THE Treaties Committee will hold a public hearing in Canberra on Monday to examine three separate treaties: a bilateral social security agreement with New Zealand, a multilateral agreement for regional cooperation for nuclear research, and a multilateral agreement for the harmonisation of standards for vehicles.

Committee Chair Stuart Robert MP said public hearings allow the text of each treaty to be carefully examined.    

“Although treaty making remains the prerogative of the Executive, the role of the Committee is to examine each treaty brought before it, to determine if it is in the national interest. This public hearing is an opportunity for the Committee to examine the terms of each treaty and ensure that they meet the needs and expectations of Australians and is in our national interest,” Mr Robert said.

Social Security Agreement – New Zealand

Under this Agreement people who have lived in both countries will have access to specified income support payments in their current country of residence. The new Agreement replaces a similar existing agreement, and provides that both countries will contribute to these social security payments on a proportional basis.

Nuclear Research Cooperation Agreement

The proposed Agreement will facilitate regional cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the East Asia-Pacific region, through joint research, development and training projects. The proposed Agreement is an important mechanism to fulfil Australia’s obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. 

Harmonisation of Wheeled Vehicles – Revision

The proposed Agreement updates earlier agreements that harmonise technical safety and environmental regulations for vehicles, and consequently reduce barriers to the international export and import of vehicles between countries.

Public Hearing Details: 11am - 1pm Monday 27 February, Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra

11:10am: Social Security Agreement - New Zealand
Department of Social Services

11:50am: Nuclear Research Cooperation Agreement
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

12:30pm: Harmonisation of Wheeled Vehicles - Revision
Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development

1pm: Close

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

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

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THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) is calling on the Government to reinstate the superannuation concessional contribution cap for the over 50s to $35,000.

“With the Government’s superannuation reforms passed in Parliament in November 2016, the concessional contribution cap was reduced to $25,000 per annum for all eligible contributors; a position that the IPA does not support,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“In particular, we do not support the reduction of the current cap of $35,000 for individuals over 50 years of age.

“People aged over 50 should be encouraged to make further superannuation contributions especially when they have the capacity to do so to address any superannuation balance shortfall.

“This situation is further exacerbated with the Government’s announcement of the deferral of the proposed catch up measure until 1 July 2018 which effectively means the first catch up will not be available until the 2019/20 financial year.

“The deferral was a budgetary decision to partially offset the cost of reintroducing an annual non-concessional contributions cap.

“The Henry Tax Review recommended a higher contribution cap for Australians aged 50 and over and yet the current cap of $35,000 is less than a third of what the cap was 10 years ago.

“We need to encourage contributions to superannuation in line with the original intent of superannuation and that is self-funded retirement,’ said Mr Conway.

publicaccountants.org.au

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WORLD-RENOWNED brain scientist Dr Michael Merzenich will deliver a keynote address at the 'I Can Change My Brain' conference at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday, February 26, 2017.

Dr Merzenich is Chief Scientific Officer at Posit Science and Professor Emeritus at University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

Dr Merzenich will speak on how breakthroughs in brain plasticity in his lab (and in the labs of colleagues across the globe) have now entered the final stage of translational research – resulting in strategies and products that people can engage with today to monitor and improve brain performance and brain health.

Three decades ago, Dr Merzenich forever changed the way scientists look at the brain with his seminal experiments showing that the adult brain remains plastic – capable of changing chemically, physically and functionally, throughout life, based on sensory and other inputs.  Previously, scientists believed that the brain was plastic only in childhood.

Dr Merzenich realized that plasticity could be harnessed to create tools to benefit humanity. He first applied plasticity in the co-invention of the cochlear implant, which has restored hearing to hundreds of thousands of people living with deafness.

With the wide adoption of personal computers and, then, mobile devices, Dr Merzenich focused on how to create online (and in app) assessments and exercises that continuously adapt and personalize to monitor and improve individual health and performance. 

The exercises in the BrainHQ brain-training platform from Posit Science have been shown to improve performance across a wide range of populations in more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Studies in healthy mature adults have shown gains in standard and real world measures of cognition (e.g., brain speed, attention, memory and executive function); quality of life (mood, confidence, self-rated health, functional independence); and everyday activities (balance, movement, driving).

Last year, Dr Merzenich was awarded the Kavli Prize, the highest honor in neuroscience. The prior year, he was awarded the Russ Prize, the highest honor in bio-engineering.  

He has been elected by his peers to both the National Academy of Sciences and to the National Academy of Medicine in the USA. He also is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Dr Merzenich frequently appears on television and in the press. He may be best known to Australian audiences for his role in the award-winning television series Redesign My Brain.
Dr Merzenich is the author of several books, including Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life.

More information about the conference can be found at http://changemybrain.businessbrainmapping.com

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been informed by the Fair Work Commission that the Penalty Rates decision will be handed down tomorrow, February 23, 2017 at 11am in Melbourne.

Members will be aware that the ARA has been leading the case to reduce the Sunday Penalty Rates under the General Retail Industry Award 2010, from double time (200%) to time and a half (150%).

Following the considerable financial contributions made by retailers and associations including the ARA, Master Grocers Association (MGA) and Franchise Council of Australia (FCA), we are hopeful on behalf of the sector that the decision will be in the industry’s favour.

A positive outcome will increase employment in the retail industry and support economic growth in the overall sector.

ARA Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman and his senior legal team will be at Fair Work tomorrow on Exhibition Street and will be available for comment following the decision.

The ARA wishes to clarify, that despite reports from some media outlets, the ARA was not privy to when the Sunday Penalty Rates decision would be made, nor privy to any content regarding the decision.

ARA regularly conducts general briefings as part of their ongoing commitment to members. The Employment Relations briefing held yesterday broadly discussed potential outcomes and what they could mean for retailers, and eagerly awaits Fair Work’s decision tomorrow. 

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $300 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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