A leading climate change researcher with Charles Sturt University (CSU) believes delaying the emissions trading scheme (ETS) will cost every Australian in the long run. Professor Kevin Parton, a lead researcher with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, said the Federal government’s decision to delay the introduction of the scheme until after 2012 to wait and see what the rest of the world will do on carbon emissions was no reason to delay. “The three biggest polluters are USA, China and Europe. China is developing green technologies, and Europe already has an ETS. They are going to be way ahead of Australia,” Professor Parton said. “The media has greatly exaggerated the cost of an ETS to the public, leading to falling public support for the scheme. And the government doesn’t want to take the scheme to its first election.” Professor Parton said under ‘business as usual’ without an ETS, Australia can expect to double its average level of income by 2050. “But with the ETS this income doubling would be delayed only one year.”

Mental health industry representatives and Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff in Orange will hear about Australia’s only mental health program for Indigenous people at a meeting being held this Thursday 11 March. The Djirruwang Program, run by CSU’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, is recognised  as a best practice model within CSU. The University's Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health), which is part of the program, aims to prepare graduates who have appropriate knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to work competently as mental health workers within their own communities and mainstream mental health services. The course is designed in collaboration with a community-based Aboriginal Mental Health Steering Committee and the Greater Southern Area Health Service. The members of the seminar panel include Head of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health Professor Elaine Duffy, Course Coordinator Mr Wayne Rigby, clinical coordinator of Aboriginal Mental Health, Mr Tyrone Toomey, and Program graduate Ms Sonia Butler.

Parents of NSW Central West senior high school students are encouraged to register for an opportunity to discuss life after Year 12 with staff and current students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Friday 26 February. “The Parent Information session will look at options after Year 12 such as a gap year, graduate outcomes, pathways into university and costs associated with university study,” CSU prospective student advisor Ms Fran Dwyer said. “Parents will find out about financial assistance such as scholarships, student support services, discuss regional universities versus metropolitan universities, and we will also offer an optional campus tour.” Running from 9.30am to 12noon on Friday 26 February, the session will take place at CSU in Orange. To register, call Ms Judy Walsh on (02) 6338 6010.

The newly-appointed Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, Professor Peter O’Meara, has returned from teaching a one week course for paramedics from several states centred around the  US state of Illinois. “They have a very different system in the US to ours in Australia,” Professor O’Meara explained. “The professional practice and management issues are similar, however they have 17 000 ambulance service providers compared to eight in Australia. Services range from very small to moderately sized organisations serving a city or regional community and there are no state-wide services. Many are run by the fire brigade, others by city councils, hospitals and private companies, some for profit and others not-for-profit. In Australia we are well advanced in the education and training of paramedics and ambulance service managers. However, we can learn from experiences in the US where they face challenges over a very large and diverse country. I see potentially great opportunities for the University to extend into the US paramedic education market in partnership with professional associations and other universities involved in paramedic education. I am also pursuing opportunities for CSU paramedic students to undertake clinical placements in the US.”

Senior high school students in Orange will get the chance to discover more about university life and potential career paths when Charles Sturt University (CSU) and others bring the Regional University Road Show to town on Friday 5 March. Orange Christian School will host one of the Road Show events, which career advisor Mrs Melissa Brown describes as a wonderful opportunity for her students, as well as students from other local high schools. “A large percentage of Orange school graduates complete their tertiary education at regional universities and this is a chance to hear from three different universities in the one session, which enables them to consider a number of options for future study,” Mrs Brown says. The sessions are informative and provide ample time for questions about both study options and the admissions process.

A recently published history of the former Orange Agricultural College, now Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange, will be launched at the University’s Conference Room at 10am on Friday 5 March. A History of Orange Agricultural College, written by historian Mr Philip Gissing, documents the events leading up to the College’s establishment in 1973, its struggles during the early years of operation, its ongoing battle to maintain its independence, and its steady rise to become Australia’s leading provider of rural management education by the 1990s. Between 1973 and 2000 Orange Agricultural College educated and influenced thousands of students, many of whom now play leading roles in agricultural industries and agribusinesses in Australia and overseas.“The College operated during a period of great change in Australia in both the tertiary education and agricultural sectors,” said Professor Kevin Parton, the Head of Campus at CSU in Orange. “As a consequence, it was constantly battling to maintain its identity and independence, while delivering innovative programs relevant to the primary industries it served.”

The earthquake and tsunami that hit Chile on Sunday 28 February are reminders of the harshness of nature and the need for governments, emergency services and relief agencies to plan for natural disasters, says an expert in disaster management from Charles Sturt University (CSU). Mr Ian Manock, lecturer in emergency management at CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing, said that with a burgeoning world population and in spite of increasing technology, research shows that the incidence of damage to facilities and harm to people from the impact of natural and technological hazards is increasing exponentially. He said the disaster will no doubt have emergency service agencies in Chile pushed beyond their limits and the international community will be called on to assist.

New figures released by Charles Sturt University (CSU) show significant savings for the environment in the management of its vehicle fleet. The data prepared by CSU’s Division of Finance reveals that although the distance travelled by CSU vehicles on official business rose last year by eight per cent, from 6.3 million kilometres in 2008 to 6.8 million, the amount of fuel consumed dropped from 664 000 litres in 2008 to 580 000 in 2009, a decline of 84 000 litres or over 12 per cent. “The carbon emissions saved through the greater efficiency of the University’s vehicle fleet is about 380 tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of taking 88 cars off the road for 2009,” said CSU Green Manager, Mr William Adlong. CSU vehicles are used to support staff on official University business including travelling between campuses in five major NSW regional centres as well as in Canberra, Goulburn and Sydney. “We hope to improve these figures with staff encouraged to consider using practical alternatives to travelling between campuses, such as video-conferencing, or sharing vehicles.” Over 60 per cent of CSU’s transport fleet are lower emission vehicles, such as four cylinder petrol, gas, diesel or hybrid.

A new initiative for selecting students for the pharmacy program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has led to the arrival in Orange and Wagga Wagga of new students this week. Thirty-eight new students were chosen through the new application process for entry into the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree at CSU in Orange with a further 75 students at CSU in Wagga Wagga. In addition to lodging an application with the University Admissions Centre (UAC), prospective students had to complete a written application form sent directly to CSU. On the basis of this application, interviews were conducted in Orange and Wagga Wagga last December. About 160 applicants were asked questions by interview panels of CSU academics, members of the community and pharmacists from across the NSW Riverina and Central West regions. “Charles Sturt University believes the new approach to selecting students for our pharmacy program in 2010 beyond the traditional academic results offers greater opportunities to find students and ultimately graduates who are genuinely committed to pharmacy in regional and rural Australia,” said Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, Associate Professor Lyndall Angel.