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Australia: Five things the east coast can learn from WA about energy

Noticias

Oceanía /Australia/Abril del 2017/Noticias/https://theconversation.com/

Cinco cosas que la Costa Este puede Aprender

de WA sobre Energía

Reseña:

Es un momento interesante para participar en la política energética. Mediante la crisis energética de la Costa Este,   el cierre de la central eléctrica de Hazelwood y los apagones de Australia del Sur, el público pasa de una lectura de folletos ha  estar familiarizado con todo tipo de conceptos esotéricos.  Opinan que , WA está bien situada para investigar, desarrollar y desplegar las soluciones energéticas que todo el país  y se podría utilizar en última instancia. En este sentido  exponen que  hay cinco razones necesarias: 1. Un demanda  por el cambio. 2. Microgrids, máximo resiliencia.3. Pruebas y exámenes superan críticas e informes. 4. El trabajo calificado es abundante. 4. El trabajo calificado es abundante. En consecuencia señalan  que as empresas de servicios públicos de WA ya dependen en gran medida del apoyo del gobierno estatal a la innovación tecnológica, pero también tienen fuertes redes de expertos locales capaces de cerrar los silos entre la academia, la industria y el gobierno y mantener el impulso en los mercados y redes más pequeños de WA.

Fuente :

https://theconversation.com/five-things-the-east-coast-can-learn-from-wa-about-energy-76398

Fuente:Imagen

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tt22GTfms9SBsHQbEKk2V40TEm3FI29Gk-03oTtlxhA3r9WU1DdY_Cq2gZIxSC0eoKsH3g=s85

Five things the east coast can learn from WA about energ

It’s an interesting time to be involved in energy policy. Thanks to the east coast energy crisis, the closure of Hazelwood power station and South Australia’s blackouts, the broadsheet-reading public suddenly finds itself conversant with all sorts of esoteric concepts, from gas peaking to five-minute price settlements.

Amid all the disruption, it’s perhaps not surprising that a long-term, coherent national energy policy remains as elusive as ever. Instead we see piecemeal announcements like pumped hydro and battery storage, none of which is itself a panacea. Some innovations can hinge on a single tweet which, while exciting, hardly gives the impression of joined-up policymaking.

Despite its name, the much-maligned National Electricity Market doesn’t extend to Western Australia, which means that federal energy policy discussions don’t always reach across the Nullarbor.

But we suggest looking west for inspiration. In our view, WA is well placed to research, develop and deploy the energy solutions that the whole country could ultimately use. Here are five reasons why.

1. An appetite for change

WA electricity customers have long recognised the advantages that energy innovations provide. More than 200,000 homes have solar panels (rapidly closing in on the penetration levels of Queensland and South Australia), and the appetite for residential battery storage is steadily growing.

This is due to a combination of factors. First, there’s the consistently sunny weather. Then there’s the fact that WA customers cannot yet choose their electricity retailer, meaning that households are more motivated to shop for solar panels to gain independence from government owned monopoly utilities, and can’t simply rely on the innovative price deals of the more nimble retailers found over east.

The vast distance and separation from the rest of Australia’s network means the WA grid won’t be joined to the NEM any time soon, meaning it will need to address the issues for itself, hopefully aided by a newly elected state government with the political capital to reform energy markets.

2. Micro grids, maximum resilience

To move successfully away from the traditional, centralised model of electricity generation, you need to maintain one of its cornerstone qualities: resilience. Being so far from literally everywhere else on the planet has embedded these traits into WA’s energy network, but has also reinforced the need to incorporate “microgrids” into network planning.

Microgrids are best thought of as small electricity sub-grids, able to function in concert with the main grid or in isolation if necessary. This increases the entire network’s resilience – you can’t have a state-wide blackout if you have plenty of microgrids.

WA currently has over 30 isolated microgrids, and is in prime position to be a test bed for more complex systems of network control, which will become necessary as these grids attempt to incorporate ever higher levels of distributed renewable energy from solar panels and other sources.

3. Trials and tests beat reviews and reports

The forthcoming Finkel Review of the National Electricity Market is clearly necessary and welcome. But while the media and political circus focuses on it, the utilities in WA are already out there testing the solutions.

The government-owned retailer Synergy and network operators Western Powerhave helped to investigate a range of innovations, such as strata peer-to-peer electricity trading, microgrids, utility-scale battery storage, demand-management, and standalone power systems for fringe-of-grid areas.

Meanwhile, the state-owned regional provider Horizon Power provides several valuable test case opportunities to understand how future grids and networks will need to operate in more remote areas. For example, it has successfully installed advanced metering infrastructure (‘smart meters’) for every one of its 47,000 customers, spread over 2.3 million square kilometres, no less.

4. Skilled labour is plentiful

During WA’s decade-long mining boom, technical skills were in high demand and short supply. It’s fair to say the opposite is now the case. Meanwhile, the state government has committed to removing 380 megawatts of fossil-fuel generation capacity from the WA energy market, most of which is situated around Collie, south of Perth.

If this pledge leads to greater opportunities for new renewable energy infrastructure it would provide welcome relief for a job market awash with underemployed technical experts, still reeling from the mining downturn.

WA’s world-leading reserves of lithium ore also offer a significance chance to join in the burgeoning battery storage industry.

With the recent closure of Hazelwood’s ancient coal-fired power station, Victoria’s Latrobe valley will no doubt be investigating similar opportunities, and the coal regions of Queensland and New South Wales should not be too far behind.

5. Strong links between government and experts

For WA, the disruptive transition in the energy sector is more acute, partly because its market is dominated by government-owned monopoly utilities that rely heavily on subsidies to ensure consistent power prices. But mostly because in WA there is a very direct link between power prices and politics, and electricity is always a hot topic at state elections.

Because of its physical isolation, WA’s energy policies are also largely independent from the rest of the COAG Energy Council.

As described in point 3 above, utilities will need to be prepared to spend significantly on research and development if they want to survive. WA’s utilities already rely heavily on state government support for technology innovation, but also have strong networks of local experts that are able to bridge the silos across academia, industry and government and keep the momentum going in WA’s smaller markets and grids.

So that was five reasons, among many more, why we think WA has a chance for not just Australian, but global leadership in the renewable power transition. As the rest of the country grapples with its energy headaches, it should consider looking west once in a while.

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Australia: English language bar for citizenship likely to further disadvantage refugees

Noticias

Oceanía/Australia/Abril del 2017/Noticias/https://theconversation.com/

Barra de la lengua inglesa para la ciudadanía que probablemente perjudique aún más a los refugiados

Reseña:

Expresan que una de las consecuencias serian que los solicitantes de ciudadanía tendrán que demostrar un nivel más alto de dominio del inglés si los cambios propuestos por el gobierno a la prueba de ciudadanía australiana continúan. En este sentido los cambios propuestos harán más difícil que las personas con antecedentes educativos no culminados se conviertan en ciudadanos, como muchos refugiados. Esto causa un replanteamiento de la propuesta del ¿Cómo funcionan las pruebas actualmente?, asi como expectativas de competencia. Se dice que el programa de inglés para adultos migrantes (AMEP, por sus siglas en inglés), donde muchos refugiados adultos acceden al aprendizaje del idioma a su llegada,en este orden de ideas señalan que  sólo se  espera un nivel «funcional» de competencia lingüística. Se presume que los desafíos que enfrentan los contextos de re-asentamientos, como las presiones de trabajo y las responsabilidades financieras con la familia extensa, a menudo se combinan para dificultar el aprendizaje de un idioma y, por extensión, para evitar que los refugiados cumplan la prueba de ciudadanía. Tambien señalan que  el gobierno debe entablar una cuidadosa consideración antes de potencialmente más desventaja a los más necesitados de ciudadanía.

English language bar for citizenship likely to further disadvantage refugees

Citizenship applicants will need to demonstrate a higher level of English proficiency if the government’s proposed changes to the Australian citizenship test go ahead.

Applicants will be required to reach the equivalent of Band 6 proficiency of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

To achieve Band 6, applicants must correctly answer 30 out of 40 questions in the reading paper, 23 out of 40 in the listening paper, and the writing paper rewards language used “accurately and appropriately”. If a candidate’s writing has “frequent” inaccuracies in grammar and spelling, they cannot achieve Band 6

Success in IELTS requires proficiency in both the English language, and also understanding how to take – and pass – a test. The proposed changes will then make it harder for people with fragmented educational backgrounds to become citizens, such as many refugees.

How do the tests currently work?

The current citizenship test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions in English concerning Australia’s political system, history, and citizen responsibilities.

While the test does not require demonstration of English proficiency per se, it acts as an indirect assessment of language.

For example, the question: “Which official symbol of Australia identifies Commonwealth property?” demonstrates the level of linguistic complexity required.

The IELTS test is commonly taken for immigration purposes as a requirement for certain visa categories; however, the designer of IELTS argues that IELTS was never designed for this purpose. Researchers have argued that the growing strength of English as the language of politics and economics has resulted in its widespread use for immigration purposes.

Impact of proposed changes

English is undoubtedly important for participation in society, but deciding citizenship based on a high-stakes language test could further marginalise community members, such as people with refugee backgrounds who have the greatest need for citizenship, yet lack the formal educational background to navigate such tests.

The Refugee Council of Australia argues that adults with refugee backgrounds will be hardest hit by the proposed language test.

Data shows that refugees are both more likely to apply for citizenship, and twice as likely as other migrant groups to have to retake the test.

Mismatched proficiency expectations

The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), where many adult refugees access English learning upon arrival, expects only a “functional” level of language proficiency.

For many adult refugees – who have minimal first language literacy, fragmented educational experiences, and limited opportunities to gain feedback on their written English – “competency” may be prohibitive to gaining citizenship. This is also more likely to impact refugee women, who are less likely to have had formal schooling and more likely to assume caring duties.

Bar too high?

The challenges faced in re/settlement contexts, such as pressures of work and financial responsibilities to extended family, often combine to make learning a language difficult, and by extension, prevent refugees from completing the citizenship test.

Similar patterns are evident with IELTS. Nearly half of Arabic speakers who took the IELTS in 2015 scored lower than Band 6.

There are a number of questions to clarify regarding the proposed language proficiency test:

  • Will those dealing with trauma-related experiences gain exemption from a high-stakes, time-pressured examination?
  • What support mechanisms will be provided to assist applicants to study for the test?
  • Will financially-disadvantaged members of the community be expected to pay for classes/ materials in order to prepare for the citizenship test?
  • The IELTS test costs A$330, with no subsidies available. Will the IELTS-based citizenship/ language test attract similar fees?

There are also questions about the fairness of requiring applicants to demonstrate a specific type and level of English under examination conditions that is not required of all citizens. Those born in Australia are not required to pass an academic test of language in order to retain their citizenship.

Recognising diversity of experiences

There are a few things the government should consider before introducing a language test:

1) Community consultation is essential. Input from community/ migrant groups, educators, and language assessment specialists will ensure the test functions as a valid evaluation of progression towards English language proficiency. The government is currently calling for submissions related to the new citizenship test.

2) Design the test to value different forms and varieties of English that demonstrate progression in learning rather than adherence to prescriptive standards.

3) Provide educational opportunities that build on existing linguistic strengths that help people to prepare for the test.

Equating a particular type of language proficiency with a commitment to Australian citizenship is a complex and ideologically-loaded notion. The government must engage in careful consideration before potentially further disadvantaging those most in need of citizenship.

Fuente:

https://theconversation.com/english-language-bar-for-citizenship-likely-to-further-disadvantage-refugees-76520

 

Fuente Imagen:

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Australia: la escasez de recursos afecta a los/las estudiantes desfavorecidos/as

Internacional de la Educación

Por: Internacional de la Educación 

Según datos internacionales recientemente publicados, las escuelas australianas hacen frente a una gran carencia de recursos, lo que demuestra la importancia de la financiación basada en las necesidades para garantizar que todas las escuelas cuentan con los recursos que necesitan.

El déficit de recursos en las escuelas australianas afecta particularmente a los/las estudiantes desfavorecidos/as. Esta es una de las conclusiones de las versiones ampliadas de los informes del Programa para la Evaluación Internacional de los Alumnos (PISA, por sus siglas en inglés) de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos y el Estudio Internacional de Tendencias en Matemáticas y Ciencias (TIMSS, por sus siglas en inglés) de la Asociación Internacional de Evaluación del Rendimiento Escolar. Las versiones completas de los informes del PISA y el TIMSS comparan el rendimiento de los sistemas escolares de diferentes países desarrollados.

“Los nuevos datos confirman que la disparidad de resultados entre los estudiantes de entornos favorecidos y desfavorecidos en Australia equivale a unos tres años de escolaridad”, destaca Correna Haythorpe, Presidenta Federal del Australian Education Union (AEU). “También muestran las disparidades impresionantes de recursos que contribuyen a ello”, señala. “¿Cómo se puede esperar que estos/as estudiantes tengan un buen rendimiento cuando se encuentran en escuelas que carecen de los recursos básicos para su educación?”

Desventaja específica

Los datos ilustran cómo el déficit educativo está asociado a la escasez de recursos en escuelas a las que asisten los/las estudiantes desfavorecidos/as. De hecho, Haythorpe dice que el personal directivo de las escuelas había dicho que:

·         el 55 por ciento de los/las estudiantes asistía a escuelas en las que la enseñanza de matemáticas se veía afectada por la falta de recursos

·         el 69 por ciento asistía a escuelas donde la enseñanza de ciencias estaba afectada

·         el 34 por ciento de los/las estudiantes de entornos desfavorecidos que participaron en la Encuesta sobre la Experiencia de los/las Estudiantes o SES (la única encuesta exhaustiva de estudiantes actuales en centros de enseñanza superior en Australia) se encontraban en escuelas en las que la infraestructura inadecuada obstaculizaba la capacidad de enseñanza del centro, en comparación con el 12 por ciento de los/las estudiantes de entornos favorecidos

Según los datos, los/las estudiantes australianos/as en el cuartil más bajo de la SES tienen seis veces más posibilidades de asistir a escuelas que no disponen de suficientes docentes o personal de apoyo cualificados. “Es una muestra impactante de la escasez de recursos en nuestras escuelas y cómo esta escasez se suma a las barreras a las que se enfrentan los/las estudiantes desfavorecidos/as”, dice Haythorpe.

Gonski

Asimismo, hace hincapié en que el plan del Primer Ministro de Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, “de eliminar la financiación Gonski basada en las necesidades después de 2017 significa que muchas escuelas nunca alcanzarán el nivel de recursos que necesitan para sus estudiantes”. Insta a Turnbull a abandonar su plan de eliminar la financiación Gonski después de 2017 y a dar a las escuelas la financiación completa de seis años de fondos específicos para que todas las escuelas puedan llegar al nivel mínimo de recursos para escuelas que el Informe Gonski recomienda.

Haythorpe destaca que los informes anteriores del PISA muestran que los sistemas escolares con una distribución más equitativa de la financiación tienen un mejor rendimiento general.

*Fuente: https://www.ei-ie.org/spa/detail/14804/australia-la-escasez-de-recursos-afecta-a-loslas-estudiantes-desfavorecidosas

 

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Australia: OECD education chief Andreas Schleicher: great teachers more important than class size

Noticias

OECD- PISA – Australia/18 April 2017/By: Kelsey Munro/Source: The Sudney Morning Herald

Australia should move to bigger class sizes if it wants to improve its education system without spending more money, according to the OECD’s top education guru Andreas Schleicher, and he has the data to prove it.

The highest performing countries in the OECD’s PISA tests have classes significantly larger than Australia’s average, he said.

But it’s not the class size that’s the key, he explains – it’s giving teachers less class time so they can focus on high-quality teaching.

The trade-off in a finite education budget for having teachers doing just 12-16 hours of class time a week is that you have to fit more kids into their classes.

The impact of class size on education quality is a highly contested issue within the research, while smaller class sizes tend to be popular with teachers, education unions and parents.

Mr Schleicher’s point is that the key factor is not the size of the class – it’s the quality of teaching strategies. Given the choice between a great teacher and a small class, pick the great teacher.

«Australian teachers have relatively little time for other things than teaching compared with their Asian counterparts,» he told Fairfax Media at an education conference in Dubai.

«If you’re a teacher in Hong Kong, China, Japan, you teach a lot less than Australian teachers, but you actually work more.

«You have a lot more time to engage with students individually, to work with parents, to work on reviewing lessons, analysing lessons, observing practice and so on. So there’s more emphasis on the professional development, particularly for higher order thinking skills.

«Those are very important. And the trade-off is bigger classes. The more popular trade-off is a smaller class, that’s what everybody likes. But if you ask me what is actually going to give better outcomes, Australia should think harder about this.»

According to the latest OECD data, the average class size in Australia for both primary and lower secondary was 24 pupils in 2014, compared with the OECD average of 23.

As policymakers have struggled to deal with Australia’s slipping performance in international benchmark tests like PISA and TIMSS, the perceived quality of teachers has come under fire.

Australia has not been as good at extending its top students, and has become less effective at mitigating socio economic disadvantage in its schools. But the OECD’s research suggests the problem is how our teachers are using their time.

«Australia has many ingredients of success,» Mr Schleicher said, speaking on the sidelines of the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on Saturday, but our policy settings have been focusing on things that are not addressing the source of our achievement gap between students.

The reporter travelled to the Global Education and Skills Forum as a guest of the conference.

Source:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/oecd-education-chief-andreas-schleicher-great-teachers-more-important-than-class-size-20170320-gv1sr2.html

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Australia: Why it’s the right time for Australia and India to collaborate on higher education

Noticias

Oceanía/Australia/Abril del 2017/Noticias/https://theconversation.com

In 2060, India will be the most populous country, and likely have the largest economy, in the world. Roughly 20 million young people turn 18 every year, and according to some estimates, India’s middle class now numbers 300 million.

We have about 40 years in Australia to become a key partner of this future global centre. And there is no better starting point than higher education.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Education Minister Simon Birmingham are currently visiting India, in part to promote higher education collaboration. Minister Birmingham has stated that his key objectives will include developing opportunities for Australian providers to deliver quality higher education in India, and emphasising Australia as an international education destination.

As higher education providers from competitor countries such as the UK are deepening their involvement in the Indian education sector, now is a crucial time for Australia to act.

University system in India

India contains a complex higher education landscape, with 760 universities and around 38,000 colleges.

Central government universities absorb just 3% of students and are relatively good quality. A wide range of state universities affiliate private and state colleges, which also award degrees. There is also a class of “deemed university” which was introduced fairly recently to cover private institutions established usually by business entrepreneurs.

…and the challenges it faces

As former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated – and as a new book shows in clear terms – the Indian higher education system faces major challenges.

This partly reflects a decision by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to channel research funds to independent non-teaching institutes, which has left central and state universities relatively starved of funds.

Indian universities – even elite institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology – do not feature in the top 100 universities in global rankings.

The upshot for the ordinary Indian student is that he or she is unlikely to be taught by a research active faculty member, unlikely to be able to acquire a good education with up-to-date curricula, and unlikely to have access to excellent facilities either in terms of teaching or extra-curricular activities.

Such deficits particularly affect the poor, women, rural areas, and north India.

So how does Australia fit into the picture?

The prospects for Australia to engage successfully with Indian higher education institutions are therefore not very high.

Certainly, the focus to date has been on working with the top institutions. But this means the mass of state-level universities and colleges do not typically receive the benefits of foreign collaboration.

Added to the problems are a relatively low knowledge base in Australia on Indian higher education and legal restrictions on foreign universities opening up campuses in India.

The Foreign Providers Bill, which would change the law in this regard, has been stalled. But India’s current government is keen to reform higher education.

Push for collaboration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated his desire to develop foreign collaborations.

The flow of Indian staff and students to Australia, and the beginnings of revitalisation of Indian studies in Australia, bodes well in terms of the development of partnerships and joint working.

There are success stories, too, such as joint PhD programmes at Monash University and the University of Melbourne, as well as comprehensive ties with Indian higher education developed at Deakin University – among a fairly wide range of examples.

Still, there is no sense in fudging. Such examples are – to use an Indian phrase – like the cumin seed in the camel’s mouth.

Five ways to do this

Australia, with a strong higher education sector and a particular strength in terms of the development of world-class full-spectrum universities, could expand collaborative efforts in several ways. These include:

  1. Agree on the mutual recognition of qualifications in India and Australia. There are currently issues with the recognition of Indian students’ prior learning when they come to study in Australia. India also does not recognise some Australian qualifications, such as accelerated masters’ degrees.
  2. Lobby the Indian government to allow Australian universities to open campuses in India where there is a compelling rationale for doing so. Apart from the direct benefits this would bring in terms of making foreign education available more cheaply to Indian students, it would allow the Indian government to benchmark their institutions against Australian counterparts.
  3. Develop a wide range of staff and student champions of the Australia-India relationship, building on programmes already running and activity already being generated among staff.
  4. Develop a comprehensive scholarship scheme for non-elite Indian students to facilitate the flow of talented students to Australia. This could be funded using a small percentage of the money universities receive from international students. It would help to build understanding of India in Australia, and also increase the diversity of Australian universities. A key advantage of this scheme is that it would allow Australian universities to develop reach into “ordinary India”.
  5. Develop a set of specialist collaborative research institutes in India around key challenges facing India and Australia, for example around water, infrastructure, poverty, security, health, and governance. These could serve as a basis for full spectrum campuses in the future.

Given the inventiveness of other countries in devising ways of collaborating with India, there will be real costs if Australia does not engage with these ideas in terms of opportunities for research collaboration and offering valuable learning experiences to Indian students.

The UK, in particular, has made great strides in this space, such as the Research Councils UK partnership with India, even as its visa restrictions hobble efforts to develop student mobility between India and the UK.

India and Australia have complementary strengths in higher education. A strategic approach could yield major benefits for both countries.

Fuente:

https://theconversation.com/why-its-the-right-time-for-australia-and-india-to-collaborate-on-higher-education-76011

Fuente Imagen:

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Entrevista: Women in the organization view themselves as leaders

Entrevistas

Oceanía/Australia/Abril 2017/Reseña/http://www.unwomen.org/

Reseña:

En la entrevista: “Las mujeres en la organización se ven como líderes”. Anna Green ha luchado durante toda su carrera  por la igualdad en el trabajo. Ahora, como CEO de ANZ LAO, ella está utilizando principios de empoderamiento de las mujeres (estudiar), una iniciativa de ONU Mujeres y el Pacto Mundial de las Naciones Unidas, para empoderar a otras mujeres y mejorar la diversidad en la organización laboral. En este sentido se le formularon algunas de las interrogantes: ¿Qué obstáculos han encontrado a causa de su género en su vida profesional? ¿Cómo les superar?, ¿Por qué es importante contar con más mujeres en puestos directivos?, La desigualdad de género en el lugar de trabajo es a menudo reforzada por duro para cambiar actitudes. ¿Qué pueden hacer hombres y mujeres en el lugar de trabajo para luchar contra los estereotipos y la discriminación? Por último señalan que en la  banca internacional fue reconocida por la ONU como una mujer de inspiración, esto origino asistir a mujeres para el impulso en capacitaciones de liderazgo del gobierno australiano.

Entrevista: Women in the organization view themselves as leaders

Anna Green has fought for equality in the workplace her whole career. Now, as CEO of ANZ Lao, she’s using the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), an initiative by UN Women and the UN Global Compact, to empower other women and improve diversity in the company.

What barriers have you encountered because of your gender in your professional life? How did you overcome them?

I decided to build my career in two male-dominated industries—banking and law.

When I started practising law there were partners (both women and men) that I worked for who asked me to make them coffee or pick up their dry cleaning, simply because I was a young woman. It was demoralising and disheartening.

However, I also saw many people, again both women and men, who understood the inherent inequality in many of the behaviours and practices of their colleagues and called out inequality in the business environment whenever they saw it.

As I have progressed in my career, I actively sought out people and work environments that promoted gender equality. Sometimes it’s hard to be the whistle-blower, especially when doing so could cost you your job. But the longer I am in business, the more I see the importance of doing just that. If leaders don’t lead by example, then nothing will change.

Why is it important to have more women in senior management?

Men and women have different management styles and perspectives. My own experience has shown that diversity of perspectives and experience at the management table makes for good management and sound decision-making in any organization. If you only surround yourself with people who think like you and have a similar life experience, you are unlikely to make change or embrace change.

Seeing women in leadership roles should be the norm, rather than an exception. Failing to include women at the management table effectively silences the views of women—who are half the world’s population—and doesn’t provide a realistic lens with which we can view the world. Organizations that want to survive and prosper are starting to realize this and are actively recruiting women into management to bridge the gender gap.

How is ANZ bank promoting women’s leadership and what are the main challenges?

The importance of setting targets, gathering data and holding leadership accountable for implementing change cannot be underplayed. At ANZ Lao and ANZ globally, ensuring that our business reflects the people and the communities in which we operate is a key to our success. We understand that by simply calling out the inequality in the work place is not going to change things. Targeted actions are needed.

People, policies and businesses respond to data. Once you can quantify the inequality using reliable statistics, the reality of the situation becomes clearer and undeniable. Thereafter, action can be taken through tangible policies and programmes to remedy the gender imbalance and inequality.

At ANZ in Lao, we have set ourselves a target to make 20 per cent of our supply chain contractors female by next year and we track our progress regularly and hold ourselves accountable to this target. We have implemented paid parental leave going beyond the local regulatory requirements for both men and women and flexible working hours. We have also set up a policy to have at least one female candidate to interview for every management level recruitment. I have seen our staff embrace these changes as the new normal so that we have a gender equal workplace culture.

Gender inequality at the work place is often reinforced by hard-to-change attitudes. What can men and women do in the workplace to combat the stereotypes and discrimination?

In order to combat gender-based discrimination in the workplace, both men and women at work must be more aware of their own gender biases.

Some of the common assumptions that I have come across from colleagues, particularly around recruitment practices include, “women who have children will want to stay at home to look after them or will want to work part time”, “men will be the breadwinners in the family and therefore wouldn’t want to take paternity leave or flexible work arrangements” and “all women will choose to be mothers”.

Confining our workmates to these very narrow definitions of what constitutes “male” or “female” choices with regards to work and life, constrains our ability to think differently about what our workplaces could look like. Understanding that other people’s views do not always align with our own and talking about this openly and honestly ultimately helps to break down discriminatory thought processes in the workplace.

How do the Women’s Empowerment Principles impact everyday life at ANZ?

Since we signed on to the Women’s Empowerment Principles in YEAR, we have implemented the WEPs across 11 banks in Lao. The WEPs have positively impacted ANZ Lao’s policies and practices—from the way we work (flexible working practices), to the way we recruit (gender quotas for interviewees for management roles) and the way we celebrate (annual LGBTI and Women’s Day events).

They have also given us a point from which to advance the conversation within the organization around gender equality in the workplace and following our example, other organizations and programmes in Lao are expressing interest in the WEPs.

But perhaps the most positive impact is seeing the women in the organization view themselves as leaders. Our Head of International Banking was recognized by the UN as a woman of inspiration and several of our senior female managers have been nominated for and received scholarships to attend advance women in leadership trainings by the Australian Government. The entire ANZ Lao women’s leadership team was chosen as a case study for the ASEAN.

Fuente:

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/2/take-five-anna-green-anz-lao-and-weps

 

Fuente Imagen:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pxl-yFn51J4-v1BqpXk5YwCFxnKX78hoFKLtPnHUz5oKtQQN58bXbpggy-FSNVpRMh4vzw=s85

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Australia: Why does the Carmichael coal mine need to use so much water?

Noticias

Australia/ Abril del 2017/Noticias/https://theconversation.com/

 

From accidental water spills into coastal wetlands, to proposed taxpayer-funded loans, Adani’s planned Carmichael coal mine and the associated Abbot Point coal terminal can’t keep out of the news at the moment.

Last week, the granting of an unlimited 60-year water licence to the Carmichael mine, in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, rattled environmentalists, farmers and community groups alike.

In a region experiencing prolonged drought conditions, the provision of unlimited water for one of the largest mining operations in the Southern Hemisphere seems like a commitment at odds with current climate predictions. The decision has also prompted a raft of wider questions about the industry’s water use.

Why do coal mines need so much water?

Underground coal mines rely on water to reduce the hazard of fires or explosion, by using it to cool the cutting surfaces of mining equipment and prevent coal dust from catching fire.

Water also helps to manage dust produced during the processing stage, when coal is crushed and ground. Coal is then transported through pipelines as a water-based slurry for further processing.

Mines also need water for things like equipment maintenance, and for consumption by the mining communities themselves.

In total, about 250 litres of freshwater are required per tonne of coal produced. This freshwater makes up around a quarter of the total water demand during coal production, the rest being “worked” (recycled) water.

What other industries use lots of water?

The Great Artesian Basin is one of the largest underground water reservoirs in the world. It underlies 22% of Australia’s land area, beneath the arid and semi-arid parts of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Its aquifers supply water to around 200 towns or settlements, most of which are allowed to draw between 100 and 500 million litres (ML) per year.

The Great Artesian Basin covers almost a quarter of Australia. Tentotwo/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The Great Artesian Basin underpins A$12.8 billion of economic activity annually, according to a 2016 report commissioned by the federal government. Almost all of this is from mining and coal seam gas (A$8 billion) and livestock farming (A$4.7 billion).

In Queensland, mining and industry hold just over 1% (by number) of the water licences linked to the Great Artesian Basin but account for 10% of the water extracted. Coal seam gas accounts for a further 22% of water, with no licensing required. In contrast, livestock production accounts for 88% of water licences but just 46% of the extracted water.

The Carmichael mine’s 12,000ML forecasted use (equivalent to 4% of the water extracted from the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland last year) would put it alongside the biggest annual users of Great Artesian Basin water, such as the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia, which currently draws 10,000ML each year.

Why does Adani need unlimited water anyway?

According to the company’s own modelling, the Carmichael mine’s annual freshwater use is projected to peak at just over 12,000ML – or roughly 13 Olympic swimming pools per day.

Despite these estimates, the water licence granted to Adani puts no limit on the water it can take from the Great Artesian Basin. However, it calls for regular monitoring of water levels, quality and flow in each aquifer that is tapped.

Unlike other controversial Queensland mining projects, such as the New Acland coal mine, Adani’s water licence application was exempted from public scrutiny, courtesy of a November 2016 amendment to the existing laws.

Water licences usually specify the total amount, and/or the daily rate, of groundwater that can be taken. Changes to a water licence to increase the amount of water must be assessed like a new application and pass public scrutiny. But with an unlimited licence, there is no need for Adani to apply for a new licence if they need more water than originally predicted.

What are the environmental effects of industrial-scale water usage on the basin?

Despite a net yearly decrease of 286,000ML in the water stored within the Great Artesian Basin, it is in no danger of running dry. The past 120 years of exploitation have used up less than 0.1% of the water stored.

The real issue is water pressure. Flows from artesian bores are now roughly half what they were in 1915. Since then, the water level in some bores has fallen by as much as 80 metres, and a third of bores have stopped flowing altogether. This directly affects the human, plant and animal communities that rely on artesian water.

Because of their isolation, the natural springs of the Great Artesian Basin are home to many unique plant and animal species. Desert springs are particularly vulnerable to declining water pressure, and many spring habitats have been irreversibly damaged by invasive species, excavation, livestock, industrial activity and even tourists.

An oasis in South Australia’s arid interior. Tandrew/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Can mining industries be more water-wise?

Recycled water is an integral part of coal mining, but it contains salt, added in the dust-management stage, which can leave the water unusable for certain processes. Nevertheless, a recent study suggests that Queensland coal mines could cut their freshwater use by 62% simply by using recycled water for processes that are not sensitive to salt levels. Diluting salty recycled water could also reduce freshwater use by 50%, and cut water costs by 40%.

Untreated seawater is perhaps the most sustainable water of all, although transporting it from coast to mine costs energy and therefore money. Its saltiness also creates chemical challenges during coal and uranium processing.

Another option to address climate-induced water challenges might be for mines to share water allocations.

Where do we go from here?

Understandably, there is significant concern that Adani’s unlimited licence will allow the mine to draw more water than predicted. Should the mine go ahead, it is important that the research community continues to scrutinise the regular water quality and usage reports that Adani is required to provide. Water licences can, after all, be revoked.

We should also be concerned about industries like coal seam gas that currently do not require water licensing, but nevertheless use huge amounts of artesian water.

Although water is an important issue, it is vital not to lose sight of the numerous other environmental impacts of the Carmichael mine. For example, an estimated 4.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions will result from the mining and burning of Carmichael coal. Climate warming will impact Australia on multiple fronts, including bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, increasing the intensity of tropical cyclones, causing more heat-related deaths, diseases and droughts.

Fuente:

https://theconversation.com/why-does-the-carmichael-coal-mine-need-to-use-so-much-water-75923

Fuente Imagen:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bHJ9MzzLyQDwxqG0ah68oBR3aKBNmCJPxnlDsYlo7zKkwinoAb5unuISuo-95aPzt9DNfw=s85

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