Home Affairs seeks website feedback
The Department of Home Affairs has launched a new version of the Immigration and Citizenship section of its website and has invited comment from users.
It said its website was in a test phase and new content would be progressively added when available.
“We will continue to update the content and design based on public feedback,” the Department said.
The new site can be accessed at this PS News link.
Funding for younger veterans
A million dollars in grant money is to be made available to programs that assist younger employees leaving the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to move into civilian life.
The Supporting Younger Veterans grants are now open for applications that will directly help the mental, physical and social wellbeing of younger veterans.
To qualify for the grants, programs should also be aimed at raising community awareness of the important issues faced by younger veterans.
Other important considerations are an emphasis on collaboration among ex-service organisations and other organisations in the broader community, and that projects or services are delivered in a sustainable way to build capabilities in the veteran community.
Taskforce takes out tobacco crop
The first warrant executed by the newly established Illicit Tobacco Taskforce has uncovered more than 7 hectares of illegal tobacco crops and 6 tonnes of tobacco leaf.
The taskforce, made up from the Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Transactions and Reporting Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and Northern Territory Police found the crop with an estimated excise value of $13.3 million near Katherine, NT.
It is the first tobacco crop seizure in the Territory.
In the past financial year, the ABF has made more than 110,000 detections of illicit tobacco at the border, including almost 240 million cigarettes and 217 million tonnes of tobacco, worth more than $356 million in evaded duty.
Former CAPAM Vice-President dies
Avril Gollop, who has died aged 72, was a former Vice-President of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administrators and Management (CAPAM).
Mrs Gollop (pictured) was the first female Cabinet Secretary in Barbados and was honoured among the Legends to Legacy on the country’s fiftieth anniversary of independence.
She was named as one of four outstanding PS employees who were unwavering supporters of the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration, and served on its Board of Directors in the early 1990s during a challenging period of transition for the organisation.
Talks open on Artesian Basin plan
Consultation is now open on the Strategic Management Plan for the Great Artesian Basin.
Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, David Littleproud said the draft plan had been produced in consultation with the Great Artesian Basin Consultative Committee.
“It outlines how communities, Traditional Owners and Governments in the Basin can best use the resource while maintaining their standard of living,” Mr Littleproud said.
The consultation can be accessed at this PS News link.
Ideas called for clawing cats
Land managers have been invited to take part in the National Feral Cat Management Survey.
Led by researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Survey is asking people about feral cat management to generate a better understanding of the national effort to tackle this threat.
Threatened Species Commissioner, Dr Sally Box said feral cats posed a significant threat to wildlife.
“Millions of native animals are being killed every single day across Australia,” Dr Box said.
Safety chief in Hall of Fame
Dr Rob Lee has been inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame.
From 1989 until 1999, Dr Lee led the predecessor of the Air Transport Safety Bureau, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation.
Under his watch, it was transformed from a purely reactive investigative Agency into an innovative multi-skilled organisation that concentrated equally on proactive accident prevention and safety enhancement.
Later, Dr Lee’s expertise was sought in multiple national and international investigations, including into the Gulf Air A320 accident at Bahrain in August 2000, the Singapore Airlines B747 accident at Taipei in October 2000, and the mid-air collision between a B757 and a TU154M over Ueberlingen, Germany, in 2002.
Melbourne market on Heritage List
Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market is to be added to the National Heritage List.
The 150-year-old market is on the site of Melbourne’s first official burial place, dating back to 1837, which is believed to be the largest early colonial cemetery in Australia.
It was the resting place for almost all Melbournians — settlers and Aboriginal people alike — across all religious denominations who died before 1854.
The listing elevates the Market to the status of other National Heritage places such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Bondi Beach and the Australian War Memorial.
