THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works has announced that it will scrutinise a new project from the Department of Defence which aims to provide vital estate maintenance and upgrades to support capability across RAAF Base Townsville, Townsville Field Training Area and HMAS Cairns.

Details of the project are: Department of Defence - North Queensland Mid Term Refresh Program – RAAF Base Townsville, Townsville Field Training Area and HMAS Cairns — $111.2 million.

It is anticipated that the committee will conduct a public and in-camera hearing for the inquiry in mid-May 2021. The committee wants to hear from all individuals or organisations interested in the project.

Submissions for the project will be accepted until Thursday May 13, 2021.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is not involved in the tendering process, awarding of contracts or details of the proposed works. Inquiries on these matters should be addressed to the relevant Commonwealth entities.

For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings.

ends

IT IS A YEAR since a policy to protect workers in hazardous occupations has been in operation. In welcoming the many workers who have benefited from this policy Cbus is concerned proposed legislation could put that vital insurance protection at risk.

Under the Putting Members Interest First Bill, the Senate Crossbench and the Government, together with the ALP and Greens Senators, voted to recognise the importance of insurance for super members in hazardous jobs.

Due to this recognition and amendment, from 1 April 2020 workers in dangerous jobs have been able to keep their automatic entitlement to insurance if they were under 25 years old (via the Dangerous Occupation Exception).

Claims made and paid out by Cbus in this period include tragic incidents of teenagers, fathers and carers dying during this period, and includes members being killed or injured at work.

Just for the building and construction sector that Cbus covers, the Dangerous Occupation Exception has allowed 115,800 building and construction workers to obtain or retain vital insurance. A total of $7,256,200 (58 claims) has already been paid to members or their beneficiaries between 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 that would not have received any insurance at all, had the exception not been passed into legislation.

About 93,000 existing Cbus members were able to retain their insurance from 1 April 2020 due to the existence of the Dangerous Occupation Exception. 22,800 new members who joined Cbus from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 were provided cover automatically under the Dangerous Occupation Exception.

Cbus is concerned that the availability of insurance for workers in hazardous occupations is now at risk of being undermined with the stapling proposal in the Your Future, Your Super Bill. Stapling would link a worker to their first super account for their first job, unless the worker actively chooses another fund (unfortunately, most young workers don’t). The proposed stapling measure puts at risk young workers new to building and construction, who are at risk of no longer receiving automatic, affordable insurance cover through the Dangerous Occupation Exception.

In addition, many funds’ policies – including those funds that workers are most likely to be stapled to under Your Future Your Super – contain exclusions or unfavourable terms and conditions because insurance cover has not been tailored for their hazardous industry. This means that despite paying insurance premiums, workers in higher risk heavy blue-collar occupations or people working above 15 metres are not actually covered. Members and their families typically only discover these exclusions when tragedy has struck, and they try, and fail, to make a claim against cover they believed they had.

Cbus CEO Justin Arter said, “The first year of the Dangerous Occupation Exception has shown tangible benefits to Cbus members who continued to have insurance coverage. We acknowledge the positive implications of the amendment from the Senate Crossbench and Government.

“This first year of operation of the Dangerous Occupation Exception underscores the importance of the amendment. Why would there be recognition for the importance of insurance for workers in dangerous occupations then, but not after a year in operation? The flow through effects of the amendment illustrate how we must stay the course with providing industry specific insurance for workers in hazardous jobs.

“If a construction worker is ‘stapled’ to a fund they joined at their first job, they could be paying for insurance that won’t cover them if they’re seriously injured. Many Cbus insurance claims are from workers in their first year on the building site when they are new to the industry and at higher risk.

“For example, having access to automatic insurance is fundamental for members working with heavy machinery and working from heights.

“Workers need protection from their first day on site. The first year of the Dangerous Occupation Exception has meant that protection has been there when workers most need it. Without it, their families would suffer financially.

“The Your Future Your Super Bill should be rejected by the Senate Committee examining it. The recent hearings exposed that the issues with it are too many, and far too serious to be resolved via tinkering. If passed, it could leave 2.7 million people* - 20 percent of our working population - who work in in hazardous occupations worse off.”

Cbus’ broader concerns with the Your Future Your Super Bill are outlined in Cbus’ full submission, which is available upon request.

Reference:

*Figures are based on analysis of Safe Work Australia’s Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities data from 2016 and 2017 (the most recent available for each occupation), as set out in Tables 1 & 2, Actuaries Institute Information Note - Dangerous Occupation, November 2019, https://www.actuaries.asn.au/Library/Standards/MultiPractice/2019/INFinaltoAI261119.pdf

About Cbus:

Cbus is the leading Industry Super Fund for the building, construction and allied industries. As one of Australia’s largest super funds, we provide superannuation and income stream accounts to more than 776,000 members and we manage over $60 billion of our members’ money (as at 28 February 2021). Our members include workers and retirees, their families and employers.

ends

AS WE APPROACH ANZAC DAY, Sunshine Coast veteran Krishell Ennis hopes that time can be taken to highlight the support structures available to fellow female veterans along their transition back to civilian life.

Ms Ennis hopes that by sharing her own struggles, other veterans will navigate the experience a little easier.

Joining the navy when she was 22 years old, Ms Ennis served for nine years as a communications information systems sailor. Like many other veterans, Ms Ennis found it difficult to find her footing after rejoining civilian life in 2013.

“I think the biggest issue when I left, and I think it’s still that way today, is the transition between military and civilian world,” Ms. Ennis said. “There is no explanation of your skills and what sort of job you can now go for.

“You have to fumble around a lot.”

Ms Ennis emphasises the mental toll that this struggle can take, and how it can make veterans feel as if no-one wants to give them a chance.

“Getting my first job, it was hard…  I was unemployed for ages,” Ms Ennis said. “You end up thinking maybe I should just go back [to service] because as far as I know I have all these skills, but no-one wants to give me a job.”

Ms Ennis believes that it is not lack of services that is causing veterans to feel alone, but instead the lack of information about where to find the right services in an already overwhelming process.

“There is no little handy pack that says where you can go when you leave,” Ms Ennis said. “If you are feeling isolated, especially with mental health, there is nothing that says who your contacts are. Even one little sheet of paper would make a huge difference.”

Ms Ennis said that making this information readily available would help veterans to be able to easily access services before they may begin to feel isolated or overwhelmed.

Ms Ennis specifically hopes to stress this to young female veterans, who she believes can often be especially isolated upon their return. Speaking of a wellness group she helped create for fellow female veterans, she noticed the importance of making sure that everyone felt included.

“We had women who had not really been engaged and had just looked at programs and events,” Ms Ennis said.  

“They came to our wellness event and were saying ‘This is the first thing I have come to’ and it was just wonderful to see that we could engage those who otherwise may have been isolated.”

Ms Ennis pinpoints connection for all veterans as one of the most important factors in successful reintegration.   

“It’s hugely important for people to still connect, it’s the disconnect that makes a lot of problems,” Ms Ennis said.  “It’s important for people to know who you are so if you’re not doing well, we can tell.

“If someone isn’t commenting on the page or they’re speaking negatively, you will be able to know what is out of character.”  

Ms. Ennis highlights STEPS Young Veterans Support Program as one of the important available resources to veterans.

The program provides specialised employment support, from helping to identify career pathways, translating military experience into applicable workplace skills, and providing support for how to excel in your new role.

Ms Ennis specifically credits the importance of the program’s consultants having lived experience.

“You can talk to them in a different way knowing that they’ll understand, you feel like you don’t have to filter and they’re really open and sharing,” Ms Ennis said. “They have been so encouraging.”

Ms. Ennis approached the program to undertake a community services diploma and was grateful to feel involved and valued in the process.

“I wanted to start doing a community services diploma and they were so helpful,” Ms Ennis said. “It was amazing to have someone say ‘hey, we could help you’, rather than just directing you to a website or getting you to do something online.

“It’s personal, you’re not just another number because no-one wants to be just another number.”

Ms Ennis hopes that accessing these programs will become standard for veterans and wishes to see a more positive shift in the experience of all veterans.

“Put yourself out there to engage with others and know that there is always the support and help available to you,” Ms Ennis said.

“Never feel like you’re alone and you have got nowhere to go to.”

If you or someone you know could benefit from the STEPS Young Veterans Support Program, speak to one of the veteran support consultants today on 5453 8700 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. More information can be found at https://www.stepsemploymentsolutions.com.au/young-veterans-support-program/

ends

WHAT LIES BENEATH is about to become a whole lot clearer in Queensland following today’s launch by Resources Minister Scott Stewart of the state’s fifth consecutive round of funding to support exploration. 

Queensland Exploration Council Chair Kim Wainwright said competition for funding through the State Government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) was expected to be strong, based on the response to previous rounds. 

“These highly sought-after grants play a critical role in helping to get explorers onto the ground and we warmly welcome today’s announcement by the State Government of $2.5 million in funding for this CEI round,” she said. 

“So far, the CEI has provided $10 million worth of funding to more than 190 explorers over the past 14 years. 

“Explorers take on a lot of risk many traditional businesses shy away from, but their commitment and passion to uncover new resources contributes to the overall wealth of all Queenslanders.” 

Ms Wainwright said Queensland’s CEI had already led to more than 50 significant mineral deposit discoveries over the past 14 years in under-explored areas of Queensland, amongst them significant silver, lead and zinc deposits as large as South 32’s Cannington mine. 

“Funding received through a previous CEI round also contributed to Australia’s largest discovery of a copper-cobalt resource by Aeon Metals,” she said. 

“Another great example is the $200,000 in funding awarded to Red Metal to use  magnetotelluric survey equipment to undertake detailed mapping of known zinc, lead and silver deposits in and around the old Century Mine near Lawn Hill.” 

Ms Wainwright said new mineral discoveries will lead to more jobs for Queenslanders and billions of dollars in royalties going into the state budget. 

She said Queensland has vast potential to provide the critical minerals and rare earths needed to manufacture everyday items like smart phones and renewable energy products such as wind turbines, electric cars, solar panels and batteries. 

“Queensland has critical minerals the world needs to produce the infrastructure required for renewable energy as we transition to a low-emissions future,” she said. 

www.qrc.org.au

ends