AFTER TWO years in operation, a law to improve transparency and accountability around political donations will be reviewed by the Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee.

Committee Chair Senator James McGrath said the review of the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Act 2018 is an opportunity for the Parliament to ensure that the law is working as it should.

"The Committee will also take the opportunity to check in on how the Act’s objectives can continue to be achieved in the most effective way while minimising red tape," Senator McGrath said.

"We are also interested in the impacts of amendments to the original bill that are relevant to charitable issue-based advocacy."

Senator McGrath noted that the Committee would examine the operation of the amendments, dealing with foreign donations; and the clarity of public guidance products issued by regulators.

The Committee is inviting written submissions addressing any or all of the terms of reference. Information on how to make a submission may be found at this link. Submissions are requested by January 29, 2021.

ends

THE House Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources has commenced an inquiry into Developing Australia’s Space Industry.

The Chair of the Committee, Barnaby Joyce MP, said, "Australia’s space industry is growing rapidly. The Australian Space Agency has a goal to triple the size of the sector to $12 billion and create an additional 20,000 jobs over the next decade. This inquiry will examine ways to achieve this."

Space is an industry that inspires, fascinates and excites people. Generally, rockets and astronauts come to mind when we think about the space industry, but its technology and equipment are very much a part of our day-to-day lives, for example weather forecasting and GPS technology.

There are enormous opportunities for individuals, organisations, and communities to take advantage of this growing sector, particularly in rural and regional areas, Mr Joyce said.

The Committee’s inquiry will examine the breadth of opportunities presented by Australia’s space industry and what is required to strengthen support of our domestic and international space related activities. This includes the development of space technology and equipment, commercialisation of research and development, future workforce requirements, and international collaboration.

The Committee wants to hear from interested people, organisations and agencies working in space related fields.  Submissions to the inquiry should be received by January 29, 2021. 

The terms of reference for the inquiry can be found on the Committee’s website.

ends

THE release of a parliamentary report into the Working Holiday Maker visa is a whitewash of a failed program, and paves the way for continued coercive labour practices and exploitation in agriculture, Unions NSW said.

Workers and their unions have repeatedly blown the whistle on the deep problems with the scheme, which funnels tens of thousands of backpackers into farm work in return for an extension of their visa. There have been widespread reports of abuse, sexual harassment and exploitation under the scheme, with workers reporting being paid as little a $2.50 per hour.  

“The joint committee on migration has missed an opportunity to stamp out exploitation with the release of such a weak report,” said Mark Morey, Secretary of Unions NSW.

“The key problem at the heart of this program is that all power rests with the employer to sign off on whether the backpacker has performed the necessary hours to have their visa extended. This creates an utterly lopsided arrangement, leaving backpackers ripe for exploitation.

“This committee report has done nothing more than tinker at the edges. The truth is that this visa should be abolished. If the agriculture sector can’t afford to pay Australian wages it needs to completely rethink the economics of the sector. No industry has the right to subsidise itself through cheap, exploited labour.

“It is unconscionable to erect and maintain a secondary labour market, where the origin of your passport determines whether you can enforce your labour rights," Mr Morey said.

“Both the Government and industry know what the problems are. Another round of navel gazing through inquiries and sub committees won’t resolve the problem. This is the same Government that failed to provide any meaningful support for temporary migrants by excluding them from JobKeeper or JobSeeker during the worst economic crisis in a generation.”

ends

THE OWNERS of more than a million super accounts holding more than $30 billion in assets may never be told their fund is a dud unless a crucial government performance test includes all fees and charges, according to Industry Super Australia (ISA).

The government’s Your Future, Your Super exposure draft legislation suggests it will stick with the inferior net-investment return benchmark - which excludes administration fees and other non-investment charges, according to ISA chief executive Bernie Dean.

"This distorts outcomes because it does not measure what a fund deposits into a member's account and allows dud products to hide their lousy performance. Benchmarks must be based on net returns – investment returns minus all fee and charges,"  

There is also no plan to roll out benchmarks to most of the trouble-plagued ‘Choice’ sector – despite a government review finding that sector had the biggest fee gougers and worst performing products, according to ISA.

“Dud super funds continue to drain the savings of too many Australian workers, they must lift their game or face closure, no matter where they are,” Mr Dean said.

“Rigorous, universally applied benchmarks that measure outcomes from a member’s perspective are the only way we’ll avoid millions of workers being stuck in a dud fund for life.

“Addressing this should be beyond politics or ideology While some seem intent on using these reforms to pursue ideological objectives at the expense of member outcomes - our focus is firmly on ensuring they are in members' best interests, just like with everything we do," Mr Dean said. 

 “We’d be concerned if the government was returning to the old battle lines, because we know that will lead to poor financial outcomes for members.”

ISA analysis of APRA's publicly available five-year MySuper returns shows that $145 billion in assets would not meet the more rigorous net-return benchmark - compared with $108 billion using the government's model.

The Productivity Commission, ASIC, APRA, the Cooper Review, analyst firm SuperRatings, AIST and even Superannuation Minister Jane Hume have all said net returns after fees and taxes is the most relevant fund performance measurement for members. It must be the test.

Products are considered underperforming if they drop below 50 basis points of the benchmark.

Members are told that their fund has underperformed when they first miss the benchmarks, consecutive underperformance results in funds being barred from accepting new members. This does little to stop existing members from being fleeced, so the ultimate punishment for chronic underperformance should be removal from the system.

There is also no plan for the benchmarking regime to be applied to more than 80 percent of the near $1 trillion Choice sector – despite this sector being littered with dud products.

The difference between being in a good fund and a bad one can mean more than $500,000 less at retirement, these reforms must be strengthened so that fewer workers are in underperforming funds.

Before the government proceeds with its plan to “staple” workers to their first fund it must remove the duds from the system – benchmarks must be robust and applied to the entire system equally.  

Industry Super Australia supports the government's Your Future, Your Super package and its crucial performance benchmark tool, but is concerned unless important improvements are made, members could end up worse off.

ISA supports sensible changes in members' best interest including:

Ø  Net-return as a performance benchmark rather than net-investment return

Ø  Forced closures of chronically underperforming funds

Ø  Expanded coverage to ensure all funds and products – including the Choice sector – must also pass the benchmark tests, with no carve outs

Ø  Sequencing of reforms to ensure performance measures are implemented before stapling

ISA welcome all universally applied laws that would mandate spending by super funds should be solely for the financial benefit of members – not the parent company’s shareholders.

Advertising is a cost-effective way to attract and retain members passing on benefits of scale. It is also a useful financial literacy tool to help explain to members the impact on their savings of potential policy changes.

All ISA’s activities are in the best financial interests of members – this is a statement Banking Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne agreed with, according to Mr Dean.

Media reports have suggested the proposed changes to the sole purpose test are deliberately designed to disadvantage industry funds. ISA will carefully examine if the effect or intent of the legislation is to damage industry funds competitive position in the marketplace.

ends