1. This week 10 years ago, a new national Ombudsman was created to assist overseas students in Australia who had problems with private education and training.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Allan Asher, who was assigned the role of the Overseas Students Ombudsman (OSO) said the new position would enable students to bring their complaints to his office if they could not resolve problems with their education providers directly.
“This is an important service for an often vulnerable group,” Mr Asher said. “Together with State Ombudsmen who provide a complaints service for overseas students in public education, we are providing a much-needed safety net for those in private education.”
2. The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that almost half the private companies doing business with the State’s Public Service believed it was corrupt, and almost a third refused to bid on contracts due to their concerns.
In a research report, the ICAC called for more procurement leadership to counter the perceptions.
“The ICAC has identified procurement as a major risk area for corruption in the NSW public sector,” the ICAC report said. It said its research had shown suppliers and PS procurement practitioners shared a general feeling of confusion about the best way to handle procurement, where information should be available and why decisions were made.
3. Visiting health expert, Professor James Buchan suggested a new global Code of Practice on the international recruitment of health workers developed by the World Health Organisation would have an impact on Australia.
He said Australia faced two big challenges: how to get enough health professionals with the right skills, and how to retain sufficient numbers, particularly in remote areas.
“Australia has relied more heavily than many other developed countries on the international recruitment of health workers,” Professor Buchan said.
“If international recruitment is to be effective and ethical, it must be planned as part of an overall workforce strategy, and should ensure that health workers coming to Australia gain a benefit from being here, and that they are able to maximise their potential contribution to their new country as individuals.”
4. NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell announced a new Ethical Framework for the State’s Public Service to apply to staff and Ministers, which would include a new Public Sector Ethics Act and help restore public confidence in the Government and the Public Service.
Mr O’Farrell said it would be based on four specific values: integrity, trust, service, and accountability.
“I am determined to restore integrity to the NSW Public Service,” Mr O’Farrell said. “NSW deserves the best qualified and most professional Public Service in the nation.”
He said a new Government website would be set up to encourage people in the community to have their say about public sector ethics.
5. Queensland Premier and Minister for Reconstruction, Anna Bligh announced the release of new guidelines to help those who wanted to rebuild their homes in the north of the State following the effects of Cyclone Yasi.
She said the guidelines would give people rebuilding or building new homes directions on how to limit the damage from a storm surge. The Premier also released a draft of the second in the series of guidelines for protecting houses in cyclone conditions.
“We saw in Innisfail after Cyclone Larry how effective rebuilding homes to category 5 standard can be and these guidelines will learn again from the experience of Cyclone Yasi,” Ms Bligh said.
6. And this week a decade ago, the President of South Australia’s Local Government Association (LGA), Mayor Kym McHugh reported that Local Councils had saved more than $185 million in workers compensation costs over the previous 25 years by being self-insured.
Mayor McHugh said the LGA Workers’ Compensation Scheme, the first of its kind in Australia, had gone from strength to strength, with its Independent Actuary estimating that member Councils had also received cash rebates totalling $109.8 million.
“[The scheme] provides ongoing training, support and other benefits such as the Healthy Lifestyle health assessments program and, since 1999, the Skin Cancer screenings program, with almost 25,000 health assessments being carried out across the Local Government sector,” Mayor McHugh said.
