THE Indigenous Affairs Committee will hear from Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) this Thursday as part of its inquiry into pathways and participation opportunities for Indigenous Australians in employment and business.

Witnesses will be attending by conference call.

Committee chair Julian Leeser MP said IBA had played a significant role in providing investment support for Indigenous businesses over many decades and would provide valuable input into the inquiry.

"IBA has now been assisting Indigenous entrepreneurs for 30 years to start and grow their businesses. The committee looks forward to discussing ways to further promote economic self-sufficiency among First Nations people at this hearing," Mr Leeser said.

Public hearing details
Date: Thursday 18 February 2021
Time: 11.45am to 12.25pm AEDT

A live webcast of the hearing will be accessible at https://www.aph.gov.au/Watch_Read_Listen.

A full program will be available at the inquiry website.

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell said the Victorian Government needs to urgently compensate small businesses forced to close their doors on one of the busiest holidays of the year.

“Small businesses such as florists and restaurants currently have their storage rooms packed with supplies, ahead of what they thought would be one of their busiest trading days of the year,” Ms Carnell said.

“Unfortunately, this snap lockdown means thousands of Victorian small businesses need to shut up shop for five days without any notice.

“It is for this reason the Victorian Government needs to immediately announce a compensation package for affected small businesses who have lost stock such as flowers and food," she said.

“The compensation should also cover all other costs associated with running a business including staff wages and rent.

“It is impossible for small businesses to plan for sudden lockdowns and the timing of this one – coinciding with Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year celebrations – could not be worse.

“Victorian restaurant owners are understandably frustrated, given this lockdown announcement came just hours after their additional supplies were delivered. Many were fully-booked all weekend.

“These small businesses are set to lose thousands of dollars worth of stock through no fault of their own. Given the nightmarish 12 months these cash-strapped small businesses have already been through, there’s a real risk this lockdown could break them.                     

“It’s absolutely critical these small businesses have the support and certainty they need from the Victorian Government to get through this.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Mining and Energy Union has struck a powerful legal blow against Australia’s "permanent casual labour hire rort", with a big win in the Federal Court for former employees of the Sub-Zero labour hire firm.

The court heard employees of Sub-Zero worked as permanents, but were engaged under a contract that described their employment as casual and offered a flat hourly rate of pay. This rate was claimed to incorporate a 25 percent casual loading. When Sub-Zero went into insolvency its employees made claims under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme. FEG recognised the workers were permanent, and not casual, but withheld the 25 percent casual loading from their claims.

The Mining and Energy Union has fought this through the courts, culminating in today’s Federal Court ruling that it is wrong to consider the 25 percent casual loading as an offset of the rights these workers had as permanent employees.

“This is yet another powerful legal blow to the shameful ’permanent casual’ labour hire rort in this country,” CFMEU mining and energy northern district president Peter Jordan said.

“It’s a fantastic victory for these mine workers who are now going to be tens of thousands of dollars better off on average. And we’ve also established a precedent that will apply to future labour hire companies that go into insolvency.

“This Federal Court victory follows on from our landmark Skene and Rossato victories that found the ‘permanent casual’ labour hire rort to be invalid. The Morrison Government should take the hint," he said.

“The courts have been loud and clear. In Australia, if you work somewhere permanently and predictably, then you’re a permanent. That entitles you to a package of rights and conditions. Employers can’t label you as a casual to strip you of those rights.

“The Morrison Government, instead of trying to legalise the rort through its IR Omnibus bill, should now move to stamp the practice out," Mr Jordan said.

“Mining companies in Australia can continue to make extremely healthy profits without resorting to these mean and tricky games. There’s no justification for their rort aside from base greed.

“Any decent Australian Government would now recognise the legal position, recognise the moral position, and tell employers the gig is up.

“If the government refuses to wake up, however, our union will keep fighting to ensure permanent workers are recognised as permanents and given the rights and conditions they deserve.”

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QUEENSLAND is poised to become a global leader in the supply of key minerals needed to create renewable energy, according to Queensland Exploration Council (QEC) chair Kim Wainwright.

Speaking in the lead-up to the QEC’s annual exploration forum in Brisbane on February 19, Ms Wainwright said local exploration companies were busier than ever across all commodity sectors.

“We are seeing renewed exploration activity in the gas industry in particular, in fact, the September 2020 quarter was the highest exploration expenditure we had seen since 2015 levels,” she said.

“For critical minerals, activity has not really slowed at all. The State Government is eager to facilitate exploration development and investors are keen to get on board with the minerals that are leading technological advancements in renewable energy, battery storage and defence systems to name a few.”

Ms Wainwright said Queensland was rich in new economy minerals such as cobalt, copper, vanadium, magnesite and bauxite.

“These in-demand commodities are abundant in Queensland’s north-west and north-east regions so there is a keen appetite to learn more about how to responsibly and economically explore and develop these deposits,” she said.

“The future of hydrogen and how the State Government plans to encourage investment in this emerging low carbon fuel source is another hot topic which we know will attract a lot of interest at next week's forum.”

World leading mineral geology researcher, professor Rick Valenta from The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and QEC Research Working Group Chair, echoed Ms Wainwright’s comments, saying it was an exciting time for the state’s minerals industry with never before released Queensland geological data scheduled to be publicly available later this year. 

“This data will help us better understand and define Queensland’s resource deposits and potentially uncover hidden exploration opportunities,” Prof. Valenta said. 

Ms Wainwright said coal remained the leading resource target in Queensland in terms of exploration expenditure. 

“With coal prices now back at pre-COVID levels, this is further stimulating investment in coal exploration projects,” she said. 

This year the QEC’s Exploration Initiatives for the Future forum will showcase ‘war stories’ from four explorers who received highly sought after grants under the State Government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI). 

To qualify for up to $200,000 in exploration funding, grant recipients are required to share their learnings with the industry to enhance collaboration, innovation and outcomes.  

Ms Wainwright said it was vital for explorers to learn from each other’s successes and failures so they could adapt and extend their own exploration and development work.

“By its very nature, exploration is speculative and can be exciting, but it can also be extremely stressful and prohibitively expensive with sometimes nothing to show for your efforts,” she said.

“Through the QEC, which is the Queensland Resources Council’s exploration arm, we’re creating a dynamic space for people and companies to communicate and collaborate so our industry can play a lead role in providing new economy minerals to meet the world’s future renewable energy needs.”

Speakers at next Friday’s forum include Australian Hydrogen Council deputy chair and Origin Energy general manager for Future Fuels, Felicity Underhill on the future of hydrogen and the Origin Energy Hydrogen Project; Aeon Metals’ exploration manager Dan Johnson will speak about Aeon’s progress and results achieved as a result of a CEI grant; and senior research fellow Dr Anita Parbhakar-Fox from UQ’s Sustainable Minerals Institute will present on the geometallurgy of mine waste and critical minerals.

To register for the QEC’s one-day forum at the Stamford Plaza, Brisbane click here.

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THE Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) today released two exposure drafts for consultation on its continuing professional education (CPE) policy requirements.

The TPB undertook a review of its CPE policy requirements and released a public discussion paper on February 19, 2020. The TPB considered the comments and submissions received and has released the drafts for further consultation.

One of the key changes, supported by the initial feedback, is the increase in the minimum number of CPE hours to 120 hours over three years for all registered tax practitioners.

The TPB chair, Ian Klug AM said, "Most tax practitioners provide excellent service to their clients. CPE is critical to maintaining skills and competence. The TPB recognises the increasingly complex environment that businesses operate in and constant changes to taxation laws. The scope of services provided by tax practitioners has also expanded over time.

"The proposed CPE standard of 120 hours over three years equates to less than an hour per week. This proposal also aligns with the standard of some other professions and matches the requirements of some professional associations.

"Ongoing education enhances the integrity of the tax profession, better supports client needs, and builds community confidence in the tax system. We welcome feedback from practitioners, their associations and any other interested parties that can assist the TPB in setting the right CPE standards."

Other proposed changes that provide for greater flexibility include the ability for tax practitioners to elect either a calendar or financial year basis for their three-year CPE period and to include an amount of educative health and wellbeing activities to count towards their CPE.

Mr Klug said this consultation process would help shape the future direction of CPE requirements for tax practitioners. The TPB will consider all feedback received before finalising its position and provide appropriate transitional arrangements to help tax practitioners to comply when changes are implemented.

The consultation is open until March 11, 2021. Written submissions can be sent via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by mail to:

Tax Practitioners Board
GPO Box 1620
SYDNEY NSW 2001

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MULTINATIONAL construction giant CIMIC Group must hand back the $20 million it took in JobKeeper in light of revelations the company made $620 million in profits and delivered more than $468 million to investors through share buybacks and dividends, alleged the CFMEU.

"JobKeeper was designed to keep Australian workers employed through the pandemic, not to underwrite multinational company profits and deliver huge returns to investors," said Dave Noonan CFMEU national construction secretary.

"CIMIC needs to do the right thing and repay the subsidy it took through JobKeeper at the start of the pandemic," he said.

“If this massive multinational company is unwilling to pay up voluntarily Scott Morrison should use the considerable regulatory powers available to him to compel CIMIC to hand the money back.

"Australian workers could rightly feel betrayed when they see Scott Morrison trying to cut their wages through his IR Omnibus Bill while handing out millions in subsidies to highly profitable businesses.

"The Covid crisis hit many Australian workers hard. The hundreds of thousands of people who lost jobs or had their hours reduced will not simply swallow revelations that their pain helped deliver massive profits to multinational companies like CIMIC.

"Scott Morrison needs to show whether he is on the side of Australian workers or the big business lobbyists and corporate donors who too often dictate his government’s policies."

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THE Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB), the independent body that sets the code of ethics and professional standards for Australia's accounting professionals, marked its 15th anniversary this week.

The APESB chair, Nancy Milne OAM, said, "Over the past 15 years, the APESB has delivered world-class professional standards, including the Code of Ethics, which are key drivers in the recognised ethical standing of professional accountants.

"Importantly, there is a renewed focus and increasing community expectations of professionals' ethical behaviour and conduct, which is being driven by recent events such as the Financial Services Royal Commission and the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry on Audit Regulation.”

The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the general public and business community, has highlighted the critical role professional accountants and auditors play to help facilitate the continued functioning of the economy.

To build on the high levels of public trust in the accounting profession and ensure its standards represent global best practice, Ms Milne said the APESB is working towards:

• ·strengthening auditor independence requirements in relation to non-assurance services and transparency of fee arrangements;
• ·implementing changes to the requirements for quality and risk management systems of firms to redefine professional practice; and
• ·developing resources at a national and global level to guide ethical conduct.

Recently, the APESB released guidance on auditor independence (jointly with the three major professional accounting bodies), the impact of COVID-19 and whistleblowing. The Board has also actively contributed to the work program of the International Ethics Standards Board of Accountants (IESBA) as a National Standards Setter to influence the global ethical standards. 

“As we move forward into our next strategic period, the APESB looks forward to continuing its public interest mandate to set and maintain professional and ethical standards to enhance the professionalism of the Australian accounting profession,” Ms Milne said.

She said APESB appreciated the contribution of all stakeholders, especially the professional accounting bodies, regulators, standard-setters and taskforce members who have contributed to its journey over the years. To mark its 15^th anniversary, the APESB will host a thought-leadership event later in the year.

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AUSTRALIA faces a growing fuel security crisis following ExxonMobil’s announcement that it plans to close the Altona oil refinery in Melbourne, with a loss of 350 jobs, further increasing the nation’s reliance on imported fuel to keep the economy moving, according to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

The closure is the second announced in five months, following BP’s decision last year to shut the Kwinana refinery in Western Australia, leaving just two domestic fuel producers.

The MUA said the news highlighted the failure of the Morrison Government’s $2.5 billion fuel security package — announced last September — with the Viva Energy plant in Geelong the only refinery to sign up.

The union warned that the replacement of domestic fuel production with a growing reliance on fuel refined overseas and transported to Australia on foreign owned and operated tankers was making the nation increasingly vulnerable to any international crisis that impacts maritime trade.

MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said the Federal Government needed to take urgent action to retain remaining refineries, increase domestic fuel stockpiles, and boost supply chain resilience.

“It is clear the Morrison Government’s fuel security plans have failed, with half of Australia’s remaining oil refineries announcing their closure in the last five months,” Mr Newlyn said.

“Even before these refineries close, more than 90 percent of Australia’s refined fuels are coming from overseas, leaving the nation seriously exposed to any crisis that impacts on maritime supply chains.

“We need urgent action from the Federal Government, with options including the purchase of these refineries — allowing this critical infrastructure to continue to operate under public ownership — along with a massive increase in domestic fuel reserves and the development of a strategic shipping fleet.

“The Federal Government should insist that if the Altona refinery closes, ExxonMobil must create a fleet of Australian-registered tankers to carry fuel to Australia and transport it around the coast.

“If ExxonMobil committed to use just 10 Australian ships to import and distribute fuel, it would create 340 seafaring jobs.”

Mr Newlyn said Australia continued to fall well short of the International Energy Agency’s 90-day fuel stockholding obligation, meaning the nation could run out of liquid fuel within weeks if a major crisis cut supplies.

“The COVID crisis exposed the vulnerability of Australia’s supply chains,” he said.

“If a pandemic, military conflict, natural disasters, or an economic shock cuts the flow of fuel to Australia, the situation would be catastrophic, with every part of the nation grinding to a halt.

“The Morrison Government keeps tinkering at the edges, rather than taking decisive action to address fuel security.

“What is required is an urgent, massive increase to fuel storage capacity in Australia — in line with the IEA’s fuel stockholding obligation — along with the development of a strategic shipping fleet of Australian tankers that can continue bringing fuel to the country in a crisis.

“Defending Australia’s economic security requires the strengthening of supply chains, especially for essential goods like fuel.”

In a report commissioned by the MUA, ‘Australia’s Fuel Security – Running on Empty’, shipping expert John Francis recommended the retention of a minimum number of Australian owned, managed and crewed tankers, saying it was justified on national security grounds and could be achieved at a minimal cost to end users.

‘Australia’s Fuel Security – Running on Empty’ is at: https://bit.ly/31cDisq

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