Month: March 2022

The Morrison Government is driving new investment in sophisticated recycling technology and infrastructure, boosting the Recycling Modernisation Fund to $250 million with a $60 million new funding stream targeted at advanced plastic recycling technology that will tackle problematic plastics like bread bags and chip packets.

The investment, included in this month’s Federal Budget, builds on the $190 million Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) which is driving a $1 billion transformation of the waste and recycling sector.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government is committed to stopping harmful plastics from entering our oceans, choking up our waterways and destroying our marine life.

“This new funding stream, dedicated to helping solve the problem of hard to recycle plastic waste, demonstrates our determination to invest in Australian industry, to growing the recycling sector and to creating a stronger economy and stronger future for Australia,” the Prime Minister said.

“Three years ago I made a commitment at the UN to stop plastic waste from entering our oceans, a commitment that has sparked a recycling revolution in Australia.

“That same commitment has supported investment in state-of-the-art recycling technology across Australia, technology that protects the environment, boosts the economy and creates jobs.”

Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said the new round of funding will fast-track access to new innovative waste technology, supporting a pipeline of plastic products ReMade in Australia.

“The time to act on hard to recycle plastics is now – fast-tracking advanced recycling infrastructure will help the industry recycle more of the 1 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste we generate every year -creating valuable new products while keeping problematic waste out of landfill,” Minister Ley said.

“This Government has placed waste firmly on the national agenda, through our transformation of the recycling sector, landmark waste legislation, National Plastics Plan and through our leadership at the recent UN Environmental Assembly on stopping plastic waste from entering our oceans.

“Australia has set a high bar as the first country in the world to ban the export of waste plastic, we will continue to take strong action on plastics in our own backyard by investing in technology, manufacturing capability and jobs.”

Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Trevor Evans said the new round of funding will help increase plastic recycling rates with more access to plastic feedstock.

“The latest round of funding under the Recycling Modernisation Fund will create new demand for recycled materials, giving consumers the confidence that the products they buy are made from recycled content,” Assistant Minister Evans said.

“It will also help drive progress on our targets to have 70 per cent of our plastic packaging recycled or composted and 50 per cent of average recycled content in packaging by 2025.”

The Morrison and Palaszczuk Governments and the Council of Mayors South East Queensland (SEQ) have today signed the SEQ City Deal – a joint commitment to deliver $1.8 billion worth of infrastructure that will transform the region.

The SEQ City Deal will deliver a significant package of investments that will generate thousands of local jobs, boost digital and transport connectivity, enhance liveability and support one of the fastest growing regions in the country.

The City Deal is supported by a $667.77 million investment from the Commonwealth, $618.78 million from the state and $501.62 from the SEQ Council of Mayors, plus $75 million from industry.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the SEQ City Deal was all about delivering for the people of South East Queensland.

“This is a partnership for Queensland jobs and Queensland investment to deliver a stronger economy and a stronger future,” the Prime Minister said.

“South East Queensland is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, and with the population expected to continue to grow, it is crucial that we invest in the infrastructure it needs to thrive for decades to come.

“From Brisbane to Toowoomba, Ipswich to the Sunshine Coast and everywhere in between, this Deal delivers for South East Queenslanders.

“We all share a vision of a more connected, liveable and export-competitive region, and this brings that vision to life.

“The economic impact of this major investment will be significant, with more than 30 projects set to generate more than 2,000 jobs, while ensuring that the state is in the best position possible to host a successful 2032 Olympics.”

Queensland Premier and Minister for the Olympics Annastacia Palaszczuk said the cooperation between all levels of government would ensure that the region has the right infrastructure in place as the population grows.

“I have always said we work best when we work together,” the Premier said.

“The City Deal provides vital infrastructure to plan for our growing population.

“That includes new transport links for the Gabba in time for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The winners are Queenslanders.”

Key projects in the City Deal include:

• $450 million for the Gabba Brisbane Metro Station, to deliver enhanced transport connections and support the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games;
• $285 million for the SEQ Liveability Fund to deliver projects of social and economic priority for the councils;
• $150 million for the SEQ Innovation Economy Fund to support capital projects that promote and grow the region’s innovation economy;
• $105 million for resource recovery infrastructure to develop a region-wide approach to managing waste and progress the region to a circular economy;
• $70 million for digital connectivity projects to support place based telecommunications infrastructure and improved digital connectivity.

Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher said he was very pleased that the sustained work of deal partners over the past three years had now resulted in a deal being concluded.

“With three quarters of the state’s population already living in South East Queensland, it is vital that we plan and invest in the urban and social infrastructure that this region requires to support sustainable growth over the coming decades,” Minister Fletcher said.

“The investments that we are making through this Deal, in partnership with the State and local governments, will leave a lasting legacy on the region by providing improved transport links, important community infrastructure, and high quality jobs across multiple sectors.”

Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said the cooperation between all levels of government will ensure that the region has the right infrastructure in place as the population grows.

“We have seen a recent surge in people looking to call SEQ home, and by 2041, the region is set to grow to 5.4 million residents,” Mr Miles said.

“A new Gabba Metro Station will improve linkages between cross-river rail and the Brisbane Metro at the Woolloongabba Olympic venue that create long-term improvements to the public transport network and transformational city shaping opportunities.”

Council of Mayors (SEQ) Chair and Lord Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner said the deal is a critical step towards ensuring the south-east corner can cater for a booming population and is ready when the world’s biggest sporting event arrives in just over a decades’ time.

“This deal demonstrates what great things can be achieved when all levels of government work together,” Cr Schrinner said.

“There might not have been a time in our region’s history when such co-operation has been so critically important. SEQ is experiencing significant population growth as more and more Australians discover our unmatched lifestyle and want to call our region home.

“We’re also a decade away from the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games which presents a unique chance to showcase our region to the world while establishing a legacy that can continue to deliver for the generations to come.

“This City Deal puts us on a path to manage population growth, deliver the best-ever Games and, importantly, improve the lives of all of our residents through ongoing co-operation.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with industry and the other levels of government to empower the SEQ City Deal to deliver the needs of our rapidly growing region.”

For more information on the SEQ City Deal, visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/city-deals/SEQ.

The UNSW RNA Institute, Australia’s leading RNA science, therapeutics and translational facility, has officially opened.

Established with a $25 million investment from UNSW Sydney as part of a NSW RNA Bioscience Alliance between NSW universities and the State Government, the Institute will build NSW’s capability to research, develop and manufacture RNA-based therapeutics locally.

“This is a significant milestone in the creation of the significant RNA ecosystem we are establishing here in NSW,” Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Stuart Ayres said as he formally opened the labs at UNSW’s Kensington campus on Monday.

“A thriving NSW-based RNA industry underpinned by world-leading research talent will attract international investment and bring companies from all over the world to create high priority jobs in NSW within the $2 billion medical technology growth industry.”

Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology and Minister for Skills and Training Alister Henskens said the UNSW RNA Institute heralds a new era in onshore development of novel RNA technologies and therapies post-pandemic and will play a vital role in the commercialisation of research.

“RNA-based therapeutics can also be applied to a rapidly expanding category of drugs, diagnostics and treatments for other diseases including cancer and autoimmune disorders,” Mr Henskens said.

“Working together with other University partners in the NSW Bioscience Alliance, research into these novel technologies will allow us to not only lead the way in the fight against disease, but to boost productivity through innovation and create jobs for the future.”

UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Attila Brungs said the Institute will draw together UNSW’s existing world-renowned expertise in this area to provide a vibrant foundation for increased collaboration and critical advances in RNA.

“UNSW is home to some of the best scientific minds in the world in this field. In creating this Institute, we have brought together scientists, engineers, and medical researchers to work on key bottlenecks at the frontier of RNA science and medicine,” he said.

“We are proud to collaborate with the NSW Government, industry and academic partners to drive the development of an industry which is going to have a profoundly positive impact on human health.”

The Institute will conduct pre-clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 and cancer using RNA-based therapeutics manufactured in NSW. It’s expected pilot-scale production of siRNA for use in RNA-based therapeutics will be conducted by June this year.

Director of the Institute, Professor Pall Thordarson said the RNA revolution is just getting started.

“Some of the projects the Institute will look at range from conducting pre-clinical trials for the treatment of cancer, unravelling the complex roles that RNA has in brain development and developing short RNA based COVID-19 treatment such as inhalers,” he said.

Prof. Thordarson said by supporting the RNA research runway, from chemistry to prototype pharmaceuticals, the Institute will ensure we are ahead of the game as the industry grows.

“It will help continue Australian-led innovations of RNA science and position us a world leader in RNA science and technology,” he said.

In partnership with NSW Health, UNSW also leads the NSW RNA Production and Research Network. This Network brings together five universities – UNSW, The University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Macquarie University and the Australian National University – plus several medical institutes and hospital-based facilities with the UNSW RNA Institute, to enable an RNA community of practice in NSW/ACT.

This Network will be underpinned by a core RNA Accelerator Manufacturing Facility for mRNA, synthetic RNA, and nanoparticle production, which will support researchers from right across NSW to fast-track research and development (R&D) towards clinical trials and major new products.

The Institute will have at its centre the ‘RNA Production Accelerator’, a facility for scaling-up and producing promising RNA and nanoparticle drug candidates at pilot-scale before having them fast-tracked for pre-clinical trials.

Australian Government launches $2.43 million RecruitAble pilot program with Coles

Coles Group is seeking to increase the number of Australians it employs who are living with disability, by piloting a program aimed to support employers create more job opportunities and inclusive workplaces.

Today the Morrison Government launched the $2.43 million RecruitAble pilot at the Coles Head Office (Store Support Centre) in Melbourne, which includes a new website to help Australians with disability, gain greater career and employment opportunities.

The RecruitAble pilot is a partnership between Get Skilled Access, founded by Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott AO, and national recruitment agency Randstad Australia.

Having worked with Coles for more than three years, including developing Coles’ disability confidence training for team members, Get Skilled Access is also working closely with up to five other employers including Tennis Australia, Bendigo Bank, Hydro Tasmania and RACQ. RecruitAble is designed and delivered by people with disability and lived experience and will work to build their disability confidence, identify key areas for increasing accessible practices in the hiring process to create more inclusive workplaces. At the same time, Randstad Australia is working to help employers understand their business needs, and assist jobseekers to match their skills, abilities and aspirations with vacancies.

Coles will focus the first stage of the pilot on its Technology function within its Store Support Centre, dedicating up to eight roles this year to new hires for candidates with disability.

Technology recruiters, General Managers and hiring managers within Coles will undergo targeted disability confidence training designed by Get Skilled Access to ensure the success of the program.

Coles Group CEO Steven Cain said the pilot is one of the many ways Coles plans to be a champion for accessibility and disability inclusion.

“We encourage and support the employment of people with disability and we’re committed to building a team that’s representative of the local communities we’re part of,” Mr Cain said.

“We know that more than 3% of our workforce identify as having disability and we want to ensure that our management team take our learnings from this pilot to help our disability hiring acumen across Coles Group more broadly, and ultimately seek to increase the number of people with a disability that we hire.”

Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston said with more than 2.1 million working age Australians with a disability, the pilot would test a best practice approach for employing people with disability and train employers and recruitment officers to apply more inclusive recruitment process to their own businesses.

“People with disability are hardworking and dedicated employees but too often businesses fail to recognise or even consider their skills and capability,” Minister Ruston said.

“The RecruitAble pilot aims to provide organisations with insights into the accessibility of the current recruitment process and identify the key areas for improving the hiring process.

“Having a job is an absolute game changer in everyone’s life and that shouldn’t be any different for someone who has a disability,” Minister Ruston said.

Get Skilled Access founder Dylan Alcott said his company is thrilled to be continuing to work with Coles.

“Our company, Get Skilled Access, is already partnering with Coles to help their staff become more inclusive and disability confident, making the shopping experience for people with disability more accessible and easier,” Mr Alcott said.

“It’s awesome that Coles, one of Australia’s largest employers, is involved with RecruitAble and are committed to creating more job opportunities for people with disability.”

Between half and three quarters of renters are living in housing stress in 15 eastern seaboard electorates, according to heatmaps released today by Everybody’s Home.

The maps reveal the combined impact of surging rents and stagnant wages is particularly felt in outer suburban and coastal communities. It comes as more than 150 organisations working at the coalface of the housing and homelessness crisis release a joint letter calling on Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to invest in more social housing at the coming federal Budget.

Proportion of renters living in housing stress – top five electorates by state. (Digital Finance Analytics & UNSW City Futures Research Centre)

MACARTHUR – 76.5%

CHIFLEY – 73.6%

MITCHELL – 73.0%

BARTON – 70.5%

ROBERTSON – 70.0%

BOWMAN – 59.8%

FORDE – 57.8%

WRIGHT – 57.0%

PETRIE – 53.5%

OXLEY – 52.9%

BRUCE – 64%

CALWELL – 63.3%

HOLT – 63.1%

LALOR – 62.9%

McEWEN – 61.5%

Voters living in Australia’s three largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are hardest hit by rent and mortgage stress, with rental stress between 40-70% across a majority of seats in all three state capitals.

Australians in regional electorates are also feeling the squeeze of soaring housing costs with more than 60% of renters in the NSW regional seats of Robertson, Dobell, Gilmore, Lyne, and flood-ravaged Cowper and Page in NSW living in rental stress, as well as the Geelong-based seat of Corio in Victoria.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Kate Colvin said the data demonstrated that the need for investment in social housing has never been greater.

“Incomes are not keeping up with surging housing costs. This is no longer an issue which impacts only those on modest incomes or those living in the major cities. Middle income Australians can’t keep up with rent and mortgage payments. Regional communities are also experiencing housing crises never seen before.

“There is no time to waste, we need an urgent commitment from the Treasurer to invest in social housing in the upcoming federal budget. Millions of Australians are counting on it.”

The new data comes in the wake of survey results across the seats of Gilmore (NSW), Longman (Qld), and Flinders (Vic) showing an overwhelming majority believe the Federal Government has failed to confront the housing rental crisis.

Despite worsening rental affordability, federal funding for social housing continues to decline. In 2013-14 federal funding for social and Indigenous housing was over $2 billion, but on current forecasts the Commonwealth will spend just $1.6 billion in 2023-24.

Responding to the data, over 150 of Australia’s community and faith organisations, and unions are calling on the Federal Government to use the upcoming Budget to improve housing affordability for Australians struggling in the rental market.

Kate Colvin said an investment in social housing would do more than just alleviate housing stress. It would also boost the Australian economy, a fact referenced in the letter to the Treasurer.

“Investing in social housing is more than just proving everyone a place to call home. It will also provide our economy with a significant economic boost. Building just 25,000 social and affordable homes per year would generate annual economic output of $12.7 billion and create 15,700 jobs,” Ms Colvin said.

“The upcoming federal budget represents a unique opportunity for Treasurer Josh Frydenberg which cannot be wasted. Failure to deliver more social housing will further exacerbate what is already a developing social crisis.”

Supporting children’s wellbeing critical to safeguard the next generation’s mental health

Monday, 21 March – Research from Camp Australia, the nation’s largest provider of Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), has found children in Australia’s most locked down states – ACT, NSW and Vic – have been most impacted by the pandemic. These findings have highlighted the need to support young Australians’ mental wellbeing now to decrease the likelihood of the continued disruption from the pandemic impacting their future.

In the ACT, 97% of parents said children felt disconnected from friends and family due to remote learning and pandemic restrictions. In NSW (94%) and Vic (93%), parents also shared this concern.

Across the country, parents were concerned about the increase in the amount of time their children spent in front of screens (82%) and the fall in their physical activity (68%). Principals (91%) were mostly concerned about the pandemic increasing children’s social anxiety and emotional instability. Principals (80%) were also concerned about the impact on learning.

Parents and principals were both concerned about children feeling disconnected from friendship groups, particularly in the states where children spent the most time learning and connecting in virtual classrooms. Continued disruption from the pandemic and the recent flooding events are set to exacerbate feelings of disruption and disconnection.

The research, completed by Camp Australia in December 2021, surveyed more than 3,000 parents and 89 principals from Camp Australia partner schools.

Clinical psychologist and family therapist, Dr Andrew Fuller, says Camp Australia’s latest survey calls for immediate action from parents and schools.

“We need to take these impacts like children feeling more disconnected very seriously. Because one of the patterns of psychological ill health is that when you have a condition, you have increased likelihood of that condition in the future. In times of dislocation like now, we all need to work harder to recreate a sense of belonging and connection,” he says.

“Getting children involved in activities where they learn and socialise in a less structured environment, outside the classroom is helpful, says Dr Fuller.

“COVID took fun away so we need to create safe play spaces for children where they can learn, have fun, feel excited about their lives, try different activities and explore the world.”

Warren Jacobson, CEO for Camp Australia, said: “Two years into the pandemic, children have missed their friends; they have spent more time in front of screens and less time being active outdoors. As a result, they’re more anxious.

“Knowing the issues children face gives parents and educators a great opportunity to work together to help children settle back into school, redevelop a sense of belonging, rekindle friendships, and reconnect with their learning.

“Outside of school we offer a range of activities such as sport, cooking, drama and ‘arts and crafts’ that encourage socialisation, create excitement, and build confidence. Our Big Art Competition that started last week is designed to use art to help children express their emotions through art. We know children with stronger social and emotional skills often progress more rapidly with their academic skills. Now more than ever Outside School Hours Care is playing a critical role in the transition out of the pandemic, providing a sense of normalcy as much as possible