Breakthrough in Vic teachers pay dispute

THERE has been a major breakthrough in the long-running Victorian teachers' pay battle, with the government backing down on performance pay.

The union says it is a sign the new Premier Denis Napthine is prepared to listen to teachers' concerns but the parties are yet to agree on salaries, contract teaching and several other issues.

Government and Australian Education Union (AEU) negotiators are due to meet again on Wednesday afternoon.

Dr Napthine said the government remained committed to performance pay but was willing to cut that aspect out of enterprise bargaining negotiations with the union in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute.

"We seek to deal with the issue of performance pay outside the EBA process," he told parliament on Tuesday.

"I call upon the teachers' union to accept this act of good faith."

AEU Victoria president Meredith Peace said the union would never accept performance pay because it did not lead to better student outcomes.

She said the government's move was a positive, small step but the union wasn't celebrating yet.

"It shows that the new premier is prepared to listen to our profession," Ms Peace said.

"This is a small step in the right direction but there is still much work to be done."

Ms Peace said the outstanding issues included salaries, workloads, class sizes and the high level of contract employment.

The union revised down its pay claim last November to a 12.6 per cent increase over three years, while the government's wages policy was 2.5 per cent plus extra for productivity gains.

"We actually now need to see what they are prepared to offer," Ms Peace said.

Former premier Ted Baillieu promised, before the coalition won government, to make Victoria's teachers the best paid in Australia.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Dr Napthine should become personally involved in negotiations rather than grand stand in parliament.

"Instead of these faux concessions, the mock drama on the floor of the parliament, Mr Napthine should get in a room and get a deal done," he said.

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Australia in flu vaccine breakthrough

A researcher checks flu samples in Budapest, Hungary. A flu epidemic has been declared throughout Hungary while more than fifty thousand patient got the virus, causing at least ten deaths. Source: AP

AUSTRALIAN scientists have helped design a new drug that could be effective against resistant strains of the flu virus.

The drug has worked in laboratory models so far, according to research published today in the journal Science.

Researchers say it will be seven years before it is available to the public.

The breakthrough is the result of a global collaboration between scientists from the CSIRO, the University of British Columbia and the University of Bath.

It is hoped the drug will be effective against future strains of the flu virus. 

According to the World Health Organisation, the flu kills about 500,000 people a year, with up to 2500 deaths occurring in Australia.

The scientists hope the new drug will be effective as a first line of defence during any future epidemic or pandemic.

This season's flu shot did almost no good at protecting people over 65 from the worst and most dominant flu strain spreading around the world, according to a United States government study.

CSIRO scientist Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin, a member of the team that developed Relenza, the original flu drug, says understanding exactly how flu viruses become resistant to drugs has helped in the design of a better flu drug.

CSIRO researchers have shown viruses continually mutate and some have become resistant to available treatments, Dr McKimm-Breschkin said.

Professor Steve Withers, the leader of the research team for the past seven years, said that although further studies were required to determine efficacy against a broader range of flu strains, the findings were "extremely positive".

Despite recent improvements in vaccine production, when a new strain of flu emerges it can take several months before vaccines are available to the public, said Prof Withers of the University of British Columbia.

View the original article here

Australia in flu drug breakthrough

A researcher checks flu samples in Budapest, Hungary. A flu epidemic has been declared throughout Hungary while more than fifty thousand patient got the virus, causing at least ten deaths. Source: AP

AUSTRALIAN scientists have helped design a new drug that could be effective against resistant strains of the flu virus.

The drug has worked in laboratory models so far, according to research published today in the journal Science.

Researchers say it will be seven years before it is available to the public.

The breakthrough is the result of a global collaboration between scientists from the CSIRO, the University of British Columbia and the University of Bath.

It is hoped the drug will be effective against future strains of the flu virus. 

According to the World Health Organisation, the flu kills about 500,000 people a year, with up to 2500 deaths occurring in Australia.

The scientists hope the new drug will be effective as a first line of defence during any future epidemic or pandemic.

CSIRO scientist Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin, a member of the team that developed Relenza, the original flu drug, says understanding exactly how flu viruses become resistant to drugs has helped in the design of a better flu drug.

CSIRO researchers have shown viruses continually mutate and some have become resistant to available treatments, Dr McKimm-Breschkin said.

This season's flu shot did almost no good at protecting people over 65 from the worst and most dominant flu strain spreading around the world, according to a United States government study.

Professor Steve Withers, the leader of the research team for the past seven years, said that although further studies were required to determine efficacy against a broader range of flu strains, the findings were "extremely positive".

Despite recent improvements in vaccine production, when a new strain of flu emerges it can take several months before vaccines are available to the public, said Prof Withers of the University of British Columbia.

View the original article here