REPORTS that the Federal Government has commenced talks with Australia’s four oil refineries about the development of a domestic fuel reserve are a welcome step towards achieving energy security, but the Maritime Union of Australia has warned the plan must also address the nation’s reliance on foreign oil tankers.

The union is seeking a meeting with Energy Minister Angus Taylor to outline Australia’s reliance on foreign owned and operated tankers, which supply more than 90 percent of the nation’s liquid fuel needs, and urge the government to address this critical vulnerability.

MUA assistant national secretary Ian Bray said reports the Morrison Government was developing a more substantial energy security plan that included increased domestic fuel reserves was welcome news.

“The key concern with the Australian Government’s announcement last month that it was spending $94 million to access crude oil stored in the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve was that in a crisis this reserve would still be on the other side of the world,” Mr Bray said.

“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how vulnerable global supply chains are, raising questions about how this oil could be transported to Australia during major disruptions caused by natural disasters, military conflicts, or economic crises.

“It is welcome news that the Morrison Government has recognised those issues and commenced negotiations with Australian oil refineries about the joint development of a domestic fuel stockpile.”

Mr Bray said securing supply chains needed to be a key component in any fuel security plan, with the complete reliance on foreign-owned shipping posing a serious threat.

“Australia needs an energy security plan that not only addresses storage and refining capacity, but also includes a strong shipping component, ensuring oil and refined fuels can continue to be reliably delivered to Australia, even in a crisis,” he said.

“The MUA is seeking a meeting with the Energy Minister to outline the vital role of shipping in delivering fuel security, and the need to develop a strategic fleet of Australian owned and operated tankers to ensure supplies keep flowing in the event of a global crisis.”

The union has been advocating for action since 2015, through submissions to parliamentary inquiries and by commissioning shipping expert John Francis to produce a report, Australia’s Fuel Security – Running on Empty, which examined the nation’s reliance on foreign-owned tankers to supply liquid fuels.

“The union has been warning for years that the decline of Australian shipping is a national security risk, which is why we continue to urge the Australian Government to invest in the creation of a strategic fleet,” Mr Bray said.

“When 98 percent of our trade depends on foreign-owned ships, with no guarantee we could continue to access these vessels during a crisis, it is clear our nation is in an incredibly vulnerable position.

“Unless this vulnerability is addressed, the country will remain at risk of having our fuel supplies cut due to a future military conflict, natural disaster, economic crisis or pandemic that impacts seaborne trade.”

The MUA’s report ‘Australia’s Fuel Security – Running on Empty’ is available here: https://bit.ly/31cDisq

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THE Caravan Industry Association of Australia is pleased with the National Cabinet’s positive messaging to a return to 'normal' and the clear framework it provides to business and our travelling community, but is calling for further consideration to cabin style accommodation and RVs that meet the requirements and where this fits into the timeline on a state and territory level.  

The industry is calling on the state Premiers and Chief Ministers to consider roofed accommodation such as cabins within caravan parks and RV’s with on-board facilities that include toilet, shower, kitchen etc. to be included in their stage one of restrictions easing. 

Caravan Parks are as safe an options as other accommodation providers, if not more so given their self-contained nature, the industry body said.

"Caravan Parks already have contact-less check-in and cabins are individual free-standing structures," a spokesperson said. "There are no shared hallways, lifts etc. which are common in other accommodation types. 

"This action will be crucial to get cashflow through businesses in regional Australia over the next few weeks to kickstart economic activity, with research indicating over 350,000 campers are keen to return to camping almost immediately when restrictions are lifted."

In April alone, a period that included Easter and Anzac day, COVID-19 response measures cost the caravan industry more than $208 million and this figure is further inflated by the loss of expenditure that would have been generated by regional tourism and thousands of small businesses.

Association CEO Stuart Lamont said, “Caravan parks have the ability to manage social distancing, adhere to increased hygiene, have strong contact tracing procedures in place, and yet they remain lumped in with unmanaged campgrounds who quite rightly should be opened in Step Two, but behind that is commercial operations which can demonstrate COVID-safe environments. 

"Caravan Park operators have been encouragingly quick to respond to plan and implement ways to be proactive in reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure to guests and staff.

“This is a failure of government decision makers to recognise the diverse nature of what a modern caravan park is, and how it can manage the risk.  We urge state Premiers and Chief Ministers to consider this in their response to easing restrictions within their jurisdictions.”

Caravan Industry Association of Australia, however, in general welcomes today’s announcements, Mr Lamont said.

"It is an industry that believes it can play an important role in kickstarting the economy again, the tourism industry and regional Australia.  We look forward to being part of the solution."

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THE AUSTRALIAN Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding businesses using the ATO’s Business Portal for the first time that they will need to set up a myGovID if they don’t already have one.

Through the Business Portal, businesses can apply for certain government assistance programs, lodge activity statements and pay super guarantee through the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH).

The ATO's chief digital officer, John Dardo said, "The ATO is here to help those needing to set up a myGovID quickly.

“In the past week we’ve seen over 800,000 ABNs logging into ATO portals. We have also seen over 120,000 ABNs setting up their myGovID to enable them to have online access. We expect to see similar enrolments in the coming week.

“If you need to use the ATO Business Portal and you don’t have a myGovID yet don’t worry. Just download the myGovID app and follow the steps. Over 80 percent of people can set it up without any assistance. If you get stuck, we have instructions and videos on the web and our call centres are able to help.”

The myGovID is an app business leaders download to their smart device to prove who they are online. It uses the security features in the individual's device such as fingerprint or face recognition and passwords to protect identity and stop others accessing personal information.

After downloading the app and setting up a myGovID, businesses need to link that myGovID to the business using Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). Together, myGovID and RAM provide a flexible, easy and secure way to access the ATO’s Business Portal.

“MyGovID is associated with an individual rather than a computer, making it flexible and portable," Mr Dardo said.

"This means you can continue to access the Business Portal when you’re working from home. All you need is a compatible smart device and a browser with internet access.”

How to set up a myGovID

• Step 1: Set up your myGovID - download the myGovID app from the App Store or Google Play and use your Australian identity documents (two of the following; driver’s licence, Medicare card, birth certificate, passport) to enrol.
• Step 2: Log in to RAM at https://info.authorisationmanager.gov.au) using your myGovID and link your business.
• Step 3 (optional): Authorise your employees and others in RAM to act on behalf of your business online. They will receive an email to accept the authorisation request using their myGovID.

When you’ve completed these steps you’ll be able to use your myGovID to log in to the Business Portal.

Find out more about myGovID at www.ato.gov.au/mygovid

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IN RESPONSE to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers in the City Analytics Lab in the City Futures Research Centre at UNSW Built Environment have created a COVID-19 Property Market Dashboard for Australia.

The dashboard provides a current snapshot, updated daily, of how the property market is performing before and during COVID-19. It consists of an interactive map of Australia, identifying the COVID-19 cases hotspots based on data from state departments of health.

As of April 22, 2020, the dashboard reports the total volume of sales across Australia is down $237 million compared with the same time last year. Total sales have dropped at least 30 percent in all capital cities since COVID-19 cases started increasing in March 2020.

Sydney total sales have dropped 79 percent (-$454 million) and Melbourne has dropped 85 percent (-$584 million) in the past eight weeks.

Adelaide has the largest proportional loss, down 83 percent compared with last year.

Brisbane is the only market showing a moderate improvement in sales value in April.

Auction clearance rates have dropped in all major cities across Eastern Australia, except Canberra.

“It is hoped the insights obtained through the dashboard can assist Australians better understand, monitor and make more informed decisions in relation to property as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold,” Professor Chris Petit, chair of Urban Science and director of the City Analytics Lab said.

The COVID-19 Property Market Dashboard provides graphs and charts which report on key property market metrics, including total sales value, median property prices, auction clearance rates, the house value index, performance of the ASX 200 real estate sector, market sentiment and the volume of property sales.

“It will assist in making data-driven decisions, such as being able to explore rezoning options, determining the economic benefits of a development proposal, or even the location of important infrastructure, like new metro or light rail stations,” said Graeme Kernich, chief executive officer of partner organisation FrontierSI.

The dashboard has been developed through the Value Australia project, a CRC-Project in partnership with FrontierSI, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, PropertyNSW, Liverpool City Council and Omnilink.

See the COVID-19 Property Market Dashboard here (https://covid19dashboard.be.unsw.edu.au/)

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MACQUARIE Telecom, part of Macquarie Telecom Group (ASX: MAQ), today launched a Microsoft Teams service to allow customers to integrate their desk phones into their Teams clients and bring staff a step closer to being back in the office.

The cloud-based service uses a secure session initiation protocol (SIP) trunk system which allows users to make and receive direct calls via Teams on their mobile, laptop or other device, using their same office or desk number.

“Earlier this year we introduced a new desk phone, but needs have changed and we need to virtually bring that desk phone into customers’ home offices,” said David Flanagan, chief product officer at Macquarie Telecom.

“The mindset that apps like Teams are used for video meetings and group conference calls, while mobiles and desk phones are used for day-to-day calls, is changing," Mr Flanagan said.

"The combination of widely available reliable broadband and a normalised work-from-home is driving direct calling using collaboration software.”

The new service follows demand from a range of Macquarie’s existing and prospective customers across industries, with many citing that their work-from-home policies would continue after restrictions were lifted and that many staff did not have business mobile phones to use for work.

Macquarie estimates the SIP trunking service could reduce line rental costs for organisations, with additional setup and maintenance savings through reducing the number of PABXs on site.

“The ability and adaptability of workers in Australia to jump straight into working from home has been rightly hailed, but it’s taken for granted that many are using their personal devices to do so, which may not be preferred or appropriate," Mr Flanagan said.

"Businesses need services like this to maintain WFH policies, because we won’t return to the norm as we knew it

Macquarie has been a Microsoft partner for more than 10 years and recently entered an agreement to deliver Azure public cloud services as well as SD-WAN via the Azure Marketplace to Australian customers.

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AS THE WORLD deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) is offering its WAVE push-to-talk service free to critical industries in Australia and New Zealand until the end of June 2020.

The offer will enable essential organisations to benefit from the capabilities the service delivers to mobilise frontline workers and unify group communications across multiple technology users.

As the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, commercial, emergency and volunteer organisations are at the frontline of the response, helping to keep the country safe. Motorola Solutions anticipates that many responding organisations do not have immediate access to instant push-to-talk communications they need to mobilise volunteers and other frontline personnel.

“The most important use of technology right now is helping essential organisations and frontline personnel to work more safely and efficiently,” Con Balaskas, managing director A/NZ for Motorola Solutions said

“We are working closely with our partners and customers throughout Australia and New Zealand to provide technology and our support to help them deliver their essential work.”

WAVE connects teams by enabling push-to-talk functionality across phones, radios and computers ensuring users have access to individual and group calls, texts, location and mapping services and secure communications. 

Further information about the offer is available here.

Details

The WAVE service is being offered free of charge for the next three months ending on June 30, 2020. Included in the offer and WAVE PTX Mobile Applications Licences for between five and 50 users and two Dispatch Console Licences. Normal terms and conditions apply (number of subscriptions may be restricted).

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SERVICESEEKING has crunched the numbers on their top 20 categories in April 2020 againt March 2020 to determine which tradies won and lost during Covid-19.

While job volume across the platform was down by 15 percent versus the prior month, Jeremy Levitt was surprised to see several key categories grow during the pandemic as home owners and renters alike fixed up property maintenance issues at home to make lockdown easier to bear. 

The April 2020 v March job data shows:

• Air conditioning and heating jobs up 152.38%
• Paving jobs up 99.51%
• Asbestos removal jobs up 87.12%
• Rubbish removal jobs up 67.85%
• Fencing repair jobs up 62.46%
• Electrical services jobs up 53.83%
• Roofing jobs up 37.52%
• Concreting repair jobs up 30.02%
• Carpentry jobs up 24.61%
• House Painting jobs up 9.57%
• Plastering jobs up 9.18%
• Plumbing jobs up 6.47%
• Handyman jobs up 2.45%
• Cleaner jobs down -3.06%
• Removalist jobs down -10.37%
• Renovation jobs down -15.55%
• Pest control jobs down -16.71%
• Tiling jobs down -22.39%
• Gardening jobs down -26.81%
• Flooring jobs down -58.09%

Jeremy Levitt, co-founder of find a tradie website, ServiceSeeking.com.au said, "We saw a dramatic fall in large renovation jobs month on month, down more than 15 percent, which we think may preceed a fall in property prices.

"Property owners typically pull back on renovating when their confidence falls," he said.

 "However, we saw the Covid-19 'nesting' phenomenon in full effect, with locked down home owners and renters increasing their spend on property maintenance categories like electrical services, roofing, airconditioning servicing and rubbish removal."

www.serviceseeking.com.au

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AS THE PEAK national body for caravan and camping, Caravan Industry Association of Australia is supporting the domestic initiatives recently announced by Tourism Australia to stimulate the domestic tourism market with the release of their Live from Aus initiative.

There are more than 710,000 RVs currently sitting idle throughout Australia, with an estimated 18 million Australians who are connected to the caravan and camping lifestyle, who have been cooped up in their homes.  This audience in particular will be eager to hit the road and explore once restrictions ease and will be key to reinvigorating tourism businesses and regional communities in all parts of Australia. 

Association CEO, Stuart Lamont said, “We realise the immense pressure that tourism operators are under right now.  The last few months have been traumatic and it looks as through international tourism is still a way off.  This will add to the pressure being felt by those tourism businesses who largely cater to an international market.

“We see an immense opportunity for the caravan and camping sector to help activate these businesses again through the dispersal of domestic caravan and camping visitors into regions hit hard by the loss in tourism dollars.

"It has also been encouraging to see the recent easing of restrictions in some states and territories.  While it doesn’t yet provide the detail to plan with certainty, travellers can look forward to a time when they are once again able to move freely around the country and experience our unique culture, natural beauty and amazing food and drink."

Caravan and camping would normally contribute more than $21 billion annually to the Australian economy, to be able to reactivate this market will go a long way to helping Australia heal.  Data out of Tourism Research Australia for 2019 showed that Caravan and Camping is Australia's favourite holiday accommodation, accounting for more nights than any other type of accommodation for leisure. 

"Tourism Australia’s readjusted focus to stimulate the domestic market is very strategic move to kickstart the recovery process for many hurting businesses," Mr Lamont said.

"Caravan Industry Association of Australia is very supportive of this shift and looks forward to being part of this journey to see travellers back on the road enjoying themselves and celebrating our wonderful home country."

www.caravanindustry.com.au

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