A public consultation process has been opened  on a draft bill to set up new Tasmanian Health Organisations.

A new ministerial-level Maritime Advisory Council is to be established in NSW under legislation introduced by Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay.

Mr Gay said the Council would provide expert and independent advice to the Minister on boating safety, as well as monitoring boating crash statistics and trends, and advising on expenditure priorities.

The Council will be independently chaired, and will include representation from the major recreational boating and commercial vessel sectors.

"Sitting under the new integrated transport agency, Transport for NSW, this new advisory council will set new standards for transparency and accountability," the Minister said.

"One of the first priorities for the Council will be to help develop a policy agenda for safety reforms, access to waterways, and boat storage.

"These three challenges have been squarely laid at our door and I'm looking to the Council, key boating groups, and everyone who enjoys boating of any kind to help solve these problems," Mr Gay said.

Full details of the council are expected to be announced before October.

The Queensland Government and Energy Skills Queensland (ESQ) are working together to prepare 100 jobseekers in South East Queensland for work on the National Broadband Network roll out and the Digital TV switch-over.

Almost two thirds of the New South Wales public servants on the so-called unattached list have accepted an incentive payment to leave the public service.

The Western Australian Government will retain its 15 per cent domestic gas reservation requirement for all gas projects, and implement measures to improve transparency in the gas market.

The Federal Minister for Sustainability, Tony Burke, has released the final national heritage assessment of the West Kimberly region by the Australian Heritage Council (AHC).

Global recruitment agency Hays has published a research white paper into the skills shortage in Australia, finding that the public sector is suffering the largest shortage in the country.

Proponents for the Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas (APLNG) project have made their final investment decision.


The US $20 billion Final Investment Decision for an initial train and common facilities of a two train 9.0 million tonnes per annum coal seam gas to LNG project will secure 6000 jobs in the state.


The APLNG project comprises the development of coal seam gas fields in the Surat and Bowen Basins, a 450 km transmission pipeline to Gladstone and a LNG facility on Curtis Island, near Gladstone.


The APLNG project has already invested $2.4 billion in Queensland in its first two and a half years as a joint venture project.

The Australian and South Australian Governments have finalised an agreement for Australian Government funding of $228 million towards the expansion of the Adelaide Desalination Plant to 100 gigalitres, as part of its total commitment of $328 million towards the plant.

Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, Senator Don Farrell and South Australian Minister for Water and the River Murray Paul Caica, said the funding will provide a substantial benefit for South Australia's security of domestic supply while also supplying environmental benefits.

"The agreement ensures a six gigalitre environmental water entitlement for the River Murray every year, and will also provide between 12 and 24 gigalitres as an environmental allocation during favourable years—capped at 120 gigalitres over a 10 year rolling period," Senator Farrell said.


"It's a landmark step in creating a sustainable future for Adelaide—balancing the needs of a growing population and the need to secure environmental flows for the iconic River Murray.


"This investment illustrates the government's commitment to water security in Adelaide, along with the more than $230 million already committed to a range of urban water projects in South Australia such as stormwater harvesting and water recycling."


Environmental water delivery and use will be confirmed by the Murray Darling Basin Authority and will be open and publicly reported. Once an appropriate accounting methodology has been agreed with the MDBA, the environmental water will be available to offset any sustainable diversion limit that may be established by the Basin Plan for South Australia.

The Queensland State Government has pledged to half the amount of landfill currently being produced while generating ‘thousands of green jobs’ through investing in recycling and resource recovery.

The Tasmanian Minister for Health, Michelle O’Byrne has outlined a number of spending cuts to the state’s health sector, following the recent state budget that called for over $100 million to be pulled from state’s health system.

The NSW Government has appointed a Health and Medical Research Strategic Review Committee to develop a 10-year plan for medical research in the state.

The Federal Government has released its first discussion paper for its planned tax reform, described the move as the first step in ‘an ambitious tax reform agenda’.

The South Australian Legislative Council Bob Sneath has said that there might be enough support in the Labour Party to push through a leadership spill that would see Premier Mike Rann removed from power.

The Federal Government has released its feasibility study into the development of a high-speed rail network to connect eastern seaboard cities, finding that such a network could transport passengers from Sydney to Brisbane in under 3 hours for an estimated $75.

The Queensland Government has announced a new $45 million pool of funding to provide essential infrastructure works.

The Western Australian Government has reiterated its opposition to the planned Minerals Resource Rent Tax and Carbon Tax with the State Treasurer Christian Porter expressing his disappointment over the Federal Government’s refusal to discuss the taxes in the October Tax forum.

The NSW Environmental Trust invites applications to its

Environmental Restoration and Rehabilitation Program

Grants of $5,000 to $100,000 available to:

Community organisations and non-profit associations (total program $2 million)

State and local government organisations (total program $2 million)

Applications close on 2 September, 2011

 Application Forms

Guidelines, application forms and more information is available on the Trust website:

www.environmentaltrust.nsw.gov.au  or by phoning the Trust on (02) 8837 6093.

The Victorian  Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith has announced the recipients of the government's $5.67 million Local Sustainability Accord grants program.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has insisted his party is determined to comply with transparency laws regarding political donations, despite a Liberal party fundraising body missing a deadline to declare its donations by over nine months.