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SUMMARY OF THIS EnviroInfo (details are below):

GENERAL NEWS
___________________________________________________________

1. BUSINESS COUNCIL FACES SPLIT ON KYOTO
2. NEW ENERGY REFORM COMMITTEE
3. ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS TO DECIDE ON POSSIBLE NEW
PACKAGING COVENANT
4. ENVIROFUNDING
5. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH FUNDING CUTS HIT CSIRO
6. COTTON INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT AUDIT
7. CALL FOR VEGETATION AND BIODIVERSITY INQUIRY TO GET
UNDERWAY
8. SUSTAINABLE CASE STUDIES
9. NEW NSW WATER CATCHMENT INFORMATION DATABASES
RELEASED
10. STATUS OF STORAGES ON THE RIVER MURRAY SYSTEM
11. ENERGEX OFFERS SOLUTIONS FOR COMPANIES TO GO GREEN
12. ENVIRORENT OFFERS WIDEST RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALYSIS EQUIPMENT
13. COMPANIES AGREE TO MAKE NEW COST-SAVING METER
READING TECHNOLOGY

CONFERENCES, SUMMITS AND FORUMS
___________________________________________________________

14. FORUMS TO TACKLE WATER RESOURCE ISSUES
15. AUSTRALIAN WATER SUMMIT
16. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY'S 6TH
WORLD CONGRESS

POSITIONS AVAILABLE
___________________________________________________________

17. TOWN PLANNERS
18. RESEARCH ECONOMIST

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ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS &
LAND AND WATER NEWSLETTERS
************************************************************

Editorial content in this report draws on the monthly newsletters, Land and
Water News & Environment Business. For subscription inquiries email
hallmark@halledit.com.au or tel 03 9530 8900. A complimentary copy can
be forwarded for review and evaluation. Regrettably, limited staff resources
means that we are unable to respond to individual requests for further
information about the news items contained in this Enviroinfo.

GENERAL NEWS
__________________________________________________________

1. BUSINESS COUNCIL FACES SPLIT ON KYOTO
__________________________________________________________

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is facing a period of intense
internal dabate over whether it should move to endorse the Kyoto Protocol,
as greenhouse and energy issues continue to dominate the national
environmental agenda.
In a memo sent to member organisations of the BCA, the head of the
BCA's greenhouse taskforce, Meredith Hellicar, said that the peak
employer company should "change its position to one of supporting
ratification.ª

Dissident energy company members are opposed to the reversal in policy,
with Esso Australia chairman, Robert Olsen telling BCA executive director
Katie Lahey that such a move would "undoubtedly marginalise the BCA
within government and within the greenhouse debate.ª

The debate over the future of greenhouse policy has been further
exacerbated by the release of the Council of Australian Government's
Energy Market Review draft report, which recommends the scrapping of the
Mandatory Renewable Energy Target scheme and the Greenhouse Gas
Abatement Program, two of the Federal Government's flagship greenhouse
programs.

To view the draft report, go to
http://www.energymarketreview.org/draftreport.htm

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2. NEW ENERGY REFORM COMMITTEE
__________________________________________________________

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has established a Ministerial Oversight
Committee which will be tasked with working on energy market reform
following the release of the draft Council of Australian Governments
(COAG) Energy Market Review report.
The Committee will be comprised of Howard, Deputy Prime Minister, John
Anderson, the Treasurer, Peter Costello, the Minister for Environment and
Heritage, Dr David Kemp and the Minister for Industry, Tourism and
Resources, Ian Macfarlane.
The Committee will receive internal advice as well as appropriate private
sector advice on energy reform.

____________________________________________________________

3. ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS TO DECIDE ON POSSIBLE NEW
NATIONAL PACKAGING COVENANT
____________________________________________________________

Moves are expected to begin during the first half of next year to investigate
whether a new National Packaging Covenant should be implemented
beyond the current covenant's expiry date of 2004.

National Packaging Council of Australia CEO Gavin Williams, a member of
the National Packaging Covenant Council, says initial discussions are
under way over whether there should be a Packaging Covenant "mark two" -
another similar covenant most likely with the same life-span of about five
years.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been distributed to councils from the
current covenant's Transitional Fund to finance projects implementing
kerbside collection and resource recovery best practice.

_________________________________________________________

4. ENVIROFUNDING
_________________________________________________________

The Federal Government has announced the first round of funding under the
Natural Heritage Trust's Envirofund, providing community groups with $20
million for environmental rehabilitation projects.

Projects receiving funding from the Envirofund range from improving water
quality and environmental condition in river systems and wetlands, to
reversing land degradation around Australia, conserving and restoring
habitat for native flora and fauna and protecting coastal catchments,
ecosystems and marine environments.

Most of the funding has been allocated in small quantities of between
$2,000 to $20,000 each.
For further information about the range of projects being funded, go to
www.nht.gov.au/projects/2002-2003/index.html

________________________________________________________

5. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH FUNDING CUTS HIT CSIRO
_______________________________________________________

The CSIRO Staff Association has claimed that staff cuts to CSIRO Land
and Water will affect four key areas of environmental research.

Although the Minister for Science, Peter McGauran, has denied that there
have been 26 redundancies within CSIRO Land and Water, the ACT
Councillor for the Staff Association, Warren Hicks, told that 20 staff have
been told that their areas of research are being closed and that if they are
not redeployed they will be made redundant.

Mr Hicks said that all work on the affected projects will cease by June and
some will cease by March, and many of the staff have been told to plan on
a March 31 departure date.

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6. COTTON INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT AUDIT
_______________________________________________________

The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC), in
consultation with Cotton Australia, has undertaken the services of GHD
Consultants to conduct a second environmental audit of the Australian
cotton industry.

The first audit, which took place in 1991, covered environmental aspects of
all stages of cotton production, from preparation of land through planting to
harvesting and ginning of raw cotton.

The aim of the survey is to assess whether environmental best practices
are generally being followed (or perceived as being followed), environmental
improvements that have been made in the last ten years since the previous
audit, and to highlight areas where improvements still need to be made.

The results of the survey will be compared to findings and observations
made during the site inspections.

Further information can be obtained from: Rachel Holloway, CRDC
Program Co- ordinator Phone: (02) 6792 4088 Email: rachel@crdc.com.au

The executive summary of `An Environmental Audit of the Australian
Cotton Industry' and 'Action Plan for The Australian Cotton Industry A
Response to the Environmental Audit 1991' are available on the Cotton
Research and Development Corporation website www.crdc.com.au

_______________________________________________________

7. CALL FOR INQUIRY TO GET UNDER WAY
_______________________________________________________

The National Farmers Federation is lobbying the Federal Government to
get a move on with the Productivity Commission's inquiry into the impact of
Federal and State native vegetation and biodiversity legislation on property
values and investment flows.
At its national conference last month, the NFF passed a resolution calling
on the Government to commence the inquiry as a matter of urgency and
appoint Brian Fisher of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource
Economics as Commissioner.

_______________________________________________________

8. SUSTAINABLE CASE STUDIES
_______________________________________________________

The NSW Farmers Association has released a publication, Sustaining the
Land: Case Studies of Farmers Working for our Future, as part of its
environmental education program.

Written by Belinda McNeill, Conservation Project Officer for NSWFA, the
booklet presents 34 case studies describing activities such as
revegetation, rehabilitating acid scalds, river restoration, salinity and
erosion management, rabbit control, farm forestry, threatened species
protection, improving water quality, local level catchment planning and
managing remnant native vegetation.

Free copies of the booklet can be obtained by calling NSW Farmers
Association member services on 1300 794 000.
______________________________________________________

9. NEW NSW WATER CATCHMENT INFORMATION DATABASES
RELEASED
_______________________________________________________

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has released a series of
four CD-ROMS that present for the first time information about creeks,
rivers and wetlands in major catchment areas.

The Water Information System for the Environment (WISE) CD-ROMs
provide a complete snapshot of the ecology, history and culture of the
Namoi, Barwon-Darling, Gwydir and Hacking River catchments.

The resources would be of interest to anyone interested in studying and
conserving water, such as scientists, environmentalists, students, landcare
groups or catchment committees, NPWS Director Bob Conroy said.

The CD-ROMs allow users to 'see' catchments via sound and video clips,
photographs and maps. Information is available about more than 300
subjects of interest, including water quality, flora, fauna, cultural resources
and paleontology.

For information about how to purchase any of the CD-ROMs phone the
NPWS on 1300 361 967 or go to http://wiserivers.npws.nsw.gov.au to
access the databases online.

______________________________________________________

10. STATUS OF STORAGES ON THE RIVER MURRAY SYSTEM
_______________________________________________________

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) has released an update on
the status of storages within the River Murray system.

This update includes information on water storage, water supply and
current and forecast water quality issues.

With the drought severely impacting on both dryland and irrigation farmers
and consequently the broader community across the Basin, the MDBC is
working closely with Commonwealth and State Governments to ensure
least disruption to the water supply system.

MDBC will continue to provide regular updates on the status of storages
and water supply.

The update can be found on the home page of the MDBC web site
www.mdbc.gov.au under the heading River Murray System Update.

For further information contact: Allison Hicks, Media Liaison and
Publications Officer on (02) 6279 0129 or Lawrie Kirk, Manager
Communication, (02) 6279 0107.

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11. ENERGEX OFFERS SOLUTIONS FOR COMPANIES TO GO GREEN
_______________________________________________________

Energex is assisting businesses under mounting pressure from
government and consumers to improve environmental performance levels
by offering products that allow companies to invest in energy from non-
greenhouse gas emitting sources

By joining Energex products such as earth'schoice, businesses can
purchase renewable energy from sources such as solar, wind, hydro and
biomass.

For businesses supporting earth'schoice, each megawatt hour of green
energy purchased saves the equivalent of one tonne of greenhouse gases
from being released into the atmosphere.

By supporting earth'schoice, businesses can take advantage of many
benefits without increasing operating costs, including being seen as 'green'
by consumers, which can build customer support and loyalty.

The program is flexible so businesses can determine their own level of
support by either setting a fixed dollar amount in addition to regular
electricity costs, or paying for the purchase of a fixed volume of green
energy.

To find out more about Energex products, including earth'schoice, contact
the Energex Business Service Centre on 1800 068 972 or visit
www.energex.com.au

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12. ENVIRORENT OFFERS WIDEST RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALYSIS EQUIPMENT
_______________________________________________________

Australia's largest environmental equipment and rental company,
EnviroRent, is offering a wide range of analytical instruments for the
laboratory or for field testing.

Servicing consultancies, the manufacturing and maintenance industries
and many other sectors, EnviroRent provides reliable instruments for air,
water and gas analysis.

Instruments include airborne particle counters, air samplers, water quality
measurement equipment and noise dose meters, with all instruments
calibrated and tested to manufacturer's specifications.

EnviroRent is currently stocking a new Series 2 PID from Thermo - a more
water-resistant and cost-efficient PID.

The series 2 PID can be used to examine airborne emissions during tasks
such as industrial hygiene monitoring, hazardous waste measurement and
can also be widely used within the plastics industry.

For more information about EnviroRent go to its website
www.envirorent.com.au or phone its offices on: Melbourne - (03) 9894
1808; Sydney - (02) 9748 0977; Perth - (08) 9472 7311; Brisbane - (07)
3899 5199; or toll free (outside metropolitan Melbourne) - 1800 810 560.
______________________________________________________

13. COMPANIES AGREE TO MAKE NEW COST-SAVING METER
READING TECHNOLOGY
_______________________________________________________

Australian meter manufacturer Email Metering and innovative technology group Intermoco have agreed to jointly develop a cost-effective integrated automated meter reading (AMR) solution for the electricity industry.

The end product of the agreement is UTILIGY, a new remote meter reading
solution that extracts data within the electricity meter and posts it in real time on to a secure website at half hourly intervals. The data can then be used for
profiling or billing purposes.

No costly proprietary software is required, with access to the internet via a web
browser all that is needed.

UTILIGY will assist households and businesses to reduce energy consumption
and associated energy costs while offering the latest smart meter reading
technology. The system can be used for as little as $25 per meter per annum.

UTILIGY has also been designed to make remote readings available to any
control or monitoring application and is by no means restricted to only electricity, gas and water metering.

For more information about the development of UTILIGY phone Intermoco
General Manager Sales and Marketing, Michael Stephens, on (03) 8080 8788 or Email Metering General Manager Sales and Marketing Claude Corso on (03) 9391 9411.

CONFERENCES, SUMMITS AND FORUMS
_______________________________________________________

14. FORUMS TO TACKLE WATER RESOURCE ISSUES
_______________________________________________________

A series of forums is to be presented across Victoria that will bring together water and environment managers and scientists to discuss how to address the growing pressure being placed on the state's river and water resources.

Coordinated by Environment Victoria and the Environment Defenders Office
(Vic), the forums will debate the actions needed to respond to problems such as land and water degradation, climate change and changing agricultural practices.

Speakers will include Independent Senator Meg Lees, EPA Victoria Chair Mick Bourke, Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre Deputy Director Terry Hillman and the Environment Defenders Office's Rebecca Hoare.

Forums will be held in Melbourne on December 6 and Horsham on December 9.

For more information about the forums phone the Environment Defenders Office on (03) 9328 4811 or email adminvic@edo.org.au

_______________________________________________________

15. AUSTRALIAN WATER SUMMIT
_______________________________________________________

26-27 February 2003, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Developing integrated policy initiatives for property rights, water trading, pricing and sustainable natural resource management

The efficient management of water use to protect agricultural industries and the environment is more vital than ever and continues to pose an enormous
challenge for Australian governments. The need for cooperation between states and between states and the commonwealth is increasingly apparent and there have been numerous calls to develop a national policy.

The Australian Water Summit will bring together leading policy-makers in water management at a regional, state and national level. It offers an open forum for informed debate, which will provide the scientific knowledge and policy vision to create successful frameworks for pushing ahead with water reform.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear presentations from; CSIRO, South Australian government, NSW Irrigators Council, Australian Conservation Foundation, Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Queensland government and the Environment Protection Agency in Victoria among others.

For more information or to register for the Australian Water Summit, please
contact our Customer Service Manager on (02) 9923 5090, or visit our website at www.iir.com.au/resources

_______________________________________________________

16. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY'S (IALE) 6TH WORLD CONGRESS
_______________________________________________________

Darwin, 13th-17th July 2003.

"Crossing Frontiers - Landscape Ecology Down Under: Building Bridges
Between Cultures, Disciplines and Approaches"

IALE 2003 aims to bring together participants from the range of disciplines
included under the landscape ecology umbrella, candidly discuss the synergies and differences between different approaches, and explore the possibilities for increased communication and understanding between different cultures.

KEYNOTES:
Dr David Bowman, Australia
Prof Paul Opdam, The Netherlands
Dr Kevin McGarigal, USA
Barbel and Gunther Tress, The Netherlands, and Gary Fry, Norway.

SYMPOSIA INCLUDE:
* Key issues and research topics in landscape ecology
* Concepts and management of landscapes by Indigenous communities
* Sustainable Landscapes and Natural Capital
* Studying landscape change
* Comparative ecology of cities and towns
* Global change and landscape fires
* Plus many more

CALL FOR PAPERS:
Abstracts (200 words) by 31st January 2003

More information about the conference can be obtained through the conference secretariat, The Best Conference and Events Company or via the conference website

http://www.iale.ntu.edu.au

The Best Conference and Events Company
GPO Box 2541
DARWIN NT 0801
Australia
Email: thebest@norgate.com.au
Ph: +61 8 8981 1875 Fax: +61 8 8941 1639

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

_______________________________________________________

17. TOWN PLANNERS
_______________________________________________________

2 - 5 years experience, remuneration negotiable.

Principal Consulting Group specialises in recruitment and HR Consulting for the environmental, planning and natural resource management sector.

We have several opportunities for town planners to join environmental or
planning consultancies.

To be considered you will need a relevant tertiary qualification and a minimum of two years town planning experience. Your skills will include; planning controls and permits, preparation and presentation of planning reports, understanding of strategic planning and urban design.

We are able to consider planners from either the public sector or commercial
consulting, allowing for an exciting opportunity for town planners currently
working within the public sector to switch into the commercial consulting sector.

You will have the opportunity to work within all areas of the planning
process from statutory planning through to strategic planning and design.

Remuneration is negotiable according to the level of experience.

Please forward your resume, in confidence' to Scott White at Principal Consulting Group, swhite@principalconsulting.com.au

Or call Scott for a confidential discussion on (03) 9521 5722.

Please visit http://www.principalconsulting.com.au for other planning,
environmental engineering/science employment opportunities.

______________________________________________________

18. RESEARCH ECONOMIST
_______________________________________________________

Agency Name: AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF

Job Title: Research Economist

Job Classification: Professional Officer Grade 1-4

Location: Various Areas

City/Town/Suburb: To be negotiated

Employment status: Full-time

Position Number: Ag No 02/11/008

Salary Package: $76, 846.00

Salary Start: $36, 259.00

Salary End: $69, 638.00

Salary Notes: Commencing salary level and progression subject to meeting
certain criteria

Job Section: Public Service

Job Category: Science/Agriculture/Environment/Horticulture

Job Description: Undertake economic research into role of plant based solutions in management of dryland salinity, potential value of research of CRC and impact of policy on farm businesses.

Qualifications: Degree in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Science or related discipline. Selection Criteria should be obtained from NSW Agriculture or from the Web link below.

Job Notes: Temporary position to June 2005, possible extension. Location
subject to agreement of NSW Agriculture and Salinity CRC.

Inquiries Name: Andrew Bathgate

Inquiries Phone: (02) 6391 3549

Inquiries Email: andrew.bathgate@agric.nsw.gov.au

Information Packages: Julia Threthowan (02) 6391 3618

Applications Marked Confidential To: Recruitment Manager, NSW Agriculture,
Locked Bag 21, Orange NSW 2800

Web Live Date: 20/11/2002

Closing Date: 13/12/2002

Link to Information Package - NSW Agriculture:
http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/4668

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