THE National Rural Health Alliance, the peak body for rural health in Australia, has welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement today that they will extend the office of the National Rural Health Commissioner past its current expiry of June 30, 2020.

“This is a good move from the Australian Government because the work of the National Rural Health Commissioner clearly isn’t over yet,” National Rural Health Alliance CEO Gabrielle O’Kane said.

“There is still a great need to improve access and quality of services in rural, regional and remote Australia and to improve issues around the rural health workforce and education pathways," Dr O'Kane said.

“The office of the National Rural Health Commissioner has been doing important work since its establishment in 2017. It’s good news that that work can continue and will be enhanced by the appointment of Deputy Commissioners.

“Now that COVID-19 has disrupted existing health policy and planning there is now a need more than ever for continuity and to pick back up some of this important work.”

Dr O’Kane thanked outgoing Commissioner, emeritus professor Paul Worley for his work since his appointment in 2017.

“Professor Worley has been a strong advocate for rural health and has worked hard to build relationships with the sector, including the Alliance and our member organisations," Dr O'Kane said.

“We look forward to working with the new commissioner and hope that they will be able to build on Professor Worley’s work.”

The National Rural Health Commissioner is an independent statutory office holder who provides policy advice to the government on rural health. Prof. Worley has held the office since it was established in 2017.

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THE CFMEU SA will oppose the South Australian Government’s planned privatisation of trades and maintenance crews which "will make hundreds of people redundant and rob the SA people of an important public asset".

The SA Government informed workers this week that it plans to fully outsource the services of the Across Government Facilities Management Arrangement (AGFMA), cutting up to 160 jobs, including apprentices, across public hospitals, railways and trams, road transport and schools.

“Cutting jobs and making people redundant during an economic crisis is irresponsible and will only deepen the financial pain for South Australians,” said Andrew Sutherland, CFMEU national assistant construction secretary.

“The privatisation of AGFMA maintenance and service work would undercut the State Government’s own industry skills commitments and stated support for building industry jobs.

“The South Australian government’s privatisation push and the sacking of apprentices flies in the face of Scott Morrison’s commitments to training and upskilling Australians as part of the economic recovery from COVID-19.

“Steven Marshall assured South Australians before the last state election that he did not have a privatisation agenda. His actions this week show this commitment was entirely untrue and South Australians will have a right to ask what’s next on his government’s agenda.

“It is shameful to see the SA Government pursue a privatisation agenda that will cost jobs during the economic shock of the pandemic crisis. Privatisation of public services and assets has failed time and again, resulting in higher costs to the public, lower quality of service and poor outcomes for workers. Yet conservative governments remain committed to stripping public assets for private gain.

“Unions, including the CFMEU and CEPU, will vigorously oppose the privatisation push and are calling for all trades to be retained within the public sector.

“The ALP must also to commit to reverse any privatisations made under the current Liberal government in South Australia.”

Services that are likely to be affected by AGFMA privatisation are:

• Queen Elizabeth Hospital
• Flinders Medical Centre
• Lyell McEwin Hospital
• Women’s and children’s Hospital
• Modbury Hospital
• Royal Adelaide Hospital
• Noarlunga Hospital
• Pt Lincoln Hospital
• Whyalla Hospital
• Port Pirie Hospital
• Building Maintenance Facilities Services (BMFS) Netley
• Public Transport Services Netley (public transport ticketing systems)

Possible impact on country health services:

• Barmera Hospital
• Renmark Hospital
• Victor Harbor Hospital
• Clare Hospital
• Cowell Hospital

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THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the Palaszczuk Government’s designation of the proposed $1.5 billion Glencore Valeria coal mine in central Queensland as a coordinated project.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the Valeria coal project, near Capella on the Central Highlands, offers 1400 construction jobs and 950 ongoing jobs once operational.

“Queensland needs these jobs more than ever,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The announcement today means the Valeria project will start the comprehensive assessment process as a coordinated project through the Office of the Coordinator-General.

“It is projects like these that create thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment, exports and royalties."

Last financial year, the resources sector supported 372,000 jobs and generated $74 billion in economic activity, $61 billion in exports and more than $5 billion in royalties that the Queensland Government could reinvest on behalf of all Queenslanders in services and infrastructure.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has announced it would introduce a Wholesale Demand Response Mechanism (DRM).

The  DRM will pay large energy users, such as water treatment plants, if they reduce their energy use at times that benefit the energy system. Reducing demand during a heatwave, or when the output of generators is very low, can help keep the electricity system stable and lower energy bills for all energy users.

This reform will support the development of more demand response capacity in the National Electricity Market (NEM), and has long been advocated by a broad coalition consumer, environment and industry groups.

AEMC chief executive, Benn Barr, said, “We have considered requests to delay this reform, but we think the case for pressing forward is strongest because acting now will help keep the power system reliable and secure ahead of the 2021/22 summer. Despite COVID, we still need to keep prices down, keep the market working efficiently and work to lower emissions in the energy sector.”

Energy Efficiency Council CEO, Luke Menzel, said, "Kudos to the AEMC for pushing ahead with this crucial reform. And congratulations to the many passionate advocates that have driven this conversation over the last decade. The hard work has paid off, and resulted in a rule change that will deliver lower energy bills for everyday Australians.”

www.eec.org.au

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