You can read a statement from federal minister Gary Gray here:

THE HON GARY GRAY AO MP

SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE

MEDIA RELEASE

2 February 2012

KUNUNURRA AIRPORT READY FOR TAKE OFF

Economic development in Kununurra will take an important step forward tomorrow with Special Minister of State, Gary Gray officially opening a refurbished and expanded Kununurra Airport.

The Kununurra airport redevelopment was made possible through the Australian Government’s East Kimberley Development Package and the West Australian Government’s Regional Airports Development Scheme.

Gary Gray has a special link with the East Kimberley having worked extensively with Brendon Grylls, the Leader of the WA Nationals to implement the Federal Government’s East Kimberley Redevelopment Package.

Mr Gray praised the partnership arrangement between three levels of government and local Indigenous leaders in achieving an important outcome for the community of the East Kimberley.

“This is an example of how funding partnering by the Commonwealth, State and Local Governments can deliver benefits for communities,” he said.

“The $8.68 million airport redevelopment will ensure Kununurra Airport is a gateway to the region as it is the only airport offering regular flights to Perth, Broome and Darwin.

“Heavy wet seasons often result in this area being cut off from essential outside services and deliveries. The airport is a crucial piece of infrastructure which enables people and goods to enter or leave from the region and especially supports tourism and economic development.

“The airport now has the capacity to meet predicted local and tourist demand. The completion of this project is an important building block to achieving the goals that the Federal Government’s East Kimberley Development Package set out to deliver. Developing our transport infrastructure is one such crucial goal.

“With a small, widely dispersed population, effective transport infrastructure is critical to the economic development of the region. The redevelopment of the airport also provided short-term employment benefits for the people of the region. Developing jobs is as important as developing vital infrastructure” the Minister said.

“36 people were employed during this project, including 7 Indigenous people. This provided meaningful employment for this community and ensured long term skill development,” he said.

Event details:

Opening of Kununurra Regional Airport Expansion Project

Date: Friday 3 February 2012

Time: 1700 – 1900

Venue: East Kimberley Regional Airport, Victoria Highway, Kununurra, WA

Environs Kimberley is advertising for a Project Officer to work on the West Kimberley Nature Project.

“The Broome-based position entails working cooperatively with Indigenous Ranger Groups, Traditional Owners, environment groups and others on the Dampier Peninsula and 80 Mile Beach,” according to the advertisement.

Click here to read the advertisement or go to the Jobs Page.

Barry Haase MHR

Local member Barry Haase is worried about the impact of new Occupational Health and Safety laws on volunteers.

“Under these new laws even foster carers are regarded as ‘workers’ and their homes classified as ‘workplaces’, exposing carers to potentially enormous OH and S penalties,” he said.

You can read his statement here:

2012 is upon us and aside from our typical cyclonic activity and the very extensive Gascoyne bush fires the year appears to have arrived in a much less catastrophic way, weather wise, than 2011. The natural disasters that occurred right across Australia during 2011 brought devastation and heartbreak to tens of thousands of Australians. We saw fires and floods and yet we saw the true Aussie spirit shine.

Armies of volunteers, made up of neighbours’, friends, extended family members and total strangers fought the floods and fires and then mopped up after the events.

2011 was, ironically, the Ten Year Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers and as Australians regardless of class or creed, we rolled up our sleeves and gave a hand to those in need.

2011 may now be remembered as the last year of the traditional Australian volunteerism as we know it. Labor’s new Occupational Health and Safety (OH and S) laws have converted volunteers into virtual employees. As a result local sporting clubs, scout groups and community organisations will be burdened with strict regulations accompanied by harsh punishments for non‐compliance.

Under these new laws even foster carers are regarded as ‘workers’ and their homes classified as ‘workplaces’, exposing carers to potentially enormous OH and S penalties. For example a Meals on Wheels volunteer could be fined up to $300,000 or jailed for five years due to non‐compliance with Labor regulation in their voluntary work.

According to reports the Scout Association have issued a memo, stating all scout games are going to have to be reviewed. They will now have to have documented safety procedures for existing games and put compliant procedures in place.

Throwing the volunteer sector into chaos with red tape is ludicrous and will cost Australians more than money, it will cost us our way of life, helping those less fortunate will no longer be the norm.

A spokesperson said charter flights sometimes turn up at remote communities only to find the kid is not there, and are difficult to rearrange.

ABC [read this story]

Fair Work Australia ordered the extension of an existing protected action period.

Lloyds List Australia [read this story]

Japanese company Inpex intends to pipe its Browse Basin gas to the new facility, near Darwin.

Platts [read this story]

He was hit by a winch handle and broke his arm.

ABC [read this story]

Andre Skeen

Andre Skeen has a new job as a mechanic at Rio Tinto’s Yandi mine in the Pilbara.

He starts later this month.

You can read more about Mr Skeen if you click here.

Rohanna Angus

Rohanna Angus is taking up a position as suicide prevention officer in Broome.

She expects to start next month.

Ben Wyatt

Shadow education minister Ben Wyatt says remote teachers are worse off than other public servants.

He criticised the government for increasing public servants’ district allowance but not teachers’ locality allowance.

ABC [read this story]

You can read his statement here:

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Bad Santa Grylls leaves nothing for teachers in regions

The Barnett Government must increase the Locality Allowance for teachers as it has done for other regional public servants, Shadow Education Minister Ben Wyatt said today.

Mr Wyatt said Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls broke his election promise to provide free rent for teachers, police and nurses in regional areas then failed to include teachers in the increases to District Allowances, which were supposed to replace the broken promise.

“During the 2008 election campaign, Mr Grylls paraded around country WA and promised free rent to teachers, police and nurses in government housing,” Mr Wyatt said.

“Instead, he increased District Allowances to regional public servants, supposedly to stop them leaving regional areas or defecting to mining companies, but failed to show the same concern for teachers.”

Mr Wyatt said the Locality Allowance was paid to teachers to offset the cost of living in regional areas. Some country schools also attracted the Country Teaching Program Allowance due to difficulties in teaching at those schools and because the Education Department found them difficult to staff.

“The Country Teaching Program allowance is completely separate from the Locality Allowance,” Mr Wyatt said.

“The Locality Allowance for teachers in Karratha is $3,438 per year and the new District Allowance to public servants is $15,922 per year.

“That is hardly going attract teachers to the Pilbara.

“Mr Grylls and the Barnett Government betrayed teachers on the broken rent promise and they have rubbed salt into the wounds by excluding them from increases the District Allowance that were supposed to make up for the broken promise.

“In a couple of years when Brendon Grylls is lamenting the lack of teachers in country areas, he will have only himself to blame.”