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Reconciliation Australia says a national scheme to overcome disadvantage has successfully helped more Indigenous people into the workforce, while promoting reconciliation. More than 13,000 positions across 280 organisations have now been filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Both employers and employees say tailored trainee and apprenticeship programs have made a significant difference.
Topics: reconciliation, community-and-society, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, work, australia
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A new report has found the four-hour rule introduced to hospital emergency departments is saving lives. The new system aims to have 85 percent of patients either discharged or admitted to a ward within four hours of arriving at hospital. A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia today has found 80 lives have been saved because of the introduction of the new system.
Topics: healthcare-facilities, health, health-administration, wa, australia
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The Victorian Government is blaming the Federal Government for its decision to delay the introduction of poker machine controls. However, one gambling researcher says it's simply an excuse, and he now doubts whether any legislation at all will be introduced.
Topics: gambling, community-and-society, vic, australia
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US-based lawyer and director of the Syrian American Council, Yaser Tabbara, joins The World Today to discuss the situation in Syria. He says that despite the failure of the UN Security Council resolution on the weekend, he does expect the international community to act against the Assad regime. However, he also says he fears many more Syrian lives will be lost in the meantime.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, syrian-arab-republic
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The Syrian opposition says it's outraged that the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution condemning the mounting violence in the country. The US has also expressed anger at Russia and China, after they vetoed the draft resolution. The diplomatic friction has come amid the worst violence in Syria since the anti-government protests began early last year.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, syrian-arab-republic
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Federal Parliament will sit for the first time in 2012 tomorrow, and while the latest opinion poll figures will no doubt lift the mood of many Labor MPs, the Federal Government is still a long way behind in the two-party preferred figures.
Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, rudd-kevin, gillard-julia, parliament-house-2600, australia
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A better outlook for inflation is expected to push the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates when the board meets tomorrow. Soft retail sales data also points to a rate cut after turnover in December fell by 0.1 per cent.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, australia
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Financial markets welcomed a fall in the US unemployment rate over the weekend. It was even enough for markets to look past another disappointing round of debt negotiations between Greece and its creditors. The Australian dollar also rose in response in early trade on Monday.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, australia
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There have been more revelations from a key witness at the inquiry into last year's Queensland floods, with a senior water manager questioning the performance of the Wivenhoe Dam's engineers. The timing of the releases of dam water has been criticised, and one law firm is already preparing a class action on behalf of householders flooded in last January disaster. The water manager has told the inquiry today that the engineers' official version of events is wrong.
Topics: floods, disasters-and-accidents, wivenhoe-hill-4311, australia, qld
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There's some good news for the residents of the Queensland town of St George, with the Balonne River now not expected to breach its levee. The Bureau of Meteorology has revised down the expected flood peak, and it's hoped most properties will now not be flooded. However, it's still an anxious wait for the several thousand people who left St George as the waters rose.
Topics: floods, st-george-4487, australia, nsw, qld
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Queen Elizabeth becomes Britain's second longest serving monarch today when she marks 60 years on the throne. In 1952 then Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya on her way to tour Australia when she learned her father King George the 6th was dead and she was now Queen. The official celebrations will be in June.
Topics: royal-and-imperial-matters, england
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Former Massachussets governor Mitt Romney has taken another state primary, making it his third win this year and his second decisive victory in a row. But the campaign is expected to get even more acrimonious - Romney's main rival, the former house speaker Newt Gingrich continued his scorched earth campaign against the front-runner, spending much of his post-caucus news conference denouncing Romney for being pro-abortion, pro-gun control, and pro-tax increases.
Topics: government-and-politics, elections, united-states
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Most economists believe the Reserve Bank will cut the cash rate to 4 per cent when the board holds its first meeting of the year tomorrow. Despite better economic news from the US and Europe, economists believe falling local inflation will provide the necessary trigger.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, australia
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In 2006, a program was launched to get more Indigenous people into the workforce and promote reconciliation. The first evaluation of Reconciliation Action Plans have shown that 280 organisations are now involved. Tom Calma, who co-chairs Reconciliation Australia, says companies are not just pledging for more jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, but actually creating jobs.
Topics: reconciliation, community-and-society, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, work, australia
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After yesterday's caucus meeting, Labor MP's went to The Lodge for a barbecue where a familiar face - former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke - gave them a rev up.
Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, rudd-kevin, gillard-julia, parliament-house-2600, australia
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With leadership speculation plaguing the Government, Labor MPs converged on Canberra yesterday for the first caucus meeting of the year, where the Prime Minister Julia Gillard told them more internal discipline is needed. Commentators have suggested that the Prime Minister could end the speculation by calling a leadership spill, but she's denied there's any need.
Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, gillard-julia, act, australia
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The Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says many communities are struggling to cope with floodwaters and the damage to their properties and businesses. She says the town of St George is facing unprecedented flooding and the levee that protected the town last year will not hold back the water this time around.
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Residents of towns like Moree in New South Wales and Roma in Queensland are beginning the sticky, smelly task of cleaning up as the floodwaters recede from their town.
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Queenslanders are again bracing for a big flood and one town, St George, in the south-west of the state, is likely to be hit hard. Around 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, but several hundred have decided to stay. Mike O'Brien lives on the edge of town and says those who've ignored the order to evacuate are crazy.
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Europe and North America may be panicking about the floundering expectations of their economies but in China that's certainly not the case.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, china
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Correspondent Rachael Brown takes a stroll through the twisted streets of London to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens.
Topics: books-literature, arts-and-entertainment, novel, england, united-kingdom
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Correspondent Norman Hermant travels outside Moscow to see what Russians think of their government.
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In the United States, the breast cancer charity behind the iconic pink ribbon became embroiled in a political row this week, after it cut links to a group which provides abortions.
Topics: charities-and-community-organisations, community-and-society, charities, united-states
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Correspondent Dominique Schwartz remembers the good old days of television, before mobile phones and PCs.
Topics: journalism, information-and-communication, new-zealand
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Superannuation funds are being pushed to invest their members' money in environmentally-friendly projects. The Financial Services Institute has drafted guidelines based on United Nations principles that fund managers are being asked to follow. Peter Ryan speaks with the institute's chief executive Russell Thomas.
Topics: superannuation, ethical-investment, australia
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