Reef Catchments is the Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisation for the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region. We facilitate change and work for long-term solutions to sustain, protect, and improve our region’s natural resources and environment, both now and into the future.

What is Circular Economy?
We think it’s important to recognise that circular economy initiatives fall under the ‘sustainability’ umbrella, but not all sustainability initiatives are circular.

For the purpose of the Queensland Circular Economy (Industry-Research) program, initiatives supported should fit within the Queensland Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy’s definition of the circular economy where: products and materials keep circulating within the economy at their highest value for as long as possible, through reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, delivering products as services, and sharing. Also for inclusion are initiatives which address avoiding the waste of products and materials.

In a practical sense that means the principal aim of initiatives or proposals will be around addressing waste and retaining value of materials and products; and any water and energy efficiency benefits will be seen as a bonus.

We are looking for those initiatives that will contribute to Queensland being a zero-waste society by reducing material and products going to landfill.

Gulf Savannah NRM is a natural resource management organisation delivering projects in Queensland's Northern Gulf region to support sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and healthy landscapes and waterways.

Seeing waste as a resource and changing our LIFESTYLE is two important habits we can all do to help launch the Circular Economy in FNQ.

THIS CHANGE IS ACTUALLY BETTER FOR US AND BETTER FOR THE PLANET. It's full of opportunities including new industries that will develop effective ways of reusing our waste and the beauty of that is, it actually saves existing business models MONEY. Saving it and making it.

Our part in the piece of the puzzle is to connect the dots of passionate sustainable ambassadors in science, business and society to help us bring everyone along in a change that is good for the planet and good for the people.

If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally behind the USA & China. In Australia, we waste roughly 7.3 million tonnes of food costing over $20 billion per year. With 25% of all water used in agriculture going into food production, that’s one quarter of our usable water resource discarded. Another resource we cannot afford to abuse.

Our Circular Economy goals are to help with decontaminating waste through Case Studies from our Pilots to prove systems and innovations that help change habits in the workplace which will then ripple out to the home, while creating new industries, jobs and entrepreneurship in our region.

The Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan guides how industry, government and the community work together to improve the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef. Although the current plan was originally to 2022, it does not expire and continues to remain in place until it is replaced by a new plan.

The plan builds on 15 years of efforts by governments at all levels working in partnership with landholders, natural resource managers, industry, research and conservation groups through successive Reef Water Quality Protection Plans.

It addresses all land-based sources of water pollution including run-off from urban, industrial and public lands; while recognising the majority of pollution comes from agricultural activities. It includes social, cultural and economic values for the first time.

Effective water infrastructure underpins the livelihoods of regional Australia and supports and sustains communities around the nation. It helps to grow the food, livestock and crops essential to our everyday living. It also generates jobs and injects billions of dollars into regions and the broader Australian economy each year.

Water is one of our most important resources and we must make sure it is sustainable, reliable, and resilient to drought and a changing climate.

Australia’s variable rainfall, streamflow and landscape conditions create water supply challenges. This, along with the demands of agriculture and growing urban populations, and climate change means we face frequent water challenges.

Our projects also help farmers access a more constant supply of water, which eases the pressure on our natural surface and ground water systems. This allows ecosystems that rely on these systems to flourish.

Effective water infrastructure underpins the livelihoods of regional Australia and supports and sustains communities around the nation. It helps to grow the food, livestock and crops essential to our everyday living. It also generates jobs and injects billions of dollars into regions and the broader Australian economy each year.

Water is one of our most important resources and we must make sure it is sustainable, reliable, and resilient to drought and a changing climate.

Australia’s variable rainfall, streamflow and landscape conditions create water supply challenges. This, along with the demands of agriculture and growing urban populations, and climate change means we face frequent water challenges.

Our projects also help farmers access a more constant supply of water, which eases the pressure on our natural surface and ground water systems. This allows ecosystems that rely on these systems to flourish.

CORE works with members and stakeholders on innovative solutions to challenging soil related issues. From enhancing agricultural soils to treating complex soil contamination issues, CORE develops solutions using methods and technologies involving bio-products tailor-made for the situation.

Climate-KIC Australia orchestrates collaborative efforts to deliver connected and coordinated climate action. We work across multiple levers of change, including technology, business models, markets, finance and investment, policy and regulation, knowledge and skills, organisational culture and ways of working.

Melbourne’s waterways vary greatly in condition: the more natural areas upstream are generally healthier than those downstream, due to the impacts of urban development.

The good news is that compared to other major cities, our waterways are in good health overall. The Yarra River has greatly improved since the 1970s – when it was a dumping ground for industrial waste and sewage – and pollution levels have not significantly changed despite Melbourne’s rapid growth. This is a big achievement, as every new driveway and pavement increases the amount of stormwater that runs off into our rivers and creeks, carrying litter and pollutants with it.

Water quality an important condition that supports both environmental and social values. We sample water at over 100 monitoring sites to assess any changes over time, testing for a range of indicators including:

water temperature
dissolved oxygen
salinity (salt levels)
pH level (acidity or alkalinity)
nutrients (forms of nitrogen and phosphorus)
faecal contamination (E. coli)
metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc)
In summer we also test key recreational sites weekly for E. coli and blue-green algae, which can cause skin irritation or illnesses for people and pets that come into contact with the river. Our monitoring results are used to calculate the EPA’s Yarra Watch forecasts, with a summary also available in the EPA’s annual report cards.

Our data is also shared with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, who audits any changes to our monitoring network and sets policies and objectives for improving river health. It can be downloaded from their Water Measurement Information System.

Across the city there are many actors and projects working to reorient power, materials, resources and knowledges in service to the regeneration of our city. Yet we still have a long way to go to shift extractive and accumulated capital and transition our policy and politics towards a more equitable and long term view. Our ways of collaborating, distributing resources and harnessing the collective intelligences of our place are not set up well to accelerate these pockets of potential.

Regen Melbourne’s wildly ambitious goals are our contribution to this transition. They seek to radically increase our ambition and to deepen our collective systemic impact.

Traditionally known as the Birrarung, meaning 'rivers of mist', the river was once rich with fish, eels and birds' eggs, making it a popular meeting point for Aboriginal people. Red gum trees on the banks of the Birrarung were used to build canoes, allowing men to fish and travel down the river.

Making the Birrarung swimmable again is so much more than just swimming. We need to reorient our city to recognise our main waterway, as a living entity, as a place inextricably linked to health and biodiversity.

The Australia Africa Chamber of Commerce (AACC) has confirmed that the inaugural Australia Africa Business Summit will take place in Melbourne from May 12-14, 2024.

AACC President Duncan Harris said he was pleased to greenlight the Summit especially now that many high-profile African delegations were now in a position to confirm their attendance.

“Following consultations from our African partners we decided to postpone the Summit from our original slot in October. The recent announcement of the African Union (AU) being permanently admitted as members of the G20 had had resulted in a shift to geopolitical discourse, however, with time, further clarity on the landscape, is emerging.”

“I am pleased to share that our key presenters, namely Senator the Hon Don Farrell, Minister for Trade & Tourism, Commonwealth of Australia and H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have reconfirmed their attendance.

“The Summit venue, the Melbourne Sofitel is world-class and we are looking forward to showcasing it, the City of Melbourne and State of Victoria for our international and domestic delegates and attendees.

“We have been incredibly pleased with the interest from delegates, sponsors and presenters. Our key theme – New Bridges. New Connections – will focus delegates on opportunities for two-way trade and commerce particularly in mining, education, agriculture and professional services,” said Mr Harris.

With a vision to bring Africa to the forefront of the Australian trade and investment focus, the Australia Africa Business Summit 2024 was created to provide a unique opportunity to access key government representatives and private sector leaders, with the shared aim of building business between Australia and Africa.

DARPA
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defence responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.

We pursue our objectives through hundreds of programs. By design, programs are finite in duration while creating lasting revolutionary change. They address a wide range of technology opportunities and national security challenges. This assures that while individual efforts might fail—a natural consequence of taking on risk—the total portfolio delivers.

DARPA Lite - Australia
Cybersecurity, Land, Air, Sea and Space are the five dimensions where Australia needs to manage sovereign innovation, without fully relying on alliance partners overseas.

The Defence Strategic Review says…

“Defence’s current approach to capability acquisition is not fit for purpose. The system
needs to abandon its pursuit of the perfect solution or process and focus on delivering
timely and relevant capability.

Defence must move away from processes based around project management risk
rather than strategic risk management. It must be based on minimum viable capability in the shortest possible time.”

And in Germany:

"What used to take 10 years is now achieved in a few months. We will build a new shell plant in Germany in record time to create strategic security of supply," the Rheinmetall CEO said.

At the same time, in response to the #German government's accusations of insufficient support for Ukraine, Papperger stressed the good cooperation between officials and the arms industry.

"A lot has changed for the better in military procurement. Last year, Rheinmetall alone received orders or framework agreements worth more than €10 billion from the federal government for the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) and Ukraine.”

Australia needs to be able to respond agilely and quickly to any potential challenge to Australia and its supply chains.

The advent of self-driving vehicles offers hope for vastly enhancing human mobility. Self-driving vehicles will share information and act in coordination, improving safety and traffic flow and reducing roadway congestion.

Connected
Modern vehicles increasingly employ significant on-board computing power, sensors, and communications systems. Evolving mobile networks will soon enable V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communications—connecting cars to their environment, to each other, to infrastructure, and to people—exponentially reducing traffic collisions and increasing safety.

Electric
Already a fixture on Australian roads electric vehicles—or EVs— reduce greenhouse emissions, improve urban air quality, and are significantly more energy-efficient than internal combustion vehicles. With advancements in battery technology, EVs are becoming an increasingly more cost-competitive alternative for drivers.

Shared
Current trends toward shared vehicle fleets, multiple passenger ride-sharing, and shared micromobility solutions will continue to grow over the next few years. Shared mobility has the potential to vastly reduce the number of vehicles on the road, easing the strain on transport infrastructure and enable the transition to a decarbonised transport system.

Inclusive
Accessibility is a fundamental element of high-quality, efficient, and sustainable transport systems. ITS Australia is committed to addressing the challenges of building future transport systems that are equitable and accessible to all Australians.

Australia's new High Speed Rail Authority has come into being. Created by the Albanese government, the authority and its newly named board have been set a challenging task: "bring high-speed rail to reality".

Nearly four decades after it was first proposed, Australia must surely hold the world record for high-speed rail studies with no construction. The cost of all these studies to date is about $150 million (both public and private money, in 2023 dollars). Yet not one kilometre of a land corridor for a high-speed rail track has been reserved.

In 1984, CSIRO proposed the Very Fast Train connecting Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. A consortium undertook many studies. A Senate committee inquiry was held. However, the proposal failed to win government support and did not proceed.

Next was the pragmatic Speedrail proposal. This was to link Sydney to Canberra using existing track from Sydney to Macarthur and new track to Canberra.

NSW now lags far behind Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. All these states have trains moving at 160km/h over upgraded tracks. This includes the Queensland electric tilt train, which has been running between Brisbane and Rockhampton since 1998.

A growing population is waiting for Australia to join the 34 countries that have or are about to get high-speed rail.

The Australian Government has adopted a policy of National Defence – the defence against potential threats arising from major power competition – as a new approach to defence planning and strategy.

The current defence industry policy was established in a very different environment to today. Risk of major power conflict was low, policy assuming a 10-year warning time, and industry capability was viewed largely in terms of supporting individual ADF programs.

The risk of a major conflict in the Indo-Pacific is real. China is openly using military and para-military forces to change the status -quo I the South China Sea, while in Europe Russia is continuing its war to annex Ukraine.

• The Australian defence industry should be considered a capability in its own right.

• Defence industry should be embedded within and managed as part of Australia’s broader national industry structure and policy.

• Defence industries should be strategically prioritised, then supported to achieve scale and surge capabilities.

• Government should use the full range of policy levers at its disposal to shape defence industry outcomes.

• Government should establish a Defence Industry Capability Manager.

Community sport infrastructure is a key driver of economic, health and social benefits.

Positive outcomes occur though participation in recreation based activities, but sport infrastructure amplifies outcomes, with volunteers and officials, team members and social supporters.

Community sport infrastructure provides a gathering place for a broad range of events, celebrations and meetings, supports greater amenity within communities, enhances connectedness and community pride, and provides safe spaces for response to disaster and security threats.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) works closely with categorised National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) to develop custom programs, camp experiences and online learning opportunities that support athletes and teams to reach their full potential.

World class physiology and biomechanics laboratories. State-of-the-art strength and conditioning gymnasium, haematology laboratory, 50m testing and training swimming pool and dedicated recovery centre. All facilities contain quality assured high-performance sports science and sports medicine equipment that are calibrated to high performance specifications.

A specialised multi-disciplinary team of sport scientists and practitioners to support NSO elite, pre-elite and development athletes including intensive rehabilitation and altitude house camps. Services can incorporate a range of elements from nutrition, food services to strength and conditioning, and biomechanics.