THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold public hearings in Malvern, Brighton, Mount Martha and Torquay, Victoria, for its inquiry into the implications of removing refundable franking credits.

Chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP, said, "The committee continues to gather evidence about how the removal of refundable franking credits would affect investors, particularly senior Australians whose financial security could be compromised.

"The committee has received well over 1000 submissions, including many from retires who are concerned they will be forced on to the aged pension if the ability to claim a refund on their franking credits is removed.

"These hearings will provide an opportunity for Australians impacted by a change to refundable franking credits to address the committee directly with a three minute statement, and we welcome their contributions and participation," Mr Wilson said.

Public hearing details:

Malvern, 10am to 11.30am, Tuesday, 19 March 2019, St George's Anglican Church Hall, 296 Glenferrie  Road, Malvern, Victoria

Brighton, 2pm to 3:30pm, Tuesday, 19 March 2019, Brighton Town Hall, Corner of Carpenter St and Wilson St, Brighton, Victoria

Mount Martha, 9am to 10.30am, Wednesday, 20 March 2019, New Peninsula Centre, 370 Craigie Rd, Mount Martha, Victoria

Torquay, 3pm to 4.30pm, Wednesday, 20 March 2019, Spring Creek Pavilion, Spring Creek Reserve, Torquay, Victoria

Further public hearings will be announced as the inquiry progresses. The hearings will be webcast live (audio only).

A number of submissions have been received and are available on the committee’s webpage at: www.aph.gov.au/economics. A number of submissions are currently being processed and will be published over the coming months. 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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“THE NUMBER of approvals for new home building started 2019 on a positive note with an increase of 2.5 percent during January in seasonally-adjusted terms,” according to Master Builders Australia’s chief economist Shane Garrett. 

“The rise in approvals during January follows a run of weak results during the back end of last year. Higher density housing in particular has lost a lot of ground over the past 12 months,” he said. 

“During January, the number of approvals for new detached houses rose by 1.9 percent with a stronger increase of 3.8 percent on the apartment/units side of the market,” Mr Garret said. 

“Despite the welcome increase in approvals during January, we are still down by almost 30 percent compared with this time last year,” he said. 

“The ongoing difficulties in the flow of credit and concerns about the direction of housing policy post-election are having negative effects on home building activity,” Mr Garrett said. 

“Construction is the economy’s largest provider of full-time jobs and the upcoming round of federal, state and territory budgets provides a real opportunity to get us back onto the right track." 

During January, WA saw the largest increase in total new home approvals (+28.8%), followed by Tasmania (+15.4%) and NSW (+12.0%). 

The largest reductions affected the ACT (-19.8%) and the NT (-8.0%). Approvals also declined in Victoria (-7.9%), Queensland (-3.5%) and SA (-1.5%) during the month.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell welcomed the Joint Standing Committee report on access to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and urged bi-partisan support for key recommendations.

“The proposed centralised ‘single trade window’ of resources would help SMEs to tap into some of our largest trading markets,” Ms Carnell said.

“There are a number of FTAs and each has different requirements, paperwork and processes, which can be quite daunting to an SME owner, particularly smaller businesses.

“We support the continued use of specific SME chapters in FTAs, including an e-commerce focus, and encourage additional SME user-friendly guidance and support for stepping into the business of exporting.

“Despite our existing trade partnerships and the new partnerships with 10 countries through the Trans Pacific Partnership, SMEs have not experienced the same growth in exports as has big business.

“This report acknowledges that Australia has so much to offer in the exporting of goods and services by SMEs.

“Recommendations around reducing the complexity of overlapping FTAs and trialling a grant program in regional areas will open up doors for trade and investment, and new growth opportunities.

“By realising the key recommendation in this report, SMEs would be in a better position to weigh up their options and potentially chart a way forward for their business overseas.

“The review of Export Market Development Grants and the role of Efic is also welcomed as access to adequate finance for exporting SMEs remains a significant issue.

“The signing of the landmark FTA with Indonesia today will provide many more opportunities for Australian SMEs.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has commended Western Australia’s (WA) State Government on their efforts to approve an additional four hours of trading for general retail shops situated within the Perth metropolitan area, for both the Labour Day and Easter Monday public holidays.

The announcement made by the State Government means that larger retail shops will now have the opportunity to trade any time between 8am until 6pm on Labour Day and Easter Monday, instead of the previous 11am to 5pm trading hours.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA said the decision put forth by the WA State Government is a positive step towards creating a level playing field for retailers who are competing in a 24/7 marketplace. 

“We now live in an age where everything is so readily available and with online retailers offering the convenience of around the clock purchasing of products and services, customers have the option shop to whenever and wherever,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“While this is convenient choice for consumers, it is placing an immense amount of pressure on local retailers’ capacity to compete in the highly saturated retail market. Therefore, the decision made by the State Government should provide some relief for WA retailers and offer them the chance to compete alongside their competitors which should assist in reducing the strain.”

As the retail industry employs more than 1.2 million people, the ARA believe the extended trading hours will greatly benefit retail staff, as retail employers will now have the option to roster extra staff on these public holidays.

“With public holidays such as Easter being a busy time for retailers, employers will be looking to roster or hire extra staff to work during this period to accommodate for the rush of customers who will be preparing for the celebrations,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“As the number of jobseekers in Australia continues to increase, the extended trading hours put in place by the State Government will provide these prospects with the opportunity to earn extra wages if they so please.”

With the latest December retail trade figures recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicating that  WA had recorded a 1.23 percent year-on-year growth, its strongest since July 2017, the ARA believes the extended trading hours will be a positive contribution to retail trade and assist in strengthening the retail industry.

“The December trade figures produced some commendable results for year-on-year growth across the States and Territories and WA was one of the States that showed improvement throughout 2018,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The decision made by the WA State Government is a promising lead for retail trade in 2019 and should alleviate   some of the pressure on retailers operating within the metropolitan region and stimulate the overall local WA economy.

"The ARA would like to formally thank the WA State Government on their decision and encourage them consider reviewing trading hours across the whole year."

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak industry body, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,800 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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