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Cybersecurity hearing in Canberra

THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit will hold a hearing for its Inquiry into Cybersecurity Compliance based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 42 (2016-17) Cybersecurity Follow-up Audit on Friday, June 2, in Canberra.

Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said the JCPAA is interested to hear how the audited agencies are improving their cyber resilience.

“With an increasing threat of cyber intrusions, it is more important than ever that Government agencies are cyber resilient,” Senator Smith said.

Compliance with the Government’s mitigation strategies is an important step for agencies to protect their systems and secure the continued delivery of Government business.

The Australian Signals Directorate has a list of strategies to assist agencies to achieve cybersecurity resilience and at least 85 percent of targeted cyber intrusions would be prevented if the top four strategies were fully implemented.

The Auditor-General found the Australian Taxation Office and Department of Immigration and Border Protection had not implemented the top four strategies since they were last audited.

The Committee will hear from witnesses from both Departments at the hearing.

Public hearing details: 8.30am – 10.30 am, Friday 2 June, Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra

A copy of the full hearing program can be found at the Committee's website.

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

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

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Call for local voices on agricultural water use

WATER use efficiency is a key issue for Australia’s agriculture sector, and a House of Representatives inquiry is keen to hear from local voices with opinions on the subject.

The House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee is investigating the adequacy and efficacy of water use efficiency programs in Australian agriculture.

Committee Chair Rick Wilson MP says the Committee is seeking feedback from farmers, irrigators and community leaders around Australia, but is particularly keen to hear from people in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

“Australian farmers are amongst the world’s most efficient irrigators, particularly due to the often harsh Australian climate,” Mr Wilson said.

“Given the challenges of a dry climate, management of water usage is more important than ever.”

The inquiry is looking at how the Government can invest in water infrastructure in order to assist farmers and communities to extract the maximum value out of each drop of water.

Mr Wilson and Committee Deputy Chair Meryl Swanson MP recently joined About the House TV to discuss the inquiry’s findings so far.

Making a submission to the inquiry is easy – visit aph.gov.au/wue and click ‘Upload Submission’, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

People interested in the inquiry can also subscribe to the About the House Newsletter, to receive fortnightly news about this and other inquiries conducted by the House of Representatives. 

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

Click here to watch a video on this topic on YouTube.

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ABS: Trend dwelling approvals rise 0.8pc in March

THE number of dwellings approved in Australia rose 0.8 per cent in March 2017, in trend terms, after falling for nine months, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Dwelling approvals increased in March in New South Wales (3.0 per cent), Tasmania (1.6 per cent), Queensland (0.5 per cent) and Victoria (0.3 per cent), but decreased in the Northern Territory (19.1 per cent), Australian Capital Territory (7.1 per cent), Western Australia (1.9 per cent) and South Australia (0.1 per cent) in trend terms.
In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses fell 0.6 per cent in March. Private sector house approvals fell in Queensland (2.0 per cent), South Australia (0.4 per cent) and Victoria (0.3 per cent), but rose in New South Wales (0.3 per cent) and Western Australia (0.1 per cent).
In seasonally adjusted terms, dwelling approvals decreased by 13.4 per cent in March, driven by a fall in total dwellings excluding houses (22.0 per cent) and total house approvals (5.0 per cent).
The value of total buildings approved rose 0.1 per cent in March, in trend terms, after falling for seven months. The value of residential building approved rose 1.0 per cent while non-residential building approved fell 1.9 per cent.
Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at http://www.abs.gov.au.

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QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane laments the New Acland court decision

THE Queensland Resources Council is "very disappointed" by the Queensland Land Court decision to reject New Hope’s Stage 3 New Acland coal mine expansion project.

That was the statement issued today by Queensland Resources Council (QRC) chief executive Ian Macfarlane.

Given the rigorous government assessment processes the project has already passed, including examination by the Independent Expert Scientific Committee as part of the federal government’s approval earlier this year, the decision today by the Land Court is surprising.

This project is vital to the Darling Downs and would create up to 260 construction jobs and ongoing direct employment of up to 435 jobs and indirectly 2,300, worth about $12 billion in economic benefits over the life of the project.

Such a significant amount of job losses will have devastating flow-on effects to such a small community and the surrounding businesses that rely on the mine.

The New Acland Stage 3 Project has been in limbo for 10 years, including spending the last 18 months in the Land Court, spearheaded by the taxpayer-funded Environmental Defenders Office (EDO).  

www.qrc.org.au

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MDBA to appear at water use efficiency hearing

THE House Agriculture and Water Resources committee will hold a public hearing in Canberra on Thursday, 1 June for its inquiry into water use efficiency in Australian agriculture.

The Committee will hear from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

Public hearing details: 12:15pm - 1:30pm, Thursday 1 June, Committee Room 1R2, Parliament House

The hearing will be broadcast live in audio format at aph.gov.au/live

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

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