THE House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources has begun an inquiry into water use efficiency.

Australia is spending record amounts to modernise its irrigation infrastructure in an effort to make agricultural water use more efficient and increase the amount of water available for environmental flows.

Committee Chair Mr Rick Wilson MP said that the Committee’s inquiry will focus on the benefits these upgrade programs provide for irrigators as well as the value for money they represent, and will also seek to identify any areas where resources may be better directed.

“The agricultural sector is obviously very important to the Australian economy and irrigated agriculture is a big part of that,” Mr Wilson said. “The Committee wants to make sure that Australia is getting the best outcomes from these programs that we possibly can.”

The Committee will be accepting submissions to the inquiry until 31 March 2017.

The inquiry will focus on:

• the adequacy and efficacy of current programs in achieving irrigation water use efficiencies,
• how existing expenditure provides value for money for the Commonwealth,
• possible improvements to programs, their administration and delivery, and
• other matters, including, but not limited to, maintaining or increasing agricultural production, consideration of environmental flows, and adoption of world's best practice.

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

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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 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has received an inquiry into the Australian Film and Television Industry and is calling for submissions.

The inquiry’s Terms of Reference are:

Factors contributing to the growth and sustainability of the Australian film and television industry.

Committee Chair, Mr Luke Howarth MP said: “the committee wants to hear how Australian independent filmmakers, and major film and TV companies can expand and better compete for investment with producers and multi-platform production companies from overseas.”

“We also want to hear from investors and the industries that support local production, for example: digital animators and editors, and sound and set production companies,” Mr Howarth said.

Screen Australia’s Drama Report (2015-16) notes that Australian films have recently performed the strongest in more than a decade, with four titles each earning over $10 million (including: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker, Oddball and The Water Diviner) and contributing 7.2 percent to total box office sales.

Screen Australia’s report also suggests that 2015 was a standout year for Australian films – well up on the previous year, when the share was 2.4 per cent, and above the 10-year average of 4.3 per cent.

Mr Howarth added: “As a committee, we believe Australian film and TV can be more competitive, and we will be investigating ways the Australian industry can grow sustainably.”

Submissions are being sought by Friday, March 31, 2017, and can be made online through the webpage: www.aph.gov.au/FilmTV or emailed to the secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Inquiry updates, submissions and public hearing transcripts will be published on the webpage as the inquiry progresses.

Website: www.aph.gov.au/FilmTV

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

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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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