THE Queensland Resources Council has repeated its call for the State Government to approve the Stage 3 expansion of New Hope’s New Acland mine on the Darling Downs "and deliver much needed COVID-19 recovery jobs for Queensland".

QRC said it shared the frustration of the Toowoomba and Darling Downs communities and recognised the anger expressed by the CFMMEU and its members with these delays.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said due to the lack of approvals, New Hope had been forced into making redundancies while waiting to extend the mine at Oakey on the Darling Downs.

“This is a shovel-ready project that has been dragged through the court system in Queensland for more than a decade,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Now the activists have taken the project to the High Court, which could delay the start by years more.

"Queensland needs jobs now and I can tell you these workers and their families and this community needs these jobs," he said.

“The State Government is not powerless here. It could step in at any time to approve the mining lease and associated water licence.

“With Queensland’s unemployment rate forecast to blow out to 9%, there couldn’t be a worse time to stop new jobs in Queensland, yet activists are being given the green light to delay and stop any Queensland jobs being created at their political whim."

www.qrc.org.au

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THE parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge will continue tomorrow with a public hearing featuring BHP.

Northern Australia Committee Chair Warren Entsch said while the Juukan Gorge caves were destroyed by Rio Tinto, the protection of Indigenous heritage sites is important for mining companies operating across Australia.

"The Committee is aware of reports that BHP has put on hold plans to destroy sites sacred to the Banjima people in the Pilbara," Mr Entsch said.

"Tomorrow’s hearing will give us an opportunity to explore how BHP is approaching the issue in the aftermath of Juukan Gorge."

In addition to BHP, the hearing will bring together significant organisations with differing views, with the Kimberley Land Council and Western Australia’s Chamber of Minerals and Energy scheduled to provide evidence.

"The destruction at Juukan Gorge has highlighted the fact that, despite the best of intentions, Indigenous heritage areas lack adequate protection," Mr Entsch said.

"We must ensure that state and federal law provide effective protection to Indigenous culture and heritage sites."

The Kimberley Land Council is critical of the right to negotiate provisions of the Native Title Act, arguing that "the operation of the right to negotiate provision effects a form of legislative force or coercion on native title parties" and that "any inquiry into the adequacy of heritage protection laws should take into account the interaction between these laws and the NTA, in particular the future act provisions".

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia argued that an "increase in Federal oversight on Aboriginal Cultural heritage will only serve to damage the agency of Traditional Owners to make decisions on the management of their country". It recommends that State legislation retains primacy on regulation of cultural heritage, without introduction of duplication at a Federal level.

Programs are available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 17 September 2020
Time: 1pm to 4pm AEST
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 Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will hold an inquiry into the suspension of the extradition treaty and the mutual legal assistance treaty between Australia and Hong Kong.

Australia is proposing to take action to suspend the Agreement for the Surrender of Accused and Convicted Persons between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong (the extradition treaty), whilst the Agreement between the Government of Hong Kong and the Government of Australia Concerning Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (the mutual legal assistance treaty) will be suspended by mutual consent.

In announcing the inquiry, Chair of the Committee, Dave Sharma MP said, “Clearly the political situation in Hong Kong has deteriorated markedly in recent months, with Hong Kong’s autonomous status under threat.

"The imposition by China of its National Security Law on Hong Kong has altered the legal landscape in Hong Kong and raised serious concerns about the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary and the rule of law. In such circumstances, it is only prudent to take steps to protect the integrity of our extradition and mutual legal assistance frameworks.”

Deputy Chair of the Committee, Peter Khalil MP said: “Following passage of the national security laws which eroded Hong Kong’s independent legal status, there were calls for the urgent review of Australia’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong.

"The Opposition welcomed the Government’s subsequent decision to suspend this treaty on substantive grounds. This inquiry is necessary given the need to ensure the functioning and integrity of Australia’s international law enforcement cooperation and our extradition frameworks.”

The Committee has agreed to the Attorney-General’s request to consider these matters as soon as possible, so they can be reported to Parliament in early October.

The Committee is aware that these issues have been of interest to many in the community in recent months, and public comment is encouraged. The Committee is seeking written submissions by no later than Tuesday, September 22.

The Committee will also hold a roundtable discussion (by teleconference) on Thursday, September 24. Interested participants should contact the secretariat by Monday, September 21.

Further information is available from the Committee website.

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NSW construction workers and subcontractors are being ripped off at record rates as greedy builders and developers use the pandemic as an excuse to withhold payments for work already done, the CFMEU NSW has warned.

"NSW subcontractors and workers are owed millions in late payments from dodgy developers while the government and the industry refuses to act," said Darren Greenfield, CFMEU NSW construction secretary.

"In recent weeks I have spoken to subcontractors whose businesses are being devastated and the jobs of workers put at risk because they are owed massive amounts by big name builders and developers who simply refuse to pay on time.

"It is a chronic issue in the industry that has been growing worse for years and which is now a significant risk to the viability of many smaller operators who do the bulk of the work and employ most of the workers," he said.

"Payment disputes in the NSW construction industry have almost doubled in the June quarter, with figures reported today showing claims for adjudication jumped from $114 million to $225 million over that time.

"Both state and federal governments are sitting on recommendations from multiple reports to fix the problem by enacting security of payment laws that would stop builders and developers using money owed to subcontractors and workers to boost their own cashflows.

"Payments are being withheld for months and even years and subcontractors who employ the workers who do the work face going to the wall while being forced to underwrite the profits of some of the biggest builders and developers in the industry," Mr Greenfield said.

"The State Government has been sitting on recommendations to fix the problem since 2012. They need to start protecting small business operators and the workers who build this state and stop listening to the NSW Master Builders and their donor mates in the property industry who oppose these changes.

"The Federal Government needs to enact the recommendations of the 2017 Murray Review into security of payments, particularly around implementing statutory trusts, to protect workers and smaller industry operators from big property developer bullies.

“Nationally, the MBA (Master Builders Australia) are blocking the implementation of statutory trusts and urgently needed reforms to security of payment laws as they are supporting the interests of big property developers and builders over the subbies and workers who do the vast majority of the work in the industry.”

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