THE Indigenous Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry into food prices and food security in Remote Communities.

Committee chair Julian Leeser MP said, "it’s important that people in Indigenous communities have reliable access to food that is reasonably priced.

“There have been significant reports of very high food and grocery prices in Remote Communities and issues around the secure supply of fresh food,” Mr Leeser said.

“The inquiry will look at the situation in remote Indigenous communities, and the effect of supply chains and local businesses on the cost of food. The inquiry will also look at the role of regulators in dealing with the situation.

“I strongly encourage Indigenous people and people in the food and grocery industry to make a submission to the inquiry.”

The Committee will consult with communities, community stores and supply chain businesses, Government agencies and other stakeholders to determine Indigenous communities have access to reasonably priced healthy food.

The Committee will present its final report by October 30, 2020.

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

The Terms of Reference of the inquiry are:

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs will inquire into and report on the issue of food prices and food security in remote Indigenous communities (“Remote Communities”).

The Inquiry will identify and report upon factors contributing to higher prices and situations where prices are considered unreasonable and in particular investigate whether there is price gouging in any remote community stores.

This investigation should pay particular attention to the availability and pricing of fresh and healthy foods in remote community stores.

The Inquiry will also consider licensing and regulation as well as the governance arrangements for remote community stores across Australia, and what action, if any, that the Australian Government and States and Territory governments could take to address price gouging in Remote Communities.

The Inquiry should consider, report and where appropriate make recommendations on:

1. The environment in which Remote Community retailers operate;

2. The licensing and regulation requirements and administration for Remote Community stores;

3. The governance arrangements for Remote Community stores;

4. Comparative pricing in other non-Indigenous remote communities and regional centres;

5. Barriers facing residents in Remote Communities from having reliable access to affordable fresh and healthy food, groceries and other essential supplies;

6. The availability and demand for locally produced food in Remote Communities;

7. The role of Australia’s food and grocery manufacturers and suppliers in ensuring adequate supply to Remote Communities, including:

a. identifying pathways towards greater cooperation in the sector to improve supply;

b. the volume of production needed for Remote Communities;

c. challenges presented by the wet season in Northern Australia as well as any locational disadvantages and transport infrastructure issues that might be relevant;

d. geographic distance from major centres;

8. The effectiveness of federal, state and territory consumer protection laws and regulators in:

a. supporting affordable food prices in Remote Communities particularly for essential fresh and healthy foods;

b. addressing instances of price gouging in Remote Communities; and

c. providing oversight and avenues for redress.

9. Any other relevant factors.

The committee will resume its inquiry into pathways and participation opportunities for Indigenous Australians in employment and business once this new inquiry is completed.

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MAJOR FLAWS in Australia’s biosecurity, shipping, and health and safety regulations have been highlighted after six crew members on the livestock vessel Al Kuwait tested positive for coronavirus, forcing local maritime workers who boarded the vessel into self-isolation.

The vessel, owned by Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading, was allowed to dock in Fremantle last Friday despite the ship’s master two days earlier notifying the Federal Department of Agriculture — which oversees quarantine measures on the waterfront — that several crew members were sick.

The Maritime Union of Australia said the latest incident highlighted that the regulatory failures that allowed the Ruby Princess to dock in Sydney, starting the nation’s largest COVID-19 cluster, had still not been properly addressed.

MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the union had repeatedly highlighted the COVID-19 risks posed by inadequate quarantine and shipping regulations, first writing to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in January to outline the problems with biosecurity measures on the waterfront.

“This latest coronavirus cluster reveals that five months into this crisis, and after repeated warning from the union and others in the industry, the Australian Government has still failed to properly address the major quarantine and biosecurity threats posed by international shipping,” Mr Crumlin said.

“The dreadful lack of coordination between Federal and State agencies, with information not passed on in a timely manner to the port workers that came into direct contact with crew members on the vessel, demonstrates that the lessons of the ​Ruby​ ​Princess​ debacle still haven’t been learnt.

“The fact that this vessel notified Australian authorities two days before arrival of sickness onboard, but that information wasn’t passed on before it docked, shows the current system is broken.

“The​ Federal​ Government​ ​needs​ ​to​ ​urgently​ ​address​ ​these​ ​failures, in collaboration​ ​with​ State​ and Territory Governments, to address this serious​​ and ​ongoing​​ threat ​to​ ​public​ ​health​ ​and​ ​safety.

“In particular, we need immediate improvements to communication and collaboration between agencies, including the Agriculture Department, Border Force, Health Department, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and port authorities.

“Currently, the quarantine processes imposed on an Australian seafarer seeking to join an Australian registered vessel in WA from another state are far stricter and more onerous than the what is required of crews arriving on international vessels, including those coming from coronavirus hotspots.

“This flawed regulatory system not only threatens to allow coronavirus outbreaks into the broader community, it threatens Australia’s supply chains.

“If an outbreak of COVID-19 occurs among the limited number of pilots in a port, or wharfies and other waterfront workers, the port would quickly grind to a halt, forcing all trade to stop completely.”

Mr Crumlin said the broader regulation of international shipping, which is responsible for 97 per cent of Australia’s imports and exports, remained seriously inadequate.

“Australian shipping has suffered decades of neglect, with local ships replaced by foreign-owned flag of convenience vessels employing vulnerable seafarers and paying them as little as $2 per hour,” he said.

“The nation’s biosecurity system relies on these crews self-declaring any health issues, with no proactive health checks before vessels are allowed to dock.

“It is clear that many of these vessels will not risk the delays and financial losses caused by self-declaring health issues, putting Australian maritime workers, their families, and the broader community at risk of COVID-19 infections.

“Addressing these risks requires an end to decades of deregulation, with proactive regulation and inspections to ensure all vessels operating in Australian waters abide by appropriate biosecurity, safety, environmental and industrial laws.”

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THE Prime Minister’s speech to signpost the Government’s approach to building economic recovery was encouraging on many fronts, according to Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn.

“The Prime Minister’s recognition that there is much worse economic news to come is important especially as the building and construction industry braces for what some are referring to as a “blood bath” in the coming months as forward contracts fall a cliff particularly in the housing sector,” Mr Wawn said.

“The Prime Minister’s announcement that the Treasurer and the Minister for Housing are working on a plan to support the residential building sector is therefore extremely welcome. Time is of the essence as forward work is fast evaporating.

“Whatever measures are announced, they must result in building activity commencing immediately. Announcements on their own do not amount to stimulus and unless measures are put in place soon it will too late for thousands of small residential builders and tradies,” Ms Wawn said.

“The PM’s acknowledgment that the economic crisis results from the successful response of Australian governments to suppress COVID-19, and not from a market failure, is an important signal that the Federal Government is willing to act to give business the necessary tool-set to kickstart economic growth and ‘make the boat go faster’.

“Industrial relations and vocational education reform have long been areas of high priority for Master Builders and our members around the country,” Ms Wawn said.

“We support the Prime Minister’s call for employer and employee representatives to put aside “ideological posturing” and work together to ensure the viability of the businesses that employ Australians. In building and construction nearly 400,000 mostly small businesses employ 1.2 million people.

“While continuing to support the rule of law on construction sites we support the shelving of the Ensuring Integrity Bill in the interests of building a bridge to economic recovery provided that other measures are developed to combat unlawfulness on construction sites as the Prime Minister indicated will occur,” Ms Wawn said.

“Master Builders has forged a cooperative dialogue with the CFMMEU and the AWU to ensure the viability of the building and construction sector during the COVID-19 health crisis. We plan to do our part to continue on this track in the interest of achieving reforms to aid recovery from the crisis and meet the Prime Minister’s September deadline.

“We also welcome the Prime Minister’s indication that the recommendations of the Joyce Review of the vocational education and training (VET) system will be approached with new vigour. Master Builders is in one hundred percent with the Prime Minister when he says an effective VET system is crucial to increased productivity and growth,” Ms Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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SKILLS SHORTAGES in trades and the drop in national apprentice numbers are a direct result of rules imposed by the Coalition Government and will be worsened by legislation which will end union funding to apprentice training programs, the CFMEU National Construction Division has warned.

“If (Prime Minister) Scott Morrison is serious about fixing the skills crisis he should start by changing the rules which  force apprentices off government-tendered job sites and abandon proposed new laws that will stop unions funding apprentice training programs,” CFMEU National Construction secretary Dave Noonan said,

“This government has ripped billions of dollars out of the TAFE and VET sectors and actively worked against the training of apprentices for years so it is extraordinary to now hear the Prime Minister express shock at the result.

“Skills training of apprentices has been an ideological battleground for the Federal Government and its backers in the Australian Industry Group for years and it has led us into the current mess," Mr Noonan said.

“The Federal Government’s building code prohibits companies with enterprise agreements that include apprentice ratios from being able to tender for government jobs. Apprentice ratio provisions are entirely legal under industrial laws and are standard across the construction industry, yet they are not allowed on some of the biggest sites in the country due solely to government ideology.

“The government also has legislation before Parliament to stop the industry funding apprentice training programs from interest earned on money held in trust for construction workers’ redundancies. This will end successful schemes which are crucial for bringing new workers into the construction industry and giving them the practical on-the-job training they need," Mr Noonan said.

“The attack on successful union-funded training makes no sense at a time when completion rates for skills training and the number of apprentices have plummeted under this federal government.

“The government can reset its approach to skills training, TAFE and support for new workers in the construction by getting rid of rules which stop companies taking on apprentices and ending their hostility to successful union-funded training.”

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