1. This week 10 years ago, a report from the Centre for Policy Development’s Dr James Whelan found support among conservative politicians in Australia for the United Kingdom’s “Big Society” approach to PS reform, which he said had gutted the public and community sectors, transferring responsibility and resources to corporations.
“The negative impacts of what’s happening in the UK can teach us a lot about parallel trends in Australia, like the widespread obsession with budget surpluses, and the habit of outsourcing public services without safeguarding the public interest,” Dr Whelan said.
“The UK’s public sector has shed 240,000 workers, and will lose almost half a million more over the next five years.”
2. The Australian National University (ANU) signed an agreement with electronics company Fujitsu to build and install a new supercomputer, which would be the most powerful computer in Australia and one of the largest in the world, capable of performing 170,000 calculations per second for each of the seven billion people on the planet.
Vice-Chancellor of the ANU, Professor Ian Young said the new 1.2 Petaflop supercomputer would provide Australia with much-needed capability, particularly in areas of research where deeper insights relied on higher-performance computation.
“ANU is pleased to be playing its national leadership role by building research infrastructure shaped to meet future challenges, and by fostering the intellectual capital upon which this much-needed capability rests,” Professor Young said.
3. The Minister for Environment, Tony Burke announced the creation of the world’s largest network of marine reserves around Australia, including the Coral Sea Region, the South-West Marine Region, the Temperate East Marine Region, the North Marine Region and the North-West Marine Region.
Mr Burke said the new network would help ensure Australia’s diverse marine environment, and the life it supported, remained healthy, productive and resilient for future generations.
“For generations, Australians have understood the need to preserve precious areas on land as national parks,” Mr Burke said.
“Our oceans contain unique marine life which needs protection, too.”
4. NSW Treasurer, Mike Baird announced 10,000 jobs would be cut from the State’s Public Service and a labour expense cap would be introduced with the target of reducing PS labour costs by 1.2 per cent.
Mr Baird said this was to counter the growth in NSW public sector employees of more than 7,000 between June 2010 and June 2011, but would exclude teachers, police officers and nurses.
“The 10,000 positions in the Government’s line of sight include school assistants, motor registry employees, park rangers, scientists, land and water management specialists and health and education policy experts,” NSW Public Service Association General Secretary, John Cahill said.
“Each of these positions delivers services to the people of NSW.”
5. The Royale Humane Society of Australia acknowledged the work of firefighters from the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) during the 2011 Brisbane floods, with 24 members receiving awards.
Queensland Minister for Police and Community Safety, Jack Dempsey congratulated the winning firefighters on their efforts, saying QFRS members would receive seven silver medals, 12 bronze medals and three certificates of merit.
Commissioner QFRS, Lee Johnson said the medals were well deserved.
“Busy periods and the relentless summer of disasters in 2010–2011 showcased how highly trained our officers are,” Mr Johnson said.
6. And a decade ago, South Australia was the only mainland State to record a drop in unemployment in May, defying a national trend.
SA Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Tom Kenyon welcomed the Labour Force figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing the State’s headline rate drop was the third lowest of all the States and the same as the national rate.
“These figures are a positive indication that SA’s economy continues to show resilience during difficult times with job seekers continuing to look for work,” Mr Kenyon said.
