THE Stevie Awards, organiser of Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, has announced that the final entry deadline in the 2019 (sixth annual) competition is January 30, 2019.

The awards are considered the only business awards to recognize innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Late entries will be accepted through March 8 with the payment of a late fee. Complete entry details are available at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are open to all organisations in the 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region: Large and small, for-profit and non-profit, public and private. Seven nations are added to those eligible to submit nominations to the 2019 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

The awards focus on recognizing innovation in all its forms, wherever it is achieved in the workplace. Entries will be accepted in eight languages -- Chinese, English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Thai and Vietnamese -- in the following awards category groups:

• Annual Report Awards & Other Publication Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Company/Organization Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Management Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Corporate Communications, IR, and PR Awards
• Website Awards and Smartphone and Tablet App Awards …and more

New awards categories introduced for 2019 include Most Innovative Startup of the Year and Most Innovative Tech Startup of the Year. There are no entry fees for these categories.

Asia-Pacific Stevie Award winners will be announced on April 17. Winners will be celebrated and presented their awards during a gala banquet on May 31 in Singapore.

Scores of professionals from throughout the region will participate in the judging process to determine the Stevie winners.

Some of the Asia-Pacific region's most innovative organizations have won Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards in the past five years including ABS-CBN Corporation, Bangkok Health Research Center, Cisco Systems, Delta Air Lines, Dentsu, Freelancer.com, GE Indonesia, Globe Telecom, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Huawei, Maras Group, MetLife Asia Ltd., MSLGROUP China, Ooredoo, PT Petrokimia Gresik, Samsung, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Singapore Power, Sony, Telkom Indonesia, Xiaomi, and more.

The Stevie Award trophies, made by the company that makes the Emmy and other major international awards, are among the world's most coveted prizes. The name Stevie is taken from the name Stephen, which is derived from the Greek for "crowned."

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers and the Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organisations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognise outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

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QUEENSLAND’s resources sector has dug deep to get behind farming communities affected by the drought with total contributions of $800,700 to several drought relief organisations said the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said all droughts cause extreme hardship on farmers which can last for many years.

“As a former farmer I know how devasting a drought is to people’s livelihoods and the pain has a lasting impact on regional communities including local shops and suppliers,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“As two primary industries, resources and agriculture have a long and proud history of working together. The CSG industry has formed co-existence agreements with landholders delivering around $400 million in payments.”

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development Mark Furner said contributions from the resources sector had made a tangible difference to producers during the drought.

“These generous donations have a bigger impact than you might think, because when our farmers are supported the communities where they employ people also do better,” Mr Furner said.

“Businesses in the resources sector have certainly led the way, and it’s not too late for other businesses to follow their example and support the Queensland Drought Appeal.”

Mr Macfarlane said the resources sector has also played its part by building infrastructure which farmers use to service their farms and farmers have swapped the Akubra for a hard hat to work in mines delivering skills to the sector.

“It’s important for the resources sector to help out regional communities with many of our own projects operating nearby,” Mr Macfarlane said

“The largest combined donation of more than half a million ($507,500) was given to the Queensland Drought Appeal which was passed onto the Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA).”

The Queensland Drought Appeal was launched by the Queensland Government with an initial $100,000 contribution from the Government in August.

Full list of contributions:

• Origin Energy: $100k to ‘Drought Angels’ plus $57,500 in matched employee donations (through the Origin Foundation) to Rural Aid's ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign
• Santos: $129,500k - $75k Drought Appeal plus $41k from cattle sale proceeds $13,500 matched staff donations
• Shell: $117k Drought Appeal (17k matched staff donations)
• Adani Australia $111k
• Rio Tinto: $100k Drought Appeal
• New Hope: $50k to Aussie Helpers
• QAL: $35k worth of hay to Rural Aid
• Idemitsu Australia and Ensham Resources $20k Drought Appeal
• South32: $20k Drought Appeal
• Evolution: $15k (plus $1500 fuel to local transport provider to deliver hay)
• Peabody: $12k ($5k Aussie Helpers, $5k Buy a Bale, $2k drought relief fundraiser)
• Arrow Energy: $10k towards feed for livestock & $2200 Drought Angels
• APLNG: $10k Drought Appeal
• Hasting Deerings: 10k to Buy-a-Bale (split 5k in matched employee donations)

Total contribution: $800,700.

www qrc.org.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has congratulated Rio Tinto after the company’s Amrun project on Cape York made its first shipment of bauxite more than a month ahead of schedule.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the $2.6 billion project was a leading example of a resource company working with local communities and suppliers while delivering on targets.

“First shipment six weeks ahead of schedule is a great achievement for Rio Tinto which is a big part of the Far North economy and communities,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Rio’s commitment to hiring locally was demonstrated with 1,200 people employed at peak construction, and since project inception in May 2016, close to 400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been employed by the project.”

More than 80,000 tonnes of bauxite is bound for Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone after a ceremony attended by local Wik-Waya Traditional Owners and representatives of the Western Cape Communities Co-existence Agreement (WCCCA). The company says Amrun is expected to reach a full production rate of 22.8 million tonnes a year by 2019.

“Bauxite is one of the building blocks of the modern economy, used to produce aluminium, which goes into everything from soft drink cans in your fridge to frames for solar panels on your roof,” he said.

QRC’s own economic data for the 2017-18 financial year showed the resources sector is a significant investor in the State’s economy and local communities.

“From Toowoomba in the south to Weipa in the north the resource sector contributed to 1,260 community organisations which is an increase of 38 percent on the previous year and in the Far North region the sector contributed $959 million to the economy and supported 6,291 full time jobs,” he said.

QRC is the peak representative body for Queensland ‘s resource sector. The Queensland resources sector provides one in every five dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 15,400 businesses and community organisations across the state, all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources Committee today tabled the report for its mining inquiry, entitled Keep it in the regions: Mining and resources industry support for businesses in regional economies.

A key issue during the inquiry was the terms of payment offered by mining companies to their suppliers and contractors in regional areas. 

The Committee is pleased to be able to announce that, since the inquiry was launched, resource companies Anglo American and Peabody have decided to offer payment terms of 30 days or better to all Australian small and medium sized enterprises.

In addition, Australia’s biggest mining company, BHP submitted that it has now changed its payment terms policy to provide terms of 30 days or better to all locally-based supplier businesses – regardless of size.

"This change will benefit up to 700 local businesses around Australia," said Committee Chair, Barnaby Joyce MP.

"Mining companies have essentially been using regional businesses as a bank," Mr Joyce said, "It’s time for this practice to stop. Our Nation has an obligation to make sure that in the region where the wealth is extracted, the greatest benefit goes back to the people who live in the same area."

Deputy Chair, Luke Gosling MP, agreed, saying, "The Committee calls on all mining companies operating in Australia to provide fair payment terms to regional businesses.

"If the industry does not act, the Committee is recommending the Government revisit legislating maximum payment terms," Mr Gosling said.  

The Committee’s report also makes recommendations aimed at increasing local procurement by mining and resources companies, addressing gaps in regional areas around skills, training and apprenticeships, and building innovation through the mining equipment, technology and services (METS)  sector.

Other key issues for the inquiry were the impacts of FIFO work practices and the mining industry’s interactions with landholders.

"If you look back at the history, mining companies used to build whole towns – Murrumba and Dysart for example. Now they prefer to fly their workers in and out and do the bare minimum for the nearby towns. Benefits from mining should be long term, not boom and bust," Mr Joyce said.

"One thing we do know is that communities thrive when their workers and families live in the area and can contribute to the local economy. The Committee made some recommendations around this issue, but we think industry bodies like the Minerals Council of Australia also have a role to play in making sure their members do the right thing," Mr Joyce said.

The report will be available on the Committee’s website.

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