The National Library in Canberra will be covered in bright orange sheeting today as part of a staged re-opening after the rare copper roofing was damaged in January hailstorms. The recyclable, high-tech polymer sheeting that heat-shrinks to cover damaged roofs is the brainchild of an ex-builder, who has now taken this technology to the world.…
Manufacturers and researchers involved in the sector have figured in the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List which recognised 933 Australians this year. The highest honour of Companion in the general division (AC) was awarded to Belinda Hutchinson (pictured), for eminent service to business, tertiary education, and scientific research. Hutchinson is Chairman of defence manufacturer Thales…
Comment by Peter Roberts Technology development company Silex Systems is pressing ahead with a uranium enrichment project that has implications for any future move by Australia into nuclear industries. The Sydney company has signed a sales agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to allow it to process stockpiles of depleted nuclear fuels as…
Peak employer group Ai Group has called for a zero increase in wages in its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review. Their submission said: “The economy is in no position to sustain an increase in minimum wage rates.” Should the commission decide on an increase, AiG wants it to apply no earlier…
By Denham Sadler The crackdown on research and development tax incentive claims has eased, with a more collaborative and fair approach to audits adopted and a number of recent successful appeals, according to specialist RDTI advisor Damian Smyth. The ATO and AusIndustry’s “aggressive” approach to R&D tax incentive (RDTI) audits and compliance checks in recent…
Biotechnology giant CSL has joined with the University of Queensland to develop and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
BAE Systems subsidiary ASC Shipbuilding today signed a contract with BlueScope Steel AIS for the supply of steel for the prototyping phase of the Hunter class frigate construction programme. Under the $2.6 million contract, BlueScope will deliver more than 1,500 tonnes of steel plate to ASC Shipbuilding’s Osborne shipyard (pictured) in Adelaide. This is the…
Leigh Creek Energy has responded to federal government policy changes and widened the scope of its investigations into developing the Leigh Creek coalfield in South Australia to include the production of hydrogen. The company has demonstrated in a pilot plant (pictured) the potential for in situ gasification (ISG) of coal, formerly used to generate electricity,…
New Zealand has revealed a programme which makes apprenticeships in construction, manufacturing and electrical engineering free for the next two and a half years. Radio New Zealand reported the decision was taken by Cabinet and announced by the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. She told RNZ: “Supporting New Zealanders who lose their job because of the…
Researchers from CSIRO have made it possible to 3D print tailor-made aortic stents, an implantable biomedical device used to treat narrow or blocked arteries. The development in partnership with Wollongong-based Medical Innovation Hub is a paradigm shift in the production of self-expanding metallic nitinol stents for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), which afflicts more than 10…
