QUEENSLAND Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane has released a statement on the Queensland Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) Bill.

"The Queensland Government’s Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill parliamentary committee report has been released this afternoon," Mr Macfarlane said.

"This Bill will add unnecessary extra red-tape to our sector’s operations, and lower the state’s competitiveness, at a time when the sector is rebounding and more jobs are coming onto the market.

"It is worth noting that of the (nearly) 50 operating coal mines in Queensland, just two were originally designed as 100 per cent FIFO mines.

"These two mines were approved as FIFO mines by the previous Labor Bligh government at a time when the sector was at its peak and there was an extreme shortage of skilled workers to fill jobs.

"However, since operations began at these two mines, both now use local contractors to service the mines and are therefore no longer 100 per cent FIFO.

"QRC is now working with the resources sector, schools and local communities to train young people with the skills needed to work in the sector through our educational and skills program the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

"The sector’s goal is, that in the future, this program will provide a local source of more skilled workers for mining and gas operations in Queensland."

www.qrc.org.au

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THE 2017 Rice Industry Field Day will bring together close to 400 growers, industry representatives and researchers on Thursday 9 March 2017 at ‘Old Coree’, Jerilderie, to showcase the latest in rice research and development as part of the International Temperate Rice Conference (ITRC).

Organised by the Rice Extension team, the Rice Industry Field Day is an opportunity to see the latest rice R&D in action and learn how it can be applied on farm, as well as explore agricultural trends and share new perspectives.

Funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Rice Extension connects growers to research, the latest technologies and best management practice in the rice industry.

RIRDC Program Manager, Michael Beer said the Field Day brings the RIRDC Rice Program to life, highlighting the importance of RD&E investment.

“The Rice Program aims to improve the productivity and sustainability of the Australian rice industry and is delivering significant outcomes for industry and stakeholders. Of particular note is our recent evaluation of the Rice Program which found investment in RD&E delivered a cost-benefit ratio lying between 6.6 and 7.6 - an impressive result for any industry,” said Mr Beer.

The Field Day program includes speaker sessions from SunRice and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the choice of attending either a Field Site walking tour or Business and Innovation session at the Old Coree Homestead.

Rice Extension Coordinator, Gae Plunkett said the Field Day program further cements the ITRC theme, Tradition, Technology, Productivity – A Balancing Act.

“For growers, the Field Day is a fantastic opportunity to discuss the latest issues and trends in rice growing, as well as network with growers, industry professionals and researchers on a local and international level,” said Ms Plunkett.

“We are expecting strong interest from local industry and growers, particularly in the practical sessions focused on improving on farm production and profit. The Business and Innovation session is an exciting and thought provoking addition to the program that will explore new trends and challenge traditional thinking when it comes to agricultural business practices.”  

Event details:
2017 Rice Industry Field Day (free event)
9:00am, Thursday 9 March 2017
‘Old Coree’, Conargo Rd, 18.5km west of Jerilderie

Program: http://www.rga.org.au/events/rice-industry-field-day-2017.aspx

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AUSTRALIAN Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell said she remains committed to eliminating non-financial covenants in small business loans under $5 million despite NAB executives today re-stating their opposition to the reform.

Speaking after the House Economics Committee concluded the first of its latest round of bank hearings with executives from NAB, Ms Carnell said the bank’s unwillingness to make changes to the way they treat small businesses who are consistently making their loan repayments, is unacceptable.

“As I reiterated during Senate Estimates yesterday, for the banks to be able to default small business loans when people are compliant financially, is simply not a reasonable approach,” Ms Carnell said. 

“NAB pushed back on that today, indicating there are risks associated with removing such clauses, and that doing so would put up the costs of the loans.  That’s not the feedback we’ve had from experts.  Remember the banks already put a premium on top of small business loans to take into account a higher level of risk, so you can’t have it both ways; you can’t have a contract that allows the banks to move all the risk to the borrower, while also having a higher interest rate.

“Our recommendations in this area – indeed all of our recommendations – are not unreasonable; these are not new issues, these are not unrealistic expectations. In fact, many of our recommendations have been supported by various other inquiries and reviews.

“NAB today indicated that they supported the ‘vast majority’ of our recommendations, including giving consideration to implementing 90 day notice periods, as well as providing simple plain English contracts.  I certainly welcome this response, but so far it’s only lip-service; I want to see these changes in place sooner rather than later.

“Our recommendations are do-able and do-able quickly; most importantly, the recommendations we’ve come up with will make a significant difference in the lives of small business borrowers, so we really need to see action now,” she said.

Ms Carnell also restated the importance of amending the definition of a small business loan facility to $5 million; a move also backed by David Murray and Phil Khoury in their respective inquiries.

“Small businesses are the engine room of the Australian economy; these businesses are growing all the time, with more and more now falling outside the existing $1 million definition, so reform in this area is vital if we’re to support growth in this sector,” Ms Carnell said.

“The banks say they’re ‘making banking better’, but I’m afraid there’s still a lot more work to be done to prove there’s any real substance behind the PR slogan,” she said.

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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AUSTRALIAN Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell has used an Estimates hearing to once again call on the banks to implement the changes outlined in the ASBFEO bank loans inquiry report as quickly as possible, in order to establish balance in the relationship between financial lenders and their small business customers.

“(There have been) 17 inquiries from various perspectives since the GFC; 40 recommendations that have been repeated in various forms over that period of time, and very, very little movement from the banks in a range of things from really important issues, down to things you would have thought the banks would have picked up on by now,” Ms Carnell told the hearing.

“It shows the level of the lack of action by the banks on these things, that have been brought up time and time again,” she said.

When asked about the impact of current banking practices on the small businesses examined as part of the ASBFEO inquiry, Ms Carnell said that many were now bankrupt.

“There are people who used to be running successful businesses living in garages; we got a pretty good view of what actually happened in a range of these cases and the impact is huge.” Ms Carnell said.

“In a good number of the cases these were people who hadn’t missed a payment on their loan; so they weren’t in financial default, the default came as a result of non-financial default.

“The community believes – and small businesses believe – that if you pay the amount you’re supposed to pay every month and you don’t break any of the standard rules, that should be all you’re required to do, so for the banks to be able to default small businesses when people are compliant financially, we don’t think that’s a reasonable approach.

“Remember small businesses don’t have in-house lawyers and have little-to-no capacity to negotiate these contracts, so we believe that getting rid of non-financial covenants for loans under $5 million is really important for small businesses to be able to get on with the job of growing their businesses.

“We tried to come up with a group of recommendations that would make a difference to small business. 

“We’ve tried hard to make them do-able and do-able quickly, because we haven’t come up with any hugely new recommendations.

“I want them (the banks) to go with all of them,” she said.

Ms Carnell also reinforced her commitment to providing six monthly updates on the banks’ progress in implementing the ASBFEO recommendations.

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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