The Melbourne Newsroom

Electricity providers and governments need to do more to change how people think if more people are to take up green electricity, according to a new study.

Her Excellency, the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce will officially launch the University of Melbourne’s new Graduate School of Business and Economics at 5.30pm today.

A group of University of Melbourne students will measure the carbon footprint of Melbourne’s iconic gardens as part of the first Melbourne Business Practicum. 

Leading labour market expert Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark has been appointed Director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and Ronald F Henderson Professor in the University of Melbourne.

When it comes to precious commodities, it could be copper, not gold or oil, that stands out in the future, according to Dr Les Coleman.  

"Copper is interesting. It has been mined for the better part of ten thousand years, so we know copper very, very well, but the price keeps on going up."

"Generally if you know something very well you should be able to produce a lot of it quite cheaply and we don't seem to be able to do that, so it may be (a commodity) to look out for."

According to Dr Coleman we may be seeing the approach of 'peak copper.'

A significant shift in the ETS debate will result from this week's Federal Opposition leadership spill, says University of Melbourne's Dr Les Coleman
 
 "The major issue to come out of Abbott 's  leadership is the fact that all bets are off now. Where there was consensus before about the ETS as being a good way forward, I think it will go right back to basics now and that there will be a complete reassesment of it."

Hostile work environments, cost cutting and job changes are the key causes of increased stress in aged care workers, a University of Melbourne study has found. 

Despite widespread economic recovery following last year’s Global Financial Crisis, Dr Les Coleman says we should be wary of rose-coloured glasses.

“Even the most optimistic forecasters aren’t expecting the economy to get back to full strength until the end of next year, and even these predictions are based on the variable assumptions of a resilient Aussie dollar, strong China and a continuation of strong commodity prices,” he says.

“The world is in a much better position economically than it was six months ago, but we are not out of the woods yet.”

Long-term infrastructure planning should be encouraged, despite budget deficits says Dr Les Coleman.

“Every time governments talk about going into deficit, people seem to get hysterical. But it’s the only way we can afford to build infrastructure that lasts and we need to recognise the major social, economic and environmental problems our infrastructure gaps are causing," he says.

Dr Angela Paladino from the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Economics and Commerce has been named as one of Australia’s top university teachers with the award of a national Teaching Excellence award from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.