Photographs taken by the ALGA photography team are now available for your viewing pleasure at this link. They will be available at the link until 29 July.

If you would like to request a copy of one or more of the photographs, please email nga@alga.asn.au and quote the image name/s.

Also available on the ALGA website are the full resolutions of the NGA and presentations from the event. More presentations will be published as we receive them from the speakers.

The Government's response to the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network's Second Interim Report has been released, with the Government supporting one of the five recommendations.

The Government supported the recommendation to release the full version of NBN Co's 2015-18 corporate plan when finalised to enable the proper public scrutiny of the project. However, it rejected other recommendations, such as reinstituting the external independent review process of NBN Co’s corporate plan to restore the proper probity to the project, and investigating the governance and probity issues identified in the first and second interim report.

The Senate established the Select Committee on the National Broadband Network on 14 November 2013 to inquire into and report on the Australian Government’s reviews of the national broadband network and the governance of NBN Co Limited.

The Committee’s Terms of Reference included particular reference to:

• the establishment of the Government's Strategic Review of the NBN
• the outcome of the Strategic Review of the NBN
• the establishment and findings of the Government's cost benefit analysis
• the conduct and findings of the Government survey of the availability of broadband in Australia.

Read the Government's full response at this link.

From 1 July 2015, the General Practice Rural Incentives Programme (GPRIP) moved to a new classification system and introduced new eligibility criteria targeting financial incentives to doctors working in rural, regional and remote towns across Australia. This will see country towns around the nation receive more money from the Federal Government to attract doctors.

With the changes, the highest incentive paid to a doctor to work in remote Australia will jump from $47,000 a year to $60,000 a year. The maximum incentive to work in a town of less than 5,000 in regional Australia will increase from $12,000 to $23,000, while the maximum incentive to work in a town of between 5,000 and 15,000 people will increase from $18,000 to $23,000.

Regional cities with populations of more than 50,000 are no longer eligible for the incentive.

Find out more about the changes at this link.

On 18 June 2015, the Senate referred the threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia and Australian waters to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 8 April 2016.

The committee has invited written submissions from the community addressing issues that may be of relevance by 10 September 2015.

The terms of reference for the inquiry include:

1. the review of current research and scientific understanding of plastic pollution in the marine environment
2. sources of marine plastic pollution
3. the impacts of marine plastic pollution, including impacts on species and ecosystems, fisheries, small business, and human health
4. measures and resourcing for mitigation
5. any other relevant matters.

Submissions can be provided by uploading it to https://senate.aph.gov.au/submissions/pages/logon.aspx. Alternatively, submissions may be emailed as an attached document to ec.sen@aph.gov.au or mailed to PO Box 6100, Parliament House, Canberra  ACT  2600.

More information about this inquiry is available at this link.

The Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee has been asked to inquire into the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts with a reporting date of 15 September 2015.

The committee is accepting submissions on:

1. the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts; and
2. the suitability and appropriateness of the establishment of a National Programme for Excellence in the Arts, to be administered by the Ministry for the Arts, with particular reference to:
   1. the effect on funding arrangements for:
      1. small to medium arts organisations
      2. individual artists
      3. young and emerging artists
      4. the Australia Council
      5. private sector funding of the arts
      6. state and territory programs of support to the arts
   2. protection of freedom of artistic expression and prevention of political influence
   3. access to a diversity of quality arts and cultural experiences
   4. the funding criteria and implementation processes to be applied to the program
   5. implications of any duplication of administration and resourcing and
   6. any related matter.

The submission deadline is 17 July 2015. More information about this inquiry is available at this link.

The Tasmania Taskforce has opened public submissions to develop a long-term vision for the state's future with Federal Member for Franklin, Julie Collins, saying the taskforce is consulting widely with local communities, businesses and organisations.

The Tasmania Taskforce, established in May this year, aims to develop a strategy that will grow jobs and enable Tasmania's sustainable development into the future focusing on four key areas:

1. Economic development - supporting Tasmania to transition to growing industries, including but not limited to renewable energy, boutique food production, aquaculture and eco and cultural tourism.
2. Employment - growing employment through the state, including high-skill jobs of the future with particular focus on working with business and the community to improve opportunities in areas of high youth unemployment.
3. Education - expanding the skills base and increasing attainment rates to ensure the next generation have the skills to drive the new economy as well as to provide retraining and upskilling opportunities for experienced workers seeking to make the transition.
4. Growing Tasmania - building upon the clean, green, safe and premium reputation of Tasmanian goods and services.

Public submissions are open at www.alp.org.au/tasmaniantaskforce until 31 August 2015.

The Tasmania Taskforce will hold public forums in Hobart, Burnie, Devonport and Launceston.

Commonwealth, state and territory ministers met last Friday to discuss progress and achievements under the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. During the meeting, the ministers endorsed the 2014-15 Annual Progress Report on the Second Action Plan to improve women’s safety.

The report outlines the progress on the 26 practical actions prioritised under the Second Action Plan. Linking short and long term initiatives, the report charts the collective work to drive and implement initiatives that make a difference to women and their children: from primary prevention and early intervention initiatives, to specialist services for women and their children, to effective perpetrator interventions and controls.

The ministers also launched the National Plan website, which was created to share information, research and resources with key stakeholders. It includes information about the initiatives and work being done to prevent violence against women and their children. It also has links to support services and provides practical ways that communities can get involved to promote gender equality and ensure less women experience violence and more women and their children live safely.

Have a look at the new website here.

A new study from the University of Adelaide demonstrates how the inequality gap (the difference between Australia's most advantaged and disadvantaged) has reduced or increased for various health and social outcomes.

The study measured inequality across a range of indicators such as demographic and social indicators; health status, disability and deaths; and the use and provision of health and welfare services.

Overall, the data in the study indicated that access to health services, education and employment is improving over time for both advantaged and disadvantaged Australians. Deaths before 75 years of age have almost halved for the well-off but there has been far less improvement for people living in the most disadvantaged areas. The result is that there are now 80 per cent more premature deaths in the most disadvantaged areas, up from 52 per cent more than 25 years ago.

The study includes national, state, regional and metropolitan statistics and could be used to identify critical areas where services should be directed.

More information from the study is available at this link.

The City of Melbourne, the Victorian Government and the 202020 Vision have teamed up to release Australia's first 10-step guide to developing and maintaining urban tree populations.

How to Grow an Urban Forest is the first major outcome to be implemented from the 202020 Vision Plan, released in May this year, which is working towards a 20 per cent increase and improvement of urban green space by 2020.

The guide includes case studies from cities that have successfully implemented Urban Forest Strategies such as the City of Melbourne, the City of Adelaide, the City of Port Phillip, and Christchurch City Council.

The guide is designed to be accessible at a range of stages - from not knowing where to begin, to dealing with an endorsed strategy that has been stalled or shelved, to understanding types of measurement tools.

How to Grow an Urban Forest is available here.

Every second month, around one 135 people from more than 30 different countries become new Australians in the City of Boroondara.

As in many citizenship ceremonies around the country, each new Australian is given a memento of their special occasion; the memento is either a small seedling of a native tree or a specially minted one dollar coin and each of them also receives an 'Aussie Pride' lapel badge which consists of a sprig of golden wattle and the national flag.

The President of the Rotary Club of Canterbury, Peter May, has attended several citizenship ceremonies hosted at the Hawthorn Arts Centre in Melbourne’s inner East and says the new pledges wear their Aussie Pride badges proudly as they introduce themselves to those seated around them as 'Aussies'.

The history of the badge goes back to 2002 when it was designed by former Police Commissioner and Australia Day Ambassador, Bob Falconer APM and local councils have been presenting this badge to new Australian Citizens for more than a decade.

Learn more about the history and significance of the Aussie Pride badge here.