THE Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee will hear this today from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Austrade at a public hearing for its inquiry into activating trade and investment between Australia and Pacific island countries.

Chair of the Committee’s Trade Sub-Committee, John McVeigh MP, said the hearing will focus in part on the economic flow-on effects for Australia’s cadre of seasonal workers.

"More than 12,000 seasonal workers came from the Pacific island countries in 2018-19 to work on Australia’s farms, in our orchards and in other sectors," Dr McVeigh said.

"The World Bank tells us these workers sent an average of $9,000 each home in 2018, resulting in a net income gain of $144 million to the Pacific region. This income was especially concentrated in high participant countries such as Fiji, Kiribati and Vanuatu.’

The sub-committee wants to better understand how the Australia Government and its agencies are seeking to activate greater trade and investment opportunities with the Pacific region.

"The sub-committee will explore some issues related to the popular Seasonal Worker Programme and the more recent Pacific Labour Scheme have been raised in submissions to the inquiry and also in an earlier hearing, but also investigate what is being done to encourage more investment and trade in goods and services between Australia and the Pacific island countries," Dr McVeigh said.

The sub-committee will also investigate the latest developments and implementation of a new development-centred trade agreement, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), with 13 other members of Pacific Islands Forum.

"We’re keen to explore how PACER Plus will help Pacific island countries benefit from the regional trading system, develop economies and encourage Australian and islander businesses to grow two way trade in goods and services," Dr McVeigh said.

Public hearing details:

Date: Thursday 27 February 2020
Time: 9:45am to 11:15am
Location: Committee Room IR4, Parliament House, Canberra.

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

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LAST YEAR was the weakest for engineering construction activity since 2007, according to Master Builders chief economist Shane Garrett. 

ABS data out releaed yesterday indicated that the volume of engineering construction work done during 2019 dropped by 11.8 percent compared with the previous year to record its lowest calendar year total since 2007.

“Master Builders latest forecasts predict a substantial upswing in the volume of engineering construction work particularly on transport infrastructure in the next 12 months," Mr Garrett said. "But this is contingent on state and territory governments working with the Federal Government to push shovel ready projects out the door.

“This is a call that Master Builders has reinforced in our Pre-Budget Submission,” Mr Garrett said.

“The weak construction results come on the same day that the updated Infrastructure Priority List was published by Infrastructure Australia.

“This year’s Infrastructure Priority List is the largest ever and identifies 147 specific projects which would assist in meeting Australia’s future infrastructure needs. Of these, 42 are considered high priority projects,” Mr Garrett said.

“The new Priority List has added 37 new proposals compared with last year’s list, which call for action on transport, education, telecommunications, water and flood defences.

“With 2019 representing a particularly weak year for engineering construction, today’s Infrastructure Priority List is a timely reminder that there is no shortage of crucial projects that we could be getting on with to ensure that living standards are preserved over the years ahead.

“While engineering construction had a glum 2019, the same cannot be said about commercial building activity which hit a new record high last year. Residential building finished 8.1 percent lower during 2019,” he said.

“The newly released set of Master Builders Australia forecasts to 2024/25 envisage that a recovery in new home building activity is not too far off and that new dwelling starts will again top 200,000 by the middle of the decade.

“With our population set to hit the 30 million milestone by the year 2030, meeting our future building and infrastructure needs will be a huge challenge,” Mr Garrett said.

During 2019, Tasmania was the only state to see an increase in the volume of engineering construction work done (+7.4%). 

The largest reduction in engineering construction work during 2019 was in the Northern Territory (-65.2%) followed by the ACT (-28.7%), Western Australia (-16.8%) and Queensland (-13.3%).

There were also reductions in the volume of engineering construction work done in New South Wales (-4.0%), Victoria (-8.1%) and South Australia (-4.5%).

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has welcomed Federal Government legislation that encourages employers to catch-up on paying superannuation entitlements to staff.

“This is a one-off amnesty that gives small business an opportunity to get up to date with outstanding payments to current and past employees, without being slugged with the harsh penalties that usually apply,” Ms Carnell said.

“However it is vital that small businesses understand that although they will have a short window of time to declare any errors to the Australian Taxation Office, the amnesty only applies to missed superannuation payments up to 31 March 2018.

“Small businesses should speak to their trusted financial advisers now to get their affairs in order.

“To qualify for the amnesty, employers have to come forward voluntarily, without direct prompting from the ATO, and pay all employee entitlements plus interest," Ms Carnell said.

“Most small businesses do the right thing in this area, with 95 percent already complying. The amnesty will give small businesses a further six months to ensure they are compliant.

“All Australian workers deserve to be paid the entitlements they are owed. The ATO has access to company data through Single Touch Payroll, so it’s easy for them to find out if a small business has late or unpaid superannuation.

“Small businesses should act now to take advantage of the amnesty or face significantly higher penalties if found to be non-compliant.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Indigenous Affairs Committee will hear from different Indigenous-owned consulting firms on Thursday as part of its inquiry into pathways and participation opportunities for Indigenous Australians in employment and business.

Committee chair Julian Leeser MP said there is now is a huge variety of businesses that are owned and operated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

"This hearing is an opportunity for the committee to listen to Indigenous business owners and understand more about what they are seeing in the sector, what opportunities exist and also identify the barriers preventing more Indigenous people obtaining jobs and starting their own businesses," Mr Lesser said.

The committee will hear from Indigenous-owned enterprises that provide professional IT and other business services.

"The perspectives of these businesses in the professional marketplace will be an important contribution to the inquiry," Mr Leeser said.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 27 February 2020
Time: 11.40am to 12.30pm
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

A full program will be available at the inquiry website.

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement of prescribed project status for the planned $470 million Multicom Resources Limited Saint Elmo vanadium project near Julia Creek.

“The resources sector underpins the Queensland economy and supports more than 372,000 jobs. To ensure ongoing jobs for decades to come, it is essential that investments are made now in new projects and new mines,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“This planned mine is in the North West Minerals Province which has been identified as one of the growth areas of the future including for new and emerging commodity markets.

“Queensland has a leading role to play in the development of the critical minerals industry. These new critical minerals projects will deliver new jobs in regional Queensland, and will play a strategic role for Australia in terms of defence industries, manufacturing, trade and regional development.

“Vanadium is just one of the critical minerals the Queensland resources industry can mine and process.

“Queensland has globally-significant reserves of copper, nickel, zinc, graphite, and molybdenum and major deposits of cobalt, rhenium, scandium, tantalum, niobium and lithium," Mr Macfarlane said.

“Investments in new critical minerals projects will add to the coal, gas and minerals industries which already underpin the Queensland economy.

“It’s important that Queensland has the right policies in place to attract the investment to translate our opportunities in critical minerals into a reality.”

The Saint Elmo vanadium project also received Major Project Status from the Australian Government in December last year.

Mr Macfarlane said clear timelines for assessments for both state and federal approvals were essential to attract new investments in the resources sector.

www.qrc.org.au

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The PFAS Sub-committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) will today ask the Department of Health about PFAS and its potential impacts on human health.

Chair of the PFAS Sub-committee the Hon Dr John McVeigh MP noted that the 2018 report of the JSCFADT had called on the Department to issue an updated health opinion, as research overseas progressed.

‘We learned last Parliament that communities affected by PFAS had concerns about the Expert Health Panel’s opinion that there was ‘no evidence’ of human health impacts from PFAS,’ Dr McVeigh said.

IN THE CURRENT review, the Australian National University’s PFAS Health Study reported progress in its research to clarify this health advice. The research is funded by the Department of Health with the results to be finalised at the end of this year.

At today’s hearing, the Office of Health Protection’s principal medical adviser Dr Gary Lum briefed the sub-committee about the department’s current thinking on PFAS and its health opinion, as the regulatory framework for PFAS evolves. 

"We will want to know how the Department of Health is capturing knowledge on PFAS impacts," sub-committee chair John McVeigh said.

"That includes by supporting research and whether this work is informing its engagement with the Department of Defence and people in affected communities."

The PFAS sub-committee’s program of review will continue over the course of the Parliament with a further report to be presented later this year.

Public hearing details:

Date: Monday 24 February 2020
Time: ~4:10pm to 5:00pm
Location: Committee Room IR4, Parliament House, Canberra.

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

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THE Australian Dental Association (ADA) is calling on the Federal Government to support calls by  Senator Stirling Griff to work with state governments to provide more Medicare-funded dental care for all children, pensioners and welfare recipients.

“The ADA applauds the senator for his motion due to be tabled today (Monday, February 24), seeking  to increase publicly-funded dental care and improve ‘shocking rates of preventable oral health disease and hospital admissions,’” ADA president Carmelo Bonanno said.

The motion adds to the growing chorus of voices urging Canberra to do more to ensure a higher number of Australians have access to dental services.

“Senator Griff has rightly identified that many Australians are desperate for dental care and are unable to access care even if they’re eligible for public dental services," Dr Bonanno said.

“It’s time that all levels of government and the dental profession work together on more sustainable funding models. Currently states are unsure whether there will be even Commonwealth funding for public dental waiting lists past June 2020.

“We need a commitment to extend the current National Partnership on public dental funding while other options are considered.”

Dr Bonanno said the idea that oral health should be funded differently to the rest of the body "is a nonsense".

“We have a successful model in the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, it’s now time to extend this model to other groups in the community such as the elderly and those on low incomes," Dr Bonanno said.

"The ADA has been asking successive federal governments for years to consider the Australian Dental Health Plan as a blueprint for action.

“Senator Griff’s motion is a welcome boost to our ongoing campaign we’ve been fighting on many fronts in order to bring about this change in thinking in Canberra. Targeted funding that supports those people that are often least likely to attend a dentist regularly is sorely needed if we’re to improve Australians’ oral health.”

The ADA’s Australian Dental Health Plan is available at www.ada.org.au/ADHP

ADA facts on the issue:

• The National Oral Health Plan 2015-24 identified that more than 90 percent of adults and 40 percent of young children have experienced tooth decay.
• Only four out of every 10 have a favourable visiting pattern (to a dentist) and there are many Australians who require specific strategies to improve access to treatment..
• Poor oral health is a significant contributor to poor overall health where patients who live with long- term pain suffer severe and often catastrophic consequences.
• More than 72,000 Australians are hospitalised annually due to preventable oral health conditions.  
• The cost to all Australians through preventable hospitalisation is significant however the cost to individuals is so much higher.
• More than three times as many Australians put off going to the dentist when compared with visiting the doctor.

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RSL QUEENSLAND will continue to honour indigenous veterans, as it does for all who have served this country, at its many commemorative services.

RSL Queensland President Tony Ferris said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people had served in every war and conflict since the Boer War, and their contribution must not be forgotten.

“Although they fought and sometimes died shoulder to shoulder with their fellow Australians, they returned home to a country that still refused to acknowledge them as citizens,” Mr Ferris said.

“This is why RSL Queensland acknowledges the invaluable contribution our indigenous service people have made – and continue to make – to the defence of our nation.”

While ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day honour all who have served, since 2006 RSL Queensland has also hosted an Indigenous Veterans’ Ceremony, held in Brisbane’s ANZAC Square during National Reconciliation Week. This specifically recognises the service of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people who have served in all wars and conflicts. This year it will be held on May 30.

Members of the public are invited to attend the annual ceremony and pay their respects to indigenous service people, both past and present, who have served and sacrificed for their country.