Tuesday 12 April 2011

Parramatta. Shell refinery may close

Shell today announced a proposal to convert its Clyde Refinery and Gore Bay Terminal into a fuel import terminal. The proposal recognises the 75,000 barrel per day refinery is no longer competitive against new mega-refineries in the region – and requires significant investment including a maintenance turnaround scheduled for mid 2013. Employees at Clyde and Gore Bay have been informed of the proposal and a period of consultation with them and their representatives will be undertaken before a decision is made on the proposal. If accepted by the relevant Shell Australia boards, the proposal would see the end to refining operations at the site, with Clyde converted to a competitive fuel import terminal, well located to supply the New South Wales market and the growing western suburbs of Sydney, the company said. The refinery, built in the early 1920s has been in operation longer than any other oil refinery in Australia. It has been owned by Shell since 1928.

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Westmead. Medical research funding crisis

The Westmead Millennium Institute is hoping to help prevent the federal government’s proposed plan to axe funding to medical research by $400 million. WMI researchers and scientists will join nationwide rallies today to protest against this massive cut to the National Health and Medical Research Council’s budget. The institute is one of Australia’s leading medical research institutes and has grown rapidly over the last decade. Funding cuts would be a significant blow to the institute that is currently in planning stages for a new building.

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Region. UWS in joint initiative

A joint initiative of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) and the University of Western Sydney (UWS has created for the first time a new national website which brings together information about sustainability courses and teaching resources offered by higher education institutions across Australia into one easily accessible place. Dr Carol Nicoll, CEO of the ALTC, said this is the first time that work has been undertaken in this area to give a complete picture of what is happening at universities around the country. The Australian Government, the Learning and Teaching Sustainability funded the initiative.

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Campbelltown. $70,000 for expert advice

Centre for Complementary Medicine Research (CompleMED at the University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown campus, will receive $75,000 from the NSW Government to provide expert advice to Australian and Chinese herbal medicine companies commercialising their products and negotiating regulation in world markets. The Australian market for complementary medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine, has an estimated value of $3.1 billion per annum and is expected to grow six per cent annually over the next five years. UWS has been chosen to bring together a team of NSW researchers, regulatory and intellectual property experts to partner with Chinese and Australian herbal medicine companies, research centres and hospitals.

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Region. Small business TV series

Television Sydney TVS brings together the experiences of local business owners to a public Q & A with academics, industry experts and government advisers in a new Small Biz Central series, commencing, at 9.30pm, on Tuesday, April 12. TVS broadcasts from the UWS Penrith campus. .

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Castle Hill. Closures affect Gloria Jean's

Castle Hill-based coffee chain, Gloria Jean's, says the closure of 16 Borders stores across Australia will have a flow-on effect for 14 Gloria Jean’s coffee houses located within the book stores. "Although we have taken extensive measures to ensure continuous service to our valued guests, unfortunately the closure of these stores will force our coffee houses at these locations to cease trading," the company said in a statement. The company said it has engaged specialist legal advice to review the position of the company and that of the franchisees who own coffee houses within the affected Borders stores. Western Sydney stores to be closed over eight week are Macarthur Square, Macquarie Centre and Parramatta.

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Prospect. Relocation planned for mid-May

CPI's warehouse consolidation plan is nearing completion in NSW as Raleigh Paper leaves its Chullora home and relocates into group premises in Prospect. The relocation will bring Raleigh under the same roof as CPI, though Raleigh national sales and marketing manager Peter Friend-Ngui stressed that it would remain a separate brand with an independent sales team continuing to target specifiers, such as ad agencies, graphic designers and government departments. The relocation is expected to complete in mid-May, as the entire east coast consolidation strategy heads into the final mile.

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Region. Little discussion on city fringe

Relatively little emphasis on outer suburbs or the urban fringe was considered in a Right to the City symposium, at the Sydney University Faculty of Architecture, according to Alec Gooding, of Gooding Davies Consultancy, at Lawson. The symposium sought to make connections between artists, activists, planners and architects in seeking ways to "remake" the city “in more socially connected and sustainable ways”, responding to the increasingly fragmented and complex nature of urban life.

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