Boosting productivity to counter the costs of Australia’s ageing population isn’t about working longer hours with less staff and risking OHS.

In response to the predicted economic and social consequences of Australia’s ageing population, more sophisticated national and enterprise productivity measures need to be implemented.

This need was reinforced earlier this week with the release of the 2010 Intergenerational Report.

Prior to the release of the report and in response to earlier comments from the Prime Minister on the ageing population, ACCI’s chief executive Peter Anderson said continued access to affordable, efficient and secure energy; continued investment in education and training; and a flexible labour market were among a number of necessary productivity boosting initiatives.

Also prior to the release of the report, ACTU president Sharan Burrow said: ‘To have sustained productivity growth, continued investment in education and training, research and development, and upskilling of the existing workforce will be critical.’

After the release of the report, Anderson said: ‘The report clearly shows that Australia needs a new round of national microeconomic reform centred on boosting Australia's productivity and workforce participation.’

Also after the release of the report, Burrow said: ‘Employers need to do more to encourage participation of older workers and women by reducing discrimination and introducing more flexible working arrangements.’

Along with the report, the Federal Government has released the Productive Ageing Package to help mature age workers stay in employment.

For more details, visit Intergenerational Report

The Coalition’s climate change policy has left business groups with unanswered questions and others critical of the policy because it fails to cover the field.

The Coalition’s direct action climate change policy will provide incentives to industry and farmers via an emissions reduction fund to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Businesses that reduce emissions below their baseline or ‘business as usual’ activity will sell their carbon dioxide abatement to the government.

Businesses that emit above their ‘business as usual’ levels will be financially penalised.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said the Coalition’s policy raised a number of questions, such as ‘What would be the process for setting baselines and demonstrating additional emission reductions?’ ‘What would be the penalties that may apply for emissions beyond current levels?’ ‘How it will contribute to international efforts including if an international agreement is ultimately reached?’

ACCI’s chief executive Peter Anderson said: ‘More information is needed on the adequacy of the Coalition’s proposed fund, and manner in which it will be funded by the budget.’

However, he also said “... a domestic policy approach that provides more carrot than stick tends to reflect the temper of the times.’

The ACTU, however, believes the Coalition has failed to ‘grasp the enormous challenge’ of climate change. There was no imperative in the Coalition’s policy ‘to cut emissions in existing industries on a uniform national scale to meet Australia’s modest targets or keep pace with improvements in competing economies’, ACTU president Sharan Burrow said.

The Greens are concerned the Coalition’s policy says nothing about transport emissions and ignores the logging of old growth forests. ‘There is not a peep from Mr Abbott about how we will turn around Australia's escalating emissions from transport, investing in public transport and electrifying our car fleet,’ Australian Greens senator Christine Milne said.

‘Stopping logging of native forests and land clearing were ignored as immediate sources of emission reductions in favour of a narrow focus on soil carbon.’

For more details, visit Ai Group, ACCI, ACTU, The Greens and Coalition

The naming of mental health clinician Patrick McGorry as Australian of the Year for 2010 is a positive sign in the fight to raise the profile of mental health.

‘This award signals a change in Australia’s attitude towards mental illness that is both courageous and refreshing. As a society we need to unite to effect lasting change that will improve care to this often marginalised group,’ McGorry said.

He said up to 50 per cent of Australians were affected by mental illness and there was a growing recognition that good mental health was as equally important as good physical health.

McGorry has 27 years experience in youth mental health. He is the executive director of Orygen Youth Health (OYH) and the director of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation (headspace).

Meanwhile, Australia Day Honours were bestowed on a number people for their services to the community.

Among them was the Honourable Murray Wilcox, who was honoured for his services as a Judge and Law Reform Commissioner.

Wilcox recently conducted the public consultation concerning the establishment of a building and construction inspectorate in Fair Work Australia and wrote ‘Transition to Fair Work Australia for the Building and Construction Industry Report’ for the Federal Labor Government.

For more details, visit Australian of the Year and Australia Day Honours

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as achieving energy efficiency is the new goal of the revised Building Code of Australia (BCA).

The BCA’s new commercial building standards will start in May 2010, with the States and Territories implementing the new residential standards no later than May 2011.

Among the revisions to the BCA, the glazing formulae have been modified to allow for passive winter solar heating.

Also, when insulation is required, at least half is to be laid in the ceiling. And new warning information has been included on the weight of insulation on plasterboard, its fixings and framing members.

Further, draught protection devices are now required on the bottom of sealed external doors.

Also, the air-conditioning in Class 3 sole-occupancy units must cease if external doors to balconies, patios or courtyards are left open.

Limits have also been placed on the use of electric resistance space heating, such as electric wall heaters.

A full list of revisions is available through the Australian Building Codes Board.

For more details, visit the Australian Building Codes Board

The recent Productivity Commission (PC) benchmarking report on OHS laws reinforces the burden placed on businesses by current jurisdictional differences in OHS, but it remains to be seen if the model laws can rein in these differences.

The PC report does not make recommendations about existing OHS laws or the recently approved model laws, but assesses the effect of existing regulations.

The PC report highlights jurisdictional differences in current laws, including OHS record keeping, training, consultation, asbestos, manual handling, falls, bullying, and OHS regulator resources, funding sources, enforcement tools, appeal mechanisms and transparency.

However, the potential for the recently approved model OHS Act to rein in these differences won’t be tested until all jurisdictions have enacted the model laws. Despite the model Act’s uniformity goals, the potential for jurisdictional differences remains as the model Act includes notes that allow for jurisdictional variations.

On a basic level, for example, the jurisdictional notes allow for the Act to be named differently in each jurisdiction.

On a more complex level, for example, jurisdictional notes allow for each jurisdiction to include subsections clarifying where all or part of an offence attracts strict liability or absolute liability; each jurisdiction can nominate the court or tribunal that will hear OHS matters; and each jurisdiction may insert a local provision relating to the extra-territorial reach of offences.

Different jurisdictional interpretations may affect organisations operating across state boarders.

For example, multi-state companies currently operating under the Comcare OHS scheme may feel the potential lack of uniformity when they revert to the state jurisdictions after the enactment of the model laws.

For more details, visit the Productivity Commission and Model Act

New European research reveals transport accidents and falls are the leading causes of unintentional injury deaths among women.

Transport accidents and falls both accounted for 19 per cent of deaths, said the research, ‘Data and Information on Women’s Health in the European Union’.

Falls were also the leading cause of hospitalisation for nonfatal injuries, the report added.

Further, a greater proportion of women than men aged over 65 experienced hip fractures.

‘…29 per cent of hospital discharges of women in the age group over 65+ are diagnosed with “hip fracture” (849 per 100,000) as opposed to “only” 17 per cent for men (401 per 100,000),’ the report said.

While transport and fall incidents were the leading cause of injury deaths, the report also said diseases including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory system diseases and digestive system diseases claimed the most female lives.

For more details, visit the EU report

New research has found that metabolic syndrome is associated with nurses working nightshift.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of disorders that occur together and increase the risk of stroke, heart diseases or Type 2 diabetes.

The group of disorders can include all or some of the following: excess stomach fat, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL), and higher then normal blood glucose.

The study, ‘Incidence of metabolic syndrome among night-shift healthcare workers’, evaluated male and female nurses on night and day shifts for four years.

The study, published in the January edition of the BMJ Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) journal, found the incidence of metabolic syndrome over the four years was 9 per cent among night-shift nurses and 1.8 per cent among day shift nurses.

The study added that the annual incidence was 2.9 percent among night-shift nurses and 0.5 per cent in day shift nurses.

For more details, visit OEM

Providing enough short-term shelter for the 500,000 people still homeless as a result of the recent earthquake in Haiti remains a top priority.

Some 60-80 per cent of buildings had been severally damaged in areas hit hard by the quake, said the January 29 Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) situation report.

Demolition waste was estimated at tens of millions of tons.

‘…at least 30 sites have been identified to establish temporary tent communities in Port-au-Prince,’ the January 29 report said.

‘UN-HABITAT plans to implement a transitional housing technology developed during the Tsunami, using available rubble and debris in Haiti.’

Those wishing to donate to Haiti should go to the PAHO website and read the ‘Be a better donor’ guidelines.

For more details and donation guidelines, go to PAHO and ‘Be a better donor’ guidelines

The US, EU, China and India and other countries have submitted their climate change targets to the Copenhagen Accord.

The US target is a 17 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020 based on 2005 emissions, while the EU target is 20-30 per cent based on 1990 emissions, China’s target is 40-45 per cent based on 2005 emissions, and India’s target is 20-25 per cent based on 2005 emissions.

Other countries have also submitted their targets, such as New Zealand which has pledged emission reductions of 10-20 per cent based on 1990 emissions, and Norway has pledged 30-40 per cent reductions based on 1990 emissions.

Australia has pledged 5-25 per cent reductions based on 2000 emissions.

Most of the targets come with conditions attached.

For more details, visit UNFCCC

Queensland

Top

New South Wales / ACT

Top

Victoria

Top

Talking OHS Law with Michael Connolly,
special counsel for HWL Ebsworth

Top

Visit the NSCA team at Safety In Action 2010

Top

Visit the NSCA team at Safety In Action from 20-22 April at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and find out more about our extensive range of OHS&E resources, management systems, consulting and safety training available.

Ask us how our new labour hire service, OHS Outsource can help your business.

To find out more call 1800 655 510 or email natsafe@nsca.org.au

Total Plant Management 2010

Top

Event Date: 11-12 March 2010
Location: A Five Star Venue to be announced shortly in Melbourne, Australia

Total Plant Management 2010 forum addresses the top pressing issues faced by operators, manufacturers and producers on asset, people and compliance management to enhance plant availability, reliability and effectiveness.

This comprehensive event covers 3 major tracks: asset, people and compliance management for plant reliability and effectiveness. Follow your own agenda with a choice of 2 streams during breakout sessions:

Plenary: Keynotes and Compliance Management
Stream One: Critical Asset Management
Stream Two: Effective Resources Management

Key topics

• Transforming your site into a world-class operation to achieve total plant efficiency
• Upscaling your total plant performance against competitions
• Strategically reassessing operational gaps to optimise cost savings and tailor near-term business plans and long-term viability
• Increasing operating efficiencies by turning operational processes into strong organisational framework and strategy
• Aligning people, safety and sustainable performance to drive the overall business objectives

Click here for more information.

* All NSCA members are entitled to a discount of 10% when registering with Ms. Esther. Please contact Ms. Esther for details and quote EN-NSCA during registration

For further details and brochures, please contact:
Ms. Esther Wong
Tel No: +603 2723 6736
Fax No: +612 9223 2352
Email add: estherw@marcusevanskl.com

OHS Consultant - Sydney

Top