Barriers, drivers and enablers for transitioning towards innovation in the Australian water sector

The Australian water sector needs to adapt to effectively deal with the impacts of climate change on its systems. Challenges as a result of climate change include increasingly extreme occurrences of weather events including flooding and droughts (Pittock, 2011). In response to such challenges, the National Water Commission in Australia has identified the need for the water sector to transition towards being readily adaptable and able to respond to complex needs for a variety of supply and demand scenarios (National Water Commission, 2013). To successfully make this transition, the sector will need to move away from business as usual, and proactively pursue and adopt innovative approaches and technologies as a means to successfully address the impacts of climate change on the Australian water sector. In order to effectively respond to specific innovation challenges related to the sector, including climate change, it is first necessary to possess a foundational understanding about the key elements related to innovation in the sector. This paper presents this base level understanding, identifying the key barriers, drivers and enablers, and elements for innovative practise in the water sector. After initially inspecting the literature around the challenges stemming from climate change faced by the sector, the paper then examines the findings from the initial two rounds of a modified Delphi study, conducted with experts from the Australian water sector, including participants from research, government and industry backgrounds. The key barriers, drivers and enablers for innovation in the sector identified during the initial phase of the study formed the basis for the remainder of the investigation. Key elements investigated were: barriers – scepticism, regulation systems, inconsistent policy; drivers – influence of policy, resource scarcity, thought leadership; enablers – framing the problem, effective regulations, community acceptance. There is a convincing argument for the water sector transitioning to a more flexible, adaptive and responsive system in the face of challenges resulting from climate change. However, without first understanding the challenges and opportunities around making this transition, the likelihood of success is limited. For that reason, this paper takes the first step in understanding the elements surrounding innovation in the Australian water sector.

The provision of visitable housing in Australia: Down to the detail

In response to the ratification of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), Australian housing industry leaders, supported by the Australian Government, committed to transform their practices voluntarily through the adoption of a national guideline, called Livable Housing Design. They set a target in 2010 that all new housing would be visitable by 2020. Research in this area suggests that the anticipated voluntary transformation is unrealistic and that mandatory regulation will be necessary for any lasting transformation to occur. It also suggests that the assumptions underpinning the Livable Housing Design agreement are unfounded. This paper reports on a study that problematised these assumptions. The study used eleven newly-constructed dwellings in three housing contexts in Brisbane, Australia. It sought to understand the logics-of-practice in providing, and not providing, visitable housing. By examining the specific details that make a dwelling visitable, and interpreting the accounts of builders, designers and developers, the study identified three logics-of-practice which challenged the assumptions underpinning the Livable Housing Design agreement: focus on the point of sale; an aversion to change and deference to external regulators on matters of social inclusion. These were evident in all housing contexts indicating a dominant industry culture regardless of housing context or policy intention. The paper suggests that financial incentives for both the builder and the buyer, demonstration by industry leaders and, ultimately, national regulation is a possible pathway for the Livable Housing Design agreement to reach the 2020 goal. The paper concludes that the Australian Government has three options: to ignore its obligations under the CRPD; to revisit the Livable Housing Design agreement in the hope that it works; or to regulate the housing industry through the National Construction Code to ensure the 2020 target is reached.

Property law reforms in Queensland: Is the regulatory burden on land transactions reduced?

The reduction of unnecessary regulation was a clear policy objective of the Queensland government during 2014. In the area of property sales significant reforms were introduced from 1 December 2014. This article examines the key aspects of these reforms and whether there has been a reduction in red tape for sellers and buyers of land.

Submission for the Queensland Government Parliamentary Inquiry into personal health promotion interventions using telephone and web-based technologies

Telephone and web-based technologies such as SMS, smartphone apps, gamification, online/mobile games, online quizzes and tools can be used in personal health interventions in two ways: health promotion or social marketing. In response to the Queensland government's call for submissions to the parliamentary inquiry, a social marketing and design submission from four of the faculties at Queensland University of Technology was submitted. There appears to be a great deal of confusion in government circles about the terms ‘social marketing’ and ‘health promotion’ and often they are used interchangeably when they are actually significantly different approaches. Social marketing is the science and practice of behaviour change and involves goods and services that offer a value proposition, and which incentivises citizens to change their behaviour voluntarily. However, social marketing is often mistakenly used to describe advertising and communication or social media marketing. This submission contains an overview of how technology interventions need to be implemented to be successful, provides examples of the evidence that telephone and web-based interventions can effectively influence public health outcome. This submission poses seven critical factors.

An upstream open reading frame is essential for feedback regulation of ascorbate biosynthesis in arabidopsis

Ascorbate (vitamin C) is an essential antioxidant and enzyme cofactor in both plants and animals. Ascorbate concentration is tightly regulated in plants, partly to respond to stress. Here, we demonstrate that ascorbate concentrations are determined via the posttranscriptional repression of GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase (GGP), a major control enzyme in the ascorbate biosynthesis pathway. This regulation requires a cis-acting upstream open reading frame (uORF) that represses the translation of the downstream GGP open reading frame under high ascorbate concentration. Disruption of this uORF stops the ascorbate feedback regulation of translation and results in increased ascorbate concentrations in leaves. The uORF is predicted to initiate at a noncanonical codon (ACG rather than AUG) and encode a 60- to 65-residue peptide. Analysis of ribosome protection data from Arabidopsis thaliana showed colocation of high levels of ribosomes with both the uORF and the main coding sequence of GGP. Together, our data indicate that the noncanonical uORF is translated and encodes a peptide that functions in the ascorbate inhibition of translation. This posttranslational regulation of ascorbate is likely an ancient mechanism of control as the uORF is conserved in GGP genes from mosses to angiosperms.

Submission to KPMG review of the Federal Government Initiative to “analyse dementia program and services funded by the Department of Social Services"

The comments I make are based on my nearly twenty years involvement in the dementia cause at both a national and international level. In preparation, I read two papers namely the Ministerial Dementia Forum – Option Paper produced by KPMG Management Consultants (2014) and Analysis of Dementia Programmes and Services Funded by the Department of Social Services: Conversation Starter prepared by KPMG as a preparation document for those attending a workshop in Brisbane on April 22nd 2015. Dementia is a complex “syndrome” and as is often said, “when you meet one person with dementia, you have met one” meaning that no two persons with dementia are the same. Even in dementia care, Australia is a “lucky country” and there is much to be said for the quality and diversity of dementia care available for people living with dementia. Despite this, I agree with the many views expressed in the material I read that there is scope for improvement, especially in the way that services are coordinated. In saying that, I do not purport to have all the solutions nor claim to have the knowledge required to comment on all the programs covered by this review. If I appear to be a “biased” advocate for Alzheimer’s Australia across the States and Territories, it is because I have seen constant evidence of ordinary people doing extraordinary things with inadequate resources. Dementia care is not cheap and if those funding dementia services are primarily only interested in economic outcomes and benefits, the real purpose of this consultation will be defeated. In addition, nowhere in the material I have read is there any recognition that in many instances program funding is a complex mix of government (at all levels) and private funding. This makes reviewing those programs more complex and less able to be coordinated at a Departmental level. It goes without saying therefore that the Federal Government is not” the only player in this game”. Of all those participating in this review, Alzheimer’s Australia is best placed to comment on programs as it is more connected to people living with dementia and has probably the best record of consulting with them. It would appear however that their role has been reduced to that of a “bit player”. Without wanting to be critical, the Forum Report which deals with the comments made at a gathering of 70 individuals and organisations, only three (3) or 4.28% were actual carers of people living with dementia. Even if it is argued that a number of organisations present represented consumers, the percentage goes up only marginally to 8.57% which is hardly an endorsement of the forum being “consumer driven”. The predominance of those present were service providers, each with their own agenda and each seeking advantage for their “business”. The final point I want to make before commenting on more specific, program related issues, is that many programs being reviewed have a much longer history than is reflected in the material I have read. Their growth and development was pioneered by Alzheimer’s Australia organisations across the country often with no government funding. Attempts to bring about better coordination of programs were often at the behest of Alzheimer’s Australia but in the main were ignored. The opportunity to now put this right is long overdue.

Social Audit Regulation: Development, Challenges and Opportunities

This book takes the concept of social audit and lifts it beyond the role of functioning largely as a management tool. The book proposes a system in which social audit is regulated so as to provide a mechanism for effectively promoting corporate accountability in society. Taking this as its theme, this book provides both a conceptual explanation of the developmental perspectives of social audit regulation and empirical evidence of the impact of social audit practice from different parts of the world. It is the first book to explore the issues and challenges related to the development of effective social audit regulation.

Social audit: A mess or means in CSR assessment?

Social Audits play an important role in the measurement and analysis of a company's social performance. They provide corporations with a tool to plan and manage their social responsibility activities. Similarly, they provide stakeholders with a tool which they could use when monitoring, assessing and analysing concrete and accurate company data. Whilst the topic of social audits has been raised and discussed by a number of scholars, industry representatives and government institutions over the years, such contributions have mostly revolved around the general notion and importance of social audit, rather than addressing the most effective ways to achieve a widespread and reliable adoption of the practice through the implementation of specific legal regulation and other methods. This matter is of significant importance as corporations can exert a considerable amount control over the entire social audit process, allowing them to disclose only information deemed beneficial to their own corporate image instead of releasing all relevant social and environmental data. In order to achieve a truly transparent system promoting corporate accountability, there is an obvious need for social audits to be regulated. One of the purposes of this book is to provide an overview of the development of social audit practices and regulation. It also sets out to explore the issues and challenges which have arisen relating to this matter around the world.

A developmental cascade model of behavioral sleep problems and emotional and attentional self-regulation across early childhood

This paper documents the longitudinal and reciprocal relations among behavioral sleep problems, emotional and attentional self-regulation in a population sample of 4109 children participating in the Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) – Infant Cohort. Maternal reports of children’s sleep problems and self-regulation were collected at five time points from infancy to 8-9 years of age. Longitudinal structural equation modeling supported a developmental cascade model in which sleep problems have a persistent negative effect on emotional regulation, which in turn contributes to ongoing sleep problems and poorer attentional regulation in children over time. Findings suggest that sleep behaviors are a key target for interventions that aim to improve children’s self-regulatory capacities.

International regulation of large-scale land acquisition involving foreign entities

Outlines some of the potential risks or actual harms that result from large-scale land leases or acquisitions and the relevant human rights and environmental law principles.

Small firm training: Just meeting the day-to-day needs of the business

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what the attitudes of small firm owner-managers are to developing the skills of their key resources and then examine how these and other factors affect owner-managers’ preferences for training these employees. Design/methodology/approach This study of training in small road transport firms in West Australia is cast in light of the literature on human resource management in small firms underpinned by insights drawn using the resource based view of the firm. Small firms (less than 20 people) dominate this industry, while the increasing freight task, and extreme distances between West Australian ports, towns and mines highlight this sectors’ importance. Survey results from 39 small road transport firms and interviews with nine owner-managers are analysed. Findings Legislative, regulatory and licensing requirements were shown to be a key determinant of skills development. Employers ensured that basic standards for employee certification and qualification were met, as the penalty for not doing so would be too high. Regulations drove the need for certain types of training – licenses, fatigue management, occupational health and safety, handling dangerous goods, the Maritime Security Identification Card card, forklift license, mine site inductions – while owner-managers knew where to get the training their staff needed. Although regulation appeared most visible in prescribing what happened in relation to training for drivers, the relevance of owner-managers’ attitudes could not be ignored, nor could conditions in the firms external environment as this shaped how these requirements were met. Research limitations/implications The RBV is useful in showing how skill development enabled similarity in skills across firms, while the attitudes owner-managers and economic and social conditions meant what happened in firms around skill development varied. The importance of small firm owner-managers’ attitudes are clearly highlighted and shown to influence organizational decisions and choices around training, but these were not independent of the regulatory framework and the economic and social conditions within which the firm operated. The small firms in this study did engage workers in formal training when necessary but it was put in the context of the idiosyncratic approach of the owner-manager and the day-to-day needs of the firm. “Training” was essentially about ensuring certain types of skills were held by employees and then passing on knowledge to ensure the behavior of employees was consistent with the owner-manager’s vision for the firm in its current environment. Originality/value Ways industry and government can encourage training activity that goes beyond the day-to-day firm needs are suggested.

Australians may get their own stop online piracy act #SOPA: Christmas time for copyright owners

Christmas has come early for copyright owners in Australia. The film company, Roadshow, the pay television company Foxtel, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and News Limited--as well as copyright industries--have been clamoring for new copyright powers and remedies. In the summer break, the Coalition Government has responded to such entreaties from its industry supporters and donors, with a new package of copyright laws and policies. There has been significant debate over the proposals between the odd couple of Attorney-General George Brandis and the Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull. There have been deep, philosophical differences between the two Ministers over the copyright agenda. The Attorney-General George Brandis has supported a model of copyright maximalism, with strong rights and remedies for the copyright empires in film, television, and publishing. He has shown little empathy for the information technology companies of the digital economy. The Attorney-General has been impatient to press ahead with a copyright regime. The Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, has been somewhat more circumspect, recognizing that there is a need to ensure that copyright laws do not adversely impact upon competition in the digital economy. The final proposal is a somewhat awkward compromise between the discipline-and-punish regime preferred by Brandis, and the responsive regulation model favored by Turnbull. In his new book, Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age, Cory Doctorow has some sage advice for copyright owners: Things that don't make money: Complaining about piracy. Calling your customers thieves. Treating your customers like thieves. In this context, the push by copyright owners and the Coalition Government to have a copyright crackdown may well be counter-productive to their interests.

Lock the gate: Fracking, investor-state dispute settlement, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership

There has been much debate about the relationship between international trade, the environment, biodiversity protection, and climate change.The Obama Administration has pushed such issues into sharp relief, with its advocacy for sweeping international trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. There has been much public concern about the impact of the mega-trade deals upon the protection of the environment. In particular, there has been a debate about whether the Trans-Pacific Partnership will promote dirty fracking. Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership transform the Pacific Rim into a Gasland?There has been a particular focus upon investor-state dispute settlement being used by unconventional mining companies. Investor-state dispute settlement is a mechanism which enables foreign investors to seek compensation from national governments at international arbitration tribunals. In her prescient 2009 book, The Expropriation of Environmental Governance, Kyla Tienhaara foresaw the rise of investor-state dispute resolution of environmental matters. She observed:'Over the last decade there has been an explosive increase of cases investment arbitration. This is significant in terms of not only the number of disputes that have arisen and the number of states that have been involved, but also the novel types of dispute that have emerged. Rather than solely involving straightforward incidences of nationalization or breach of contract, modern disputes often revolve around public policy measures and implicate sensitive issues such as access to drinking water, development on sacred indigenous sites and the protection of biodiversity.'In her study, Kyla Tienhaara observed that investment agreements, foreign investment contracts and investment arbitration had significant implications for the protection for the protection of the environment. She concluded that arbitrators have made it clear that they can, and will, award compensation to investors that claim to have been harmed by environmental regulation. She also found that some of the cases suggest that the mere threat of arbitration is sufficient to chill environmental policy development. Tienhaara was equally concerned by the possibility that a government may use the threat of arbitration as an excuse or cover for its failure to improve environmental regulation. In her view, it is evident that arbitrators have expropriated certain fundamental aspects of environmental governance from states. Tienhaara held: As a result, environmental regulation has become riskier, more expensive, and less democratic, especially in developing countries. This article provides a comparative analysis of the battles over fracking, investment, trade, and the environment in a number of key jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Part 1 focuses upon the United States. Part 2 examines the dispute between the Lone Pine Resources Inc. and the Government of Canada over a fracking moratorium in Quebec. Part 3 charts the rise of the Lock the Gate Alliance in Australia, and its demands for a moratorium in respect of coal seam gas and unconventional mining. Part 4 focuses upon parallel developments in New Zealand. This article concludes that Pacific Rim countries should withdraw from investor-state dispute settlement procedures, because of the threat posed to environmental regulation in respect of air, land, and water.

Submission to the Productivity Commission draft report business set-up, transfer and closure

The Commission has released a Draft Report on Business Set-Up, Transfer and Closure for public consultation and input. It is pleasing to note that three chapters of the Draft Report address aspects of personal and corporate insolvency. Nevertheless, we continue to make the submission to national policy inquiries and discussions that a comprehensive review should be undertaken of the regulation of insolvency and restructuring in Australia. The last comprehensive review of the insolvency system was by the Australian Law Reform Commission (the Harmer Report) and was handed down in 1988. Whilst there have been aspects of our insolvency laws that have been reviewed since that time, none has been able to provide the clear and comprehensive analysis that is able to come from a more considered review. Such a review ought to be conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission or similar independent panel set up for the task. We also suggest that there is a lack of data available to assist with addressing questions raised by the Draft Report. There is a need to invest in finding out, in a rigorous and informed way, how the current law operates. Until there is a willingness to make a public investment in such research with less reliance upon the anecdotal (often from well-meaning but ultimately inadequately informed participants and others) the government cannot be sure that the insolvency regime we have provides the most effective regime to underpin Australia’s commercial and financial dealings, nor that any change is justified. We also make the submission that there are benefits in a serious investigation into a merged regulatory architecture of personal and corporate insolvency and a combined personal and corporate insolvency regulator.

Gene regulation by translational inhibition is determined by Dicer partnering proteins

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs produced by Dicer proteins that regulate gene expression in development and adaptive responses to the environment1,​2,​3,​4. In animals, the degree of base pairing between a miRNA and its target messenger RNA seems to determine whether the regulation occurs through cleavage or translation inhibition1. In contrast, the selection of regulatory mechanisms is independent of the degree of mismatch between a plant miRNA and its target transcript5. However, the components and mechanism(s) that determine whether a plant miRNA ultimately regulates its targets by guiding cleavage or translational inhibition are unknown6. Here we show that the form of regulatory action directed by a plant miRNA is determined by DRB2, a DICER-LIKE1 (DCL1) partnering protein. The dependence of DCL1 on DRB1 for miRNA biogenesis is well characterized7,​8,​9, but we show that it is only required for miRNA-guided transcript cleavage. We found that DRB2 determines miRNA-guided translational inhibition and represses DRB1 expression, thereby allowing the active selection of miRNA regulatory action. Furthermore, our results reveal that the core silencing proteins ARGONAUTE1 (AGO1) and SERRATE (SE) are highly regulated by miRNA-guided translational inhibition. DRB2 has been remarkably conserved throughout plant evolution, raising the possibility that translational repression is the ancient form of miRNA-directed gene regulation in plants, and that Dicer partnering proteins, such as human TRBP, might play a similar role in other eukaryotic systems.