Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Duke of Edinburgh Awards

I recently had the pleasure of presenting Duke of Edinburgh Awards to six St John's College Woodlawn students. Two students received Silver Awards; Eliza Couits Daley & Christopher Crane and four students were the recipients of Bronze Awards; Miranda Crane, Aaron Moreton, Sam Kingsley & Sam Lawton.

The Duke of Edinburgh Awards are sponsored by the Department of Community Services and were established in Australia in 1962. They promote self development and encourage community services among people aged 14 - 25. Congratulations to the students and Duke of Edinburgh Awards Co-ordinator, Ted Davey on their hard work.

Removing Red Tape

One of the biggest challenges facing our local small businesses is red tape. Many small business owners are spending valuable family time complying with State Government regulation and paper work. This not only impacts on individual business, but also drags down the State economy overall.

The NSW Liberal/Nationals last week released a six point plan to reduce red-tape. These include practical ideas such as; Exempting employers from paying the cost of WorkCover premiums for apprenticeships
Eliminating payroll tax for more than 4,500 NSW businesses
Introducing a `One-on, One-off' approach to Government regulation
Tying the Agency CEO's remuneration to reducing regulation and red tape
Cutting the existing burden and cost of regulation by 5 per cent each year for the first term
Making a Minister directly responsible for reducing regulation and red tape

Country Energy's Safe Team Congratulated

I was very pleased to hear the team at Country Energy Kyogle have gone ten years without experiencing a lost time injury. It is appropriate that the staff be given recognition for their safe work practices and dedication to their job. The Kyogle team are; John Burley, Craig Woosley, Neil Parker, Wayne Saville, John Dibley, James Maddock, Roelf Hargraves, Colin Moore, Darryl Gibson and Dave Simpson.

Information on Australian Honours

I recently received a copy of the `It's An Honour' newsletter which provides information about Australia's Honours awards. Of note is the introduction of a new honours website www.itsanhonour.gov.au containing A-Z Fact Sheets on Australian Awards, profiles of honoured Australians, a calendar of events and a search facility to provide users with access to records of honours recipients since 1975. Copies of the `It's An Honour' newsletter are available from my office.

Safe Food Practices for Charities, Community Groups and Volunteers

The NSW Food Authority has released a Fact Sheet to assist Charities, Community Groups and Volunteers who provide or sell food for charitable services. This can include things like providing food free of charge during emergencies, or selling food at a fete.

The Fact Sheet clarifies circumstances under which food handlers should receive training or notify the NSW Food Authority of their activities. Food handlers only require training if they handle foods that could potentially pose a health risk such as; a large amount of a meat-based food that will be stored and transported, ready to eat foods such as raw shellfish, or dairy or egg-based desserts.

Organisations selling food for a community or charitable purpose only needs to notify the NSW Food Authority if they are selling potentially hazardous food, or food that is not thoroughly cooked immediately prior to consumption. The Fact Sheet is available from my office or on the Internet at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au

2006 Fair Trading Awards

The 2006 Fair Trading Awards are a chance for the members of the community and community organisations to be recognised for their work promoting a fairer marketplace. Under the award program, community organisations, business associations, industry associations, outstanding individuals and the media are invited to nominate for an Award and be acknowledged for their work in one of four categories; The Minister's Award for consumer advocacy, which is open to any individual, who has actively helped to advance consumer protection in NSW.
Service Awards that recognise outstanding work in promoting consumer protection by a community organisation or business associations.
The Einfeld Awards, which are awarded to organisations, or associations, which demonstrate outstanding, work in protecting vulnerable consumers such as ethnic and indigenous communities, seniors or people with a disability.
Journalism Awards, which are open to any media outlet, which has raised awareness of consumer protection within the community.

For the first time in 2006 the Awards also include the Community Initiative Challenge, an opportunity for community organisations throughout NSW to come up with a new and innovative way to teach all or part of its community how to better protect itself from unethical traders. Nominations close on 1 September 2006.