THIS WEEK the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick MP is in Tasmania as part of the Parliament in Schools program.

Students will learn about federation, democracy and the Australian Parliament, as well as hear first-hand from the Speaker and their local member on what a typical day looks like in their electorate and when they are in Canberra for sitting weeks.

Over three days, the Speaker will visit:

• King Island District School, Currie – with the Member for Braddon, Gavin Pearce, on Monday 5 June,
• Perth Primary School, Perth – with the Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell, on Tuesday 6 June,
• Westbury Primary School, Westbury – with the Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell, on Tuesday 6 June,
• Ravenswood Heights Primary School, Ravenswood – with the Member for Bass, Bridget Archer, on Wednesday 7 June, and
• Riverside Primary School, Riverside – with the Member for Bass, Bridget Archer, on Wednesday 7 June.

"All students, regardless of their location should have the opportunity to experience a Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) program," Speaker Milton Dick said.

"One of my biggest priorities is to increase the accessibility of civics education.

"These are our future leaders. It is so important we empower school students with the knowledge, skills and values so that they can go on to be active and informed citizens."

About the Parliament in Schools program

Launched last year, the Parliament in Schools program is a bi-partisan initiative to make civics education accessible to students regardless of their location. In collaboration with local federal members, the Speaker is visiting schools across Australia to bring parliament to them.

The program is an extension to well-established PEO onsite, digital and outreach education programs available to schools across Australia.

It also complements the existing PEO online and print resources that are curriculum-aligned, for Australian teachers and students.

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THE Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services will seek evidence from service providers and from peak bodies representing Australia’s multicultural, migrant, and refugee communities at a public hearing in Brisbane on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

This follows site visits in Brisbane and far North Queensland, which will enable the committee to gain further insight into the design and delivery of the employment service system in regional Australia.

Committee Chair, Julian Hill MP, said, “Frankly, Australia can do much better in engaging multicultural communities to boost the country’s economic prosperity. I represent one of the most diverse electorates and am particularly concerned at evidence that employment services are not adequately supporting migrants in securing skilled work to harness their talents.

“The committee will also continue to listen carefully to the insights of employment service providers — including Sarina Russo, yourtown, and Workways Australia — to identify elements of the system which drive behaviours incompatible with high quality services and meaningful employment outcomes.”

Further information about the inquiry, including Terms of Reference, future public hearings, published submissions and hearing transcripts, is available on the inquiry website.

Public hearing details

Date                
6 June 2023

Time               
1pm – 3.30pm

Location         
Committee Room 3, Queensland Parliament
2A George Street, Brisbane City       

Witnesses     
Multicultural Australia
Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland
Sarina Russo Job Access
yourtown
Workways Australia

A live audio broadcast of the hearing will be available via the Parliament’s Watch, Read, Listen website.

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THE SUPPLY of new homes is set to continue to decline under the weight of rising interest rates, according to Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist, Tom Devitt.

The ABS released the Lending to Households and Businesses data for April 2023 on Friday of last week.

“The number of loans issued for the purchase or construction of a new home has fallen to a new low,” Mr Devitt said.

“The last time so few loans were issued for the purchase or construction of a new home was in September 2008, when the GFC caused a contraction in building.

“Lending for the purchase and construction of new homes in the three months to April 2023 was 31.5 percent lower than at the same time last year.

“There are very long lags in this cycle and the full impact of the RBA’s rate increases are still to fully hit the housing market, let alone the broader economy," he said.

“These low lending numbers reflect a lack of new work entering the pipeline at the same time that population growth is surging.

“There needs to be a structural increase in the number of homes being built across Australia, a fact recently acknowledged by the RBA.” Mr Devitt said.

In original terms, the total number of loans for the purchase of construction of new homes in the three months to April 2023 declined in all jurisdictions compared with the same quarter a year earlier, led by the Australian Capital Territory (-67.5 percent), and followed by New South Wales (-34.9 percent), South Australia (-32.1 percent), Tasmania (-31.6 percent), Western Australia (-31.3 percent), Victoria (-29.5 percent), Queensland (-27.4 percent) and the Northern Territory (-5.1 percent).

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THE Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) will appear at a House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics public hearing on Thursday, June 2.

APRA will be discussing the Review of the APRA Annual Report 2022 as well as giving evidence to the Inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation.

Chair Daniel Mulino MP said with the committee investigating issues including competition, business formation and productivity, APRA’s perspective on how these issues play out in Australia’s financial system would be invaluable.

"APRA must balance the benefits of efficiency, competition, contestability and competitive neutrality with financial stability — something that can be challenging to do as new technologies are introduced at rapid pace and great scale," Dr Mulino said.

"Australia is a world leader in FinTech, and APRA plays a critical role in balancing risk with the opportunities, such as broader consumer choice, that these technologies provide."

The committee will also be discussing the wider activities of APRA as part of its review of the agency’s 2021-22 Annual Report.

"APRA is an essential pillar of our regulatory environment. Strong and proactive prudential supervision and the promotion of financial system stability is one of the reasons Australia’s financial system is one of the safest in the world," Dr Mulino said.

"Superannuation, insurance and banking are central elements of Australians’ lives — and understanding the challenges facing APRA in these areas is of continual interest."

More details about the inquiries and upcoming public hearings are available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date : 2 June 2023
Time : 9am to 11.30am
Location : Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

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

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