Dr Rob Vertessy has today announced that he will retire as Director of the Bureau of Meteorology on 29 April 2016. Dr Vertessy has been an outstanding Director of the Bureau – one of the most respected and valuable public institutions in Australia. Dr Vertessy has enjoyed a long and distinguished public service career in…
The Australian Government is taking further steps to tackle the detrimental impact of plastics on our environment. Last December, Commonwealth, state and territory Environment Ministers announced plans to achieve a voluntary phase out of microbeads by no later than July 2018. “Today I am pleased to announce that the Federal Government is taking a stronger…
E&OE…. Topics: Ministerial Roundtable, plastic shopping bags, microbeads, election timing TOM ELLIOTT: Mr Hunt, good afternoon. GREG HUNT: And good afternoon Tom. TOM ELLIOTT: Okay, so you've just been talking to your state counterparts about this very issue. Have you banned plastic bags? GREG HUNT: No. What has happened… TOM ELLIOTT: Are you about to…
E&OE…. Topics: Ministerial Roundtable, plastic shopping bags, microbeads GREG HUNT: Let me start in welcoming everybody here, by thanking Nadia – she talked about Cam Kerr as one of the big bosses, and I always agree with that – but she talked about the custodianship of Indigenous leaders for land and country, and being out…
The Australian Government will commit an immediate $60,000 to kick-start urgent research into the best way to reduce plastic pollution in our oceans, reefs and waterways. The funding, under the National Environmental Science Programme’s (NESP) emerging priorities stream, will investigate the major sources of marine plastic waste around Australia and determine the most cost-effective options…
On behalf of the Australian Government I would like to thank all those involved in the successful operation to refloat the Aurora Australis late last night (Friday, Hobart time). This has been an exceptionally difficult operation in a dangerous and hostile environment. After breaking mooring lines during a blizzard on Wednesday, I am pleased to…
I am delighted to announce that grants of between $5,000 and $20,000 are available through Round 2 of the Coalition Government’s Stronger Communities Program, which opened this week. Grants will be made available to not-for-profit organisations for local projects across the electorate, covering 50 per cent of the project cost. The Stronger Communities Program will…
Community members are invited to apply for Community Heritage and Icons Grants to raise awareness and recognition of places on our National Heritage List, such as Point Nepean. Point Nepean is one of 104 places, and the only place in the electorate, on the National Heritage List. Recognised for its role in defining our nation's…
The Australian Government will soon be inviting organisations to apply for large-scale projects under round five of the Green Army Programme. Organisations will be invited to submit multi-project proposals showing how they could use between three and 15 Green Army teams over a period of two to three years from July 2016 to improve their…
Many of our older citizens contribute an inordinate amount to the community through a variety of volunteer roles and I want to honour these people by inviting nominations for the Flinders Seniors Awards. The awards recognise the significant contribution our older residents make to the community, whether it is through working at an op-shop, reading…