THE Treaties Committee today tabled two reports covering their examination of six treaties covering a range of topics.

Amendments to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) will remove tariffs on a range of technology products and eliminate agricultural export subsidies.

Committee Chair, tStuart Robert MP, says that while the changes will provide incremental improvements for Australian consumers and farmers, domestic subsidies and non-tariff barriers must be further reduced to encourage global trade.

Updates to the international Radio Regulations will provide for the growing demand for mobile broadband services, improve aeronautical and maritime communications and the international coordination of satellite networks.

Mr Robert said that accepting the revisions will align Australia with the rest of the world in its regulation of the radio frequency spectrum.

The reports also cover regular air service agreements with Kuwait and Bahrain and changes to an aviation safety agreement with the United States which will enable Australian manufacturers to gain access to the United States aviation market, one of the biggest in the world.  

Changes to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements are also examined.

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

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A VISUALLY sumptuous drama about four women who push against the repressive, archaic gender politics of a small Indian village opens the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) tonight at the Palace Barracks Cinemas.

“The Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival is the pre-eminent film festival of the region and there is something in it for all film lovers,” said Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.

“The opening night film Parched, is the first international feature film from Indian director Leena Yadav. It has already won 18 international awards and is competing for Best Screenplay at the 10^th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane tomorrow night.

“It’s a film that celebrates female empowerment and is a vibrant and visual delight that packs enormous power. Cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who won an Academy Award for his work on Titanic, brings Yadav’s vision to glorious life.

“BAPFF is a window to the many and varied world’s like this one and gives local film buffs a smorgasbord of choice. Tickets are still available for tonight while there are many other world-class features to select from, including 31 Australian premieres, during the 12-day festival.”

Now in its third year, BAPFF is supported by Screen Queensland and will showcase 82 films from 46 countries and areas to be screened from today until the 4 December.

Cr Quirk said BAPFF was a celebration of cinematic excellence from a region that’s home to 4.5 billion people and is responsible for half the world’s film output.

“There are numerous highlights: a Japanese retrospective which includes the 1964 Akira Kurosawa classic No Regrets for Our Youth; a free family screening of the cherished Australian classic Storm Boy starring David Gulpilil; Exile, which revisits a childhood lived under Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge; the unconventional love story Bangkok Nites; and I Am Not Madame Bovary, a comic take on Chinese bureaucracy.

“Others not-to-be-missed include The Salesman from esteemed Iranian director Asghar Farhadi; Ants on a Shrimp, which follows NOMA legend René Redzepi as he takes his team to Tokyo to create an astounding 14-course menu; The Bonfire, a dark Russian tale of two grief-stricken fathers; and Snow Monkey, a remarkable documentary from Australia’s George Gittoes that takes us into the world of Jalalabad street kids.”

Cr Quirk said Snow Monkey was one of the stand-out films being presented in the festival’s Australian showcase which will also mark the local premiere of Hounds of Love, a chilling serial killer thriller starring Stephen Curry.

“As an art form, film offers a unique insight into the political, social and economic state of the country it represents. It’s that cultural exchange that make BAPFF so special.

“Brisbane is Australia’s gateway to the Asia Pacific and therefore ideally placed to host a film festival dedicated to the region. I urge locals and visitors alike to embrace the opportunity to enjoy such a rich and diverse range of cinematic offerings from leading filmmakers.”

APSA/BAPFF Chairman, Michael Hawkins said BAPFF offered a world-class program.

“Asia Pacific cinema is known for its willingness to push boundaries and explore the human condition at its best and worst,” Mr Hawkins said.

“BAPFF in 2016 will enchant, mesmerise and amaze audiences. This year we have also expanded the brief and chosen 10 titles from Europe and America for inclusion while the Australian showcase is exceptional.”

The 2016 Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival starts today and runs until 4 December across Brisbane cinemas and cultural venues including Palace Barracks Cinemas, New Farm Cinemas, The Australian Cinémathèque at QAGOMA, Griffith Film School, The Cube at QUT and The Courier-Mail Piazza.

The full program and tickets, including special presentations and Gala events, are on sale now at bapff.com.au where you can also download the FREE BAPFF App on your smart phone to plan your festival.

To purchase tickets or view the full program, visit bapff.com.au

BAPFF Q&A GUESTS

• Stephen Curry (actor), Ben Young (director) and Melissa Kelly (producer) from HOUNDS OF LOVE
• Douglas Watkin (director) and Veronica Fury (producer) from ELLA
• Anurag Kashyap (director) from PSYCHO RAMAN
• Andrew Leavold and Daniel Palisa (Directors) from LAST PINOY ACTION KING
• Mehran Kashani (screenwriter), Reza Mirkarimi (producer) and Farhad Aslani (actor) from DAUGHTER
• E J-yong (director) from THE BACCHUS LADY
• Natalia Pavlenkova (actress) from ZOOLOGY
• Carl Papa (director) from MANANG BIRING
• Mohammadreza Saberi (producer) from MUHAMMAD, THE MESSENGER OF GOD
• Hellen Rose (music director) + Arshad Khan (cast member) from SNOW MONKEYS
• Nermin Aytekin (producer) and Mustafa Kara (director) from COLD OF KALANDAR
• Manoj Bajpayee (actor) from ALIGARH
• Catherine Dussart (producer) from EXILE
• Alireza Ghanie (director) from IMAGINARY BORDER
• Emily Avila (director) from IN A CANE FIELD (short)

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THE AUSTRALIAN Parliament has taken a long overdue step towards improving the governance, transparency and management of trade unions and registered employer organisations by today voting up legislation to establish a new Registered Organisations Commission.

“The resource industry congratulates the government and Senate crossbenchers for getting this legislation over the line,” says AMMA chief executive Steve Knott.
 
“We hope this is the start of a process of pushing back against the ALP/ Greens/ Jacqui Lambie Alliance that seeks to shield these groups from a higher level of governance that is standard operating practice in every other business undertaking.
 
“While AMMA has long maintained that all registered organisations should be regulated under the Corporations Act 2001, just as companies and their directors are, the new Registered Organisations Commission is a sound policy outcome and will significantly improve the governance and accountability of Australian unions and registered employer groups.”
 
Resource employers are now looking to the Australian Parliament to address the far more substantive issue of lawlessness and corruption in the construction sector – an issue which impacts taxpayers, communities and small, medium and large businesses.
 
“It’s well beyond time that the Australian Parliament draws a line under the abhorrent behaviours we are seeing coming out of the construction sector, and supports the restoration of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC),” Mr Knott continues.
 
“Intimidation, thuggery and outright lawlessness should not be accepted anywhere, including in one of the key pillars of our national economy that involves massive amounts of public spending and the delivery of critical community and productive infrastructure.
 
“It is disappointing that the ALP/ Greens/ Jacqui Lambie Alliance continues to oppose the ABCC in the interests of protecting their union mates, when all this legislation would require them to do is comply with the nation’s workplace laws.
 
“This is something that daily events on Australian construction sites, and multiple Royal Commissions, have shown these union officials continually fail to do.
 
“Just this week there are reports that more than $100 billion worth of major projects in Australia have been specifically targeted by the CFMEU’s militancy, including some of the largest resources and energy projects ever built anywhere in the world.
 
“We trust the Senate crossbench to act in the national interest and ultimately pass this legislation rather than leaving the job half done.”

www.amma,org.au

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THE AUSTRALIAN Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit will discuss performance planning and reporting with Commonwealth agencies at a public hearing this Wednesday.

The hearing forms part of the Committee’s inquiry into the Commonwealth performance framework, based on recent Auditor-General reports. The framework, established under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), requires Commonwealth agencies to produce Corporate Plans, Portfolio Budget Statements and Annual Reports, including Annual Performance Statements.

Committee Chair, Senator Dean Smith, said that improving the Commonwealth performance framework has been a long-term focus of the Committee.

“The new framework requires agencies to implement more meaningful performance information and report more consistently throughout the performance cycle, to strengthen accountability to the Parliament and the public.”

“The Committee will hear from agencies on how they have implemented new corporate planning requirements, and from the Department of Finance on the support and guidance it provides in this area. The Committee will also hear from the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Education and Training on whether they have implemented appropriate performance information for the Higher Education Loan Program,” Senator Smith said.

The JCPAA is the Parliament’s joint public administration committee. The Committee scrutinises the governance, performance and accountability of Commonwealth agencies, and has the power to inquire into all expenditure of Commonwealth money.

Further information about the inquiry can be accessed via the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details: Wednesday 23 November 2016, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

9:00am: 
ANAO Report 6: Corporate Planning in the Australia Public Sector
Australian National Audit Office, Australian War Memorial, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation and Department of Finance

9:45am:
ANAO Report 31: Administration of Higher Education Loan Program Debt and Repayments
Australian National Audit Office, Australian Taxation Office, and Department of Education and Training

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

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

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