Archived News for Industry Professionals - December, 2013
Leaked copies of a Freight Logistics Co-ordination Team’s (FLCT) final report to the Tasmanian Government have caused concern among transporters and taxpayers.
Tenders up for big Sydney freight build
Bids are being lodged and bets hedged to see who will bag the contracts for a $1 billion freight hub in Sydney's west.
Train stops could see rail giant take impairments
Aurizon has opened itself to nearly $200 million worth of asset impairments after a decision to slash the number of trains, wagons and workers at the company.
Brief breaks from binge for a less destructive holiday
A well-timed report has made a few suggestions to minimise the damage from excess mirth and merry-making this Christmas, unfortunately they involve something other than the couch and leftover turkey.
Oxford says changing tide in mining could leave Australia stuck
Global shifts are underway which could lead foreign investors to pull up stumps from Australia, stranding a number of projects and leading to the possibility of “mothballed or abandoned” local coal mines.
Push to teach builders to drill as boom-times change
Workers who have been building new mines should now be taught to operate them, an oil and gas industry report says.
US pledge to triple government's greens, Australia considers more coal
The federal government of the United States will triple its use of renewable energy by 2020 on a presidential mandate.
Worker falls in waste as Ranger probe begins
A worker has reportedly fallen into contaminated waste while cleaning up a large spill of uranium slurry at the Ranger mine in NT.
Blaze prompts bid to build Green Star school
A resplendent green phoenix is rising from the ashes of a Tasmanian primary school.
Case claims shops awash with high-priced powder
Federal Court action has been launched against Australia’s washing powder barons.
Planned move sees AECOM old guard step aside
A planned succession will see some seat-swapping at the pointy end of global engineering giant AECOM, with the President becoming chief and the chief becoming chairman.
Plans to bring back outback Ag-school for farming future
The New South Wales Government will re-open a school that seeks to provide courses in one of Australia’s most neglected fields.
Women's pay gap cause for early warnings to youth
Figures out this week show that the average Australian woman would have to work 25 years longer to retire on the same amount as a man.
DHS cuts require clear view from at least three offices
A local report has accused Centrelink’s national boss of racking up excess costs, while the department sacks hundreds of workers.
Millions to break uni barriers for disadvantaged
Millions of dollars have been provided to allow more Indigenous and disadvantaged Australians to attend university.
Pleas to save NT town from closure, federal neglect
Regional Development Australia says the Federal Government is neglecting one of its most vulnerable communities by ignoring the closure of a Northern Territory refinery, and the likely ruination of nearby residents.
Pledge sought for more useful port
The Council region within which a contentious port expansion has been approved is looking to ensure it can be used for something other than coal.
Talks herald new age of Australia-PNG friendship
An agreement has been struck to change the relationship between the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Tassie town to plan post-peak oil
One council has become the first in Tasmania to implement the Local Government Peak Oil Action Plan, which seeks to help fight the ever-increasing cost of fuel.
Big dig confirmed; there will be mud
Dredging has been approved that many believe will condemn the Great Barrier Reef to silty strangulation.
Birmingham lets billions flow from Murray
Six hundred gigalitres of water from the River Murray system, the Goulburn and Murrumbidgee Rivers will be pushed where it is needed most, according to Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Senator Simon Birmingham.