Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, this week released the second and final report into High Speed Rail (HSR) to connect the nation’s East Coast capital cities.

The comprehensive report reveals that the 1748km HSR network would link Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne and include 12 regional stations at a cost $114 billion.  While construction would begin in 2027, the network would not be fully operational until 2058.  The Sydney to Canberra link would be completed first, by 2035, followed by the Canberra to Melbourne link, by 2040.

The economic return of the project is estimated at 0.8 per cent and the study assumes that there will not be a second airport built in Sydney.

"This landmark study fulfils a key 2010 election commitment, and reflects our vision and determination to move Australia and its economy towards a low carbon, high productivity and even more prosperous future," Minister Albanese said.

Minister Albanese has established a group of transport ministers from relevant states and territories to consider the issue further and an advisory group has been formed to advise the Ministers.  Local Government will be represented on the advisory group by Jenny Dowell, Mayor of Lismore and President of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils.  The group's membership also includes Former Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer. 

The report is open to public comment until 30 June.  To access the full report and feedback forms, click here.

The peak body for emergency services has admitted that extreme climate conditions will require emergency services to be better prepared.

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) has released a statement supporting the Climate Commission’s Extreme Weather report acknowledging the scientific assessment that climate change was increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather. 

AFAC said emergency services would need to "plan strategically to identify how they would cope with the projected increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather".

It recommended that although increasing interstate support and staffing would be important, emergency services may be unable to respond to many major, concurrent incidents across Australia and New Zealand. 

"If a larger number of more intense extreme weather events are experienced in the future, people must understand that fire and emergency services cannot insulate communities from their impact," the Council’s statement said.

Spokesperson for AFAC, Paul Considine said the Council was already aware of the challenges of climate change.

"However this report sharpens the eye," Mr Considine said, “illustrating the importance of preparedness in the short to medium term for increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather.

"Planning, resourcing and community engagement are going to be important for the future."

Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, Professor Tim Flannery said climate change was making many extreme events worse in terms of their impacts on people, property, communities and the environment. 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has this week unveiled new analysis about towns of the mining boom using data from the 2011 Census.

The latest Australian Social Trends report has shown that Karratha, Roxby Downs, Newman and Middlemount are among the mining towns that have experienced the fastest population growth since the last Census.

ABS Director of Social and Progress Reporting Jane Griffin-Warwicke said "These high growth mining towns tend to have a lot of people on higher incomes, but they work long hours."

"These residents also sometimes pay quite high rents - for example the median rent for a separate house in Karratha rented from a private landlord was $1300 a week.

"Unlike the rest of Australia, where females outnumber males, high growth mining towns have more males. For example, more than two-thirds of people staying in Middlemount on Census Night were male.

"The majority of people in fast growing mining towns are in their prime working years between 25 and 54," she said.

The analysis also found that these towns tend not to have many older people with only 1 per cent of people in Roxby Downs on Census Night aged 65 or older.

All AST articles are available in full online at www.abs.gov.au/socialtrends

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has called for applications for the fourth round of the Digital Enterprise program.

Applications are being sought from organisations that will deliver services to Gosford (NSW), the Gold Coast (Qld), and Wollongong (NSW).  These are the three largest communities where NBN construction has commenced that are yet to receive funding for the Digital Enterprise program.

The Digital Enterprise program offers free expert training for local businesses and not-for-profit organisations to adapt to the online world and gain a better understanding of the many opportunities provided through the National Broadband Network (NBN).  The selected organisations will be awarded grants worth up to $280,000.

"It's so important that small businesses get online and start thinking about how they can make the NBN work for them," Senator Conroy said.

"We are already seeing how the Digital Enterprise program is helping small businesses take full advantage of the benefits that come from embracing the digital economy.

"For example, WorkForce Blueprint in Willunga, South Australia, has used the program’s training to improve their online business strategy. Now their entire business, including email, documents and finance software lives in the cloud, meaning their employees can work from anywhere, anytime that suits.

"I urge local organisations from Gosford, the Gold Coast, and Wollongong, to apply for funding to deliver this important program.

The Digital Enterprise program is currently operating in 44 communities around Australia. These communities are some of the first in the country to access the benefits of the NBN.

The closing date for round four applications is 2.00pm Monday 29 April 2013. Digital Enterprise Round Four Program Guidelines are available at: www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalenterprise

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport will be conducting public consultation sessions in each state and territory to look at how well the public transport sector meets the needs of travellers with disabilities. 

The first public consultation session will be conducted in Canberra on 23 April with sessions continuing around Australia throughout May, June and July.

Organisations and individuals can register their intention to attend any of the sessions by emailing the Disabilities Transport Access Secretariat at DisabilitiesTransportAccessSecretariat@infrastructure.gov.au or by mail to GPO Box 594, Canberra, ACT 2601.

The Sydney public consultation sessions for the 2012 review of the Transport Standards will be held on two dates at two locations:

1 May 2013
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Level 9 Tower B - Centennial Plaza
280 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills

9 May 2013
Penrith City Council
Civic Centre
601 High Street, Penrith

For more information on the review please visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/transport/disabilities/review/2012.aspx

Goods and Services Tax Ruling  GSTR 2013/1: tax invoices, was published on 27 March 2013 and applies retrospectively from 1 July 2010.  The Commissioner has also made ten legislative instruments (LIs) that waive the requirement to hold a tax invoice before attributing an input tax credit in particular circumstances.

GSTR 2013/1 replaces GSTR 2012/D3 and sets out the minimum information requirements for a tax invoice and also explains when a document is in the approved form for a tax invoice.

The following LIs detail certain circumstances in which a recipient may be relieved from the obligation to hold a tax invoice in order to attribute an input tax credit:

• Acquisitions under an Agency Relationship
• Acquisitions from or Acquisitions by a Beneficiary of a Bare Trust
• Acquisitions by Recipients Using Electronic Purchasing Systems
• Acquisitions Where Total Consideration Not Known
• Offer Documents and Renewal Notices
• Acquisitions from or Acquisitions by a Partnership
• Acquisitions from Property Managers
• Creditable Acquisitions of Taxi Travel
• Creditable Acquisition by a Lessee or Sub-Lessee Following a Sale of a Reversion in Commercial Premises
• Acquisition of a Motor Vehicle Under a Full or Split Full Novated Lease Arrangement

A full list of all related LIs can be found at appendix 2 of the ruling.

If businesses complied with the previous requirements for a tax invoice, they will continue to satisfy the new requirements.  This means that businesses should not have to change their software or accounting systems to comply with the new ruling and instruments.

The Australian Trucking Association will continue to focus on increasing the industry's safety, professionalism and viability under its 2013-2015 strategic plan, released this week.

The Chairman of the ATA, David Simon, released the plan at the ATA's annual general meeting.

Mr Simon said the actions set out in plan aimed to increase the industry's safety, with work on the Heavy Vehicle National Law, best practice standards through TruckSafe and a focus on the Road Ahead to communicate the ATA's message of sharing the road safely.

"The plan also aims to promote the highest level of professionalism across the industry, with the National Trucking Industry Awards rewarding excellence and best practice," Mr Simon said.

"It sets out how the ATA will work to improve the industry’s viability, with strong advocacy for a fair and effective road charging and investment system and a commitment to campaign against the Australian Government’s plan to extend the carbon tax to trucking from 1 July 2014."

In his report to members, Mr Simon said the campaign against the carbon tax would need to be a priority for 2013.

"This year, we will also need to focus on lobbying the state and territory governments to sign up to the Heavy Vehicle National Law with as few changes as possible, which will deliver safety benefits and reduce the compliance burden on operators over time," Mr Simon said.

"I think we should recognise the state governments have been very proactive in this area, and that there are expected to be very few variations in the way the laws are implemented between states.

"The ATA will also need to work to protect the industry’s fuel tax credits from unwarranted erosion or attempts to abolish them completely, and press for a road funding and charging system that is fair and that supports continued improvements in the industry’s productivity and safety."

In his report, Mr Simon said the ATA had helped deliver significant achievements for the industry in 2012, including the Heavy Vehicle National Law and National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, $140 million for truck rest areas and productivity improvements in the federal budget, and the new Co-operative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity.

He said the ATA had also released two new technical advisory procedures, covering electronic braking and side underrun protection.

Youth Homelessness Matters Day  was recognised this week on 10 April, with Greens housing spokesperson and Senator for Western Australia, Scott Ludlam, announcing that youth homelessness was "a growing national tragedy that demands extraordinary measures".

"With almost 18,000 children under the age of 12 homeless in Australia, new ideas and new funding to tackle homelessness must be on the table for the Federal election," Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said.

"Last year at least 17,845 children under the age of 12 were homeless - a rise of more than 3,000 from the 2006 figure.  More than a quarter of all homeless Australians are under the age of 18.  60 per cent of homeless people are under 35.  These young people deserve a roof over their heads and hope for the future.

"In November ABS figures showed a 17 per cent increase in the number of homeless people in Australia in five years.  The rate of homelessness increased by eight per cent, and the total number by an shocking 17 per cent, between 2006 and 2011.  There are now more than 100,000 people homeless in this country, with more than 44,000 of them under the age of 25.

"We need to see a commitment to at least doubling funding for homelessness services and accommodation in the new National Affordable Housing Agreement; we need to see policies that encourage the use of vacant properties for low-cost housing, instead of policies that encourage speculation; and we need to see all levels of government engage directly with the homelessness sector."

Have you made - or are you considering - the switch to using cage-free eggs for your events and catering? 

Would you like your existing and potential customers to know about your efforts to improve animal welfare, and benefit from positive media coverage, publicity support and marketing collateral?

Help build your relationships and promote the good work you’re doing by nominating your business or your clients for a Good Egg Award, presented by RSPCA Australia in partnership with Compassion in World Farming.

As Australia's most trusted and well known animal welfare organisation, the RSPCA enjoys exceptional brand recognition in the public arena.  Working with the RSPCA allows organisations to benefit from this, along with highlighting their own corporate social responsibility activities.

Nominations have officially closed, but the RSPCA is seeking additional candidates for the Public Procurement category, for which no entries have been received!

Using the RSPCA's online form, entry is free and should only take a few minutes.

Awards will be announced in late May, with participants to be invited to an exciting award ceremony and media event.

Enter now for your chance to receive a 2013 Good Egg Award or Commendation.

Visit www.rspca.org.au/good-egg to find out more and enter today; or contact Jane Speechley on 02 6282 8300, 0439 462 079, jspeechley@rspca.org.au.

There's just under two weeks left to register for ChemClear’s state-wide collection run in Queensland commencing in June.

ChemClear has had a great start to this year's collection with more than 42.5 tonnes of chemical already logged by farmers, rural businesses, golf courses and other agricultural chemical users across 32 local government areas.

ChemClear is an industry stewardship program which collects and safely disposes of eligible agvet chemical products from 99 participating manufacturers.

These chemicals are collected free of charge thanks to a small levy applied to eligible products by the manufacturers and passed onto the consumer at the point of sale. 

The program also collects non-participating manufacturers' products, unlabelled, unknown, severely out of date and mixed chemicals under a per litre charge.

ChemClear's National Program Manager Lisa Nixon said that chemical users may be cleaning up from the floods earlier this year and should not miss this opportunity to register before the closing date.

"In sheds and storage facilities across the country, there are containers and bottles of chemical that property owners have no further use for, are damaged,  inherited, or, have simply forgotten about," she said.

"Our program collects and disposes of these chemicals safely and environmentally, so, I encourage all property owners to check their sheds and register these chemicals for safe disposal.  We have already received over 199 registrations across both eligible chemical classifications with 17 tonne of Group 1 products being logged under the free collection service".

The 2013 collection will be ChemClear’s fifth in the state, with the last five runs retrieving over 112 tonnes of obsolete chemical for disposal.

To register for this collection or for further information, call 1800 008 182 or visit: www.chemclear.com.au.