Reminder: Woolworths End Single Use Plastic Bags On June 20th, 2018
Woolworths: We've set the date for the end of single-use plastic bags.
The removal of single-use plastic bags has been a really important topic for our customers and our team. Which is why, Woolworths committed to phase out all single-use plastic bags at our checkouts nationally.
After listening to our customers and working with our teams, we're proud to announce that from the 20th of June 2018 all Woolworths stores will be single-use plastic bag free. We are committed to playing our part in reducing plastic usage and believe that this is the right thing to do for our environment.
This means that we, from the 20th of June, will no longer provide ‘free’ plastic bags at our checkouts in store. We've always encouraged the use of reusable bags and with this change it's now more important than ever for customers to bring in their own bags from home or pick up one of our reusable bags in store.
The Woolworths team continues to work hard to reduce our impact on the environment by supporting the reduction and recycling of plastics throughout our stores. Other initiatives include reducing the amount of plastic packaging on fruits and vegetables; introducing the new Australasian Recycling Label to help educate our customers on what can be recycled and where, as well as the expansion of our soft plastic recycling program.
Woolworths: We've set the date for the end of single-use plastic bags.
The removal of single-use plastic bags has been a really important topic for our customers and our team. Which is why, Woolworths committed to phase out all single-use plastic bags at our checkouts nationally.
After listening to our customers and working with our teams, we're proud to announce that from the 20th of June 2018 all Woolworths stores will be single-use plastic bag free. We are committed to playing our part in reducing plastic usage and believe that this is the right thing to do for our environment.
This means that we, from the 20th of June, will no longer provide ‘free’ plastic bags at our checkouts in store. We've always encouraged the use of reusable bags and with this change it's now more important than ever for customers to bring in their own bags from home or pick up one of our reusable bags in store.
The Woolworths team continues to work hard to reduce our impact on the environment by supporting the reduction and recycling of plastics throughout our stores. Other initiatives include reducing the amount of plastic packaging on fruits and vegetables; introducing the new Australasian Recycling Label to help educate our customers on what can be recycled and where, as well as the expansion of our soft plastic recycling program.
Have Your Say On The Management Of Forests
New Type Of Photosynthesis Discovered
June 15, 2018
The discovery changes our understanding of the basic mechanism of photosynthesis and should rewrite the textbooks.
It will also tailor the way we hunt for alien life and provide insights into how we could engineer more efficient crops that take advantage of longer wavelengths of light.
The discovery, published today in Science, was led by Imperial College London, supported by the BBSRC, and involved groups from the ANU in Canberra, the CNRS in Paris and Saclay and the CNR in Milan.
The vast majority of life on Earth uses visible red light in the process of photosynthesis, but the new type uses near-infrared light instead. It was detected in a wide range of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) when they grow in near-infrared light, found in shaded conditions like bacterial mats in Yellowstone and in beach rock in Australia.
As scientists have now discovered, it also occurs in a cupboard fitted with infrared LEDs in Imperial College London.
Colony of Chroococcidiopsis-like cells where the different colours represent photosynthesis driven by chlorophyll-a (magenta) and chlorophyll-f (yellow). Credit: Dennis Nuernberg
Photosynthesis beyond the red limit
The standard, near-universal type of photosynthesis uses the green pigment, chlorophyll-a, both to collect light and use its energy to make useful biochemicals and oxygen. The way chlorophyll-a absorbs light means only the energy from red light can be used for photosynthesis.
Since chlorophyll-a is present in all plants, algae and cyanobacteria that we know of, it was considered that the energy of red light set the 'red limit' for photosynthesis; that is, the minimum amount of energy needed to do the demanding chemistry that produces oxygen. The red limit is used in astrobiology to judge whether complex life could have evolved on planets in other solar systems.
However, when some cyanobacteria are grown under near-infrared light, the standard chlorophyll-a-containing systems shut down and different systems containing a different kind of chlorophyll, chlorophyll-f, takes over.
Until now, it was thought that chlorophyll-f just harvested the light. The new research shows that instead chlorophyll-f plays the key role in photosynthesis under shaded conditions, using lower-energy infrared light to do the complex chemistry. This is photosynthesis 'beyond the red limit'.
Lead researcher Professor Bill Rutherford, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: "The new form of photosynthesis made us rethink what we thought was possible. It also changes how we understand the key events at the heart of standard photosynthesis. This is textbook changing stuff."
Preventing damage by light
Another cyanobacterium, Acaryochloris, is already known to do photosynthesis beyond the red limit. However, because it occurs in just this one species, with a very specific habitat, it had been considered a 'one-off'. Acaryochloris lives underneath a green sea-squirt that shades out most of the visible light leaving just the near-infrared.
The chlorophyll-f based photosynthesis reported today represents a third type of photosynthesis that is widespread. However, it is only used in special infrared-rich shaded conditions; in normal light conditions, the standard red form of photosynthesis is used.
It was thought that light damage would be more severe beyond the red limit, but the new study shows that it is not a problem in stable, shaded environments.
Co-author Dr Andrea Fantuzzi, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: "Finding a type of photosynthesis that works beyond the red limit changes our understanding of the energy requirements of photosynthesis. This provides insights into light energy use and into mechanisms that protect the systems against damage by light."
These insights could be useful for researchers trying to engineer crops to perform more efficient photosynthesis by using a wider range of light. How these cyanobacteria protect themselves from damage caused by variations in the brightness of light could help researchers discover what is feasible to engineer into crop plants.
Textbook-changing insights
More detail could be seen in the new systems than has ever been seen before in the standard chlorophyll-a systems. The chlorophylls often termed 'accessory' chlorophylls were actually performing the crucial chemical step, rather than the textbook 'special pair' of chlorophylls in the centre of the complex.
This indicates that this pattern holds for the other types of photosynthesis, which would change the textbook view of how the dominant form of photosynthesis works.
Dr Dennis Nürnberg, the first author and initiator of the study, said: "I did not expect that my interest in cyanobacteria and their diverse lifestyles would snowball into a major change in how we understand photosynthesis. It is amazing what is still out there in nature waiting to be discovered."
Peter Burlinson, lead for frontier bioscience at BBSRC -- UKRI says, "This is an important discovery in photosynthesis, a process that plays a crucial role in the biology of the crops that feed the world. Discoveries like this push the boundaries of our understanding of life and Professor Bill Rutherford and the team at Imperial should be congratulated for revealing a new perspective on such a fundamental process."
Dennis J. Nürnberg, Jennifer Morton, Stefano Santabarbara, Alison Telfer, Pierre Joliot, Laura A. Antonaru, Alexander V. Ruban, Tanai Cardona, Elmars Krausz, Alain Boussac, Andrea Fantuzzi, A. William Rutherford. Photochemistry beyond the red limit in chlorophyll f–containing photosystems. Science, 2018; 360 (6394): 1210 DOI: 10.1126/science.aar8313
The 2018 NSW Grandparents Day Photography Competition Is Now Open!
June 15, 2018: NSW Government
We’re calling on grandparents and grandchildren of all ages to get involved in the NSW Grandparents Day Photography Competition. Now in its third year, the competition celebrates older people and their contributions, while encouraging connections between generations. It’s open to all residents of NSW, young and old. We have two categories:
Open: open to all community members (NSW residents)School: specifically for school-aged entrants in NSW, from Kindergarten to Year 12Our judging panel will review all the entries and select one winner from each category who will be awarded a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet – the perfect tool to help you get creative and stay connected.
What’s your creative take on ‘Intergenerational’?The theme for this year’s competition is ‘intergenerational’. All entries need to bring this theme to life in some way. This could be through the focus of your image, it could be the way you play with ‘older’ and ‘younger’ in the colour scheme, it could be the subject matter or part of your caption – feel free to get creative! We’d love to see what the older people in your life and community mean to you, whether it’s a portrait of your superstar grandparent or an abstract image depicting your stereotype-defying neighbour.
Enter todayTo enter, simply submit your hi-res image along with a caption (up to 50 words) to our competition inbox: GPDphotocomp@oprAgency.com.au.
Entries close 5.00pm AEST on Friday 14 September 2018. For full entry details, check out the terms and conditions here.
Get social with usKeep up to date with competition news and tips by following us on Instagram!
Do I have to be a great photographer to enter?All residents of NSW are encouraged to enter the competition, no matter whether you’re a beginner, an enthusiast or a professional. While artistic merit, composition and technical excellence form part of our judging criteria, entries will also be judged on their originality, their overall impact and their subject matter relevance – how they bring the ‘Intergenerational’ theme to life and celebrate the contribution of older people.
Do I need to be a grandparent to enter? Or does my photo need to be of my grandparent?The competition is open to NSW residents of all ages, provided the entries bring the ‘Intergenerational’ theme to life. Entrants under the age of 18 need permission from their parent or guardian to enter. Check out the full terms and conditions here.
LITTLE REEF At NEWPORT BEACH
Australian Wood Duck Flock In Careel Creek
Photographed June 15th, 2018
The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose (Chenonetta jubata) is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta.
The Australian wood duck was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Anas jubata.This 45–51 cm duck looks like a small goose, and feeds mostly by grazing in flocks.EtymologyChenonetta: Greek: χην khēn, χηνος khēnos “goose”; νηττα nētta “duck”.jubata: Latin: iubatus “maned, crested”, from iuba “mane, crest”
The male is grey with a dark brown head and mottled breast. The female has white stripes above and below the eye and mottled underparts. Both sexes have grey wings with black primaries and a white speculum. Juveniles are similar to adult females, but lighter and with a more streaky breast.
Male Australian wood duck
Female Australian wood duck
The Australian wood duck is widespread in Australia, including Tasmania. The Australian wood duck is found in grasslands, open woodlands, wetlands, flooded pastures and along the coast in inlets and bays. It is also common on farmland with dams, as well as around rice fields, sewage ponds and in urban parks. It will often be found around deeper lakes that may be unsuitable for other waterbirds' foraging, as it prefers to forage on land.
The most common call is a loud, rising croaky gnow sound by the females, and the male call is the same except smoother, shorter and higher than the females. Staccato chattering is also present in flocks.
Photographed June 15th, 2018
The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose (Chenonetta jubata) is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta.
The Australian wood duck was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Anas jubata.
This 45–51 cm duck looks like a small goose, and feeds mostly by grazing in flocks.
Etymology
Chenonetta: Greek: χην khēn, χηνος khēnos “goose”; νηττα nētta “duck”.
jubata: Latin: iubatus “maned, crested”, from iuba “mane, crest”
The male is grey with a dark brown head and mottled breast. The female has white stripes above and below the eye and mottled underparts. Both sexes have grey wings with black primaries and a white speculum. Juveniles are similar to adult females, but lighter and with a more streaky breast.
Male Australian wood duck
Female Australian wood duck
The Australian wood duck is widespread in Australia, including Tasmania. The Australian wood duck is found in grasslands, open woodlands, wetlands, flooded pastures and along the coast in inlets and bays. It is also common on farmland with dams, as well as around rice fields, sewage ponds and in urban parks. It will often be found around deeper lakes that may be unsuitable for other waterbirds' foraging, as it prefers to forage on land.
The most common call is a loud, rising croaky gnow sound by the females, and the male call is the same except smoother, shorter and higher than the females. Staccato chattering is also present in flocks.
Whales Breaching Off Avalon Beach
Photographed 10.30 a.m. June 15th, 2018
There's a constant stream of whales heading north at present - a fair way out today; so you need a better camera with longer lens than this - but the breaches are seeable.Five of us on shore at Sth. Av. - 'Did you see that one?!'All strangers - all joined in enjoying the best show in Winter.
Photographed 10.30 a.m. June 15th, 2018
There's a constant stream of whales heading north at present - a fair way out today; so you need a better camera with longer lens than this - but the breaches are seeable.
Five of us on shore at Sth. Av. - 'Did you see that one?!'
All strangers - all joined in enjoying the best show in Winter.
A Whale Breach A Lot Closer Than That
Wollemi Pines Are Dinosaur Trees
June 15, 2018by Cris Brack, Assoc Professor Forest measurement & management, Australian National UniversityThere’s a tree that once covered the whole of Australia, then dwindled to a dozen examples, and is now spread around the world. We call it the Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis), but you could call it the dinosaur tree.
Fossil evidence indicates that between 200 million and 100 million years ago, Wollemi pine was present across all of Australia. A dryer, more flammable continent is likely to have driven the tree to near extinction over the millennia, leaving just a very small remnant of the Wollemi in a secluded deep gully not far from Sydney.
And there these trees remained, hidden, until they were discovered by a canyoning National Park worker in 1994.
A spectacular discoveryThe reaction to the discovery of this tree, thought to have disappeared 100 million years ago and only known through its fossils, was spectacular. Great secrecy was maintained around the site of the find. Because there were so few, the individual trees in the gorge were given their own names to celebrate their importance and acknowledge the efforts of those trying to protect them.
Scientists, arborists and botanists swung into action to discover ways to propagate more trees and establish other colonies of the Wollemi as insurance against that single refuge being lost.
There was a great sigh of relief when it was discovered that trees could be successfully cloned, and new trees were potted up in the Sydney and Mount Annan Botanic Gardens. The interest in these original cloned offspring was so great that they were auctioned off by Sotheby’s, with the profits going back to support more research into this little-known living fossil.
Students and staff from my school at the Australian National University pooled together to bid for a clone of the Wollemi, christened the “John Banks” – named for our colleague Dr John C.G. Banks, who was one of the first researchers to describe the tree’s dendrology. We planted our tree in memory of John, with a cage around it because it was so rare and valuable.
Sent around the worldIn 2006, just over a decade after the original discovery, huge numbers of cloned Wollemi Pine seedlings were released from the official nursery in Queensland.
Every major nursery in Australia stocked potted Wollemi Pines for sale to a public who were keen to own a piece of ancient life and help ensure it didn’t go extinct. Enthusiasts around the world also bought their own dinosaur trees.
But it’s not just gardeners who have spread the Wollemi back to all corners of Australia and across the seas. Special Wollemi pines are also in the diplomatic service, having been presented by Australian prime ministers and foreign affairs ministers to various dignitaries.
Sir David Attenborough planted a Wollemi pine at Kew Gardens in West London, in May 2005. photo courtesy EPA/Geoff Caddick
Seedlings are an obvious choice to represent long-term friendship and trust, as the act of planting a tree is one of hope for the future and a common good. A seedling that can trace its history back more than 100 million years, and which represents the reversal of an extinction, is even better.
Wollemi were thought to be extinct long before humans arrived in Australia, so there is no opportunity for humans to have used it in any specific way. However, ancient species may have properties or traits that are no longer present in evolved plants and these may be useful. For example, extracts from Wollemi pine leaves have been found to be successful in inhibiting a pest that affects winter wheat production – which may help control an expensive problem without herbicides.
Scientists found that extracts from the leaves of the Wollemi contained chemicals that had never previously been described, and which suppressed annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum). The ryegrass, like many modern weeds, has evolved in the absence of Wollemi and thus was unlikely to have developed resistance to its chemistry.
How does it grow?Little was known about Wollemi pines when the remnant was found. We knew the conditions of the gorge where they grew, but not whether these were optimal. Could the tree survive in hotter or cooler, drier or wetter, more clay or gravelly soils?
We now know from planting experience outside the National Park that Wollemi pines can grow on exposed rock slopes, surviving frost and temperatures lower than -5℃ with the help of a waxy coat it puts on top of its growing buds. They can also survive heat greater than 45℃ in full sun.
Some Wollemi pines have been known to happily sit in small pots on verandas or decks, growing to over 3 metres – only to die within weeks of being transplanted into carefully prepared holes. They can be slow-growing, but given good light and moisture they can grow more than 50cm per year. Horticulturalists and the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens continue to work on finding the best ways of tending these pines.
Wollemi pines, unlike their nearest neighbours in the Araucariaceae, can also produce coppice or epicormic shoots in response to drought or fire. It is likely that this ability is responsible for the survival of the original remanants in the National Park, with new upper stems regenerating from below-ground stocks century after century.
A potential issue with clonal reproduction is the lack of genetic diversity, which could make the pines susceptible to further environmental changes or pests. However, many trees are maturing and producing viable seeds, and there is certainly diversity in the phenology with some Wollemi of the same age producing female cones, some male cones (and some both).
Despite the ability to survive cold and heat and even recover from damage using epicormics, Wollemi Pines may not make ideal street trees, as the branches on the trunk shed relatively quickly. Shedding leaves, bark or branches are regularly complained about by residents in cities. But in the right place in a backyard – with low frost intensity, warm summers and enough moisture – you can grow your very own dinosaur tree.
____________________________________
First published by The Conversation as part of their new Beating Around the Bush, a series that profiles native plants. Read more about the series here or get in touch to pitch a plant at batb@theconversation.edu.au.Republished under Creative Commons licence.
June 15, 2018
by Cris Brack, Assoc Professor Forest measurement & management, Australian National University
There’s a tree that once covered the whole of Australia, then dwindled to a dozen examples, and is now spread around the world. We call it the Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis), but you could call it the dinosaur tree.
Fossil evidence indicates that between 200 million and 100 million years ago, Wollemi pine was present across all of Australia. A dryer, more flammable continent is likely to have driven the tree to near extinction over the millennia, leaving just a very small remnant of the Wollemi in a secluded deep gully not far from Sydney.
And there these trees remained, hidden, until they were discovered by a canyoning National Park worker in 1994.
A spectacular discovery
The reaction to the discovery of this tree, thought to have disappeared 100 million years ago and only known through its fossils, was spectacular. Great secrecy was maintained around the site of the find. Because there were so few, the individual trees in the gorge were given their own names to celebrate their importance and acknowledge the efforts of those trying to protect them.
Scientists, arborists and botanists swung into action to discover ways to propagate more trees and establish other colonies of the Wollemi as insurance against that single refuge being lost.
There was a great sigh of relief when it was discovered that trees could be successfully cloned, and new trees were potted up in the Sydney and Mount Annan Botanic Gardens. The interest in these original cloned offspring was so great that they were auctioned off by Sotheby’s, with the profits going back to support more research into this little-known living fossil.
Students and staff from my school at the Australian National University pooled together to bid for a clone of the Wollemi, christened the “John Banks” – named for our colleague Dr John C.G. Banks, who was one of the first researchers to describe the tree’s dendrology. We planted our tree in memory of John, with a cage around it because it was so rare and valuable.
Sent around the world
In 2006, just over a decade after the original discovery, huge numbers of cloned Wollemi Pine seedlings were released from the official nursery in Queensland.
Every major nursery in Australia stocked potted Wollemi Pines for sale to a public who were keen to own a piece of ancient life and help ensure it didn’t go extinct. Enthusiasts around the world also bought their own dinosaur trees.
But it’s not just gardeners who have spread the Wollemi back to all corners of Australia and across the seas. Special Wollemi pines are also in the diplomatic service, having been presented by Australian prime ministers and foreign affairs ministers to various dignitaries.
Sir David Attenborough planted a Wollemi pine at Kew Gardens in West London, in May 2005. photo courtesy EPA/Geoff Caddick
Seedlings are an obvious choice to represent long-term friendship and trust, as the act of planting a tree is one of hope for the future and a common good. A seedling that can trace its history back more than 100 million years, and which represents the reversal of an extinction, is even better.
Wollemi were thought to be extinct long before humans arrived in Australia, so there is no opportunity for humans to have used it in any specific way. However, ancient species may have properties or traits that are no longer present in evolved plants and these may be useful. For example, extracts from Wollemi pine leaves have been found to be successful in inhibiting a pest that affects winter wheat production – which may help control an expensive problem without herbicides.
Scientists found that extracts from the leaves of the Wollemi contained chemicals that had never previously been described, and which suppressed annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum). The ryegrass, like many modern weeds, has evolved in the absence of Wollemi and thus was unlikely to have developed resistance to its chemistry.
How does it grow?
Little was known about Wollemi pines when the remnant was found. We knew the conditions of the gorge where they grew, but not whether these were optimal. Could the tree survive in hotter or cooler, drier or wetter, more clay or gravelly soils?
We now know from planting experience outside the National Park that Wollemi pines can grow on exposed rock slopes, surviving frost and temperatures lower than -5℃ with the help of a waxy coat it puts on top of its growing buds. They can also survive heat greater than 45℃ in full sun.
Some Wollemi pines have been known to happily sit in small pots on verandas or decks, growing to over 3 metres – only to die within weeks of being transplanted into carefully prepared holes. They can be slow-growing, but given good light and moisture they can grow more than 50cm per year. Horticulturalists and the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens continue to work on finding the best ways of tending these pines.
Wollemi pines, unlike their nearest neighbours in the Araucariaceae, can also produce coppice or epicormic shoots in response to drought or fire. It is likely that this ability is responsible for the survival of the original remanants in the National Park, with new upper stems regenerating from below-ground stocks century after century.
A potential issue with clonal reproduction is the lack of genetic diversity, which could make the pines susceptible to further environmental changes or pests. However, many trees are maturing and producing viable seeds, and there is certainly diversity in the phenology with some Wollemi of the same age producing female cones, some male cones (and some both).
Despite the ability to survive cold and heat and even recover from damage using epicormics, Wollemi Pines may not make ideal street trees, as the branches on the trunk shed relatively quickly. Shedding leaves, bark or branches are regularly complained about by residents in cities. But in the right place in a backyard – with low frost intensity, warm summers and enough moisture – you can grow your very own dinosaur tree.
____________________________________
First published by The Conversation as part of their new Beating Around the Bush, a series that profiles native plants. Read more about the series here or get in touch to pitch a plant at batb@theconversation.edu.au.
Republished under Creative Commons licence.
Research Underway At The Lake Cargelligo Fish And Bird Nursery
June 14, 2018: NSW Office of Environment & HeritageRecent surveys of both fish and birds in and around Lake Cargelligo by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and a local ecologist are helping to develop a more complete picture about how the lake contributes to the ecological health of the whole Lachlan valley.OEH ecologist Dr Jo Lenehan says the research is helping to understand the role the waterway plays as a breeding area for a range of native species.
“Our research has involved taking fish samples during all three of the most recent inflows to Lake Cargelligo, and we’ve found strong numbers of juveniles from a surprising array of species,” says Dr Lenehan.
Dr Lenehan works closely with local ecologist Adam Kerezsy, whose local insights are then made available to the Lachlan Environmental Water Advisory Group and considered in environmental water plans for the Lachlan valley.
“It’s been fantastic to see plenty of baby bony bream and other small species like gudgeons, Australian smelt and hardyhead as part of this research, because even though people don’t usually see them these are the species that underpin our ecosystem. Without small fish, we’re unlikely to have big fish like cod and Golden perch,” said Mr Kerezsy.
“Bony bream school and are a main food source for the larger fish-eating birds like pelicans and cormorants, and we’ve also seen large numbers of pelicans feeding on Lake Cargelligo, especially as Lake Brewster draws down after the end of the irrigation season and food supplies within Brewster become limited. Lake Cargelligo is now providing a productive and important foraging ground for both adults and juvenile pelicans dispersing from their breeding site at Lake Brewster,” he said.
Australian smelt, hardyhead and gudgeons are smaller fish, rarely reaching seven or eight centimetres, but they are still a vital food source, not only for birds like terns and pelicans, but also for larger fish. The research has also shown good numbers of juvenile Golden perch down to 30mm in length, indicating a successful result of local breeding events.
“This big, shallow lake, complete with a lot of different habitats, such as creeks, canals, backwaters and plenty of cover provides an ideal breeding environment for fish because there’s plenty of food and plenty of places to hide. Further work is needed to confirm the extent to which fish species use the lake for breeding before moving back into the river,” said Mr Kerezsy.
Dr Lenehan says that the diversity of waterbirds is also a positive sign, with Lake Cargelligo the only location in the mid-Lachlan where both the sharp-tailed sandpiper and marsh sandpiper were recorded last season.
Pelicans Lake Cargelligo - Photo credit Adam Kerezsy - NSW Office of Environment & Heritage
June 14, 2018: NSW Office of Environment & Heritage
Recent surveys of both fish and birds in and around Lake Cargelligo by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and a local ecologist are helping to develop a more complete picture about how the lake contributes to the ecological health of the whole Lachlan valley.
OEH ecologist Dr Jo Lenehan says the research is helping to understand the role the waterway plays as a breeding area for a range of native species.
“Our research has involved taking fish samples during all three of the most recent inflows to Lake Cargelligo, and we’ve found strong numbers of juveniles from a surprising array of species,” says Dr Lenehan.
Dr Lenehan works closely with local ecologist Adam Kerezsy, whose local insights are then made available to the Lachlan Environmental Water Advisory Group and considered in environmental water plans for the Lachlan valley.
“It’s been fantastic to see plenty of baby bony bream and other small species like gudgeons, Australian smelt and hardyhead as part of this research, because even though people don’t usually see them these are the species that underpin our ecosystem. Without small fish, we’re unlikely to have big fish like cod and Golden perch,” said Mr Kerezsy.
“Bony bream school and are a main food source for the larger fish-eating birds like pelicans and cormorants, and we’ve also seen large numbers of pelicans feeding on Lake Cargelligo, especially as Lake Brewster draws down after the end of the irrigation season and food supplies within Brewster become limited. Lake Cargelligo is now providing a productive and important foraging ground for both adults and juvenile pelicans dispersing from their breeding site at Lake Brewster,” he said.
Australian smelt, hardyhead and gudgeons are smaller fish, rarely reaching seven or eight centimetres, but they are still a vital food source, not only for birds like terns and pelicans, but also for larger fish. The research has also shown good numbers of juvenile Golden perch down to 30mm in length, indicating a successful result of local breeding events.
“This big, shallow lake, complete with a lot of different habitats, such as creeks, canals, backwaters and plenty of cover provides an ideal breeding environment for fish because there’s plenty of food and plenty of places to hide. Further work is needed to confirm the extent to which fish species use the lake for breeding before moving back into the river,” said Mr Kerezsy.
Dr Lenehan says that the diversity of waterbirds is also a positive sign, with Lake Cargelligo the only location in the mid-Lachlan where both the sharp-tailed sandpiper and marsh sandpiper were recorded last season.
Pelicans Lake Cargelligo - Photo credit Adam Kerezsy - NSW Office of Environment & Heritage
Trio Of Infant Planets Discovered Around Newborn Star
June 13, 2018Two independent teams of astronomers have uncovered convincing evidence that three young planets are in orbit around an infant star known as HD 163296. Using a new planet-finding strategy, the astronomers identified three discrete disturbances in a young star's gas-filled disk: the strongest evidence yet that newly formed planets are in orbit there.
Over the past several years, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has transformed our understanding of protoplanetary disks -- the gas- and dust-filled planet factories that encircle young stars. The rings and gaps in these disks provide intriguing circumstantial evidence for the presence of planets. Other phenomena, however, could account for these tantalizing features.
Using a new planet-hunting technique that identifies unusual patterns in the flow of gas within a protoplanetary disk, two teams of astronomers have confirmed the distinct, telltale hallmarks of newly formed planets orbiting an infant star in our galaxy. These results are presented in a pair of papers appearing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
"We looked at the localized, small-scale motion of gas in a star's protoplanetary disk. This entirely new approach could uncover some of the youngest planets in our galaxy, all thanks to the high-resolution images coming from ALMA," said Richard Teague, an astronomer at the University of Michigan and principal author on one of the papers.
To make their respective discoveries, each team analyzed the data from various ALMA observations of the young star HD 163296. HD 163296 is about 4 million years old and located about 330 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
Rather than focusing on the dust within the disk, which was clearly imaged in earlier ALMA observation, the astronomers instead studied the distribution and motion of carbon monoxide (CO) gas throughout the disk. Molecules of CO naturally emit a very distinctive millimeter-wavelength light that ALMA can observe. Subtle changes in the wavelength of this light due to the Doppler effect provide a glimpse into the kinematics -- or motion -- of the gas in the disk.
If there were no planets, gas would move around a star in a very simple, predictable pattern known as Keplerian rotation.
"It would take a relatively massive object, like a planet, to create localized disturbances in this otherwise orderly motion," said Christophe Pinte of Monash University in Australia and lead author on one of the two papers. "Our new technique applies this principle to help us understand how planetary systems form."
The team led by Teague identified two distinctive planet-like patterns in the disk, one at approximately 80 astronomical units (AU) from the star and the other at 140 AU. (An astronomical unit is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, or about 150 million kilometers.) The other team, led by Pinte, identified the third at about 260 AU from the star. The astronomers calculate that all three planets are similar in mass to Jupiter.
The two teams used variations on the same technique, which looked at anomalies in the flow of the gas -- as seen in the shifting wavelengths of the CO emission -- that would indicate it was interacting with a massive object.
Teague and his team measured variations in the gas's velocity. This revealed the impact of multiple planets on the gas motion nearer to the star.
Pinte and his team more directly measured the gas's actual velocity, which is better for studying the outer portion of the disk and can more accurately pinpoint the location of a potential planet.
Artist impression of protoplanets forming around a young star. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; S. Dagnello
Detecting protoplanets"Though thousands of exoplanets have been discovered in the last few decades, detecting protoplanets is at the frontier of science," said Pinte. The techniques currently used for finding exoplanets in fully formed planetary systems -- such as measuring the wobble of a star or how a transiting planet dims starlight -- don't lend themselves to detecting protoplanets.
ALMA's stunning images of HD 163296 and other similar systems have revealed intriguing patterns of concentric rings and gaps within protoplanetary disks. These gaps may be evidence that protoplanets are plowing the dust and gas away from their orbits, incorporating some of it into their own atmospheres. A previous study of this particular star's disk shows that the dust and gas gaps overlap, suggesting that at least two planets have formed there.
These initial observations, however, merely provided circumstantial evidence and could not be used to accurately estimate the masses of the planets, noted Teague. "Since other mechanisms can also produce ringed gaps in a protoplanetary disk, it is impossible to say conclusively that planets are there by merely looking at the overall structure of the disk," he said.
Latest innovationThe key to a more conclusive detection, note the astronomers, lies in teasing out the fine-scale velocity signatures from the carbon monoxide gas.
"Although dust plays an important role in planet formation and provides invaluable information, gas accounts for 99 percent of a protoplanetary disks' mass," said coauthor Jaehan Bae of the Carnegie Institute for Science. "It is therefore crucial to study kinematics of the gas."
Light that a gas emits from a protoplanetary disk changes its wavelengths depending on the gas's relative motion to Earth due to the Doppler effect. "This is analogous to the Doppler technique used for finding fully formed planets," said coauthor Dan Foreman-Mackey of the Flatiron Institute. "Though rather than looking at the changes in wavelength from the wobble of the star, we're diving deep into the disk to see how the fine-scale changes are happening."
ALMA's fantastic resolution enabled the researchers to measure carbon monoxide's velocity patterns throughout the disk.
"The precision is mind boggling," said coauthor Til Birnstiel of the University Observatory of Munich. In a system where gas rotates at about 5 kilometers per second, ALMA detected velocity changes as small as a few meters per second. "This allows us to find very small deviations from the expected normal rotation in a disk," Teague said. Planets change the density of the gas near their orbits, which changes the gas's pressure, inducing these corresponding changes in velocity.
"We compared the observations with computer models to show that the observed flows fit beautifully with predictions for the flow pattern around a newborn planet a few times the mass of Jupiter," said coauthor Daniel Price of Monash University.
This new technique allows astronomers to more precisely estimate protoplanetary masses and is less likely to produce false positives. "We are now bringing ALMA front and center into the realm of planet detection," said coauthor Ted Bergin of the University of Michigan.
"Oftentimes in science, ideas turn out not to work or assumptions turn out to be wrong. This is one of the cases where the results are much more exciting than what I had imagined," Birnstiel said.
"These studies will also help us to understand how planets like those in our solar system were born," said coauthor Francois Menard from Grenoble University in France.
Both teams will continue refining this method and will apply it to other disks, where they hope to better understand how atmospheres are formed and what elements and molecules are delivered to a planet at its birth.
Materials provided by National Radio Astronomy Observatory.This research was presented in two papers to appear in the same edition of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The first is titled “A Kinematic Detection of Two Unseen Jupiter Mass Embedded Protoplanets,” by R. Teague et al.; the second is “Kinematic evidence for an embedded protoplanet in a circumstellar disc,” by C. Pinte et al.
The Teague team is composed of: Richard D. Teague (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA), Jaehan Bae (Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA), Edwin A. Bergin (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA), Tilman Birnstiel (University Observatory, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany) and Daniel Foreman- Mackey (Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, New York, USA).
The Pinte team is composed of: C. Pinte (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France), D. J. Price (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), F. Ménard (Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France), G. Duchêne (University of California, Berkeley California, USA; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France), W.R.F. Dent (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile), T. Hill (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile), I. de Gregorio-Monsalvo (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile), A. Hales (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile; National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA) and D. Mentiplay (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia).
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).
ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA
June 13, 2018
Two independent teams of astronomers have uncovered convincing evidence that three young planets are in orbit around an infant star known as HD 163296. Using a new planet-finding strategy, the astronomers identified three discrete disturbances in a young star's gas-filled disk: the strongest evidence yet that newly formed planets are in orbit there.
Over the past several years, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has transformed our understanding of protoplanetary disks -- the gas- and dust-filled planet factories that encircle young stars. The rings and gaps in these disks provide intriguing circumstantial evidence for the presence of planets. Other phenomena, however, could account for these tantalizing features.
Using a new planet-hunting technique that identifies unusual patterns in the flow of gas within a protoplanetary disk, two teams of astronomers have confirmed the distinct, telltale hallmarks of newly formed planets orbiting an infant star in our galaxy. These results are presented in a pair of papers appearing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
"We looked at the localized, small-scale motion of gas in a star's protoplanetary disk. This entirely new approach could uncover some of the youngest planets in our galaxy, all thanks to the high-resolution images coming from ALMA," said Richard Teague, an astronomer at the University of Michigan and principal author on one of the papers.
To make their respective discoveries, each team analyzed the data from various ALMA observations of the young star HD 163296. HD 163296 is about 4 million years old and located about 330 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
Rather than focusing on the dust within the disk, which was clearly imaged in earlier ALMA observation, the astronomers instead studied the distribution and motion of carbon monoxide (CO) gas throughout the disk. Molecules of CO naturally emit a very distinctive millimeter-wavelength light that ALMA can observe. Subtle changes in the wavelength of this light due to the Doppler effect provide a glimpse into the kinematics -- or motion -- of the gas in the disk.
If there were no planets, gas would move around a star in a very simple, predictable pattern known as Keplerian rotation.
"It would take a relatively massive object, like a planet, to create localized disturbances in this otherwise orderly motion," said Christophe Pinte of Monash University in Australia and lead author on one of the two papers. "Our new technique applies this principle to help us understand how planetary systems form."
The team led by Teague identified two distinctive planet-like patterns in the disk, one at approximately 80 astronomical units (AU) from the star and the other at 140 AU. (An astronomical unit is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, or about 150 million kilometers.) The other team, led by Pinte, identified the third at about 260 AU from the star. The astronomers calculate that all three planets are similar in mass to Jupiter.
The two teams used variations on the same technique, which looked at anomalies in the flow of the gas -- as seen in the shifting wavelengths of the CO emission -- that would indicate it was interacting with a massive object.
Teague and his team measured variations in the gas's velocity. This revealed the impact of multiple planets on the gas motion nearer to the star.
Pinte and his team more directly measured the gas's actual velocity, which is better for studying the outer portion of the disk and can more accurately pinpoint the location of a potential planet.
Artist impression of protoplanets forming around a young star. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; S. Dagnello
Detecting protoplanets
"Though thousands of exoplanets have been discovered in the last few decades, detecting protoplanets is at the frontier of science," said Pinte. The techniques currently used for finding exoplanets in fully formed planetary systems -- such as measuring the wobble of a star or how a transiting planet dims starlight -- don't lend themselves to detecting protoplanets.
ALMA's stunning images of HD 163296 and other similar systems have revealed intriguing patterns of concentric rings and gaps within protoplanetary disks. These gaps may be evidence that protoplanets are plowing the dust and gas away from their orbits, incorporating some of it into their own atmospheres. A previous study of this particular star's disk shows that the dust and gas gaps overlap, suggesting that at least two planets have formed there.
These initial observations, however, merely provided circumstantial evidence and could not be used to accurately estimate the masses of the planets, noted Teague. "Since other mechanisms can also produce ringed gaps in a protoplanetary disk, it is impossible to say conclusively that planets are there by merely looking at the overall structure of the disk," he said.
Latest innovation
The key to a more conclusive detection, note the astronomers, lies in teasing out the fine-scale velocity signatures from the carbon monoxide gas.
"Although dust plays an important role in planet formation and provides invaluable information, gas accounts for 99 percent of a protoplanetary disks' mass," said coauthor Jaehan Bae of the Carnegie Institute for Science. "It is therefore crucial to study kinematics of the gas."
Light that a gas emits from a protoplanetary disk changes its wavelengths depending on the gas's relative motion to Earth due to the Doppler effect. "This is analogous to the Doppler technique used for finding fully formed planets," said coauthor Dan Foreman-Mackey of the Flatiron Institute. "Though rather than looking at the changes in wavelength from the wobble of the star, we're diving deep into the disk to see how the fine-scale changes are happening."
ALMA's fantastic resolution enabled the researchers to measure carbon monoxide's velocity patterns throughout the disk.
"The precision is mind boggling," said coauthor Til Birnstiel of the University Observatory of Munich. In a system where gas rotates at about 5 kilometers per second, ALMA detected velocity changes as small as a few meters per second. "This allows us to find very small deviations from the expected normal rotation in a disk," Teague said. Planets change the density of the gas near their orbits, which changes the gas's pressure, inducing these corresponding changes in velocity.
"We compared the observations with computer models to show that the observed flows fit beautifully with predictions for the flow pattern around a newborn planet a few times the mass of Jupiter," said coauthor Daniel Price of Monash University.
This new technique allows astronomers to more precisely estimate protoplanetary masses and is less likely to produce false positives. "We are now bringing ALMA front and center into the realm of planet detection," said coauthor Ted Bergin of the University of Michigan.
"Oftentimes in science, ideas turn out not to work or assumptions turn out to be wrong. This is one of the cases where the results are much more exciting than what I had imagined," Birnstiel said.
"These studies will also help us to understand how planets like those in our solar system were born," said coauthor Francois Menard from Grenoble University in France.
Both teams will continue refining this method and will apply it to other disks, where they hope to better understand how atmospheres are formed and what elements and molecules are delivered to a planet at its birth.
Materials provided by National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
This research was presented in two papers to appear in the same edition of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The first is titled “A Kinematic Detection of Two Unseen Jupiter Mass Embedded Protoplanets,” by R. Teague et al.; the second is “Kinematic evidence for an embedded protoplanet in a circumstellar disc,” by C. Pinte et al.
The Teague team is composed of: Richard D. Teague (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA), Jaehan Bae (Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA), Edwin A. Bergin (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA), Tilman Birnstiel (University Observatory, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany) and Daniel Foreman- Mackey (Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, New York, USA).
The Pinte team is composed of: C. Pinte (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France), D. J. Price (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), F. Ménard (Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France), G. Duchêne (University of California, Berkeley California, USA; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France), W.R.F. Dent (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile), T. Hill (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile), I. de Gregorio-Monsalvo (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile), A. Hales (Joint ALMA Observatory, Santiago, Chile; National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA) and D. Mentiplay (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia).
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).
ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA
Record Extra 750 Paramedics And Call Centre Staff Across The State
June 15, 2018: Media release - The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of NSW
The NSW Government has committed to a record paramedic workforce boost, and will deliver an extra 750 paramedics and ambulance call centre staff over the next four years.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced more than $1 billion will be invested in ambulance services and capital in the NSW Budget 2018.
“Providing world-class care for patients is a priority for the NSW Government, and this Budget provides our paramedics with the support they need to deliver even better services for our community,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Mr Perrottet said the Budget included $944 million in recurrent expenditure - up $51.3 million from last year’s Budget - and an additional $72 million in capital works.
“Today’s Budget announcement is clear proof that the Liberals & Nationals Government uses the resources of our strong economy to better service our emergency frontline health services,” Mr Perrottet said.
Mr Hazzard said communities across the State would benefit from the employment and training of the first round of 200 extra paramedics in the coming 12 months.
“We identified that the community needed more paramedics and that our valued paramedics needed more resources to properly do their job,” Mr Hazzard said.
“This record boost to the paramedic workforce will improve paramedic safety and wellbeing and, importantly, their continued service to the community.”
The investment of more than $1 billion in services and capital works includes:
- $23.7 million in 2018-19 to employ an additional 200 paramedics and 13 call centre staff (part of 700 paramedics and 50 call centre staff over the next four years) to improve response times, reduce paramedic fatigue and support safety.
- $18.5 million to support the rollout of the Government’s Critical Communications Enhancement Program, which will expand the Government Radio Network coverage and improve critical communications during emergencies.
- Continuing the $150 million Sydney Ambulance Metropolitan Infrastructure Strategy ($20 million in 2018-19) to deliver modern new superstations. Construction is underway at Caringbah and Haberfield, while superstations at Bankstown, Blacktown, Kogarah, Penrith, Northmead and Artarmon have been completed. Paramedic Response Points networked to superstations have been completed at Mortdale and are under construction at Bonnyrigg, Wiley Park and Quakers Hill.
- Continuing the $122 million Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration program ($16.4 million in 2018-19), which will improve the delivery of emergency medical care for people in rural and regional areas. Twenty-three new, rebuilt and updated NSW Ambulance stations are included, with construction underway at Bathurst, Bay and Basin, Berry, Griffith, Hamlyn Terrace/Wyong, Kiama, Molong and Toukley. Planning is under way at Coffs Harbour, Cootamundra, Wauchope, Bungendore, Yass, Pottsville, Cowra, Grenfell, Birmingham Gardens, Goulburn and Rutherford.
Johnny Warren Scholarship To Fund Research In Football Governance
June 13, 2018: University of Sydney
The late football great Johnny Warren once famously said he was sick of people asking when Australia was going to qualify for the World Cup. Instead, he said, we should be asking, “When are we going to win the World Cup?”
As the Socceroos prepare to compete in the FIFA World Cup in Russia this month, the foundation set up in Warren’s memory is donating $140,000 to the University of Sydney Business School to establish a PhD scholarship for research into the governance of football in Australia.
Warren’s nephew Jamie Warren, executive chair of the Johnny Warren Football Foundation, said the gift was in keeping with the organisation’s goal to achieve his uncle’s dream of an Australian World Cup victory.
“Our focus is on Uncle John’s legacy and what football can do for this country,” he said. “We want to support high-quality research that will inspire discussion and debate, and influence policy. We want to improve the way we do things in football in Australia – look at what the problems are and how to fix them.”
The governance of football in Australia has long been a complex and controversial issue. In 2003 – the year before Warren’s death from lung cancer – he was a major contributor to the Crawford Report, which criticised the corruption and poor organisation that had plagued the Australian game for decades. Despite changes that Warren helped implement, tensions persist. Recently, the representative group for A-League clubs, the Australian Professional Football Clubs Association, has been highly critical of Football Federation Australia’s approach to management, calling for FIFA’s assistance with a large-scale overhaul of the game’s administration in Australia.
The topics that could be investigated by the scholarship recipient are wide-ranging, said Professor Stephen Greaves of the Business School. The school will soon begin the search for a candidate to start work in March next year.
“There is a broad spectrum of governance and management issues that could be addressed,” said Professor Greaves. “Australia has challenges right from the grassroots in trying to promote the game against other codes, but also in competing with the rest of the world, in that so many of our best players go overseas.”
Other subjects that could be explored include youth development, gender equity, Indigenous participation and football’s role in Australia’s relationships with other nations. “We are only limited by our imagination,” said Jamie Warren.
As a child, Jamie and his famous uncle would spend hours kicking a ball around in the backyard. Decades later, when Jamie was an adult and his uncle had moved to the south coast of NSW to be close to his family in his final illness, they’d take daily walks together around Kiama and the Blowhole.
“From a young age, I knew what a star he was, but I didn’t really realise the impact he had on people through his personality,” said Jamie. “He had this ability to meet someone, then within five minutes, he’d made them feel that they’d known him all their life. He never came across as a superstar. He was a humble man with no ego.”
Johnny Warren’s career as a footballer included 42 international matches, including Australia’s first World Cup appearance in 1974. After retiring as a player, he went on to a successful career as a soccer coach, administrator, commentator and writer. His best-selling book of 2002, Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters: An Incomplete Biography of Johnny Warren and Soccer in Australia, traced the growth of the game’s popularity, its title referencing the sexist, racist and homophobic attitudes towards football held by many Australians in the past.
“Uncle John believed in the game and its power to improve things for this country,” said Jamie. “We’d like to build on that legacy.”
After retiring as a player, Mr. Warren went on to work as a coach, administrator and commentator.
Successful Early Learning Language Program Doubles
Friday 15 June 2018; Joint Media Release - Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training
Senator for South Australia, Craig Laundy MP, Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation
Member for Reid
The Turnbull Government will expand its successful Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program into schools, inspiring an extra 30,000 children across Australia to learn a second language.
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham and local Member for Reid Minister Craig Laundy announced the expansion today at Rhodes Central Preschool Kindergarten.
Minister Birmingham said the Turnbull Government’s commitment of an additional $11.8 million would see the number of preschools participating double to 5000 and extend the program into 300 primary schools reaching 30,000 school-age students across Australia.
“We’ve already seen some great results from the ELLA program, with more than 80,000 children in about 2,500 preschools across Australia being introduced to a second language through the use of our digital apps,” Minister Birmingham said.
“We’re now looking to build on this success by doubling the number of preschools involved and carrying it through into the early primary school years.
“ELLA is about getting kids engaged and interested in learning a language from an early age, expanding their horizons and hopefully getting them to follow through this study as they progress throughout their education.
“Exposure to another language and culture can also have significant developmental benefits on children – for example it has been linked to better English and problem solving skills.
“We’re also expanding the language options to include Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish and German to fully align with the languages endorsed by all Education Ministers in the Australian Curriculum.
“These new languages mean preschools and schools can pick from 13 of the world’s most common languages to give children a taste of the world and set them up with skills that will set them up for the future.”
Minister Laundy said it was great to see over 20 children at Rhodes Central Preschool Kindergarten reaping the benefits of the ELLA program by learning Hindi.
“This is a very exciting educational program and I encourage local preschools and schools in Reid to follow the lead and get involved in the expansion of the ELLA program,” Minister Laundy said.
“Learning a second language like Hindi opens up a new world of opportunities, and we need more young children to develop language skills early in life so they can carry that through to primary school and beyond.
“In Reid alone there are 19 preschools with more than 500 children taking part in the ELLA program and learning languages like Spanish, Italian, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi and French.”
Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) uses fun and play-based digital applications to engage children in language learning and is currently available in Hindi, Modern Greek, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Indonesian, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish.
For more information on ELLA visit: https://www.ella.edu.au/.
Professor David Cooper AC Remembered At Public Memorial
June 14th, 2018
By Lucy Carroll - UNSW
UNSW Scientia Professor David Cooper AC, a global leader in the response to HIV/AIDS, has been remembered at a public memorial today at Sydney Town Hall.
Guests at memorial service for UNSW Professor David Cooper AC. Photo: Bec Lewis
More than 1000 people gathered to pay tribute to Professor Cooper, immunologist and director of the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney for 32 years, who had dedicated his life to the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV and other infectious diseases. Professor Cooper, who passed away in March this year aged 68, was remembered by colleagues, patients, family and friends for his significant contributions to HIV treatment and prevention that saved countless lives in Australia and globally.
UNSW Scientia Professor David Cooper. Photo Maja Baska
The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG, patron of the Kirby Institute, spoke about Professor Cooper’s leadership and legacy, and the importance of ensuring the continuation of his research aimed at eliminating HIV around the world.
“David Cooper was tireless in the preparation. He was superbly professional. He gathered together a magnificent team. He reached out, beyond our country. We should be proud of such a scientist and of our country, its universities and the institutions, that produced him,” said Mr Kirby. “His family that nurtured him. His religion that taught him. The patients that loved him. But he was not ours alone. He belonged to the world of science. Today we honour him as a global hero.
“The worst tragedy of the premature death of David Cooper would be if his legacy were now to die. If HIV and other bloodborne diseases were to be reclaimed, remedicalised and returned entirely to the medical experts. He was the supreme interdisciplinarian. He was the master of team work. He smashed the silos of our minds,” said Mr Kirby.
The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG speaking at the memorial service. Photo: Bec Lewis
Professor Ian Jacobs, President and Vice-Chancellor of UNSW Sydney, remembered David Cooper as a “wonderful leader, colleague, mentor and a brilliant mind”.
“He was the first academic I met when I accepted the role of Vice-Chancellor of UNSW. He travelled to Manchester to welcome me, and share his invaluable insights into UNSW. Above all, David ensured I knew just how important the work of the Kirby Institute was,” said Professor Jacobs.
“There are few people I have met, not just in medical research but anywhere, who combined David’s intellect, passion and compassion. His dedication to his research was surpassed only by the care and dignity with which he treated his patients.”
Other speakers at the memorial service included Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney, Associate Professor Anthony Schembri, Chief Executive Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and Craig Cooper, CEO of Positive Life NSW. Ita Buttrose hosted the service.
Professor Ian Jacobs, President and Vice-Chancellor of UNSW Sydney at the memorial service. Photo: Bec Lewis
Guests included former Labor Health Minister Neal Blewett, former Liberal Senator Peter Baume, former NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner, former Governor of NSW Marie Bashir, Matt Thistlethwaite MP and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek.
On June 11, Professor Cooper was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). He was recognised for “eminent service to medicine, particularly in HIV/AIDS research, as a clinician, scientist and administrator, to the development of therapies and to health programs in Southeast Asia and the Pacific”.
Of the honour, Mr Kirby said: “To honour David, and to do so this week, has allowed Australia to speak with one loud, clear voice. David was one of our finest, bravest and best of scientists and citizens. A golden decoration reflects the wattle of his beloved country. It is a shining consolation for Dorrie and the family. And for his colleagues at the Kirby Institute, and far beyond.”
Ita Buttrose AO, OBE hosted the memorial service. Photo: Bec Lewis