THE Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee will hold a public hearing as part of its inquiry on the future conduct of elections operating during times of emergency situations.

As part of the inquiry, the Committee will examine the short and long term impacts of unexpected, rapidly developing external events that could substantially interrupt normal voting, election administration or campaigning, including contingency plans for an increased demand in alternative voting options.

Public hearing details:

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Time: 9am to 4.50pm AEDT
Location: Committee Room 2R1 and via teleconference

Information on the inquiry, including the terms of reference, may be found on the inquiry webpage.

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WORKING from home during COVID-19 brought meaningful flexible work to the NSW public sector and allowed women to balance their jobs and lives, according to the Public Service Association’s first ever What Women Want survey. 

The union surveyed more than 5000 of its female members during the first-half of 2020. It found despite the public service policy of “if not, why not” towards flexible work, prior to COVID-19 one in 10 requests had been rejected, and there was often a cultural bias against working from home and other flexible arrangements. 

"COVID-19 has done away with many old fashioned ideas about office-based productivity," PSA general secretary Stewart Little said.

"It's clear the women of NSW's public service want to see this flexibility continue. What concerns us is that the experience of public sector women isn’t reflecting the policies in place. Women were telling us up until COVID-19 securing consistent work from home and other flexible options were often rejected, or looked upon with suspicion.

"Meaningful flexible work for women isn't about taking Zoom meetings at home. It is about making work fit with the reality of women's lives - such as offering more job sharing and part-time roles.” 

For prison officer Nicole Jess, working rostered hours doesn't offer much in the way of flexible work, but if women could job share more easily it would make it easier for them to return from maternity leave, or work part-time.

"Prisons are long term, secure work - but we need to make the availability of work there more flexible,” Ms Jess said. “If women could job share or more easily go part-time that would be a huge plus.

"We also need to see more women promoted into managerial roles, so that we can have more diversity in who is leading our prisons and managing officers."

The significant gender pay gap within the NSW government also remains an ongoing concern to the union. The current pay gap is 2.2 percent or $2002 on a median salary, but this may disguise a trend, with fewer women in senior positions.

“Women were telling us the wage gaps persists because men are appointed to the high-paid positions,” Mr Little said. “But there are also systemic problems, were female-dominated sectors are underpaid."

The union has had significant success in addressing the systemic gender pay gap in NSW’s schools, winning a 19 percent  pay rise in its ground breaking pay equity for school support officers in 2019.

Survey can be found here. 

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A NEW parliamentary inquiry will look into the merits of expanding the membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.

Chair of the Trade Sub-Committee of the Joint Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, Ted O’Brien, said now is the time to look at the opportunity for freer trade between Australia and potential new members.

"More trade equals more jobs and that’s precisely what we need right now," Mr O’Brien said.

"The question is, who should we be trading more with and is the TPP the right vehicle to make it happen?" Mr O’Brien said.

"We will examine the case for expanding the TPP to include new members that can commit to the existing Agreement, including on issues such as standards and market access," Mr O’Brien said.

"We want to examine whether the TPP can be a vehicle to realise freer trade opportunities for Australian exporters as we seek to not only increase trade, but also diversify our trading relationships."

Signed in Chile in 2018, the agreement more formally known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a trade bloc of 11 countries that includes Australia, is an export market of 500 million consumers worth nearly $14 trillion.

The agreement is now in force for most member states such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam, with Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia and Peru set to join after they complete their respective ratification processes. Importantly for Australia, this Agreement delivered its first ever trade deal with Canada and Mexico – both top 20 economies in the world.

"As an example of one sector benefitting from the CPTPP, near $500 million or 16 percent of Australia’s wine exports in 2019 went to CPTPP countries and winemakers are now benefitting from elimination of all Canada's tariffs on wine," Mr O’Brien said.

Submissions from any person, businesses or organisations with an interest in the issues raised by these terms of reference are welcome. Submissions addressing all or some of the terms of reference should be lodged by February 18, 2021.

Further details about the about the inquiry, including terms of reference, details on how to contribute a submission and, when available, details of public hearings and roundtable discussions, can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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THE Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and the Master Builders Association (MBA) are uniting to develop proposals that will help strengthen homes and communities against natural disasters. 

The industry groups have heeded key findings from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and will host a series of roundtable discussions to create a pathway towards national policies that improve property resilience, building standards and land-use planning. 

The Building Stronger Homes Roundtable will enable builders and insurers to work together, harnessing industry insights from both insurance data and builders experience, to help map actions that can improve the resilience and insurability of existing and future Australian homes.  

The final report of the Royal Commission recognised the importance of mitigation and resilience, better building standards and land-use planning in protecting properties and communities from natural disasters. 

It recommended the establishment of a national body to champion making Australia more resilient to natural disasters, focusing on reducing long-term disaster risk and harmonising approaches. It also recommended mandatory consideration of natural disaster risk in land-use planning decisions and stronger building standards. 

ICA CEO Andrew Hall said, “Australians’ homes are their greatest financial asset. The Royal Commission has identified clear priorities that can reduce the risks to homes. Whatever efforts we can take to reduce vulnerability and reduce the risk of loss must be a priority for industry and Australian governments.” 

MBA CEO Denita Wawn said, “The building and insurance sectors are committed to exploring practical and effective ways to deliver better building quality outcomes that enable industry to deliver more resilient buildings and give consumers confidence. 

“This includes keeping premiums at a sustainable and affordable level for consumers and the building and construction supply chain.” 

The first roundtable will be convened in Canberra on Thursday, November 26, attended by senior industry and government leaders. Experts in science, banking and finance, behavioural and market economics will also be invited to participate in the roundtables. 

The joint mitigation and resilience roundtables will identify key national priorities for ensuring Australian homes (including apartments and social housing) are resilient, secure and insurable in the long term. They will focus on: 

• The built environment and codes;  
• The importance and structure of land-use planning; 
• Current and potential mitigation and hazard reduction investment priorities; 
• The importance of information systems, data, and coordination.

A final report from the roundtables will be presented at the conclusion by mid-2021.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

www.insurancecouncil.com.au

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