1. This week 10 years ago, Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten launched the 100th national Census, which was to be taken on Tuesday, 9 August.
Mr Shorten said the Census “allows us to see where we have come from as a nation and helps us navigate our way into the future”. He said according to the 99th Census, there were 105 people in Australia who spoke a made-up language at home and while he wasn’t entirely convinced by the statistic, it was a good example of how the Census had evolved since the first was completed in 1911.
“I encourage everyone in Australia on Census night to take part and help ensure this … Census is as successful as the first national Census 100 years ago,” Mr Shorten said.
2. General Manager of Work Health and Safety with Comcare, Neil Quarmby announced Comcare’s new Centre of Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work, which was established in response to the dramatic increase in the number of claims for workers’ compensation based on mental stress.
Mr Quarmby said the Centre brought together research bodies, employers, workers and health practitioners in an effort to identify solutions to mental health issues in the workplace.
He said poor health caused by job stress was fast becoming one of the biggest threats to health and safety in the Public Service. “I am keen that employers get the message that health and safety at work is not only a physical issue, but also increasingly involves mental health as well,” Mr Quarmby said.
3. In Victoria a decade ago, Deputy Police Commissioner, Kieran Walshe and acting Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Andrew McIntosh hailed the move to have trained civilians replace sworn police officers in staffing the new state-of-the-art State Emergency Communications Centre in Ballarat.
Mr McIntosh said the purpose-built facility would streamline communication and the dispatch of emergency services to incidents.
He said the Centre’s “innovative technology allows for faster and more accurate deployment of police, firefighters and search and rescue teams and means many of the police from the State’s five D24 police communication centres can return to operational duties with ESTA [Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority] staff taking calls instead.”
4. Meanwhile in Queensland, Deputy Premier, Paul Lucas announced a new Government office to streamline medium to large-scale development projects.
He said the Major Projects Office (MPO) would ensure the smooth and timely delivery of large-scale developments such as shopping centres and office blocks, building confidence in the local construction industry and helping projects get over the bigger hurdles thrown up during the planning process.
“The MPO is not an approval Agency,” Mr Lucas said, “it doesn’t override Councils or State Agencies. Eligible projects will be those that are more complicated than usual, and need a more coordinated facilitation from the State Government.”
5. Staying in Queensland, Premier, Anna Bligh announced the appointment of a Government Chief Information Officer (QGCIO) — the first of its kind in Australia.
Ms Bligh said the QGCIO would report to the Minister for Information and Communication Technology and be responsible for ICT project management, policy development and implementation, and its workforce across the Government.
“Our technology tsar will combine specialised knowledge with the authority to guide our use of technology, and a mandate to shake-up Queensland’s ICT policy development,” Ms Bligh said. “We want to ensure that the Chief Information Officer has the authority to propel change and innovation and develop strong ICT infrastructure.”
6. Queensland also announced this week 10 years ago that its solar energy target had been reached more than three years ahead of schedule.
Minister for Energy, Stephen Robertson said the target, announced in April 2010, was to double Queensland’s use of solar energy in five years. He said Queenslanders had built a virtual solar power station by installing solar photovoltaic rooftop panels or solar hot water systems.
“When we set our challenge last year, Queensland had an estimated 250 megawatts of installed solar capacity,” Mr Robertson said. “Today, Queensland has a total of 500 megawatts of installed solar capacity representing more than 230,000 household solar hot water systems and the equivalent of around 141,000 small-scale solar panel systems.”
He said 500 megawatts was larger than the operating capacity of many of Queensland’s smaller coal, gas and renewable energy–fired power stations.
