THE House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training has launched an inquiry into adult literacy and its importance.

Committee chair, Andrew Laming MP, said, "Many adult Australians have poor literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills and this may limit their ability to participate fully in employment, education and training, and social and civic life. 

"The committee’s previous inquiry into remote education found that poor adult literacy can also negatively impact on children’s participation and attainment in education," Mr Laming said.

"The committee is interested in hearing how measures to improve adult literacy can foster greater labour market participation, increased productivity, improved education outcomes for children, and improvements to individual and community well-being."

The inquiry will examine adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills in Australia, including:

• The relationship between adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills and socio-demographic characteristics, particularly migrant status, First Nations status and individuals living in households that have experienced intergenerational unemployment;
• The effect that literacy and numeracy skills have on an individual’s labour force participation and wages;
• Links between literacy and social outcomes such as health, poverty, ability to care for other family members and participation in civic life;
• The relationship between parents’ literacy skills and their children’s education and literacy skill development from birth to post-secondary education;
• Whether changes to schooling in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 will have a disproportionate impact on the skill development of those children of parents with lower literacy and numeracy levels, and consider appropriate remediation programs which might address this;
• The availability, impact and effectiveness of adult literacy and numeracy educational programs in Australia and internationally; and,
• International comparisons of government policies and programs that may be adapted to the Australian experience.

Submissions to the inquiry have been requested by Friday, March 5, 2021. Further details about upcoming public hearings will be available on the Committee’s website as the inquiry progresses.

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THE Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has today announced $3.9 million in funding to Renergi Pty Ltd (Renergi) for the development of the next phase of Renergi’s energy from waste technology in Collie, Western Australia. 

The $9.4 million demonstration plant is being developed by Renergi in partnership with the Shire of Collie and with $2 million from the WA Government’s Collie Futures Industry Development Fund. 

As part of the project, Renergi has attracted investment from a consortium of investors closely linked to Sunshot Energy, an emerging energy company co-owned by Professor Ross Garnaut. This consortium will support the future commercialisation of the Renergi technology at other regional locations around Australia.

ARENA has previously funded Renergi to advance and refine their pyrolysis technology from pilot projects that have led to this project that will convert landfill waste and other biomass to energy and biochar. This patented technology was initially developed at Curtin University’s Fuels and Energy Technology Institute led by the then John Curtin Distinguished Professor Chun-Zhu Li with support from both ARENA and WA Government. 

Renergi will design, build and operate a 1.5 tonnes-per-hour demonstration scale distributed energy from waste plant that will incorporate Renergi’s patented grinding pyrolysis technology.

The plant will convert 4,000 tonnes per year of municipal solid waste, which would otherwise go to landfill, and 8,000 tonnes per year of forestry and agricultural wastes to crude pyrolysis oil and biochar. While the crude pyrolysis oil will be sold as a liquid fuel for local industry, the biochar will be sold as a soil conditioner.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said this could see other opportunities open up for regional communities to convert their waste into fuel. 

“Landfill avoidance has become a key issue in Australia due to restrictions on the export of materials to Asia, with approximately 75.8 million tonnes of waste being generated in 2018-19 alone," Mr Miller said.

Renergi’s project aims to solve some of the current waste disposal problems that are affecting our local councils. Renergi’s technology will demonstrate the viability of a scalable distributed energy from waste process, which will use low value waste to displace fossil fuels and thereby helping to reduce emissions.

While other energy from waste projects are focused on incineration at large centralised plants, Renergi’s technology is a potential waste treatment solution for regional and smaller towns,” Mr Miller said.  

“This project is a great example of how ARENA’s support can move a technology from early stage research and concept to demonstration, and put it on the pathway to commercialisation. This plant will showcase a 100 per cent Australian technology we are proud to have funded in all key stages of its development,” he said.

ARENA has previously funded energy from waste projects in Kwinana and East Rockingham in WA, as well as Southern Oil’s pilot plant for the production of renewable fuels in Gladstone and MSM Milling’s biomass boiler in central west NSW.  

The design phase will commence this year, and the plant is expected to be operating within two years.

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ELIGIBLE employers could receive payments of up to $10,400 over a year for each eligible additional employee they hire as part of the Government’s JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme.

According to ATO Deputy Commissioner James O’Halloran, young people have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19. The JobMaker Hiring Credit is giving businesses and young people impacted by COVID-19 a helping hand, he said.

Eligible employers can receive payments for each eligible additional employee they hire between October 7, 2020 and October 6, 2021 of up to $10,400 over a year for each one aged 16 to 29; and up to $5,200 over a year for each one aged 30 to 35.

Mr O'Halloran said eligible employers can start claiming payments in arrears every three months from February 1, 2021 for up to 12 months for each additional eligible employee.

“The ATO is here to support employers access the government’s JobMaker Hiring Credit. If business owners need help, they should check out the range of resources available on our website, or speak to their registered tax or BAS agent,” Mr O’Halloran said.

“I encourage business owners to check their eligibility by visiting www.ato.gov.au/JobMakerHiringCredit. Employers only need to complete three simple steps to receive the JobMaker Hiring Credit payments.”

Mr O’Halloran said the benefits for business are two-fold. Not only will the business receive stimulus support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will also support a young person’s career.

“Helping young people who are unemployed secure jobs now will build their skills, improve their career prospects over their lifetime and support Australia’s economic recovery. The ATO is proud to be involved in facilitating the JobMaker Hiring Credit on behalf of the government,” Mr O’Halloran said.

Eligible employers can:

•  register using ATO online services, Online services for business or the Business portal, or through a registered tax or BAS agent.

• nominate their eligible new employees by having your employees complete a JobMaker employee notice, running payroll events and supplying the required additional information through their Single Touch Payroll enabled software

• claim using ATO online services, Online services for business or the Business portal, or through a registered tax or BAS agent.

Employers can check the JobMaker Hiring Credit payment estimator to find how much they may receive: https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/JobMaker-Hiring-Credit-payment-estimator/

More information on the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme is available from at www.ato.gov.au/JobMakerHiringCredit.

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell said it is essential for small business owners to secure their assets and business loans, with economists predicting a steep rise in insolvencies this year.

Ms Carnell said small businesses needed to secure their assets through the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) so they are better protected in the event of an insolvency.

“Given the incredibly tough past 12 months we’ve had and predictions of a wave of insolvencies to come, PPSR has never been more important,” Ms Carnell said.

“The greatest pity is that many small businesses find it too difficult to use.”

Releasing ASBFEO’s PPSR Research Paper today, Ms Carnell said the PPSR, if used correctly, is a powerful tool that can deliver significant benefits to small businesses.

“Many small businesses are not aware that correctly registering their interests can save them a world of pain in the long run,” Ms Carnell said.

“So many small businesses have invested heavily in their businesses over the past 12 months, but few know that they can secure these loans, pushing them higher up the security chain if there’s an insolvency.

“More importantly, small businesses that register their interests won’t need to fight tooth and nail to retain title to their goods if a business customer winds up.

The Ombudsman’s research paper found an urgent overhaul of the PPSR system is required to make it accessible to small businesses.

“Unfortunately the PPSR in its current form is not making life easier for small businesses,” Ms Carnell said.

“The name is confusing, the language is overly technical and the operation of the register is very complicated.

“Many small businesses we spoke to said they would need a lawyer to help them register their interests – an additional cost burden for struggling small businesses.

“Put simply, systems and regulations imposed on small businesses by government need to be easy to get right and hard to get wrong. At the moment PPSR is hard to get right and easy to get wrong.

“Our report recommends streamlining the system, including encouraging small business cloud accounting platforms in to provide regtech solutions such as pop-up reminders to small business owners who record a personal loan to the balance sheet, alerting them to register it on the PPSR.

“I urge the government to implement the recommendations in our report, to build a system that works for the small business community and provides them with the certainty they need."

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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