THE inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge will be examining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage legislation in Queensland, on Tuesday May 18, with a public hearing by videoconference.

The committee will be hearing from representatives of the Australian Heritage Specialists and the Cape York Land Council.

In their submission to the DATSIP review of Queensland Cultural Heritage Acts the Australian Heritage Specialists comment that the States Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act should strike a balance between protecting cultural heritage and providing government and businesses achievable, clear-cut, and practical processes.

A key concern of the Cape York Land Councils is that Indigenous cultural heritage protection and management decisions associated with development or resource use proposals must no longer be made by politicians or bureaucrats.

Northern Australia Committee Chair Warren Entsch is intent on understanding the issues stakeholders are having in their respective states so that the committee will be able to produce solutions that will relate to the issues States and Territories are having with their Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Legislation.

Mr Entsch said, "The committee is determined to listen to stakeholders from Queensland to comprehend the specific issues they have with the States Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Legislation, the committee will endeavor to address these concerns in our report."

A program for the public hearing is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Time: 10am to 12pm AEST
Location: by video/teleconference

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details of the inquiry, including terms of reference, can be found on the committee’s website.

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A QUEENSLAND construction company has been given a one-month sanction preventing it from tendering for Australian Government-funded work and another company has been issued a formal warning following ABCC investigations.

MCP (AUS) Pty Ltd has become subject to an exclusion sanction. Minister for Industrial Relations Michaela Cash has issued a one-month exclusion sanction against Queensland company MCP after a mobile concrete pump truck it was operating toppled while working on the joint Queensland and Commonwealth Government-funded Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project.

The concrete pump truck with a 60m boom had been incorrectly set up resulting in the boom overbalancing and the crane tipping over. No one was injured in the incident.

MCP pleaded guilty in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court to failing to comply with its health and safety duty under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (WHS Act). The company was ordered to pay a fine of $50,000, along with costs.

MCP made full admissions before the court, and fully cooperated with the ABCC, took positive steps to remediate its conduct and satisfy the regulator that it had provided a measure of voluntary rectification.

The exclusion sanction is the first imposed under the Building Code 2016 for a contravention by a Code covered entity of health and safety laws. 

The Code provides that where the ABCC Commissioner refers a breach of work health and safety laws to the Minister, the Minister must impose an exclusion sanction unless the Minister decides it would not be appropriate in the circumstances.

In her letter to MCP imposing the sanction, which will extend to June 23, Minister Cash said, “The Australian Government takes any work health and safety contraventions very seriously given the potential for tragic outcomes, including serious injury and death. While the fact that there were no injuries as a result of this particular incident weights against imposing a lengthy exclusion sanction, I am not satisfied that this, MCP’s cooperation with the ABC Commissioner or the steps taken to improve safety following the incident, render it inappropriate to impose any exclusion sanction at all.”

A formal warning has also been issued by the Minister to i2 Solutions.

Minister Cash issued a formal warning to Queensland-based building company Intelligent Infrastructure Solutions Pty Ltd, also known as i2 Solutions, for its failure to pay subcontractors and breaches of security of payment laws.

The road construction company, which went into voluntary receivership on June 1, 2020, has left subcontractors out of pocket to the tune of $166,375 and failed to make on time payments worth more than $1.19 million to contractors.

Prior to entering into administration, i2 Solutions operated in Queensland, NSW and Victoria on large road infrastructure projects.

In 2019 and early 2020, i2 Solutions failed to pay a number of its subcontractors on time or at all, on the M4 Smart Motorway project in NSW and the Logan Enhancement Project in Queensland.

The security of payment breaches committed by i2 Solutions include:

• · failure to make payments totalling $1,196,416 on time to different subcontractors;
• · failure to pay a subcontractor $127,026, determined by an adjudicator;
• · failure to pay one subcontractor claims totalling $39,349;
• · intimidating and threatening behaviour during an adjudication process with a subcontractor.

ABCC Commissioner Stephen McBurney said, "The breaches of security of payment obligations amounted to breaches of the Code. These had a serious and deleterious impact on the companies who had undertaken building work for which they were not paid or not paid on time.

“The conduct of i2 Solutions, their abject failure to remediate their conduct, to demonstrate contrition or remorse, or to rectify their conduct warrants the action taken by the Minister.

“The imposition of a sanction by way of a formal warning is an important outcome, supported by the public interest, to deter others from similar conduct, to publicise the breaches in this case and to ensure the industry is made aware of the contraventions committed by i2 Solutions.”

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NEW HESTA aged care workforce research reveals Australia is at risk of missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build the skilled workforce needed to meet future demand -- if there is not an adequate national effort to improve wages and conditions in the sector.

Released today, the State of the Sector Aged Care Workforce Insights: COVID and Beyond report found poor pay and a lack of career opportunities were causing people to want to leave the industry.

“Our research shows we must act now to improve wages and working conditions if we’re to attract the skilled and talented people needed to provide high-quality care for older Australians,” HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said.

“We have more than 200,000 members who work or have worked in aged care. Transforming the aged care system must start with the people central to delivering these critical services and improving outcomes for older Australians.

“Improving the quality and sustainability of aged care jobs will improve the financial future of our members working in the sector. A stronger aged care system is also vital for our members and all working Australians who will directly rely on these services as they age.”

The research found significant improvement in aged care workforce sentiment across a range of measures in a challenging year, pointing to a potential opportunity for the sector and government.

“Our research shows aged care professionals are feeling prouder to work in the sector and more connected to their employers and leaders. Workforce strategies implemented now could be particularly effective at attracting and retaining aged care professionals,” Ms Blakey said.

“We can’t afford to waste this opportunity.”

Ms Blakey welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement in the Federal Budget of a $17.7 billion funding package but said there remained widespread industry concern that this may be inadequate to urgently address issues identified by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

“The Royal Commission warned of an understaffed, underpaid and poorly trained workforce. The research is clear – our members are telling us these are key concerns and would cause them to leave the industry or not recommend others work in the sector,” Ms Blakey said.

“Without strong advocates from employees in aged care, we’ll struggle to attract the people needed to lift standards and meet the expected increase in demand from our ageing population.”

Ms Blakey welcomed the announcement of aged care funding in the Budget, including $216.7 million over three years to grow and upskill the workforce. The sector would also benefit from government-supported education and skills training, with an additional 33,800 Vocational Education and Training courses for the sector and a $91.8 million commitment to train an additional 13,000 home care workers over the next two years.

Ms Blakey said, while there was a raft of measures designed to improve quality and safety – including mandating additional hours of care – it would be difficult to attract the necessary professionals needed to deliver better client outcomes without addressing low rates of pay.

“Despite the critical care our members provide in aged care too many are in poorly paid and insecure employment that leaves them in a precarious financial position that was all too apparent during COVID,” Ms Blakey said.

About a quarter of HESTA aged care members (45,000-plus) made a claim to access their super early under the Federal Government’s scheme.

The research found aged care professionals’ top three reasons for leaving their employers were a lack of skill development opportunities, wanting to try something different and low pay.

More than 4600 of HESTA’s members working in health and community services (HACS), including more than 1500 aged care professionals, were asked about their work experiences, job intentions and if they’d recommend a career in the sector. As part of the research, HESTA also spoke to employers, peak bodies and unions in the sector, who agreed unanimously that improving wages, working conditions and providing more skills and career development opportunities was essential to creating high-quality jobs in aged care.

The research provides a unique insight into the workforce with surveys taking a pre-COVID snapshot in May 2019 and during the pandemic in July 2020.

When asked if they felt appreciated and valued by their employer and the community, the answers revealed a highly polarised workforce. Between 32-38 percent of aged care employees said they were unlikely to recommend their employers, leaders, or career in the sector.

“This significant number of detractors of the sector could create real difficulties in attracting the next generation of the aged care workforce, which the Royal Commission said needed to grow by 70 percent by 2050 to maintain current staffing levels in the face of rising demand,” Ms Blakey said.

The research into the aged care workforce expanded on HESTA’s 2018 Transforming Aged Care report. HESTA plans to release further in-depth research into other industries across health and community services.

“We’re committed to helping our partners meet one of the biggest challenges facing the caring economy, addressing potential workforce shortages,” Ms Blakey said.

The report is available at hesta.com.au/agedcarereport21

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AFTER MANY MONTHS of discussions, the Australian Workers' Union has welcomed a Federal Government intervention that will ensure Australia's last two fuel refineries remain open and continue to underpin the nation's fuel security.

The Federal Government has today announced it will guarantee a production payment to refineries in times of difficulty, as well as providing capital to co-invest in sulphur reduction upgrades. These measures will ensure the Lytton refinery in Queensland and the Viva refinery in Victoria stay running.

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said after months of discussions with politicians and refinery management today's announcement was a great result.

"We've been saying for months Australia should never become a nation that can't make its own fuel, and that we need not reach that dire situation if we get a few policy settings right," Mr Walton said.

"We are extremely satisfied to see the Federal Government come to the party today with this very important suite of measures.

"The security of the production payment provision, along with the investment to make cleaner fuel, will underpin longevity for both refineries. Today's announcement will save thousands of jobs, both directly at the refineries and indirectly through jobs supported in the community.

"Importantly for the national interest, the ongoing viability of our refineries mean the skills of highly specialised technicians will be preserved – skills that will be needed as we transition toward a future of hydrogen and renewables.

“Being able to make our own fuel is a critical sovereign capability. Without it, we are completely at the mercy of trade routes that are threatened by potential international conflict or pandemics," Mr Walton said.

"If these refineries had shut it would mean Australia was fully dependent on fragile supply chains running through global hotspots to power our transport, aviation, agriculture, and defence industries.

"We urge the states to work with the Federal Government to ensure the Federal Government's policies are durable and calibrated to ensure Australia retains its fuel refining capacity.”

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