By Julian Bajkowski Price rises in bills to consumers from council rates and state energy suppliers have helped nudge-up Australia's official inflation rate, the quarterly figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week have revealed. The stronger than anticipated rise in the ABS’ Consumer Price Index of 1.2 per cent in the September […]
24 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has talked-up the prospect of moving substantial parts of the state’s bureaucracy out of Brisbane and into regional areas in plans to entice half of Sunshine State’s population to live outside its south-east corner within the next 30 years. Dubbed the ‘Queensland Plan’, the long term vision aims […]
24 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The union representing federal public servants has cautioned the Abbott government against instigating a Queensland-style “slash and burn” program of cuts through its National Commission of Audit announced this week. Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) National Secretary, Nadine Flood, said that although the new government “clearly has a mandate to conduct […]
24 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Initial details of the highly anticipated National Commission of Audit promised by the Abbott government have been released in Canberra by Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Senator Matthias Cormann. The sweeping review of government functions, activities and spending will be chaired by Business Council of Australia president Tony Shephard. It will, […]
22 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Adelaide has become the latest city to become smitten by Australia’s metropolitan love affair with reactivating junked tram lines to help ease rising traffic congestion in the inner city precincts and on freeways. The resurrection of previously decommissioned tramlines in the City of Churches has become the hallmark Premier Jay Weatherill’s ambitious […]
22 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Commonwealth employees have been warned that one public service job an hour will be axed under the Coalition’s plans to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy by 12,000 full time positions as unions and the Opposition tap into growing fears in agencies that forced redundancies will be needed to make up […]
22 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley As if shooting sharks didn’t make it safe to go back in the water, Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett has bolstered the state’s coastal defences by starting a trial with the City of Busselton to install a “shark-proof beach enclosure” at the Old Dunsborough beach to keep marine predators away from people. […]
22 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA) has commissioned Adelaide University to run an independent survey on people’s views about corruption, misconduct and maladministration in councils. The study will be conducted through the state government’s Local Government Research and Development Scheme to give the LGA an insight on public attitudes towards […]
22 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The City of Sydney is again ramping up its promotion of trigeneration as a viable alternative means of producing energy in the heart of the city. Having parked a wider electricity overhaul critics claimed would cost up to $5 billion, the CBD council is now pushing the New South Wales Parliament to […]
22 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Australia’s leading provider of public sector salary packaging services, Smartgroup Investments, believes that business and employee confidence has bounced back following the Federal Election, with government car lessees now shopping around again. At a briefing in Sydney on Monday, Smartgroup chief executive, Deven Billimoria, said inquiry levels for novated vehicle leases from […]
22 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Beverage companies have rolled out the heavy artillery in an escalating war of words aimed at councils and consumers over the proposed introduction of a National Container Deposit Scheme. In a new advertising campaign the drinks industry likens the idea of putting a price on bottles to reduce rubbish as the equivalent […]
18 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office has given a mixed grade to the cooperation between the state government and community organisations through the Office of the Community Sector’s (OCS) delivery of the Victorian Government’s $13.8 million action plan designed to strengthen the capacity and long-term sustainability of community organisations. This analysis from Victorian Auditor-General […]
18 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has put its hallmark Public Sector Management Program out to market after it issued a calling for a higher education institution to manage the course by updating its curriculum and delivering it across all states and territories in Australia. A staple qualification for ascendant public servants, […]
18 October, 2013
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski Microsoft may not be shouting it from the rooftops, however its latest operating system release, Windows 8.1, looks like it will increasingly be heavily discounted for local governments in New South Wales under Volume Software Pricing arrangements more commonly used by state and federal governments. As the mega vendor […]
17 October, 2013End of content
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