Australian retailers are adopting data-rich 2DBarcodes supplied by non-profit group GS1 Australia to replace traditional barcodes which utilise only Variable Measure Numbers (VMN). Woolworths has adopted the content-rich codes on fresh foods beginning with meat and poultry, providing information on product batch and lot numbers, serial numbers, best before dates, use-by dates, pack dates and…
Chemistry Australia CEO Samantha Read has hit back at statements suggesting lower gas pricing will only have a modest impact on local employment. Read said contrary to claims by the Grattan Institute that only 4,000 to 5,000 jobs on the east coast are in gas-dependent companies, the use of natural gas by the chemistry and…
Only a week after South Australia became the first state to ban the use of single-use plastics, one supermarket has already eliminated them entirely from its stores. SA environment minister David Speirs announced that Foodland Pasadena and Frewville had become the first supermarkets in Australia to replace single-use plastic produce bags with new BioBags. He…
Pantry stacking during the Covid-19 pandemic played a part in food technology company Clover Corporation delivering a 23.6 per cent lift to profits in the 2020 financial year. The company, which supplies microencapsulation technology enabling tuna, fish, fungal and algal oils to be added to infant formula, foods and beverages, reported net profit after tax…
Comment by Peter Roberts A DART rocket just launched from Koonibba Rocket Range in South Australia carrying a Defence satellite marked a return to the days in the 1960s when Australia was a nation capable of launching a payload from its own shores. At just 3.4 metres long and weighing 34 kilograms, the DART rocket…
Thales welcomes changes to defence capability scheme Thales Australia has welcomed what it calls the strengthening of Defence’s Australian Industry Capability Programme and the review of Australian Standard for Defence Contracting. The company, which spent $522 million with Australian firms in 2019, said there was strong evidence in support of the Government’s policy of requiring…
The federal government has handed over a new Guardian-class Patrol Boat to the Republic of Palau as part of Australia’s engagement with neighbouring Pacific Island nations. The vessel, PSS President HI Remeliik II, was received by Palauan Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Emerson Nobuo at a COVID-safe ceremony in Henderson, Western Australia where the ship was…
PMB Defence (PMB) has won a contract to supply submarine batteries to the Canadian Government for its Victoria Class submarines. The Adelaide manufacturer, formerly known as Pacific Marine Batteries, will manufacture the lead-acid battery systems at its state-of-the art production, research and development and engineering facilities adjacent to the Osborne Naval Shipyard. Built in 2020,…
By Peter Roberts The federal government has refunded the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), bodies they tried to abolish years ago, but there is a fossil fuel sting in the tail. The two bodies will receive total funding of $1.9 billion past 2020, with ARENA receiving the majority –…
Namoi Cotton has signed new agreements with global processing and marketing group Louis Dreyfus that will replace their existing joint venture and see Namoi refocus its activities on cotton ginning and marketing. The companies have agreed to establish two new joint ventures which together reduce Namoi’s exposure to cotton lint trading and associated debt. The…
