Socceroos backed by a million
Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), Kate Palmer has encouraged Australians to cheer on the Socceroos at the 2018 FIFA World Football Cup currently being played in Russia.
Ms Palmer said ASC data showed more than 1.1 million people were playing club soccer, making it the number one club sport for both adults and children in the country.
She said around 19 per cent of children aged five to 14, or more than 610,000, played organised soccer out of school hours and more than 330,000 additional children under the age of 15 said they would consider taking up the sport in the next 12 months.
IPCC vanishes carbon
The forty-seventh session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Paris in March has become the first to achieve carbon neutrality.
The IPCC worked with the Climate Neutral Now initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to offset carbon emissions involved in participants’ travel to the meeting and arising from the meeting itself.
The French Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Nicolas Hulot welcomed the offset of emissions and said he hoped it would become standard for international events.
A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made to compensate for an emission made elsewhere.
ABC’s iView turns 10
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has released a major update of its iView service to mark its tenth anniversary.
The ABC said iView had been a game-changer in meeting audience expectations for quality on-demand television.
The redesign includes the introduction of show pages that bring together all available series, episodes, video extras and cast and guest information in one place, and a re-engineered search tool that makes it simpler to find a program.
Native title reports
The Aboriginal Land Commissioner has released 10 of 16 reports relating to unresolved native title claims dating back to 1981.
The Commissioner, John Mansfield, has been asked by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs to report on the status of ‘detriment issues’ relating to the claims and has until 31 December to complete his reports.
The latest reports can be accessed at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet website at this PS News link.
Jobless rate down
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released labour force figures that show the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate falling by 0.2 percentage points in May, to 5.4 per cent.
Employment increased by 12,000 in May to a record high of 12,518,300, and has now increased by 303,900 over the past year.
Full-time employment is 178,800 higher than it was 12 months ago, while part-time employment is 125,100 higher than a year ago.
Australia gets credit
Credit rating agency, Moody’s has affirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating, with a stable outlook.
This means all three major ratings agencies have given a rating of AAA to Australia —one of just 10 countries to have achieved this.
Factors cited by Moody’s include relatively high and stable growth, strong growth potential, diversity and flexibility, and strong institutions.
‘PlayUP’ plays well for judges
The Museum of Australian Democracy’s PlayUP exhibition has taken out a category in the Museums and Galleries National Awards.
PlayUP won in the Permanent Exhibition Category.
PlayUP is the third iteration of a popular exhibition that brings children and adults together through the theme of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It breaks down large concepts such as democracy and freedom so children can understand them.
Biometric project scrapped
The contract between the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and NEC Australia to deliver the Biometric Identification Services (BIS) project has been cancelled.
The ACIC said the decision was made in the light of project delays.
The project was suspended by mutual agreement on 4 June.
NEC Australia had been contracted to deliver the capability in April 2016.
