By Mike Carmody* In April 2013, the South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Victorian Premier Denis Napthine demanded state and federal passenger car fleets include more Australian-made vehicles. Their call came after Holden announced it is slashing its workforce. Anyone concerned about the state of Australia’s car industry will welcome the Premiers’ call to action. […]
30 July, 2013
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski Local governments have come under direct pressure from Prime Minister Julia Gillard to use ratepayer’s money to buy Australian vehicles for their fleets to help keep the domestic car manufacturing alive – despite billions of dollars in government subsidies failing to keep factories at Ford and Mitsubishi operating. Ms […]
18 June, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation Greg Combet has attacked state and local governments for not buying enough Australian-made cars for their vehicle fleets, suggesting that 70 per cent of local government purchases come from foreign manufacturers. Mr Combet’s sharp criticism over the low purchasing rate of locally-made cars comes as Ford […]
11 June, 2013
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski The South Australian and Victorian governments have gone on the offensive to embed Australian made cars into public sector procurement plans for fleet purchasing as a way to prop-up struggling local automotive manufacturers. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Victorian Premier Denis Napthine have demanded that a majority of […]
22 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The South Australian government has extended the utility of its public transport smartcard to give bike-riding commuters in Adelaide access to new locked cages so they can securely stow their mounts at railway stations when connecting with trains. The move is part of a $17 million car park and amenity upgrade for […]
26 March, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has continued to kick the can over a proposed “cash for containers” scheme to reduce litter and kerbside rubbish in the run-up to the state election in March 2013, saying its petition for the scheme has received 1590 signatures. The West’s local government body has […]
26 February, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Police in South Australia are taking advice on how curb the state’s bike menace using digital mapping and geographic information systems to keep tabs on the two-wheeled hoodlums. The move to put bikies on the law enforcement map comes from US criminal profiler Mike King who works for GIS systems provider Esri […]
19 February, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Adelaide City Council has issued new guidelines for the city’s mobile food vendors to try and ensure they operate without eating the lunch of established fixed premises businesses. The council has been actively encouraging street food vendors – such as coffee carts, burger vans and gourmet cuisine – to hawk their fare […]
7 February, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The latest quarterly State of the States economic report from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s securities arm, CommSec has found that Western Australia has the strongest state economy but still lags in residential development. The previous State of the States report from CommSec in October 2012 found that New South Wales and […]
22 January, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The National Broadband Network has laid out its plans to work with South Australian regional local governments to fire-up fast wireless broadband connectivity to far flung premises as the regional rollout of the massive project continues. The planned connection to wireless broadband is intended to address a lack of adequate internet communications […]
21 January, 2013
By Paul Hemsley South Australian Minister for Health and Ageing John Hill has improved digital communications for state ambulance crews to increase the amount of information they have about the patient and the incident at the scene of an emergency. The South Australian government’s initiative to install mobile data terminals in ambulances to receive signals […]
20 December, 2012
By Paul Hemsley South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has announced that an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) will finally be on the beat in the state by mid-2013 after enabling legislation was passed this week. The creation of a new corruption watchdog comes after years of government opposition to the establishment of the role and […]
30 November, 2012
By Paul Hemsley South Australian Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koustantonis has announced a parliamentary inquiry into the use of solar thermal energy to replace coal used for electricity generation the government amid fears that supplies of the fossil fuel from the Leigh Creek mine will cease to be viable. The probe into solar […]
19 October, 2012
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Patrick Conlon and Adelaide City Council Deputy Mayor David Plumridge have wheeled out a plan to push more people into riding bikes. The council and the state government have announced the formation the Bicycle Infrastructure Group (BIG) to improve cycling infrastructure and double […]
12 October, 2012End of content
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