THE Trade Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will hold a public hearing today at the Gold Coast for its inquiry into Australia’s tourism and international education sectors.

The Subcommittee will hear evidence from the international education sector including higher education, ELICOS and VET representatives as well as from an international student tour business. Gold Coast tourism and events organisations will provide evidence to the Subcommittee as well as the Queensland Department of Tourism and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

The Chair of the Trade Subcommittee, Senator Deborah O’Neill said, "The public hearing on the Gold Coast will take the committee away from capital cities and shift the focus to tourism and international education sectors in regional locations."

Senator O’Neill noted the importance of "hearing from regional and non-capital city voices as these experiences and needs may vary from capital city counterparts".

Further information about the inquiry and program, are available on the inquiry webpage.

Public hearings details

Gold Coast
Date: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Venue: Anna Rose Room, TAFE Queensland Robina Campus, 94 Laver Drive, Robina
Time: 8:30am – 5pm (AEST)

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THE Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services will continue its inquiry at a public hearing in Canberra on Wednesday,  May 17, with a focus on First Nations peoples, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people with experience of the justice system.

The committee will hear from peak and representative bodies and government agencies, as well as from organisations representing the social enterprise and social ventures sector.

Committee Chair, Julian Hill MP, said, "It's a myth that all unemployed people are ready to work or able to do the jobs available. In fact, the data shows a giant mismatch between what employers are seeking and the enormously complex caseload of unemployed people including skills gaps, disabilities and illness.

"There is strong evidence that the current system has failed to invest in people and is not adapted to their diverse needs, backgrounds, and circumstances," he said.

"Trotting out stereotypes of ‘dole bludgers’ who should just ‘get a job’ will get a headline but won’t actually change anything. Long-term unemployment won’t be reduced without understanding the actual experiences of people.

"Listening is critical so we can make recommendations for a future employment services system that meets the needs of all Australians. Many people argue that social enterprises can contribute much more to helping the most disadvantaged jobseekers to remain engaged and prepare for employment in the open market’.

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              17 May 2023
Time              8.45am – 3pm
Location      Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra 
                          and by videoconference
Witnesses  Australian Council of Social Service
                          Economic Justice Australia
                          National Indigenous Australians Agency
                          Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
                          Coalition of Peaks
                          Settlement Council of Australia
                          Social Ventures Australia
                          Social Enterprise Australia
                          Justice Reform Initiative
                          Western Australian Association for Mental Health

The hearing will be live broadcast via the Parliament’s Watch, Read, Listen website.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hear from a range of experts in competition law, experimental economics and market design on Thursday, May 18, via videoconference as part of the committee’s inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation.

Committee Chair, Daniel Mulino MP, said, “Innovative market designs have been shown to lead to life-changing, and even life-saving, results, so the committee is looking forward to hearing from pioneering economists in this field, including CalTech’s Professor Charlie Plott; UQ’s Professor Flavio Menezes and John Quiggin; and the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Market Design (Professors Simon Loertscher and David Byrne, and Gary Stoneham)."

Dr Mulino said market design could lead to increases in quality of life while simultaneously providing better value for a range of government spending areas.

“A local example is a bus transport pilot for students attending the Northern School of Autism," he said. "Students were travelling up to two hours each way and missing classes. The long travel times increased the students’ anxiety, which led to increased tension among families.

“Market design economists used algorithms to devise a scheme that determined the optimal travel route; the optimal vehicle size; and the prices at which services were provided within the parameters of a maximum travel time of one hour each way. The result was happier children and families for no additional cost to government.”

Dr Mulino said 'matching markets' was another type of market design “and a great example is the kidney exchange system, which has saved many more lives following its implementation”.

‘‘Market design theory can be applied to Australia’s economy in a variety of ways — whether that be designing markets that are fair and efficient, mechanisms that encourage new entrants into the market and prevent collusion, as well as developing platforms and marketplaces that facilitate these transactions," Dr Mulin said.

Market design can also substantially improve procurement outcomes. This could be of direct relevance to a number of quasi markets that have been established for the provision of social services.

The committee has looked at a number of issues relating to market concentration and competition issues more broadly.

Dr Mulino said competition and merger law was another complex area, and the committee was looking forward to hearing from former ACCC Chair Professor Allan Fels AO and other competition law experts, including Professor Deborah Healey (UNSW) and Dr Rhonda Smith (the University of Melbourne) on their experiences and ideas for ways to improve competition, foster economic dynamism and increase productivity.

More details about the inquiry and upcoming public hearings, including the full terms of reference, are available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 18 May
Time: 9.30am to 2.45pm AEST
via VIDEOCONFERENCE

The public hearing will be broadcast live at https://www.aph.gov.au/live.

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IN RESPONSE to the significant findings in a recent Auditor-General report, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has expanded the scope of its existing inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) to include a detailed examination of Defence's procurement of Hunter Class Frigates, one of the projects included in the MPR.

Chair of the JCPAA, Julian Hill MP, said, “This is a deeply concerning report by the Auditor-General into a critically important Defence project. Given the seriousness of the concerns the committee initiated this inquiry less than 24 hours after the tabling of the report, and has scheduled initial public hearings for Friday 19 May.”

The committee has also invited written submissions by Friday, June 15, 2023 and has requested submissions from the contractor, BAE Systems, as well as the British High Commission.

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

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