THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) welcomes today’s policy announcements by the Queensland Government of its Powering Queensland Plan to address the state’s energy needs.

This Queensland Plan has been released ahead of the Finkel review due to be released this Friday at COAG.

QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said it was good to see the Queensland Government setting an example for southern states with an energy plan and releasing more land for gas exploration.

“Once again we see Queensland showing New South Wales and Victoria on how to run an energy policy by investing in gas power and releasing another 395 square kilometres of land for new gas tenure to supply the east coast market,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“It’s common knowledge the eastern seaboard of Australia is facing a gas shortage and instead of putting their head in the sand the government is looking at how to fix the problem. This is proactive step by the Queensland government.”

The QRC is however very disappointed that the Palaszczuk Government has turned away from a technology neutral approach to electricity generation, whereby low emissions power generation is provided by the lowest cost energy source available not just renewables.

“If we are to be agnostic in terms of the sources of energy the government should also support the addition of a modern high efficiency, low emission (HELE) power plant, potentially in Townsville, using some of the highest quality, low emission coal in the world right here in Queensland,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The government is ignoring the global shift currently underway with coal-fired power generation in countries such as Japan, with new state of the art HELE plants delivering affordable, reliable energy with a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.”

In the recent QRC State of the Sector sentiment survey Queensland resources chiefs revealed the price and supply of electricity in the state was a major concern with the decision to institute a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.

“The government reaffirmed this target today and industry believes it’s risky to mandate half of the state’s energy mix, especially from an energy source that is intermittent,” Mr Macfarlane said.

www.qrc.org.au

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AS THE RETAIL industry’s peak representative body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has proposed further changes to the 457 visa reform in a submission to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) ensuring the longevity of Australian retail.

ARA Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman said the ARA have long been advocating for its members on skills shortages in the local labour market and the costly flow-on effect of doing business in a competitive global market.

“Australian retailers are currently challenged by the availability of local talent to fill buying, planning and online roles in the industry,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“We have been consulting the Government and advocating for formal training and professional development options for retail employees, to support future careers in Australian retail.”

The ARA strongly believe the ability for Australian retailers to compete in a dynamic global market, and continue to employ Australian workers directly correlates with access to specialised talent.

“The recent changes to the 457 visa program have restricted Australian retailers in accessing specific roles required in modern day retailing, further crippling the growth and development of local retail talent,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Working with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) the ARA surveyed its members on how the 457 visa changes will have a major impact on future business growth, securing retail talent, promoting local employees and international competitiveness.

The survey identified Retail Buyers, Merchandise Planners, Merchandise Designers and Digital Commerce as four critical roles required in contemporary retailing and assisted the ARA in formulating an accurate response to the Department on the proposed 457 visa changes to ensure current and future applicants for these particular roles are not affected.

The ARA’s submission highlights the adverse effects to the sector caused by the removal of certain retail occupations and asks the Department to reinstate the Retail Buyer to the Short Term Skilled Occupation List.

The submission further seeks a more sophisticated and inclusive approach in identifying strategic retail occupations prior to any reforms being implemented and recommends a pathway for highly skilled visa holders in key retail categories to be offered permanent residency.

Taking a longer-term view, the ARA supports the development and implementation of HECS-HELP for tertiary qualifications to support careers in Australian retail.

Mr Zimmerman said the ARA look forward to working with the Department to develop local retail talent through relevant tertiary studies which will in turn guide the future of Australian retail.

“As skilled retail employees are an enormous asset to the industry, the ARA will work with the Government to future proof Australian retail talent.”

To view the ARA’s full submission to the DIBP please click here.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities has commenced a new inquiry into the Australian Government’s role in the development of cities.

It will examine city planning and sustainable urban development, focusing on how to transition existing capital cities, and how to develop new and existing regional centres.

Committee Chair, John Alexander MP, said collaborative and flexible urban planning is essential to Australia’s future.

“Australia’s population is expected to double by 2075. Existing cities cannot continue to absorb this growth without affecting our high standard of living,” Mr Alexander said.

“We need options for adapting infrastructure and services in existing cities to sustainably accommodate much larger populations. We also have to examine opportunities to develop new or existing regional centres.

“Our inquiry will investigate potential for the Commonwealth Government to provide leadership and coordinate longer term national city planning to address these issues.”

The inquiry will be split into two sub-inquiries:

1)      Sustainability transitions in existing cities

• Identifying how the trajectories of existing cities can be directed towards a more sustainable urban form that enhances urban liveability and quality of life and reduces energy, water, and resource consumption;
• Considering what regulation and barriers exist that the Commonwealth could influence, and opportunities to cut red tape; and
• Examining the national benefits of being a global ‘best practice’ leader in sustainable urban development.

2)      Growing new and transitioning regional cities and towns

• Promoting the development of regional centres, including promoting master planning of regional communities;
• Promoting private investment in regional centres and regional infrastructure;
• Promoting the competitive advantages of regional location for businesses;
• Examining ways urbanisation can be redirected to achieve more balanced regional development; and
• Identifying the infrastructure requirements for reliable and affordable transport, clean energy, water and waste in a new settlement of reasonable size, located away from existing infrastructure.

Submissions are open until Monday 31 July 2017.  People are welcome to make submissions to either or both sub-inquiries, but should clearly indicate which part of the terms of reference they address. For more information about how to make a submission, contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Further information on the inquiry, including the full terms of reference, is available on the Committee website.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. 

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WASHINGTON DC —  As world leaders gather at the first UN Ocean Conference that will get underway on June 5, World Environment Day, Ocean Conservancy is releasing data from more than half a million International Coastal Cleanup volunteers who removed 18,399,900lbs of trash from beaches, coasts and waterways in 112 countries last September, in the world's largest volunteer effort on behalf of the ocean.

"We are grateful for the volunteers around the world who literally moved mountains of trash from entering our ocean," said Allison Schutes , senior manager of Ocean Conservancy's Trash Free Seas Program.

"Together, we walked over 14,490 miles of beaches, coasts and waterways  — enough to walk around the moon twice. This is no small feat and we are grateful for every person who showed up and every piece of trash they picked. It makes a difference in our efforts to stem the tide of ocean trash."

The report  released today identifies a piano among the other more unusual items found. Small, ubiquitous items like cigarette butts, plastic beverage bottles, food wrappers, plastic bottle caps and plastic straws remain the most commonly collected items — and remain among the most deadly to wildlife like seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles.

The International Coastal Cleanup contributes to the world's most robust database on marine debris, which is built entirely on the individual action of the citizen scientists who meticulously log their finds. Last year, Ocean Conservancy debuted the Clean Swell mobile app to allow volunteers to more easily log trash that they collect.

"The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is perhaps the clearest expression of grassroots global action on behalf of our ocean, something Ocean Conservancy is proud to have led for over 30 years," said Janis Searles Jones ( @InVeritas_Jones ), CEO of Ocean Conservancy.

"But we recognize that cleanup efforts alone cannot tackle a crisis of this magnitude with an estimated 8 million tons of trash makes its way into our ocean every year, which is why we invite partnerships and collaborations across sectors."

The Cleanup is part of Ocean Conservancy's larger strategy for Trash Free Seas and is one of the many ways the organization is joining with others to help find answers and solutions to address existing ocean trash and eventually stop its flow into the ocean.

Ocean Conservancy also started the Trash Free Seas Alliance to coordinate across industry, government, NGOs and public interest organizations to identify ways to stop land-based trash from ever reaching the ocean.

Scientists have identified that by improving waste management and collection in the 20 countries where the mismatch between plastic consumption and mismanaged waste is greatest, we can reduce by 2025 the amount of plastic entering the ocean by more than 40 percent. 

"Ocean Conservancy is excited to see the solutions and commitments that emerge from the United Nations' Ocean Conference to tackle ocean trash," added Ms Jones. "We are ready to step up to the challenge of turning the tide on ocean trash together."

Ocean Conservancy acknowledges with thanks the support of The Coca-Cola Company for the International Coastal Cleanup over the past 19 years.

Last year, Coca-Cola activated a global employee engagement campaign to encourage participation in the Cleanup -- more than 7,000 Coca-Cola system associates volunteered along with their friends and families, cleaning more than 150,000lbs of trash.

As part of its commitment to address global climate change, Bank of America has supported the Cleanup since 2002, with thousands of employees participating in Cleanup events all around the world. Other national sponsors include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Altria Group, Inc, Brunswick Public Foundation, Cox Enterprises, The Dow Chemical Company and the Martin Foundation. 

https://oceanconservancy.org/

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