August 1999

ALP Community Services Policy to ‘double kinder fees’

The ALP’s policy on kindergartens is modelled on that of NSW, where kinder fees average $3.48 an hour compared to Victoria's $1.10, according to the Minister for Community Services, Denis Napthine. (30 Aug)

Disability Services, Housing cuts under ALP policy

The ALP's policy on disability would mean a fifty per cent drop in growth funding for Victoria's disability services, and a reduction in 7500 public houses earmarked for people with a disability, according to the Minister for Community Services, Denis Napthine. (30 Aug)

Coalition will offer more drug withdrawal units, opposed to ‘injecting houses’

A Coalition Government will set up four new residential drug withdrawal units for young people so that drug workers can take more addicts from the court system into treatment. (29 Aug)

ALP’s Conservation Policy builds bureaucracy, cuts nutrient reduction funding

The Minister for Conservation and Land Management, Marie Tehan, says the ALP policy would split the highly successful Parks Victoria into two new bodies for no apparent reason. (29 Aug)

Shopping centre review to cut red tape

As part of the Government’s continuing industry sector regulation review program, a review of red tape and impediments impacting on retail shopping strips is to be undertaken, according to the Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Louise Asher, and the Minister for Planning and Local Government, Rob Maclellan. (27 Aug)

ALP TAFE Policy removes choice

The Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, Phil Honeywood says the ALP policy would remove the right of employers to choose where their apprentices were trained. (27 Aug)

ALP Regional Policy offers ‘paltry’ $170 million

The ALP’s regional policy commitment of $170 million for a Regional Infrastructure Development Fund paled compared with the $2.566 billion of investment into regional Victoria which the Coalition has already attracted, according to the Minister for Regional Development, Tom Reynolds. (27 Aug)

ALP teacher numbers don’t meet class cap promise

Education Minister, Phil Gude, says the number of extra teachers the ALP proposes to engage is only 1/2 the number needed to meet its class size capping promise. (26 Aug)

Palliative Care Awareness Training Kit released

Health and Aged Care Minister Rob Knowles has launched Victoria University of Technology’s Palliative Care Awareness Training Kit. (25 Aug)

State Election on 18th September

A State Election will be held on 18th September, the Premier, Mr Kennett, has announced. (24 Aug)  [See our Election pages for election policy and other news not covered in official government sources.]

$3.1 million for parks and environmental projects

The Minister for Conservation and Land Management, Marie Tehan, has announced $3.1 million for parks projects in the metropolitan area. (24 Aug)

Youth Employment Initiative continues its success

The first two years of the Government’s Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) have seen almost all of the young people completing their traineeships in both years going on to secure continuing employment. (24 Aug)

Regional Services Unit opened in Broadmeadows

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has opened the new Regional Services Unit of global telecommunications company Ericsson at the company’s former manufacturing base in Broadmeadows. (24 Aug)

18 research scholarships for Gippsland

RMIT is to provide 18 Gippsland-based scholarships to help boost the research and educational capacity of the region. (24 Aug)

New affordable housing for low-income singles in the inner city

The second stage of a $4 million inner-city housing project to provide accommodation for single men and women on low incomes has been officially opened by the Minister for Housing, Ann Henderson. (24 Aug)

Pilot project on commercialising university knowledge

Industry Minister Mark Birrell has announced a pilot program in which three Victorian Universities — Deakin, RMIT and Latrobe — are receive more than $100,000 each to appoint Technology Diffusion Coordinators (TDC) to seek out potential commercial opportunities in knowledge-based industries. (23 Aug)

Parents say government schools are doing a good job

A statewide survey of Victoria’s government schools has found that 87.9% of parents with children at government primary schools and 82.3% of secondary school parents believe schools are doing a good job. (23 Aug)

New police and courts complex opened in Sunshine

The Attorney General, Jan Wade, and the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Bill McGrath, have officially opened the new $23 million Sunshine Law Courts and Police Complex. (23 Aug)

Trauma centre opened at the Alfred

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has opened the new $9.1 million emergency department and trauma centre at the Alfred Hospital in Prahran. (22 Aug)

Employment rises in country Victoria

Unemployment levels in country Victoria have fallen by 1.3% over the last year according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. (22 Aug)

Service industries to be promoted

The Minister for Industry, Mark Birrell, has launched a Services for Success policy which details the growing importance of Victoria’s services sector — and in particular knowledge-rich services — to the economy and outlines a number of new programs to promote business in the services field in a global marketplace. (20 Aug)

Docklands to get film and television studios and theme park

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has announced plans for a $500-million film and television studio and theme park in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct. (20 Aug)

Funding for upgrades to bush nursing hospitals

Thirty-five bush nursing hospitals and centres around Victoria are to share more than $2.58 million in Victorian Government funding to upgrade facilities and buy new equipment. (17 Aug)

Alstom buys Ballarat railway workshops

Alstom Australia Limited has bought the Ballarat Railway Workshops for $7 million. (13 Aug)

1998-99 crime statistics

The 1998-99 crime statistics for Victoria show a 3.6% overall increase in crime rates, and an increased rate of apprehension of offenders by police. (13 Aug)

Reform of Primary Health and Community Support Services

The Minister for Health and Aged Care, Rob Knowles, has announced a $40-million reform over four years of Primary Health and Community Support Services. (13 Aug)

Finalists for Apprentice of the Year awards

The Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, Phil Honeywood, has announced the finalists for the Victorian Training Awards. (12 Aug)

Employment continues high in Victoria

ABS Labor Force figures for July show that Victoria has recorded another record employment level and that the participation rate has also risen. (12 Aug)

November start for Geelong freeway

Work to upgrade the Geelong Road will commence in November and a 60km freeway between Geelong and Melbourne should be completed within three years. (12 Aug)

Traffic information on the Internet

Real-time traffic information is now available to Melbourne’s motorists over the Internet. (11 Aug)

Station Pier under new management

Since June 30, 1999, management of Station Pier has been transferred from the Melbourne Port Corporation (MPC) to the Department of Infrastructure (DoI). (11 Aug)

$9m funding for urban facelifts

The Minister for Planning and Local Government, Mr Robert Maclellan, has launched Pride of Place 1999-2000, a $9 million program to improve Victoria’s cities, towns and suburban centres. (11 Aug)

Funding for 425 new community housing places

The Victorian Government is to spend $24 million to provide more than 425 new long-term community housing places for people with physical and sensory disabilities, people with psychiatric disabilities, the frail aged and older people, singles, people with Acquired Brain Injury, people with an intellectual disability and young people. (4 Aug)

Electrical industry well on the way to Y2K compliance

There is little likelihood of a disruption to Victoria’s electricity supply over the millennium period due to a Year 2000 computer failure, according to a detailed report into the Y2K readiness of the State’s electricity industry commissioned by the Office of the Regulator-General. (3 Aug)

Operational independence for Major Hazards Unit

The Victorian Government has formalised measures to assure the operational independence of the Major Hazards Facilities Unit (MHU) of the Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA). (3 Aug)

New Victorian Auditor-General

Mr John Wayne Cameron has been appointed as the new Victorian Auditor-General following the retirement of Mr Ches Baragwanath. (3 Aug)

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 05:12:13 EDT

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

The Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau has launched two "ethnic storyboards", which provide advice to consumers from non-English speaking backgrounds buying a car and obtaining a refund. They have been funded by the Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs and are printed in Chinese, Vietnamese, Khmer and English. (30 Aug)

Australian State Environment Ministers and the Commonwealth Environment Minister, Senator Robert Hill, have signed a five-year deal with Australian industry to manage packaging waste and recycling. The National Packaging Covenant will make household recycling systems secure for the foreseeable future and introduce new levels of environmental performance in the packaging industry. (27 Aug)

The Health and Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles, has handed over to the Victorian AIDS Council a cheque to allow it to relocate its Positive Living Centre to new $3-million premises at 31-51 Commercial Rd South Yarra. The Council is purchasing the building from Vision Australia, which is relocating its Braille Library to an extension to be built at its Kooyong complex. (27 Aug)

Victoria has received more than 580 applications since it launched its world-wide campaign to attract overseas-trained doctors to live and work in the state less than a month ago. Health and Aged Care Minister Rob Knowles said the response meant Victoria was well placed to reach its target to recruit 100 General Practitioners to country areas by Christmas. (27 Aug)

The Chronic Illness Support Program (ChIPS), an innovative peer support program to assist young people living with chronic medical conditions, has won a major public health award. ChIPS is run by chronically ill young people for chronically ill young people. (26 Aug)

The new St Vincent’s BreastScreen and assessment service at St Vincent’s Hospital has been opened. The service plans to screen 44,000 women during 1999-2000. The other four urban screening centres are in Elsternwick, Camberwell, Preston and Greensborough. (26 Aug)

The Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs has produced two publications to help vision-impaired renters and landlords better understand their rights and responsibilities in residential tenancy matters. The publication entitled Renting: A Statement of Rights and Duties has been transcribed into large print and is also available on audio cassette. Another publication, entitled Trouble-free Tenancies, provides similar information in a summary form. (26 Aug)

Deakin University has been named the University of the Year. Deakin is the only university to win the award twice. (25 Aug)

Housing Minister Ann Henderson has officially opened the Wintringham housing development providing accommodation for older women and men on low incomes in Kensington.  (25 Aug)

The Minister for Youth and Community Services, Denis Napthine, has announced funding of $300,000 over the next two years to help the Victorian Young Farmers to further their work among young people in rural areas. (24 Aug)

The Victorian Minister for Finance, Roger Hallam and South Australia’s Minister for Government Enterprises, Dr Michael Armitage, have announced that the Victorian WorkCover Authority and the SA WorkCover Corporation are to host the Fifth International Congress on Medical-Legal Aspects of Work Injuries Prevention, Rehabilitation and Compensation to take place partly in Melbourne and partly in Adelaide from March 14 to 20, 2001. (20 Aug)

The value of combined private and public sector building work in Victoria for the financial year 1998-99 was in excess of $8.96 billion, a record for the State. (20 Aug)

The Victorian and Commonwealth Governments have finalised an agreement on the funding of the equipment and running costs for three radiotherapy services to treat cancer patients in country Victoria. The services will be run from Ballarat, Bendigo and Morwell. (20 Aug)

The Victorian Government, Local Governments and the non-government sector have developed a protocol to stem sales of tobacco to children throughout Victoria and ensure enforcement of the Tobacco Act, which prohibits sales to under 18-year-olds. (20 Aug)

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has announced that, following an annual review, taxi fares will rise by 5.8% from the September 4, with the increase being evenly split between drivers and operators. The kilometre rate will increase from 96c to $1.00 and the waiting time rate will increase from $19.50 to $25.00 per hour. (19 Aug)

The Premier, Mr Kennett, has launched the State Government’s plan for older Victorians, Creating a Victoria for all Ages: An Action Plan for Older Victorians, with strategies for employment, education, sport and recreation, housing and community safety. (19 Aug)