“THE VALUE of commercial building work approved jumped by 30.9 percent during December, finishing 2019 on a high note,” Master Builders chief economist Shane Garrett said.

“The strong result for December means that the volume of commercial building work on the ground is set to remain elevated over the coming months.

“Building activity on the commercial side reached all-time highs over recent times and today’s ABS figures indicate that conditions are set to remain largely positive here,” Mr Garrett said. 

“Today’s figures also indicate that new dwelling approvals eased slightly during December (-0.2%) and that the pipeline of new home building work is still quite a bit lower than it was a year ago.

“Leading indicators suggest that a home building recovery is not too far off, however. Lending to housing investors is expanding again and the First Home Buyer part of the market has a lot of wind behind its sails. House prices are also gathering momentum across most major cities,” Mr Garrett said. 

“Both residential and commercial building projects rely on the creation of support infrastructure to allow them to proceed. With economic growth stuck well below par, we urge all levels of government to do more to speed up the delivery of committed infrastructure projects and allow faster economic growth to be unlocked."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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CHINESE investors looking to a future as Australian citizens are pitching in with support and donations to assist bushfire recovery efforts.

Executive Chairman of Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley said people in the Chinese investment community were deeply saddened by the loss of loved ones, homes, animals and the environmental havoc caused by bushfires that continue to rage across parts of the country. 

“Many investors have been waiting lengthy periods for outcomes via the Significant Investor Visa program and want to demonstrate their love and commitment for Australia and its people,” Mr Hedley said.

Atlas has made an initial donation of $30,000 on behalf of its first group of Chinese donors to the WWF-Australia’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund and to Mogo Wildlife Park Foundation.

More than 10 million hectares of land has been burned in Australia and more than one billion animals have perished including about one third of the already threatened iconic koala population in NSW along with kangaroos, wallabies, birds and other iconic wildlife.

“Chinese people have a deep respect and fondness for Australia’s unique wildlife and environment and are keen to help conservation efforts,” Mr Hedley said. “They are proud to assist in the wildlife response, habitat restoration and the protection of Australia’s natural resources against the damaging effects of climate change.”

Further proceeds from Atlas Advisors Australia New Year celebrations will go to Mogo Wildlife Park Foundation which is a charity established to build a new wildlife rescue hospital to provide care for injured, sick and displaced wildlife and to assist the reforestation of fire damaged areas.

The new animal hospital will support the welfare and rehabilitation of animals including those affected at Mogo Wildlife Park, a zoo on the south coast of New South Wales with an amazing collection of endangered and exotic animal species that were put at peril by the bushfires.

“The funds also importantly go towards restoring lost forests and damaged wildlife habitats,” Mr Hedley said.

“Mogo Wildlife Park is playing a vital role in caring for animals harmed by the bushfires, restoring native habitats and preserving our precious biodiversity.

“Together we are helping to protect our native animals and conserve our environment for the future.”

About Atlas Advisors Australia

Atlas Advisors Australia is a leading funds manager and investment advisory business, operating between China and Australia, offering a wide range of financial services and wealth management solutions. With operations in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Shanghai in China, Atlas is able to support investors in all China and Australia locations.

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ON THE FIRST anniversary of the Banking Royal Commission, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said banks still have many lessons to learn, while small businesses continue to pay the price of poor behaviour.

“Banks and financial institutions still have a long way to go if they are serious about repairing their relationship with small businesses,” Ms Carnell said.

“Even a year on from the Banking Royal Commission, banks and other large financial institutions are more focussed on passing on their punishment to small businesses.

“For instance, many small businesses in the financial planning industry have faced financial ruin in the aftermath of the Banking Royal Commission, with hundreds of planners bearing the brunt of brutal restructures and fire sales by banks and wealth funds," she said.

“Many of these small business owners are facing the prospect of losing their homes, families and livelihoods as these financial institutions and banks bulldoze their way through their exit strategies.

“Equally the new-look Banking Code of Practice in effect from March this year, fails to sufficiently protect small business borrowers," Ms Carnell said.

“The ABA claims it has implemented the Royal Commission recommendations but it has not acted on all of the recommendations including one that is critical to small business.

“Commissioner Hayne recommended that the definition of a small business should be businesses that apply for a loan up to $5 million and have fewer than 100 employees*.

“Despite our repeated efforts, the Code only protects small businesses with up to $3 million in total debt to all credit providers.

“What that means is that a large number of small businesses, particularly those capital intensive businesses such as agriculture, building and manufacturing, are not covered by the Code.

“Of particular concern, is a new addition to the Code under paragraph 115 (b)** which in effect, allows banks to take action against the small business guarantor, before enforcing recovery against the security provided by the small business borrower.

“This is totally unacceptable and has the potential to be seriously detrimental to the small business borrower and their ability to secure guarantors," Ms Carnell said.

“During the Royal Commission, Commissioner Hayne acknowledged the ABA Banking Code of Practice is the chief protection for small business borrowers and as such, it needs real and meaningful changes to give it teeth.

“While the Code has been improved, the number of get-out-of-jail clauses for the banks still dilute the protections for small businesses.

“We will continue to push for a better framework for a balanced relationship between banks and their small business customers.”

References:

(*) Commissioner Hayne Recommendation 1.10 – Definition of ‘small business’

The ABA should amend the definition of ‘small business’ in the Banking Code so that the Code applies to any business or group employing fewer than 100 full-time equivalent employees, where the loan applied for is less than $5 million.

(**)Banking Code of Practice 2019:

115. 115. However, the restrictions under paragraphs 113 and 114 do:
116. a)  not apply if you have specifically agreed in writing after the default notice is issued and we have informed you of the limitations of our enforcement rights under this chapter that they do  not apply; or
117. b)  not require us to first enforce any mortgage or other security that  the borrower has provided if we reasonably expect that the net proceeds of that enforcement will not be sufficient to repay a substantial  portion of the guaranteed liability, or because of the borrower not providing us with information, documents, or access to premises or assets as required, we are unable to reasonably assess whether the net proceeds of that enforcement will not be sufficient to repay a substantial portion of the guaranteed liability.

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THE House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training will scrutinise the Department of Education, Skills and Employment on actions being undertaken to address the education attainment gap between students living in regional, rural and remote areas and their peers in metropolitan areas.

The Department’s appearance before the Committee on Wednesday, January 5, 2020 will be the first public hearing of the Committee’s inquiry into the education of students in remote and complex environments.

Chair, Andrew Laming MP, said. "The Committee is concerned that regional, rural and remote students’ achievement in education has been lower than that of metropolitan students for many years. It is confronting that young people living in the bush are have lower educational attainment rates in school, in Year 12 and in tertiary education than those in cities.

"Regardless of where they live, young Australians should be supported to meet their potential with high quality education and meaningful pathways to further education and employment. The Committee is examining how education meets the learning needs of students and how barriers in education can be overcome," Mr Laming said.

Last year the Morrison Government released the National Regional, Rural and Remote Education Strategy, which focuses on improving tertiary education participation and outcomes for students from non-metropolitan areas. The Strategy forms part of a broader Regional Education package and builds on the Government's response to the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education (the Halsey Review).

Mr Laming said, "At the hearing, the Committee will examine how the Government is implementing the Strategy and the recommendations of the Halsey Review, as part of its broader investment in regional, rural and remote education."

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Time: 11.30am to 12.45pm
Location: Committee Room 1R2, Parliament House, Canberra

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

The closing date for submissions has been extended to Friday, February 28, 2020. Submissions can be made online or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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