THE Queensland Resources Council has repeated its call for the Palaszczuk Government to match the LNP Opposition commitment to a 10-year freeze on all resource royalties.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the industry noted the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment today to a five-year freeze for new petroleum royalty arrangements, following its earlier commitment to freeze the rate and threshold for coal and metal royalties for three years.

“The government has recognised that stable royalties provide greater investment and employment certainty for the resources industry.  The LNP promised 12 months ago, if elected, it would stabilise royalties for 10 years,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The resources sector has been paying more than $5 billion in royalties to the Queensland Government to reinvest in services and infrastructure for all Queenslanders.

“The role of the resources sector is even more important to Queensland with COVID-19’s impact across the state’s economy. The resources sector employs one in seven jobs in Queensland and it contributes more than $220 million to the State’s economy each week," he said.

“The last royalty increase, under the Newman Government in 2012, compounded the regional impact of a global downturn in commodity prices and led to a significant reduction in resource investment and jobs.

“QRC welcomes the use of actual sales rather than an index for calculating gas royalties and the lower rates the model will offer for domestic production.”

Mr Macfarlane said QRC would have preferred the Queensland Government to continue dialogue with the gas industry to better inform the development of the new petroleum royalty arrangements.

“QRC will continue to work with its gas members to ensure the government’s new royalty arrangements are workable and do not detract from their planned investment and employment, particularly in the COVID-19 recovery,” he said.

www.qrc.org.au

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NEW INDEPENDENT modelling from corporate energy adviser Schneider Electric highlights the need for the Queensland Government to plan for a smooth, well managed transition from coal to wind, solar and hydro power. 

The report by Schneider Electric, revealed by Fairfax media today,  highlights  that Queensland's coal power plants will soon become uneconomic to run, as they are pushed out of the market by  cheaper, cleaner, renewable energy. 

The privately owned Gladstone power plant is likely to be the first Queensland coal plant to close earlier than expected, possibly as soon as 2025 according to UBS utilities analyst Tom Allen. 

Queensland Conservation Council urges the State Government not to drag their heels any longer on making solid plans for replacing the six state government owned coal fired power plants, and ensuring that workers have secure, quality jobs to go to, and communities are supported through the transition

Closing and replacing coal power stations with clean energy will create new opportunities and will mean a brighter future for Queensland, the council said.

According to the council, with the average cost of electricity from large scale solar plants in Australia falling dramatically – by a claimed 78 percent between 2010 and 2019 – the path to future prosperity for the state is clear.

"We need to stop relying on dirty fossil fuels and move rapidly towards renewable energy," Queensland Conservation Council director, Louise Matthiesson said. "The transition to a clean, renewable future is both essential and possible. 

"Burning coal has no long-term future for our economy, our health or our environment. Queensland is rich in clean energy resources – including sun and wind – that power new forms of renewable energy. 

 “It’s well beyond time for our politicians to take positive action in the energy arena and replace outdated coal power with cheaper, cleaner renewables,” Ms Matthiesson said. “A well-planned transition to clean, renewable energy can provide Queenslanders with a better, safer future.”

About Queensland Conservation Council

Queensland Conservation Council is a leading independent voice for the environment in Queensland. The council's mission is to protect Queensland’s landscapes, wildlife and climate, conserve its precious natural resources and make the state's businesses and communities more sustainable. Queensland Conservation Council is the state’s peak body for Queensland’s environmental movement, representing over 50 community environment groups across the state. 

www.queenslandsconservation.org.au

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THE RESOURCES industry has kept Queenslanders working through the COVID-19 response and is playing a central role in the economic recovery according to the latest State of the Sector report said the Queensland Resources Council.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said a survey of the State’s top resource leaders in May found strong momentum in employment growth over the next 12 months.

“Every resource job matters and our sector is doing the heavy lifting with the State’s employment with 63 percent of the companies surveyed maintaining or growing workforces while 5 percent were expecting to increase employment numbers significantly,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Queensland’s coal and mineral miners were in a substantially better position going into the COVID-19 crisis than the previous commodity price lows five years ago with 50 percent of companies expecting operations to remain in the lowest cost quartile and nearly 90 percent sitting in the bottom half of the cost curve.

“Costs in Queensland’s oil and gas industry have crept higher with all operations remaining in the top half of the cost curve and three quarters in the highest cost quartile," Mr Macfarlane said.

“Part of the sector’s success was its immediate response to the crisis and its ability to work with all levels of government to protect the public health of the communities in which we operate by strictly adhering to the advice of the State’s Chief Health Officer and implementing further measures.

“More than 70 percent of our members said the Queensland Government had performed well or exceptionally well when compared to other Australian jurisdictions and when compared to international jurisdictions 83 percent said the government had performed well or exceptionally well.

“Concerns weighing on the sector include contractions in the global economy, raising capital and the health impacts of the coronavirus around the world.

“Sentiment amongst companies towards the global economy dropped a further 19 percent to a record low from the previous report.”

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Queensland resources sector has continued to deliver more than 80 percent of the State’s exports despite reductions due to market disruptions and price volatility in the wake of the global pandemic COVID-19.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said today’s release of Queensland Treasury analysis of trade data for the 12 months until the end of April, showed resources was the dominant contributor to the State’s export earnings with coal the most valuable despite a 8.8 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

“Mineral exports were up almost 7 percent or an additional $550 million,” Mr Macfarlane said. “The latest data shows the resource sector has delivered more than $65 billion in exports over the last 12 months or $1.25 billion every week.”

“When the resources industry is working, Queenslanders are earning and Queensland is exporting.”

www.qrc.org.au

Link to Queensland Treasury data:

www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/3526/exports-qld-goods-overseas-202004.pdf

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AUSTRALIA's superannuation savings pool has withstood the COVID-19 financial crisis so far, falling just 0.3 percent in the 12 months to April 30, 2020, while bolstering cash reserves.

Australia’s prudential regulator for the superannuation system, APRA, has just released its latest quarterly industry snapshot. It shows the superannuation system is in remarkably strong shape given the economic shock of COVID-19.

This should give Australia’s 12 million super fund members and their families confidence that while their superannuation has been buffeted by COVID-19, their superannuation savings are safe.

Illustrating this, while APRA’s figures show Australia’s superannuation savings pool contracted 7.7 percent during the three months between December 2019 and end March 2020, over the 12-month period to end of April 2020, it decreased by just 0.3 percent..

The 2019 year was one of the best ever for superannuation savings in Australia.

“Compared to the 23 percent fall in global stock markets in first quarter of 2020 as well as the 14 percent fall over the 12-month period to March, this is a stunning result,” said Alex Dunnin, executive director of research and compliance at Rainmaker Information.

Mr Dunnin said even though the SelectingSuper MySuper performance index, which is compiled by Rainmaker, fell 11 percent during this three month period, over 12-months the index is down only 4 percent.

As a result, Australia’s superannuation savings have only fallen to March 2019 levels..

During the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis the SelectingSuper index fell as low as -21 percent.

But not all parts of the superannuation sector are weathering the COVID-19 crisis equally.  

The not for profit (NFP) super fund segment comprising corporate, public sector and industry super funds, contracted 5 percent in the March quarter.

Comparatively, the retail super fund sector contracted more than twice as much, up to 12 percent. Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) contracted 9 percent in the same period.

“Two-thirds of the decrease experienced across the superannuation savings pool came from APRA-regulated NFP and retail funds," Mr Dunnin said.

“While the retail super segment holds roughly one-quarter of superannuation savings assets compared to the NFP segment that holds half, each segment fell by about the same amount in dollar terms.

“APRA figures show the retail super fund segment holds 24 percent of their investments in Australian equities, compared to just 15 percent by  NFP funds.

“Retails funds are more vulnerable to fluctuations in equities markets, however, industry super funds with a larger share of their investments in unlisted assets such as real property, infrastructure and private equity were better insulated from the worst of these equities falls.”

Liquidity also became a concern for some superannuation market commentators and politicians when the government announced the Early Release of Superannuation scheme on March 22, with speculation that some super funds may find it difficult to pay these early redemptions.

Super funds with investments in unlisted assets such as property, private equity and infrastructure were singled out for special mentions because of concerns they may have too little set aside in cash reserves.

However, APRA’s superannuation snapshot has revealed that super funds $273 billion in cash at the end of March, which is 27-times the amount of money that has so far been paid out in Early Release claims.

To appreciate the total amount held in liquid assets held by super funds, Dunnin said you should also include the additional $466 billion held in bonds.

“The 14 percent held in cash and the 22 percent held in bonds means super funds have $739 billion or 36 percent of their total investments held in liquid assets," Mr Dunnin said.

“NFP funds have 37 percent of their assets available in cash and bonds, marginally exceeding the 36 percent held by retail super funds. Industry funds hold 31 percent of their assets in these instruments.”

During the March quarter, funds received $29 billion in contributions, taking the value of total contributions for the past 12 months to $121 billion, further adding to these funds’ liquidity.

“This is the highest contributions inflow in more than two years,” Mr Dunnin said.

 “These added contributions are often missed when analysing these ‘vulnerable’ funds.

“Sure they may have a higher than average proportion of younger members, however they receive hundreds of millions in contributions each month.” he said.

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THE peak body for the Residential Land Lease Community industry warmly supports the Federal Government's announcement today of the Homebuilder grant.

With over 100,000 Australians already choosing the lifestyle and security of a land lease community, the Homebuilder grant will allow many more Australians to downsize out of the suburbs through the construction of a new house within a residential community, according to the chair of the Residential Land Lease Alliance, James Kelly.

Mr Kelly said the grant, available on new contracts from June 4, will not only stimulate new housing sales, but will free up equity for older Australians to otherwise spend through the economy, while also assisting housing stocks of established homes in the suburbs for families looking to get into the housing market.

“The benefits of a land lease community are being recognised by more and more Australians as they look to move into their next phase of their life and prepare for an active and connected lifestyle,” Mr Kelly said..

“The market has been somewhat subdued with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis, but today’s announcement, along with the strict hygiene and social distancing procedures of the industry, will provide confidence for Australians to jump into land lease community living.

The land lease community model allows for Australians to purchase a home -- as an asset and able to be re-sold -- on land with a right to tenure, and gain access to community facilities.  This is proving a popular model for older Australians looking to free up capital, lead a social and active life, while having the security of independent living, Mr Kelly said.

www.lifestylecommunities.com.au

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GWA Group, the leading supplier of bathroom and kitchen products in Australia to the commercial construction and home building/renovation sectors, has strongly endorsed Federal Government initiatives to boost new home and renovation construction as part of the coronavirus recovery plan.

With the two main household priority areas for renovation being kitchens and bathrooms, where multiple trades are employed, government stimulus will be particularly effective in boosting employment in key construction trades.

According to GWA estimates, each 10 percent increase in residential renovation activity alone will, in an average month, create an incremental 140,000 to 150,000 direct on-site trade jobs plus significant further upstream local jobs in trades such as brickmaking, window construction, concreting and more.

GWA also recommended  the Federal Government should link any incentives for new home and renovation projects where householders receive cash grants from the Federal Government to the mandatory installation of water efficient, highest rated WELS toilets, taps and showers.

“Australia is the driest continent on earth and with water scarcity continuing to be a major issue, we urge the Government to mandate water efficient sustainable solutions to preserve precious water resources for future generations of Australians,” GWA managing director, Tim Salt said.

GWA has a proven commitment to develop sustainable products which are highly water efficient. These technologies have been supported by government initiatives to conserve Australia’s water resources and energy. GWA was the first company to develop the two-button dual flush toilet system in 1982, which now saves the equivalent of a Sydney Harbour of water (c 500GL) every year in Australia.

GWA’s latest innovation, Caroma Smart Command, offers a hygienic touchless bathroom solution for commercial buildings that can reduce a building’s water consumption by 25 percent.

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BUDDING entrepreneurs at Queensland high schools have an opportunity to turn their enterprising ideas into a bonafide business with a new competition being launched by Brisbane-based RTO, Binnacle Training (RTO Code 31319).

Binnacle wants to empower students with a knack for business with their new Binnacle Boss initiative which requires students to present a 2-3 minute video pitch of their start-up business idea.

Binnacle is tipping that isolation may have inspired some original business ideas and even new video skills courtesy of TikTok which was a surprise lockdown hit for bored teenagers.

The young entrepreneur competition is open to all Queensland secondary school students from Grade 7-12. Students can enter individually or in teams of up to four and have multiple submissions over the course of the competition.

Video pitches will be judged on their creativity, impact, and innovation by an expert panel of successful business owners. These include Leanne Kemp, Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur, and Taj Pabari who’s renowned for his transition from suspended schoolboy to teenage entrepreneur and was awarded Queensland’s Young Australian of the Year in 2017.

Boss prizes are up for grabs for the top three videos, as well as an Audience Prize winner. The haul includes Business Start-up Packages worth over $5,000, with mentoring and financing sessions, marketing collateral, podcast exposure, work experience, and access to potential investors to get businesses off the ground.

“One common theme we know from working with teachers is that students have incredible ideas but lack the resources and confidence to turn their vision into a reality,” Binnacle Training CEO Aaron Bulow said.

“Our goal is to provide a springboard for students who have ideas but don’t know how to action them,” he said.

Students, start brainstorming now to become the inaugural Binnacle Boss! The competition is open from now until August 31, with winners to be announced on September 18.

To view the entire list of judges click here.

Click here for the Binnacle Boss Resource Hub 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/binnacleboss/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/binnacleboss/

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