AUSTRALIAN shipbuilder Austal will discuss how its high speed ferries and navy ships are making inroads into Middle Eastern markets with federal parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade at a public hearing in Canberra on October 14.

The Trade sub-committee’s inquiry into trade with the Middle East will hear from Austal about the potential of Australia’s manufacturing sector to find new export opportunities in a region with a population of more than 350 million.

Austal is a global defence prime contractor, designer, and manufacturer of defence and commercial ships. For more than 25 years, Austal has been a leader in the design, construction, and maintenance of mostly high performance aluminium ships for governments, navies and ferry operators around the world.

Defence vessels designed and built by Austal include the Littoral Combat Ship for the United States Navy, and military high-speed vessels for transport and humanitarian relief, such as the Joint High Speed Vessel for the US Navy and the High Speed Support Vessel for the Royal Navy of Oman.

Austal opened its regional representative office in the United Arab Emirates in 2010, and has also been delivering maintenance and repair services to government-owned aluminium high speed vessels in the Sultanate of Oman since 2009.

Offshore industries are another growth opportunity in the Middle East as high speed vessels can move more personnel and stores out to oil and natural gas platforms than helicopters at less cost. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ordered two 45m high speed ferries in 2014 for this purpose.

Public hearing
Date/Time: Wednesday 14 October 2015, 11:05 am
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra
Organisation: Austal

Live audio broadcast will be available at www.aph.gov.au/live

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MARS Petcare will give evidence about the opportunities for milkfish aquaculture to supply product to the pet food industry when it appears before the Northern Australia Committee in Canberra on Tuesday, 13 October.

The public hearing is part of the committee’s inquiry into opportunities to expand the aquaculture industry in Northern Australia.

Committee Chair, the Hon Warren Entsch MP, said: ‘Milkfish is a non-carnivorous fish which has been grown in Asia for hundreds of years in a variety of aquaculture systems. As a tropical fish suited for pond aquaculture, milkfish production in Northern Australia could provide the pet food industry with an important high quality ingredient.’

Large scale milkfish aquaculture is undertaken in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Milkfish is an important ingredient in cat food.

Where: Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House, Canberra
When: Tuesday, 13 October 2015, 6.15 pm–6.55 pm

Hearing programs are available at: www.aph.gov.au/jscna

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A TREATY designed to ensure the safety of workers, cargo and the overall safety of ships at sea is one of three to be considered by the Treaties Committee at a public hearing on Monday.

The treaty deals with amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the changes will tighten the requirements for verifying the weight of containers before they are loaded to ships, improve fire safety measures and ensure that cargo ships carry the equipment to test air quality in enclosed spaces.

The second treaty will provide a framework of practical arrangements for Brazil and Australia to exchange evidence and information for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting serious crimes. Australia now has 29 mutual legal assistance treaties in place with other countries.

The last treaty establishes an air services agreement with Laos, opening the way for airlines to expand air travel between the two countries. These agreements ensure that Australian safety and security standards are met while providing an opportunity to increase tourism and export activity.

Public Hearing: Monday 12 October 2015,

Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House Canberra

11.10am  International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
11.45am  Treaty between Australia and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
12.20pm  Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic relating to Air Services
1.00pm  Close

The hearing will be broadcast through: www.aph.gov.au/live
Hearing programs, copies of the treaties and submissions received can be found at  www.aph.gov.au/jsct 

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THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has welcomed the news of the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

“The IPA has advocated that while Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and other trade agreements are beneficial to our economy, more can be done to realise the benefits, especially for small business and small-to-medium enterprises,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“The TPP region represents 32.6 per cent of Australia’s trade as at 2013 and 37.5 per cent of global GDP; its significance cannot be overstated.

“We are very pleased to see the TPP goes beyond the traditional view and seeks to ensure that the benefits of the TPP extend to SMEs.

“But we also acknowledge that greater opportunities for SMEs seem to come with growing complexity with the TPP sitting alongside existing FTAs and the plethora of trade agreements around the world.

“It is therefore beneficial that the TPP promotes mutual recognition of professional qualifications (and best practice regulations for professions like law).  It is also essential that we promote trade in services where Australia can be competitive. 

“IPA especially applauds that the TPP is not just about trade and economics but also looks at the ‘horizontal issues’; that is, the regulatory and legal framework with the intention of promoting transparency and regulatory coherence as well as capacity building through regional integration around the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are excited about the future prospects of the TPP going forward and the potential to boost Australia’s exports.  Further recommendations can be found in the IPA’s Australian Small Business White Paper,” said Mr Conway.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

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