ORSN INAUGURAL MEETING AT OIRS DECEMBER 2005

All concerned agree the meeting was a great success. We discussed a huge range of topics and found many of us were dealing with similar issues.

Stations Represented:

Anna Beinssen, Oliver Hentschel, Kylie Dodds, Rob Eddie from Orpheus Island RS (OIRS) - James Cook University.

Paul Hallam from Heron Island RS (HIRS) - Queensland University.

Pam Beinssen from One Tree Island RS (OTIRS) - Sydney University.

Kathy and Kevin Townsend from Moreton Bay RS (MBRS) - Queensland University.

Hugh Spencer and Monica Bianchi from Cape Tribulation Tropical RS (CTTRS) - Australian Tropical Research Foundation.

Informal Discussions The Friday sessions began with an introduction to OIRS and a tour of the facilities. Kari Arbouin, Director of OIRS, was invited to the informal Welcome Session on Friday as the host Director. Unfortunately she was unable to attend, but she sent her apology, along with her best wishes for a successful gathering On Friday and Saturday afternoons and Sunday morning we had wide ranging general discussions on many issues including:

• Staffing ratios
• All agreed staff:user ratios and time management was an ongoing issue at all our stations.

• OH&S Responsibilities
• Must be able to defend actions in court.
• A good idea to have a staff member trained as the onsite OH&S officer - 2 of the 5 attending stations had this already.
• Discussed the importance of incident reports and documenting.
• Test and tag portable appliances only, if area is RCD protected.
• Discussed importance of Inductions for ALL users.

• Blue cards
• All station staff should have these now
• Information can be found at the website www.bluecard.qld.gov.au

• Marketing
• Offering 'in kind' Scholarships
• The importance of accurate information in Brochures , Web pages etc
• Using local media to publicise what is happening on station

• Volunteers
• Concern voiced by all station managers that volunteers NOT be viewed as an alternative to good staffing ratios.
• Noted that volunteers often create more work and need to be supervised at all times, although not always directly.
• Volunteers require a proper induction.

• Power usage/waste management/sustainability
• Discussed many issues and products related to this topic.

• Remote first aid/RFDS/medical histories
• Duty of Care - may be more appropriate to have an agreement with a local GP to do telephone consultations for a fee; rather that rely on RFDS for non-acute cases.
• Medical Histories should be known to station staff, a confidential medical history section should be added to the booking form
• Should we charge a compulsory 'donation' to the RFDS for consultations and medications handed out from the RFDS kit?
• Discussed latest Irukandji treatments.

• Funding sources
• Always need to consult Directors before approaching any external funding source.
• Discussed various community groups and government initiatives that could be 'tapped in to'
• Discussed the potential for combined bulk purchasing power

• Booking
• All looked on in awe and adoration at MBRS Bookings Database
• Deposits 10% of estimated costs or minimum of $100.00 for external groups.
• Cancellation Fees
• 50% of beds booked but not used charged to group to prevent overbooking which often occurs

• Communications
• Discussed various Internet connection options
• Discussed setting up an ORSN website

• Register of Emergency/Relief Staff
• All agreed a register of qualified staff available to step in if required would be very useful

Formal Meeting On Sunday afternoon we met to formalise the structure of the organisation.

We began by registering a series of thankyou's:

• to Kari Arbouin, Director of OIRS, for so generously providing a venue, allowing use of station facilities and staff time and in being so supportive of this venture.
• to the Directors of MBRS, OTI, HIRS and CTTRS for enabling their managers to participate
• to Anna and Oliver for the on-site logistics
• and particularly to Kath Townsend for having the energy and commitment to get this network rolling.

• Name changed to Oceania Research Station Network to include regions surrounding Australia, including New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

• Members must be research stations substantially involved in research at Tertiary Level or above and will include independent organisations.

• To encourage the exchange of information and ideas amongst on-site research station management.
• To provide a level of mutual support for the enhancement of station operations
• To disseminate information on the facilities and activities of the member stations

• A steering committee was formed consisting of:

• Eugene Wallenski of Australian National University's, Kioloa Coastal Campus attended the 2005 OBFS meeting in the USA and forwarded the meeting report to be tabled and discussed.

• Blue Cards - necessary for any worksite where under 18 year olds present; website www.bluecard.qld.gov.au has the required information.

• Induction forms - MBRS, HIRS, OTIRS to email interested parties.

• Induction Powerpoint text - MBRS to email interested parties

• Volunteer forms HIRS, OTI to email to interested parties

• Station users chemical register - MBRS to email to interested parties

• Marine venom treatments
• RFDS re Irukandji treatment and recompense for services? - OTI to email interested parties
• Poisonous and Venomous creatures lecture - MBRS to email interested parties

• MBRS Booking program - sharing to be initiated

• Group purchasing power - initially investigate Yamaha - OIRS

• Register of emergency staff - OIRS

• Create ORSN website with links to established station web pages - CTTRS

• ORSN updates to be continued - MBRS - please send stuff to Kath

• A formal Thank You to be sent to all our directors - OIRS