Employment

Patrick Goldsmith. Premier Peter Malinauskas has earmarked Upper Spencer Gulf as the future of the state’s potential prosperity. Speaking at a public forum in Port Pirie on Tuesday, February 27, Mr Malinauskas outlined his government’s plan to invest in green energy, including making the most of abundant solar, wind, copper and magnetite iron ore resources.

Public waiting times for life-saving treatments at regional hospitals like Naracoorte are “creating real anxieties.” That’s the word from Shadow Minister for Regional Health Services Penny Pratt, who says it is concerning that people are losing confidence in country health systems.

Christine McKee. Sustainable food and sustainable employment were at the top of the list four years ago when planning began for a local food co-operative. Today, a network of local food producers and a greengrocery form the hub of Acres and Acres Co-op.

A Supreme Court bombshell in Queensland this week as dozens of police and health workers, including paramedics, won a mammoth legal battle over mandatory vaccination, with the Supreme Court declaring they were unlawful ... It’s been nearly three years since Australian state premiers and chief medical officers forced Australians to choose between a novel Covid-19 vaccine within a phase three trial and feeding their families.

More than 190 graduate nurses and midwives will commence work throughout the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in 2024. They are among more than 3400 graduate nurses and midwives to begin work across the state this year.

The National Farmers’ Federation has flagged the rushed backroom deals that will allow the industrial relations reforms through today, will leave farmers to deal with legislation fraught with problems.  NFF Chief Executive Tony Mahar said the suite of measures would deliver more uncertainty for farmers, more power for union bosses, and a less dynamic economy for workers.  

A recent tender by Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) for the provision of medical services at Barham Hospital has gone unawarded, with MLHD stating, “This tender process has now been completed and, as a result, it is not sustainable to continue the provision of medical services in their current format.”

Farmers and industry fear Labor’s imminent updates to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme could result in workers from nine Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste permanently receiving better pay conditions in some circumstances than Australian farm workers, placing an undue burden on employers.  

A good dentist is a valuable asset, especially outside the big cities. It's encouraging to learn that there are bright young dentists in Australia that have discovered that a country practice can offer benefits, professional and personal, over work in the city. Australian Rural & Regional News  asked Dr Parshad Sankey, now in Clare, and Dr Michael Dimitrov, in Gladstone, about their country experience.

Yet again another strike on the wharfs ends in a cave in by the stevedores. Last week DP World, which is owned by the Dubai Royal Family, agreed to increase wages by 25 per cent over the next four years to end a rolling series of stoppages that has gone on for months. That works out about double the predicted inflation rate with almost no productivity trade offs ... Welcome back to the thinking of the 1970s.

Darling Downs Health hospitals will have 58 medical interns begin this month, marking the largest cohort of interns that have started since the program commenced. The 12-month graduate program will see the medical interns experience the demands of urban, rural and remote medicine.

The State Government has been put on notice over its special treatment towards a large multinational mining company accused of destroying North Queensland’s minerals industry by Katter’s Australian Party … Robbie Katter has called on the State government to abolish the Mount Isa Mining Act which gave Glencore favourable operating conditions...

The Local Health Medical Trust and the Barham community are excited to welcome two medical students for the next two weeks ... Having both come from the hustle and bustle of the biggest cities in Australia, Jake and Daniel relish the quieter way of living, with Barham already welcoming them with open arms.

It will see 125 additional paramedics arriving in regional, rural and remote communities by the middle of this year ... These new paramedics will join a cohort of more than 6,700 NSW Ambulance staff who share a commitment to excellence in serving their communities across NSW.

As the school year comes to an end the careers team at Corryong College have been very busy finalising opportunities for their students for next year in the form of School Based Apprenticeships & Traineeships (SBAT).

Patrick Goldsmith. Although its opening may not be far away, the eagerly anticipated Minlaton Family Centre is in desperate need of already-qualified staff members. It is hoped staff orientation will begin in early January, and while several trainees have been put through their paces at its sister site in Maitland, only six diploma-qualified educators have been registered for Minlaton.