Pittwater Online News

SECURING THE FUTURE OF THE COMMERCIAL FISHING INDUSTRY: SECTOR TO HAVE ITS SAY 

Tuesday, 14 July 2015: Media Release

Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, has welcomed the release of a series of draft recommendations, which outline proposed changes to ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of the commercial fishing industry in NSW. 

The independent Structural Adjustment Review Committee (SARC) is writing to all commercial fishing businesses in NSW, with each fisher receiving the draft recommendations that relate to their business. 

“This state needs a commercial fishing sector that is viable and sustainable long in to the future. Doing nothing is not an option, which is why the NSW Government will make the necessary reforms to secure the future of this industry,” Mr Blair said. “This reform is about providing greater certainty and security to the commercial fishing industry – something this sector deserves. 

“But this reform is also about assisting fishing businesses to either exit or remain in the industry, through a $16 million business adjustment program.” 

All commercial fishers are encouraged to examine the materials they receive from the SARC, and to use this next period of consultation to provide constructive feedback to assist the committee with finalising its recommendations. The SARC has considered extensive stakeholder feedback and will now consult further with the commercial fishing industry on its draft recommendations. 

The SARC has recommended modifying the $16 million adjustment program, removing a number of high impact options from consideration and giving commercial fishers more time to adjust to the changes. 

The SARC will make final recommendations to the NSW Government in September 2015. The NSW Government will make no final decisions in relation to the reform until after it has considered the SARC’s final recommendations. More information, including all of the SARC’s draft recommendations, is available atwww.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/commercial/reform 

Industry Working Groups will meet with the SARC during the consultations while individual fishers and other stakeholders can make written submissions on the Draft Recommendations by 31 August 2015, via:

Email: sarc.feedback@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Mail: Structural Adjustment Review Committee

c/o PO Box 4291, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450

 NEW CALYX SIGNALS A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR BOTANIC GARDENS 

Tuesday, 14 July 2015: Media Release

Environment Minister Mark Speakman has announced a round of changes that will transform the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust into a more efficient and responsive organisation. The changes follow the operational integration of the Botanic Gardens with the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, which already has resulted in more customer focused organisations. Mr Speakman made the announcement as he revealed the name of the Royal Botanic Garden’s planned architectural centrepiece, which will become a world leading horticultural display centre when opened next year. Mr Speakman said The Calyx in the Royal Botanic Garden would set a new benchmark for the public display of horticulture and would provide a stunning new education and interpretation facility for Sydney. The word “Calyx” refers to the sepals of a flower collectively, forming the outer floral envelope that protects the developing flower bud. The Calyx, which replaces the now demolished horticultural display centre, will open next year as the centrepiece of the Botanic Gardens’ 200th anniversary. Mr Speakman said while the announced organisational changes would transform the Botanic Gardens, the government remained committed to ensuring that science, education and horticulture continued to be central to the Botanic Gardens. 

“Almost $23 million has been allocated to capital projects across the sites managed by Botanic Gardens,” he said. “The Trust’s overall budget of $70.4 million for 2015-16 is a 26% increase on the 2014-15 revised estimate.” 

“This investment is part of a major modernisation program underway across these parks and gardens that will create a world-class, sustainable operation for generations to come.” The announced organisational changes, under the leadership of Executive Director, Kim Ellis and his team, have three key objectives: 

1. To transform the organisation into a world-class scientific institution, creating engaging and relevant science and horticulture for the community. 

2. To create a sustainable organisation – environmentally, socially and financially – capable of on-time delivery of projects at value-for-money to the taxpayer. 

3. To build new capabilities and services that do not currently exist in areas such as tree management, science communication, education and visitor services. 

However, to achieve these aims the Botanic Gardens must reduce inefficiencies in its operations, and create and sustain new streams of revenue. As part of this process, some positions will be abolished, with new roles created to ensure the Botanic Gardens’ ability to deliver on core responsibilities is not impaired. For example, lawn-mowing services currently conducted in-house will be outsourced. These measures, along with creating multi-site maintenance contracts, will give the Botanic Gardens greater bang for its buck. There will be a net reduction in staffing levels of around 15 positions across both the Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park Trust, with more than 240 roles maintained and enhanced. Mr Speakman said the community could expect to see an improvement in services and facilities and greater engagement through education as well as greater access to the Gardens’ facilities such as the Pathology Lab and Botanic Library. “Australia’s oldest scientific institution is set for a bright future as it looks towards the next 200 years.” 

 Threatened Species Strategy will set target to save 20 bird species by 2020

Media release: 15 July 2015 - The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for the Environment

The Australian Government will secure the future of 20 of our threatened bird species by 2020, setting an ambitious new target to reverse declines in their populations.

We have to work harder to meet these challenges. We also have to work smarter. So, for the first time, an Australian Government has identified a list of bird species for priority action and committed to improving their fortunes within five years.

I want to bring these birds back far enough from the brink to survive in the wild long-term. I want future generations to enjoy the colour, movement and song they bring to our lives. 

The first 10 birds identified for priority action are: the helmeted honeyeater, hooded plover, eastern bristlebird, regent honeyeater, mallee emu-wren, plains-wanderer, night parrot, Alligator Rivers yellow chat, and Norfolk Island's green parrot and boobook owl.

Two more – the orange-bellied parrot and western ground parrot – will benefit from emergency interventions. The remaining eight species to receive special attention will be identified over the next 12 months, in consultation with the community.

It is a pleasure to be able to make this significant announcement at the launch of the Birdlife Australia report in Melbourne today.

The report's findings highlight the threats facing our birds, ranging from habitat loss and fragmentation to feral cats and foxes.

It's not enough to add birds to our national threatened species list and plan to save them. We have to go one step further, by putting those plans into action.

At the Threatened Species Summit in Melbourne tomorrow, I will release Australia's first national strategy for threatened species. It will clearly set out what will happen by when, turning good intentions into clear and measurable targets. The recovery of 20 bird species by 2020 is one such target.

As a down payment on this target, I am pleased to announce funding for New South Wales Government projects that will help two of our priority bird species: the plains-wanderer and hooded plover, both listed nationally as vulnerable. 

We will contribute $100,000 to one project to tackle the 90 per cent decline in plains-wanderer numbers since 2001. It will control the rabbits and weeds that are degrading the plains-wanderer's grassland home in the Riverina and establish an insurance population for this rare species - the sole member of a family of birds found only in eastern Australia.

We will also put $40,000 towards the study of two subpopulations of the hooded plover on NSW's south coast. By banding the shorebirds, tracking their movements and analysing their genetics, the project will help us better understand how the groups interact and how to conserve them.

The latest announcements are in addition to the $525,000 committed last month to the orange-bellied parrot, in response to the discovery of beak and feather disease in the wild population of this critically endangered bird.

It is possible to recover birds at risk of extinction because we have access to high quality science and can act in partnership with the community and other governments.

Implementing evidence-based actions such as habitat restoration can support recovery of these birds and also protect the reptiles, frogs, insects and plants that share the same home. 

 Mystery Marsupial spotted at Nombinnie Nature Reserve

Media release: 14 July 2015

National Parks and Wildlife Service staff are excited after a positive sighting of an endangered Kultarr in Nombinnie Nature Reserve in Central Western NSW - the first time the marsupial had been seen in that area for 20 years.

 NPWS Ranger, David Egan was stunned to find clear images of the endangered marsupial on one of the reserve’s infrared cameras.

 “It is amazing to think that in over 270, 000 hectares of reserve, the camera captured one tiny Kultarr marsupial foraging its way through the reserve,” Mr Egan said.

 “It is a positive outcome for the conservation of the species and for the biodiversity of the Nombinnie Nature Reserve – it’s just great to know they are still out there”

 Listed as ‘endangered’ on the NSW Threatened Species Register, Kultarr’s are known for their large ears, long delicate legs and thin brushy tail.

 Comparable to the size of a large mouse, the Kultarr is an interesting creature that pivots on its front feet to change direction as it bounds rapidly through the scrub.

 Mr Egan said that the species’ small size and nocturnal qualities, rendered it notoriously difficult to track.

 “The installation of infrared cameras in the region have been instrumental to rediscovering threatened species in the Nombinnie Nature Reserve and have captured some great images of foraging Kultarr’s in the woodlands.

 “They have also picked up other small mammals such as Common Dunnarts and are proving a valuable resource for cataloguing fauna in such a large reserve,” Mr Egan said.

 “The main threats to the Kultarr are habitat destruction and predation by cats and foxes. NPWS, in cooperation with several park neighbours has endeavoured to reduce these threats by introducing a highly successful fox bating program”

 “With solid evidence of the Kultarr’s existence in Nombinnie, we can now build this into research and data collection currently underway and develop strategies to best approach future conservation and management practices,” Mr Egan said.

 A targeted strategy for managing the Kultarr is currently being developed under the Saving Our Species program managed by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH).

The public is encouraged to report any sightings of the species to staff at our NPWS Western Rivers Office in Griffith on (02) 6966 8100. 

Picture: Kultarr, Antechinomys laniger, Alice Springs Desert Park by Mark Marathon 

 Oceans slowed global temperature rise, until now

July 16, 2015 - A new study of ocean temperature measurements shows that in recent years, extra heat from greenhouse gases has been trapped in the subsurface waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, thus accounting for the slowdown in the global surface temperature increase observed during the past decade, researchers say.

A specific layer of the Indian and Pacific oceans between 300 and 1,000 feet below the surface has been accumulating more heat than previously recognized, according to climate researchers from UCLA and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They also found the movement of warm water has affected surface temperatures. The results were published July 9 in the journal Science.

During the 20th century, as greenhouse gas concentrations increased and trapped more heat on Earth, global surface temperatures also increased. However, starting in the early 2000s though greenhouse gases continued to trap extra heat, the global average surface temperature stopped climbing for about a decade and even cooled a bit.

In the study, researchers analyzed direct ocean temperature measurements, including observations from a global network of about 3,500 ocean temperature probes known as the Argo array. These measurements show temperatures below the surface have been increasing.

The Pacific Ocean is the primary source of the subsurface warm water found in the study, though some of that water now has been pushed to the Indian Ocean. Since 2003, unusually strong trade winds and other climatic features have been piling up warm water in the upper 1,000 feet of the western Pacific, pinning it against Asia and Australia.

"The western Pacific got so warm that some of the warm water is leaking into the Indian Ocean through the Indonesian archipelago," said Veronica Nieves, lead author of the study and a UCLA researcher with the UCLA Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, a scientific collaboration between UCLA and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The movement of the warm Pacific water westward pulled heat away from the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific, which resulted in unusually cool surface temperatures during the last decade. Because the air temperature over the ocean is closely related to the ocean temperature, this provides a plausible explanation for the global cooling trend in surface temperature, Nieves said.

Cooler surface temperatures also are related to a climatic pattern called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which moves in a 20- to 30-year cycle. It has been in a cool phase during the entire time surface temperatures showed cooling, bringing cooler-than-normal water to the eastern Pacific and warmer water to the western side. There currently are signs the pattern may be changing, with observations showing warmer-than-usual water in the eastern Pacific.

"Given the fact the Pacific Decadal Oscillation seems to be shifting to a warm phase, ocean heating in the Pacific will definitely drive a major surge in global surface warming," Nieves said.

Previous attempts to explain the global surface temperature cooling trend have relied more heavily on climate model results or a combination of modeling and observations, which may be better at simulating long-term impacts over many decades and centuries. This study relied on observations, which are better for showing shorter-term changes over 10 to 20 years.

Pauses of a decade or more in Earth's average surface temperature warming have happened before in modern times, with one occurring between the mid-1940s and late 1970s.

"In the long term, there is robust evidence of unabated global warming," Nieves said.

Co-authors are Josh Willis and William Patzert of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

V. Nieves, J. K. Willis, W. C. Patzert. Recent hiatus caused by decadal shift in Indo-Pacific heating. Science, 2015; DOI:10.1126/science.aaa4521

 Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act:  Review of environmentally hazardous chemicals legislation

What is the Regulation about?

The Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act and the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Regulation regulate hazardous chemicals at various points throughout their life-cycle, from manufacture to use and disposal. The Act commenced in 1985 and has not undergone a fundamental review since that time despite the development of new industrial chemicals and chemical processes and technologies over the intervening years. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is undertaking a review of the environmentally hazardous chemicals legislation with a view to modernising it. A discussion paper has been prepared outlining proposed changes to the legislation. These changes seek to enhance the EPA’s ability to prevent adverse health and environmental impacts from hazardous chemicals as well as simplify some processes.

Have your say

The EPA welcomes comments from the community on the proposed changes.

The discussion paper and further information about the review are available at epa.nsw.gov.au

Formal Submission

Date: Jul. 9 - Aug. 21, 2015

Time: 9:00am — 5:00pm

Submission address

Manager Chemicals Reform Environment Protection Authority Po Box A290 Sydney South NSW 1232

More Information: chemicals.reform@epa.nsw.gov.au

Agency Website http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/ 

 Consultation Website 

 Bees with tiny transmitters on their backs show how disease harms the threatened insects

July 14, 2015 -  James Cook University researchers in Australia are creating a buzz in bee research, gluing tiny transmitters to the backs of the insects for the first time.

Lead researcher, JCU's Dr Lori Lach, said the team glued Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chips to the backs of 960 bees, providing new insights into how disease affects the threatened insects.

"We just had to hold them in our hands and hope the glue dried quickly. It was actually quite a process -- they had to be individually painted, then individually fed, then the tag glued on. Then individually scanned so we knew which tag was on what color and treatment bee and which hive it was going into. It all had to happen within about eight hours of emergence because as the day goes on they start learning how to fly and they get better at stinging."

It was a unique use of the technology and allowed the bees to be monitored individually for the first time.

"No one had looked at bees at this level before, to see what individual bees do when they are sick," said Dr Lach.

Scientists infected half the insects with a low dose of nosema spores, a gut parasite common amongst adult honeybees, while the rest remained disease free.

Using the RFID tags in combination with observations at the hives and artificial flowers, the researchers were able to see how hard the bees worked and what kind of material they gathered.

The species of nosema used in the study (Nosema apis) has long been thought to be benign compared to the many other parasites and pathogens that infect honey bees, and no one had previously looked for the effect of nosema on behavior with such a low dose.

"We knew dead bees couldn't forage or pollinate," said Dr Lach. "But what we wanted to investigate was the behavior of live bees that are affected by non-lethal stressors."

In a just published paper, researchers say infected bees were 4.3 times less likely to be carrying pollen than uninfected bees, and carried less pollen when they did. Infected bees also started working later, stopped working sooner and died younger.

Dr Lach said nosema-infected bees look just like non-infected bees, so it's important to understand the behavioral changes the parasite may be causing.

"The real implications from this work are for humans. About a quarter of our food production is dependent on honey bee pollination. Declines in the ability of honey bees to pollinate will result in lower crop yields."

Lori Lach, Madlen Kratz, Boris Baer. Parasitized honey bees are less likely to forage and carry less pollen. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 2015; 130: 64 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2015.06.003

Top: Bee with tiny transmitter on her back. Credit: Image courtesy of James Cook University

 SAVE THE LIVERPOOL PLAINS: It's YOUR problem too.

by savetheliverpoolplains

 The Shenhua Watermark Mine Gets Federal Approval

EDO NSW (Environmental Defenders Office NSW)

The Shenhua Watermark mine has received Federal government approval: www.environment.gov.au/…/2011-6201-approval-decision…

This is the same mine that EDO NSW is representing Upper Mooki Landcare Inc in a current challenge to its approval by the NSW Government.

As our Principal Solicitor, Sue Higginson, says "Shenhua needs both state and commonwealth approvals to lawfully mine and work on the site. The state approval is currently under challenge in the court by our client. In these circumstances the usual practice is not to commence any ground works until the outcome of the proceedings/case is known”:

A hearing has been set for 31 August to 3 September in the NSW Land and Environment.

See more at: HERE 

 NSW Govt.Office - HAVE YOUR SAY

Snake Rock Aboriginal area draft plan

Draft plan of management for the Snake Rock Aboriginal area

What is the draft plan of management for?

The draft plan is on public exhibition until 25th September 2015, it provides members of the community with the opportunity to have a say on the future management direction/s for the Aboriginal area.

Have your say

Anyone can make a comment of the draft plan by sending a written submission by email to: msw.planning@environment.nsw.gov.auor online at NSW Office of Environment and Heritage's website or by post to:

The Planner - NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service

PO Box 144, Sutherland NSW 1499

Formal Submission

Date: Jun. 12 - Sep. 25, 2015: Time: 9:00am — 5:00pm

Submission address

The Planner NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service PO Box 144 Sutherland NSW 1499

More Information:  NSW NP&WS Planning Team  (02) 6841 0921 

 Agency Website  Consultation Website

Never grown a beard before? This is your chance to grow a new beard this Winter!

Already got a beard? Get it sponsored and keep it growing!

Register Today and set up your page for The Winter Blanket Challenge 2015 today.

Beardson.org’s aim is to start a Conversation about Conservation using the beard as the talking point. You can be part of this movement by growing your very own Winter Blanket for free in support of conservation and help raise $20,000 for Landcare Australia to plant native Australian trees.

Starting your beard on the 1st June and finishing on the 31st August, you will have the opportunity to create a very warm winter blanket for your face and raise funds at the same time! It’s free to grow and you will save a lot of money on shavers for three months! Already got a beard? Great! Get it sponsored and keep on growing!

Register here

50 million year old volcano cluster near Sydney

Published on 12 Jul 2015 BY CSIRO

Australia’s new ocean-going research vessel Investigator has discovered extinct volcanoes likely to be 50 million years old, about 250 km off the coast of Sydney in 4,900 m of water. While scientists were searching for the nursery grounds for larval lobsters, the ship was also routinely mapping the seafloor when the volcanoes were discovered. They haven’t been found before now, because the sonar on the previous Marine National Facility (MNF) research vessel, Southern Surveyor, could only map the sea floor to 3,000 m, which left half of Australia’s ocean territory out of reach. The centre of the volcanic cluster is 33 31 S, 153 52 E, which is 248 km from Sydney Heads. The cluster is 20 km long and six km wide and the seafloor 4890 metres deep, with the highest point in the cluster rising up to 3998 metres.

 Submerged volcano cluster discovered off coast of Sydney

July 13, 2015 – Australia's new ocean-going research vessel Investigator has discovered extinct volcanoes likely to be 50 million years old about 250 kilometres off the coast of Sydney.

The chief scientist for the voyage, UNSW Australia marine biologist Professor Iain Suthers, said the volcanoes were discovered in 4,900 meters of water during a search for nursery grounds for larval lobsters. At the same time the ship was also routinely mapping the seafloor.

"The voyage was enormously successful. Not only did we discover a cluster of volcanoes on Sydney's doorstep, we were amazed to find that an eddy off Sydney was a hotspot for lobster larvae at a time of the year when we were not expecting them," Professor Suthers said.

The four extinct volcanoes in the cluster are calderas, which form after a volcano erupts and the land around them collapses, forming a crater. The largest is 1.5 kilometres across the rim and it rises 700 metres from the sea floor.

Professor Richard Arculus from the Australian National University, an igneous petrologist and a world-leading expert on volcanoes, said these particular types of volcanoes are really important to geoscientists because they are like windows into the seafloor.

"They tell us part of the story of how New Zealand and Australia separated around 40-80 million years ago and they'll now help scientists target future exploration of the sea floor to unlock the secrets of the Earth's crust," Professor Arculus said.

"They haven't been found before now because the sonar on the previous Marine National Facility (MNF) research vessel, Southern Surveyor, could only map the sea floor to 3,000 metres, which left half of Australia's ocean territory out of reach." "

On board the new MNF vessel, Investigator, we have sonar that can map the sea floor to any depth, so all of Australia's vast ocean territory is now within reach, and that is enormously exciting," Professor Arculus said.

Professor Suthers said the 94-metre Investigator has other capabilities that marine scientists in Australia have never had before, and the vessel will be key to unlocking the secrets of the oceans around our continent and beyond.

"Investigator is able to send and receive data while we're at sea, which meant the team back on base at UNSW in Sydney could analyse the information we were collecting at sea and send back their analysis, along with satellite imagery, so we could chase the eddies as they formed," Professor Suthers said.

"This is the first time we've been able to respond directly to the changing dynamics of the ocean and, for a biological oceanographer like me, it doesn't get more thrilling," Professor Suthers said.

"It was astounding to find juvenile commercial fish species like bream and tailor 150 kilometres offshore, as we had thought that once they were swept out to sea that was end of them. But in fact these eddies are nursery grounds along the east coast of Australia."

The research voyage led by Professor Iain Suthers departed Brisbane on 3 June and concluded on 18 June in Sydney, with 28 scientists from UNSW, La Trobe University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Sydney, the University of Auckland, the University of Technology Sydney, and Southern Cross University.

The centre of the volcanic cluster is 33 31 S, 153 52 E, which is 248 kilometres from Sydney Heads. The cluster is 20 kilometres long and six kilometres wide and the seafloor is 4890 metres deep, with the highest point in the cluster rising up to 3,998 metres.

Story Source:

 NSW Govt.: Investing in quality teaching, improving student results

14th July 2015: Media Release

A major new investment begins today in NSW public primary schools, which will enable more than 1,000 of the best teachers to mentor and coach other teachers, improving the results of students.

NSW Premier Mike Baird, Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli and Lane Cove MP Anthony Roberts today met some of the first students and teachers who will benefit from the $224 million Quality Teaching, Successful Students package during a visit to Ryde East Public School.

“As teachers and students return to school for term three I’m proud to be delivering on this key election commitment. As we improve the skills of our teachers, we will help students achieve better results,” Mr Baird said.

“In the best school systems in the world, the top teachers pass on their expertise to their colleagues and that helps lift teaching standards in every classroom in that school.”

The package which begins this term will enable selected teachers to:

• Mentor and coach other teachers;

• Observe teachers in their classrooms and demonstrate effective teaching strategies;

• Monitor student performance data across the school to ensure teachers are focused on areas of need; and 

• Collaborate within their school and with colleagues in other schools.

A recent three-year study of 6,000 NSW public school teachers found that collaborating with colleagues was the most significant professional learning practice for primary teachers.

“This initiative, made possible by NSW signing up to the Gonski agreement, gives schools an opportunity they have been seeking for years – to use their best, most experienced teachers to improve teaching and learning in every classroom,” Mr Piccoli said.

“The $224 million will provide additional staffing so that selected experienced teachers can take up these important leadership roles across their schools.

“In line with the Local Schools, Local Decisions education reform, principals – who are best placed to make decisions about their schools – will determine how to use this new staffing resource.”

 Disability support payment rules tighten

13 July 2015: Media Release

Minister for Social Services, the Hon. Scott Morrison announced the number of people being granted a Disability Support Pension (DSP) has now dropped below the levels experienced under Labor, with application rejection rates at the highest level in more than a decade.

“The Abbott Government is serious about ensuring the integrity of our welfare safety net. This means ensuring it is focused on those most in need of support, while cracking down on those who want to game the system,” Minister Morrison said.

“Last financial year, there were 41,832 applicants granted a DSP, compared to Labor’s peak of 91,131 grants, in 2009-10.

“Under the Labor government the grant rate for the payments spiked to 64.5 per cent in 2008-09, on average more than 7,000 a month.  Under the Coalition government the approval rate in 2014-15 has dropped to 36.9 per cent, which is on average less than 4,000 a month.

“The DSP is not a set and forget payment, and we have tightened compliance and enforcement measures so taxpayers can have greater confidence in our welfare safety net. More than eight of ten income taxpayers are needed to pay for our annual social services bill. The contribution of these taxpayers must be respected by ensuring that welfare system focuses on those most in need.

“As part of the suite of measures applied to the DSP, applicants are now required to have their claims assessed by a Government Contracted Doctor.

“Further, the total number of recipients claiming the DSP has fallen from 827,460 in 2011-12 to 814,391 last financial year.

“We are aware that people’s conditions can change over time and as such reviews are being conducted.

"The DSP payments cost taxpayers $17 billion annually and this measure will provide an additional level of assurance to the DSP claim process.

“The requirement for a Commonwealth doctor to assess DSP claims has been in place since January this year for applicants under 35 and living in capital cities, and is now being rolled out to all applicants.

“Treating Doctor’s Reports will no longer be required for new DSP claims.

"The Abbott Government is committed to getting our welfare budget under control, by reigning in the expansion of the welfare system that occurred under previous Governments to ensure we have a sustainable safety net for the future," Minister Morrison said.

For more information visit:  HERE 

 VICTORIAN PLACES WEBSITE

c/- Royal Australian Historical Society

The State Library of Victoria (SLV) has launched a new website called 'Victorian Places'. It lists every town and suburb in Victoria and provides a history for each place with, photos, maps, excerpts from newspapers and current demographic information.

It's similar to the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) for towns and suburbs. It will certainly come in handy in the heritage sector and for researchers working on place based projects.

The State Library of Victoria has taken a leadership role in this website in partnership with Monash University and the University of Queensland 

See: -www.victorianplaces.com.au

This is the bumper sticker NASA’s New Horizon team have on their cars

July 14, 2015 

 AUSTRALIA CAPTURES WORLD FIRST CLOSE-UPS OF PLUTO

14 JULY 2015

After nine-and-a-half years and just over five billion kilometres, the much anticipated and incredibly long awaited close-up view of Pluto is only hours away.

NASA's spacecraft New Horizons will make its closest encounter with Pluto at exactly 9:49.57pm (AEST) today [14 July 2015].

CSIRO's Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) will be the first place on Earth to receive the closest encounter images as it's sent through from the space probe.

The world will see for the first time what Pluto actually looks like as the spacecraft flies 12,500 km above the surface, taking detailed measurements and images of the dwarf planet and its moons.

CDSCC is part of NASA's Deep Space Network and is one of only three tracking stations in the world that has the technology and people with the capabilities to provide the vital two-way radio contact with spacecraft like New Horizons at such incredible distances from Earth.

"We have tracked New Horizons since its launch in January 2006 and are currently receiving the latest images and telemetry from the spacecraft which allows the mission team to make decisions about course corrections and to begin the key science observations," Director of the CDSCC Dr Ed Kruzins said.

Radio signals from New Horizons will take about 4.5 hours to reach the CDSCC and are incredibly weak.

However thanks to the big dish's high sensitivity on Earth at CDSCC , Pluto will come in loud and clear.

There will be so much data collected it will take up to a year before all of the images and science observations made by the spacecraft are fully transmitted back to Earth.

Head of CSIRO's Astronomy and Space Science, Dr Lewis Balls said the New Horizons mission was one of the great explorations of our time.

"There is so much we don't know and not just about Pluto, but also about similar worlds," Dr Ball said.

"Reaching this part of our solar system has been a space science priority for years, because it holds building blocks of our solar system that have been stored in a deep freeze for billions of years."

While Pluto was downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet in 2006, it is thought to contain important clues about the origins of the Solar System.

These icy bodies are thought to be relics of the materials that originally built up to become the larger planets. This will be the first time that scientists can study this process as it happens.

"CDSCC has been involved in many of space exploration's greatest moments, from capturing images of the first moon walk to receiving amazing views from the surface of Mars, and the first 'close-ups' of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune," Dr Ball said.

"Capturing Pluto will be the capstone of this amazing space adventure.

"CSIRO is capturing space history in the making. We will be rewriting textbooks and science that will be taught in the classrooms of tomorrow."

Below: Three billion miles from Earth and just two and a half million miles from Pluto, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has taken its best image of four dark spots that continue to captivate.

 Are you sitting your way to an early grave?

July 14, 2015

Many of us lament the fact much of our day is spent inactive and that we are seated at work, in the car and at home watching TV. 

Researchers from the University of New England are looking for individuals who want to change their everyday sitting habits for healthier, more active alternatives.

UNE’s Associate Professor John Malouffsays previous research shows that extensive sitting contributes to health problems and early death.

Despite growing awareness of the risk and the detrimental effect on people’s health, many individuals have trouble changing their habit of sitting in everyday situations.

“I used to have a two hour return commute to work, sit for hours a day at work, followed by hours sitting watching TV. I now live close enough to walk to work. I stand at work, including during parts of meetings. I also stand often when I eat and when I drink tea,” A/ Prof. Malouff said.

Co-researcher, Katrina Kastanias, has also applied elements of the program to her own life at work and when using public transport.

“Having learned practical ways to sit less, I am mindful to stand whenever I can,” Ms Kastanias said.

The research team are hoping participants will experience a decrease in sedentary behaviour and that the study will contribute scientific understanding of how to motivate people to sit less in everyday life.

People interested in participating in the confidential study can register via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/standupinitial