THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has thanked Matt Canavan for his unrelenting support of the resources sector and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it creates.
QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said Senator Canavan’s decision to step down from the role would be a loss for the sector.
“Matt Canavan has been a passionate and unrelenting advocate of the resources sector,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“In particular, he has recognised how important the resources sector is to create jobs for regional Queenslanders and to support regional communities.
“In Queensland alone, the resources sector supports more than 372,000 jobs which are spread across every town and city.
“Matt Canavan is well known for his support of Queensland’s powerhouse commodities of coal and gas which provide energy to Australia and the world, as well as providing the building blocks for everything from modern cities to mobile phones.
“But Matt has also been just as passionate about the new opportunities in critical minerals and expanding markets, which will consolidate Queensland and Australia’s role as a resources superpower," Mr Macfarlane said.
“We’d love to see Matt Canavan stay on in the role as Minister for Resources and Northern Australia. However, I know he will continue to support the resources sector as a major employer in his home of Central Queensland.
“Resources policy works best with the bipartisan support of the Federal Parliament and QRC also thanks Matt Canavan for his commitment to work with the Opposition on policies to strengthen the resources sector to benefit all Australians.
“QRC looks forward to working with the new Minister and the Australian Government to continue to develop policies that keep the resources sector strong.”
THE Financial Services Council (FSC) has today released new life insurance claims data highlighting Australia’s 10 most claimed cancers, as World Cancer Day is acknowledged around the globe.
FSC CEO Sally Loane said the FSC was releasing this data so Australians would understand the sheer volume and rates at which cancer affects the nation.
“In the year to 30 June 2019, life insurance companies paid out more than $1.55 billion to Australians for life insurance claims for cancer,” Ms Loane said.
“The top 10 break down shows breast cancer claims are by far the most common, almost exclusively affecting women and occur at around double the rate of the most common cancer for men, prostate cancer.
“The next most common are colon, lung and skin cancers.”
Cancer Type
Claims per 100,000 people insured
1
Breast
8.82
2
Prostate
4.47
3
Colon
3.47
4
Lung
2.98
5
Skin
2.52
6
Brain
1.47
7
Liver
1.28
8
Pancreas
1.28
9
Stomach
0.82
10
Hodgkin’s Disease (Lymphatic system)
0.77
Source: FSC/KPMG data for the year to 30 June 2019 – claims rate per 100,000 people insured for Retail and Group Life Insurance
“KPMG on behalf of the FSC provides in-depth analysis of the causes of life insurance claims - this data is unsurpassed anywhere else in the world for its granularity and timeliness,” Ms Loane said.
“We know cancer doesn’t discriminate and can change lives overnight. We urge all Australians to get in touch with their life insurer or superannuation trustee to find out what their life insurance covers if they’re not sure.”
About the Financial Services Council
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has over 100 members representing Australia's retail and wholesale funds management businesses, superannuation funds, life insurers, financial advisory networks and licensed trustee companies. The industry is responsible for investing almost $3 trillion on behalf of more than 14.8 million Australians. The pool of funds under management is larger than Australia’s GDP and the capitalisation of the Australian Securities Exchange and is the fourth largest pool of managed funds in the world.
“THE VALUE of commercial building work approved jumped by 30.9 percent during December, finishing 2019 on a high note,” Master Builders chief economist Shane Garrett said.
“The strong result for December means that the volume of commercial building work on the ground is set to remain elevated over the coming months.
“Building activity on the commercial side reached all-time highs over recent times and today’s ABS figures indicate that conditions are set to remain largely positive here,” Mr Garrett said.
“Today’s figures also indicate that new dwelling approvals eased slightly during December (-0.2%) and that the pipeline of new home building work is still quite a bit lower than it was a year ago.
“Leading indicators suggest that a home building recovery is not too far off, however. Lending to housing investors is expanding again and the First Home Buyer part of the market has a lot of wind behind its sails. House prices are also gathering momentum across most major cities,” Mr Garrett said.
“Both residential and commercial building projects rely on the creation of support infrastructure to allow them to proceed. With economic growth stuck well below par, we urge all levels of government to do more to speed up the delivery of committed infrastructure projects and allow faster economic growth to be unlocked."
CHINESE investors looking to a future as Australian citizens are pitching in with support and donations to assist bushfire recovery efforts.
Executive Chairman of Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley said people in the Chinese investment community were deeply saddened by the loss of loved ones, homes, animals and the environmental havoc caused by bushfires that continue to rage across parts of the country.
“Many investors have been waiting lengthy periods for outcomes via the Significant Investor Visa program and want to demonstrate their love and commitment for Australia and its people,” Mr Hedley said.
Atlas has made an initial donation of $30,000 on behalf of its first group of Chinese donors to the WWF-Australia’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund and to Mogo Wildlife Park Foundation.
More than 10 million hectares of land has been burned in Australia and more than one billion animals have perished including about one third of the already threatened iconic koala population in NSW along with kangaroos, wallabies, birds and other iconic wildlife.
“Chinese people have a deep respect and fondness for Australia’s unique wildlife and environment and are keen to help conservation efforts,” Mr Hedley said. “They are proud to assist in the wildlife response, habitat restoration and the protection of Australia’s natural resources against the damaging effects of climate change.”
Further proceeds from Atlas Advisors Australia New Year celebrations will go to Mogo Wildlife Park Foundation which is a charity established to build a new wildlife rescue hospital to provide care for injured, sick and displaced wildlife and to assist the reforestation of fire damaged areas.
The new animal hospital will support the welfare and rehabilitation of animals including those affected at Mogo Wildlife Park, a zoo on the south coast of New South Wales with an amazing collection of endangered and exotic animal species that were put at peril by the bushfires.
“The funds also importantly go towards restoring lost forests and damaged wildlife habitats,” Mr Hedley said.
“Mogo Wildlife Park is playing a vital role in caring for animals harmed by the bushfires, restoring native habitats and preserving our precious biodiversity.
“Together we are helping to protect our native animals and conserve our environment for the future.”
About Atlas Advisors Australia
Atlas Advisors Australia is a leading funds manager and investment advisory business, operating between China and Australia, offering a wide range of financial services and wealth management solutions. With operations in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Shanghai in China, Atlas is able to support investors in all China and Australia locations.
ON THE FIRST anniversary of the Banking Royal Commission, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said banks still have many lessons to learn, while small businesses continue to pay the price of poor behaviour.
“Banks and financial institutions still have a long way to go if they are serious about repairing their relationship with small businesses,” Ms Carnell said.
“Even a year on from the Banking Royal Commission, banks and other large financial institutions are more focussed on passing on their punishment to small businesses.
“For instance, many small businesses in the financial planning industry have faced financial ruin in the aftermath of the Banking Royal Commission, with hundreds of planners bearing the brunt of brutal restructures and fire sales by banks and wealth funds," she said.
“Many of these small business owners are facing the prospect of losing their homes, families and livelihoods as these financial institutions and banks bulldoze their way through their exit strategies.
“Equally the new-look Banking Code of Practice in effect from March this year, fails to sufficiently protect small business borrowers," Ms Carnell said.
“The ABA claims it has implemented the Royal Commission recommendations but it has not acted on all of the recommendations including one that is critical to small business.
“Commissioner Hayne recommended that the definition of a small business should be businesses that apply for a loan up to $5 million and have fewer than 100 employees*.
“Despite our repeated efforts, the Code only protects small businesses with up to $3 million in total debt to all credit providers.
“What that means is that a large number of small businesses, particularly those capital intensive businesses such as agriculture, building and manufacturing, are not covered by the Code.
“Of particular concern, is a new addition to the Code under paragraph 115 (b)** which in effect, allows banks to take action against the small business guarantor, before enforcing recovery against the security provided by the small business borrower.
“This is totally unacceptable and has the potential to be seriously detrimental to the small business borrower and their ability to secure guarantors," Ms Carnell said.
“During the Royal Commission, Commissioner Hayne acknowledged the ABA Banking Code of Practice is the chief protection for small business borrowers and as such, it needs real and meaningful changes to give it teeth.
“While the Code has been improved, the number of get-out-of-jail clauses for the banks still dilute the protections for small businesses.
“We will continue to push for a better framework for a balanced relationship between banks and their small business customers.”
References:
(*) Commissioner Hayne Recommendation 1.10 – Definition of ‘small business’
The ABA should amend the definition of ‘small business’ in the Banking Code so that the Code applies to any business or group employing fewer than 100 full-time equivalent employees, where the loan applied for is less than $5 million.
115. However, the restrictions under paragraphs 113 and 114 do:
a) not apply if you have specifically agreed in writing after the default notice is issued and we have informed you of the limitations of our enforcement rights under this chapter that they do not apply; or
b) not require us to first enforce any mortgage or other security that the borrower has provided if we reasonably expect that the net proceeds of that enforcement will not be sufficient to repay a substantial portion of the guaranteed liability, or because of the borrower not providing us with information, documents, or access to premises or assets as required, we are unable to reasonably assess whether the net proceeds of that enforcement will not be sufficient to repay a substantial portion of the guaranteed liability.
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