THE Northern Australia Committee will hold a public hearing in Canberra on Tuesday, 15 September as part of its inquiry into opportunities to expand the aquaculture industry in Northern Australia.
The CSIRO has identified 1.5 million hectares of land in Australia which is suitable for aquaculture — with almost 0.5 million hectares being in Queensland—and has commented that much of tropical Australia is suited to meeting the major requirements for aquaculture development: clean seawater and an abundance of suitable coastal land.
Committee Chair, the Hon Warren Entsch MP, said: ‘The CSIRO has a strong history of supporting aquaculture through developing feedstocks and researching the environmental impacts of aquaculture farm discharges. For example, this has resulted in the introduction of discharge treatment systems and compliance with strict discharge water quality standards that have enabled the Australian prawn industry to operate for 20 years with no adverse impacts on adjacent ecosystems.
‘The CSIRO has also suggested the development of a spatial planning framework which would provide a rigorous basis for establishing aquaculture zones along the Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australian coast similar to those operating in Tasmania and South Australia.
‘The Committee will examine how new aquaculture projects can coexist in areas of environmental significance, such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, when the Department of the Environment appears at the public hearing,’ Mr Entsch said.
The Department of the Environment is responsible for administering the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 which is triggered when developments are proposed which could impact on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
A CALL for a new Human Right – the right not to be poisoned – will be made at the CleanUp 2015 conference in Melbourne today.
“This is a right that most of our ancestors enjoyed throughout history – but in the last two generations has been swept away by an avalanche of man-made toxins,” says Australian science writer Julian Cribb, author of the book Poisoned Planet (Allen&Unwin, 2014).
Mr Cribb says that every year human activities release more than 250 billion tonnes of substances into the Earth system in what is proving to be our largest impact on the planet – one that is five times greater in scale even than our greenhouse emissions.
“Official government records show there are now 144,000 man-made chemicals registered for use worldwide, with between 1000 and 2000 new ones released each year. Most of these have never been tested for human or environmental safety, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),” Mr Cribb says.
“Tests reveal that humans in most societies now carry a lifelong chemical burden, that unborn babies are being contaminated with industrial chemicals and that mothers’ milk in 68 countries is contaminated with pesticides and other noxious substances.
“The World Health Organization and UNEP have estimated that one in 12 humans now dies from environmental poisoning and around 86 million are maimed each year: this toll is greater than for HIV, malaria or car crashes. One in five cancer deaths – or nearly two million a year – are attributed to environmental exposure to carcinogens.
“Medical scientists are warning of a ‘silent pandemic’ of childhood brain disorders due to the global release of neurotoxins by human activity. Health officials caution that reproductive and hormonal disorders are on the rise worldwide.
Above all, health researchers are concerned at the impact of mixtures of thousands of different substances combined in the human diet and living environment, which they link to conditions including developmental disorders, sexual dysfunction (including sterility), nerve and brain diseases (including autism, depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s), cancers and heart disease.”
In his talk Mr Cribb explores new opportunities to reduce the toxic risks to humanity and life on Earth arising out of overuse and misuse of unsafe chemicals globally.
He will discuss ways in which social media is helping global consumers and citizens to become informed about chemical risks and how they in turn can encourage and incentivise industry to adopt green chemistry, cradle-to-cradle, clean-up, zero-waste and other enlightened technologies leading to a safer, healthier world.
Mr Cribb will propose ten recommendations for cleaning up the world, including a creation of a new human right ‘not to be poisoned’ under the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
He will present his paper “Cleansing a Poisoned Planet: chemicals, science communication and global people power” at 10.40 am on Monday, September 14 in Crown Conference Centre Meeting Room 13.
RECOMMENDATIONS to strengthen Victoria’s higher education sector by growing our share of the international education market, boosting innovation, increasing workforce productivity and enhancing student access and employability are among the findings of VECCI’s Higher Education Taskforce Report, released today.
VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone said Victoria’s higher education sector, which includes universities and private providers, is diverse, competitive and internationally recognised as delivering high quality graduates and leading edge research.
“The sector is crucial to building a highly skilled, adaptive and productive workforce, supporting the dissemination of innovation throughout industry and driving international trade. The challenge for policy makers, higher education providers and business is to build on these strengths,” said Mr Stone.
VECCI’s Higher Education Taskforce Report, Strengthening the competitiveness of Victoria’s higher education sector, makes a range of recommendations to support continuing growth. These include:
Strengthening Victoria’s position in the international education market
While our performance has been strong, there are several barriers that could see our reputation come under pressure as global competition in education services intensifies. These barriers range from student transport costs, health cover costs, and student accommodation affordability and availability. These issues need to be addressed in order to enhance positioning for inbound students.
Recommendations:
Encourage universities to develop streamlined systems to help students and graduates find employment and work based learning placements.
Extend public transport concessions for international students to short term tickets across all fare zones in Victoria, providing the same discounts that apply to domestic students.
Improve student accommodation across the state, facilitating affordable close to campus and on campus options.
Driving innovation by broadening and deepening university-industry research links
With global competition intensifying, research and development collaboration between Victoria’s higher education sector and industry is more important than ever.
To remain competitive, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) must acquire the knowledge and capabilities needed to continually adapt their business models, developing new markets and new applications for their products and services. This means looking outside their boundaries for new ideas and expertise.
Recommendations:
Encourage SMEs to partner with universities on research and development by reducing the company tax rate to 10 per cent on SME profits earned from their patents developed in Australia.
Provide $50 million of seed funding and grants for universities and students to partner with industry to pay for patent costs, technology transfer operations and the set-up of spin-off companies.
Undertake a feasibility study to extend physical and virtual technology enterprise zones and start-up hubs with incentives for universities and industry to co-invest in research infrastructure.
Increasing productivity and employability by more closely aligning graduate skills with employer needs
Because industry is constantly changing, so too are the skills and competencies required by employers. While our education standards are already high, more needs to be done to ensure students not only possess relevant technical qualifications but appropriate job ready skills and work experience.
Recommendations:
Create an online portal to link higher education students to employers with information on available internships, post study placements, research and training projects.
As part of student coursework, include an internship preparation unit which teaches students how to engage in a work environment and necessary ‘employability’ skills (teamwork, communication, lateral thinking, flexibility and resourcefulness).
Aim for a 30 per cent increase in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) graduates over the next decade, recognising that a workforce with a strong STEM skills base is critical to business innovation.
Enhancing student access, learning and employability
Students need to be confident that their studies will lead to employment outcomes. While the higher education sector cannot guarantee employment for graduates, it should aspire to ensure students graduate possessing employability skills. Further, because how and where students study is also changing, education providers and employers must embrace new learning models using technology to provide flexible and innovative learning on and off campus.
Recommendations:
Provide free Wi-Fi on all metropolitan and regional public transport, assisting students to study while travelling.
Introduce a competitively priced disposable Day Pass for all international and interstate students using public transport throughout Victoria.
Strengthen the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among students by establishing mentoring and microfinance programs.
Support the development of regional and rural education models that attract and retain graduates in provincial Victoria.
“Ultimately, the objective of reforms must be to not only strengthen Victoria’s reputation as a market leader in the provision of higher education, but ensure education outcomes are more closely aligned to the needs of employers and students, now, and into the future,” said Mr Stone.
The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.
FIFTY-SEVEN countries, including Australia, have agreed to create the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The Bank will enable member countries to work in partnership to provide funding for infrastructure projects that will be targeted to the least-developed countries in Asia, leading to economic growth.
The Articles of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will be examined on Monday in Canberra.
Committee Chair, Mr Wyatt Roy MP, said that the current infrastructure gap in Asia is a significant impediment to economic development.
“By allowing countries to work together, and encouraging private sector investment, the Bank will be a major driver in improving infrastructure in Asia. However we want to ensure that Australia is able to have a voice in the Bank’s operations,” he said.
Australia will be the sixth largest shareholder in the Bank, with 3.7 per cent of the overall shares and will be able to appoint a Governor to the Board and vote to elect a Director.
Regional members will contribute 75 per cent of the shareholding, with non-regional members –including Germany, France and the United Kingdom – contributing the remaining 25 per cent. The Bank will be controlled by a Board of Governors and a Board of Directors.
The committee will also look at Australia’s proposed denunciation of the Convention on International Exhibitions. The Convention, originally signed in 1935, allowed for international exhibitions known as World Expos.
Despite paying annual membership fees, Australia has not hosted a World Expo. A themed special exhibition was held in Brisbane in 1988.
“If Australia wants to hold a world expo in the future, it can re-join. In the meantime, we may not be getting much benefit from ongoing membership,” Mr Roy said.
Public Hearing: Monday 14 September 2015, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House Canberra
11.45am Convention relating to International Exhibitions and Protocol of Signature 12.15pm Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Articles of Agreement 1.00pm Close
VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone said the recurring stoppages in Melbourne’s train and tram system due to union industrial action continue to cause significant disruption to Victoria’s transport network.
"The delays and associated increased congestion cost Victorian business time and money through interruptions to workers commuting to their workplaces and moving around Melbourne, as well as to visitors and shoppers getting to their destinations," Mr Stone said.
"This is a disgraceful attempt at a cash grab by holding the travelling public and transport operators to ransom. Victorian public transport workers are well paid against any objective standard and our fear is that any increase in operating costs as a result of high salaries and overly generous conditions will ultimately be passed on to the public.
"Victorian business calls for a swift end to these disputes so there is no further disruption to the transport network and the people of Melbourne."
The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.
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