THE Parliament’s Northern Australia Committee will visit Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands from Saturday 27 January to Thursday 1 February 2018 to hold public hearings as part of its Inquiry into Opportunities and Methods for Stimulating the Tourism Industry in Northern Australia.

The Committee Chair, Warren Entsch MP said ecotourism is becoming increasingly popular with Australian and international visitors and the potential is there to develop existing tourism operations and create new experiences on the Indian Ocean Territories.

“Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands have recently been voted as having some of the best beaches in Australia, with their pristine coral reefs, and largely untouched national parks,” Mr Entsch said.

“Increasing tourism to the islands has the potential to also boost jobs and create a positive impact on the local economy,” he said.

Draft Public Hearing Programs:
Monday, 29 January 2018: Christmas Island Court House, 8.30am to 3.30pm.
Tuesday, 30 January 2018: West Island, Cocos Club, 1pm to 3.30pm.
Wednesday, 31 January 2018: Home Island, Council Chamber, Shire Offices, 8.30am to 12.30pm.

The Committee is interested in hearing from a range of tourism stakeholders. These times are indicative only and may be shortened or lengthened depending on community interest.

People wanting to participate in the inquiry can contact the Committee secretariat by telephone on 02 6277 4162 or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as soon as possible, and no later than 19 December 2017.

For more information about the Committee’s inquiry, including the hearing program, submissions and terms of reference visit the committee website.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. 

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AN INDUSTRY body representing thousands of consulting firms in the built environment, Consult Australia, has welcomed the Federal Government’s move to ensure small businesses are paid faster. 

From July 2018, the government will be required to pay invoices for contracts worth up to $1 million within 20 calendar days – an improvement from the current policy of 30 days.

The CEO of Consult Australia, Megan Motto, said, “Small business is big business for the built environment and the Australian economy. Cutting red tape and making it easier to manage cash flow turns government into an enabler for small business – critical for industry confidence, our country’s competitiveness, and subsequently economic growth.”

As part of the government’s response to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman’s report into payment times and practices, the government announced it will: ensure small businesses are paid faster, setting a new benchmark for government and industry; increase the transparency and accountability of Commonwealth agencies and entities; and create the right environment for the development, innovation and adoption of technological solutions.

Ms Motto said, “The government spends billions each year on infrastructure alone, and whilst many of our large firms have the resource to work with the system, too many of our small firms feel they have to work against the system. For sole trader and small practice engineers, architects, and planners, time is money and their level of administrative burden, be it through contracts or managing debts, can be the difference between thriving or simply surviving.”

Consult Australia represents some 48 000 firms of which 72 percent are defined as ‘small’ through having less than 20 employees. It published ‘Economic Benefits of Better Procurement Practices’ in 2015 which identified $240 million could be saved each year through better procurement practices alone.

“We hear a lot about the government being a model litigant when it comes to procurement reform. This announcement is a step towards the government becoming a model client,” Ms Motto said.

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THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has congratulated Fellow member, Timothy Munro and his company, Change Accountants and Advisers for being listed in the Financial Review’s Top 100 Accounting firms for 2017.

“It’s a credit to Timothy and his team to be acknowledged in this way,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Change Accountants and Advisers pride themselves on delivering better services at lower costs for clients by using online services for as many aspects of the practice as possible.

“Embracing, and in fact, driving technology for the benefits of clients is highly commendable and something the IPA encourages all members to do,” said Mr Conway.

publicaccountants.org.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has welcomed the Federal Government’s move to introduce 15-business-day payment terms for small business suppliers.

The government today announced the plan in its response to the Ombudsman’s April 2017 Inquiry into Payment Terms and Practices.

The report found that late payments have been a perennial problem for businesses in Australia.

Ombudsman Kate Carnell said the Government’s response showed leadership and a willingness to lead by example.

“This is a game changer for small businesses and family enterprises that provide goods and services to the Government,” Ms Carnell said.

“Cash flow is king for small business and this will make a huge difference.

“It will save money on interest payments, boost confidence and free up capital for reinvestment.”

Ms Carnell said overseas experience showed significant benefits from faster payment times.

Her inquiry report cited the European Union, which estimates that each day of reduction in late payment times saves European companies approximately 158 million euros in financing costs.

In the United States, a study showed that faster payments to businesses had created 75,000 jobs and $6 billion in wages growth.

Ms Carnell said she hoped the Federal Government’s initiative would inspire similar responses from states and big business.

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QUEENSLAND’s resources sector continues to drive jobs and investment with a $55.1 billion contribution to the state’s economy in 2016-17, which supported the equivalent of 282,633 full-time jobs.

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive, Ian Macfarlane will today launch the eighth annual economic contribution report at the QRC’s Annual Lunch in Brisbane with Senator Matt Canavan, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia. 

Mr Macfarlane said with the election campaign making the front pages, the latest report was a timely reminder of the importance of the resources sector to the Queensland economy.

“It’s a jobs story this year with direct full-time employment in the resources sector growing by more than 12 per cent to 38,150. That’s a lot of truck drivers, diesel fitters and port workers,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Over the past eight years the sector has contributed more than half a trillion dollars ($531 billion) to the state’s economy, including $243 billion in direct spending, and has supported on average more than 360,000 jobs per year.

“Despite facing many policy headwinds this year, the sector was directly and indirectly responsible for one in every six dollars in Queensland’s economy and one in every eight jobs. Green shoots are now emerging across the sector, which is good news for the regions of Queensland.

“Every Queenslander – regardless of where they call home – shares in the wealth of the sector through royalties paid to the State Government. They have surged 74 per cent to $3.8 billion, which would pay the wages of 56,000 teachers or 54,000 police or 57,000 nurses.

QRC President Rag Udd said continued investment in the resources sector was essential to ensure long-term jobs right across our state.

“We must compete for every contract, innovate to stay globally competitive, and earn the support of our governments, and the people who elect them,” Mr Udd said.

Wages totalled $5.1 billion while the sector purchased from more than 16,400 local businesses and made voluntary contributions to 910 community organisations and charities around the state which in turn helped them to provide vital services to all Queenslanders.

Mr Macfarlane said a big part of the economic contribution story was the sector’s efforts to buy locally.

“It’s always good to see regional Queensland businesses winning work from their big city cousins. As a proud Toowoomba resident, I am particularly pleased to see that QRC uses Reuben Lawrence, an independent economist based in the regional city of Toowoomba,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Reuben’s report, an independent analysis prepared by Lawrence Consulting, found a continued transition of the resources sector from an investment phase of record capital expenditure into an operational phase of making sure that new production capacity is delivered as efficiently as possible.

“Our coking coal will continue to provide an essential ingredient into steel making, our gas will feed the energy needs of Asia and Europe while our alumina, bauxite, copper, gold, lead, mineral sands, silver and zinc will be much sought after in a rapidly urbanising Asia.

"Yet again Brisbane is the biggest mining town in Queensland with the sector contributing $23.6 billion or 20 per cent of Brisbane's total gross regional product. Resources supported over 113,000 jobs across the city and the sector spent $9.6 billion locally."

All of the sector's economic contributions were achieved while operating within a strict environmental management framework and using only 0.1 per cent of Queensland’s land mass.

Coal was the largest contributor accounting for 68 percent of spending, followed by oil & gas at 16 percent and metals at 12 per cent.

A copy of the 2016-17 economic contribution report is available by clicking this link http://bit.ly/2zUGQoN

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THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has entered into a strategic partnership with the Qantas Business Rewards program to provide new benefits to its members.

“This partnership will reward our members via the Qantas Business Rewards program by giving members the opportunity to earn Qantas Points when they attend IPA’s major events,  participate in our online continuous professional development (CPD) sessions or automatically renew their IPA membership,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Maintaining currency of knowledge is essential for our members and our online CPD sessions and major educational events help provide this, but this way they are also rewarded for their efforts.

“This will also apply for members entering the new IPA Program; our professional program which is now a fully-fledged MBA and provides them with a strong competitive advantage to grow their business.

“I hope that members can redeem points for something they wish to purchase or towards flights, whether they be for business or pleasure purposes. We see this as a very good fit for the IPA and our members,” said Mr Conway.

Business owners with an ABN can join the Qantas Business Rewards program for free through IPA. Head of Qantas Business Rewards Eric Jelinek said the partnership is a great way for public accountants to earn points though the IPA’s event and professional programs, as well as on their everyday business and travel expenses.

“The Qantas Business Rewards program gives accountants with an ABN the opportunity to earn Qantas Points with more than 50 partners on everything from fuel and office supplies, to energy bills and insurance,” said Mr Jelinek.

“Once a business has built up their points balance, those points can be used on travel items like flights, hotels and car hire, as well as products through the Qantas Store and Qantas epiQure.

“For public accountants, being a Qantas Business Rewards member opens up a variety of ways to easily increase your Qantas Points which you can use as a Qantas Frequent Flyer or for your business.”

publicaccountants.org.au

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MELBOURNE’s economy is only as strong as its transportation system is efficient. Businesses rely on the free movement of freight and people into the CBD and around the city for work, to access services and for tourism.

The House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities will consider the Australian Government’s role in delivering transport infrastructure critical to Melbourne’s global competitiveness at a public hearing in Melbourne on Tuesday. The hearing is part of a broader inquiry into the Australian Government’s role in the development of cities.  

The Committee would like to discuss strategies to boost the delivery of active and public transportation.

There is strong recognition amongst submitters to the inquiry that public and active modes of transport, like light rail, walking and cycling, can relieve traffic congesting major transit routes into the city.

However, some submitters have been critical of the cost benefit analysis process which informs Australia’s transport infrastructure investment decisions. They suggest that processes may not adequately factor in the congestion relief and health gains delivered by these modes.

In its submission to the inquiry, the Australian Cycling Promotion Foundation argued that the “provision of roads for motor vehicles is also extremely expensive given the low density of vehicles that use traffic lanes compared to other modes”.

It recommended that, “mode-agnostic cost benefit analysis is undertaken on all major transport projects to ensure decisions are made on an objective value for money basis”.

Public hearing details: 9.00 am – 2.30 pm, Tuesday, 21 November 2017, Meeting Room G3, 55 St Andrews Place, East Melbourne

9.00 am:               City of Ballarat, Regional Capitals Australia, Latrobe City Council

10.40 am:             Roads Australia, Inner Melbourne Planning Alliance, Hale Infra Strategy Pty Ltd, Town and Country Planning Association

12.50 pm:            Heart Foundation, Australian Cycling Promotion Foundation, Centre for Research Excellence in Healthy Liveable Communities, RMIT

2.30 pm: Close

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live

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THE Fair Work Ombudsman’s latest proactive compliance and education campaign is targeting at least 200 businesses in Melbourne’s inner east.

Fair Work Inspectors are checking wage and time records of a cross-section of businesses in Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, Doncaster and surrounding suburbs to ensure that they are complying with their workplace obligations.

The region is being targeted primarily due to the vulnerability of its workforce, with the large numbers of young workers and a significant culturally and linguistically diverse community. Thirty-one per cent of the population speaks a language other than English at home.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said that young workers in particular are overrepresented in the disputes her agency deals with relating to the area.

“Around one-fifth of the workforce in Melbourne’s inner east is aged between 15-24, yet this cohort makes up almost 30 per cent of the disputes we receive from this area,” Ms James said.

This ranks the region ninth in the country in terms of the proportion of disputes received from young workers. Most of these disputes relate to the cafe, restaurant and takeaway foods sectors.

“Young workers can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace due to their lack of work experience and limited understanding of their workplace entitlements,” Ms James said.

With the region projected to experience strong growth over coming years, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s proactive compliance activities will also help to ensure that new businesses entering the labour market fully understand and comply with workplace laws.

Businesses across a range of industries will be audited, including those in the retail trade, accommodation and food services and education and training industries.

Last financial year, the Fair Work Ombudsman received 244 disputes from Melbourne’s inner east region. The agency recovered more than $530,000 for 141 workers in the region during the same period.

“Our proactive compliance and education activities ensure that employers know how to access the advice and information they need,” Ms James said.

“With the wealth of information freely available about workplace rights and obligations, there are no excuses for businesses to not be providing their workers with their lawful pay and entitlements.”

Ms James said inspectors would be on the lookout for any instances of non-compliance and will take appropriate action in response to any identified breaches.

“We have a range of tools at our disposal, from letters of caution and on-the-spot fines to litigation in the courts for the most serious cases,” Ms James said.

“With maximum penalties for certain workplace contraventions recently increasing by up to ten times, employers must be aware that serious breaches of the law can expose them to big fines.

“Employers should be on notice that they cannot get away with deliberately flouting workplace laws.”

The Fair Work Ombudsman offers a range of free tools and resources for employers at www.fairwork.gov.au, including the Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) to assist business owners to calculate applicable pay rates and templates for pay slips and time-and-wages sheets.

www.fairwork.gov.au

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