AN $18.72 million project to consolidate the CSIRO’s four Perth locations will be scrutinised in a new inquiry from the Parliament’s Public Works Committee.

The Committee aims to conduct a public and in-camera hearing for the inquiry into the Perth Precinct Project (P3) in January of 2021.

The Committee wants to hear from all individuals or organisations interested in the project. Submissions for the project will be accepted until Wednesday January 13, 2021. Submission acceptance has been extended to take into account the Christmas/New Year period. 

Note that the  the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is not involved in the tendering process, awarding of contracts or details of the proposed works. Inquiries on these matters should be addressed to the relevant Commonwealth entities.

For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website.

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FOLLOWING its visit to Juukan Gorge, the inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge will meet with superannuation fund HESTA and resources giant Fortescue—two stakeholders who highlight the importance of responsible engagement between the corporate sector and Traditional Owners.

Northern Australia Committee Chair Warren Entsch said corporate Australia could no longer ignore the link between its social licence to operate and responsible engagement with Indigenous Australia.

"Rio Tinto has paid a high price in reputation for its failure at Juukan Gorge," Mr Entsch said. "Other resource companies need to take note: governments, investors and the community will no longer tolerate such tragedies."

In its submission, superannuation fund HESTA emphasised the link between corporate responsibility and investment certainty. HESTA stated:

"We believe our investee companies should adopt and promote a culture which asks whether companies ‘should’ do something rather than whether they ‘can’ do something. We acknowledge that the law can sometimes lag community expectations and we expect companies to recognise this and make appropriate decisions to safeguard and enhance the value of the company over the long term."

Fortescue Metals Group, one of the leading mining companies in the Pilbara, wrote:

"Aboriginal people have occupied the Pilbara region for at least 50,000 years. The land is replete with evidence of this occupation in the form of tangible and intangible Aboriginal cultural heritage. Fortescue recognises that we are privileged to operate in this environment and we take our legal and ethical responsibilities in this regard extremely seriously."

Programs for the public hearing are available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Time: 2pm to 4pm AEDT
Location: by video/teleconference

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details of the inquiry, including terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website.

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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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