THE Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories will be briefed tomorrow by the National Capital Authority about issues relating to the nation’s capital.

The briefing will be broadcast live on the Parliament House website.

Committee Chair, Anne Webster MP said: "The Committee welcomes the opportunity to hear from the National Capital Authority about its role as custodian of the National Capital Plan and caretaker of the special character of Canberra as the nation’s capital.

"The Committee looks forward to discussing a range of matters during the briefing and being updated on the latest developments.”

Further information may be found on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 3 September 2020
Time: 11am to 11:45am

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, committee hearings are not presently open for physical attendance by members of the public.

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BUILDING a National Cabinet consensus to deal cohesively and practically with the tension between the health and economic impacts of the virus is the overwhelming imperative to be drawn from the 7 percent fall in June quarter GDP, according to Master Builders Austrlaia.

“This is a fundamental requirement to instilling the confidence necessary to arrest the shocking drops in private sector demand and household spending that are driving the decline in economic growth,” Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said.

“Our industry is confronting forecast declines of 27 percent in home building activity and around 17 percent in commercial construction over the next 12 months,” she said.

“This will have a devasting impact on the nearly 400,000 businesses, the 1.2 million people they directly employ and negatively impact thousands more in the building supply chain and wider economy.

“That is why Master Builders is calling for bold action from the Federal Government in the Federal Budget which is now just over a month away.

“We want to see stimulus and policy measures that support economic growth. Investment in building and construction activity that gives back to the economy,” Ms Wawn said.

Ms Wawn outlined measures such as:

• Master Builders proposed CommunityBuilder grants scheme to activate and bring forward demand for building services through the Federal Government assisting community groups and not-for-profits with the cost of construction of new facilities and substantial maintence of existing ones.

•  Extending the life and expanding the scope of the highly successful HomeBuilder grants and First Home Deposit Scheme.

•   Introducing accelerated depreciation on capital works over the next two years for all property types.

•  Fast tracking construction pre-approved civil and social infrastructure.

• Funding to provide training and jobs to young people and new hope and opportunity whose jobs are displaced by the economic crisis.

• Complementary tax and regulatory reforms that lighten the load on business to maximise the effectiveness of government spending.  

“Rebuilding Australia from this recession is going to be a unique challenge. The building and construction has a major role to play and has been successfully navigating through the health challenges posed by the pandemic to continue providing jobs and economic activity,” Ms Wawn said.

“Boosting confidence through a National Cabinet consensus to deal with the economic and health challenges and Budget measures to bridge the gap in private demand are essential to providing a foundation for recovery."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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ENERGY Networks Australia has welcomed the announcement today of the Regional Hydrogen Technology Clusters Seed Funding Program.

The National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) scheme aims to build the skills, capacities and commercialisation opportunities necessary to unlock Australia's enormous potential to create a global hydrogen export market.

Energy Networks Australia head of gas, Dennis Van Puyvelde, said it was good to see progress on actions outlined in the National Hydrogen Strategy.

"Technology clusters will support the development of different technologies to bring down costs of hydrogen production, transport and end-use," Dr Van Puyvelde said.

"Mapping the hydrogen landscape will create better opportunities to collaborate on technology development and integrate supply chains.

"Networks are already pushing ahead with hydrogen demonstration projects, with two already in operation and two more under construction."

More information on the future of gas in Australia can be found in Gas Vision 2050.

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CBUS SUPER, Australia’s leading building and construction industry superfund, will target an ambitious 45 percent reduction in their absolute portfolio emissions by 2030 according to a new Climate Change Roadmap launched today, in line with the prevailing science.

Cbus Super has also locked in a commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, reinforcing its commitment to the Paris Agreement.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a Special Report in 2018 suggesting deep emissions reduction is required globally by 2030. An estimated 45 percent carbon reduction from 2010 levels is needed to have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.   

Cbus Super CIO Kristian Fok, said the second iteration of the biannual roadmap charts a clear course for our ongoing work in reducing emissions and safeguarding members savings from climate related risks.

“Cbus Climate Change Roadmap represents a strong and sure determination to see our members retire securely in a safe climate,” Mr Fok said.

“The average Cbus member is 39 years old. It’s our responsibility to safeguard their investments as the financial impacts and physical effects of climate change intensify.

“This science has made clear the targets and timeframes. The course that we have charted will see Cbus reduce our portfolio emissions while investing further in renewable energy and climate solutions, as well as avoiding ‘stranded assets’ as the economy transitions.”

Mr Fok said a focus on a green recovery was important for workers as the global economy seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Recent events are a demonstration of the importance of resilient communities anchored around decent and secure jobs,” Mr Fok said.

“The climate solutions we invest in should strengthen community resilience. Every investor has to be mindful to the risks of leaving communities behind.”

STRANDED ASSETS

Cbus has already undertaken significant work to understand companies that are at risk of not transitioning either due to products they produce or lack of management capability.   

Under the roadmap Cbus will develop a stranded assets framework, building on work that has already seen several high-risk climate holdings reduced or being removed from their portfolio.

“The economy of 2030, let alone the economy of 2050 is going to look very different from what we have experienced over the last few decades," Mr Fok said.

“That poses risks for long-term investors like Cbus. There are assets that simply won’t see out their traditional economic life. 

"By identifying the carbon emissions of companies and assets that we hold, Cbus is able to help reduce emissions in the real economy and avoid assets that will increasingly become stranded as the economy transitions.

“We have been doing a significant amount of work to determine those assets that aren’t able to transition to a net zero environment, and this work will ramp up under our new road map.

PORTFOLIO ASSETS

Under Cbus’ new roadmap, pathways to achieve this portfolio targets will be developed for each assets class, including equities.

“Cbus already has specific net zero emissions targets for property (by 2030) and infrastructure (2050) and we are working with our investment managers to make sure that everyone is on the right pathway,” Mr Fok said.

“Portfolio wide targets gives us more flexibility as to how we allocate our members money. This next two-year road map will see climate pathways developed across sectors and asset classes, acknowledging the economy will decarbonise at different rates. This approach also provides consistency with what we ask of companies and assets in which we invest."

STRONG PROGRESS SO FAR

Mr Fok said Cbus had already made significant progress to reduce emissions across the portfolio.

“Cbus Property consistently ranks at the top of the international GRESB ratings, ranking second in 2019 and third in 2018,” he said.

“We are implementing stranded asset constraints across our internal quantitative portfolios.

“We are deploying our 1 percent climate opportunities investments and our landmark Bright Energy Investments partnership is building some of Australia’s best renewables assets.”

ADVOCACY

To assist the global economic transition Cbus has joined the United Nations Convened Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance and is the first Australian financial institution to do so. The global initiative is convened by the PRI and UNEP Finance Initiative and is supported by global leading asset owners committed to transitioning their portfolios to net zero emissions by 2050.      

“Cbus recognises that to decarbonise the global economy in line with the Paris Agreement requires collective action,” Mr Fok said.

“Members of the Asset Owners Alliance has over $4 trillion in collective assets under management.

“Cbus is determined to play our part in these global advocacy efforts.”

The Cbus Climate Position Statement and Roadmap will be reviewed next in 2022 and is publicly reported on each year in the Cbus Annual Integrated Report.

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