THE resource industry is briefing a sigh of relief this morning after Parliament supported the abolition of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), however employers are disappointed that the Senate once again failed to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

“It beggars belief that the Senate could get it so right on abolishing the RSRT and yet so wrong on the ABCC – choosing to continue to turn a blind eye to lawlessness, militancy and thuggery in Australia’s construction industry,” says AMMA executive director Scott Barklamb.

RSRT:

“Rarely is it a good idea to conflate safety with the self-serving workplace relations agendas of highly political organisations such as the Transport Workers Union (TWU),” Mr Barklamb continues.

“AMMA supports existing safety regulators being provided with any additional resources necessary to properly address safety issues for the road transport sector. We never supported an unnecessary new tribunal that was always going to try to force owner-drivers out of business and boost the TWU’s membership.

“The RSRT can now be consigned to history as a flawed and misguided experiment that was shut down before permanent damage was done. With oil, fuel and gas transport scheduled to be next on the tribunal’s rate setting agenda, the resource industry is breathing a sigh of relief.”

ABCC:

“After years of misleading campaigns, hysteria and deliberate attempts by the CFMEU and the Opposition to confuse the debate, AMMA is hardly surprised that the restoration of the ABCC again failed in the Senate,” Mr Barklamb says.

“That the CFMEU yesterday resorted to exploiting the very serious and very emotive social issue of ice abuse shows how desperate the construction union is to maintain its deep-seated culture of law breaking.  This came as our courts yet again handed a significant penalty to a CFMEU official and described the union as having a “woeful history” of contravening workplace relations laws.

“We are disappointed Senate crossbenchers couldn’t see through the spin to recognise that this issue is simply about upholding Australia’s workplace laws, and ridding Australia’s building sites of unlawfulness, thuggery and militancy.

“Resource employers now look to the next Parliament to restore the ABCC and deliver positive outcomes for productivity and lawfulness across Australia’s building and construction sector.”

A national survey of more than 100 resource industry employers, released yesterday, shows 82% support the urgent restoration of the ABCC.

www.amma.org.au

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DESPITE a busy Christmas and New Year trading period, the first quarter of 2016 has been a challenging one for many Victorian businesses, according to the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s latest Survey of Business Trends and Prospects.

Victorian Chamber Chief Executive Mark Stone said the survey, which captures the views of over 450 Victorian businesses, shows trading conditions were comparatively subdued in the first three months of 2016.

“Compared to the previous quarter, respondents to the survey reported a fall in exports, sales and profits.  Wage and labour on-cost pressures such as WorkCover premiums, payroll tax and penalty rates also continued to hit many businesses hard,” said Mr Stone.

“With seven of Victoria’s 13 public holidays taking place in the first quarter of the year, it is not surprising that many businesses were affected by higher operating costs, squeezing already tight cash-flow positions.”

Mr Stone said despite these difficulties, 22 per cent of respondents are anticipating stronger growth in both the Australian and Victorian economies over the next 12 months.

“Victorian business sentiment is positive, but it is also very fragile in the current economic environment.  What is needed is action to lift business sentiment and activity levels,” said Mr Stone.

Mr Stone said the forthcoming State and Federal Budgets provide a timely opportunity to do so with business-friendly initiatives that increase competitiveness, reduce business costs and create jobs.

“This is why the Victorian Chamber’s State Budget submission calls for practical measures to drive business growth such as an increase in the payroll tax threshold, a reduction in the average WorkCover premium rate, new productivity enhancing infrastructure and reforms to improve the quality of the state’s education and training system.”

For more information about the survey, please visit the Victorian Chamber website.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, established in 1851, is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

victorianchamber.com.au

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Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell said Federal Parliament’s vote to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) is a significant shot in the arm for small business owner-truck drivers, who were facing a bleak future as a result of the now defunct body.

“Common sense has prevailed with the passage of the Road Safety Remuneration Repeal Bill,” Ms Carnell said.

“Mum and dad owner-drivers around the country are this morning breathing a collective sigh of relief; they can now confidently get back on the road and on with the job of keeping their small businesses running, within a fair and competitive market.

“The RSRT Payment Order had the potential to send many small businesses to the wall, and I congratulate the Turnbull Government, along with the crossbench Senators who supported the repeal bill, for their swift action on this issue,” Ms Carnell said.

Ms Carnell said the decision to re-direct the savings from abolishing the RSRT to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is a welcome move. 

“The NHVR is best placed to develop practical measures to help ensure the truck drivers who go out to work on our roads every day, get home safely to their families,” Ms Carnell said.

Ms Carnell said even though the vote to dismantle the RSRT was successful, it will take time for the industry to get back to normal, and urged banks to bear these circumstances in mind.

“I encourage banks and other financial institutions to show some leniency towards owner-driver small business people; many have mortgaged the family home to cover the costs of running their enterprise and may be struggling financially due to the recent upheaval,” Ms Carnell said.

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) has welcomed today’s announcement by the Treasurer, Scott Morrison, that the Commonwealth Government will establish an expert panel to review the role, powers and governance of financial sector external dispute resolution (EDR) schemes.

Ombudsman and CEO, Raj Venga said he was particularly pleased to see the recognition of the critical role played by EDR schemes in financial services, and the importance of ensuring that consumers and small businesses are able to have disputes resolved efficiently and at no cost to them.

“We are an important part of Australia’s consumer protection framework, and deliver tangible benefits to consumers, our members and the financial system as a whole," Mr Venga said. “We are also committed to continuous improvement, and look forward to working with the panel to identify where there might be scope to enhance the services we provide."

The panel will also be asked to assess the merits of better integrating existing schemes to improve complaints handling.

“We recognise the importance of working closely with the Financial Ombudsman Service, and have a number of measures in place that ensure the consumer experience is seamless," Mr Venga said. “Equally, however, we continue to see significant value in having more than one scheme, which has enriched the contributions of EDR to a range of policy and law reform initiatives. EDR schemes within and across sectors learn from each other, and together encourage and inspire innovation.”

ABOUT

The Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) is an alternative dispute resolution scheme approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to provide consumers with an alternative to legal proceedings for resolving disputes with financial services providers who are members of CIO. These include finance brokers, non-bank lenders, building societies, mutual banks, credit unions, financial planners, finance companies, debt purchasers, small amount short term lenders and mortgage managers.

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