THE first public hearing on the Telecommunication and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 will be held on Friday in Canberra, with representations from tech companies, telecommunications carriers and user groups.
Additional hearings will be held in late October or early November.
The Committee will continue to accept submissions as part of its review of the Bill.
Public hearing details: 8.15 am – 4.30 pm, Friday 19 October, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra
The hearing will be live streamed (audio and visual) at www.aph.gov.au/live.
The full program of the hearing will be available closer to the hearing date at aph.gov.au/pjcis
Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.
THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing in Canberra on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 for its inquiry into impediments to business investment.
The chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP, said the committee would examine how government at all levels can better support business investment in Australia.
The committee will hear from INPEX, Japan’s largest oil and gas exploration company, which has been investing in Australia since 1986. INPEX cautioned that "Australia’s high cost business environment that reduces the country's international competitiveness’ is the ‘most significant challenge to the growth of Australia's natural gas industry".
In its submission, INPEX called for the Australian Government to better support business "through domestic policy settings that are stable and competitive; and international policies that promote open trade and investment, and stronger ties with Asia".
Commpete will cover competition in digital communications. Its submission focuses on the National Broadband Network, in particular how customers would benefit from increased competition beyond the four largest current broadband retailers (Telstra, Optus, TPG and iiNet).
The committee will also hear from the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub. Blockchain technology is becoming a core infrastructure for the global economy. The RMIT Hub described Australia as "having developed a crypto-friendly policy environment".
It submitted that Australia is in a unique position to take advantage of opportunities in blockchain technology for financial and other services.
Public hearing details: 11.10am – 1.10pm, Wednesday 17 October 2018, Committee Room 1R6, Parliament House, Canberra
11.10am: INPEX
11.50am: Commpete
12.30pm: RMIT Block Chain Innovation Hub
1.10pm: Finish
The hearing will be webcast live at aph.gov.au/live
THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today tabled the report of its review of the performance of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Committee chair, Tim Wilson MP, said, "The ACCC has an important role to play in monitoring and holding individuals and groups to account for anti-competitive behaviour and breaches of Australia’s consumer law."
The committee examined the ACCC’s work on competition and Australian Consumer Law (ACL) penalties, including regulation of competition in the financial sector, criminal cartel cases arising from ACCC investigations, and electricity and gas pricing.
"While strong competition laws and corresponding penalties have been in place since 2007, until recently this has not been reflected in the pecuniary penalties imposed in competition cases," Mr Wilson said. "There is still much work to be done by the ACCC and in the legal system to clearly demonstrate to companies that for serious competition breaches there will be serious consequences.
"In particular, penalties for competition law breaches must take into account company size and turnover for them to be an effective deterrence to anti-competitive behaviour," he said.
Since the hearing, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 3) Bill 2018 was passed, and will correct the disparity between competition and consumer law penalties. The maximum penalties under the ACL will now align with the maximum penalties under the competition provisions.
Mr Wilson said, "The ACCC’s recent more proactive approach to issues in the financial sector is essential. Arising out of this committee’s recommendation in November 2016, the Government established the Financial Services Unit, through which the ACCC now has a permanent role in monitoring the banks on competition matters."
The committee also examined the ACCC’s work in energy markets on electricity and gas supply and affordability. Since the hearing, the Government has tasked the ACCC with monitoring and reporting on electricity prices, at least every six months, until 2025.
THE Queensland Resources Council said the strong demand for skills in the Bowen Basin resources sector would create new opportunities and job options for workers from the Hail Creek mine.
Glencore today announced a restructure of the Hail Creek open cut coal mine in Central Queensland. Glencore has said the total number of workers at the mine will decrease from 1360 to 930 by the time the changes are fully implemented in the second half of next year.
The changes include a reconfiguration of the mine from a two dragline operation to a truck and shovel operation.
“I understand this will be a difficult time for workers affected by the changes. But there is strong demand across Central and North Queensland for skilled workers in the resources sector,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.
“Queensland-wide there are about 1250 vacancies in the resources sector, and more than 440 of those jobs are in the Mackay and Coalfields region. On top of that, there are more than 200 jobs up for grabs in the Rockhampton, Gladstone and wider Central Queensland region.
“Global demand continues to grow for the high quality coal from the Bowen Basin. It is the building block for industry around the world. The Federal Government’s chief economist predicts record export values this year and rising export volumes over the next financial year.
“Glencore’s announcement today is focussed on ensuring the ongoing viability of the Hail Creek mine. This will help sustain the project through the inevitable fluctuations in the commodity cycle.
“The Queensland coal industry has a strong future, and I expect its highly skilled and diverse workforce, including employees from the Hail Creek mine, will continue to be in demand across the sector.”
THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today tabled the report of its Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report 2017 (Second Report).
The report provides a summary of issues raised at the public hearing with the Reserve Bank in Canberra on 17 August 2018.
The Chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP, said, "The Governor’s testimony highlighted the strength of Australia’s economy. The RBA expects GDP growth to average around 3¼ percent by the end of 2018 through to the end of 2019."
"Australia’s strong GDP growth is being supported by a pick-up in non-mining investment, strong commodity prices, growth in investment in energy projects and public sector infrastructure, low interest rates and the tax cuts already in place for small and medium businesses," Mr Wilson said.
"Australia’s labour market has continued to strengthen with the labour force participation rate close to its historical high. Strong, continued growth in employment is expected to further reduce spare capacity in labour markets and generate a gradual increase in wages and inflation.
"While growth in average wages has been relatively low, we have turned the corner on wages growth. The wage price index increased by 0.6 percent in the June quarter, which is the fastest quarterly increase since March 2014," Mr Wilson said.
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