THE Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) has welcomed the Royal Commission into Banks and Financial Services as part of a wider package of measures to improve banking for all Australians.

“The government has been emphasising competition as a key plank of improving the banking experience for consumers," BCCM CEO Melina Morrison said. "Before the Royal Commission was announced, it had taken steps to level the playing field for co-operative and mutual banks by accepting all eleven recommendations of the independent Hammond Review over ‘Reforms for Cooperatives, Mutuals and Member-owned Firms’.

“Whilst this Royal Commission is an important step to restoring the trust of all Australians, the government must continue to implement reforms supporting and promoting competition in the banking sector, including the legislative modernisation that will allow credit unions, building societies and mutual banks to meet the growing demand by Australians for an alternative to the shareholder-owned model.

“And we say to all Australians: if you are unhappy with the conduct of your bank, you don’t need to wait for the outcome of the Royal Commission either. The member- and customer-owned banks are award-winning alternatives who already put their customer-owners at the centre of their offering. You can find a mutual bank or credit union that works for you at www.switchdontbitch.com.au"

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AUSTRALIAN Defence companies are reminded that industry submissions for the second edition of Defence’s Australian Military Sales Equipment Catalogue must be received by tomorrow, November 30, 2017.

Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne, said there was already high interest in the catalogue from all sectors of Australian defence industry.

“It is pleasing to see both small and medium-sized defence companies and primes across all states and territories have already submitted applications, all representing products and services from a diverse capability range.”

Mr Pyne reminded defence companies the guide will showcase and promote world class Australian products.

“As part of our national enterprise in defence industry, we want more Australian defence companies to be competitive in the global arena, so they can tender for international contracts and partake in global supply chains,” Mr Pyne said.

“I want this catalogue to be the go-to document for our Defence attaches overseas, and we want our friends and allies to have copies so they can see how great our Australian defence companies are.”

Applicants need to satisfy a number of criteria to be considered for entry, including:

•           the company is Australian,

•           the technology or service is Australian in origin and is used by Defence,

•           the product promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the design/build, and

•           the product is export-ready.

Further information on industry submission criteria and how to submit can be found at:www.defence.gov.au/casg/DoingBusiness/InternationalEngagementAndExportsSupport/AustralianMilitarySalesOffice/

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GROWTH in Indigenous employment in the Queensland resources sector has outstripped growth across the total resources sector workforce, doubling in 10 years.

According to the latest census data Indigenous workers in the sector stood at 908 in 2006 and rose to 2,007 in 2016.

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane will today address the Indigenous employment and training forum at Myuma’s Dugalunji Training Camp near Camooweal, 180 kilometres north west of Mount Isa.

“As a sector we can always do more to train and develop Indigenous workers, but it’s encouraging to see that despite a slight fall in numbers across the sector in the last five years as a result of the downturn, Indigenous employment increased,” Mr Macfarlane said.

"In Mount Isa the number of Indigenous people working in the resources sector increased from 177 to 206 or 16 percent in the last five years. As a result, the proportion of Mount Isa’s employees in resources that are Indigenous has risen from 5.5 per cent to 7.4 percent.

“Every year the QRC recognises the enormous Indigenous contribution to the sector at our Indigenous Awards in Brisbane. It is our hope that the award winners will go on to be ambassadors for the sector, acting as role models and encouraging more Indigenous people to join our industry.”

In 2006, Indigenous people comprised 3 percent of the state’s workforce in resources, whereas in 2016, it had grown to 4 percent. Queensland’s Indigenous population is 4 per cent which places the resources sector as one of the few industries with a fair representation.

The forum at Myuma’s Dugalunji Camp was organised as one of the initiatives under a joint QRC and Queensland Government MoU to increase Indigenous participation in the resources sector - the partnership is in its 10th year.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE FORMATION of a new super union has been turbocharged by a massive vote by members of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia in favour of amalgamating with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union.

The unions report a massive 'yes' vote in both ballots.

The number of members who participated in the ballot were at historically high levels and the level of the yes vote was unprecedented.

In the case of the MUA, the vote was 87 percent 'yes', with one in every two members voting. This is higher than past internal MUA union elections of officers.

In the case of the TCFUA, the vote was 97 percent 'yes', with over 64 percent of members casting a vote.

TCFUA National Secretary Michele O’Neil said: “The overwhelming yes vote is a great, strong, clear outcome of this ballot. Our members come from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, for many English is not their first language, and yet they turned out in numbers that left us in no doubt as to their views.

“This vote is clear and unequivocal and the Federal Government should now butt out of trying to overturn the democratic decision of our members about the future of our union. TCFUA members have voted to be part of a new, smart, strong, progressive force in the Australian trade union movement.”

Both unions conducted hundreds of workplace meetings across the eight week voting period. In many instances informational material relating to the ballot was provided in multiple languages.

MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said: “This is at the core of trade union and labour rights — individual member exercising their democratic decision making and democratic control of their union. Our members have spoken: they want a strong, independent and progressive union.

“This vote sets a new course for the amalgamated Union. It makes us more diverse and representative in so many ways. It increases the number of women in our union, it make us more culturally diverse, it expands the industries in which we work on a day to day basis and it opens us up to new challenges and new opportunities. It ensures that we will continue to reflect the great trade union and national heritage of building diversity along with economic, industrial, political, and social needs of working women and men in their Australian community.”

CFMEU National Secretary Michael O’Connor said: “This vote sends a clear message to the Turnbull government to respect not undermine the democratic decisions of union members in the running of their unions.

“It’s a total repudiation of suggestions by the government that this was not in those members’ interests. Those members have spoken unequivocally and with overwhelming determination on where their interests reside.”

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