1. This week 10 years ago, NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Victor Dominello announced a new Ministerial Taskforce for Aboriginal Affairs would bring together senior Government Ministers and Aboriginal leaders to inject new leadership, new membership and new aspiration into Aboriginal-related policy and program delivery.
Mr Dominello said the Taskforce was set up in response to the Auditor-General’s report into the Two Ways Together policy and would focus on Aboriginal educational and economic opportunities.
“The new Ministerial Taskforce provides a unique opportunity to involve Aboriginal leaders in the development of policy that is specific to Aboriginal people in NSW,” he said.
2. Also in NSW, Premier, Barry O’Farrell signed a Ministerial Memorandum committing NSW Government Departments and Agencies to the National Disability Strategy being developed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
The Memorandum said the Government was committed to improving the lives of all people with a disability in NSW and was collaborating with the Commonwealth and other States and Territories to develop the national strategy.
“The National Disability Strategy is a 10-year plan (2010–2020) for enabling people with a disability to fulfill their potential as equal citizens,” the Memorandum said.
3. Cyber crime expert, Craig Scroggie told a conference of the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority that the biggest threat to an organisation’s online security was its workers.
Subjects canvassed at the conference included the proliferation of social media; risk communications in advertising; resource security; the risks of having staff in dangerous overseas assignments; and risks to patients in a clinical setting.
Speaking on online security, Mr Scroggie said cyber crime was a “faceless and silent threat”, and the deepest fear felt by corporations from cyber attack was not financial loss but damage to reputation.
4. The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) entered a partnership with RSPCA Qld to improve the response to sick, injured and orphaned wildlife, launching a new telephone number for reporting injured wildlife: 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625).
Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Operations at RSPCA Qld, Kevin Bradley said the number change meant a caller would speak directly to an experienced RSPCA operator who would arrange the appropriate response.
“RSPCA Qld and DERM have driven this change to improve coordination and response times, and reduce the time that animals are in distress,” Mr Bradley said.
5. This week a decade ago, Western Australia became the first State to embrace high-tech computer software to dramatically improve the way children in care provided feedback on their concerns and experiences.
Minister for Child Protection, Robyn McSweeney said the web-based tool “Viewpoint” would be available for all children and young people in the care of the Department for Child Protection.
“The software is a fun way for children to have a say in their care plans and give feedback about what’s going well for them and where we need to improve the support we provide to them,” Mrs McSweeney said. She said it would also give case workers the opportunity to understand the way the world looked from the child’s perspective.
6. And the WA Government and Grains Research Development Corporation agreed to build a new Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre in Perth.
Minister for Agriculture and Food, Terry Redman said the Centre would include state-of-the-art laboratories, automated and airconditioned glasshouses, plant-growth rooms and irrigated field plots. It would also act as a research and business think tank, with programs in economic analysis, strategic market intelligence, grain quality, biosecurity and grain processing technology.
“Scientists, economists and industry experts from around the world will come to Perth to share their knowledge and expertise with the aim of developing new varieties, new technologies and new ideas for Australian farmers,” Mr Redman said.
