AFTER 18 months of uncertainty, the Bowen community may finally have something to celebrate with yesterday’s announcement by federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt approving development of the Adani T0 project and capital dredging at the Abbot Point coal terminal.

Minister Hunt also issued approval for the Arrow LNG facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone and associated gas transmission pipeline.

Welcoming the announcements, Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Michael Roche congratulated Minister Hunt for using the weight of scientific evidence to put Queenslanders ahead of increasingly hysterical environmental activists.

"The staged dredging of a commercial trading port 40 kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef has been painted by fossil fuel opponents as the end of a global icon," Mr Roche said.

"Minister Hunt’s decision confirms what we have known for the past 38 years of industry co-existence with the reef. We have the wherewithal in Australia to protect world heritage and environmental values because we have a standard of living that affords us such choices.

"The trading ports working alongside the Great Barrier Reef are responsible for the export of commodities worth $40 billion a year to the Australian economy.

"North Queenslanders are also looking to them to play a bigger role in supporting inbound tourism, particularly the cruise ship industry.

"The alternative proposal from environmental activists is to shut down shipping along 80 percent of the eastern Queensland coastline, effectively hanging almost one million people out to dry.

"The conditions set out today for both projects by Minister Hunt show the federal government is serious about protecting the outstanding universal values of the Great Barrier Reef and he can be assured of the continuing cooperation of industry stakeholders of meeting environmental and community expectations," Mr Roche said.

www.qrc.org.au

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VECCI welcomes the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) decision to create a one-stop shop for environmental approvals, as it will remove unnecessary duplication and make the process simpler and quicker for Victorian businesses.

This streamlining is a great outcome for Victorian businesses as they will now be able to attain full environmental certification from the state approval process without also having to seek federal approval.

As part of its policy agenda for the recent federal election, VECCI sought a reduction in the regulatory burden on business and repeated this call more recently at its 2013 VECCI Victoria Summit.

“We’ve been consistent in our calls to governments at every level to reduce red and green tape and Victorian businesses will be delighted when these changes are implemented,” says VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone.

“In the current economic climate, removing the roadblocks to job creation and productivity is crucial.”

www.vecci.org.au 

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The Federal Government should move to finalise reform to laws governing the taxation of trusts, with interim legislation passed by the previous government hampering the small business sector, according to leading Australian accounting firm, Crowe Horwath.

Five weeks ago the government stated that it would review 92 announced but unlegislated tax and superannuation measures.

Reform to the taxation of trusts – started by the previous government but which remained incomplete by the time of the September 7 election - was not on this list.

This is despite trust tax reform being one of the most important legislative reform issues for small business.

Crowe Horwath National Tax Director, Tristan Webb, said that the government has stated it is committed to helping small business and therefore should put trust tax reform as a top order priority.

Interim legislation handed down by the previous government in response to the High Court decision in the Bamford case of 2010 was “only ever intended to be a stop gap.”

“We are surprised that the government has indicated that it will move on 92 announced but unlegislated measures but has left reform of the taxation of trusts out.

“Our 16,000 trust clients rightfully expect certainty in their business, farm and investment dealings. The government should act or at least indicate the direction that they want to move so that our clients can forget about tax and get on with business,” he said.

Two years since the legislation came into effect clear deficiencies have emerged with this legislation.

The Australian Tax Office is currently refusing to finalise a key public ruling on the basis that there are several competing views that relate to key aspects of the legislation, each of which may be correct at law.

The taxation of trusts has been a contentious issue for respective governments.

The Howard government originally supported taxing trusts as companies but moved away from this proposal.

The Rudd-Gillard government favoured maintaining the status quo post Bamford but legislation purporting to do that has come up short.

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It is time for the East-West Link protesters to stop disrupting lawful work on this very important project,” says VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone.

“No one has the right to interfere with another person’s right to attend and perform their daily work free from harassment or the right of a business to engage in lawful operations, but this is exactly what the protesters continue to do. They are also continuing to divert the resources of the Victorian Police away from core operations and are placing the individual police officers in attendance in very difficult and unpleasant circumstances.

“There is nothing wrong with protesting as long as it is done peacefully, lawfully and does not infringe upon the right of others to engage in lawful activity.

“It seems incredible that at a time when workers in the vehicle manufacturing industry and its supply chain face an uncertain future, a small group of protesters seek to delay work on a project that will create thousands of jobs and improve the lives of commuters and business operators alike for decades to come.

“VECCI maintains its strong support for the East-West Link and wants the road in its entirety built. This includes the next stages that would link to the Port of Melbourne and the Western Ring Road. With closures of the Burnley and Domain tunnels for maintenance and the annual works on the Westgate Bridge due to commence shortly, the need for a second river crossing of Melbourne is self-evident. VECCI also supports the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel, the removal of level crossings, the development of the Ports of Melbourne and Hastings and the completion of the Western Ring Road upgrade as part of a suite of major infrastructure projects of fundamental importance to securing Victoria’s long term prosperity.

“There are legitimate ways to protest that don’t impact on the right of others to go about their work peacefully. It is time for the noisy minority disrupting the East-West project to recognise and respect this.”

www.vecci.org.au 

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