FRIDAY 18 MAY, 2012

Holden has announced a new export program, confirming today that Commodore will return to North America in late 2013 as the new Chevrolet SS performance sedan.

The limited production derivative of the yet to be launched VF Commodore will arrive in North American showrooms late next year. It will be the first time in 17 years that Chevrolet will offer a rear-wheel-drive sedan for sale in the US.

The SS will also become Chevrolet's next NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar debuting next year in its race configuration at the world renowned Daytona 500.

The Minister for Industry and Innovation Greg Combet said Holden had again demonstrated to the world the quality of Australian technological innovation, and the design and engineering skills of our manufacturing workforce.

Audio grabs available:

GREG TYUS - Holden Executive Director Engineering

RICHARD PHILLIPS - Holden Executive Director Manufacturing

THURSDAY 10 MAY, 2012

• 13,000 tonnes of red papaya and yellow papaw produced in Australia every year

The 2012 red papaya and yellow papaw industry are expecting their largest and best crop in the country to date. The bumper harvest follows a year of severe weather and reduced amounts of fruit.

Australia produces around 13,000 tonnes of red papaya and yellow papaw every year with more than 99 per cent sold locally. To encourage Aussie families to rethink the sweet tropical fruit, former MasterChef contestant Alvin Quah has aligned with the nations’ growers to urge Australians to try both red papaya and yellow papaw at home.

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ALVIN QUAH - MasterChef contestant

WEDNESDAY 9 MAY, 2012

Australia’s No 1 property site realestate.com.au has released details of Australia’s top ten sellers’ markets for the month of February.

With more visits and property listings than any other Australian real estate portal, realestate.com.au can reveal the state’s best sellers’ market in Australia is the inner Adelaide suburb of Parkside.

Victoria has become Australia’s Red Hot State with half of the ten most popular suburbs in the nation located within the inner and leafy eastern and south eastern suburbs of Melbourne.”

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JO WHYTE - General Manager - Brand, Communication and Insights at realestate.com.au

Story contact: Steve Stammers - Weber Shandwick - 0424 690 504

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12:00 MONDAY 7 MAY, 2012

• GM Holden records net profit of $89.7 million in 2011
• Holden vehicle production up 36.8 per cent
• Holden vehicle exports up 54.3 per cent

GM Holden recorded a net profit of $89.7 million in 2011 continuing the positive financial results from 2010 and establishing a solid foundation for the future.

Holden’s consolidated revenue was down slightly from $4.4 billion in 2010 to $4.3 billion in 2011 due to a softening of the large car market and shortages of some imported vehicles in the important light commercial and medium SUV segments.

The results also show Holden continues to make a strategic contribution to advanced manufacturing, design and engineering in Australia, spending $231 million on R&D in 2011, up from $179 million in 2010. This takes Holden’s total R&D investment to more than $1.3 billion over the last five years.

Holden Chief Financial Officer George Kapitelli said Holden’s second consecutive year of profit was driven by the success of the Australian-built Cruze small car and a leaner cost structure.

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GEORGE KAPITELLI - Holden Chief Financial Officer

EMBARGOED: 04:00 MONDAY 7 MAY, 2012

• 27% of female small business owners left their corporate role to start own business
• 51% of women who started their own business took pay cut

Australian women are leaving the corporate work place to start small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with almost two thirds doing so because they yearn for a level of independence and flexibility they are unable to find in the corporate world.

The Westpac Women in Business Survey has found that while over 50 per cent of women who started SMEs took a pay-cut, 62 per cent of them felt it was worth it. Almost four out of five (77%) women would start their own business again if given the opportunity.

“The fact that over half of women take a pay-cut to start a business and are happy with this decision doesn’t surprise me," said Larke Riemer, Director of Women’s Markets at Westpac.

“For women, money is not the end- game. It certainly helps and we know that women want their businesses to succeed,  but  the  value  of  independence  to  do  something  they  love,  with flexibility around hours and work locations cannot be understated."

Audio grabs available:

LARKE RIEMER - Director of Westpac Women’s Markets

*state specific grabs available for SA, VIC and WA

FRIDAY 4 MAY, 2012

• Australian merino flocks estimated to grow at 5 per cent per year

The wool industry today makes further moves towards recovery with the announcement of the 2012/2013 International Woolmark Prize.

The award aims to highlight the beauty of Australian merino wool fibre and encourage global designers to use more Australian wool in their collections. The Australian wool industry has a rich history of supporting emerging designers with its global wool competitions launching the career of some of the biggest names in fashion, including Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Largerfeld.

In 2008, Australian Wool Innovation made the decision to buy the rights to the Woolmark seeing the opportunity and the value which still remained in the brand. The decision to use the Woolmark as the brand banner to educate the international supply chain and consumers about the benefits of Australian wool has been was one of the decisive factors in the fight for the Australian wool industry.

A survey conducted in 2006 found that the Woolmark still ranked among the most valuable brands in the world. A remarkable 95% of global respondents still recognised the Woolmark logo despite the brand not actively being marketed to consumers for over two decades.

Australian merino flocks are estimated to grow at a rate of 5 per cent per year as wool growers rebuild their stock to take advantage of the highest wool prices in living memory.

Audio grabs available:

STUART MCCULLOUGH - CEO, Australian Wool Innovation

THURSDAY 3 MAY, 2012

Australia’s No 1 property site realestate.com.au has released details of Tasmania’s top ten sellers’ markets for the month of February.

With more visits and property listings than any other Australian real estate portal, realestate.com.au can reveal the state’s best sellers’ markets are once again the inner city suburbs around Hobart and the suburb of Taroona, with the hilltop locale of Mount Stuart joining the top ten list for the first time.

Audio grab available: 

SAM TOWNS - of Petrusma Property in Hobart

THURSDAY 26 APRIL, 2012

A new treatment option is now available for approximately 500,000 Australians living with the most common heart rhythm condition, atrial fibrillation (AF) – a condition that at its worst can cause stroke – as well as deep vein thrombosis (DVT),  a condition  affecting thousands of Australians every year.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval  of Xarelto (rivaroxaban), for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (SPAF) and DVT, makes it one of the first in a line-up of new blood thinning agents to become available in Australia in approximately 50 years.

Audio grabs available:

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN AMERENA - stroke prevention specialist (VIC)

DR DAVID CROSS - stroke prevention specialist (QLD)

DR MARK PARSONS - stroke prevention specialist (NSW)

DR HUYEN TRAN - DVT specialist (VIC)

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DAVID COLQUHOUN - DVT specialist (QLD)

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CHRIS WARD - DVT specialist (NSW)

MONDAY 23 APRIL, 2012

National Treasure, Dame Edna Everage and her adoring manager, Barry Humphries are getting serious about their health and have pledged to shed 15 kilos each with Jenny Craig.

With the megastar and her manager about to embark on their farewell tour, Edna states the dramatic change is necessary in the interests of their health and, as role models, the health of their public.

Exclusive audio grabs available:

DAME EDNA EVERAGE

story contact: Drew Lambert - AC Agency - 0425 200 606

EMBARGOED: 00:01 SUNDAY 22 APRIL, 2012 

• Two-thirds (66%) of working women who suffer digestive distress battle it on a weekly basis 

As Aussie women climb the career ladder in the pursuit of professional ‘glory’ – findings released today show for the first time they may not in fact have ‘the guts’ to do it. New research reveals digestive issues are becoming a new physical barrier to work success for Australian women – adding to the so called ‘glass ceiling’.

Other findings include:

• Of those who admit it has an impact on their life, 47% say their professional performance has suffered because of it - but the majority (92%) are downplaying its real impact.
• Women in senior management are most at risk with nearly two-thirds (63%) taking five or more days sick leave per year (over half their annual entitlement), versus just 37% of women in general staff roles.
• And it’s not just ‘getting the job done’ that’s affected. Working women are also copping wilting wages, with nearly one-third (31%) losing pay due to digestive distress.

President of The Gut Foundation, Gastroenterologist Professor Terry Bolin, says digestive issues are a very real, valid problem for women that shouldn’t be dismissed.

Audio grabs available:

DR JOANNA MCMILLAN - accredited practising dietitian

PROFESSOR TERRY BOLIN - gastroenterologist and President of The Gut Foundation

WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH, 2012

Australians will be among the first worldwide to join Oscar-winning Hollywood director and explorer James Cameron on his historic journey to discover what lies at the ocean’s deepest point eleven kilometres below the surface in the Mariana Trench.

Telstra’s technology will connect the world to images of James Cameron’s DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition, a joint scientific project by Cameron, the National Geographic Society and Rolex to conduct deep-ocean research and exploration, in a submersible built in Australia.

James Cameron said, "It's critical to have a really good telecommunications partner on this type of expedition. We want this to be something the public can embrace as it happens, so we went to Telstra for a solution to get images out to the world. Telstra solved the problem for us."

Telstra’s technology will also create a ‘global classroom’ simultaneously linking students from schools in Perth, Australia and Malibu, California via a live three-way connection directly to the boat so they can share first-hand in the excitement of scientific discovery.

The global expedition has a strong Australian connection. The submersible was built in Leichhardt, Sydney, has Aussie crew members on board including the ship’s doctor, and test dives were conducted in Jervis Bay on the New South Wales South Coast. The expedition also embarked from Sydney Harbour.

Exclusive audio grabs available:

JAMES CAMERON - Oscar-winning Hollywood director and explorer