A PARLIAMENT-first inquiry into 5G mobile technology in Australia tabled its report in the House yesterday.

House of Representatives Communications and the Arts Committee Chair Dr David Gillespie said the inquiry saw the need for 5G to connect Australia and allow for a wave of innovation and opportunities not seen before.

“The Committee heard that Australia has the opportunity to be a 5G world leader," Dr Gillespie saide. "A number of organisations told us that 5G is essential if we are to be a global competitor in food and wine production, entertainment, automated vehicles and IT, among other sectors.

“We also heard that there is a high level of concern among some members of the community who are worried that 5G is a risk to human health," he said.

"The Committee received assurances from Australian Government agencies and researchers that 5G is a safe technology, and the safety standards in place are more than able to make sure that health is not affected when 5G is deployed”.

The Committee has made 14 recommendations, including:

• The speedy allocation of spectrum needed for 5G;
• Reviews of the low impact facilities framework for the 5G environment, and carrier powers and immunities, particularly the timeframes for raising objections;
• Better management of ageing and redundant mobile network infrastructure and equipment;
• A focus on road and transport safety standards, with carriers working alongside state and territory road and transport authorities;
• The installation of multiuser infrastructure, and conducting of 5G trials, in rural and regional areas;
• The Australian Government encourage manufacturing of 5G infrastructure in Australia, with potential partnerships with the United Kingdom, United States of America, New Zealand and Canada;
• The establishment of a 5G R&D Innovation Fund;
• A focus on Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management, including a review of the current legislative arrangements for network and data security for the supply of 5G equipment;
• Better consultation between Australian Government agencies and members of the community concerned about the deployment of 5G;
• A focus on ensuring that the ICT workforce is appropriately skilled, by lifting apprenticeships and working with curriculum-setters;
• Campaigns to increase local government and enterprise awareness of 5G.

Information about the inquiry may be found on the Committee’s webpage.

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomed legislation introduced to the Parliament today, requiring big businesses to be transparent about their payment times.

The Federal Government will today table the Payment Times Reporting Bill 2020 that will require businesses with turnover of more than $100 million to publish information about their payment policies.

“Much of the Australian small business community has been devastated by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis and prompt payment times are critical to their survival,” Ms Carnell said.

“This reporting framework will require big businesses to be up front and honest about the time it takes to pay their small business suppliers. It will be important that the information reported is easy to access and integrate.

“This gives small businesses some choice around who they do business with.

“Importantly, the legislation introduced today will apply to around 3,000 Australian large businesses, including foreign companies that carry an enterprise in Australia along with certain government enterprises.

“It also defines the small business as those that have a turnover of less than $10 million, which covers 99 percent of businesses.

“My office will be invoking the powers we have to investigate any reports of big businesses failing to live up to the information provided on this register once it is implemented.

“We support the Payment Times Reporting Framework as one piece of the puzzle, but it won’t solve the problem of late payment times on its own.

“Legislation requiring SMEs to be paid in 30 days is the only way to drive meaningful cultural change in business payment performance across the economy.

“Ultimately, cash flow is king for small business and we know that if small businesses are paid on time, the whole economy benefits.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE IMPACT of COVID-19 on lives and livelihoods has been severe around the globe, including Australia. While Australian, State and Territory governments continue to lead the nation into a containment and recovery phase, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) has voted to adopt Terms of Reference for an inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade policies.

Senator David Fawcett, Chair of the JSCFADT, emphasised the strategic shock that COVID-19 has delivered to long-held assumptions that have underpinned some of Australia’s policy frameworks in recent decades. Learning from the impacts of COVID-19, and understanding future risks and opportunities, will play a key role in considered decision-making as Australia charts a path into a changed world.

“Although the effects of the pandemic are still unfolding, Governments will be making decisions that are going to underpin Australia’s future international position” Senator Fawcett said. “The Committee’s inquiry will bring together a range of expert stakeholders to help inform and test the basis of those decisions”.

One of the core questions for the inquiry is how to balance the risks and opportunities presented by global connectivity in trade and security partnerships within the international rules-based order.

“The pandemic has reinforced the fact that the efficient and effective functioning of critical domestic systems such as health and transport are currently linked to – and reliant on – the integrity of supply chains which we do not control and may be subject to disruption” Senator Fawcett said. “Now is the time to analyse how Australia can take a systemic, risk based approach to ensuring supply chain integrity, even in the event of market failure due to unforeseen external factors such as pandemic, conflict or natural disaster."

The inquiry will consider policy and practical measures that could form an ongoing effective national framework to ensure the resilience required to underpin Australia’s economic and strategic objectives.

Full terms of reference for the inquiry are on the committee website. Submissions can be made until June 30, 2020.

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THE Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee will hear from the Institute for International Trade and then from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime at a public hearing tomorrow for its inquiry into Australia’s trade with Pacific island countries.

Chair of the committee’s Trade Sub-Committee, Dr John McVeigh MP, said the hearing would investigate the views of the Institute for International Trade on implementation of a new development-centred trade agreement, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), with 13 other members of Pacific Islands Forum.

The sub-committee wants to better understand how PACER Plus will encourage Pacific island countries to prosper in a regional trading system, overcome any loss of tariffs and tax revenue, benefit from Aid for Trade programs, and encourage more Australian and islander businesses to trade in goods and services.

While Australia is seeking to activate greater trade and investment opportunities with the Pacific region, the sub-committee also wants to hear the latest on combatting corruption from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the progress of its UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project.

Public hearing details:

Date: Thursday 14 May 2020
Time: 9:45am to 11:20am
Location: Committee Room 1R2, Parliament House, Canberra.

The hearing will be audio streamed live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details about the about the inquiry, including terms of reference, details on how to contribute a submission and, when available, details of public hearings and roundtable discussions, can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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