BRISBANE students keen to enter resources sector careers have given up their September school holidays to try their hand in the resources sector. 

The 11 students are part of a new program, Oresome Internships, run by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) providing internships within Queensland Resources Council (QRC) member companies. 

The internships range from mining engineering to IT, community relations and finance. While most internships were based in Brisbane corporate offices, some students will conduct site visits to the towns of Millmerran, Moranbah and Coppabella as part of their work. 

“These internships provide year 11 and 12 students with the opportunity to see firsthand how resources sector companies operate,” said QMEA’s manager for skills and education, Matthew Heskett. 

“This pilot program aims to help the students join the dots between their studies and the world of work, make contacts in their fields of interest, and give them confidence in their subject choices and studies,” he said. 

“We very much appreciate the generosity of QRC members for taking on the students and we can’t wait to see the opportunities that might open up for them in the future.” 

The Oresome Internships program was developed to help address key findings from the YouthInsight study commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA). It found that 59 percent of young people knew nothing at all about mining careers. 

Schools attending:  

o        Somerville House 

o        Wavell SHS 

o        Coorparoo Secondary College 

o        Anglican Church Grammar School 

o        St Laurence's College 

o        All Hallows' School 

o        Kelvin Grove State College 

Companies: 

o        Round Oak Minerals 

o        Peabody 

o        Coronado Curragh 

o        Glencore Technology 

o        Glencore Coal 

o        Intergen 

o        BHP 

o        QER 

o        South32 

QRC is the peak representative body for Queensland ‘s resource sector. The Queensland resources sector provides one in every $5 in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 15,400 businesses and community organisations across the State, all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass. 

The QMEA is a partnership between the QRC and the Queensland Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program. It has 60 schools throughout Queensland. 

www.qrc.org.au

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MORE THAN $185 billion, or almost $7,500 per person, was spent on health goods and services in Australia during 2017–18, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The report, Health expenditure in Australia 2017–18, will be launched at The Australian Health Economics Society Conference in Melbourne.

"Total health spending increased by $2.2 billion in 2017–18 to $185.4 billion in constant prices. This was a 1.2 percent increase on 2016–17 against a backdrop of 3.9 percent average annual growth over the decade," said AIHW spokesperson Dr Adrian Webster.

"The lower growth rate in 2017-18 was partly due to the previous year having included one-off capital expenditure on projects such as the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. It was also a result of a previous spike in Australian Government spending on new drugs to treat hepatitis C.

"Governments funded two-thirds ($126.7 billion) of total health spending in 2017–18, with the Australian government contributing $77.1 billion — $1.8 billion more than the previous year."

Australia’s state and territory governments spent $49.5 billion — $1.3 billion less than the previous year.

"Health expenditure by governments represented 24.4 percent of tax revenue, a decline from 2016–17 where 26 percent of tax revenue was spent on health," Dr Webster said.

"The decline in health expenditure as a proportion of tax revenue was primarily due to relatively rapid revenue growth when compared with previous years."

In 2017–18, personal out-of-pocket health costs amounted to an average of $1,578 per person. There was little change in the proportion of individual net worth spent on health over the decade.

Contributions to health spending by private health insurers rose by $400 million to $16.6 billion in 2017–18.

"The decade has seen an overall increase in spending by private health insurance providers per person covered. In 2017–18, private health insurers spent an average of $1,470 per person covered, compared with $1,043 in 2007–08," Dr Webster said.

The total number of people holding private health insurance decreased by almost 2 million over the decade.

"Regular reporting of national health expenditure is important to understanding Australia’s health system and how spending relates to changes such as the ageing population, increased chronic disease prevalence, and medicinal and technological developments," Dr. Webster said.

www.aihw.gov.au

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CREATING a positive freedom of information (FOI) culture in Victoria is underpinned by improved public service leadership, rather than political leadership of the agency, a new report shows.

A pilot study, commissioned by the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) with support from Monash University, shows that most FOI practitioners are sincere and passionate about providing the public with access to government-held information.

However, the FOI officers’ efforts are at times hampered by executive managements at agencies that don’t regard FOI as a priority.

The study included six Victorian government agencies, ranging from small government departments and local councils, to large government departments. An initial online survey of FOI practitioners was followed by focus groups and interviews with 27 FOI officers.

The principal aim of the study was to determine if the culture of administering FOI in Victoria could be captured, and identify ways to improve FOI laws and systems to provide the community with easier access to government information.

The key finding was that FOI practitioners ranked government executives as more important than political leadership in building a positive and well-functioning FOI culture.

The pilot study was implemented and the report authored by associate professor Johan Lidberg from the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University.

“The principal justification for governments passing and implementing laws that allow the public a means of independently accessing government information is accountability,” Associate Professor Lidberg said.

“One of the cornerstones in mature liberal democratic systems of governance is that those who wield power in society must also be held to account for how this power is executed.”

Based on the concrete recommendations in the report, the pilot study clearly demonstrated that the culture of implementing FOI can be captured.

The study also highlighted the importance of agencies adopting proactive information disclosure policies. These two findings comprise a quarter of the eight recommendations to OVIC made in the report.

“Another important takeaway from the project was the breadth of attitudes to proactive release of information held by FOI practitioners. The majority viewed proactive release as the norm, whereas others took the view that their job was to administer the FOI Act only,” Associate Professor Lidberg said.

He believes more research is needed to map the prevailing attitudes across government agencies in more detail.

“The public’s right to access information is crucial for accountability and leads to better policy outcomes,” said Victorian Information Commissioner Sven Bluemmel. “I would encourage public sector leaders to facilitate the proactive release of information where possible.”

In the next phase of the project, OVIC, and several other jurisdictions, will partner with Monash University researchers to seek funding from the Australian Research Council.

It’s proposed the next, more comprehensive, phase of the study will survey a greater number of government agencies.

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NEW HOPE Group is calling on the Premier and Minister Lynham to immediately approve New Acland Mine Stage 3 following the September 10 judgement in the Queensland Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of New Hope Group and rejected the case of the objector, Oakey Coal Action Alliance.

New Hope Group chief operating officer Andrew Boyd said there is now nothing standing in the way of the State Government awarding New Acland Mine its long overdue approvals.

“The Premier and Minister Lynham could have approved New Acland Stage 3, months ago,” Mr Boyd said.

“It’s time for them to step up and do what’s right.

“Both the Premier and Minister Lynham stated last week, they would make a decision following the Court of Appeal.

“The Court of Appeal yesterday ruled in favour of New Hope Group, paving the way for the State Government to approve New Acland Stage 3 immediately.

“It’s time for the Premier to end the uncertainty.

“The Acland project has been before the courts, four times in the past four years.

“On three occasions, multiple judges ruled in favour of New Hope Group, while the decision of the fourth (the original Land Court Member) has been found to be infected by an apprehension of bias against the company.

“No wonder the New Acland workforce and the wider Darling Downs community is confused and angry.

“The Government has run out of excuses. The Premier and Minister Lynham can end the uncertainty now and approve New Acland Stage 3 and help New Hope Group provide long term certainty to its employees, suppliers and the local community.”

THE Queensland Resources Council welcomes the expansion of Glencore’s Indigenous Employment Pathways Program in central Queensland next year with the aim of providing skills and jobs for Indigenous Australians.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the resources sector had a resolute commitment to playing its part in creating economic opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

“I’d like to congratulate Glencore for expanding this program and for partnering with the Indigenous-owned Diversified Building Services with a plan to provide employment opportunities for 20 Indigenous Australians. Economic opportunities for Indigenous Australians are essential to making meaningful strides towards the Closing the Gap targets and the resources sector had an important role to play,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Last year Indigenous employment grew by 11 percent in the resources sector. The resources sector is committed to doing even more to extend economic opportunities to First Nations people, and we hope to see other sectors join us with the same goal.

“The resources sector is one of only two sectors in Queensland with a genuine representation of Indigenous employees. Indigenous people comprise 4 percent of the State’s workforce in resources and Queensland’s Indigenous population is 4 percent.

“As a sector that largely operates in regional and remote communities with high Indigenous populations our sector has a unique opportunity to be a leader in Indigenous employment.”

The program begins in February 2020 and Glencore will be holding an information session tomorrow in Rockhampton and next month in Mackay.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Federal Court has handed down penalties that total $108,875 against the CFMMEU and a group of its officials, after finding they bullied and threatened a small business into signing a union deal, according to Master Builders Australia,a nd it points to the need for 'ensuring integrity' laws.

Included in this fine was a $9000 ‘personal payment order’ against one official who the Court found had a history of repeatedly breaking industrial laws. 

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said, “This is the second judgment handed down by a Court in less than seven days that shows how the CFMMEU treats small businesses – it’s the union way – or the highway.” 

In handing down this decision, the Court found a group of CFMEU officials approached subcontractors at the Syme Library and Community Centre in Carlton, Victoria. 

The subcontractor was told, "you work in the city so you have to have an enterprise agreement and you should sign this now". The head contractor on the site then pressured the subcontractor further, saying that if the subcontractor "did not sign the enterprise agreement with the CFMEU it would get other employees that are covered by an enterprise agreement to finish the job" and then charge the subcontractor the extra costs.

The subcontractor was ultimately kicked off the site for not signing the union deal. 

“These are clearly not isolated incidents and are not limited to just one ‘bad egg’ in the building union,” Ms Wawn said. 

 “This is yet more evidence that fines and penalties are not enough to convince building unions to change their ways or to protect the small businesses and sub-contractors in our industry. This is why we need the Parliament to pass the Ensuring Integrity laws as soon as possible,” she said. 

“Only when these laws pass might building unions see these fines as more than just ‘the cost of doing business' and be held accountable for their actions. Bullies and thugs should not be in charge of unions,” Ms Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) believes the Palaszczuk Government’s historic trade mission to China will further strengthen the trading partnership through key resource commodities of coal, LNG and metals to create jobs, stimulate investment and boost regional Queensland.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane has been invited by the Premier to join the mission this week, which will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the signing of a Sister State relationship between Queensland and the Municipality of Shanghai.  The trade mission will be led by Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad.

“Over the last 30 years, Queenslanders have benefited greatly from the partnership we have developed with the People’s Republic of China," Mr Macfarlane said.

"The growth in trade has been extraordinary, creating more jobs, attracting more investment and, in the case of resource commodities like coal and LNG, it has generated more royalties for the Queensland Government,” he said.

“Thirty years ago, Queensland exported only $147 million worth of exports to China.  As an export market, China ranked 15th. It accounted for less than 2 percent of Queensland’s exports. Today China is clearly Queensland’s most important export market.  Queensland's exports to China were worth $28.6 billion or almost a third of Queensland’s total exports.

“That extraordinary growth has been pronounced over the last five years thanks to the contribution of the resources sector. Queensland’s exports have almost tripled from $11.2 billion in 2014-15 to more than $28.6 billion last financial year.”

China is Queensland’s largest coal customer, it purchased 50.8 million tonnes of coal in 2018 or almost a quarter (23%) of all Queensland’s coal exports in 2018.China is also the state's largest LNG customer, it purchased 14.2 million tonnes in 2018 or more than two-thirds (68%) of Queensland’s entire LNG production.

Mr Macfarlane said it was an honour for the QRC to be represented on the trade mission.

“The Premier’s invitation recognised the importance of the resources sector to the Queensland economy, not only as the source of 80 percent of the State’s export earnings but an employer of 316,000 Queenslanders and injecting more than $62 billion into the State’s economy,” he said.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomed the Federal Government’s proposal to extend the amnesty to tackle non-payment of workers’ superannuation.

“The government has reintroduced legislation to extend a one-off amnesty that effectively encourages employers to catch-up on paying superannuation entitlements to staff, without being slugged with the harsh penalties that usually apply,” Ms Carnell said.

“We support the Bill as it would provide small business with a window of time to get up to date with outstanding payments to current and past employees.

“Most small businesses do the right thing in this area, with 95 percent already complying.

“The Australian Taxation Office 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 payments," Ms Carnell said.

“So now is the time for small businesses to speak to their trusted advisers and get their affairs in order.

“All Australian workers should be paid the entitlements they’re owed. The amnesty, if passed, would give small businesses a short amount of time to ensure they are compliant.

“If this Bill gets through, small businesses should act quickly 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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