April 1999

$250-million development of Pentridge site

The historic Coburg Prison Complex will be preserved and redeveloped in a $250-million, four-year project.

Planning issues a joint responsibility

Discussions between the Minister for Planning and Local Government, Mr Robert Maclellan, and the President of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), Cr Brad Matheson, have resulted in a joint approach to planning issues by State and local governments.

Additional $5 million for Victorian Youth Development Program

The Premier, Mr Kennett has announced a $5-million increase in funding for the Victorian Youth Development Program.

New hearing rooms, report service, for VCAT

The State Government has opened additional hearing rooms and also launched a new "loose-leaf" report service for the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Victorian bus services to be upgraded

The State Government is to spend $75.6 million on improving bus services, building better passenger facilities, utilising new technologies and improving school-bus safety in the largest funding assistance to Victoria’s bus services in decades.

More funds go the Youth Employment Initiative

The Premier, Mr Kennett has announced a further $2.4 million for the Victorian Government’s Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), creating an extra 1100 training positions.

Better water for Ballarat

Thames Water (Australia) Pty Ltd has won a $50-million contract to supply Ballarat and some surrounding townships with world-class drinking water.

Rural leaders sought

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has announced a major leadership program for rural Victoria.

$9 million in grants for youth agencies

Youth support agencies in Victoria will receive $9 million in grants over two years as part of the Victorian Government's Youth Services Program.

50,000 new apprenticeships

The State Government has announced funding of $93.8 million for about 50,000 new TAFE places for apprentices and trainees over the next four years.

Reforms to Guardianship and Administration Act

Significant reforms to the Guardianship and Administration Act will give recognition to the valuable contribution made by families and carers of people with disabilities.

$1 million grant for seniors organisations

Groups and organisations that deal with older Victorians will share in a $1 million grant as part of the Victorian Government’s recognition of 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons.

Ambulance studies centre for Frankston

The Victorian Government will provide $3 million to build a Monash University Centre for Ambulance and Paramedic Studies at the University’s Peninsula campus at Frankston, in a new approach to ambulance education and training.

Revised code governing electricity supply

The State’s utility watchdog, the Office of the Regulator-General, has announced new measures to encourage electricity distributors to continue to improve the reliability and quality of electricity supply to consumers.

$88 million for public housing

The Victorian Government will spend some $88 million on building new homes and units by the end of June, including $17 million for house-and-land packages and a further $6 million on design and construct projects.

Funds for research into rural health

A $3.5-million package of 64 research and health promotion projects is aimed at improving the health of rural Victorians.

Initiatives in nursing

The Victorian Government is supporting a campaign by the Royal College of Nursing Australia to attract graduates into nursing and to raise the profile of the profession.

More funding for school computers

Victorian Government schools will receive an additional $10.4 million to purchase new computers.

Two-year action plan for women

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has launched the State Government’s Two-Year Action Plan for Women, Women on the Move Volume Two, which deals with safety and well-being for Victorian women.

‘Birralee’ maternity centre opened at Box Hill Hospital

Box Hill Hospital has developed a new way to help mothers during pregnancy and childbirth.

Students to go online

Victoria’s 527,000 government-school students will have access to their own email address and personal home page in possibly the largest on-line connection in the world.

Electoral Act to be amended

The Electoral Commissioner had identified and requested a number of reforms to improve the administration of State elections in Victoria and improve the operational efficiency of the Electoral Commission.

Skills Advantage initiative

The Victorian Government has launched a major new skills and business initiative.

Fibre centre opened at Brunswick

The Brunswick campus of the International Fibre Centre, featuring the only non-woven fabric facility available for training in Australia, has been opened by the Premier, Mr Kennett.

Superannuation entitlements unaffected by changes

Finance Minister, Roger Hallam, has restated that, contrary to recent union claims, changes proposed to government superannuation schemes will not affect members’ entitlements.

Three hospitals to become trauma centres

Major Trauma Services will be established at three key Melbourne hospitals as part of a system to further reduce road deaths.

Disability funding shortfall

The Commonwealth Government has decided not to increase its contribution to disability funding despite the fact that, under the Commonwealth State Disability Agreement (CSDA), the States were increasingly contributing more funding for Australians with a disability.

$200 million development for PANCH site

Asia Pacific Building Corporation (APBC) has purchased the three-hectare site of the former Preston and Northcote Community Hospital (PANCH) and has plans for a $200-million development, including medical, residential, commercial, hospitality and recreational services.

Drug withdrawal unit opened

The Victorian Government has established a $1.2-million drug withdrawal centre in Melbourne’s north-east.

Child disability support program to continue

The Early Choices program, which gives families of young children with severe disabilities support and respite, will receive annual funding of $1.67m.

For earlier news stories see our Archives.  For the latest New Releases from the Victorian Government's main media releases page, see What's New.

Page last changed Friday, 04-Jun-2004 05:18:27 EDT

(other news from the Government's web site main media releases page and other releases)

The Australian Transport Council has adopted draft standards designed to ensure that public transport will be accessible to all Australians. (30 April)

The Victorian Government has opened a $2-million palliative care unit in Ballarat. The new 10-bed Gandarra palliative care unit represents a significant step in the $34-million redevelopment of Queen Elizabeth Centre of Ballarat Health Services. (30 April)

The Victorian Government has made available a kit for carers of people with acquired brain injuries or neurological disorders: the Carer Resource Kit. (29 April)

A $300,000 project comprising a library, canteen and amenities at East Gippsland Institute of TAFE, Bairnsdale campus, has been opened by the Minister Tertiary Education and Training, Phil Honeywood. (29 April)

An independent report by Monash University researchers who interviewed 60 family members and professionals has endorsed the involvement of extended family in the protection of children called Family Group Conferencing in Child Protection. (28 April)

The Victorian Government will spend $15.4 million over the next two years to significantly upgrade the Wangaratta Base Hospital, including the reconfiguration of wards into one new building and major renovations to the theatre suite, day surgery, outpatients and other support services. (28 April)

Patronage of Melbourne's award-winning tourist attraction, the City Circle Tram, continues to increase with about 3.3 million locals and tourists using the service each year. The Tram carried over 12 million passengers in its first five years. (28 April)

The Government is investing $15 million over two years to implement the new "Strengthening Families" service in high-need areas around the State. (28 April)

Ramsay Health Care Ltd is the preferred bidder for Casey's first public hospital. The new Berwick Community Hospital is to be built on the corner of Clyde Rd and Princes Freeway and will open in late 2000. (27 April)

A new series of brochures called Stepping Out details Victoria's 3,000-plus walking tracks and trails, focusing independently on Melbourne and Surrounds; the Great Ocean Road; Gippsland; the Grampians and Goldfields; the Legends, Wine and High Country; and The Murray River region. (27 April)

AQUAFarmer, a software program developed by Fisheries Victoria that models the feasibility of farming particular fish species - the first of its type in Australia - has been released. (27 April)

The State Government has committed $585,000 to the Corangamite region in its Replanting Victoria 2020 program, part of the Government's Greenhouse initiative. (27 April)

The State Government will provide $9.4 million in this year's State Budget to build the Geelong Watersports Complex, a 2000-metre international-standard water sports course on flood plains beside the Barwon River. (24 April)

Travel grants of up to $7000 each will be made available to child protection and welfare workers to examine interstate and international programs in the second such grant scheme since 1997. (23 April)

Operators of wheelchair-accessible taxis will enjoy significant savings on stamp duty as a result of a bill introduced into Parliament to amend the Stamps Act 1958. (23 April)

International entertainment software producer Acclaim Entertainment is to establish its Australasian Head Office in Melbourne in a $7-million investment over three years. (22 April)

According to the December Quarter Rental Report prepared by the Office of Housing, Victoria has taken over from Queensland as a favored place for investment in residential property, with the value of loans approved in Victoria for the purchase of dwellings for investment topping $1.065 billion during the quarter. (22 April)

Melbourne's new bridge over the Yarra River will be known as the Bolte Bridge, in honour of Victoria's longest serving Premier, Sir Henry Bolte, and the two new tunnels beneath Kings Domain will be known as the Burnley and Domain tunnels. (21 April)

The State Government has announced a $20 million funding package to assist the development of aquatic leisure centres throughout Victoria in partnership with local government. (21 April)

The retention rate for Victorian Government school students in Years 10-12 is the highest of any state. The rate of 73.7% is 4.3 percentage points higher than the national average of 69.4%, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for education. (21 April)

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Agriculture and Resources, Patrick McNamara, has announced that property owners in the North-Central, Corangamite and Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Authorities will pay a flat CMA rate of $20 per property for properties up to the value of $600,000 in 1999-2000, as compared to $32 at present. (20 April)

Two women have been appointed as judges to the County Court. The appointment of Pamela Jenkins and Katharine Williams increases the number of women County Court judges to seven. (20 April)

Swinburne University of Technology is to offer Victoria's first graduate course dedicated to reducing male family violence: the Graduate Certificate of Social Science (Male Family Violence). (20 April)

Over the next two years, a further $1 million funding will be made available for local communities to develop StreetLIFE projects to help Victoria's traditional shopping strips. (19 April)

The Minister assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs, Phil Honeywood, has reaffirmed the Premier's support for an increase in the number of skilled migrants coming into Australia to 50,000. (16 April)

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Meat Livestock Australia are jointly developing a program for beef and lamb producers aimed at lifting on-farm profitability and raise exports to $1.3 billion by 2001. (16 April)

Ninety thousand Victorians can learn for free how to keep people alive in the vital first four minutes of a heart attack through a $4.5 million cardiopulmonary resuscitation campaign "Learn CPR: The Key to Survival" training initiative. (16 April)

Victoria's network of parks and other conservation reserves will increase by 8200 hectares through amendments to the National Parks Act. (15 April)

The Minister assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs, Phil Honeywood, has called for a review of the Student Visa Program following a drop in the number of international fee-paying students coming to Australia. (15 April)

Victorian flower exports rose by 27% last year to a value of $7.3 million. (15 April)

Melbourne businesswoman Lyndsay Cattermole has been appointed the new chairman of Cinemedia, the State Government agency that supports Victoria's film and multimedia industries. (14 April)

Japanese games company Nintendo has opened its new national head office at Scoresby. (12April)

A panel of four eminent scientists has been selected to monitor and advise on science and technology in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. The four are: Sir Gustav Nossal, Dr John Stocker, Dr Graham Mitchell and Professor David Pennington. (9 April)

Older Victorians and those with mobility problems will benefit from a fresh-food home-delivery service being trialed in Ballarat. Coles HomExpress service will allow people for whom supermarket shopping can be difficult, to stock their fridges and pantries from home. (9 April)

A report published by the Department of Planning and Local Government has found that 84% of Victorian households are separating paper, glass and plastic products for kerbside recycling. (9 April)

The rate of Victoria's baby deaths has fallen to the lowest ever recorded. The rate of 6.9 per 1,000 births is contained in the annual report for 1997 of the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity. (8 April )

A program designed to increase the number of Kooris employed in the areas of health, welfare and juvenile justice - INTRAIN - has been launched by the State Government. (8 April)

VicRoads has published a new guide to Australian disability parking schemes that explains the different parking permit requirements and conditions to help interstate and overseas disabled drivers make the most of their time travelling in Australia. (7 April)

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service tissue-typing laboratory at Southbank and the North-Western Health tissue-typing laboratory at the Royal Melbourne Hospital are to merge to create the Victorian Immunogenetics and Transplantation Service. (6 April)

Victoria Police has completed its investigation into the matters relating to the contracting out of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service’s communications system and have advised the Department of Human Services that, following detailed consideration by the Director of Public Prosecutions, no criminal charges will be laid. (1 April)

The Member for Box Hill, Robert Clark, has announced that the State Government will provide $7,000 to set up wheelchair detector loops near Box Hill Central Shopping Centre. (1 April)