What's new?
NGIA Office Christmas hours
Nursery & Garden Industry Australia will close for Christmas at 5pm on Wednesday December 23, 2009 and re-open at 9am on Monday January 4, 2010. On behalf of the President, the Board, the CEO and staff we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Nursery & Garden Industry 2010 National Conference - Registration opens December 15!
Registration for the 2010 Nursery & Garden Industry Conference to be held in Darwin opens on December 15.
The conference will be informative, lively and jam packed with ideas, supported by great speakers and set against the unique backdrop of the Top End.
New Horticulture Australia Limited Chair elected
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Three directors were elected to the Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) Board on November 19 at the company’s AGM held in Sydney.
Selwyn Snell was elected and Ken Boundy and Robert Seldon were re-elected to the Board.
Minister Burke endorses the benefits of the levy model
The Hon. Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, addressed the National Press Club on Wednesday, December 2 regarding R&D funding for Agriculture and Horticulture.
In summary:
• The Minister supports the levy model with matched funding
• There is a need for elimination of duplication
• Monies allocated to R&D or marketing must be spent in those areas
• Governance and transparency to levy payers is paramount.
Click here to read Minister Burke’s speech.
Industry Training Package Update
AgriFood Skills Australia (AFISC) have advised us that they are ‘working’ on our original requests (as forwarded to them in July 2008) for mandatory units in Nursery qualifications and for specialisations in all qualifications from Certificate III through to Diploma level.
Nursery Papers
In this month's Nursery Paper:
Plant Patents - An alternative for the Nursery Industry
There are a range of intellectual property laws associated with plants, trademarks and associated contracts. Recently, patent law has become more widely utilised providing an additional tool for the Nursery & Garden Industry to assist with the protection of intellectual property involved with the breeding, selection and selling of new plant varieties. In this Nursery Paper Robert Chin, Nursery Industry Development Officer for Victoria, will introduce you to the process of plant patents and how this may affect the way you protect your plants into the future.
December Clippings
In this month's Clippings:
2010 Nursery & Garden Industry State Awards
NGIA would like to congratulate all the individuals and businesses who entered the 2010 Awards. All State Winners will now advance to the National Finals. The National Winners will be announced in April at the Nursery & Garden Industry Australia Awards Gala Dinner, held in conjunction with the 2010 Conference in Darwin.
