Narrandera ready to welcome health staff into new accommodation units
Healthcare workers in the Murrumbidgee region are set to benefit from key worker accommodation, with new units at two hospital sites now complete. The modern accommodation units in Narrandera (pictured) and Finley have been installed on-site, with final touches being made to ensure the units are ready for the first residents to move in early next year.
Recognition for Honorary Ambo – 37 years later
Allan Japp is the first, and possible the only recipient in Hay to receive the Honorary Bearer Medal, some 47 years after he completed his last trip behind the wheel of an ambulance. Allan become an Honorary Ambulance Officer (Honorary Bearer as they were known then) in August 1963. His first case was taking a patient from Hay Hospital to the Royal Melbourne Hospital – a round trip of 917 kilometres which took just under 12 hours to complete.
Weld Australia slams Opposition’s nuclear power plan as unrealistic fantasy
According to Geoff Crittenden, CEO of Weld Australia, the Opposition’s plan relies on the misguided notion that coal-fired power stations can continue operating reliabily indefinitely to bridge the energy gap. “It is a fantasy to imagine that coal-fired power stations can keep running without billions of dollars being poured into their maintenance. Many of these plants have already exceeded their design life two- or threefold,” said Crittenden.
Farewell Shaz!
Twenty-seven years and 2.2 million boxes later, Sharon Drabsch has called it a day. Shaz, as her colleagues call her, ends her 27-year career as a box maker at the MiniJumbuk in Naracoorte at the end of this month. The 46-year-old with special abilities is not only a box maker but also a beacon of hope to those with special needs in the community.
Hay Shire Council welcomes $45M feedlot development
A $45 million development application which will create 147 direct jobs in the district was unanimously approved by Hay Shire Council at its monthly meeting last week. General Manager, David Webb said Council staff supported the application to intensify the cattle feedlot capacity at Ravensworth from 60,000 head to 100,000 standard cattle units (SCU), and recommended it be approved. There will be no change to existing infrastructure (pen space) at the Ravensworth feedlot which currently employs 35 to 40 people.
Suspected farm worker exploitation under investigation in Gatton
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and Department of Home Affairs have joined forces under the Shadow Economy Taskforce to investigate labour hire providers suspected of unlawful conduct in the agriculture industry through surprise visits in the Gatton region in Southeast Queensland.
Planting seeds for an ag-tastic future
Agricultural producers on the inner Darling Downs are set to benefit from the new Agri-Connect Pilot Initiative that bridges the gap between employers and the skilled workforce they need, creating opportunities for the region’s producers and talent pool of skilled migrants living locally. The program has already been used by a business with a site at Cambooya ... Agri-Connect serves as a platform for employers and skilled migrants to engage with one another.
PALM a breeding ground for ‘slavery’?
Madison Eastmond. Claims an employment initiative utilised to bring Pacific Island workers to the Riverland is exploitative are failing to recognise both sides of the situation, according to a senior local cultural leader. A recent report by the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (IARC), has called the temporary visas part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme "a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery".
Farmers finding solutions to ease labour shortages: ABARES
Labour shortages in the horticulture sector have eased slightly, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). ABARES executive director Dr Jared Greenville said the report, based on a survey of over 2,000 horticulture farms across Australia, showed a fall in the number of farms struggling to find workers.
$4m increase queried
Health Minister Chris Picton has defended the increase in budget allocation of $4million to the Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) last financial year ... “The fee-for-service expenditure for the Limestone Coast Local Health Network last financial year was $28,164,000, an increase of $4million from 2023. Can the minister explain exactly what fee-for-service relates to and whether that is the amount spent on employing locum doctors?” asked Independent Member for MacKillop Nick McBride.
Seven hundred thousand
Two salaried doctors in the region, employed by the Limestone Coast Local Health Network, are paid yearly salaries of around $700,000 each. But why, Independent Member for MacKillop Nick McBride questioned Health Minister Chris Picton in the House of Assembly last month. Mr McBride quizzed the minister about what these roles were that were paying that amount and where they were based.
Fatal incident at Golden Plains Wind Farm raises serious safety concerns: AWU Victoria
The AWU Victoria is extremely frustrated and angry following a worker being killed at the Golden Plains Wind Farm in Rokewood this morning … "Just two weeks ago, union delegates from three different unions met with Vestas management to raise serious safety concerns, telling them it was only dumb luck that nobody had been killed on site yet."
15 new jobs
A new local bakery set to open its doors to the public next month will bring about 15 new job opportunities in various roles to Naracoorte. Craig’s Bakehouse & Café ... Proprietor Craig McCallum bought the business from the owners of the former Morris Bakery after it went into administration last February and was subsequently put on the market.
CPMC warns AHPRA’s plan won’t fix doctor shortages in regional areas and key specialties
Following the release of the Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce Report, the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC) has again warned that fast-tracking International Medical Graduate registration alone will not solve Australia's rural healthcare challenges. Without proper planning, new specialists may concentrate in urban areas while regional communities continue to face specialist shortages.
Labor misleads as PALM agriculture worker numbers down: Littleproud, McCormack
The number of Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) workers in agriculture has fallen by more than 20 per cent, from 21,915 in July 2023 to 16,705 workers in September 2024 ... David Littleproud said the Senate Estimate figures revealed Labor’s changes to the PALM Scheme Deed and Guidelines in July 2023 made the scheme unworkable and had failed farmers.
Unleashing the potential of the rural and remote health workforce: NRHA
The long-awaited final report Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce: Scope of Practice Review was released today following over a year long process ... “The National Rural Health Alliance congratulates the team led by Professor Mark Cormack for this important review which will provide the direction for health policy for many years to come. We are particularly pleased to see the focus on rural and remote barriers highlighted and solutions”: Susi Tegen, CEO NRHA.
Landmark report on how to unleash the potential of our health professions: Butler
A landmark independent review commissioned by the Albanese Government has found that virtually all the nation’s health professions face restrictions and barriers in working to their fullest – restrictions that are unrelated to their skills, training and experience. The review found that inconsistencies across states and territories make it harder for patients to get the care they need…
GrainCorp workers to down tools: AWU
Grain handlers at GrainCorp sites across NSW have voted to stop work as part of protected industrial action, said the Australian Workers’ Union which represents the workers. The 200+ workers will commence their action with a month of random 1 hour stoppages at grain handling sites throughout the state beginning next Tuesday the 29th.
TAFE Hay tackles rural skills shortage – from florist to wool classer
TAFE NSW Hay has helped a former florist raised in suburban Bathurst make an unlikely career pivot to wool classing, as the spring shearing season hits full swing. Rebecca Owen, 35, was trained at TAFE NSW as a florist and an aged care assistantin-nursing in her 20s, before falling in love with the wool industry and moving to Hay.
“Thousands of jobs from wind tower manufacture”
Australia could create more than 4300 quality direct jobs by making its own wind towers instead of importing them, according to new research by the Centre for Future Work. At present, all wind towers installed in Australia are imported from overseas with most coming from China. Centre for Future Work’s research found a domestic wind energy sector would generate: 4,350 ongoing jobs in wind tower manufacturing, and thousands more in input industries, especially steel.
October – Safe Work Month
Preventing injuries, accidents, bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct while at work will be a focus this month - National Safe Work Month ... Although some people have died while working in their own businesses, helping to keep employees safe in the workplace is behind recent reforms to work health and safety laws. SA Industrial Relations Minister Kyam Maher announced the “significant reforms” ...
Calperum Station restores hope and employment in the Riverland
Madison Eastmond. Calperum Station’s Flood Recovery program is boosting local employment and changing the lives of many Riverlanders in the process ... the four-month voluntary program at Calperum Station has expanded to a comprehensive skills and confidence-building initiative for local jobseekers, restoring habitat and community in the towns of Renmark and Berri, and producing two rounds of successful graduates since its inception.
