chaired the committee since 1992.
QLD pharmacies join rollout, 1 million regional vaccines delivered
More rural and remote Queenslanders will be rolling up their sleeves as local pharmacies join the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout from today.
The Australian Government is partnering with the Queensland community pharmacy network to bolster the regional rollout of vaccines, with 49 pharmacies starting to vaccinate from this week.
Speaking at the first pharmacy-delivered vaccination site in Boonah, Wright MP, Scott Buchholz, said he was proud the Scenic Rim region and more specifically Boonah was chosen to be part of the local pharmacy rollout of vaccines which would help protect more people from the devastating pandemic.
“I’m pleased for Scenic Rim locals who can now book their AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Terry Foote’s Boonah Pharmacy,” Mr Buchholz said.
“I urge everyone who is eligible for vaccination to make a booking and get the jab, to protect you, your family, and the wider community from this awful disease.”
Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton said using the existing network of community pharmacies in Queensland ensures regional Australians will have more access to COVID-19 vaccines.
“More than 8 million people live outside Australia’s major capital cities, and while the regions have largely been spared from outbreaks during the pandemic, getting vaccinated is vital to our ongoing recovery and way forward,” Minister Coulton said.
“Ensuring all Queenslanders have access to COVID-19 vaccinations, regardless where they live, is hugely important, and community pharmacies provide a network of professionals to make this task easier.
“Pharmacists have the skills and the capacity to play an important role in bolstering the rollout of vaccines in the bush and have the local knowledge needed to ensure their communities are fully protected from the virus.”
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said Queensland’s community pharmacies are the first to join the national COVID-19 vaccine effort, one of the largest logistical exercises in the nation’s history.
“This will harness Australia’s network of community pharmacies to increase access to safe, effective, and free vaccines, especially for those in regional, rural, and remote communities,” Minister Hunt said.
“We have always said community pharmacies will play an important role in the ramp up of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and we are working with other states and territories to activate community pharmacies across the country.”
As the community pharmacy rollout begins, the benchmark of one million people in regional, rural, and remote Australia receiving their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine has been surpassed.
Minister Coulton said the milestone is significant in the protection of regional Australians, many of whom remain vulnerable to future COVID-19 outbreaks.
“The rollout of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines across Australia’s vast and sparsely populated areas is a complex and challenging undertaking,” Minister Coulton said.
“I would like to thank everyone involved with helping to reach this milestone, including medical professionals, Indigenous and other health services and most of all, the people who have stepped up – and rolled up – to be vaccinated.
Minister Coulton said it is pleasing that many regional Australians had acknowledged the vaccine would protect them from the virus and had made appointments to have their vaccine.
Visit health.gov.au/covid-19-vaccines for more information about the vaccine rollout.
First pharmacy-delivered vaccines in Australia, press conference, Boonah, Queensland
Well, it’s wonderful to be here in downtown Boonah this morning, making a significant announcement, not only for Boonah but for regional Australia.
This morning, we are flanked by some incredible men that have joined the fight against COVID-19 in regional Australia. This morning we’ll be announcing that regional pharmacies, in particular Footes Pharmacy right here in Boonah, will as of today, be able to hand out the vaccines for over 50s, for the AstraZeneca.
Now, I’m joined here by the Minister for Regional Health and Regional Communications, Mark Coulton. Thank you for joining us.
It’s always wonderful to have you in the electorate doing amazing things.
Cameron Foote, the local pharmacist – who has a number of pharmacies. Cameron, thank you for being a part of this exciting rollout and joining with us, locked arms, to take the fight up against COVID-19.
And of course, Chris Owen, the Pharmacy Guild President here to make the announcement. I might just ask Mark Coulton now to give you a bit of an oversight of what the program’s about.
MARK COULTON:
Thanks, Scotty. Great to be here in Boonah, your home town with the Assistant Minister Scott Buchholz.
And so what we’re announcing today is a partnership between the Federal Government, the Queensland Government and the Pharmacy Guild.
This site here behind us, Cameron Foote’s pharmacy, Foote’s Pharmacy, will be the first site of 49 pharmacies across Queensland that will be distributing AstraZeneca starting from today.
These pharmacies are located in areas where there is not a GP delivering the service.
So, community pharmacy are filling in the gap. And it’s a great choice because people need to have confidence in the people delivering vaccinations.
With what has happened in the last six months, there is a lot of questions people have about whether they should have the vaccine or not.
And there are not many more trusted professions in a community than their local pharmacist.
So I’m pleased that this announcement’s been made today.
We’re very hopeful that in other parts of Queensland, but also in other states, we will be able to roll out the vaccine program with the Pharmacy Guild across Australia because they are a very important partner with the Australian Government because of their close connection to the community.
But I might hand on now to Chris to say a few words and then happy to take questions at the end.
CHRIS OWEN:
Thank you, Mark. It is a pleasure today to be able to announce that 49 community pharmacies in Queensland will be able to give the COVID-19 vaccine.
State Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, we thank you for being able to join in this COVID rollout.
We want to accelerate the amount of numbers that are being given, and especially in rural and remote Australia, where I myself am from. And we want to be able to lower those barriers to access for those patients to get in this COVID vaccine rollout.
We look forward to further pharmacies being rolled out in the future and we’ll hopefully be able to get back to our normal daily lives sooner rather than later.
CAMERON FOOTE:
Thanks, Chris. Welcome to Boonah, everyone. Really excited to be part of the rollout today, improving access for people in rural and remote areas. Pharmacies are excited to come off the bench and get involved in the fight against COVID. Thanks very much for coming, everyone.
MARK COULTON:
So we can take any questions that you might have.
QUESTION:
Fantastic. Minister, just a couple of questions in relation to, same thing there, just about you got any idea what sort of timeframes we may be able to seek supplies to roll it out further?
MARK COULTON:
Look, I think towards the end of the year, we’ll see more. We secured an extra 20 million Pfizer doses on top of the 20 million we secured earlier in the year.
And so they’re sort of back ended in the last quarter of the year.
But I would expect that we’ll see a gradual roll out. And then when we get to go in the below 50s, so the general population, we’ll see larger numbers.
Queensland’s been very good. You know, they started doing sort of town-wide vaccination clinics some time ago in some of the smaller, remote communities. And so, as the vaccine supply increases, so will the opportunity for people to have vaccine.
QUESTION:
You’ve got AstraZeneca here. Pfizer, will that come to?
MARK COULTON:
Pfizer, eventually. There is a few more logistical problems with Pfizer, but not insurmountable.
It can be transported at the minus 70 that it’s stored at. Once it’s thawed back to around 4 degrees and below, it can sit in a vaccine fridge for five days.
So they’re working through the logistics now of getting more Pfizer doses out as we’re getting to that phase of the rollout.
UNKNOWN:
Last question.
QUESTION:
Good to see the Queensland Premier getting her jab today.
MARK COULTON:
Oh, is she? Yeah. Well I had mine on Saturday, my wife and I who’s with me, had ours on Saturday.
We’re still upright and smiling. The clinic we were at, people were keen to have it. And I think that, particularly country people, understand that while country towns have probably been the safest place on the planet over the last 18 months, what’s made us safe, also makes us vulnerable.
And so we are focusing on getting regional areas done, particularly some of the more remote rural and Indigenous communities, because that would be incredibly difficult to manage it in those places. And those folk are really stepping up and taking the opportunity.
QUESTION:
Speaking of vulnerable, we can be very vulnerable. Take Victoria, you know, another 11 cases overnight. At a click of the fingers, Queensland could be in trouble.
MARK COULTON:
Everyone could be. And I think one of the reasons that the rollout was a little slower than we would have liked is probably complacency that people thought that the pandemic was something that was really happening somewhere else.
And to put it in perspective, if we had the same death rate as Europe here in Australia, we would have lost 30,000 people. And we’ve lost under a thousand.
So, yeah, they were tragic deaths, but it could have been worse. But I think what we’ve seen with the lockdown in Victoria, we are seeing a much greater focus on the public that this is serious.
It can affect us. Someone could roll into a town like here in Boonah and before you know it, we’ve got a lockdown here in Queensland.
And so we don’t want that, and the best way to prevent that is for people to step up and have their vaccine when they can make an appointment.
S&P revises up Australia’s credit outlook and affirms the AAA credit rating
In a resounding expression of confidence in the Morrison Government’s economic management S&P have affirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating and revised up its credit outlook to stable from negative, praising the “government’s swift and decisive fiscal and health response” and “strong economic recovery”.
Australia remains one of just nine countries to hold a AAA credit rating from the three major rating agencies.
In its report S&P states: “the government’s policy response and strong economic rebound have reduced downside risks to our economic and fiscal outlook for Australia. As a result, we are revising the outlook to stable and affirming our ‘AAA/A-1+’ long- and short-term local and foreign currency ratings”.
S&P also noted the economic recovery has been “quicker and stronger than we previously expected” with the unemployment rate falling “surprisingly fast, to 5.5% in April 2021 from 7.4% in July 2020” which will “limit long-term economic scarring”.
Australia has outperformed every major advanced economy with our economy having “fully recovered lost output caused by the pandemic by March 31, 2021”.
Last week’s National Accounts saw the economy increase 1.8 per cent in the March quarter with output now 0.8 per cent above its pre-pandemic level.
This is a feat no major advanced economy has achieved and is in contrast to Japan, France, Germany and the UK who all contracted in the March quarter 2021 while the euro area is back in recession.
S&P do not expect “small outbreaks or short ‘circuit breaker’ lockdowns to derail [the] expected fiscal recovery” and that they “are more confident that the general government’s fiscal deficits will narrow” and “servicing costs will remain manageable”.
S&P also acknowledges the Coalition’s efforts to return the Budget to balance for the first time in 11 years “on the back of tight fiscal discipline” which provided us with the fiscal firepower to support Australians during COVID-19.
The Morrison Government has committed an unprecedented $291 billion or 14.7 per cent of GDP in direct economic support for individuals, households and businesses.
With the unemployment rate having fallen for six consecutive months and more people in work than before the pandemic our economic plan is working.
The next stage in our plan as outlined in the Budget will secure Australia’s recovery from COVID-19.
New flood study to build flood resilient communities
City of Newcastle has engaged specialists to carry out an updated flood study of the Throsby, Styx, and Cottage Creek catchments, to enhance current floodplain management and mitigate future flood risks.
The aim of early engagement is to inform the community of the study, identify concerns, and to build on the existing depth of knowledge about flooding in Newcastle by talking to flood affected residents, businesses, and community groups.
Newcastle Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen said City of Newcastle is committed to building flood resilient communities for current and future generations and encourages the community to share their personal experiences of flooding in their local area.
“The Newcastle community has experienced the impact and extent of flooding across the Local Government Area, and it is important that flood intelligence from the community is captured and included within the study,” Cr Clausen said.
“The results of the flood study will inform the Flood Risk Management Plans and improve the quality of City of Newcastle’s flood risk planning.”
“Residents, businesses, and wider community groups are urged to share their personal experiences of flooding in their local area, to deliver the best possible outcomes from the study and to enable smart floodplain management.”
The Throsby, Styx, and Cottage Creek catchments cover an area of 51 km² across the eastern half of Newcastle’s Local Government Area, generally characterised as land east of John Hunter Hospital.
“The flood study aims to define the extent, depth, velocity and flood hazard in the Throsby, Styx and Cottage Creek floodplains,” Cr Clausen said.
“These areas have a long history of flooding and are being investigated as a combined flood study. These catchments are steep around their perimeter, but drain to low-lying, flat areas, where it is difficult for floodwaters to escape.
“These catchments all drain to Newcastle Harbour leaving them prone to inundation during east coast lows when heavy rainfall combines with elevated ocean levels.
“Updating the Throsby, Styx and Cottage Creek Flood Study is the first step in updating the Flood Risk Management planning for these catchments.”
City of Newcastle has received grant funding support from the Department of Primary Industry and Environment to complete the updated Throsby, Styx, and Cottage Creek Flood Study.
Visit newcastle.nsw.gov.au/yoursay by 5pm Friday 2 July 2021 to have your say.
City’s new civic and community hub and COVID-19 response win state accolades
City of Newcastle has been recognised with two major awards at the New South Wales Local Government Awards in Sydney on Thursday evening.
The City’s COVID-19 Community and Economic Resilience Package, as well as its Community and Civic Hub, which includes the Digital Library, Council Chambers and Customer Service Centre, won first place in their respective categories.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the two awards were testament to the City’s leadership and staff’s unwavering commitment to serve and support the Newcastle community.
“The awards are an outstanding achievement and recognise City of Newcastle’s innovation and culture of continuous improvement,” Cr Nelmes said.
“City of Newcastle is leading the way with its digital transformation and ability to provide support to the community.
“The City Administration Centre’s flexible ground floor layout is a brilliant space to learn and master new digital technologies that are now available free to everyone.
“With state-of-the-art technology, the space has been designed to optimise the customer experience. Visitors flow seamlessly between Customer Service and the Digital Library and on most Tuesday nights, the space transforms into the Council Chamber. The new digitally connected Chamber has allowed the elected council to meet in hybrid formats (remotely and in-person) thanks to the new technology.
“The project has transformed the way these elements operate in a co-located environment.
“Whether people need to enquire about a DA, speak with a Customer Service representative or access the many hundreds of thousands of items in the City’s e-Library catalogue, the City Administration Centre offers a seamless experience for the community to get the most out of a visit.
“We are extremely pleased our city boasts the most digitally-advanced library in NSW for learning, whether it be for children or adults.
“I am equally proud that City of Newcastle’s Community and Economic Resilience Package was acknowledged for helping locals through the unprecedented impacts of the pandemic, especially our most vulnerable and at-risk community members.
“Among the first governments at any level to develop and activate a comprehensive plan for social and economic support, the City’s package has been acknowledged for its targeted and swift response to the needs of the community.
“Working with government and local partners, the $5.5 million response package delivered support across targeted programs at a time when it was needed most. The response included financial relief, business and community support, free online training packages and community grant programs.”
“The City’s support for small and media enterprises has been highlighted as national best practice and a model for all local governments.”
Community invited to help shape the future of Newcastle coast
City of Newcastle is inviting interested community members to join a working group to help with the development of the City’s Coastal Management Programs.
The group will help shape plans to enhance Newcastle’s dynamic and constantly changing coastal environment which is precious to its community and those who visit.
A Coastal Management Program (CMP) is a long-term strategy that sets a coordinated and adaptive approach to the management of coastal hazards such as beach erosion, shoreline recession and coastal inundation.
City of Newcastle Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen encouraged people with an interest in ensuring the coastline and estuaries are managed and protected for future generations to submit an expression of interest to join.
“We’re looking for a broad group of people who are already engaged with our beaches and coastline to help to develop ways to ensure we enjoy these natural assets for years to come,” Cr Clausen said.
“Our coastline is loved by many people and in many ways and it forms a significant part of Newcastle’s identity as a liveable and sustainable global city.
“Newcastle is fortunate to boast some of the best beaches in the world and a spectacular coastline that provides countless benefits to both our local economy and our way of life.
“Our coastal management programs include long-term actions to help ensure we can manage these important areas, particularly in light of a predicted increase in coastal hazards.
“The objective of the Newcastle CMP Working Group is to provide strategic guidance on the preparation, certification and the review of Newcastle and Stockton Coastal Management Programs which are underway.
The first meeting of the Newcastle CMP Working Group will be held next month.
The formation of the working group follows the Love Our Coast Survey, which explored what the community values most about the city’s beaches and coastline.
Community members who are keen to be involved in the future management of Newcastle’s coastline and estuaries are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest before 19 June 2021.
Community tree planting greens city
The community has joined with City of Newcastle in celebration of World Environment Day by planting 5,500 native grasses, groundcovers, shrubs and trees in Jesmond this week to restore Newcastle’s urban ecosystems.
The 2021 United Nations World Environment Day’s theme of ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ has been acknowledged with community activities planned to enhance Newcastle’s urban forest.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said connecting with local school students and residents to plant a tree and learn about nature was a special way to mark the global event.
“Locals have volunteered their time and effort to create a pocket of habitat for local birds and other wildlife in Maclure Reserve, which demonstrates the value people place on greener public spaces,” Cr Nelmes said.
“Green spaces make our city ecologically richer, and a more beautiful and pleasant place to live.
“The City plants more than 300,000 tube stock each year, which makes a big contribution to restoring Newcastle’s diverse natural ecosystems.
“City of Newcastle has invested more than $1.3 million in caring for and restoring Newcastle’s bushland, creeks, wetlands, coast and estuary ecosystems so far this year and has committed $1.5 million in next year’s budget.
“Over the last four years City of Newcastle has invested $6 million in caring for our bushland, watercourse and wetland assets through design and delivery of on-ground habitat restoration works.
“In addition, the City invested $4.2 million in the street and park tree replacement planting program.
“The City cares for a wonderful array of natural ecosystems including 79 kilometres of creeks, 506 hectares of bushland, 65 wetlands, nine coastal rock platforms, 19 hectares of sand dunes along our 10 beaches, and over 90,000 street and park trees.
“These natural assets not only sustain our local biodiversity but also keep our city cool, absorb and store carbon, provide food and shelter for native wildlife, and keep our air and water clean.
“The greening of our urban landscape, by restoring urban forest areas, watercourses or wetlands has a positive impact on Newcastle and improves our community sense of wellbeing. It’s a win-win for the city.”
The urban forest planting events are another example of the City’s commitment to becoming an International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) City with Nature, recognising and enhancing the value of our natural surrounds, as well as our efforts to be a global local government leader in sustainability.
The Greater Bank partnered with City of Newcastle by donating new trees as part of its community tree planting program, which will see 20,000 additional trees established throughout Newcastle.
More community planting events are planned this month. Visit newcastle.nsw.gov.au/living for more information.
Healthy, wealthy and wise – NSW Intergenerational Report paints a fresh picture of NSW in 2061
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet today released the 2021-22 NSW Intergenerational Report (IGR), a unique snapshot detailing how NSW will change over the next 40 years and the economic opportunities and challenges the State faces.
The IGR projects that by 2061 the people of NSW can expect to live longer lives, have more flexible career options and enjoy a higher standard of living.
It also identifies a range of challenges, such as a growing and ageing population, which will place greater demands on the state’s resources.
“The way things will look for the people of NSW in 40 years will be vastly different to the world today,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We are very lucky to live in one of the greatest places on the planet, but if we are to ensure the next generation enjoys the same levels of prosperity and opportunity that we have today it is vital we identify future challenges and work to overcome them.”
The 120-page IGR is produced once every five years by NSW Treasury and brings together key demographic, housing, workforce and economic forecasts.
It is designed to assist policy makers and the broader community plan for the future.
Key findings of the 2021-22 NSW Intergenerational Report include:
- Productivity is projected to become the biggest driver of our economic growth, increasing at 1.2 per cent per year over the next 40-years;
- By 2060-61, the fiscal gap is projected to be 2.6 per cent of GSP. While this is an improvement on the 3.4 per cent fiscal gap (by 2055-56) predicted in the previous 2016 IGR, this largely reflects modelling refinements and updated economic and demographic projections. This gap still indicates further action will be needed to avoid the State’s gross debt growing beyond sustainable levels over time;
- The NSW population will expand by around 40 per cent to 11.5-million people in 2061, up from 8.2 million;
- Life expectancy is projected to increase to almost 92 years for women and just over 89 years for men for people born in 2061, with the median age expected to be 44 years compared to 38 today;
- NSW will need up to 1.7-million additional homes by 2061;
- The jobs of the future will require a more highly skilled workforce and will be increasingly concentrated in the social services and business services sectors;
- Average full-time wages will be around $139,000 per year in today’s dollars (compared to $86,000 in 2018-19), with job growth fastest in business services and social services. Healthcare jobs will also increase in line with the ageing population.
Mr Perrottet said NSW had already started preparing for the future through innovative approaches such as the NSW Generations Fund (NGF). The NGF is a sovereign wealth fund which was created in 2018, to help keep debt at sustainable levels.
“The fund is projected to reach $430 billion in today’s dollars by 2060-61 or equivalent to 31 per cent of Gross State Product,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We have already taken steps such as setting up the NGF to help secure the future for future generations but there is still much more work to be done and the IGR will help ensure we make the right decisions at the right time,”
To view the full report click here