THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the official opening of Sun Metals’ ground-breaking solar project near Townsville.
“This is yet another case study where Queensland is leading the way in making best use of our rich energy resources,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.
“Sun Metals is the first heavy industrial power user to be investing in its own renewable energy source on a commercial scale.
“Reliability and affordability of energy supply are non-negotiable for industries such as zinc refining.
“Through this investment generating approximately 125 MW, Sun Metals has provided further resilience to the refinery and security for its workers.
“Queensland shows there’s no need to play favourites when it comes to our energy sources.
“Coal, gas and renewables all have their role to play in making the most of our energy mix. This in turn delivers the most affordable and reliable power for homes and businesses.”
The public hearings are part of the Committee’s ongoing work in considering the governance and financial performance of Commonwealth agencies.
The Committee will first hear from representatives of private sector contracting businesses as it continues its inquiry into how government agencies report on their use of contractors, based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 19 (2017-18).
Following this, the Committee will hold its first hearing for its inquiry into Australian Government security arrangements. This hearing will discuss issues raised in the Auditor-General’s report No. 38 (2017-18) Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security.
This audit examined the effectiveness of centralised security vetting arrangements for government personnel. In addition, the audit looked at how well government agencies are complying with personnel security requirements.
The final hearing will be based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 39 (2017-18) Naval Construction Programs – Mobilisation, which considered the Government’s planning for a continuous naval shipbuilding program. The shipbuilding program was audited due to its high cost, significance to Australia’s defence, and significant implementation risks.
Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said scrutinising Government expenditure on behalf of the Parliament was one of the Committee’s key responsibilities.
”Inquiries such as these consider not only the financial effectiveness of government programs but also how well they perform against other key criteria, for example in complying with protocols designed to ensure the safety and security of government personnel,” Senator Smith said.
Public hearings: Friday August 17 2018, Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra
8.30am to 10.15am: Audit Report No. 19 (2017-18) Australian Government Procurement Contract Reporting
10.45am to 11.45am: Audit Report No. 38 (2017-18) Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security
12.00pm to 12.45pm: Audit Report No. 39 (2017-18) Naval Construction Programs - Mobilisation
The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live. The hearing program is available from the Committee website.
THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has today announced that it is seeking member feedback on advocating for a return of the ‘accountants’ exemption’ to provide financial advice related to self-managed superannuation.
“Since the accountant’s exemption was removed on 1 July 2016, we believe some Australians have simply opted out of advice altogether which may ultimately place their financial future at risk,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.
“Simply, trusted accountants have been hamstrung, unable to respond to clients’ questions, particularly around superannuation.
“The public rely on their annual interaction with their accountant to finalise their tax affairs and seek guidance on issues which unfortunately is now considered financial advice as part of this process.
“Without this guidance many will receive no financial advice at all for important matters such as retirement planning. Before Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) became law less than one in five had any interaction with a financial planner.
“FoFA has failed to achieve its policy objective of making financial advice affordable and removing accountants from providing any assistance has made the situation worse.
“As trusted advisers accountants can play an important role in helping clients manage their financial affairs and revisiting the accountant’s exemption is paramount to restoring access to basic financial advice.
“Seventy percent of the population and 95 percent of all businesses have a trusted accountant behind them and denying them access to any guidance is not in the public interest.
“We have always maintained that we will act in member’s best interests, and recently members have been asking us to take the issue of the removal of ‘accountant’s exemption’ up with the government.
“The principle at play here is ensuring Australians have access to affordable financial advice.
“The capacity of an accountant to provide advice on self-managed superannuation funds has long been held as not being a systemic risk to the integrity of the financial services system.
“We will engage with members over the next week to inform our advocacy and representation to the Minister to ensure our views are heard. I would encourage any member of the IPA or any other practitioner to make contact with me if they wish to make their views known,” said Mr Conway.
About the Institute of Public Accountants
The IPA, formed in 1923, is one of Australia’s three legally recognised professional accounting bodies. In late 2014, the IPA acquired the Institute of Financial Accountants in the UK and formed the IPA Group, with more than 36,000 members and students in over 80 countries. The IPA Group is the largest SME focused accountancy organisation in the world. The IPA is a member of the International Federation of Accountants, the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants.
THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Dr Philip Lowe, in Canberra from 9.30am to 12:30pm on Friday, 17 August 2018.
Since the previous hearing with the RBA in February 2018, monetary policy has remained accommodative with a cash rate of 1.50 percent, following the RBA’s recent decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
Commenting on the decision to keep rates on hold, the RBA Governor said low interest rates are "continuing to support the Australian economy’ and that ‘further progress in reducing unemployment and having inflation return to target is expected, although this progress is likely to be gradual".
The Governor expects growth in the Australian economy to average just above 3 percent in 2018 and 2019, which should further reduce spare capacity in labour markets.
In its August Statement on Monetary Policy, the RBA noted softer than expected inflationary pressures in the Australian economy in the near term, and said it did not expect underlying inflation to reach the middle of its 2-3 percent target band until the end of its forecast period in 2020.
The Chair of the House Economics Committee, Sarah Henderson, said, "The committee will examine these issues in more detail and will ask the RBA if it remains confident that current monetary policy settings will encourage growth and inflation consistent with the target for coming years."
Public hearing details: 9.30am to 12.30pm, Friday, 17 August 2018, Main Committee Room, Parliament House, Canberra
The hearing will be webcast at www.aph.gov.au/live
FINTECH AUSTRALIA is pleased to announce that the Victorian Government will increase its support for the startup and FinTech communities by signing on to be the major sponsor of Intersekt for both 2018 and 2019, as tickets for this year’s event go on sale today.
FinTech Australia Chief Executive Officer, Brad Kitschke said, “The Victorian Government and Minister Dalidakis continue to demonstrate their leadership and support for startups and the FinTech ecosystem, through the sponsorship of this important conference for the next two years.
"Intersekt is a must-attend for anyone involved in FinTech and we are extremely excited that our partnership with Minister Dalidakis and the Andrew’s Government will Melbourne the home of Intersekt for the next two years.
"Intersekt is great value for money. The early bird prices for the 3-day conference are discounted heavily as we want as many startups as possible to attend. FinTech Australia is a not-for-profit industry body, and we reinvest in our members and the ecosystem.
We are doing our best to make 2018 better than ever, with three days of jam-packed value from the 29th to 31st of October,” Mr Kitschke said.
Victorian Government Minister for Trade and Investment, Innovation and the Digital Economy Philip Dalidakis said he looked forward to opening the conference and to the ongoing partnership with FinTech Australia.
“Attracting delegates from the Asia Pacific region and beyond, Intersekt brings together the most creative minds in the Fintech sector," Mr Dalidakis said.
"Innovations in financial technology are revolutionising the way we do business and are crucial to Victoria’s future economy and jobs.
"I look forward to joining FinTech Australia in welcoming all delegates to this not to be missed conference in October.“ Minister Dalidakis said.
FinTech Australia was also pleased to announce that LaTrobe University will be a Gold Sponsor of the event and its exclusive education partner.
CEO Brad Kitschke praised the University's leadership in FinTech education and welcomed their support for Intersekt.
This year’s conference will feature an official opening by Minister Dalidakis, the launch of the EY FinTech Census Report, the launch of FinTech Australia’s open banking campaign, an investor matching deal day, bringing together startups and investors, and a graduate match powered byCSIRO Data61’s Ribit.net and LatTrobe University for tertiary students looking for roles and FinTechs looking for potential employees.
Early bird prices are available all throughout August.
About FinTech Australia
FinTech Australia Ltd. is the peak body for the Australian financial services, technology and innovation - Fintech industry. We were founded by Startups, and are a startup ourselves. We work with founders, startups, scaleups and the Fintech ecosystem. We represent our members and advocate for outcomes that facilitate the growth of the Fintech ecosystem with the goal of making Australia a leading Fintech market. For more information visit www.fintechaustralia.org.au
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