THE INQUIRY into food pricing and food security in remote Indigenous communities is holding further public hearings this week on Thursday October 8 and Friday October 9.

The Eon Foundation will be appearing on Thursday and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) will appear on Friday, followed by Outback Stores.

Julian Leeser MP, Chair of the House of Representatives Indigenous Affairs Committee, said the Eon Foundation would provide valuable insights into local food production in remote areas and that the Committee looked forward to continuing its discussions with NIAA and the Commonwealth-owned Outback Stores, who appeared previously for the inquiry in June, on possible solutions to food insecurity in remote First Nations communities.

“Market gardens and other avenues for remote food production have had mixed success in the past. We look forward to discussing this with the Eon Foundation who provide nutrition and horticulture education and training to 37 communities across Western Australia and the Northern Territory," Mr Leeser said.

“Our second hearing this week with the NIAA and also with Outback Stores will allow us to further explore some practical responses and possible policy solutions to the food insecurity issues facing many Indigenous people.”

The witnesses will be appearing by videoconference or teleconference due to social distancing requirements relating to COVID-19. Full programs are available from the inquiry website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 8 October 2020
Time: 11.45am to 12.30pm AEDT
Location: Via video and teleconference

Date: Friday, 9 October 2020
Time: 9.30am to 11.45am AEDT
Location: Via video and teleconference

Audio broadcasts will be accessible at aph.gov.au/live.

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ENERGY NETWORKS putting customers at the centre of their business have been shortlisted for the 2020 Consumer Engagement Award. Shortlisted organisations include Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, AusNet Services, Evoenergy and Jemena Electricity Network.

Energy Consumers Australia Interim CEO Lynne Gallagher said the 2020 entries showed networks were taking steps on a range of engagement activities, demonstrating the maturing of consumer engagement within many businesses.

“We are seeing an uplift and commitment to working directly with customers by many network businesses, exploring new ways to deepen engagement and collaboration with consumers in the face of new challenges such as COVID-19 and extreme weather events,” Ms Gallagher said.

“The award shines a light on best practice engagement activities across the energy network sector and we hope many of these good practices become common practice by sharing knowledge across the sector.”

Energy Networks Australia CEO Andrew Dillon said the consistently high standard of entries to this year’s awards showed continual improvement by networks in their engagement practices.

“It is encouraging to see how every year networks are stepping up with new projects and engagement to deliver improved services and benefits to customers,” he said.

The winner will be announced in October. All 15 nominations will be published in a report to celebrate the consumer engagement work being done by energy networks across the nation.

The reports from last years' nominees can be accessed in the Consumer Engagement report. 

www.energynetworks.com.au

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THE CFMEU and the Australian Constructors Association are calling for targeted reforms to drive construction in Build-To-Rent and social housing to stimulate the economy and boost jobs ahead of the Federal Budget.

The peak construction industry groups are also warning that moves to allow people to further drawdown on their superannuation savings could weaken investment in the nation's vital construction industry as it recovers from the economic shock of the pandemic.

Reforms to enable Build-To-Rent construction projects could boost the economy by $10 billion, create up to 23,000 jobs, and build 20,000 homes over the next four years. This would help offset a continued downturn the industry is expecting in the construction of apartments and student accommodation.

Build-To-Rent is a big part of the rental market and commercial construction sector in North America, Europe and Asia which helps sustain development of large-scale affordable housing.

However, in Australia, a raft of state and federal tax rules act as a barrier to investment. In particular, the application of GST is uneven between apartments sold to individuals and apartments built to rent by the developer.

Reforming the GST rules for BTR construction projects and coordinating with the National Cabinet to reform State and Territory rules would enable investment in a range of shovel-ready projects across the country.

Along with increased social housing, these measures would provide homes for people who need them and create tens of thousands of jobs.

A recent report by construction giant and ACA member Multiplex estimates that changes to the rules around GST and other tax measures on Build-to-Rent projects would boost the Australian economy by up to $10b, potentially create 23,000 jobs, and build 20,000 new home around the country over the next four years.

The Federal Government can also enact reforms that give the green light to Australia's $2 trillion superannuation sector to more easily invest in nation-building stimulus projects such as the construction of Build-To-Rent homes and social housing.

The Federal Government must also be wary of the unintended consequences of encouraging further drawdowns on people's retirement savings, which could affect the capacity of super funds to invest in non-liquid assets like the large-scale construction projects the economy will need in coming years.

In particular, the use of superannuation for housing deposits is poor public policy and goes against the concept of super as a long-term investment for people's retirement security.

The construction industry has worked hard to maintain its role as a principle driver of the Australian economy through the pandemic crisis. Builders and unions have worked together in the national interest to keep the industry going, to keep people in jobs, and to ensure that construction maintains its role at the heart of our economy.

The government can assist by enacting these reforms that will free up investment to boost the industry and help build the homes that the Australian people need.

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THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s promise to 'no deals', ruling out a power-sharing alliance with the Greens to stay in office after the October 31 State Election.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said while the QRC would continue to warn Queenslanders about the risk to jobs of voting for or preferencing the Greens right up until 6pm on election night, the Premier’s promise – ruling out a Labor-Greens alliance in government - was "very welcome news for the resources sector and for Queensland".

“The Greens have made it clear they are against new mining projects and want to put an end to the existing mining and gas industry, terminate existing mining leases in the Galilee Basin and increase royalty taxes on resources, which will stop future jobs being created,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Queensland needs the resources sector and the 372,000 jobs it supports more than ever during its recovery from COVID-19. The Greens want to stop jobs in our sector and others,” he said.

“We cannot afford to surrender jobs when tens of thousands of Queensland men and women are out of work and unemployment is forecast to keep rising to 9 percent later this year.”

Queensland’s resources industry contributed $63 billion in export dollars to the state economy last year and $5.3 billion in royalty taxes to help fund government services such as nurses, doctors, teachers, roads, schools and hospital and health facilities throughout the state.

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