A NEW committee met yesterday, to further consider matters regarding recognition of Australia’s indigenous people, and will be co-chaired by Senator Patrick Dodson, Senator for Western Australia, and Julian Leeser MP, Member for Berowra.

The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is expected to report by the end of November this year, with an interim report due in July.

The Committee is calling for submissions and is considering options for public meetings and hearings.

Co-Chairs Senator Dodson and Mr Leeser MP said, "As a committee, we are looking for common ground and ways forward on these critical matters for Australia’s future. We hope to hear from Australians about the next steps for recognition of First Nations peoples. We plan to consult widely, starting with First Nations leadership. We understand that a great deal of work has already been done: the job of this committee is to build on that work and to now take the next steps."

The Committee website has details of Committee membership, and will be the first point of information about the work of the Committee.

Written submissions should be received by Monday 11 June, to assist with planning meetings and hearings, but the Committee may accept submissions after this date.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website.

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THE Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation will today convene a roundtable in Canberra which will end its public hearing schedule for its inquiry. 

The Acting Chair of the Committee, Ms Meryl Swanson MP said, “The Committee is again bringing together the Expert Panel to review and discuss the evidence gathered by the Committee since August 2017”.

“We look forward to receiving their valuable analysis. The Committee will use that analysis to help formulate our recommendations to government on how best to encourage regional development and what role decentralisation should have in that development.”

The panel includes the following people:

• Mr Jack Archer:CEO Regional Australia Institute;
• Professor Andrew Beer:University of South Australia, Chair Regional Studies Association;
• Professor John Cole OAM:Executive Director of the Institute for Resilient Regions at the University of Southern Queensland;
• Ms Anne Dunn:Director, Every Voice Inc;
• Professor Fiona Haslam McKenzie:Co-Director/Senior Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Regional Development, University of Western Australia; and
• Professor Tony Sorensen:University of New England

The roundtable is open to the public. Details of the roundtable proceedings, and a transcript of the discussion will be available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details: 3:30pm - 6:00pm, Wednesday 28 March, Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House

For the full programs of this public hearing, see the Committee’s website.

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FEDERAL Parliament’s Northern Australia Committee is holding a public hearing in reference to its Inquiry into Opportunities and Methods for Stimulating the Tourism Industry in Northern Australia on Thursday, March 29 2018 in Parliament House, Canberra.

The Committee Chair, Warren Entsch MP, stated ‘the tourism industry in Northern Australia faces substantial challenges to growth, including the expense and distance associated with travelling to the north, seasonality and vulnerability to extreme weather events, and regulatory obstacles to development. The isolation of many parts of Northern Australia, including the Indian Ocean Territories, creates additional impediments to attracting visitors.’

‘At the same time, Northern Australia’s natural and cultural assets and its close proximity to Asia present significant economic and social opportunities. I look forward to hearing from government agencies about how we can build on these strengths and facilitate the development of tourism in Northern Australia, particularly in remote regions,’ the Chair said.

The hearing program and further information about the Committee’s inquiry is available on the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/jscna. The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.   

Public hearing details: Thursday, 29 March 2018, 9.15 am – 12.15 pm, Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

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

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A SURVEY of 27 resources company chief executives has found half plan to spend more with local suppliers across regional Queensland in 2018 and none plan to spend less.

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said resources companies spent $6.2 billion – the equivalent of $120 million every week - with almost 9000 businesses across regional Queensland last year.

“The resources sector directly employs more than 38,000 Queenslanders, with almost 80 percent of those men and women working in regional Queensland,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“We support and rely upon thousands more staff in the regions where we work to supply equipment, fuel, food, clothing and a full range of services.

“The latest survey of resources company CEOs shows half plan to spend more and almost 20 percent say they plan to spend ‘substantially’ more with their local suppliers.

“Working with local suppliers is an investment in building local capabilities and in turn create local opportunities.

“Not one CEO surveyed said they planned to cut spending with local suppliers this year. That’s great news for business and jobs in regional Queensland.

“It’s in the interests of resources companies and the sector to work with local suppliers to develop skills and support these businesses and the communities that depend upon these businesses.”

The Queensland resources sector now provides one in every $6 in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State - with almost 7000 businesses in the Greater Brisbane region - all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

Mr Macfarlane said the QRC survey results were consistent with the Productivity Commission’s Transitioning Regions report last year, which stated:

“Mining regions continue to have high incomes and have substantially more people employed than prior to the boom. Many regions with a high concentration of activity based on mining have transitioned well from construction to production following large expansions in capacity during the mining investment boom”.

www.qrc.org.au

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