THE Palaszczuk Government would jeopardise Queensland coal exports to Japan if it increased the rate of royalties on resource commodities when it delivers its State Budget next month, according to the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

On the eve of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk visiting Tokyo, QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said US coal exports to Japan were at five-year highs and a royalty hike could make US coal more attractive than Queensland coal in the Japanese market.

"Coal is Queensland's biggest export commodity and Japan is one of our longest and most important markets," Mr Macfarlane said.

"When we have supply problems, such as in the wake of damaging cyclones, US coal often fills the shortfall.

“US coal exports to Japan increased by 35 percent between 2017 and 2018.  Let’s not help US coal miners.  Let’s not help Donald Trump steal mining jobs from Queensland.

“Our royalty rates and taxes in Queensland are among the highest in the world already.  The Palaszczuk Government is set to take a record of almost $4.5 billion in coal royalties this financial year based on the current rates," Mr Macfarlane said.

“If we make Queensland coal even more expensive, key markets like Japan may look elsewhere. That means a loss of exports, employment and investment for Queensland.

“With Queensland’s unemployment rate of 5.9 percent among the nation’s highest, Queenslanders - particularly in the regions - cannot afford more attacks and more tax on the resources industry from the Palaszczuk Government.," he said.

“On behalf of Queenslanders, we urge the Premier to rule out changes to royalty rates. We also urge the Premier, as Trade Minister, to reassure Japanese coal investors and importers in Tokyo that there will be no royalty change and encourage them to continue to buy Queensland coal and support Queensland jobs and Queensland communities.”

Mr Macfarlane said while Victorian voters and the likes of Bob Brown might not support the resources sector - yet rely on it for their everyday lives - all Queenslanders do.

In 2017-18, the resources industry supported more than 315,000 jobs in Queensland.  The coal industry alone supported more than 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs or 9 percent of Queensland’s total workforce.  The sector also contributed $43.4 billion to the State’s economy, supported more than 6000 local businesses and more than 560 community organisations. 

www.qrc.org.au

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“OFFICIAL figures for the first quarter of 2019 show that construction activity across Australia dropped by 1.9 percent compared with the end of 2018 – but there were signs of growth in some important areas,” Master Builders Australia’s chief economist Shane Garrett said.  

“During the March 2019 quarter, civil construction activity dropped back by 3.9 percent although commercial building saw growth of 3.6 percent to reach a new all-time high

“The re-election of the Morrison Government will boost confidence in our industry and is being welcomed by the hundreds of thousands of small firms active in building and construction,” Mr Garrett said.

“Unfortunately, the decline in civil construction activity during the opening quarter of this year will not be a surprise to the industry. The time taken for government infrastructure announcements to translate into real, visible activity on the ground is often far too long.

“We don’t want to see projects languishing on lists. We are hopeful that the government’s renewed mandate will drive new energy in getting more projects shovel ready and construction work started,” Mr Garrett said.

“Turning to the commercial building space, it is encouraging to see the continuation of modest yet consistent growth. Population and employment increases continue to be robust in most parts of Australia. This creates the need for more offices, schools, hospitals and shops. Today’s figures indicate that this demand is indeed being matched by the building industry,” he said.

“Not surprisingly, residential building moved backwards by 2.3 percent during the March 2019 quarter. Despite the fact that Australia’s population expanded by almost 400,000 over the past 12 months, fewer new homes are being built due to the negative impact of micro factors including the slow motion credit environment post-Royal Commission.

“We look forward to the quick implementation of the government’s election pledges around First Home Buyer home loans and support for small businesses,” Mr Garrett said. 

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE FOCUS on the small business sector in the lead-up to the election was a major factor in the win for the Coalition government, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), Kate Carnell said today.

“A Sensis report a few weeks ago showed 35 percent of small to medium enterprises were undecided on who to vote for before the election, but they made their voice heard on the day and will expect the Coalition to act on its pre-election policy commitments,” Ms Carnell said.

“The returning government can start by responding to the review by Treasury of the unfair contract term legislation.

“ASBFEO, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and others have strongly recommended significant changes to the current unfair contract term legislation, backed by the Treasury report," Ms Carnell said.

“The major changes are making unfair contract terms illegal and punishable; increasing the contract size threshold to $1 million for contracts up to 12 months and $5 million for contracts greater than 12 months; and increasing the number of small businesses protected – those with a turnover of up to $10 million.

“The government should also require departments to comply with unfair contract term legislation," she said.

“The Coalition must re-introduce the legislation to address illegal phoenixing activity and provide some protection for small businesses, who often hurt the most when this happens.

“Action on payment times for small businesses will lift confidence, particularly the government’s undertaking to force the country’s top 3,000 big businesses to publish payment information annually on a reporting framework.

“We are pleased the government committed to move to pay small businesses within 20 days from July 1 and then develop a plan to introduce payment terms of five days when small businesses use e-invoicing," Ms Carnell said.

“Addressing the mental health of small business owners is also something we support. Earlier this year, Minister Cash convened two roundtables with key stakeholders were held, with the commitment to develop a small business mental health portal specifically for business owners. This is significant as much of the workplace mental health focus has been on employees," she said.

“There was a range of commitments made to small businesses during the election campaign and in the Budget and we look forward to working with the government to deliver on these to ensure SMEs continue to be the ‘engine room of the economy’.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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LEADING financial services education provider Kaplan Professional has engaged Dr Deen Sanders OAM, Deloitte leader ethics and professionalism, to help build and deliver the three bridging courses required by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA).

The bridging courses are aligned to FASEA’s curriculum and will combine Kaplan Professional's deep industry understanding and education calibre with Deloitte’s global expertise, insight and capability.

Due to such high demand from licensees and their financial advisers, Kaplan Professional is intending to offer enrolments for Ethics and Professionalism in Financial Advice in July if FASEA approval is granted. Pending FASEA approval, the education provider is preparing for September enrolments into the two other bridging courses: Financial Advice Regulatory and Legal Obligations and Behavioural Finance: Client and Consumer Behaviour, Engagement and Decision Making.

Kaplan Professional chief executive officer Brian Knight said he was delighted to work with Deloitte and especially Dr Sanders, Partner Deloitte, as he wanted to work with the very best people available to set the benchmark for adviser education.

“Together, we have assembled a team of market-leading academic and practitioner experts to build out these bridging courses," Mr Knight said. "This includes Sydney University behavioural scientists, and legal and professional ethics leaders from both Sydney University and the University of New South Wales.

“The involvement of Deloitte will ensure these bridging courses are best-in-breed – unprecedented, innovative and cutting-edge, and will significantly contribute to the fabric of adviser education. We wanted to go ‘above and beyond’ the norm and transform what is available in the market.

“FASEA has placed great importance on these three knowledge areas. This is a strong indication it sees improvement in these skills as integral to the future of the profession and to advisers’ performance.

“All advisers will have to complete a least one bridging course to meet the requirements, so we want to make this a valuable and engaging experience. It is imperative advisers gain practical and relevant outcomes that will benefit their career in the years to come … for the betterment of not only themselves, but the Australian public they serve,” Mr Knight said.

He added the fundamental contribution of Dr Sanders in the development of the bridging courses would be an enormous asset for the credibility of the content.

“Dr Sanders is renowned as a global leader in the field of ethics, trust and regulation and its impact on professional behaviour and conduct," Mr Knight said. "He has a deep and profound understanding of Australia’s financial services sector.

“In addition, he brings an unrivalled insight from his time at FASEA, understanding the vision for the professionalisation program in the Corporations Act to encourage sustained change in behaviour, to align with professionalism, and to champion a positive and long-term future for trusted financial advice,” he said.

Expressions of interest to enrol in Ethics and Professionalism in Financial Advice are open to advisers and scheduled to start as soon as July 8, 2019 when Study Period 4 commences.

Kaplan Professional is also hoping to offer Financial Advice Regulatory and Legal Obligations and Behavioural Finance: Client and Consumer Behaviour, Engagement and Decision Making in Study Period 5, which commences on September 2, 2019.

If approved by FASEA, all bridging course subjects will form part of Kaplan Professional’s Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning.

www.kaplanprofessional.edu.au

About Kaplan Professional

Kaplan Professional is one of Australia’s leading providers of financial planning, real estate, mortgage broking, insurance and leadership education. Kaplan Professional delivers education and training services to over 45,000 professionals each year. This includes over 1,500 corporate clients, encompassing the majority of financial services organisations in the country. 

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