THE Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth held its first public hearing in Canberra today.

The committee is inquiring into Australia’s trade and investment relationship with Indonesia.

The Department of Education and Training appeared before the committee to discuss the education sector.

This is an important sector, which contributed over $19 billion to Australia’s economy in 2015-16 through the export of education-related services, which are one of Australia’s largest service exports. Further, Indonesia is Australia's eighth largest source country for international students, contributing $619 million into the economy.

Education is, therefore, a vital component to Australia’s overall trade, and, an area where growth opportunities should be examined.

Chair of the Committee, Mr Ken O’Dowd said, “In addition, there are broader social and cultural benefits of international education including developing a skilled workforce, international collaboration, opening up new markets for Australian businesses, and building cultural awareness.”

The hearing was audio webcast live at aph.gov.au/live. 

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

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THE CHIEF Executive of the Queensland Resources Council has called on the Federal Government to invest in a high-technology power station for North Queensland.
 
Speaking in Townsville at a business breakfast, Mr Macfarlane said a chunk of the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund could be used for a modern high efficiency, low emission (HELE) power plant.
 
“It needs to be a less ideological argument about where we get our energy from and a more practical discussion about how we provide both reliable and cheaper electricity and reduce green house gas emissions,” Mr Macfarlane said.
 
“If we’re going to use technologies and government grants for renewables then we should also use it for coal, which provides stable base load power.
 
“And we have some of the highest quality, low emission coal in the world right here in Queensland.
 
“The plant would need federal funding to provide a long-term base load for both business and households in the north.”
 
Mr Macfarlane said – regardless of what the foreign funded green activists chant – the reality is that coal-fired electricity and renewables will be part of the future for decades to come.

www.qrc.org.au

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AUSTRALIA'S current mix of taxes is not fit for purpose and is stifling the country’s growth potential according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“Australia desperately needs large scale tax reform if it is to address the current fiscal issues we face and it’s beyond time that the Government delivered on its commitment for a promised tax white paper,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“We are not advocating for a change in the overall tax burden but rather a change in the mix to deliver a fairer, more effective, internationally competitive and less complex tax system.

“There have been too many stop-starts when it comes to much needed reform.  Tax reform represents one of the strongest levers the Government has at its disposal to revive productivity, competitiveness and growth.

“Australia faces interconnected twin challenges: ensuring fiscal sustainability, as outlined in the recent MYEFO update, combined with the need to boost productivity growth to sustain growth in living standards.

“A shift to growth supporting taxes is required to sustain Australia’s economic momentum and meet all current and future spending needs.  The current taxation mix is insufficient to meet expenditure commitments and Australia faces a revenue funding gap, especially in light of the fall in the terms of trade and sluggish national income growth.

“Our tax base is too narrow, unstable and uncompetitive.  We believe the terms of reference for the white paper should be broad and include the GST as part of the mix; true reform will not be achieved if the total tax mix is not considered.

“Consumption taxes such as GST represent one of the most efficient and sustainable tax bases available; yet, Australia’s GST base is relatively narrow and covers less than 50 per cent of private consumption which gives Australia the seventh lowest coverage ratio amongst 32 OECD countries.

“The current political environment has made ‘big bang’ tax reform extremely difficult for the major political parties.  As a way forward, consideration should be given to establishing an independent tax reform commission to support tax policy decision-making,” said Mr Conway.

These recommendations form part of the IPA’s 2017-18 pre-Budget submission. Go to http://bit.ly/2jxoU7L

publicaccountants.org.au

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities will today table its report, Harnessing Value, Delivering Infrastructure, which was released last December.

The report is expected to be tabled today, at approximately 4.15pm (following the MPI), by Committee Chair Mr John Alexander MP

The report advocates urban renewal and decentralisation, facilitated by strategic planning of transport infrastructure—especially high speed rail—funded by value capture.

Mr Alexander says vision and innovation are needed to rebalance our settlement, rebuild our cities and develop infrastructure funded by the wealth it creates.

“Investing in this infrastructure will liberate our regions’ potential as locations for housing and business through ready access to the economies of our major cities,” Mr Alexander says. “This is the central purpose of high speed rail. This plan of urban renewal and decentralisation, facilitated by strategic planning of infrastructure, will deliver an abundant affordable housing supply for generations to come.”

The Committee has recommended developing value capture mechanisms to fund new transport infrastructure and the development of high speed rail to facilitate new patterns of settlement in Australia.

The Committee has also recommended:

• developing a framework for the specification and evaluation of proposals for the development of a High Speed Rail Network in Eastern Australia
• investigating options for private funding of High Speed Rail through value capture
• the monitoring and investigation of other technological innovations for transport connectivity
• recognising the potential of value capture to contribute to the costs of new transport infrastructure
• developing a system for coordinating the planning and funding of major infrastructure projects across all levels of government
• coordinated procurement of vehicles and rolling stock for transport infrastructure
• establishing value capture mechanisms for individual transport infrastructure projects as a condition of federal funding
• developing a toolkit of value capture mechanisms that can be applied by all levels of government
• continued roll-out of City Deal-type agreements with the various state, territory and local governments
• developing a consistent and coordinated approach to the application of value-capture to major infrastructure projects, with the Australian Government acting as the single-point for the collection of value capture revenues.

A copy of the report can be obtained from the Committee’s website or from the secretariat on (02) 6277 2352.

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

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