A master plan for the Australian National Botanic Gardens

The Australian National Botanic Gardens is developing a 20-year Master Plan that will provide a blueprint for its future development. “I’m excited to announce that a consortium of architects and landscape architects, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Taylor Cullity Lethlean, have been selected to develop a 20- year Master Plan for the Australian National Botanic Gardens,”…

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Release of the National Water Reform Assessment 2014

The National Water Commission’s final comprehensive review of the National Water Initiative (Triennial Assessment) will be launched in Canberra today. The Triennial National Water Reform Assessment provides an independent analysis of the progress of Australian governments in implementing national water reforms, particularly the National Water Initiative.  “Since the National Water Initiative was agreed to by…

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Murray-Darling Chairman announces plan to end at term

Murray-Darling Basin Authority chairman Craig Knowles has advised he will finish in the role when his four-year term expires in January 2015. Federal Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Senator Simon Birmingham, said that Mr Knowles had played an extremely valuable role in working towards a balanced and consultative approach in the development of the Basin…

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Renewed funding continues work on bores

Remote communities will benefit from the Australian Government’s announcement of $15.9 million to extend the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI) for a further three years. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said the program provides funding support to repair uncontrolled bores that threaten the long-term viability of the…

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Celebrating 70 years of the Murray-Darling Association

Senator Simon Birmingham today welcomed delegates to the Murray Darling Association’s 70th anniversary conference in Tumut. “The founding of the Murray Darling Association in 1944 established one of the most significant local government groups in the country,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. “The Murray Darling Association has actively worked with the…

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Northern Territory to receive 7-day weather forecasts

A major upgrade to Bureau of Meteorology forecast and warning services for the Northern Territory will see many locations receive 7-day weather forecasts for the first time from today. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment Simon Birmingham said the Next Generation Forecast and Warning System (NexGenFWS) would see 96 locations in the Northern…

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More jobs is our pledge on subs

Today some Members of Parliament will sign a hollow union pledge promising to advocate for “all naval ships and submarines to be designed, built and maintained in Australia”. This pledge is meaningless because it ignores the involvement of international companies that has been essential for all of Australia's recent major shipbuilding projects. The Collins Class…

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Productivity Commission to take on water reform

The Productivity Commission will take on the role of monitoring and auditing Australia’s progress in achieving water reform. “By allocating these roles to the Productivity Commission, industry and customers will benefit from the Commissions reputation for independence and expertise,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. “The Government is confident that the Productivity…

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