A Century of Cooperation in River Murray Management

It is one hundred years since a landmark agreement was made between New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Commonwealth for the management and sharing of water resources of the Murray River.  In September 1914, after nearly sixty years of debate, droughts, community action, enquiry and a Royal Commission, the River Murray Waters Agreement…

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Tourism is on the Rise at Uluru

Tourism is getting even better at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, with visitor numbers rising six per cent in last financial year and the launch today of a free smartphone app to help people explore the park. “Uluru’s star is on the rise once more, as a brilliant holiday destination, part of our iconic Red Centre,…

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Volunteers rally for mala blitz at Uluru

Its lights out for rabbits at Uluru this week as teams of volunteers fight to protect the park’s endangered mala, a Rufous Hare Wallaby, from ravenous rabbit invaders. “We have deployed a dozen Environment Department volunteers from national parks and offices across the country to eliminate the rabbits that are breeding in Uluru’s mala enclosure,”…

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Bureau of Meteorology goes to market for new supercomputer

Procurement for the replacement of the Bureau of Meteorology’s supercomputer is now underway, with request for tenders opening today via the Australian Government website, AusTender. The new supercomputer will enable the Bureau to improve the accuracy of forecasts for severe thunderstorm events and tropical cyclones, as well as improved timing and direction of wind changes…

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Cockatoo Island’s dockyard past goes on show at the Shipyard Stories exhibition

Today, Shipyard Stories, a new exhibition about the life and times of the Cockatoo Island Dockyard officially opened at Biloela House on Cockatoo Island. “The new exhibition is an important addition to Sydney’s social history and cultural life,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. “This initiative by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust…

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Green light for Olympic Dam trial

The trial for leaching copper and uranium at the BHP Billiton Olympic Dam heap site has been determined ‘not a controlled action’ under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act).  “I welcome this decision, which will give the green light to BHP Billiton to develop and operate a heap leach demonstration plant at the…

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Final report released on Ranger mine spill

The final report on investigations by the Supervising Scientist on the impacts of a leach tank failure which resulted in a spill of slurry at Ranger uranium mine in December 2013 has been released today.  “Today’s report on the impacts from spilled slurry at Ranger mine in December last year confirms that there were no…

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Next step for advertising with Bureau of Meteorology

The Senate has today passed the Meteorology Amendment (Online Advertising) Bill 2014, providing the Bureau of Meteorology with greater certainty to accept commercial advertising, and to prevent the display of inappropriate types of advertising on its website. “The Government wanted to ensure the powers of the Bureau’s Director included the authority to accept paid advertising…

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Discussing Aboriginal views on Murray–Darling water management

Today the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) representatives visited Parliament House to discuss the management in the Murray-Darling Basin.  “The meeting was a good opportunity to hear about the group’s submission to the Water Act Review 2014, and to discuss cultural flows and future funding arrangements,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. …

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Improving Economic Regulation of Urban Water

Today the Water Services Association of Australia released their publication on Economic Regulation of Urban Water, highlighting opportunities to improve efficiency in the water sector. “This publication is an example of why Australia has become a world leader in water management, but demonstrates there remains room for improvement,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for…

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