THE House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources has begun an inquiry into regulatory reforms undertaken by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).

This inquiry was initiated following the release of the Auditor-General’s Report no. 56 (2016-17), Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Regulatory Reform.

The audit found that the implementation of a range of legislative reforms, designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the APVMA’s regulatory activities, had been ‘mixed’: “While key legislative reforms were implemented by the legislated timeframe of July 2014, the full scope of the reform program is yet to be implemented more than four years since the legislative amendments were developed”.

Committee Chair Rick Wilson MP said that the Committee will focus its inquiry on the APVMA’s progress since the audit took place.

“The ANAO made four recommendations in June last year,” Mr Wilson said, “and given the importance of these reforms to Australia’s agricultural sector, it is vital that the APVMA acts quickly on those recommendations.”

The Committee will be accepting submissions to the inquiry until 28 February 2018 and will hold public hearings to receive evidence.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.aph.gov.au/agriculture

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

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has extended its public consultation period for its review of two important bills targeting espionage and foreign interference:

• the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill 2017, which amends existing criminal laws for secrecy and espionage offences, and introduces new foreign interference and sabotage offences, and
• the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017, which establishes a scheme that requires registration by persons who undertake certain activities within Australia on behalf of foreign interests.

The Chair of the Committee, Andrew Hastie MP, said, “The Committee’s public hearings held this past week have demonstrated the necessity of the two Bills, however, a short extension has been granted to give members of the public the continuing opportunity to comment on the proposals.

“The Committee has elected to extend the period for public consultation on the two Bills and will reschedule its reporting date to facilitate this. The Committee seeks additional submissions by Thursday 15 February 2018”.

To facilitate extended consultation, the Committee will now report on both bills by 23 March 2018.

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

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AN INCREASE to the minimum wage as suggested by Labor yesterday would be a devastating blow to small business operators across Australia, said the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman today.

THE FEDERAL Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is holding three days of public hearings focussing on political donations and Section 44 of the Constitution.

Committee Chair Senator Linda Reynolds said the Committee would be hearing from subject matter experts in relation to these matters referred to the Committee for review. 

The public hearings relate to three of the Committee’s inquiries:

• Inquiry into the 2016 federal election (review of political donations);
• Inquiry into matters relating to Section 44 of the Constitution; and
• Inquiry into the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017.

Public hearing programs are available on the respective websites for each inquiry via https://www.aph.gov.au/em/.  

Public hearing details:

• Canberra
  Wednesday 31 January, from 9:30am to 4:40pm in room 2S3
  
• Melbourne
  Thursday 1 February, from 9:00am to 4:30pm in room G6, 55 St Andrews Place
  
• Sydney
  Friday 2 February, from 8:40am to 1:10pm in the Jubilee Room, Parliament of NSW

A live broadcast will be available at aph.gov.au/live. 

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

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BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie got it right when he said the Chinese must respect western culture according to the chairman of Mineralogy, Clive Palmer.

"Mineralogy has stood as the last sentry at the gate of Australian freedom and respect for the law  as Chinese Government owned companies have tried to steal Mineralogy resources,’’ Mr Palmer said in Brisbane today.

"What is worse is Australian governments have tried to help them by persecuting me and bowing to Chinese Government pressure.

"At the forefront of Australian values is respect for the rule of law and the independence of our judicial system.

“Respect needs to be shown in dealing with the government. It is a major mistake for groups associated with the Chinese government to fund Australian political parties such as the Labor Party and the Liberal Party.

“Chinese Australians, like all Australians, value Australian way of life. It is in the interest of all members of the Australian community to defend and protect our way of life and the rule of law,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“I would urge the leaders of the Labor and Liberal parties to instruct their parties and members not to receive foreign Government inspired donations and stand firm and protect the  rule of law in Australia,’’ he said.

Mineralogy has recently received a judgement in its favour for US$153 million against the largest Chinese Government owned company in the world, Citic Limited.

The Chinese-Government-owned company still has not paid the judgement and continues to export Australian resources without paying, Mr Palmer said.

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STEINHOFF Asia Pacific Group Holdings Pty Ltd (Steinhoff Asia Pacific) operates a number of high performing retail brands in Australia and New Zealand including Freedom, Fantastic Furniture, Best & Less, Snooze, Harris Scarfe, Plush, OMF, Postie and Bay Leather Republic. 

Group CEO of Steinhoff Asia Pacific, Michael Ford said: “The Steinhoff Asia Pacific business is an independent, profitable and financially strong business delivering positive cash flows.  The business has its own banking facilities here in Australia. 

"Steinhoff Asia Pacific is not party to any of the banking facilities of its parent company Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. In addition, the Steinhoff Asia Pacific business is not dependent on working capital support from our parent company, Steinhoff International N.V.

Mr ford said Steinhoff Asia Pacific continues to work constructively and openly with its local banking partners in Australia.  To reinforce its commitment to the local market and the strength of its local businesses, Steinhoff Asia Pacific has appointed Minter Ellison and Ferrier Hodgson to provide strategic advice in relation to legal, financial and corporate matters.

He said Steinhoff Asia Pacific’s local banking partners supported these appointments. Mr Ford said the appointment of experienced advisors was a prudent step by Australian management in circumstances where its parent company is working through significant uncertainty.  Steinhoff Asia Pacific and its business are not in distress and are trading normally, he said.

Michael Ford added: “For all our brands in the Steinhoff Asia Pacific group, and our 10,000 employees, it is business as usual.  We are now in our peak trading period and have had some exceptionally strong trading across our retail brands. 

"Total system sales (including franchisee sales) across Australia and New Zealand are up 3.1 percent for the 12 months ended 30 November 2017 compared to the same period in the prior year.  And for the month of December so far, System sales are up 12.4 percent compared to the same period last year. 

"These are healthy sales figures for a business group that is clearly performing well.”

www.steinhoff.com.au

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