Latest Story
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Gender equity is everyone’s business, even men
Martin Portus | March 23, 2012Since the introduction of Affirmative Action legislation back in 1986, the current gender pay gap of 17.6 percent has remained much the same in Australia. Martin Portus from the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) looks at the future for gender equity.
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UncategorisedIndustry champions national telehealth strategy for Australia
editor | March 23, 2012
The very first national telehealth strategy for Australia, developed by an industry group, has been released for discussion on the Health Informatics Society of Australia website.The document was prepared by the Australian National Consultative Committee on e-Health which represents the major Australian ICT industry players and other stakeholder groups.
The strategy paper is the first developed by industry as a collective, as opposed to government interests, and details the Committee’s thinking as to what is important in telehealth from a systemic national perspective.
Interested parties are invited to comment on the discussion paper at www.hisa.org.au.
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Coastal Councils face complex challenges
Alan Stokes | March 22, 2012Current methods of planning, funding and managing population and tourism growth in Australia’s coastal areas are under the spotlight with the growing evidence that sea levels are rising. Director of the National Sea Change Taskforce, Alan Stokes, says managing the changes is a huge challenge for coastal councils.
Australia’s coastal councils are attempting to deal with a complex and difficult range of pressures. One of the most challenging of these is how to respond effectively to the impacts of climate change and deal with the associated risk of legal liability.
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Harmony Day Navel Gazing – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Sue Ellson | March 21, 2012This year Harmony Day focuses on Sport, recognising the important role and positive influence that sport has in our multicultural nation. Sue Ellson looks at how far Australia has come in eliminating racial discrimination, and how far we have to go.
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Australian employment market firm despite job cuts
Lincoln Crawley | March 19, 2012For years Australian job market reports have revealed an undersupply of skilled labour in many industries. Lincoln Crawley from ManpowerGroup says we should take heart from the fact that there is still growth in the market, and learn to adapt to a different environment.
ManpowerGroup conducts a quarterly survey of 2,500 Australian employers, asking them about their hiring intentions for the coming quarter.
The latest results show that the Australian employment market is holding firm despite high-profile job cut announcements, with the Net Employment Outlook (NEO) remaining steady at +13% for the second quarter of 2012.
This outlook is more subdued than the same time last year, but hopeful nonetheless.
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Recessions don’t cut greenhouse gases
Frank Jotzo | March 19, 2012Despite trend forecasters predicting the global financial crisis would result in developed nations taking stock of their wasteful ways, global emission figures tell a different story. But Frank Jotzo hopes the surge in emissions may not be sustained.
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Environmental training and employment programs matter
Meg Nichols | March 16, 2012When it launched in 2010 the National Green Jobs Corp was designed to provide young Australians with skills tailored towards emerging environmental and climate-change related industries. But when the program finishes in June this year, Meg Nichols is concerned it will leave a gaping hole in our ability to meet a growing demand for green skills.
Contracts for the Federal Government’s two year GFC stimulus employment program, known as National Green Jobs Corp (NGJC), will finish in June 2012. After that, it will be the first time in 20 years that labour market programs of this type have not been provided. This is despite the persisting environmental and social needs these programs can address.
At EnviTE Inc we have proposed a vision for environmental training, employment and health programs that we hope will attract future funding by Government and other investment sources.
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Taking control of your business destiny
Anthony Hollis | March 15, 2012Productivity growth is the most important factor in improving any country's standard of living. In the late 1990s Australian productivity was above the OECD average, but has now declined to a damaging degree. Anthony Hollis shares his ideas on how we can pick up our game.
For most firms, labour is the single most expensive cost and most important asset. This holds true for labour-intensive manufacturing and for the 72 per cent of our economy which comprises the services sector.
For the last decade, our labour productivity has been declining as compared to OECD countries, which means we are not improving the quantity of output (product or services) generated from every man hour worked.
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Stop, breathe, connect – a lesson for us all
Gillian Batt | March 14, 2012When Sydney man Kristian Anderson learnt he was dying from bowel cancer he made a YouTube video for his wife that went viral around the world. Gillian Batt from the NSW Cancer Council, says he left a legacy that we should all pay attention to.
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UncategorisedMurray Darling Basin Authority consultation
editor | March 13, 2012
The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is undertaking a formal consultation on the proposed Basin Plan and is calling for public input.The Basin is home to more than two million people, and it grows more than one third of Australia’s food. Governments and local communities acknowledge that the Murray–Darling Basin must be returned to a healthy, working condition if it is to have a sustainable and productive economic future.
The ongoing use of water in the Basin has changed how the rivers flow. The changes in volume and timing have led to increases in salinity, blue-green algal blooms and water quality degradation, while wetlands, red gum forests, native fish and water bird populations are decreasing. All of these features are symptoms of overuse and they are what have led to the latest impetus for water reform.
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US privacy in the age of big data, mobile and the cloud
Malcolm Crompton | March 12, 2012This year the United States took a big step in the protection of data by announcing an online privacy plan that would give consumers more control over how their personal data is collected, shared and used by websites and advertisers. Malcolm Crompton says the next big step will be implementation and global interoperability.
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Cloud computing – the fundamentals
Paul Armstrong | March 11, 2012What is the Cloud? Cloud computing is receiving a lot of press from users, business owners and government's around the world, yet it is not always clearly defined. Paul Armstrong breaks through the technical talk to explain.
Remember when you used to buy a newspaper as opposed to reading it on your iPad? Or when you used to buy DVDs from the store instead of downloading your films from iTunes? I can’t.
