THE PROCESS for conducting referendums in Australia should be brought into the modern age, according to a report of the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs released today.

In its report on constitutional reform and referendums, the Committee recommended amendments to modernise the legislation setting out the arrangements for referendums. The Committee also recommended the establishment of a new joint parliamentary committee to examine constitutional issues on an ongoing basis, and measures to strengthen awareness and understanding of the Constitution among school students and the wider community.

Acting chair of the committee, Sharon Claydon MP, said changes to the referendum process were long overdue.

"It has been over 20 years since the last referendum in Australia, and even longer since a comprehensive update to the referendum rules," Ms Claydon said.

"This inquiry has highlighted the need to modernise the referendum process to ensure that Australians can go to the ballot box fully informed about any referendum question. It is critical that these changes are considered now, and not during the middle of a referendum campaign," she said.

"The committee was also concerned about the low levels of understanding of the Constitution, and the lack of any established process of constitutional review. Through its recommendations, the committee is seeking to kickstart the conversation about the Constitution, both in schools and communities and in the Parliament, to help ensure Australia has a more informed and engaged citizenry."

The report is available on the inquiry website.

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) today presented its review of amendments made by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (TOLA Act).

The TOLA Act amended a range of Commonwealth legislation to introduce measures to better deal with the challenges posed by ubiquitous encryption.

The committee considered the ongoing appropriateness, effectiveness and necessity of the powers conferred by the TOLA Act 2018 and made 29 recommendations to the government to amend the legislation.

The committee has recommended the powers be retained with additional safeguards and oversight mechanisms to provide the public with confidence the legislation continues to be used proportionally and for its intended purpose.

Chair of the committee, Senator James Paterson, said, “Agencies have made the case that these powers remain necessary to combat serious national security threats, and some of the worst fears held by industry at the time of passage have not been realised.

“However, these are intrusive powers that must be robustly overseen to ensure they are used appropriately, and there are improvements that can be made to the oversight framework which the committee has recommended,” Senator Paterson said.

Further information on the inquiry as well as a copy of the report can be obtained from the inquiry website.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia wrote to the WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Stephen Dawson MLC, on December 10, 2021 expressing the committee’s concerns about the WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill then being considered by the WA Parliament.

The letter was copied to the Commonwealth Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt AM MP.

The letter, co-signed by the chair of the committee, Warren Entsch MP, and Senator Pat Dodson, a member of the committee, outlined the committee’s disappointment with key provisions of the Bill and its failure to take account of recommendations of the committee’s final report into the destruction of the Aboriginal cultural heritage at Juukan Gorge.

Committee Chair Warren Entsch said the Bill "falls far short of the reforms advocated in the Committee’s final report on Juukan Gorge, in particular the call for consistency with the principles of free, prior and informed consent by Indigenous people”.

He said the Bill “conflicts with these principles by giving the Minister the ultimate power to decide whether mining or other activities can go ahead if traditional owners do not agree to an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) Management Plan put forward by a proponent company”.

Mr Entsch has also criticised the consultation process undertaken by the McGowan Government on the Bill, which he said “was not centred on culturally based protocols, was not undertaken in language and was not linked to elements of Aboriginal culture”.

The letters are available on the Committee’s website:

Additional Documents – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth has released its report on the Prudential Regulation of Investment in Australia’s Export Industries, which examined how Australia’s prudential regulation framework interacts with operations of the country’s biggest export industries.

The Committee Chair, George Christensen MP, said while a healthy financial system is underpinned by strong regulatory settings, it is important for law-abiding export sectors to have adequate access to funding and insurance, as they make significant contributions to Australia’s economy.

"The Report makes 13 recommendations, all addressing the challenges heard during the inquiry. In particular, we emphasise that Australia’s regulators should work with affected sectors in issuing clear advice about risks. Some of the recommendations also deal with the influence of small shareholder groups in financial institutions," Mr Christensen said.

Other recommendations made by the committee outline a role for the Australian Government in mitigating these challenges, including:

• Recognising that finance, banking and insurance services are essential services for businesses;
• Taking steps to ensure that banks must, at a minimum, provide transactional banking services to all law-abiding businesses;
• Directing banks to prepare a regulatory impact statement (or similar) that outlines the real impacts of a policy setting; and
• Working with the resources sector to create a self-funding insurance model that meets the needs of resource companies, contractors, suppliers and associated export infrastructure.

The full report can be found on the Committee’s webpage.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has recommended the Federal Government move to ratify the agreement with the United States and United Kingdom for the Exchange of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information (ENNPI).

Committee Chair Dave Sharma MP said, "This agreement will help determine the optimal pathway for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy, one of the most important strategic military capabilities for Australia in the decades ahead.

“The agreement will allow for the exchange of sensitive and classified naval nuclear propulsion information with a third country for the first time, and provide a mechanism for Australian personnel to access training and education from UK and US counterparts, essential for learning how to safely build, operate and support nuclear-powered submarines.

“With our security environment growing more challenging in the decades ahead, a regionally superior submarine capability is critical to safeguard Australia’s security," Mr Sharma said. “This agreement will help facilitate this capability.

"The proposed agreement will not affect Australia’s strong commitment to nuclear non-proliferation," Mr Sharma said.

The Report can be found on the Committee website, along with further information on the inquiry.

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UNIVERSITY of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney has secured the State Significant Development Approval for the UNSW Health Translation Hub (UNSW HTH) for a dedicated 15-storey, 35,600 square metre clinical health, education and research building.

A significant project for UNSW, the UNSW HTH will integrate health education, training and research with acute healthcare services, directly benefiting patients, carers and the NSW community. UNSW’s expansion into the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct is on track to be completed in 2025.

Professor Ian Jacobs, President and Vice-Chancellor at UNSW welcomed news of the development approval.

“This is an exciting milestone in a visionary collaboration, decades in the making. We are one step closer to bringing together academics, clinicians, industry partners and public health officials with the shared goal of advancing health outcomes locally and further afield,” Prof. Jacobs said.

“This development will improve health in NSW and Australia while also achieving physical and working integration between the hospitals and the new Health Translation Hub. It will elevate us to the forefront of health research and education internationally.

“UNSW has had teaching hospital affiliations on the Randwick Hospitals’ Campus for nearly 60 years. This new building and our commitment to major investment in the precinct will take our partnership to a new level.”

Located on the corner of High Street and Botany Street, the UNSW HTH includes:  

• Purpose-built spaces for researchers, educators and industry partners to work alongside clinicians
• Education, training and research rooms
• Clinical schools and ambulatory care clinics
• Food and beverage retail along with supporting amenities including allied health services
• Space for community and cultural events
• Publicly accessible open space for the community
• Pedestrian prioritised pathways, including bridge links, to easily connect to UNSW’s Kensington Campus and the broader Randwick Hospitals Campus.

UNSW Estate Management has managed the development process and has worked with some of Australia’s leading consultants including Architectus, Aspect Studios, Yerrabingin and Arup to develop the Health Translation Hub. The UNSW HTH has been developed to support the acceleration of improved health services for communities locally and globally. The UNSW HTH is not just a building but instead a place which will drive UNSW’s vision to realise future health benefits.

The new UNSW Plaza, with 2,500sqm of publicly accessible open space, will help to create an engaging and welcoming place for staff, students, patients, community and industry partners who are attracted to research, learn, work and socialise.

The UNSW HTH will sit adjacent to the Sydney Children’s Stage 1 and Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre building. These two buildings will accompany the Acute Services Building (ASB), currently in construction, to expand the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct. UNSW has about 5000sqm of space in the ASB which will promote the physical and working integration between UNSW and the Hospital.

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HEARINGS for the Indigenous Affairs Committee inquiry into fostering better engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers are continuing this Wednesday and will include further discussions with Reconciliation Australia and with key government regulators.

Committee Chair Julian Leeser MP said, "We look forward to continuing our important discussions with Reconciliation Australia and we will also be hearing from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) who will have insights into some of the issues facing Indigenous consumers in the telecommunications sector.

"The committee will also hear from the ACCC and ASIC, who are key Commonwealth regulators dealing with business malfeasance, including towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Their knowledge of the current policy settings in this regard will be particularly valuable for the inquiry," Mr Leeser said.

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 15 December 2021 (AEDT)

10am          Reconciliation Australia
11am          ACCAN
12.30pm          ACCC
1.30pm            ASIC

A live audio stream of the hearing will be accessible at https://www.aph.gov.au/Watch_Read_Listen.

For more information about this inquiry, including its terms of reference, details of upcoming public hearings, and instructions on making a submission, visit the Inquiry webpage. Track the committee to receive email updates on the inquiry by clicking the blue ‘Track Committee’ button.

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INDUSTRY Super Australia (ISA) has released a four-point plan to put members and their future economic security at the front of any debates over superannuation policy during the forthcoming election.

"Any changes to policy must be driven by members' financial intersts -- nothing else," Industry Super Australia CEO Bernie Dean said.

"Not everyone is getting the same deal. We need to make sure young mums are paid super when they take time off to raise children, get workers' super paid with their wages and protect them from ending up stuck in a dud fund.

"Workers and retirees just hate it when politicians go messing with super. Sticking with the foundations, like the plan to increase the super guarantee to 12 percent and preserving super for retirement will go a long to give people the certainty they crave," he said.

To build member retirement’s saving ISA’s plan urges any future government to:

1. Bridge the gender super gap
2. Fix the $5 billion a year unpaid super scourge
3. Protect members from dud funds
4. And stop tinkering with super’s foundations

The ISA statement said Australia’s $3.4 trillion super system had put a dignified retirement within grasp for millions of Australians, while playing a growing role in the national economy. Members’ retirement savings are built on the policy foundations of super, these foundations – of compulsion, preservation until retirement and universality – need to be protected.

ISA said if millions of Australians are to have a dignified retirement the Super Guarantee increase to 12 percent must not be altered and further relaxation of existing rules for the early release of super should be ruled out.

The system is not perfect, too many women are still at risk of retiring into poverty, women retire with 30 percent less super than and the gender savings gap is forecast to last for at least the next four decades, according to ISA.

"Not paying super on Commonwealth parental leave contributes to the gender savings gap, this has cost young mums $1.6 billion and will leave a mother of two $14,000 worse off at retirement," Mr Dean said. "Super tax concessions are also poorly targeted and further entrench the gender super gap. 

"Almost three million Australians – about a quarter of the workforce – are not getting all the super they are entitled to. The $5 billion a year unpaid super scourge needs to be urgently addressed by mandating that super is paid at the same time as wages, not quarterly.

"While the new Your Future, Your Super package has made important reforms that stop the proliferation of multiple super accounts and introduced an investment performance test, the test needs to be strengthened and expanded to include all products and funds, and the legislation should be amended to ensure workers don’t get lumped with a dud for decades."

ISA is seeking the following policy commitments from the major parties:

• Mandate employers pay their employees super with wages 
• Pay super with the Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay Scheme 
• Review distribution of tax concessions to ensure they help close the gender super gap 
• Expand the APRA performance tests to include 10 years of historical fund performance on all fees and products.
• Ban workers from being stapled to a fund that does not pass the annual performance test
• Legislate super’s objective of generating income to provide workers with a dignified life in retirement
• Maintain the legislated schedule for increasing the super guarantee to 12% by 2025. 
• Rule out relaxation of existing rules for early release of super, or allowing people to opt out of saving for their retirement.    

  www.industrysuper.com