Our State - South Australia DPC Communications

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games presents an opportunity for the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) to conduct expanded testing sessions to discover potential world class athletes who could compete at these Games.

Typically, an athlete who represents Australia at an Olympic/Paralympic level will have spent between 7-10 years in a sport development pathway before emerging as a senior international athlete.

Given the Brisbane 2032 Olympics/ Paralympics are less than 10 years away, the process of identifying and developing talented athletes is crucial in ensuring that South Australia is able to produce medal winning athletes for the 2032 Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Two Talent Search sessions will be held in the April school holidays with the first taking place today (15 April) and the second happening on Monday 22 April.

 The tests conducted range from generic fitness testing, to sport specific tests across sports that SASI works with - athletes could discover that they excel in a sport they have never tried before!

If athletes continue to develop and succeed in each talent development stage, they will eventually receive a SASI scholarship which gives them access to all of SASI’s high-performance services including movement science, athlete wellbeing, nutrition and strength and conditioning.
 In this segment, we hear from Simon Cain, who has more than 15 years’ experience managing high performance elite teams and programs. He has been with SASI for the past eight years and is the Manager for Sports and Programs. Max Liebeknecht is a sprint cyclist within the SASI cycling program. His potential to achieve cycling success was picked up through the SASI Talent Search Program. 

The EPA has released the State of the Environment Report for 2023, making a number of recommendations to help safeguard South Australia’s environment, with a strong focus on climate change and biodiversity losses.

This year, for the first time, the report has also incorporated the views of Aboriginal peoples as the traditional custodians in protecting and restoring Country, including an expert report and recommendations on how Aboriginal peoples’ cultural perspectives can be more effectively incorporated in approaches to environmental protection.

The State of the Environment Report 2023 provides information on key aspects of the environment, including: Climate, Air, Land, Water, River Murray, Sea and Liveability.

The report provides recommendations to State Government to address the most significant environmental issues, and provides data and analysis to assist government, industry, and the community to take action to improve environmental outcomes.

In this segment, we hear from Keith Baldry, Director of Science and Systems at the South Australian Environment Protection Authority, an independent government environment protection and radiation regulator. Dr Matthew Ward, Director of Science and Information at the Department for Environment and Water.

Pavely is a South Australian smartphone app that’s helping to foster more inclusive communities. 

Pavely acts as a directory of accessible venues and facilities across South Australia, so people can rate and review their experiences. 

It lets people search for venues and services based on accessibility ratings and inclusive features like a venue’s entrance, amenities, parking and options for assistance, and vision and sensory needs.

Pavely is about making it quick and easy for people with disability or accessibility needs (or those close to them) to find new places to go, or things to see and do.

Its incredible value is in its community-driven nature. Given people with disability or accessibility needs – or their carers, family and friends – are themselves pinning locations and sharing their knowledge and experiences, others using the app can rest assured that these spots are highly rated.

In this segment, we hear from Reece Turtur, Manager, Strategy within the Department of Human Services’ Strategic Policy and Reform unit. Evan Johnson,  a 3rd year member of the South Australian Government’s Disability Engagement Group and currently an allied health assistant working in the neurodiverse affirming space with Autistic individuals and ADHDers.
 

Winners of the 2023 Governor’s Multicultural Awards were announced at a ceremony at Government House on Thursday, 29 February 2024.

The awards were presented by Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia, on the advice of an independent judging panel. The judging panel includes Supreme Court judges, people in media, a university professional, and senior officials from multicultural community associations.

These important awards recognise and celebrate outstanding South Australians who promote multiculturalism and increase the understanding of the benefits of cultural diversity in our community.

South Australians nominate an individual, team or organisation that is passionate about making a positive contribution to multiculturalism and intercultural understanding and promoting our culturally diverse state.

The nine award categories are: Outstanding Individual Achievement; Arts and Culture; Community Sector; Media; Private Sector; Public Sector; Senior Volunteer; Volunteer; and Youth.

The awards program is administered by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet through Multicultural Affairs.

In this segment, we hear from Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia and Nader Ibrahim, a proud Egyptian immigrant who moved to Australia in 2009 and a  joint winner of the Community Sector Award at the 2023 Governor’s Multicultural Awards.

Abalone viral ganglioneuritis (AVG) has been confirmed in wild abalone in waters south of Port Macdonnell, the first time the disease has been found in South Australia. Restrictions are now in place in the area.

On 21 February 2024, a commercial abalone fisher reported dead and dying abalone at Breaksea Reef off Port Macdonnell, and submitted samples to the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) for testing. PCR tests have confirmed AVG in the samples.

PIRSA has activated a response team and measures to contain the spread of disease have been put in place, and commercial and recreational industries have been notified, with a control area being declared in the Port Macdonnell area within the state's Southern Abalone Zone.

This control area has been put in place to stop the possible spread of the disease to abalone in other areas currently not affected. These measures will remain in place until surveillance activities inform next steps including a review of these restrictions.

In this segment, we hear from Dr Elise Spark, Chief Veterinary Officer of South Australia. She has worked with the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) for more than 10 years, and has experience with both terrestrial agriculture and aquaculture as well as policy and governance. Professor Peter Appleford, PIRSA’s Executive Director, Major Programs and Regions, and is currently PIRSA’s Incident Controller of the AVG response. He manages the outbreak response and has also managed the AVG response in Victoria for four years in a previous role.

Opening on 29 February, the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum, curated by José Da Silva, assembles 24 leading artists and poets for an exhibition that can be seen, heard, and felt at the Art Gallery of South Australia until 2 June.

As part of the 2024 Adelaide Festival, Inner Sanctum on Kaurna Yerta unfolds across free exhibitions of new and recent works, live performances, music and public programs, all highlighting our engagement with the world and each other.

Curator José Da Silva says, ‘The idea of an ‘inner sanctum’ evokes the private, protected, or sacred spaces we create in our homes and communities as a refuge and sanctuary, as well as the faculty of imagination, which allows us to see culture and society differently. Within the exhibition, this takes place in homes and gardens and on walking tracks, and in memories and stories of family and ancestors. It is also seen in locations of special knowledge, sacred activities, cultural environments, and, importantly, in the working spaces of artists and the art museum itself.’

In this segment, we hear from Adelaide Biennial Curator, Jose Da Silva who has over twenty years of curatorial experience in Australian art museums, George Cooley, a First Nations Artist and old time Opal miner and community leader from Coober Pedy and  Jess Loughlin, one of Australia’s most internationally acclaimed glass artists.