June 1999

New legislation to tackle fundraising fraud

New legislation designed to reduce fundraising fraud and maintain public confidence in fundraising appeals has come into effect.

$30 million venture capital fund for IT companies

Victorian information technology companies are to share in a $30 million venture capital fund.

Wine industry strategy released

A strategic plan to guide the future growth of Victoria’s wine industry has been launched by Industry Minister, Mark Birrell.

Longford Royal Commission findings

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has released the report of the Royal Commission into the Esso Longford gas-plant accident on 25 September 1998.

MAS demand still high

Demand for ambulance attendance in Greater Melbourne remains high, with more than 46,500 emergency cases — an average of more than 500 per day — attended by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service in the March quarter of 1999.

Three more public transport franchises announced

The Government has announced the awarding of three public transport franchises to transport operator National Express.

Business Events calendar launched

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has launched a year-round Victorian Business Events Strategy which will develop a calendar of industry events.

Work to begin on University Square

Minister for Planning and Local Government Mr Robert Maclellan has announced the start of preparation work on the Melbourne University Square Campus in Carlton.

Good results in HIV/AIDS treatment evaluation report

Independent consultants, Health Outcomes International, have found that patients now have greater access to a wider range of disciplines and services than previously following the relocation of HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases services.

New gas retailer in Victoria

Queensland energy supplier, Energex, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Allgas Energy Ltd, has become a new gas retailer in Victoria through purchase of rights to the "gas release program" for $29.25 million.

Victorian multimedia trade mission to Ireland

The State Government will lead an overseas trade mission to strengthen Victoria's technology partnership with Ireland.

Victoria releases model cross-vesting bill

The Attorney-General, Jan Wade, has released a Victorian Model Bill to deal with legal problems arising from last week’s High Court decision in the cross-vesting cases of Ex parte Amman & Gould, Ex parte McNally, Ex parte Darvall, and Spinks v Prentice.

Box Hill tram extension confirmed

Transport Minister Robin Cooper has said that the announcement of Metrolink’s successful bid to run services on 10 tram routes in Melbourne meant the Route 109 extension to Box Hill was confirmed.

Franchise announced for Yarra Trams

MetroLink, a consortium of private-sector transport operators including Transfield, Transdev and Egis Projects, has been awarded a 12-year franchise to operate Yarra Trams.

Class sizes continue downward trend

According to 1999 class-size data, the average class-size in Victorian primary schools has fallen from 25.9 students last year to 25.4 this year.

Chemical engineering congress for Melbourne in 2001

The Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Mark Birrell, has announced that Melbourne has won the right to stage the World Congress of Chemical Engineering planned for September 2001.

A new wetlands for south-east Melbourne

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has opened the Karkarook Park wetlands, part of an $8-million project to create a new recreation reserve for Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.

Maxi database for genealogists

People compiling family trees or curious about their ancestors will now have easier access to information with a new Internet service at Victoria’s Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Crime down in Victoria

Victoria remains Australia’s safest state, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures.

International recognition for Victoria’s wineries

Melbourne has been named as a member of a network of Capital Cities of Great Wine-Growing Regions launched at VINEXPO in Bordeaux.

Victoria attracts more foreign tertiary students

The number of overseas students enrolled in Victorian universities increased by 24% in the past year.

IT funding and support for country schools

Government schools in country and regional Victoria will benefit from the introduction of a $104-million Information Technology support package.

Stage One of Royal Melbourne upgrade completed

Stage One of the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s $51-million redevelopment has been completed.

New Skills.net grants

The State Government has announced 20 new projects under its Skills.net community Internet training strategy.

British Aerospace $35m facility at Fishermans Bend

British Aerospace is to construct a $35-million military aircraft systems design house at Fishermans Bend.

$13-million upgrade for Williamstown Hospital

Health and Aged Care Minister Rob Knowles has announced a $9 million first stage of a $13 million redevelopment for Williamstown Hospital.

Blackburn High School strike unwarranted

A leaked letter from members of the Australian Education Union (AEU) at Blackburn High School claims that union officials coerced members to go on strike and excluded a number of AEU members from taking part in a meeting to determine strike action.

New tram service for sports precinct

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has opened a new $12.5-million route through Melbourne’s sports and entertainment precinct.

Government sponsors Interact Festival for fourth year

The State Government will continue as the major sponsor of the Interact Asia-Pacific Multimedia Festival for the fourth consecutive year.

Increased investment in agricultural R&D

The State Government has announced details of its $47.5-million Growing Horizons research and development program for agriculture.

Development strategy for rural and regional Victoria

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has launched a new development strategy for rural and regional Victoria.

Magistrates’ Court new web site

Law firms and community legal centres will be able to ascertain quickly and efficiently court dates for their clients through the Magistrates’ Court new Internet web site.

Manufacturing strike 'damaging'

The June 3 strike by manufacturing sector unions will damage a resurgent Victorian industry sector and should have been called off, according to Industry Minister, Mark Birrell.

$3.4 million to tackle air pollution

The Minister for Conservation and Land Management, Marie Tehan, has announced a $3.4-million Environment Protection Authority program to tackle air pollution.

Ministers and MPs to retire

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has announced that details of Ministers and Government MPs who intend to retire at the next State election.

Free rail car parks to remain

Free car parking at metropolitan stations will definitely remain when the system is privatised, Minister for Transport Robin Cooper has said, responding to recent reports suggesting that entire car-parking facilities at local stations could be subject to fees.

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 05:14:42 EDT

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

From July 15 this year, anglers in Victorian waters, both freshwater and marine, will be required to have a fishing licence. (30 June)

Victoria's Minister for Planning and Local Government, Mr Robert Maclellan, has announced funding of $1.22 million to help councils implement their new-format planning schemes. Each of the State's 78 municipalities to receive $15,000. (30 June)

An evaluation document on the Hand Brake Turn program reports that it is succeeding in giving young offenders and would-be car thieves a hand to break their cycle of behaviour and turn their lives around. (29 June)

During 1997-98, the net takings from gambling of businesses in Australia's gambling industries were $11,091 million, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in Gambling Industries, Australia 1997-98; an increase of 42% since 1994-95. This represents a loss of $790 per head of adult population. The average loss in Victoria per adult was $927. (28 June)

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment's Institute of Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture (ISIA) has a new principal scientist for soil and water in Dr Q. J. Wang. Dr Wang, who is a respected world-leader in hydrology and physics, will leave Melbourne University to begin full-time with ISIA in October. (28 June)

Commonwealth Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, and State Attorney-General, Jan Wade, have announced the membership of the Implementation Advisory Group to look at improving access to community legal services in Victoria. (25 June)

There were 518 industrial disputes reported in Australia in 1998 - 71 more than the previous year - according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This is the first increase in the number of disputes for a calendar year since 1995. However, the number of working days lost through industrial disputation decreased marginally from 534,200 to 526,200 between 1997 and 1998. (25 June)

The Minister for Housing, Ann Henderson has announced several new housing projects for older people at various locations in Braybrook. (25 June)

The ABS May 1999 Labor Force Survey (manufacturing employment) figures show that 340,000 people were employed in Victoria’s manufacturing sector.  (25 June)

The Victorian Government is to provide $566,000 for the construction of six two-bedroom units at three locations in Werribee. The areas chosen are in Golden Avenue, Parrakeet Road and Snipe Court. (24 June)

An extra 100 young people with disabilities from Melton, Bacchus Marsh and the western suburbs will be able to enrol for training and vocational courses next year at the new Merrimu Adult Day Service facility in Melton. The Government provided $882,000 to establish the new centre. (24 June)

Gippsland has received a new state-of-the-art information service. The Gippsland Research and Information Service (GRIS) - the only database of its kind in Victoria and one of only three such in Australia - will provide profiles of the area's resources, industry and population distribution for commercial, government and community use. (23 June)

Geelong apprentices Luke Jacker and Bryce Dowdell have each received a $15,000 scholarship to pay for their participation in the World Youth Skill Olympics in Montreal, Canada, in November this year, where they will represent Australia. Bryce and Luke were named Australia's top apprentices in mechatronics (a combination of mechanics and electronics) after winning the Gold Medal at the Australian finals of the National WorkSkills Challenge held in Melbourne in May. (23 June)

A new medium-term residential facility for people who have an intellectual disability and display challenging behaviors will be built on the Plenty Residential Services site. Construction of the $2-million facility - which will include two houses each with six beds -will commence in July and is expected to be completed by May 2000. (22 June)

The 135-year-old Lorne landmark and tourist icon, Erskine House, is set to undergo a $50-million restoration and redevelopment following approval of Amendment L57 to the Surf Coast Shire Planning Scheme. (22 June)

Funding for Victoria's 44 public library services has been boosted to a record $24.1 million for the next financial year, adding an extra $1.253 million to last year's funding. (21 June)

The City of Greater Bendigo has secured a $10,750 Partnerships-for-Growth grant from the State Government to undertake a study into the establishment of a technology park within the municipality, in particular at the former Psychiatric Centre. (21 June)

The State Government is to spend $1.6 million on 20 projects at Royal Life and Surf Life Saving Clubs around Victoria. (20 June)

Myrtleford's new $600,000 disinfectant plant should bring the quality of the town's drinking water up to World Health Organisation standards. (18 June)

The State Government and the Transport Accident Commission are to provide an extra $100 million in funding over five years to the new Victorian State Trauma System. The Ministerial Taskforce key recommendations, including the designation of the Alfred, Royal Melbourne and Royal Children's Hospital as Major Trauma Services, will be implemented over the next two years. (18 June)

The Victorian Government will provide the Chinese community in the eastern suburbs with an extra $32,000 to employ a mental-health worker for 12 months to build linkages with non-government and mainstream mental-health services. (18 June)

Applications are being sought for twenty Victorians aged between 16 and 25 to travel to Jiangsu in late November this year for a two-week educational and cultural program as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Sister State relationship between Victoria and Jiangsu Province, China - further information and application forms can be obtained from Nicola Quin, Department of Premier and Cabinet, on (03) 9651 5773. (18 June)

The Health and Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles has launched a booklet, Adolescent Health and Well Being: A Guide to Effective Coping, for the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre. (17 June)

A new, 24-hour mental-health facility in Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs houses all local psychiatric services under one roof. The Victorian Government has invested $1.7 million in the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre North-Eastern Area Community Health Service. (17 June)

Deputy Premier and Minister for Agriculture and Resources Patrick McNamara has announced at Bonegilla the Draft Upper East Water Quality Strategy, which is aimed at reducing the mount of phosphorous that reaches the Murray from the catchment each year from 175 tonnes to 100 tonnes. (17 June)

The new $1.2-million water-treatment plant at Tallangatta should guarantee residents drinking water that meets World Health Organisation standards. (17 June)

Victorian streams, creeks and rivers are to be closed to fishing for trout and salmon from midnight June 14 until September 1999. Victorian lakes and reservoirs will remain open, with the exception of Lake Purrumbete, where the taking of trout and salmon by boat-based anglers will not be allowed during the closed season. (16 June)

The State Government is about to implement stage two of its Rabbit Buster program, aimed at extending the rabbit-free area of the state, with funding of $10 million over the next three years. (16 June)

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Robert Doyle has officially opened The Footbridge - St Vincent's Hospital's Mental Health Service Community Care Unit in North Fitzroy - on behalf of Health and Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles. (16 June)

Victorians with severe or borderline personality disorders will soon have a new Statewide service to improve mental-health treatment closer to home. The specialist Statewide personality disorder service, Spectrum, is to be based at Maroondah Hospital. (16 June)

The State Government will provide $5.6 million to fund the School Crossing Supervisor Subsidy Scheme during 1999-2000, increasing the number of "lollypop" people by 43 to 2326 eligible supervisors. (16 June)

The State will provide $45 million for the routine and periodic maintenance of main roads throughout Victoria during 1999-2000, the greater part going to local councils to ensure that roads and bridges meet the needs of industry, local communities and individuals. (16 June)

The Victorian Government has set up an interactive Internet database of the music industry to boost drug and alcohol-free entertainment for 14-18-year-olds as part of FreeZA, a $4-million, four-year Government initiative offering teenage entertainment such as live-band gigs and dance parties around the state, in a safe, secure environment. (15 June)

Victorians will be able to fly between Melbourne and Los Angeles non-stop for the first time from December this year. The new United-Airlines 747-400 service will significantly reduce travel times between Melbourne and Los Angeles. (15 June)

Victoria's tourism industry stands to benefit greatly from a major Australian study identifying older travellers as an as yet largely untapped market force, Health and Aged Care Minister Rob Knowles said, launching the national seniors tourism report Not Over The Hill: Just Enjoying The View. The report states that three-quarters of Australia's older people travelled last year. (11 June)

The Minister for Health and Aged Care, Rob Knowles, has called for nominations for the annual Victorian Nurses Care Awards for nurses whose work has had a positive and beneficial effect on patients, families and the nursing profession as a whole. (11 June)

Blackburn High School has been established as a self-governing school following the approval of an Education Service Agreement between the school council and the Department of Education. (11 June)

New noise barriers are to be installed on the Eastern Freeway from east of the Yarra River at Kew to Bulleen Road, North Balwyn where residents have been experiencing high traffic noise. (10 June)

A multimedia project linking indigenous students in Gippsland with parts of North and South America, Europe and Asia has jointly won the Global Bangemann Challenge in the category, "Information Technology in all forms of Education". (10 June)

Twenty-eight Victoria beaches, ten of them in Port Phillip Bay, will undergo maintenance and improvement works over the next 12 months under the State Government's Coast Action Beach Protection Program grants. (10 June)

The latest report on public-sector preparation for the Millennium Bug shows that, over the past month, preparedness has risen from 92% to 94%. (10 June)

The preparation of valuations used for public land transactions in Victoria is to be streamlined through significant administrative changes in the Valuer General's role. (9 June)

The Premier and Minister for the Arts, Mr Kennett, has announced that arts organisations throughout Victoria will share in $374,612 under the 1999 Housing the Arts grants program. (9 June)

89 out of 115 teaching staff at Sandringham Secondary College have refused to go on strike in support of the Australian Education Union’s campaign against self-governing schools. (8 June)

The Victorian Government is to spend more than $200,000 on capital works at the Wongabeena Adult Training Support Service in Rosebud and the Kindilan ATSS print shop in Dromana to expand programs and opportunities for people with disabilities on the Mornington Peninsula. (8 June)

The Youth and Community Services Minister and local Portland MP, Dr Denis Napthine, has officially opened the Sheppard Community Health Centre at the Penshurst & District Health Service, a member of the Western District Health Service. The Victorian Government provided $200,000 towards the cost of the $421,000 project. (6 June)

The Minister for Agriculture and Resources, Patrick McNamara, has opened the Centre for Food and Dairy Science's Gilbert Chandler Research Laboratories in Werribee, enabling the Centre to offer education to the level of doctorates there. (4 June)

Those affected by family violence will benefit from a new $374,000 Victorian Government initiative to reduce and respond to family violence. The Minister for Youth and Community Services, Dr Denis Napthine, has announced one-off grants to 59 agencies across the State to buy equipment and to support about 180 projects and services. (4 June)

Ballarat has a new $1-million catheterisation laboratory at its St John of God Health Care site. The laboratory will provide cardiac angiography treatment for patients with extensively diseased cardiovascular vessels. (4 June)

According to figures released by the Bureau of Tourism Research in its December 1998 International Visitor Survey (IVS), the total of 1,015,070 international visitors in 1998 to Victoria represented a rise of 2% over the previous year. (3 June)

Two dance performances and a short computer animated audio-visual work have been awarded this year's Women's Artists Grants to a total of $90,000. (2 June)

A Turkish Employment Service Community Business Employment (CBE) project has been opened in Dandenong, which aims to place at least 110 unemployed Turkish people in work in the south-eastern region from its base in Dandenong. (2 June)

The Minister for Youth and Community Services, Dr Denis Napthine, has called for nominations for the Victorian section of the year 2000 Young Australian of the Year awards. (2 June)

The Victorian Parenting Centre has expanded to new premises in Carlton South. (2 June)