A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s defence, trade and international relations will hear from the Department of Health.  

Senator David Fawcett, Chair of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, said the department had been at the forefront of Australia’s COVID-19 response.

Senator Fawcett said, “Australians can rightly be proud of the achievements of our health authorities in responding to and managing the COVID-19 pandemic, though of course there is still work to be done. The committee looks forward to hearing from the Department about recent developments in the fight against COVID-19 and the steps we might take as a nation to build our resilience as we emerge from the pandemic.”

Full terms of reference for the inquiry are on the Committee website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 13 August
Time: 3pm – 4.30pm AEST 
Location: By teleconference

The hearings will be audio streamed live at aph.gov.au/live.

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A LEGISLATED10-year hold on the rate of royalties applied by the State Government to Queensland's resource commodities will create more jobs and strengthen COVID-19 recovery efforts, according to the Queensland Resources Council.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said maintaining royalty rates – already Australia’s highest - at current levels for the next 10 years sends a clear message to investors around the globe that 'Queensland is open for business'.

"Before COVID-19 hit, the Queensland Government confirmed the royalty rates on coal and metals would remain stable until 2022, and for petroleum until 2025, which the resources industry welcomed," Mr Macfarlane said.

"Given the importance of the resources sector in leading the State in its economic recovery, the QRC welcomes today’s announcement by the LNP that it would legislate a 10-year freeze on royalty rates until 2030, because it’s exactly what Queensland needs right now.

“As the peak representative body for Queensland's explorers and producers of coal, metals and gas and supplier companies, the QRC calls on all members of State Parliament to support the LNP’s proposal to give the industry the confidence to play its part in Queensland’s COVID-19 recovery.”

Mr Macfarlane said the resources industry had been through a period of turmoil and upheaval with Queensland’s royalty regime, to the sector’s detriment.

"We know Queensland’s regulatory uncertainty has already impacted investment decisions for resource projects which operate for decades, and benefit our state economy for even longer,” he said.

“A decade of royalty certainty is the shot in the arm the Queensland economy needs as we unite and recover from COVID-19.”

Mr Macfarlane said as Queensland’s largest export industry, the resources sector was committed to paying its fair share of royalties, and the LNP proposal would lock in that definition of fair for a decade.

“Without new investment, jobs, exports and royalties the Queensland Government will simply not be in a position to finance a COVID-19 recovery,” he said.

“Before COVID-19, the Queensland resources sector employed more than 372,000 Queenslanders and generated $76 billion in economic activity across the State, creating more than $5 billion in government royalty revenue.

“Queensland needs to secure every job and every dollar, if we are to bounce back from COVID-19 as quickly and as strongly as possible,” Mr Macfarlane said.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE INQUIRY into food pricing and food security in remote Indigenous communities will hold a public hearing tomorrow.

Julian Leeser MP, Chair of the House of Representatives Indigenous Affairs Committee, said the Committee would hear from stakeholders from Queensland, including the key industry players Community Enterprise Queensland and Sea Swift, and also from Indigenous peak bodies from the Northern Territory and New South Wales.

"The Committee looks forward to gaining further insights into the complexities of the food supply chains and store management in the top-end of Australia, and the experiences of Aboriginal organisations with food pricing and availability," Mr Leeser said.

The hearings will be conducted via telephone and video links due to social distancing requirements relating to COVID-19. Full programs are available at the inquiry website.

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday 12 August
Time: 9am to 11am; 1pm to 4.40pm
Location: Via conference call

An audio broadcast will be accessible at aph.gov.au/live

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said a new report by the Grattan Institute makes a clear economic case for affordable childcare.

“Cheaper childcare: a practical plan to boost female workforce participation” estimates an overhaul of the childcare subsidy system would add $11 billion to GDP per year and increase hours works by 13 percent," Ms Carnell said.

In the report, the Grattan Institute recommends the Federal Government invest an extra $5 billion per year on childcare subsidies.

Ms Carnell says affordable childcare is critical to ensuring women can work, including women in small businesses.

“38 percent of small businesses are owned and operated by women and that number has been growing,” Ms Carnell said.

“Many of these women are mothers who rely on childcare as they work to get their businesses back up-and-running again.

“For those surviving on JobKeeper, childcare fees are unaffordable. That means one parent – mothers more often than not – need to spend more time at home. It’s bad for business and even worse for the economy.”

The report refers to the ‘workforce disincentive rate’ which leads many mothers to work three or four day weeks, because working an extra day would offer virtually no take-home pay.

“Now is the time for the government to be implementing innovative ways to increase the female participation rate,” Ms Carnell said.

“The report shows that under the current system, a family with two kids in childcare on $60k FTE - the primary carer gets $2 per hour for day four and nothing for day five.

“There’s no doubt that affordable childcare would allow more women to work on growing their businesses, which would deliver productivity gains," she said.

“While the Grattan Institute recommends an expanded subsidy scheme, the government could also make childcare more tax-effective.

“After all, getting people back into jobs is key to Australia’s economic recovery.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s defence, trade and international relations will hear from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at its next public hearing.  

Senator David Fawcett, chair of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, said ANSTO is a leading producer and exporter of some of the most important nuclear medicines used in diagnosing and treating cancers, heart disease, and neurological disorders.

Senator Fawcett said, “ANSTO has worked hard to ensure Australians have ongoing access to vital nuclear medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is also doing important work in the processing of rare earth metals, an area that has great potential to enhance Australia’s sovereign capabilities.”

Witnesses from ANSTO will give evidence on their work in nuclear medicine, and their work in international forums like the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as in rare earth mineral processing.

Full terms of reference for the inquiry are on the Committee website.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday 11 August
Time: 4:30m – 5.30pm AEST 
Location: By teleconference

The hearings will be audio streamed live at aph.gov.au/live.

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THE Federal Court has handed a major legal victory to 10 Australian seafarers who undertook a two-month sit-in to prevent their vessel, the MV Portland, from being replaced by foreign flag-of-convenience ships crewed by exploited workers.

The seafarers and their union, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), have been in a four-and-a-half year legal battle with the Fair Work Ombudsman, which is seeking fines and damages over allegations the crew’s refusal to leave the vessel constituted unlawful industrial action.

In November 2015, the crew found out from media reports that Alcoa was planning to sack 40 Australian seafarers and sell the MV Portland, which had been carrying alumina from Kwinana in Western Australia to its Portland Aluminium Smelter in Victoria for 27 years.

The 10 seafarers on board refused to sail the vessel to Singapore, where it was to be sold, occupying the vessel for two months before they were forcibly removed by security guards in the dead of night and replaced by a foreign crew.

Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg ruled in favour of the MUA’s argument that a clause in the vessel’s employment agreement that stated it was in place “whilst the vessel operates in the trade” meant it had ceased to apply at the time of the sit-in.

In his judgement, Justice Bromberg said that given the critical nature of this argument to the FWO’s case, it would seem to follow that the substantive proceeding should be dismissed.

MUA assistant national secretary Ian Bray said the decision was a significant win for the seafarers involved.

“For four-and-a-half years, the Fair Work Ombudsman has pursued legal action against the union and our members, refusing numerous attempts to mediate a resolution and instead taking it to trial in the Federal Court,” Mr Bray said.

“The ruling by Justice Bromberg, which confirms the long-argued position of the MUA and our members that the employment agreement ceased to operate once Alcoa announced the MV Portland was being replaced from service, blows a hole in the FWO case.

“This is a significant victory for the 10 brave Australian seafarers who spent two months on board this vessel, without pay, in an effort to defend one of the few remaining Australian-registered vessels trading on our coast.

“After four long years, this not only brings us a step closer to averting fines for our members, it could be a watershed industrial relations decision with significant implications for other workers.”

Mr Bray said the public should hold the Turnbull, Abbott and Morrison governments to account for their role in not only sending these jobs offshore, but then prosecuting the Australian workers who tried to save them.

“Every step of the way, the Federal Government has been supporting the loss of these skilled jobs,” he said.

“They issued the temporary licences required to use foreign flag-of-convenience vessels to undertake this trade around the Australian coast, they granted the visas for the foreign crew who were flown in to replace these seafarers, and they then set their industrial relations attack dog on them.

“Rather than support Australian jobs, we have seen successive Coalition governments continue the decimation of Australia’s maritime supply chains, leaving the nation almost completely dependent on foreign vessels to move essential goods around our coastline.

“The only way multi-national companies like Alcoa have been able to get away with slashing the jobs of Australian seafarers is because the Federal Government continues to support this race to the bottom by issuing temporary licenses to use foreign vessels with exploited crews on coastal shipping routes.

“Four-and-a-half years on, Alcoa is continuing to use flag-of-convenience vessels crewed by seafarers that are paid as little as $2 per hour, all while enjoying multimillion dollar taxpayer-funded subsidies from the Victorian Government.

“Despite happily taking millions from Australian taxpayers, this American multinational refuses to employ a single Australian seafarer on what is clearly a permanent domestic trading route.” 

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AUSTRALIA must urgently overhaul security and licensing provisions for shipments of dangerous and high consequence goods, including ammonium nitrate, in light of the catastrophic blast in Beirut that killed at least 135 people and injured thousands more, according to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA)

The union has repeatedly warned the Australian Government that the reliance on poorly-regulated foreign flag-of-convenience vessels — like the unseaworthy Russian-owned, Moldovan-flagged Rhosus which delivered the explosive material to Beirut — to carry dangerous goods around the coast poses a significant safety risk.

The union said the Australian Government was continuing to issue temporary licences to flag-of-convenience ships carrying dangerous cargoes such as ammonium nitrate without ensuring they adhere to Australian safety standards, and without security checks on the crew members on board.

Among the actions urged is legislation that requires the use of Australian-registered and crewed vessels — which must conform to appropriate safety standards and have properly tra​ined crews​ ​that​ have undergone security checks — to carry high consequence cargoes such as explosives, munitions, weapons, aviation gas, and other liquid and gas fuels.

While Australian seafarers are required to undergo thorough security checks before being issued Maritime Security Identification Cards, foreign workers on flag-of-convenience vessels are exempt from these checks, instead being issued a Maritime Crew Visa without any background checks.

MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said inadequate shipping regulations and security checks were creating a ticking time bomb on Australia’s coast.

“The situation in Beirut, where a dangerous cargo arrived on an unseaworthy flag-of-convenience vessel that lacked the ability to safely store it, could easily be repeated in Australia,” Mr Crumlin said.

“Dangerous goods like weapons-grade ammonium nitrate come in and out of Australian ports on flag-of-convenience ships without any process to ensure they can safely carry that dangerous cargo, or that their crew members don’t pose security risks.

“The porous and substandard level of background checks on foreign workers through the Maritime Crew Visa — which is issued electronically without background checks — is completely inadequate and inappropriate for such high consequence cargoes.

“This coastal and international shipping trade has been left open to the lowest bidders who utilise exploited foreign crews who are often extremely fatigued due to spending more than a year at sea.”

Mr Crumlin said urgent actions were needed to protect the Australian coastline, as well as workers and nearby residents at ports that handle dangerous cargoes.

“Last year, 85,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate moved through the Port of Newcastle alone — 30 times the amount that devastated Beirut — posing a significant threat to safety,” he said.

“The Australian Government must urgently tighten shipping regulations to ensure dangerous goods are carried on vessels that are registered in Australia and crewed by Australian seafarers who have undergone appropriate training and security checks.

“Using Australian owned, operated and crewed ships for the transport of dangerous goods is a simple way to ensure safety standards are met, significantly reducing the danger posed by shipping.

“This would also ensure that all seafarers moving this cargo have undergone the strict background checks and ongoing compliance that is required to be issued with a Maritime Security Identification Card.”

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SUCCESSFUL Australian franchise business, Snap Fitness, reported it has seen locals emerge from lockdown with a new zest for life as sign ups skyrocket.

With at-home workouts taking a back seat, Australians seem keen to hit the gym and take advantage of flexible access despite the everchanging public environment. The brand is set to open 10 new clubs across the country before the year is out.

Snap Fitness is seeing record numbers flocking to clubs with membership growth of 89 percent  in June and 72 percent in July, making it clear fitness is a priority or those wanting to get back into the swing of things.

Predicting 3.8 percent of growth annually over the next five years, the fitness industry is currently worth $3 billion in Australia, employing over 21,000 people. Although the sector was hit hard by COVID-19, this growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Snap Fitness national franchise sales manager, Gabe Condello said, “If you have ever been looking to invest in a business, now is the time to consider the fitness industry, as it can take up to 6-12 months to get a club open. We are seeing great opportunities present themselves right now, from landlords providing flexible arrangements to more people than ever wanting to be fit and healthy, leading to solid returns for clubs coming out of COVID.”

While Snap Fitness has said it was excited to welcome gym goers back through their doors, new precautions will be taken to ensure their workout spaces align with current health and safety guidelines.

Equipment has been set up to allow for social distancing, self-cleaning stations are available at all clubs, increased cleaning procedures are in place and clubs have updated their amenities to abide by guidelines including showers, water coolers, fans and spaced out lockers.

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