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In a landmark announcement today, the establishment of Australian Space Park will further cement South Australia as the nations Space State and provide a vital manufacturing link to the local space industry value chain.

Four companies are partnering with the South Australian Government to develop the space sector in South Australia through the purpose-built facility, the Australian Space Park Fleet Space Technologies, Q-CTRL, ATSpace and Alauda Aeronautics.

With the Australian Space Agency and Mission Control already based in Adelaide, the Australian Space Park will boost space manufacturing capability and capacity by initially co-locating four space manufacturing companies in a purpose-built facility with a focus on collaboration and production of small satellites and their payloads, rockets, electrical vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL), and supporting componentry and technical systems.

Premier Steven Marshall today announced the State Liberal Government would be contributing a $20 million investment in the Australian Space Park, which is anticipated to create approximately 220 highly skilled space industry roles within the first two years of operation, further building out the Space ecosystem in South Australia as the national centre for this emerging industry. Discussions with the Adelaide Airport are ongoing as a potential location for the Park.

My Government has unashamedly adapted a pro-growth, pro-economy agenda and transforming South Australia into the undisputed Space State is a key part of future proofing the jobs-economy for our children in the decades to come, Premier Marshall said.

The creation of the Australian Space Park signals our commitment to the South Australian and Australian space sector by bridging the gap between research and development and prototyping to production at scale.

The Hub aligns with Australias space strategy that aims to triple the space sectors contribution to GDP to over $12 billion per annum and create up to an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030.

It is fantastic to have four amazing companies partner with the South Australian Government on this initiative, with Fleet Space Technologies, Q-CTRL who we welcome to our state as they expand their Australian presence beyond New South Wales, ATSpace a brand new Australian company and Alauda Aeronautics partnering and co-investing in the Australian Space Park to further develop the space value chain to meet the needs of satellite and rocket manufacturers.

Having Q-CTRL and ATSpace establish in South Australia as part of this project provides further opportunities for collaboration and partnerships across the space sector. South Australias innovative and collaborative eco-system, coupled with our global reputation for hi-tech and space capabilities, continues to attract companies here.

The Australian Space Park is the next step in positioning Australias space community to deliver the entire space value chain enabling the design, manufacture, launch and mission control of NewSpace capabilities.

Flavia Tata Nardini, Co-Founder and CEO of Fleet Space Technologies, on behalf of the industry consortium, said the Australian Space Park will be an important centre to grow not only South Australias sovereign capability, but also Australias growing reputation for industry capability within the global space sector and advanced aerospace sectors.

We are delighted to be part of a facility that is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, Ms Tata Nardini said.

Indeed, we are proud to be part of South Australias growing status as a centre of excellence for space technology on the global stage.

The opportunity to collaborate with leading minds in our field in a dedicated facility like this will accelerate progress for our entire industry.

Adelaide Airport has been identified by the industry consortium as an ideal location for the Australian Space Park due to its proximity to traditional aerospace companies and the central business district and innovation precinct, Lot Fourteen, which is home to a growing community of space companies.

Adelaide Airport Managing Director, Mark Young, said the Airport Business District offered excellent connectivity with national and international users.

Were excited to be identified as the potential site of the Australian Space Park, Mr Young said.

In addition to our central location, we offer suitable land opportunities both for the hub as well as room for growth and to attract like-minded businesses keen to play a role in the growing space sector.

As the centrepiece of the nations space endeavours and building upon South Australias strong starting position in the New Space economy, the state is presently targeting an annual growth rate in the space sector of 5.8 per cent over the next decade.

For further information on the Australian Space Park visit http://www.invest.sa.gov.au/australianspacepark

Read more from the original source:
SA yet again shoots for the stars as Australian Space Park is established in the Space State - Premier of South Australia

The West Coast Zone (WCZ) recreational fishing season for abalone will begin this Saturday for licence-holders, with weather and ocean conditions placing a medium risk for fishing between 7am and 8am.

Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) surf prediction modelling recommends the fishing hour should go ahead on 11 December, with appropriate caution. Wave heights between 1 and 1.5 metres are expected, with moderate swell and onshore winds and temperatures around 20 degrees.

SLSWA modelling uses the best available information on these conditions from multiple sources and rates the risks for factors, such as wind speed, swell, tide and swell period.

Licensed abalone fishers who plan to take part in this Saturdays fishing hour in the WCZ between Moore River and the Busselton Jetty will still need to make their own evaluation of the sea and weather conditions on the day to ensure they have water skills to manage them. It is very important that participants also have suitable clothing and gearfor abalone fishing.

Due to an increase in sea surface temperatures in recent years, the sustainable recreational catch target range of 25 to 29 tonnes has been set for the 2021/22 season.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Senior Management Officer Nick Blay said fishers should observe the safety messages and not rush out on to the reefs to collect their abalone.

The healthy abalone stocks off the Perth coast means there will be enough abalone for fishers and they should always keep in mind that no catch is worth risking a life for, Mr Blay said.

Safety is a key priority at all times for the department and we thank the SLSWA volunteers who monitor the abalone fishing hours to focus on the safety of fishers.

Apart from this Saturday, fishing from 7am and 8am can also take place on 8 January, as well as 5 February and 19 February.

It is important recreational fishers comply with the bag and size limits for abalone to ensure this resource continues to be sustainable. DPIRD Compliance officers will be at WCZ abalone fishing locations, to check compliance this Saturday and throughout the rest of the season.

More on abalone fishing rules is available at http://www.fish.wa.gov.au. SLSWA has abalone fishing safety tips at: https://www.mybeach.com.au/safety-rescue-services/coastal-recreation/abalone/

We urge anyone heading to WAs beaches at any time to switch on their Sea Sense check http://www.sharksmart.com.au or download the SharkSmart WA app. The app combines latest shark activity, as well as beach safety features such as Surf Life Saving WA patrolled beaches and weather forecasts, to help people plan their trips to the ocean.

Media contact: Ashley Malone, DPIRD media liaison - mobile 0418 901 767

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West Coast Zone abalone fishing season to start this Saturday - Government of Western Australia

One of the biggest wildlife conservation programs undertaken in Australia has reached a major milestone, celebrating 25 years of protecting our native wildlife. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions' (DBCA) Western Shield program has been operating for 25 years and works to protect Western Australia's native wildlife through broadscale management of introduced predators, including foxes and feral cats.

Feral cats and foxes have been implicated in the extinction or decline of many of WA's native mammals, birds and reptiles. Research has shown that feral cats kill more than 1.5 billion native animals each year in Australia, and foxes are responsible for many more. One of the best ways to ensure the survival of these species is to control these introduced predators.

Western Shield has achieved significant conservation outcomes for many threatened mammal, bird and reptile species in WA, including the recovery of populations and increases in distribution.

More than 30 focal native species have directly benefited from the program, including the numbat, quokka, quenda, chuditch, woylie, western brush wallaby and black-flanked rock wallaby. Dryandra Woodland, near Narrogin, has benefited significantly through long-term introduced predator control, which has resulted in an increased number of numbats in this area.

Research has found a threefold increase in native animal numbers in forests where fox management occurs, including for threatened species like the chuditch and woylie. Fox density has also been reduced by up to 80 per cent in fox management areas in the State's South-West.

The management of introduced predators takes place across around 3.8 million hectares of DBCA's Parks and Wildlife Service-managed land and associated partner areas, from Karratha in the north, through forests of the South-West to east of Esperance.

The program is run with support from partners including Alcoa of Australia, Tronox, Western Areas Limited, South 32 Worsley Alumina, Newmont Boddington Gold, Commonwealth Department of Defence and Ventia.

Volunteers from all over the world are able to get involved in Western Shield through the online Zooniverse camera watch project. This citizen science program allows people to help to identify and classify animals from images taken by remote cameras that are located in national parks and conservation areas around WA. These camera images also help monitor numbers of foxes and feral cats in an area to inform on-ground management strategies.

Western Shield also contributes to a range of educational programs in both primary and secondary schools, helping to improve the community's knowledge of threatened species and the role fox and feral cat management can play in ensuring the survival of native fauna in the wild.

Comments attributed to Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:

"Introduced feral foxes and cats remain the single biggest threat to the survival and persistence of our vulnerable native animals.

"Over 25 years, as one of the largest conservation programs in Australia, Western Shield has achieved remarkable success in managing feral predators such as foxes and cats.

"The program continues to safeguard our native wildlife from extinction.

"Science is key to the program's success, with DBCA researchers developing and testing the management methods used to control introduced predators. Decades of scientific effort have refined tools that are proving effective at controlling foxes and feral cats in a range of different environments across WA."

Minister's office -6552 5900

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Media statements - Western Shield - protecting WA's native species for 25 years - Media Statements

Copenhagen, 25 November 2021

A new study by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published in Eurosurveillance estimates that 470 000 lives have been saved among those aged 60 years and over since the start of COVID-19 vaccination rollout in 33 countries across the WHO European Region.

This estimate does not include lives saved by vaccinating people under 60 nor lives saved from the indirect effect of vaccination because of a reduction in transmission.

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe says, COVID-19 has exacted a devastating death toll in our region, but we can now categorically say that without COVID-19 vaccines as a tool to contain this pandemic, many more people would have died.

The COVID-19 vaccines are a marvel of modern science, and what this research shows is that theyre doing what they promised, that is saving lives, offering very high protection against severe illness and death. In some countries, the death toll would have been double what it is now without the vaccines. It is therefore critically important that all Member States in the European Region achieve high coverage for people in the at-risk groups as soon as possible. Countries with lower vaccination uptake rates must continue to prioritize those who are at highest risk and protect vulnerable groups as rapidly as possible.

But vaccines must be accompanied by a range of preventive measures to keep transmission levels low and keep society open.

Since December 2019, over 1.5 million COVID-19 confirmed fatalities have been recorded in the countries of the WHO European Region, with 90.2% in those aged 60 years and over. The rapid development and administration of COVID-19 vaccines has provided much-needed protection from severe disease and death for millions of the most vulnerable, but the speed and extent of rollout of these vaccines across countries of the Region is inequitable.

Husband and wife Frank and Barbara Durrant, aged 78 and 74, respectively, live in East Devon in the United Kingdom and have four grandchildren. After receiving their second COVID-19 vaccination they caught the virus but made speedy recoveries.

Barbara Durrant says, I contracted COVID-19 approximately five weeks ago and suffered only a mild cold and loss of taste for a couple of weeks. I feel quite sure that being double vaccinated saved me from being much more seriously affected. Sadly, I lost a very dear, very fit friend who died of the virus before the vaccine was available. She had no choice.

Having received my second vaccination, I caught COVID-19 following an extended time spent in close contact with a friend who had the virus. The symptoms were so mild that were it not for a positive test I would have considered myself to have been fully fit. I attribute this, without doubt, to the fact that I had been doubly vaccinated, says Frank Durrant.

The authors from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and ECDC estimated the number of deaths among adults aged 60 years and older in 33 countries in the European Region that would have happened without any vaccines, using the actual weekly reported death counts.

They then calculated the number of lives saved due to COVID-19 vaccination as the difference between these estimates and the reported number of deaths from December 2020 to November 2021 for those aged 60 years and over.

They estimated that COVID-19 vaccination saved 469 186 lives in this age group in the 33 countries during the study period reducing the expected number of deaths by approximately half. In 30 countries with data also available in smaller age groups, the largest number of lives saved was among those aged 80 years and over (261 421 lives).

Uptake of the complete dose series of COVID-19 vaccines in those aged 60 years and over now ranges from 20% to 100% among the 33 countries under study. The study estimated that the largest number of lives saved was in countries where COVID-19 vaccination rollout was early and uptake in the target group was also high. Other countries experienced limited effects of vaccination because their vaccine rollout was either slower or rolled out in parallel with the ongoing effective use of non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce transmission.

Dr Andrea Ammon, ECDC Director says, The consequences of low vaccination rates in some countries are currently being reflected in overloaded health-care systems and high mortality rates. We urge Member States to continue focusing on closing immunization gaps, especially among the most vulnerable individuals and those at highest risk of severe disease.

There are still too many individuals at risk of severe COVID-19 infection whom we need to protect as soon as possible. Even in countries that have achieved good overall vaccination coverage, there are still subpopulations and age groups in which coverage remains lower than desired. The vaccination of older age groups must continue to be an urgent priority for saving the most lives in the weeks and months to come.

Vaccination is one part of the toolbox of important measures needed to curb the pandemic, but on its own it will not end the health crisis.

A range of other measures that limit transmission of the virus are needed. They are essential to help keep society open as well as lessen the pressure on strained health-care systems and health-care workers exhausted by more than 18 months on the frontline of the pandemic.

First of all get vaccinated. Vaccination is saving lives in all age groups, says Dr Kluge. We know the virus thrives in closed, crowded and confined spaces, and thats why we must also follow measures known to reduce transmission, especially now the colder weather is driving us to gather indoors.

Wear a mask in crowded, closed and confined spaces, cover coughs and sneezes, keep physical distance from other people and wash your hands regularly. Ventilation is important too, so if its safe to do so open a window or a door to let in fresh air. Its important that authorities take these measures and that we do all of these for the protection of ourselves and others, even if we are fully vaccinated, because based on the available evidence vaccination greatly reduces but cannot stop virus transmission altogether.

By making these actions part of our daily routine, we can all help stop infection and the spread of the virus. In the same way that we routinely put on a seatbelt when driving, we should think to wash our hands, wear a mask or keep distance from other people, to protect from infection.

Until the pandemic is over countries must keep in place strong public health measures, such as free of charge testing and contact tracing to break chains of transmission, as well as urgently reaching out to all individuals in priority groups for vaccination who have not already received a full series.

Visit link:
WHO Regional Office for Europe: Nearly half a million lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination in less than a year - WHO/Europe

Health Minister Roger Cook has approved the removal of a smoking exemption for Crown Perth's International Room gaming facility, due to take effect from December 31, 2021.

Under Regulation 10(2) of the Tobacco Products Control Regulations 2006, smoking had been allowed within the International Room at Crown Perth previously.

The Department of Health has been in liaison with Crown Perth about the change to the Regulations to remove the smoking exemption. The amended Regulations are due to be published in the Government Gazette in mid-December 2021.

Once the amendment takes effect, Crown Perth must abide by the same smoke-free requirement that applies to all enclosed hospitality premises in Western Australia.

Exposure to second-hand smoke is a proven health risk and an occupational health and safety issue for staff and the community. The most effective way to protect people from the adverse health effects of second-hand smoke is to provide a smoke free environment.

The Regulations ban smoking in or around all enclosed public places in WA including those on licensed premises. The Regulations apply to public premises including shopping centres, theatres and cinemas, airports, cafes and restaurants, pubs, bars and night clubs, sporting clubs and public transport including buses, trains and taxis.

The laws aim to reduce community exposure to second-hand smoke. Numerous scientific studies have shown that exposure to second-hand smoke causes or promotes illnesses and diseases including lung cancer and heart disease.

Comments attributed to Health Minister Roger Cook:

"Western Australia has been a frontrunner when it comes to public health measures to protect our citizens from the dangers of second-hand smoke in a variety of public places.

"For more than 22 years we have had widespread smoking bans in Western Australia.

"There is no good reason to maintain the smoking exemption at Crown's International Room and that is why I proposed to remove it.

"Once the amendment takes effect, people will not be allowed to smoke in the International Room area at Crown Perth. I'd like to thank Crown for their co-operation."

Minister's office - 6552 6500

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Smoking to be banned in Crown Perth's International Room area - Media Statements