New telco consumer safeguards bill introduced to Parliament

The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards and Other Measures) Bill will improve the statutory infrastructure provider (SIP) regime in a number of ways. The SIP regime ensures Australians can access high-speed broadband wherever they live or carry on business, and provides appropriate protections.

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Sara Johnston
Murray-Darling Basin Plan rescued

The Albanese Labor Government’s bill to rescue the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has passed the Senate, and is now set to pass the Parliament.

This is a historic day for the Murray-Darling Basin and the communities, industries, farmers, First Nations groups and environment that rely on it.

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Sara Johnston
Report | Australian Jobs 2023

Jobs and Skills Australia and National Careers Institute have recently released their report, Australian Jobs 2023. Australian Jobs 2023, is designed to give people an insight into the Australian labour market to help guide their decisions at any point in their career.

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Sara Johnston
Report | Regional News Media 2023

University of Technology Sydney (UTS) recently released their second regional media report. The UTS Centre for Media Transition (CMT) examines the flow of narratives between metro and regional news media on important policy discussions.

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Sara Johnston
Albanese Government delivers credit card ban for online wagering

Australians will soon not be able to use credit cards, credit-related products and digital currency to gamble online, as a result of the Albanese Government’s new laws designed to minimise gambling harm which passed the Parliament last night. This legislation to amend the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 will bring online wagering into line with land‑based gambling regulations – where credit card use is banned – and meaningfully improve protections for vulnerable and at-risk Australians and their families.

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Sara Johnston
Minns Labor Government establishes taskforce to tackle emergency department wait times

The NSW State government will establish a new taskforce to tackle emergency department (ED) wait times. The ED Taskforce comes off the back of the success of the Surgical Care Taskforce – established on the Health Minister’s first day in office – which has seen overdue surgeries more than halved. The ED Taskforce will comprise health workers and NSW Health officials, from across the state’s various local health districts and specialty networks, including from regional communities.

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Sara Johnston
Ensuring Australia Post can deliver more for Australians

Following public consultation, and co-designed workforce trials, new regulations will be introduced to support more efficient letter delivery, while supporting the jobs of postal workers. Australia Post connects millions of consumers and businesses. It is a key enabler of e-commerce and brings Australians together – particularly in regional and rural communities.

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Sara Johnston
Infrastructure Australia legislation passes Senate

The Australian Government is getting on with the job of restoring Infrastructure Australia (IA) as the Commonwealth’s premier adviser on major infrastructure investment, with the Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Independent Review) Bill 2023 passed by the Senate today.

Passage of this Bill by the Senate is an important step in delivering the Federal Government’s election commitment to restore IA’s crucial role as the Government’s independent infrastructure adviser.

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Sara Johnston
Beat the Heat this summer

In preparation for what is expected to be a very hot summer, NSW Health has released public health resources to educate the community on how to beat the heat and stay healthy during periods of increasingly hot weather and heatwaves.

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Sara Johnston
Six-month silica safety blitz to protect workers’ health

The NSW Government has launched a 6-month campaign targeting silica dust exposure in the construction and tunnelling industry.

While manufactured stone is the leading cause of silicosis, workers can also be exposed to silica dust during tunnelling, demolition and excavation work, or from uncontrolled cutting, grinding and drilling of common building materials including bricks, concrete, sandstone and tiles.

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Sara Johnston
More than $46 million builds back more resilient Aboriginal-owned assets

Nearly 30 programs will share in $46.3 million to repair, restore and improve First Nations-owned social and cultural assets, directly damaged by floods in flood-impacted regions across New South Wales, through funding from the Federal and State Governments.

The Aboriginal-owned Assets Program was open to 19 of the most flood-affected Local Government Areas, impacted in the February and June floods last year, through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

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Sara Johnston
NSW Health signs Paris declaration to end HIV epidemics by 2030

NSW has joined a global partnership between more than 500 cities to end HIV epidemics by 2030 after Health Minister Ryan Park signed the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities agreement. Mr Park said the Paris Declaration targets were well within reach, with NSW already well on the way towards the virtual elimination of HIV across the state.

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Sara Johnston
NSW Shared Equity housing initiative expands to support DV victim-survivors

The NSW Government is today taking a meaningful step to better support victim-survivors of domestic and family violence, with the expansion of the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper trial. From 1 December, the eligibility criteria for the initiative will expand to include specific reference to domestic and family violence victim-survivors. The expansion of the program means that domestic and family violence victim-survivors and other eligible applicants can now access the scheme.

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Sara Johnston
1.3 million reasons to celebrate people with disability

The NSW Government is celebrating the contributions and achievements of more than 1.3 million people with disability across NSW, as the state marks International Day of People with Disability. The day promotes community awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability, who play a valuable role in society.

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Sara Johnston
NSW leads the way in tackling digital skills shortage

The NSW Government is joining leaders across government, the digital industry, and education and training providers to address the projected shortage of 85,000 digital workers in NSW by 2030. This collaborative effort involves the participation of 37 compact partners, spanning across the highest levels of industry. Combined, compact partners have a reach of 1.7 million students and represent over 340,000 digital workers in NSW.

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Sara Johnston
Government takes next step in fight against scams

The proposed Scams Code Framework is the next stage in the Government’s fight against the scourge of scams, which cost Australians over $3.1 billion last year. The proposed Framework would set clear roles and responsibilities across the scams ecosystem, with an initial focus on banks, telecommunications providers and digital platforms, to make Australia an even harder target for scammers.

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Sara Johnston
Activating regional, rural and remote communities

The Federal Government continues to invest in the liveability, sustainability and resilience of regional, rural and remote communities – with over $1.5 million in grants flowing to 55 local-led projects across the country. Delivered through the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal’s (FRRR) Strengthening Rural Communities program, the grants will support local organisations to uplift their communities, following significant disruption from COVID-19.

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Sara Johnston
$3 million delivered to help prevent online abuse of women and children

Seven organisations will share in $3 million in initial grant funding to prevent the abuse of women and children online, as part of a $10 million package funded by the Australian Government.
 
The Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women Grants Program administered by eSafety supports initiatives aiming to curb technology-facilitated gender-based violence and abuse directed at women and children.

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Sara Johnston