THE Indigenous Affairs Committee will be holding public hearings in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne in the first two weeks of March 2018 for its inquiry into the growing presence of inauthentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 'style' art and craft products and merchandise for sale across Australia.

The Canberra hearings will include government agencies such as the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, IP Australia, and the Department of Communications and the Arts.

The Sydney hearings will feature a number of industry experts, peak organisations, and state government agencies including Ms Terri Janke, the Indigenous Art Code, and the Aboriginal Arts Association of Australia.

In Melbourne, the committee will hear from the Victorian Government and also organisations such as Creative Economy.

In 2018, the Committee intends to travel to other urban, regional and remote areas to hold further hearings.

New Committee Chair, Ann Sudmalis MP, said “The Committee welcomes all interested parties to our hearings and encourages individuals and organisations to continue to make submissions via our website.”

Canberra public hearing details

Time:              11.45 – 12.15
Date:              Thursday, 1 March 2018
Location:       Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House

Time:              09.00 – 13.20
Date:              Friday, 2 March 2018
Location:       Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House

Sydney public hearing details

Time:              09.00 – 17.00
Date:              Tuesday, 6 March 2018
Location:       Macquarie Room, Parliament of New South Wales

Time:              09.00 – 10.20
Date:              Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Location:       Meeting Room 1, Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices, 1 Bligh Street

Melbourne public hearing details

Time:              09.00 – 13.20
Date:              Thursday, 8 March 2018
Location:       Room G7, Victorian Parliamentary Offices, 55 St Andrews Place, East Melbourne

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

To keep up to date with where and when the hearings will be held, track the inquiry from the website. Click on the blue ‘Track Inquiry’ button and use the form to log-in or register for a My Parliament account.

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THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has announced its partnership with the St.George Banking Group (St.George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA) as part of its suite of member benefits.

“We are delighted to form an alliance with such strong and reputable brands in the banking sector,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Our members can access very competitive home loans or refer clients seeking home loans and mortgage advice to any of the three banks.

“This is a great advantage for our members and their small business clients in particular,” said Mr Conway.

St.George’s Head of Home Lending, Gavan Thompson, said that all of the brands were excited to be aligned with the IPA.

“We feel that our brands fit well with the IPA, particularly with their strong service delivery and community focus.

“Accountants are vital as trusted advisers to their clients and we look forward to being of assistance to them with any home lending needs,” said Mr Thompson.

publicaccountants.org.au

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has today presented its Advisory Report on the Home Affairs and Integrity Agencies Legislation Amendment Bill 2017.

The Bill amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Act 2010, Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 and Intelligence Services Act 2001 to give effect to Ministerial powers following establishment of the Home Affairs portfolio on 20 December 2017.

The amendments include a heightened and strengthened oversight role for the Attorney-General.

The Chair of the Committee, Andrew Hastie MP said ‘the Committee is pleased to support the Attorney-General’s oversight role as proposed in the Bill".

The Committee made four recommendations in its report.

First, upon considering evidence from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, the Committee recommended that the Bill be amended so that only the Prime Minister has the power to direct the Inspector-General to undertake an inquiry under section 9 of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986.

Second, to more clearly reflect the Government’s intent concerning the Attorney-General’s oversight role, the Committee recommended that explicit reference to the Attorney-General be included in the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Act 2010 and Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986.

The Committee noted that 33 other Acts will be amended to implement the Home Affairs portfolio.

The Committee considered these amendments should be brought forward as soon as possible and, third, recommended that amendments to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to facilitate the Attorney-General’s ongoing role be introduced to the Parliament prior to the conclusion of debate on this Bill.

Finally, subject to implementation of these recommendations, the Committee recommended that the Bill be passed.

The report is available on the Committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/pjcis.

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QUEENSLAND’s attractiveness as an investment destination for mining has dropped out of the global top ten according to a report from Canada’s Fraser Institute highlighted by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the clear message is that global investors have marked Queensland down because of policy uncertainty. 

"Investors don’t like surprises, which is why the sector is always talking about the need for policy certainty," said Mr Macfarlane. 

"The Queensland Government needs to be aware investors are watching every potential change in policy as having a direct impact on the investment profile of the State.