THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has launched its second inquiry into Commonwealth procurement as part of its examination of Auditor-General’s reports.

Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said improving the effectiveness of Commonwealth procurement has been a key focus of the Committee over this Parliament.

“The Committee’s inquiry will examine the procurement of the National Cancer Screening Register, and management of the Inland Rail Program’s pre-construction phase and contract for Telephone Universal Service Obligations,” Senator Smith said.

The Committee is also inquiring into Auditor-General’s Report No. 5 (2017-18), Protecting Australia’s Missions and Staff Overseas: Follow-on.

As Parliament’s joint public administration committee, the JCPAA scrutinises the governance, performance and accountability of Commonwealth agencies and has the power to initiate its own inquiries on the Commonwealth public sector.

The Committee examines all reports of the Auditor-General tabled in the Parliament and can inquire into any items, matters or circumstances connected with these reports.

The Committee invites submissions to the inquiries, addressing the terms of reference. Submissions are requested by Thursday, 25 January 2018, with public hearings to be held from February 2018. Further information about the inquiries can be accessed via the Committee’s website.

The Committee’s second Commonwealth procurement inquiry is based on the following Auditor-General’s reports:

·         Auditor-General’s Report No. 9 (2017-18), Management of the Pre-construction Phase of the Inland Rail Programme

·         Auditor-General’s Report No. 12 (2017-18), Management of the Contract for Telephone Universal Service Obligations

·         Auditor-General’s Report No. 61 (2016-17), Procurement of the National Cancer Screening Register

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

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) believe books are high on the wish list this Christmas, with the ARA and Roy Morgan Research predicting Australians to spend over $7 million on ‘Other retailing’ during the Christmas trading period from November 15 to December 24, 2017.

The ARA believe physical and online books will be a big driver in the ‘Other retailing’ category with ARA and Roy Morgan Research projecting a 3.96% increase in sales for this category during the festive period.

The ARA’s Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman said book retailers should be prepared for a rise in sales as Dymocks’ recent Omnipoll has revealed almost three quarters (73%) of Australians love reading a good book, and a further 60% love receiving books as gifts.

“With only five weeks until the big day, we have learned that books are big this Christmas, with Dymocks’ latest survey revealing 57% of adults – roughly 10.4 million people - thinking of placing a book or two under the Christmas tree this year,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The survey also revealed that parents love to give the gift of reading, as two thirds (65%) of Australians will be wrapping up a book for their child or family friend this Christmas.”

Sophie Higgins, Head of Marketing and Merchandise at Dymocks, said there has been a seasonal surge in non-fiction titles this year with non-fiction books accounting for 50% of Dymocks sales in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

“Cookbooks and biographies are the most popular of the non-fiction category, with cookbook sales usually doubling during the festive season,” Ms Higgins said.

“Celebrity chefs are leading the way this Christmas, with plenty of new books to choose from including the famous Matt Moran, Donna Hay, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, and Poh Ling Yeow.”

With many Australians cooking up a storm this Christmas, Ms Higgins said 2017 has also been a big year for new biographies, with Jimmy Barnes releasing his new book, Working Class Man, earlier this year.

“It’s also been a big year for sport fans with new biographies on Muhammad Ali, Nick Riewoldt, Luke Hodge, and Jelena Dokic hitting the shelves this Christmas,” Ms Higgins said.

To view the ARA and Roy Morgan’s Annual Pre-Christmas Sales Predictions for 2017 please click here. 

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE effectiveness of regulation aimed at stabilising and strengthening the world’s banking industry is still unknown nearly a decade after the global financial crisis, according to a leading finance sector researcher at the University of Sydney Business School.

Associate Professor Eliza Wu made the comment ahead of the Business School’s 2017 Banking and Financial Stability Conference to be attended by leading banking experts and banking regulators.

The two day Conference, which begins tomorrow, will be held in the wake of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement of a banking royal commission.

“The fact is that we don’t know what effect these regulations, including Basel iii and iv, will have in the medium to long term,” said Dr Wu. “We don’t know if the sector is over regulated or if we need more controls.”

“Here in Australia, regulators have been working to cool the lending market. We are also concerned about the banking sector’s exposure to the real estate market and the lack of regulatory oversight of the fintech and peer to peer lending sectors,” she said.

The Future of Banking Regulation will be the focus of the Conference’s Policy Panel Discussion between the Bank of Finland’s Dr Iikka Korhonen, Dr Frank Packer of the Bank for International Settlements and Aidan O’Shaughnessy of the Australian Bankers’ Association.

The key note address, to be delivered by Professor Steven Ongena, Professor of Banking, University of Zurich, will focus on the Spillovers of Macroprudential Policies.

“The heavily disrupted world of banking and finance is evolving very quickly and the regulators and often industry operators themselves, exist under an unforgiving regime of catch-up. That’s why this conference is crucial,” said Dr Wu.

Conference Details;

Date:               Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd of December 2017

Venue:             University of Sydney Business School, Abercrombie Building (H70)

                        Cnr Codrington and Abercrombie Streets, Darlington

Contact:           Trevor Watson 0418 648 099 or Laura Box 0431 860 844

Website           http://sydney.edu.au/business/finance/banking_and_financial_stability

Conference Highlights:

Friday 1 December 2017

8.45-9.30 External Financing of Last Resort? Bank Lines of Credit as a Source of Long-term Finance. Presenter: Professor Ron Masulis, UNSW Business School

9.30-10.15 Presidential Power and Shareholder Wealth Presenter: Professor Nadia Massoud, Melbourne Business School

10.45-11.30 Commercial Bank Failures During The Great Recession: The Real (Estate) Story Presenter: Dr Adonis Antoniades, National University of Singapore

11.30-12.30 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Professor Steven Ongena, Professor of Banking, University of Zurich - Spillovers of Macroprudential Policies

1.30-2.30 POLICY PANEL DISCUSSION: The Future of Banking Regulation

Dr Iikka Korhonen (Bank of Finland), Dr Frank Packer (Bank for International Settlements) & Mr. Aidan O’Shaughnessy (Australian Bankers’ Association)

Chair & Moderator: Associate Professor Eliza Wu.

2.30-3.15 Marketplace Lending in Australia Presenter: Dr Andrew Grant, University of Sydney Business School

3.45-4.30 Sharing the Pain? Credit Supply and Real Effects of Bank Bail-ins

Presenter: Professor Thorsten Beck, Professor of Banking and Finance, Cass Business School

4.30-5.15 Where are the Large Banks? Stress Tests and Small Business Lending Presenter: Dr Kristle Cortes, UNSW Business School

5.15-6.00 Chair: Off-balance Sheet Securitization, Bank Lending and Corporate Innovation Presenter: Dr Zhaoxia Xu, UNSW Business School

Saturday 2nd December 2017

9.00-9.45 On the International Effects of Country-Specific Financial Sector Bailouts Presenter: Dr Matthew Greenwood-Nimmo, University of Melbourne

9.45-10.30 Personal Trading by Brokers, Analysts and Fund Managers Presenter: Associate Professor Joakim Westerholm, University of Sydney Business School

11.00-11.45 Geopolitics and International Bank Flows Presenter: Dr Phong Ngo, Australian National University

11.45-12.30 The Impact of Risk-based Capital Rules on Income Inequality: Global Evidence Presenter: Professor Iftekhar Hasan, Fordham University; Bank of Finland & University of Sydney Business School

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement of a Royal Commission into the banking sector.

Ombudsman Kate Carnell said she hoped the inquiry would examine past cases where small businesses had been unfairly treated.

Ms Carnell said her Small Business Loans inquiry earlier this year had identified numerous cases where small businesses had suffered from questionable conduct.

“The asymmetry in power between the banks and small businesses, together with the conduct of banks particularly since the global financial crisis in 2008, has left many small businesses in a devastating financial position,” she said.

“Many have lost their businesses as well as their family homes, with no prospect until now of obtaining access to justice.

“I’ve been concerned that in some cases there may have been unconscionable behaviour by the banks and this should be examined in the Royal Commission.”

Ms Carnell said there had been significant progress in the past few years towards changing the behaviour of banks, including Unfair Contract Terms legislation and the establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

“What’s been missing is the capacity to review past disputes and award compensation,” she said.

“It’s not acceptable that banks called in loans where repayments were up to date.

“Businesses were forced to close, people lost their jobs and entire communities suffered adverse impacts.

“The contract clauses were so one sided there was no constraint on the banks to stop them foreclosing on loans that didn’t fit their risk profile.”

Ms Carnell said the Small Business Loans Inquiry heard cases that clearly showed banks deliberately employed systematic poor and unreasonable behaviour to terminate business loans.

The power imbalance meant small businesses had been denied access to justice.

“Many settlements occurred under duress because borrowers had little choice but to accept the bank’s offer,” she said.

“They could not refinance because cash resources had been drained, they were facing penalty interest and had no negotiating power.

“I hope the Royal Commission probes these past cases and recommends compensation for those who were unfairly treated.”

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