THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has released reports on Defence major projects and the administration of Commonwealth grants.

Report 483 focused on the 2018-19 Defence Major Projects Report and the Future Submarine Project.

“Reviewing the Major Projects Report each year has been a longstanding practice of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit and goes to the core of the Committee’s oversight role,” the Chair of the Committee, Lucy Wicks MP, said.

The Committee made seven recommendations, including that the ANAO consider improving the format and accessibility of the MPR. It also recommended that Defence commission an external performance review of the helicopter acquisition program in advance of its upcoming acquisition and clarify the thresholds that categorise Defence major projects listed as Projects of Concern.

The Committee’s report on the administration of government grants was based on Auditor-General reports concerning the National Competitive Grants Program; the Regional Jobs and Investment Packages; and the Community Sport Infrastructure Program.

Ms Wicks said, “The Committee made six recommendations, including that the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines be amended to strengthen record-keeping and reporting requirements, to ensure compliance and public accountability.”

The report also recommended that Sport Australia review its guidelines in relation to all current and future grants programs, to clarify the authority and duties of the Minister for Sport and the authority of the Australian Sports Commission.

Report 483 examined the following Auditor-General reports:

No. 19 (2019-20), 2018-19 Major Projects Report
No. 22 (2019-20), Future Submarine Program: Transition to Design

Report 484 examined the following Auditor-General reports:

No. 5 (2019-20), ARC Administration of the National Competitive Grants Program
No. 12 (2019-20), Award of Funding Under the Regional Jobs and Investment Packages
No. 23 (2019-20), Award of Funding under the Community Sport Infrastructure Program

For more information about this Committee, visit its website.

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QUEENSLAND'S resources sector is working with the Queensland Government in support of the COVID-19 three-day lockdown announced by the Premier today. 

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the resources sector remained committed to keeping its workers, their families and those Queenslanders living in mining regions safe. 

The resources sector is managing the impact on production as companies cease fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) movements out of Greater Brisbane to regional Queensland during the lockdown. As well, resource companies are ensuring their regional worksites operate under strict COVID-safe plans and are isolating workers who have travelled from Greater Brisbane since January 2 from the local community they work in.

"FIFO workers already on site will be allowed to travel to and from work under strict COVID protocols, which have previously proven to be very effective,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Those Greater Brisbane based workers who have been in the areas identified as being visited by the diagnosed person since 2 January are being immediately tested and isolated until the test results are confirmed.”

The decision by companies to cease FIFO from Greater Brisbane during the three-day lockdown is also in response to concerns from regional centres regarding Brisbane-based workers travelling to those areas during the lockdown period, and as an added precaution, the sector will also resume health checks prior to FIFO workers boarding flights from Brisbane airport to regional centres. 

“QRC has re-confirmed that the resources sector retains its status as an essential industry during the lockdown and the protocols used for workers in previous hotspot declarations will be followed,” Mr Macfarlane said. 

“We will stay in close contact with the government and make any necessary changes required to these protocols. 

“The QRC has asked all workers to immediately operate at a heightened level of COVID awareness, particularly social distancing, hand hygiene and ceasing all non-essential social contact or group gatherings. 

“The resources sector is essential to Queensland’s economy and has demonstrated its resilience these past nine months to keep the lights on, people in work, and the money flowing.

“You can count on us to keep Queenslanders safe and our economy ticking over.” 

More information can be found on the Queensland Government website.

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LAW FIRM Maurice Blackburn Lawyers filed a test case for the Transport Workers Union (TWU) in the Federal Court on December 9, 2020, seeking to overturn Qantas’s decision to outsource 2,000 workers. They claim the decision is unlawful under the Fair Work Act.

The case follows Qantas’s recent announcement that it was outsourcing 2,000 ground staff and replacing them with what the TWU described as "insecure labour hire workers".

Maurice Blackburn principal Josh Bornstein, who is acting for the TWU, said the case would test whether Qantas’s recent actions in sacking workers and outsourcing their jobs was unlawful.

“This legal challenge will put outsourcing on trial,” Mr Bornstein said.

“If Qantas can replace thousands of its employees with cheaper, insecure labour hire employees then this can happen to any other employee in any Australian workplace.  

“This important test case for the TWU will determine whether Qantas’s decision to sack 2,000 workers to outsource these jobs breaches workplace laws.

“The Fair Work Act makes clear that you can’t sack employees because they are entitled to collectively bargained employment conditions. By outsourcing this work, Qantas is seeking to avoid collective bargaining under the Fair Work Act," he said.

“If the outsourcing proceeds, Qantas will no longer have to negotiate with the workers who perform the work. Instead Qantas will be able to unilaterally impose a price for the services of outsourced workers, and those outsourced workers will not be allowed to bargain with Qantas under current IR laws.

“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the plight of insecure labour hire and outsourced workers: they aren’t paid properly, they work in unsafe conditions and they are forced to scrounge a living working at multiple jobs. Qantas has decided to pour petrol onto that fire,” Mr Bornstein said.

“This decision is bad for workers, customers and the Australian economy. More low wage, insecure jobs means less spending and more damage to a fragile economy. The only beneficiaries are big shareholders and Qantas executives,” he said.

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CARAVAN Industry Association of Australia has applauded the Federal Government for its announcement this morningof a $6million extension to the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme (BSPVES), making it free for passengers to bring their car on the Spirit of Tasmania from March to June 2021.

Those travelling with a caravan or motorhome will also receive the average $240 return saving for their vehicle. The 2020 year has not been kind to business operators in Tasmania, and the summer season continues to be a disappointment for many.  Recent occupancy numbers have shown that caravanning and camping is underperforming all other states in the country at a time when caravan parks should be overflowing, with forward bookings also soft.

“Across Australia we continue to witness a V-shaped recovery in the caravan and camping sector, however Bass Strait has continued to put Tasmanian operators at a disadvantage in what is a very competitive domestic tourism market,” said Stuart Lamont, CEO of Caravan Industry Association of Australia.

Mr Lamont said, "This announcement could not have come soon enough, and while the Tasmanian Tourism Voucher Schemewas great to encourage locals to travel, there is only so much we can rely on the local market to keep Tassie caravan parks open.” 

Making access cheaper for passengers coming from the mainland will be an incredible incentive and will go a long way to kick-starting the recovery of the sector in Tasmania while supporting many regional communities right across the state, he said.

www.caravanindustry.com.au

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“We know that those arriving via the Spirit of Tasmania stay longer, spend more and disperse further than other visitors to the state, so it is vitally important to stimulate this portion of the travelling public, and to recoup some of the cancellations incurred due to border restrictions throughout 2020.” Mr Lamont continued. 

THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell has handed down her Insurance Inquiry final report, finding widespread market failure in regards to the availability and affordability of essential small business insurance products.

“Our Insurance Inquiry has revealed we are in the grip of a national crisis that is killing small businesses,” Ms Carnell said.

“The local insurance market has been hardening for years as insurers adapt their risk weightings to increasing threats. As a result, far too many Australian small businesses are on the brink of collapse because they cannot secure a range of insurance products necessary for their operation.

“Small businesses have told us they have either been denied insurance outright or their premiums have as much as tripled in just a few years, effectively pricing them out of the market," Ms Carnell said.

“Hundreds of small businesses have told my office they face closure if insurance remains unavailable to them. In reality, it means thousands of small businesses are likely impacted and there could be dire consequences for the Australian economy if left unaddressed.”

The final report makes a suite of recommendations designed to rebalance risks taken on by insurers and make small business insurance products more accessible.

A major recommendation included in the report is to expand the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation to provide reinsurance for all natural disasters on commercial property insurance.

“Following the devastating bushfires we saw earlier this year, many small businesses are struggling to get insurance for natural disasters,” Ms Carnell said.

“This is severely impacting small businesses such as rural pubs and regional accommodation businesses that say natural disaster coverage is inaccessible, extraordinarily costly or they have been refused coverage outright.

“In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack in the US, the government set up the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation, in response to a withdrawal of terrorism insurance by insurers and reinsurers," she said.

“This should be expanded to cover small businesses in the event of a significant natural disaster by providing a vital increase in reinsurance options for commercial insurers.”

Ms Carnell said the insurance industry urgently required a mandatory Code of Practice, recommending the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) be given additional powers to deliver dispute resolution and enforcement.

“Self-regulation in the insurance industry has failed,” Ms Carnell said.

“As it stands the insurance industry’s service and practice standards are set by voluntary codes of practice that are rarely enforced and not taken seriously by the industry.”

The report highlights a lack of availability of public liability and professional indemnity insurance, pin-pointing the unlimited nature of injury claims and potential for large damages as a key factor.

“Public liability insurance has become almost impossible for small businesses to obtain, particularly those that offer recreational activities such as caravan parks, quad bike tours or jet boating to name a few,” Ms Carnell said.

“Our report recommends Australia follow the lead of New Zealand, which has applied statutory caps on liability for personal injury. The risk environment for public liability litigation can only change through government intervention and the current framework of fault-based injury compensation creates uncontrollable risks for insurers and small businesses. It’s clear we need a civil liability framework that actually works.

“The government should also implement the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to roll out a no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) to cover lifetime care for catastrophic injuries. It’s been nine years since the Productivity Commission released its Report into Disability Care and Support and yet the NIIS is still under consideration, much to the detriment of the small business sector.”

Ms Carnell thanked the 800-plus small businesses that took the time to complete the insurance survey, describing their feedback as both insightful and concerning.

“We’ve had an overwhelming response from the small business community, many of whom told us that insurance is one of their largest expenses and a lot are under-insured,” Ms Carnell said.

“We also heard reports of poor conduct by insurers, including very late notice of renewal terms and price hikes, effectively putting the small business in the position of accepting the terms or being uninsured.

“For a significant number of small businesses, insurance has become a daily stressor and a major reason for considering closure.

“In addition to the response we had from small businesses, we also welcome the 20-plus submissions we received from industry stakeholders, which helped in the development of this comprehensive report.

“Ultimately insurance is a necessity for small businesses to operate, which is why it is vital these products are fit-for-purpose and accessible so they are protected when things go wrong.” 

www.asbfeo.gov.aqu

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NEW SOUTH WALES Treasurer Dominic Perrottet's move to outsource Treasury work to KPMG is a waste of money and resources, according to the Public Service Association (PSA).

A report in The Sydney Morning Herald this morning revealed the Treasurer would pay consultancy firm KPMG $5.5 million to reform the state's stamp duty scheme.

“Once again the NSW Government is only happy to waste millions of taxpayer dollars on consultants when the expertise already exists in NSW Treasury many times over," PSA general secretary Stewart Little said.

Taxpayers could be paying as much as $4000 a day for this work, under the government's own procurement policy. The lowest rate for an analyst is $1200 a day.

"When the NSW Government froze the wages of public sector workers in 2020 they were told that everyone was tightening their belts. Treasurer Perrottet promised the government would go on a hiring spree - it seems he was only thinking of consultants.

"NSW has the best and brightest policymakers in the country. From those working around the clock in NSW Health, to the Service NSW and Treasury officials who've made sure people across the state get the support they need," Mr Little said.

"The level of expertise isn't easily matched, and they're ready to do the work but instead vital functions of the government are being outsourced to consultants at exorbitant rates. The Treasurer needs to do the maths again, because this doesn't add up."

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AUSTRALIA'S peak caravan and camping industry group has welcomed the handing down of the Insurance Inquiry Report December 2020 by Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), Kate Carnell,

The Caravan Industry Association of Australia has worked closely with its members and industry organisations to strongly advocate on the challenges that caravan park operators are facing in accessing and affording public liability and natural disaster insurance. 

Caravan Industry Association of Australia CEO, Stuart Lamont, said these challenges had "put many business operators against the ropes" following the devastating bushfire season and COVID-19 travel restrictions.

“The Ombudsman’s acknowledgment of market failure and the need to provide certainty to small business operators is a welcomed and accurate summary of the current insurance sector,” Mr Lamont said.

"Caravan Park operators, who are fully regulated by relevant state and federal legislation regarding work health and safety, are not seeking to avoid their responsibility regarding public liability and natural disaster management.  They are, however, seeking a consistent framework that ensures their significant investments and liability are able to be protected.

“The recommendations by the Ombudsman are a step in the right direction to support the caravan park industry," Mr :Lamont said. "Specifically, expanding the Australian Reinsurance Pool to cover all-natural disasters and adopting statutory caps on public liability will provide ongoing confidenceto operators that they will be able to find and be covered by adequate policy.”

www.caravanindustry.com.au

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THE International Maritime Organisation (IMO) passed several resolutions in December 2020, specifically addressing the need for seafarers, and other marine personnel, to be designated as key workers.

Australia is a notable omission from the cohort of 45 IMO member states who have already determined seafarers to be key workers.

International Transport Workers Federation president and Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said, “Australia must act immediately to align itself with international efforts, led by organisations like the IMO and ITF, to designate seafarers as key workers providing an essential service, and facilitate the safe and unhindered movement of seafarers for embarking and disembarking a vessel, accessing shore leave, and when necessary, access to shore-based medical treatment.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the health of people and communities across the world, the outlook for seafarers becomes increasingly more desperate by the day.

“The despair of this crisis cannot be understated. Over 400,000 seafarers internationally are held captive on their ships, and an equal number are prevented from travelling to relieve these desperate workers due to the global and national inconsistencies in travel restrictions. 

“Australian seafarers are effectively locked out of jurisdictions where they are engaged in transport operations domestically, and the interconnection of global and national trade.

“It is vital that attention be paid to Australia’s reliance on essential workers in the maritime transport chain to maintain the continuous supply of essential goods that Australian communities rely on and that the Morrison Government act immediately to address the failed policy settings which continue to exacerbate this crisis for Australian and international seafarers.”

The IMO circular regarding the designation of seafarers as key workers is available here.

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