Social Justice and Equity

Table of Contents

Access
Equity
Communication
Responsiveness

The department continues to promote the principles of social justice and equity by improving access, equity, communication and responsiveness of its services in line with the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society.

Access

The department continually improves its website to increase and ensure appropriate access to departmental information.

The Natural Heritage Trust (the Trust) and National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (the Action Plan) websites, jointly administered with the Department of the Environment and Heritage, were enhanced to improve the quality of information, accessibility, navigation, and online feedback.

The Natural Heritage Ministerial Board resolved to continue to support Indigenous land management positions throughout Australia following an internal review. In addition, following completion of the first phase of the Trust, transitional arrangements to continue financial support for 400 landcare facilitators and coordinator positions were provided through the National Landcare Program. This ensured that existing network and skills were not lost and helped engage the landcare community in the new regional natural resource management (NRM) arrangements.

The local grants component of the Trust extension, the Australian Government Envirofund, approved 1844 projects worth $30 million to support individuals and community groups in local environmental initiatives. This included a special $10 million drought recovery component. Over 4 per cent of all projects were for initiatives for Indigenous groups.

Centrelink continued to be contracted to deliver a range of programs on behalf of the department. The programs include the AAA - Farm Help program, Additional Drought Assistance measures and the welfare support components of Exceptional Circumstances and the Sugar Industry Reform Program (SIRP). Use of the Centrelink network ensured people had the most direct access to assistance possible, if needed

Through the AAA - Rural Financial Counselling Service, the Australian Government continued to fund 63 community organisations providing financial counselling to rural families and individuals who may not otherwise have been able to access counselling services, because of their financial or geographic circumstances.

In February 2003, the Rural Industries Leadership Section implemented an online expression of interest form to allow clients to self-select initiatives they are interested in finding more information about. The site also allows clients to select their preferred means of communication – the Internet, post or telephone.

The department launched the addition of an Agriculture and Food Biotechnology (agbiotech) section to its website in December 2002. The site provides a wealth of information on agricultural biotechnology, particularly relating to genetically modified (GM) crops; summaries and links for domestic and international regulatory bodies; important domestic and international documents; and work performed by the department under the Supply Chain Management Project.

The New Industry Development Program (NIDP) supports Australian agribusiness as they commercialise innovations. The program undertakes a range of activities, including improving the access of small to medium enterprises in Australia to quality information on new product development opportunities. Access to the NIDP program was improved through targeted distribution of new hard copy and electronic promotional materials. Paperwork was improved through redesigned and streamlined grant guidelines and application forms; phone access was improved; and the NIDP Agribiz website was streamlined for easier access.

Four new issues of Made in Australia magazine were distributed and posted on the NIDP Agribiz website. The magazine has over 7800 subscribers and provides information on new ideas in agribusiness, and includes case studies and feature items that show how Australian entrepreneurs develop their skills, knowledge and networks to achieve their agribusiness goals. NIDP developed and distributed an Agribiz Handbook – a guide to the program for agribusiness advisors to promote various initiatives. This tool has improved access to the program’s primary clients by using networks of a secondary target audience.

NIDP increased program awareness by broadening the scope of advertising campaigns for the Pilot Commercialisation Project grants and In-Market Experience Scholarships including more strategic use of print media as well as through various industry publications. NIDP also used electronic newsletters to profile initiatives or funding rounds, including that of the Area Consultative Committees and the department’s Rural Leadership Section in respect of women, young people and Indigenous Australians.

The department maintains open lines of communication with relevant fisheries industry bodies and sectors to ensure they can participate in activities that affect their industries. The East-West Coast Tuna Workshop process allows industry members to provide feedback on Australia’s involvement in relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and provide advice on future engagement. Relevant non-government organisations and industry members are often able to directly participate in Australian delegations to international and regional fisheries meetings.

In partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS), the department established an Indigenous Aquaculture Unit to assist Indigenous aquaculture development, particularly in remote and regional communities, as a means of enhancing economic development opportunities. 

The development of the National Indigenous Forest Strategy has been extensively advertised and meetings have been held in regional centres around Australia to encourage wide involvement in its development. 

The Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) five-yearly review was widely publicised. All RFA five-yearly reviews and annual milestone reports are tabled in parliament and made available on the RFA website. The Forest Industries Structural Adjustment Program funding rounds are advertised in national and regional newspapers, trade magazines and through relevant industry organisations.

National workshops, conferences and publications are provided to promote access to the Trust’s Private Forests Development Program.

A collaborative approach to quarantine has been forged between AQIS and many Indigenous communities across northern Australia - particularly in the Northern Territory, Torres Strait and Cape York - where AQIS, through the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy, employs many Indigenous staff and is involved in collaborative ventures with Indigenous stakeholder groups.

The AQIS Export Facilitation Program provides a service through designated export facilitation officers located in most regional AQIS offices, providing advice and assistance to AQIS stakeholders and across the export community. One of the roles of these officers is to assist industries and individuals to expand export opportunities in various commodity areas where access to advice on export certification and AQIS standards is mandatory to achieve overseas market access success.

As custodians of the rural data library, BRS has made significant progress in enhancing its accessibility through the Internet, with data sets covering soils, native vegetation and land use.

The department continued to provide access to information and forms for levy payers and other interested organisations on levy related material, such as commodity information sheets, return forms and levy rates. The department published a pamphlet on levies for clients and provided education sessions to levy payers.

Equity

In partnership with the Department of the Environment and Heritage, through Trust funding, the department continued to support a network of 13 Indigenous land management facilitators across Australia to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities involved in land management activities.

A Murray-Darling Basin Indigenous action plan is being developed which will report to the Council of Australian Governments in line with Ministerial Council action plans for advancing Indigenous reconciliation. A feature of the action plan is the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Murray-Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations. The MOU will provide a framework through which Indigenous peoples along the Murray and Darling Rivers can input into managing the natural resources where they live.

Integrated regional NRM plans seeking accreditation for funding under the Action Plan must ensure effective participation by all key stakeholders including indigenous communities, resource managers, environmental groups, industry and the community. Effective community involvement is required during the development and implementation of the plan, through a comprehensive consultation process.

The Additional Drought Assistance and Exceptional Circumstances assistance measures provided equitable financial assistance to eligible producers impacted by the drought. SIRP provided equitable financial assistance to eligible producers in times of hardship and change. Assistance is aimed at ensuring an economically viable and efficient industry in the long term.

The AAA - FarmBis (Australian Government/state) program was made available to Australian primary producers and land managers. Extensive communication and coordination activities were used at the state/territory level to raise awareness of the program. The activities included specific efforts to target and encourage participation from women, Indigenous land managers and people from non-English speaking backgrounds. An example of the program at work is the project being undertaken by Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) under FarmBis Australia that involves developing business management training materials, and pilot-tests the training activities in regions across Australia.

The AAA - Farm Help program has provided equitable financial assistance and advice to eligible primary producers throughout Australia who are experiencing severe financial difficulties. Assistance is aimed at providing short-term financial assistance while farmers take steps to improve their financial situation.

The Rural Industries Leadership e-newsletter expanded its membership to over 1500 individuals and groups. This has increased awareness of the work being done by governments, rural industries and communities, and promotes the key role women, Indigenous people and young people play in rural industries.

The department endeavours to provide all documents on the agbiotech website in Microsoft Word format as well as PDF in accordance with Government Online requirements. This is to allow the use of special software available for vision-impaired clients who only operate with Microsoft Word.

The department participated in a number of tax consultative forums to ensure the interests of primary producers and other portfolio stakeholders were adequately represented in the development and administration of tax policy.

The NIDP continued to distribute program-awareness information through the department’s industry development networks and continued to improve communication with Indigenous clients. It also supplied program information electronically to Australian Women in Agriculture, which reaches over 300 rural women’s groups.

The Australian Government Fisheries Policy Review document Looking to the Future expressed the Government’s commitment for the department and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, with ATSIS and other Indigenous representatives, to explore means of ensuring that traditional Indigenous fishing is more effectively incorporated into Australian Government fisheries management. The Government is examining opportunities for involving Indigenous people in commercial Indigenous fishing and aquaculture, and is working with ATSIS to develop an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fishing strategy. 

The Chair of the Torres Strait Regional Authority formally became a member of the Torres Strait Fisheries Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) in 2002, providing formal lines of communication about fisheries issues between the Australian Government and Queensland Governments and Indigenous people in the Torres Strait. The PZJA (which is chaired by the Australian Government Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) also endorsed a new consultative structure that promotes Indigenous participation in the relevant meetings and working groups of the PZJA.

In June 2003, Rural Industries Leadership called for submissions to the National Indigenous Forestry Strategy by placing advertisements in the national and Indigenous press throughout Australia, and made information available through electronic and hard copy. Consultations associated with the development of the National Indigenous Forest Strategy will assess the impact of forestry on indigenous communities.

The Tasmanian RFA five-yearly review included public submissions and hearings to ensure a wide range of views were taken into account. Where administrative and confidentiality considerations allow, applications for the FISAP assistance are assessed by an advisory committee made up of relevant industry, union, community and government representatives. An independent financial assessor also comments on applications.

Communication

The department has continued to improve the quality of information, accessibility, navigation and online applications on its website. The department developed a low bandwidth version of its website to improve access and performance, particularly for rural and regional Australia. It has also improved accessibility to RFAs by integrating them into the website. 

In addition, further improvements to the usability and accessibility of the Agricultural Portal included the continued incorporation of links to partner sites across all levels of government.

In other communications activities, the department:

• continued to provide portfolio information to over 6000 stakeholders through its quarterly Contours magazine
• held Roadshow displays at 33 events with a combined attendance of 150 000. Events ranged from peak body conferences to regional agricultural shows and field days
• worked closely with Centrelink, other government agencies, industry and the media to provide information about Exceptional Circumstances and other Australian Government drought assistance through advertising, stakeholder and media liaison, fact sheets, Roadshow visits and producer meetings, and a special drought website.

The Trust (including its 'local' component - the Australian Government Envirofund) and the Action Plan were widely publicised to encourage broad community participation in NRM, with an emphasis on regional participation. Integrated regional NRM plans seeking accreditation for funding under the Action Plan and the extension of the Trust include a commitment to develop and implement a communication strategy. 

The National Landcare Conference in Darwin included workshops attended by international delegates from 11 Asia-Pacific countries and the United States (US), promoting improved land management. The workshop contributed to Australia’s World Summit on Sustainable Development commitment to help developing countries implement sustainable rural development.

The development and maintenance of a specialised Australian arm of the International Year of Freshwater campaign has provided a relevant contact point for Australians on water resources. A central website and a mail-out of educational materials to all Australian high schools have been major vehicles for communicating water messages.

The department, in conjunction with other Australian Government agencies, advertised the Additional Drought Assistance and Exceptional Circumstances Assistance in the local press. The programs are administered through Centrelink and state rural adjustment authorities. Individuals were also able to access further information on all Australian Government and state drought assistance measures, including AAA - Farm Help, through the department’s website, Centrelink’s website, a Centrelink Farmer Freecall number and through local Centrelink offices.

The department used local newspapers to advertise the welfare support components of SIRP. Delivery of payments are contracted through Centrelink which provided further information through a telephone hotline, its website and direct client contact.

The department’s AAA - Rural Financial Counselling Service section has a communication strategy that involves attendance at conferences, site visits, regular newsletters and telephone/internet support for the Rural Financial Counselling Services in the field.

In July 2002, the department launched through its Rural Industries Leadership Section Guidelines for Reaching our Clients – Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders to help staff recognise opportunities to include Indigenous people, and then to engage them in its work. 

In August 2002, Minister Truss launched an interactive website called YARN (Young Australian Rural Network) to enable participants of the Young People in Rural Industries Program to continue networking with each other. The website also provides an opportunity to comment on issues affecting rural Australia, government policy development and industry matters, and to profile emerging and current leaders. 

During the year the department produced two widely distributed pamphlets and four ground-breaking reports that focussed on information gaps in the Australian GM food debate. Thirty-eight thousand copies of one pamphlet were distributed in the Australian Landcare magazine and a full page article based on one of the pamphlets was included in the Victorian Farmers Federation magazine. Additionally, the agbiotech web pages provided simple access to important publications from the department and other sources.

The department continued to support the Agricultural Finance Forum. The forum comprises members from the finance sector, agri-political organisations and government and provides an important mechanism for engaging stakeholders in policy development. It is also used to disseminate key public policy information to the rural sector and financial institutions involved in farm lending. 

The 2002 edition of the Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) outcomes report Innovating Rural Australia highlighted the valuable work of the RDCs.

The NIDP used established networks to reach innovators and entrepreneurs in the agricultural, food, fisheries and forestry industries. These networks included state primary industries, regional development and innovation departments, the Small Business Answers Officers (SBAO) and rural educators. The NIDP Supply Chain Initiative provided a useful vehicle to communicate and service clients by holding over 30 workshops in most states.

The On the Land television program, with over 400 000 rural and regional viewers, again profiled many innovative NIDP projects. A total of 16 three and six minute segments were aired, with the NIDP again being prominently placed on the On the Land website. Segments included reference to the NIDP Agribiz website, the NIDP email address and the 1300 telephone number.

The Made in Australia magazine continued to be a strong medium for reaching NIDP clients and promoting Australian Government support for innovation in agribusiness. The issues-based approach adopted in the second series was maintained in the third, with topics covering cooperation, commercialisation, supply chain and markets. 

The department publishes quarterly editions of Food News Bulletin for the food industry and continued to provide access to a range of information for food businesses through its food website. The site includes an email help service and subscriber facility to notify stakeholders of new information.

The department developed and distributed the first edition of Setting the Standard - a bulletin to increase awareness within the processed food sector of Codex standards and their significance to trade. The bulletin is one of several Codex initiatives under International Food Standards of the National Food Industry Strategy.

Improvements were made to the structure of the wine policy area on the website. The department added more information and created more links for easier access to government and industry-related information. The report on wine exports and wine tourism Pathways to profitability for small to medium wineries was also published on the website and mailed to over 1600 Australian wineries. 

The department published A$34 billion reasons to access the US seafood market in November 2002. The publication is the first in a series of seafood market access guides to be produced jointly with the Australian Seafood Industry Council (ASIC). It is a guide for small to medium-sized Australian seafood producers, or those with a non-diversified export base, wanting to access the US market. The publication was provided free of charge and is available on the department’s website.

The department provides information about fisheries policies and programs on its website and holds meetings and consultative forums each year involving industry, non-government organisations (NGOs) and community participants. The East-West Coast Tuna Workshop process allows industry members and NGOs to provide feedback on Australia’s involvement in relevant RFMOs and advice on future engagement.

The National Indigenous Forest Strategy and FISAP have been promoted on the website and through media releases and advertising in national and regional newspapers. Eighteen private forestry development coordinators have been appointed to promote private forestry development.

The Quarantine Matters! awareness campaign continued to use a wide range on-shore and off-shore of communication activities to inform people of their quarantine responsibilities when travelling, importing or sending mail or courier items to Australia. Advertising, airport signage, information brochures, website information, media releases and articles, an e-marketing campaign and a schools education initiative with CSIRO were among initiatives used. The campaign used television advertising for the first time in late 2002. The advertising featured ‘crocodile hunter’ Steve Irwin. Research showed that the television advertisements greatly increased community awareness of quarantine. Community events, radio segments, print advertising and brochures available in 13 languages were used to target non-English speaking audiences. Since the Quarantine Matters! campaign began in 1997, levels of awareness and interest in quarantine issues have steadily increased.

International passengers arriving in Australia are provided with an ‘incoming passenger card’ so that they can declare any items of quarantine concern. The card is available in 13 different languages and has reference guides in additional languages to help complete English versions. Information for overseas senders of quarantine material in international mail is provided in 10 languages.

AQIS continued to consult regularly with industry through industry consultative committees. A prime purpose of the committees is to discuss the management of AQIS’s cost-recovered programs and recommend appropriate charging structures. AQIS invites industry representatives to be members of the committees.

Biosecurity Australia continued to keep stakeholders informed through its bimonthly Biosecurity Australia News. The newsletter provides regular updates on Import Risk Analysis (IRAs) and technical market access work, and information on upcoming events, consultations and workshops. Stakeholders who are registered on Biosecurity Australia’s stakeholder register also receive regular updates on current IRAs relating to their commodity interests, and information on other biosecurity policy issues. 

The department consulted widely with portfolio industries on bilateral and multilateral trade policy issues. Consultation with portfolio industries on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agriculture negotiations showed strong support for Australia’s position. Fisheries and forestry industry interests were taken into consideration in the Australian position for the WTO Doha Round non-agriculture market access negotiations. The department consulted portfolio industries to prepare briefing for the first round of negotiations of the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement. It also debriefed industries through a widely distributed letter as part of post-round consultation. The department ensured that portfolio industry interests were considered in the Government's negotiating position on tariffs relating to the Closer Economic Relations – Free trade Agreement with Thailand.

As a research agency, ABARE’s aim is to communicate and disseminate its research as widely as possible and the Bureau undertook a range of activities during the year to achieve this. ABARE widely advertised its Outlook 2003 conference which received extensive media coverage. Around 80 media representatives attended the conference, ensuring wide and comprehensive national and international coverage of the conference. All journalists attending the conference received media releases by fax or email after each conference session. The ABC rural service also provided comprehensive radio coverage and many Outlook speakers were interviewed by the media.

ABARE also disseminated its research at six regional Outlook conferences. ABARE economists spoke at conferences run by other organisations in Australia and overseas and disseminated research through trade displays, promotions at industry events, and the department’s roadshow.

ABARE has a comprehensive internet site with information about its research projects, as well as statistical data, publications, and media and conference information. Clients can freely access many ABARE articles, reports and conference papers directly from their desktop. ABARE has a web subscription service that allows clients to access the latest issues of Australian Commodities, Australian Crop Report, Australian Minerals Statistics and Australian Forest Products Statistics on the day of release. The website also provides clients with a wide range of web-based benchmarking services using farm survey data. ABARE publications are advertised widely and distributed free to the National Library and all state libraries.

The department produced a pocket booklet Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry at a glance 2003 that provides statistics and distribution maps of Australia’s natural resource base and rural industries and information and contacts for Australian Government assistance. The publication required two re-prints within six months of its first release.

Responsiveness

The National and State Landcare Awards, supported by the department through Landcare Australia Ltd and underwritten by corporate sponsorship, retained their high profile.

The Water Savings Initiative received over 550 public submissions on how to save water in Australia. The initiative has harnessed growing public enthusiasm on water issues and created a participative, open process for assessing ideas. The submissions are available on the department’s website.

The AAA - Farm Help assistance program has built on the former Farm Family Restart Scheme and the Rural Adjustment Scheme and has provided financial assistance to over 8000 customers since December 1997.

The Additional Drought Assistance and Exceptional Circumstances Assistance provided a rapid response to the severely drought affected farmers. The Sugar Industry Reform Program, developed by the department, also provided a rapid response to the sugar industry when it was severely affected by crops failures and a steep downturn in world market prices.

Rural Industries Leadership staff responded to an average of 30 requests a week for information from women, young people and Indigenous people in rural and regional Australia. The department funded and helped four national rural women’s NGOs work with industry to develop strategies for women employed in rural industries. The aim of the strategy is to help industry build the capacity of women and increase their participation in management and decision-making.

Before starting new research reports, the department’s Biotechnology Projects area worked closely with Australian agricultural industry bodies to determine what information would be most useful to them.

The department checked, updated and extended the NIDP mailing list, adding over 2000 new contacts. NIDP staff responded to an average five requests a week for NIDP publications. They also handled an average 10 calls a day on the 1300 number, more than 20 enquiries a week about Pilot Commercialisation Projects, over 150 inquiries for In Market Experience Scholarships and 30 requests to give presentations and talks.

In response to the effects of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak on key seafood export markets in early 2003, ASIC asked the Government for assistance with advising exporters on airfreight availability to Asia, reducing documentation costs, and positioning the industry for export opportunities until the situation in Asia improved. The Government responded with financial and technical support to help ASIC provide daily flight/cargo and logistical information through the ASIC web site. The service ran from early May 2003 until July 2003 and was well received by industry.

Biosecurity Australia’s annual survey of registered stakeholders found a high level of satisfaction with the quality, timeliness and quantity of Biosecurity Australia's consultations. Other client surveys across the department rated the department highly in terms of client satisfaction (refer to Service Charters).