AS PART of Valuing Australia’s Teachers, community forums will take place around Australia next week.

A Federal Parliamentary committee has been asking about the status of the teaching profession, and as part of its work, plans to hold meetings in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Rockhampton next week. Details of venues and times are included below.

Chair of the House Education Committee, Andrew Laming MP, explained that the inquiry is about what it takes for Australia to have a world-class education system.

"Australia’s teachers inspire, engage and challenge students to be the best they can. Although there are more teachers in Australia than ever, the attrition rate from the profession is rising," Mr Laming said.

"We are looking at building better career structures and pathways for teachers to ensure that the profession remains fulfilling and rewarding for educators. We are also hoping to hear about ways to support teachers more generally, in and outside the classroom, to reduce the amount of time spent on out-of-hours work," Mr Laming said.

"We also want to overcome constraints such as inflexible curriculum delivery; reporting and assessment practices; lack of evidence-based research and readily available classroom applications; as well as time pressures and a lack of support for principals to develop professional autonomy," Mr Laming said.

"We have had submissions from around Australia, and had to make some early decisions about who we could speak with first. I hope that this important work can be continued regardless of any election result – it’s important public policy for Australia. In announcing these first hearings, we hope to keep the discussion going, and learn from teachers at the coal face, about what they want and how their expertise and their profession can be better valued," Mr Laming said.

All hearings will be streamed live via the Parliament’s website.

4 March Brisbane
8am – 11.15am, Commonwealth Parliament Offices Boardroom
Level 36, Waterfront Place, 1 Eagle St, Brisbane

4 March Bokarina (Sunshine Coast)
3pm – 5pm, Lake Kawana Community Centre, Lake View Room
114 Sportsmans Parade, Bokarina

5 March Sydney
10am – 1.15pm, Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices, Meeting Room, Level 21
1 Bligh Street, Sydney

6 March Melbourne
9.30am – 1.15pm, The University of Melbourne, Dean’s Boardroom
Level 12, 198 Berkeley Street (The Spot Building), Carlton

7 March Adelaide
10am – 12pm, Old Parliament House, Watarru Room, 1st Floor
North Terrace, Adelaide

8 March Rockhampton
10am – 12pm, Rockhampton Leagues Club
Cambridge Street Rockhampton

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ENERGY Networks Australia has welcomed progress towards a National Hydrogen Strategy, with the release today of a discussion paper for public comment.

CEO Andrew Dillon said support from both sides of federal politics for hydrogen and its potential as a low or zero-emission energy source to back up renewable power was important to support the transition to a clean energy future.

“Hydrogen can be produced carbon free from excess renewable energy, storing this energy in a clean way for when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind isn’t blowing,” he said.

“As demonstrated in Energy Networks Australia’s Gas Vision 2050 report, hydrogen’s scope is impressive, with potential to widen a customer’s power options, improve and increase renewable generation and even create a new energy export market.

“This technology is already being embraced around the world for domestic and commercial use in gas networks and to fuel passenger and freight trains.”

Mr Dillon said while the potential for export was enormous, one of the most exciting properties of hydrogen was its potential to serve as a large-scale battery, utilising existing gas networks.

“Funding support for research and development, backed by bipartisan national support, will drive the ultimate commercialisation of hydrogen technologies,” he said.

“Energy Networks Australia supported the CSIRO on the National Hydrogen Roadmap and has worked with Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, who is now leading the development of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

“Our gas networks are undertaking significant hydrogen related projects throughout Australia, trialling hydrogen in gas networks and for use in domestic appliances.”

www.energynetworks.com,au

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FIVE regional Queensland women who work in the state’s resources sector have been awarded travel grants to attend one of the biggest International Women’s Day events in the state.

The grants, awarded by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) enable them to attend the QRC/Women in Mining and Resources Queensland International Women’s Day Breakfast and Inspire!Convention on March 8 in Brisbane.

The grants were funded by the Queensland Government’s Advancing Women in Business initiative.

“I congratulate the government on this initiative, which will enable women who otherwise would not have been able to attend the events to take part in valuable professional development and networking,” said QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane.

“The Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Di Farmer will present the awards along with QRC President Rag Udd and WIMARQ Chair Maria Joyce.

“These events are an important part of our sector’s endeavors to improve the gender balance in our workplaces.

“The breakfast also includes the 14th annual Resources Awards for Women, which celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of women in our sector.

“We also welcome to the breakfast about 50 girls from our Queensland Minerals and Energy (QMEA) schools, along with 20 girls who have been selected for the inaugural QRC/WIMARQ Girls Mentoring Program, and three finalists in the QMEA Exceptional Student award.
 
“These girls are part of our future. If we are to attract the technologically skilled people our industry needs, it’s important that we don’t miss out on the talents of half our population.

“It’s good to see we have attracted about 800 people, with about 400 more watching via webcast in Moranbah, Blackwater, Century Mine, Mount Isa and Rockhampton, and at many smaller events.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has welcomed the green light for Arrow Energy’s $10 billion Surat Gas Project which will create around 1000 jobs during construction and operation.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the decision to grant 14 petroleum leases would be a welcome addition to the state’s economy and a significant local boost for the Western Downs.

“Every new resources project in Queensland means more jobs, and more royalty taxes paid to benefit all Queenslanders,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Through the bipartisan foresight more than a decade ago to develop Queensland’s gas industry, we are now reaping the benefits of an industry that supports more than 39,000 jobs and injects $8.2 billion into the Queensland economy.

“The go ahead for Arrow Energy’s project in the Surat is a significant commitment of confidence in the Queensland gas industry and is a sizeable investment from the private sector.

“More gas being produced is good news for all gas customers, both domestic and export. 

“The development of our state’s gas industry is in stark contrast to the inaction of other states, where opportunity for investment and jobs is being squandered.

”With a go-slow on gas development in NSW and a blanket ban on some types of gas projects in Victoria, what the Southern States are really saying is they’re not prepared to support local jobs and local industry.

“The ongoing strength of our resources sector will lock in economic gains for all Queenslanders.

“But we cannot take this success for granted.  The Arrow Energy project is a welcome addition to our state’s diverse resources sector, but we must ensure more projects are developed across our full range of commodities, including gas, coal, metals and other minerals.

“Only stable and predictable policy with a clear set of rules will ensure investment in exploration leads to new investment, new jobs and new exports for Queensland.”

www.qrc.org.au

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