admin – Page 780

NSW takes immediate action against fire ants

NSW has taken immediate action to reduce the risk of fire ants entering NSW after fire ants were detected at Tallebudgera, a suburb in the City of the Gold Coast, just 5.5km from the NSW border.

Immediately following detection of the ants at the premise, the NSW Biosecurity (Invasive Ant Carriers) Control Order 2023 was triggered to prohibit the movement of materials that could bring the ant into NSW.

Materials such as mulch, soil, baled hay, turf and other high-risk material cannot be moved from within a 5km radius of this site without inspection and certification by Queensland authorities.

Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty said while the nest has been destroyed, it is crucial that residents and businesses in northern NSW be alert for the signs of fire ants and to report any suspected detections.

“This is the closest detection of fire ants to the NSW border since they were first detected at the Port of Brisbane in 2001, and more recently at Mermaid Waters in Queensland, 11.5km north of the border,” Minister Moriarty said.

“It is important to keep NSW free from this invasive and aggressive pest, which if established, will have a huge impact on the way we live our lives and could affect our export markets and ability to trade.

“That’s why the NSW Government recently committed $95 million, over the next four years, towards protecting our State and partnering in the ongoing response to red imported fire ant.

“NSW DPI is working closely with the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and northern NSW local government authorities.

“Residents and businesses should check their properties as finding fire ants early and alerting NSW DPI will increase the chances of successful eradication.”

Fire ants are dark reddish-brown with a darker black-brown abdomen and from two to six millimetres long. They look similar to other ants, but their ant nests are distinctive with mounds of loose, crumbly or fluffy looking soil with a honeycomb appearance, up to 40cm high, with no obvious entrance holes.

Red imported fire ants can damage electrical and agricultural equipment, sting people causing allergic reactions, sting pets and livestock, kill native plants and animals as well as damage ecosystems beyond repair.

Residents and businesses should report any sign of fire ants to the NSW DPI on 1800 680 244launch.

Anyone bringing nesting materials into NSW, such as mulch, woodchips, compost, sand, gravel, soil, hay and other baled products from the red imported fire ant biosecurity zone in southeast Queensland, should check the measures being implemented before entering NSWlaunch.

Visit NSW DPI for more information about red imported fire antslaunch.

Leading NSW researchers team up to tackle cardiovascular disease

The NSW Government is investing $8.7 million into collaborative cardiovascular research projects to drive improvements in the prevention and treatment of heart disease and stroke.

Minister for Medical Research David Harris said the 9 grants would create collaborative opportunities across a number of leading research institutes and universities so that knowledge and skills are shared.

“These grants highlight the power of bringing the right people together to solve health problems in the hope of saving lives,” Mr Harris said.

“With this increased funding, we are positioning NSW as a leader in cardiovascular research.”

Associate Professor Jean-Frédéric Levesque, NSW Health Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research, said cardiovascular disease currently affects more than 4 million Australians and is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths.

“Tragically, this equates to a rate of 118 people each day who die as a result of heart and vascular diseases,” Assoc. Prof. Levesque said.

“Investment in innovative and translational research in this space is vital because we want to ensure our health system is doing everything possible to prevent, detect and treat cardiovascular disease.”

The 9 funded projects involve expert multidisciplinary teams from several research institutions. Each project team also includes 2 or more early career researchers to ensure that the NSW Government is building a future pipeline of researchers in this critical field.

The Cardiovascular Collaborative Research Grants are part of the $150 million the NSW Government has committed to cardiovascular disease research over a 10-year period.

The grants will cover a range of research areas, including:

prevention of recurrent stroke
new treatments to repair damaged heart muscle

enhancement of implantable medical devices including stents
better diagnosis and prevention of immune system driven blood clots
developing new materials that will last longer than current treatments for heart valve disease
supporting reduction in high blood pressure across the whole population
preventing atrial fibrillation by identifying and treating its causes
exploring the impact of women’s diets during pregnancy on the long-term cardiac health of their children
evaluating new anti-clotting therapies to reduce brain damage and other complications of acute stroke.

More information on the recipients and the research projects can be found here in the Office of Health and Medical Research directorylaunch.

NSWIS winter champions descend on mountains for annual induction event

NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) winter athletes, coaches, support staff and high-performance sport administrators attended the annual NSWIS Winter Induction ceremony at the Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre, to celebrate the past 12 months of success and welcome the Institute’s newest scholarship holders.

Forty athletes, including Olympians, Paralympians and Crystal Globe champions, from moguls, snowboard cross, park and pipe attended the prestigious event which welcomes returning scholarship holders as well as new scholarship athletes to high performance.

Among the NSWIS scholarship holders were 2022 Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony and 2023 Para World Champion Ben Tudhope and world championship medallists Valentino Guseli, Josie Baff and Matt Graham as well as 6 new athletes to the program.

Present to recognise and welcome the athletes were NSWIS CEO Professor Kevin Thompson, Snow Australia CEO Michael Kennedy and strategic partners from Perisher, Thredbo, and Jindabyne Sport & Recreation Centre.

NSW Minister for Sport, Steve Kamper said:

“The performance of our winter athletes on the world stage is nothing short of extraordinary and it highlights the outstanding support NSWIS provides our athletes on their journey to become world’s best.

“I congratulate all the athletes and their support staff on their results as well as their ongoing determination to represent our state at the highest level.”

NSWIS Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Thompson said:

“The NSWIS Winter Sports Induction ceremony is a unique and rare opportunity where all our winter athletes are together under the one roof.

“It’s a time to celebrate the success of our programs, the athletes and staff. It’s a time to foster rich cultural traditions and a time to recognise our stakeholders and strategic partners.”

NSWIS Winter Sports Manager Peter Topalovic said:

“So many records were won by NSWIS athletes this season including a record six world championship medals and a record 11 top 10 world championship finishes.

Among them were first time world championships medals for Valentino Guseli (snowboard park and pipe) and Josie Baff (snowboard cross), Australia’s first ever world championship medal in snowboard big air by Tess Coady (park and pipe) and two world championships silver medals for Matt Graham in single & dual moguls.”

Snow Australia CEO Michael Kennedy said:

“It’s fantastic to see so many new Snow Australia athletes across moguls, snowboard cross, park & pipe and para-alpine and snowboard joining the established cohort, as NSWIS scholarship recipients for the upcoming season.

“There has been a great deal of work by our team over the past few years to prepare athletes for this moment via the Emerging Talent Program (ETP) and we wish them well as they begin their journey as NSWIS athletes.

“With the likes of Olympic and Paralympic medalists Jakara Anthony, Matt Graham, Tess Coady and Ben Tudhope excelling in the program, it shows the snow sports pathway is producing results, and allowing us to develop present and future talents across all disciplines.

Further sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Today Australia has imposed targeted sanctions on 35 entities in Russia’s defence, technology and energy sectors, and 10 individuals, including Russian Ministers and senior officials, and senior military personnel in Belarus.

This action has been taken in careful coordination with our international partners to have maximum impact on those individuals and entities who play a role in directly or indirectly supporting Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions imposed today are directed at entities and individuals of economic and strategic significance to Russia, including:

Russian companies supplying advanced technology, electronics and equipment to the Russian Armed Forces
Russian entities involved in nuclear energy and Arctic resource extraction
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Belousov and Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko
Major Russian defence entities, including Russia’s largest producer of military helicopters and its CEO
Senior Belarusian military officials who have threatened Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity

Australia has already taken action to impose costs on Russia and has sanctioned more than 1,100 individuals and entities supporting the invasion of Ukraine.

We again call on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine and for Belarus to stop supporting Russia’s senseless war.

The Australian Government steadfastly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We stand with the people of Ukraine who continue to show extraordinary courage in the face of Russia’s brutal invasion and unrelenting attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said:

“Today’s sanctions underline Australia’s commitment to working with partners to maintain pressure on Russia and those supporting its illegal and immoral war.”
“Australia’s sanctions regime against Russia reflects our support for the people of Ukraine and for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts said:

“Australia stands with the people of Ukraine who continue to show extraordinary courage.”
“Australia again calls on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukrainian territory and for Belarus to stop supporting Russia’s senseless war.”

RBA GOVERNOR

The sacking of RBA Governor Dr Phillip Lowe is a victory for accountability, but nothing will change for renters and mortgage holders until Labor changes its approach.

“Replacing one RBA insider with another is business-as-usual, and a clear signal that renters and mortgage holders will keep getting smashed to solve a problem they didn’t cause.

“Corporate profiteering and spending by the wealthy are the domestic drivers of inflation.

“Labor needs to tax corporate super profits and wealth. That would be anti-inflationary and reduce the pressure on the RBA to use the only tool it has.

“The decision to sack Dr Lowe is vindication for the Greens who have been calling for him to go for some time.

“Dr Lowe made a series of mistakes and poor calls that resulted in renters and mortgage holders getting smashed for inflation they didn’t cause.

“But corporate Australia will be heaving a giant sigh of relief today.

“It’s clear that interest rate rises will continue to be used as a tool to increase unemployment and suppress wages, and that monetary policy will not be used to address inequality or climate breakdown.”

GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON PRIVATE SCHOOLS GROWS AT DOUBLE THE RATE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS

New analysis by the Parliamentary Library reveals that in the decade since the Gonski Review Australian governments have increased funding to private schools at twice the rate of public schools.

The analysis of My School data shows that on a real-dollar, per student basis, combined recurrent funding from Commonwealth, state and territory governments to Independent schools increased 34.04% from 2012 to 2021, while spending on Catholic schools grew 31.17%. Spending on public schools only increased 16.92%.

The data also highlights the vast disparities between funding in different states and territories. While the Victorian government has increased recurrent funding to public schools by 22.16% per student since Gonski, public school spending has actually fallen in WA and the NT, while the Queensland government has increased recurrent funding to independent schools at nine times the rate of public schools (see table below).

Per student, public schools received $16,174 on average in recurrent government funding in 2021, while Independent schools, which are able to charge unlimited tuition fees, received $11,840.

Public schools in remote and very remote areas, which typically attract a higher funding loading to account for disadvantage, have also fallen further behind public schools in metro areas. Government funding to major city schools increased by 16.74% since Gonski, but only 14.47% and 10.58% to remote and very remote public schools respectively.

The analysis exposes the complete failure by Australian governments to enact the Gonski Review’s central recommendation: to ramp up funding to under-resourced public schools and wind back funding to over-resourced private institutions.

To clear the way for the federal government to finally close the public school funding gap the Greens will introduce a bill during the next parliamentary sitting to remove the Coalition cap that limits the Commonwealth contribution to the public sector to 20%.

Greens spokesperson on schools, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“Since the Gonski Review panel handed down its recommendations more than a decade ago, governments have increased spending to private schools at double the rate of funding increases to public schools.

“This is absolutely scandalous.

“Gonski recommended that to close the widening inequality gap between public and private schools, extra funding should be directed to under-resourced public schools, while funding to over-resourced private institutions should be wound back. All governments agreed to this plan.

“Yet the exact opposite has happened.

“We can’t continue to pretend that fairness is central to our national identity when our public school system is on the brink of collapse and elite private schools are swimming in cash.

“Average performance is falling, student engagement is dropping and teachers are fleeing the profession. For many students public school is no longer a doorway to a better future, but a system which amplifies and locks in generational inequality.

“Labor says public schools are ‘on a pathway’ to full funding. But for teachers, students, parents and carers it’s starting to look like a road to nowhere.

“The government will try to blame this appalling state of affairs on the Coalition, but this crisis falls just as heavily on Labor’s shoulders.

“Labor is in government federally and in every state and territory government on the mainland, they have the Greens in balance of power in the Senate, and they’re bragging about having a $19 billion surplus. There is no excuse at all for public schools to remain shortchanged.

“Our kids can’t wait any longer.”

Download the full data set

Real-dollar, per-student increase/decrease in recurrent state or territory funding to schools by sector, 2012-2021

GREENS URGE CORPORATE SPONSORS TO LISTEN TO COMMUNITY & SAY NUP TO THE CUP

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, has written to Lexus, Penfolds, Kennedy and Furphy urging them to follow Myer’s lead and end their sponsorship of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Her letter cites an independent poll of 1,005 Australians conducted between May 31 and June 5 2023 by Lonergan Research which found that almost two thirds of Australians believe racing animals like horses and greyhounds for gambling and entertainment is cruel (64%). This figure has been steadily increasing – 59% in 2022 and 55% in 2021. A methodology statement is available below.

Senator Faruqi said:

“There’s a clear choice for Cup sponsors: move with the times or leave yourself stranded as one of the last few championing a barbaric industry with a business model of gambling fuelled animal cruelty.

“Businesses who sponsor horse racing have blood on their hands.

“Corporate money fuels the deaths and injuries of countless horses and contributes to other horrible sides of racing carnivals, like problem gambling and spikes in domestic violence.

“Horse racing is plain vile. It’s high time that luxury brands realise there’s nothing luxurious about sponsoring animal cruelty.

“The Melbourne Cup is a grotesque festival of animal cruelty, consumerism, alcoholism and gambling. It belongs in the dustbin of history.

“The evidence shows that the tide of public opinion is fast turning, with a clear and steadily increasing majority of people believing that racing animals for gambling and entertainment is cruel.”

Lonergan Research Methodology Statement:

The research was commissioned by The Office of Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Australian Greens) and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard, and in compliance with the Australian Polling Council Quality Mark standards (www.australianpollingcouncil.com). Lonergan Research surveyed 1,005 Australians 18+ between May 31 and June 5 2023. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

GOVT MISSES OPPORTUNITY TO DELIVER URGENTLY NEEDED UNI REFORMS

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to the Government’s decision to progress five immediate action items following the release of the Universities Accord interim report, saying it represents a missed opportunity.

The Greens previously outlined their priorities for action:

Wipe student debt, or at the very least make the student debt system fairer by abolishing indexation on all student debt and raising the minimum repayment income to the median wage.
Raise the stipends for PhD students to at least the minimum wage.
Extend paid parental leave to PhD students.
Lower the age of independence from 22 to 18, and raise student social security payments above the poverty line to at least $88 per day.
Pay students when undertaking mandatory unpaid placements.
Reverse the fee hikes and funding cuts introduced as part of the Job-Ready Graduates Scheme.
Wipe Student Financial Supplement Scheme debts.
Ensure that international students have access to safe and affordable housing.
Boost government funding to universities and link it to ensuring increases in secure, permanent and ongoing employment for staff
Cap vice-chancellor salaries.
Require universities to report casual employment data, including the number of casual employees and the cost of executive salaries.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The Minister’s decision to guarantee First Nations students a Commonwealth-supported university place is an important and positive step. The other announcements are well and good but nowhere near what is needed.

“Soaring student debt has made university increasingly out of reach for young people, who don’t deserve to be saddled with a debt sentence simply for pursuing education.

“If the Government really wants to improve access to university, they should make university free and wipe all student debt.

“The Government is burying its head in the sand when it comes to so many obvious, urgent things that need addressing, like student debt, unpaid placements, PhD students living under the poverty line and the corporatisation of unis leading to rampant casualisation and wage theft.

“Labor is woefully out of touch when it comes to young people. We see it in their failure to act on the housing crisis and we are seeing it in their failure to address student poverty.

“It’s great that Labor will dump the cruel and punitive 50 per cent fail rule, which was introduced as part of the disastrous Job-Ready graduates scheme. However, they should also scrap the scheme’s fee hikes and funding cuts, which have been an unmitigated disaster.

“I’ve been calling for changes to university governance and greater democracy on campus for some time, so it’s good to see that the panel has considered this a priority. The corporate university model has been so damaging and corrosive.

“Greens analysis has found that over the last two decades, there has been a 43 per cent reduction in the number of elected positions on university councils. We have to give power back to staff and students.

“Moving deck chairs on the Titanic is not going to cut it. Big and bold ideas must be urgently implemented.

“It’s time to reimagine universities as essential, democratic places which exist to serve the public good. Free and well-funded university is necessary for equity and the functioning of a vibrant democracy.”

$3 million awarded to budding health researchers in NSW

The NSW Government has awarded $3 million to 6 promising researchers to build health and medical research talent in NSW.

The NSW Health Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant program supports outstanding researchers in the early stages of their careers to further strengthen their research and development.

Minister for Medical Research David Harris said the funding will help build an advanced therapeutics research workforce, supporting the emergence of NSW as a global centre of excellence.

“We want to keep the best and the brightest here to ensure we have the most innovative and solution-focused healthcare system in the world,” Mr Harris said.

“The research undertaken by this talented cohort will improve community health and wellbeing, making a real difference to people’s lives.”

This year’s grants have been funded in the fast-growing field of microbiomics, which involves the investigation of a group of microorganisms together, such as in the mouth or gut, and how changes to them impact on our health. This focus on microbiomics builds on existing NSW leadership in genomics and proteomics.

The 6 career researchers are conducting studies in a range of areas including the gut microbiome, faecal microbiota transplantation, childhood cancer and early identification of infectious diseases in children, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research, Adjunct Professor Jean-Frédéric Levesquesaid the grant funding will support the development of a pipeline of researchers ready to fill the jobs of the future in this fast-growing field.

“The early-mid career researcher grants reinforce NSW’s commitment to supporting the best researchers so that they can concentrate on excelling in their research field. We want to ensure NSW is a place where innovation and medical research can fuse together to firmly place NSW as a leader in research,” A/Prof Levesque said.

NSW researchers awarded NSW Health Early-Mid Career Researcher Grants include:

Dr Guy Cameron, University of Newcastle
Dr Caitlin Cowan, UNSW Sydney
Dr Craig Haifer, St Vincent’s Hospital
Dr Emily Hoedt, University of Newcastle
Dr Xiaotao Jiang, UNSW Sydney
Dr Erin Shanahan, University of Sydney.

The $3 million grant forms part of the $10 million over 4 years towards building health and medical research talent by supporting outstanding researchers in the early stages of their careers.

Further information on all recipients and their research projects is available on the NSW Office of Health and Medical Researchlaunch website.

New appointees to Venues NSW board

The NSW Government has confirmed 2 new appointees to the board of Venues NSW for the positions of Chairperson and Member of the Public Service.

The Cabinet has endorsed former Premier of NSW Morris Iemma as the new Chairperson and has endorsed Emma Hogan as a board member.

The role of Chairperson was advertised after the previous chair vacated the position in February 2023.

The NSW Government instructed the Premier’s Department and the Office of Sport to lead an appointment process for this role.

An assessment panel shortlisted the candidates. The assessment panel was comprised of Office of Sport CEO Karen Jones, Diane Lesson (nominee of the Acting Secretary, Premier’s Department) and Axiom Managing Director Peter Perry.

A selection panel assessed candidates on their skills, experience, suitability and capability. The selection panel was comprised of International Olympics Committee Vice President John Coates AC, Office of Sport CEO Karen Jones and Axiom Managing Director Peter Perry.

A former Premier of NSW, Mr Iemma has 40 years’ experience in public administration and the non-government sector.

Mr Iemma is currently chairman of the NSW Government Cancer Institute, the Usman Khawaja Foundation, Clean Energy Partnerships and the Astra Institute of Higher Education.

The former premier is currently on the boards of Football NSW and the Ingham Medical Research Institute and was previously a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust (which has since become a part of Venues NSW).

The former government also appointed Mr Iemma to:

Chair, Greyhound Racing NSW
Board Member, NSW TAFE
Commissioner South District, Greater Sydney Commission.

Ms Hogan joins the Venues NSW board after leading the Department of Customer Service since 2019.

She was only months into the role when she guided the department to support the NSW Government’s response during the unprecedented 2019-20 bushfire season, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and flood and storm events more recently.

She is currently a board member at Destination NSW and ReachOut Australia, is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration and is a member of Chief Executive Women.

NSW Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said:

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the work of those involved in the selection process and those who put their name forward for the roles.

“I am looking forward to working collaboratively with Morris Iemma and the entire Venues NSW board to ensure that we can continue our mission to make NSW and our venues the premier destination in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Morris Iemma is an outstanding candidate with a wealth of experience, including as the 40th premier of NSW – and that is something that history shows both sides of politics can agree on.

“Emma Hogan is an incredible leader and public servant. Her work leading Service NSW and the people of NSW throughout COVID-19 was exemplary. She is an outstanding professional who will no doubt bring invaluable customer-focused experience to the board.”