THE 2017 Rice Industry Field Day will bring together close to 400 growers, industry representatives and researchers on Thursday 9 March 2017 at ‘Old Coree’, Jerilderie, to showcase the latest in rice research and development as part of the International Temperate Rice Conference (ITRC).

Organised by the Rice Extension team, the Rice Industry Field Day is an opportunity to see the latest rice R&D in action and learn how it can be applied on farm, as well as explore agricultural trends and share new perspectives.

Funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Rice Extension connects growers to research, the latest technologies and best management practice in the rice industry.

RIRDC Program Manager, Michael Beer said the Field Day brings the RIRDC Rice Program to life, highlighting the importance of RD&E investment.

“The Rice Program aims to improve the productivity and sustainability of the Australian rice industry and is delivering significant outcomes for industry and stakeholders. Of particular note is our recent evaluation of the Rice Program which found investment in RD&E delivered a cost-benefit ratio lying between 6.6 and 7.6 - an impressive result for any industry,” said Mr Beer.

The Field Day program includes speaker sessions from SunRice and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the choice of attending either a Field Site walking tour or Business and Innovation session at the Old Coree Homestead.

Rice Extension Coordinator, Gae Plunkett said the Field Day program further cements the ITRC theme, Tradition, Technology, Productivity – A Balancing Act.

“For growers, the Field Day is a fantastic opportunity to discuss the latest issues and trends in rice growing, as well as network with growers, industry professionals and researchers on a local and international level,” said Ms Plunkett.

“We are expecting strong interest from local industry and growers, particularly in the practical sessions focused on improving on farm production and profit. The Business and Innovation session is an exciting and thought provoking addition to the program that will explore new trends and challenge traditional thinking when it comes to agricultural business practices.”  

Event details:
2017 Rice Industry Field Day (free event)
9:00am, Thursday 9 March 2017
‘Old Coree’, Conargo Rd, 18.5km west of Jerilderie

Program: http://www.rga.org.au/events/rice-industry-field-day-2017.aspx

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AUSTRALIAN Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell said she remains committed to eliminating non-financial covenants in small business loans under $5 million despite NAB executives today re-stating their opposition to the reform.

Speaking after the House Economics Committee concluded the first of its latest round of bank hearings with executives from NAB, Ms Carnell said the bank’s unwillingness to make changes to the way they treat small businesses who are consistently making their loan repayments, is unacceptable.

“As I reiterated during Senate Estimates yesterday, for the banks to be able to default small business loans when people are compliant financially, is simply not a reasonable approach,” Ms Carnell said. 

“NAB pushed back on that today, indicating there are risks associated with removing such clauses, and that doing so would put up the costs of the loans.  That’s not the feedback we’ve had from experts.  Remember the banks already put a premium on top of small business loans to take into account a higher level of risk, so you can’t have it both ways; you can’t have a contract that allows the banks to move all the risk to the borrower, while also having a higher interest rate.

“Our recommendations in this area – indeed all of our recommendations – are not unreasonable; these are not new issues, these are not unrealistic expectations. In fact, many of our recommendations have been supported by various other inquiries and reviews.

“NAB today indicated that they supported the ‘vast majority’ of our recommendations, including giving consideration to implementing 90 day notice periods, as well as providing simple plain English contracts.  I certainly welcome this response, but so far it’s only lip-service; I want to see these changes in place sooner rather than later.

“Our recommendations are do-able and do-able quickly; most importantly, the recommendations we’ve come up with will make a significant difference in the lives of small business borrowers, so we really need to see action now,” she said.

Ms Carnell also restated the importance of amending the definition of a small business loan facility to $5 million; a move also backed by David Murray and Phil Khoury in their respective inquiries.

“Small businesses are the engine room of the Australian economy; these businesses are growing all the time, with more and more now falling outside the existing $1 million definition, so reform in this area is vital if we’re to support growth in this sector,” Ms Carnell said.

“The banks say they’re ‘making banking better’, but I’m afraid there’s still a lot more work to be done to prove there’s any real substance behind the PR slogan,” she said.

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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AUSTRALIAN Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell has used an Estimates hearing to once again call on the banks to implement the changes outlined in the ASBFEO bank loans inquiry report as quickly as possible, in order to establish balance in the relationship between financial lenders and their small business customers.

“(There have been) 17 inquiries from various perspectives since the GFC; 40 recommendations that have been repeated in various forms over that period of time, and very, very little movement from the banks in a range of things from really important issues, down to things you would have thought the banks would have picked up on by now,” Ms Carnell told the hearing.

“It shows the level of the lack of action by the banks on these things, that have been brought up time and time again,” she said.

When asked about the impact of current banking practices on the small businesses examined as part of the ASBFEO inquiry, Ms Carnell said that many were now bankrupt.

“There are people who used to be running successful businesses living in garages; we got a pretty good view of what actually happened in a range of these cases and the impact is huge.” Ms Carnell said.

“In a good number of the cases these were people who hadn’t missed a payment on their loan; so they weren’t in financial default, the default came as a result of non-financial default.

“The community believes – and small businesses believe – that if you pay the amount you’re supposed to pay every month and you don’t break any of the standard rules, that should be all you’re required to do, so for the banks to be able to default small businesses when people are compliant financially, we don’t think that’s a reasonable approach.

“Remember small businesses don’t have in-house lawyers and have little-to-no capacity to negotiate these contracts, so we believe that getting rid of non-financial covenants for loans under $5 million is really important for small businesses to be able to get on with the job of growing their businesses.

“We tried to come up with a group of recommendations that would make a difference to small business. 

“We’ve tried hard to make them do-able and do-able quickly, because we haven’t come up with any hugely new recommendations.

“I want them (the banks) to go with all of them,” she said.

Ms Carnell also reinforced her commitment to providing six monthly updates on the banks’ progress in implementing the ASBFEO recommendations.

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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QUEENSLAND Resources Council Chief Executive, Ian Macfarlane, today applauded the decision by MMG to transfer its Century zinc mine in north west Queensland to Century Mine Rehabilitation Project Pty Ltd as a clear and practical example of MMG’s commitment to the environment and the local economy.

“I congratulate MMG on its decision to transfer the mine with not only a focus on reviving the region’s economy but also to the benefit of the environment,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“It provides a new economic opportunity for the mine while also supporting a dedicated rehabilitation plan.”

The announcement is a win win for rehabilitation and the region – the mine will be given a new life with substantial zinc still to be extracted while the rehabilitation plan will be in place for the end of the mine’s life.

www.qrc.org.au

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AUSTRALIA’s resource employers have launched a 2017 workplace relations campaign focusing on ‘Five Urgent Reforms’, and is first calling on the Turnbull Government to take action on Labor’s excessive and costly union workplace entry laws.

“AMMA’s members across the national resource industry are deeply concerned that our parliament appears unable or unwilling to address fundamental problems in our workplace relations system,” Steve Knott, chief executive of AMMA, said.

“Reform priorities identified in 2016 by more than 100 leading resource companies – a highly representative cross section of an industry directly and indirectly employing around 1.1 million Australians - are yet to be acted upon or even debated.

“This is despite many of these reforms lining up with changes recommended by the Productivity Commission, and Australia’s deteriorating economic and employment conditions highlighting the urgent need for political action.”

The five reform priorities identified by AMMA's members and forming its 2017 campaign are:

1. Restore balance to union workplace entry laws;
2. Focus enterprise bargaining on employment matters;
3. Expand agreement making options for employers and employees;
4. Return to balanced termination of service laws, where a valid reason exists; and
5. Replace the Fair Work Commission with modern, balanced institutions.

On the first priority, AMMA has released an animated video and written to key senators and members of parliament, highlighting the absurd costs, delays, productivity impacts and safety issues associated with the thousands of site entry requests resource employers now receive each year.

“When Labor’s Fair Work Act gave union officials and recruiters almost unlimited rights to enter worksites, the number of visits sky-rocketed to thousands. One project received 17 visits in just 24 hours, while another received more than 300 in 90 days,” Mr Knott said.

“We are even seeing union recruiters target employees in their lunchrooms and resource employers expected to cop the costs and disruptions associated with union visits to remote projects.

“The resource sector needs the government to take action and address these well-documented concerns.  Our 2017 campaign will build public awareness by simplifying the practical impacts our unbalanced, prehistoric workplace relations system has on Australian employers every day.
“KPMG research indicated that if these five priorities were addressed, the benefits through the resources sector alone would be a $30.9 billion boost to national GDP and 36,000 additional jobs.

“Our nation can no longer afford to send these jobs and economic benefits overseas. It’s time to get the balance right in our workplace regulation.”

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FUNCTIONAL stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisations to collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster.

But, says Professor Mats Alvesson, an internationally respected expert on management, stupidity can also produce good short term results through enthusiasm, trust, focus and compliance.

Professor Alvesson of Sweden’s Lund University, describes this as “the stupidity paradox” and his book of the same name has become an international bestseller.

“It’s a tome against mindless conformism,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who included the book on the Christmas reading list, recently told The Guardian.

It explores the dangers of mindless conformity and deference, and how a culture which questions established ways of doing things better enables organisations to innovate and succeed.”

Professor Alvesson is to give an address at the University of Sydney Business School, titled The Stupidity Paradox – the power and the pitfalls of functional stupidity at work.

Previewing the talk, he said it would tackle head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity.

“You'll discover what makes a workplace mindless, why being stupid might be a good thing in the short term but sometimes very problematic in the longer term, and how to make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging the thoughtless conformity that most organizations cultivate,” Professor Alvesson said.

www.sydney.edu.au

Date:               Thursday 9th March 2017

Time:              12:00 noon

Venue:            Room 5050, Abercrombie Building (H70)

                        Cnr Abercrombie and Codrington Streets, Darlington

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TODAY the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy launched an inquiry into modernising Australia’s electricity grid.

The electricity grid in Australia is entering a significant period of transition, driven by the shift from traditional sources of electricity generation to new sources such as wind and solar. At the same time, new technology is rapidly changing the way in which households and businesses interact with the grid.

The Chair of the Committee, Andrew Broad MP, said the inquiry would seek to understand the community’s expectations of the electricity grid, examine challenges and opportunities involved in modernising the grid, and learn from the experiences of other countries.

“New technologies such as renewables and energy storage are already transforming the grid—both here in Australia and overseas. We want to hear from the community about their priorities for the grid, and about how a modern grid can better meet the needs of all Australians,” Mr Broad said.

The Chair emphasised that the Committee would work together to identify practical recommendations that balance the need for security and affordability, and to ensure that the grid has the flexibility to adapt to emerging technologies and needs.

“The Committee sees this inquiry as an opportunity for all sides to work together in the national interest. The grid is essential to our way of life, but it is complex and needs careful consideration. Parliamentarians have an important role to play in building support in the community for changes that will bring about a grid that is more secure, more sustainable, and fairer for consumers,” Mr Broad said.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee, Mr Pat Conroy MP, explained that despite the uncertainty about how the mix of electricity generation will evolve into the future, the Committee’s focus would be on the pressing need to modernise the electricity transmission and distribution networks.

“There is a legitimate debate about how our electricity will be generated in the future. Yet, it is already clear that the electricity grid is approaching the limits of what it was designed to do. The critical question for the Committee is, what actions can be taken now to ensure that the grid has the flexibility to integrate electricity from a variety of sources at the lowest possible cost?” Mr Conroy said.

In conjunction with the inquiry, the Committee has launched an online questionnaire, which asks households and businesses to share information about how they currently interact with the electricity grid, and about their expectations of the grid into the future.

The Committee will also accept written submissions, addressing one or more of the terms of reference, until 28 April 2017. To assist stakeholders in formulating their submissions, the Committee has prepared a brief discussion paper expanding on the terms of reference.

Throughout the inquiry, the Committee will hold public hearings with government agencies, industry and community groups, and other interested stakeholders. In the coming weeks, the Committee will be looking to set the context for the inquiry, so that the Committee and the community can better understand the current state of the grid, and have a clearer picture of the task at hand.

Further information about the inquiry—including the terms of reference, the discussion paper, and the online questionnaire—is available on the inquiry webpage. Information about how to make a submission to an inquiry can be obtained from the Parliament of Australia webpage.

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AS PART of its inquiry into Innovation and Creativity: Workforce for the New Economy  the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training will hear from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Committee Chair Andrew Laming MP said hearing from these important and innovative government organisations was very important to the Committee.

“Each of these organisations is at the cutting edge of technology and innovation and the Committee is keen to hear about the research that each organisation is currently undertaking,” Mr Laming said.

Committee Deputy Chair Terri Butler MP said she was looking forward to hearing from the organisations.

“As well as an impressive research and technology focus each of these organisations are involved with training some of Australia’s top scientists. It will be interesting and important for the Committee to hear their views on Australia’s education priorities,” Ms Butler said.

Public Hearing Details: 11:20am - 12:45pm, Wednesday 1 March, Committee Room 1R2, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be webcast at www.aph.gov.au/live.

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