THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has today tabled a report on Australia’s proposed free trade agreements with Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Committee chair Dave Sharma MP stated that at this time of growing global economic uncertainty and mounting trade tensions, countries like Australia needed to stand up for the principle of free trade and shore up the foundations of the global trading system.

“While dealing with different issues and contexts, these free trade agreements will create new opportunities for Australian-owned businesses in the region, and help bolster the global trading system at a time of growing uncertainty,” Mr Sharma said.

"Indonesia has a population of 270 million people, a solidly growing economy, and is on track to become one of the world’s most significant economies in the years ahead.

"The agreement with Indonesia has the potential to transform our economic relationship, and lift it to a level that better reflects the strategic importance of our countries to one another.

"Australian grain and citrus growers, cattle producers, mining equipment providers and vocational education suppliers all stand to benefit from improved access to the Indonesian market which the agreement provides," Mr Sharma said.

"But beyond this, and as the name implies, the Indonesia Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement goes on to lay the foundations for a comprehensive economic partnership with our largest northern neighbour.

"It will support Indonesia’s own economic growth, by supporting Indonesian capacity in key areas, and position Australia as a partner of choice. It will improve the business and investment environment. It will provide a vehicle to tackle emerging issues in trade such as non-tariff and regulatory barriers, the digital economy, competition policy, transparency and telecommunications cables," he said.

"Indonesia is one of Australia’s highest priority relationships, and this agreement will help grow our ties in a part of the relationship that has been historically underdone.

"Our economic and trading relationship with Hong Kong, one of Asia’s most open economies, is already well-established and advanced," Mr Sharma said. "In 2018, Hong Kong was Australia’s 12th largest trading partner overall, with total two-way trade in goods and services worth $17.8 billion.

"The Australia Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement largely codifies existing trade and market access arrangements, providing certainty into the future.

"It also modernises the treatment regime for foreign investors, making investor state dispute settlement mechanisms more transparent and more constrained, and improving safeguards for governments wishing to adopt legitimate public policy measures in areas such as tobacco control.

"In considering this agreement, JSCOT heard from witnesses about the ongoing civil disturbances and political instability in Hong Kong," Mr Sharma said. "The committee supports a peaceful resolution of these issues, within the 'one country, two systems' framework and Hong Kong’s institutions.

"The committee recognises that the preservation of Hong Kong’s unique status under the Basic Law, under which it enjoys a high measure of autonomy, is in Australia’s national interest, and views ratification of the agreement as a means of supporting this unique status," Mr Sharma said.

The committee has recommended ratification of both treaties.

More information about this committee is on its website.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy is holding a further hearing in Sydney on the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia.

The committee will hear from a number of witnesses during the course of the day.

A full program is available on the inquiry website at https://www.aph.gov.au/nuclearpower.

Public hearing details:

Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Time: 9am to 4:35pm
Location: Portside Conference Centre, 207 Kent St, Sydney

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

The committee intends to hold further public hearings, which will be announced in due course on the inquiry website: https://www.aph.gov.au/nuclearpower.

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ALMOST HALF of Australian small business owners feel stressed or anxious about work every day, yet most don’t seek help, according to a recent survey by Yellow.

Yellow surveyed 100 small business customers across the country from a wide range of sectors and found 40 percent of respondents are stressed about work, but an alarming 72 percent do not seek any help. This was most prevalent among small business operators aged 51 or above.

The survey investigated the impact of running a small business on the mental wellness of SMB owners, and how they cope with it.

Three quarters of the survey respondents have been running their business for more than 10 years, a tell-tale sign that managing work-related stress does not come any easier for seasoned SMB operators.

Managing business finances (32%), juggling multiple responsibilities (26%) and no work-life balance (16%) were cited as the top stressors. Half of those surveyed say they work more than nine hours per day – significantly higher than the daily average of 7.6 working hours.

One in five say not only their productivity takes a hit as a result of their work anxiety, but they also feel the brunt of it on their personal relationships. Despite this, 22 percent cite not wanting to be a burden to others as a deterrence from seeking help, while 14 percent say they are not sure where or who to seek help from.

“Running your own business can be hugely rewarding but it comes with high pressure and often small business owners find it hard to switch off from work after hours,” Yellow executive general manager James Ciuffetelli said.

“Having worked with Australian small businesses for more than four decades, we understand the challenges that come with being a small business owner. With Mental Health Week raising awareness of the issue this week, we want to remind all small business operators to take the first step of reaching out to someone – whether that’s a friend, a partner or a family member – and start a conversation about their mental wellbeing.” 

Yellow has produced a mental health handbook for small business owners in partnership with RUOK?, which is available for download here.

About Yellow

Yellow helps everyday Australians find, choose and connect with the best local businesses Australia wide. Yellow is the longest standing business directory, helping consumers solve their everyday life admin pressure and get things done. As the digital marketing experts, Yellow also champions Australian small to medium businesses. Yellow has an extensive range of digital marketing solutions including Yellow SEM, Yellow SEO, Yellow Digital Display, Yellow Social Ads, Yellow Websites and Pocket Office. Yellow is a division of Sensis – one of Australia’s leading marketing services companies. Other Sensis brands include White Pages, Sensis Data Solutions and Skip. Consumers use www.yellowpages.com.au. Businesses use www.yellow.com.au

About Sensis

Sensis helps Australians connect and engage through its leading platforms. Sensis helps create and manage valuable connections via itsdigital consumer businesses (Yellow, White Pages, True Local, Whereis and Skip), search engine marketing and optimisation services, website products, social, data and mapping solutions, and through its digital agency Found. Sensis is also Australia’s largest print directory publisher including the Yellow Pages and White Pages. www.sensis.com.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed first gas produced from Senex Energy's Project Atlas near Wandoan in the Surat Basin.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the achievement from Brisbane-based Senex was testament to the diversity of Queensland's gas industry and getting the State Government's policy settings to promote development of gas in Queensland for Queensland use.

"Queensland has both large and small producers such as Senex supplying gas which allows all gas fields to be developed. Everyone benefits when we develop our gas responsibly," Mr Macfarlane said.

“Gas from Atlas will supply Queensland manufacturers, including CSR, Orora and O-I and coincides with the completion of a pipeline connecting the project to the Wallumbilla gas hub.”

Project Atlas was granted a domestic only supply lease by the Queensland Government in March 2018.

“At the time it was a pilot guarantee for gas for domestic use which avoided the overly prescriptive conditions in a gas reservation policy. Now it's a flagship example of best-practice regulation in action – fast, effective and focussed on outcomes," Mr Macfarlane said.

“This project vindicates the Palaszczuk Government’s decision to release land specifically for developing gas for the domestic market but sadly Queensland continues to do all the heavy lifting to provide extra gas for the eastern Australian market.”

www.qrc.org.au

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