Monthly Theme                         October 2017
Emergency WA is a new website which provides you with the best available information and community warnings about emergencies in Western Australia.
You will find alerts and warnings about fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, cyclones, hazadous material incidients and more.
Other features of the website include:

• Links to information on preparing for an emergency
• Access to information on Fire Danger Ratings and Total Fire Bans 
• A Google Map display showing the location of active emergency incidents and warnings across Western Australia
• Information about active prescribed burns being undertaken by government agencies and private landowners

But Remember:

• Always seek information from a variety of sources during emergencies. Never rely on any one source.
• Be aware of your surroundings, stay connected with your community and take action for your safety at the first sign of fire or other emergency.
• Bookmark www.emergency.wa.gov.au to your mobile device or desktop to enable quick access during an emergency.

For more information:
•    Visit the Emergency WA website here
•    Contact DFES Community Engagement on 9395 9816
•    Access the Emergency WA Fact Sheet here

Western Australian patients will benefit from a $5 million State Government investment into a state-of-the-art robotic system that will be used to treat prostate cancer.

Known as the da Vinci system, the robot will be the first of its kind in a WA public hospital and will bring the State in line with other health jurisdictions which have a similar metropolitan population.

Set to be established at Fiona Stanley Hospital, the da Vinci system will provide urological procedures, focused on robotic-assisted prostatectomies, partial nephrectomies and radical nephrectomies. 

It will also allow for 3D vision, magnification capabilities, and enhanced dexterity, so surgeons are able to manipulate and dissect areas where access is challenging or limited with the human hand.

Compared to traditional techniques, the da Vinci system will result in patients having faster recovery, reduced length of stay in hospital, and faster return to normal day activities.

It is also expected to deliver greater efficiencies due to improved surgical outcomes, and a lower likelihood of subsequent treatments.

While the new robotic surgical service will initially provide for patients within the South Metropolitan Health Service catchment, it is expected that the technology will be available for other WA patients where appropriate.

Comments attributed to Health Minister Roger Cook:

"The McGowan Government is committed to Putting Patients First, looking beyond bricks and mortar, and focusing on the actual delivery of health care to people.

"We are committed to building a sustainable, world-class health system, and will drive innovation, integration and culture change, and establish 'Centres of Excellence' in robotic surgery and clinical innovation to ensure the WA health system will be able to attract and train expert clinicians.

"Our Future Health Research and Innovation Fund commits the Government to establishing a $1 billion fund to drive medical research and innovation, including a cancer research plan for the next decade, an innovation hub at Royal Perth Hospital, and incentives for corporate and philanthropic contributions for health and medical research.

"This innovative da Vinci surgical system is all about putting patients first.

"Fiona Stanley Hospital has already employed a urology specialist who has undertaken additional national and international training to lead the robotic surgery program.

"This will ensure patients receive the best possible care, while also providing the next generation of surgeons with the required skills to master these new techniques.

"The robotic system is a major coup for WA's public hospitals and I look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the health of thousands of Western Australians."

Hello its Kaiden Price here, and I am teaching the IPad class at the Manjimup Community Resource Centre. We are grateful to have the time and people to be able to help our local community to better understand technology.
As technology keeps on growing it is important to continue to learn regardless of age.
Currently we are learning the basics on how to use an IPad and what the functions are, as well as hidden secrets within those functions.
So far we have learnt, how to set up your IPad, how to set up your apple-ID, how to link your email account, ICloud photo library and ICloud storage, Photo editing maps and much more.
We encourage everyone to come down, if you would like to broaden your knowledge with IPads we welcome anyone to come down and join us.
For further information please visit http://www.manjimup.crc.net.au/ , or call (08) 97772774
​

The McGowan Labor Government will further invest in the cultural industries in WA, providing $7.5 million towards the Art Gallery of Western Australia's rooftop activation project.  An additional $2.5 million will go towards the acquisition of contemporary Western Australian, Australian and international art through the TomorrowFund.

Investing in the cultural industries will help support the creation of new jobs and boost economic activity in the cultural space.

This project will contribute to the activation of the Perth Cultural Centre with the planned completion to align with the opening of the New Museum in 2020.

A total of $133.3 million is budgeted to be spent on asset investment in 2017-18, including $121.4 million for the continued delivery of the New Museum Project and $10.2 million for library materials for public libraries and the State reference library.

Touring art exhibitions in regional areas will be boosted with $8 million in funding over the next six years, which will give people living outside the metropolitan region increased access to arts and culture and widen the exposure of collections travelling throughout the State.

Regional museums are unique in enabling people to engage with the region's history, arts and heritage through the preservation of historical artefacts and collections.

To help regional museums promote their collections and attract more visitors, the McGowan Labor Government is establishing a $750,000 fund which will provide grants to regional museums to apply to improve, promote or restore their collections.

For more 2017-18 State Budget information, visit http://www.ourstatebudget.wa.gov.au

Comments attributed to Treasurer Ben Wyatt:

"The cultural industries are a key economic driver for Western Australia and support job creation through events-based tourism and increased economic activity.

"This Budget has been crafted to strike a balance between budget repair and the need to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

"By investing in the cultural industries, we are delivering on our election commitments and supporting the creation of jobs."

Comments attributed to Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:

"The rooftop activation project will breathe new life into the heart of Perth.  It involves converting a 1,800 square metre roof area to a cultural and commercial venue with a new sculpture as its centrepiece.

"This innovative project is in line with our Creative WA policy and will create a new, vibrant space within the Perth Cultural Centre that will help foster the arts, attract more tourists and create more jobs in the hospitality sector.

"The Art Gallery will secure additional private funds to ensure the completion of the rooftop redevelopment.

"The additional contribution to the TomorrowFund which, along with the generous support of sponsors, has already added more than 200 works of art to the gallery since it was established by the Carpenter Labor government."

​The McGowan Labor Government is calling for public input into a new draft strategy to protect the Burrup Peninsula's invaluable rock art.
 
Releasing the draft strategy today, Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said it would guide the development and implementation of a rigorous scientific monitoring program to help protect the rock art for future generations.
 
The Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula is home to one of the world's biggest collections of engraved rock art. The rock art, also known as petroglyphs, is thousands of years old and of immense cultural and spiritual significance to Aboriginal people, and of national and international heritage value.
 
The Burrup Peninsula and surrounds are also home to industry that contributes to the local, State, and national economy and provides employment in the area.
 
This strategy builds on previous studies to deliver a scientifically rigorous approach to monitoring and management to protect the rock art.
 
A Burrup Rock Art Stakeholder Reference Group will be established to oversee the design and implementation of the strategy. It is proposed that this group will include representatives from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, State agencies, local government, industry and the community.
 
For more information, visit http://www.dwer.wa.gov.au/burrup_rock_art
 
Comments attributed to Environment Minister Stephen Dawson:
 
"The Burrup Peninsula rock art is of immense value, not just to the people of Western Australia, but to national and international visitors to the region.
 
"This strategy builds on work previously undertaken. It outlines significant improvements to monitoring, and a responsive management approach based on best available science.  The strategy will be implemented in a collaborative way including consultation with local Aboriginal people, industry, community and government.
 
"I would encourage anyone with an interest in the rock art on the Burrup Peninsula to provide input by December 1, 2017."

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston today officially opened Independence Group's Nova nickel-copper-cobalt mine in the Fraser Range province.

About 200 delegates, staff and media were there to celebrate this significant milestone.

In just over five years, Nova advanced from a greenfield exploration discovery to commercial production in July 2017 and is now ramping up to nameplate capacity.

Located 360 kilometres south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the Nova operation is expected to have a mine life of 10 years and produce about 25,000 tonnes of nickel, 11,000 tonnes of copper and 925 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate during its maiden year of commercial production.

The world-class, low-cost mine was discovered in July 2012; construction at the site began in January 2015 and first ore concentrate was achieved by October 2016.  

Comments attributed to Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston:​

"On behalf of the McGowan Government, I congratulate all Independence Group staff, project partners, stakeholders and the Ngadju people, on the official opening of Nova.

"We are proud to have played a part in successfully bringing the project to life, the first diamond drill hole at Nova received co-funding from the Exploration Incentive Scheme. 

"Production commencing at Nova is excellent news for the mining sector, especially as this is the first mine of its scale in the highly prospective Fraser Range."

Funding of $119 million to boost teaching support, over the next four years, has been secured as part of the 2017-18 State Budget.

The McGowan Labor Government will place an additional 120 teachers in public school classrooms to support student learning.

Of the additional 120 teaching staff, 72 full-time equivalent teachers will be appointed to free up half a day a week for exemplary teachers - known as Level 3 Classroom Teachers - to work in specific areas to benefit students.

This enables a Level 3 Classroom Teacher to mentor other teachers and share their expertise to enhance teaching practices.

Another 30 will be appointed to secondary schools so a Level 3 Classroom Teacher can take on the role of co-ordinating and delivering mental health programs for students. 

These teachers are in addition to the 18 teachers (Independent Learning Coordinators and Regional Learning Specialists) recently announced to support country students studying courses through the School of Isolated and Distance Education.

To help children crack the code of the alphabet and become confident readers, $3.5 million will be allocated to work with the tertiary sector to establish a Centre of Excellence in Literacy and Explicit Instruction to develop an increased knowledge in this teaching method.

The McGowan Labor Government is also putting 300 more Education Assistants and 50 more Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers in classrooms, over the next three years, as it delivers its election commitment to boost teaching support in schools.

To help teachers incorporate coding into their teaching, the Government is investing $2 million in professional learning to ensure schools have the resources, equipment and expertise to teach students science and coding.

For more 2017-18 State Budget information, visit http://www.ourstatebudget.wa.gov.au

Comments attributed to Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery:

"We want to provide students in WA with a world-class education and give them every chance for success.

"By placing more teachers in public schools, we are giving students the support they need to achieve their very best and giving our exemplary teachers greater opportunities to share their knowledge with others.

"Students in schools across the State will benefit from additional teaching staff as more one-on-one attention and specialist assistance is provided in the classroom."

Comments attributed to Treasurer Ben Wyatt:

"In this financial year alone, we have committed $7.66 million which will ensure our teachers receive the support they need to provide the best possible learning experiences for their students.

"Today's announcement means there will be greater education resources in public schools - which the McGowan Labor Government is dedicated to delivering." 

n February 2018, the Art Gallery of Western Australia will become home to works from the private art collection of eminent Italian family, the Corsinis.

In its only Australian showing, the Art Gallery will host the A Window on Italy - The Corsini Collection: Masterpieces from Florence exhibition.

The exhibition features Renaissance and Baroque paintings by renowned Italian artists including Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Pontormo.

Also on display will be decorative items and objects from the Corsini family's home, the Palazzo Corsini, on the banks of the Arno River, Florence.

The ticketed exhibition will open on February 24, 2018 with an opening day celebrating Florentine and Italian culture, in the heart of the Perth Cultural Centre, and closes on June 19, 2018.

Tickets are on sale today (Wednesday, September 6) at http://www.artgallery.wa.gov.au

Comments attributed to Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:

"The Corsini family has collected and cared for these artworks for more than 600 years.

"Within the exhibition, there are works of art that have survived the devastation of war and the forces of nature.

"I am delighted that Western Australian audiences and visitors to our State can experience these incredible works, here in Perth.

"As the only Australian venue of this extraordinary exhibition, A Window on Italy - the Corsini Collection will provide a strong cultural boost for Western Australia.

"It will also attract visitors to the cultural centre and promote the creation of direct and indirect jobs."