OVER 40 percent of Australians believe workplaces lack recycling options according to new research commissioned by Planet Ark.

This is despite roughly seven in 10 Australians agreeing recycling at work makes them happy and improves perceptions of employer responsibility.

The research conducted by Pollinate was commissioned as part of Planet Ark’s relaunch of the Business Recycling platform, a free service providing recycling information for Australian businesses since 2010.

“We’re thrilled to be celebrating 10 years of our Business Recycling program, which has made recycling easier for over a million Australian workers over the last decade," Planet Ark CEO Paul Klymenko said.

“By merging the platform with Recycling Near You, Australia’s most comprehensive recycling information service, we are creating a national one-stop-shop for recycling information whether at home or work.”

About one-third of all waste generated in Australia is business waste according to the most recent National Waste Report. Business Recycling enables Australian businesses to address their waste while also developing a competitive edge by improving business reputation and efficiency while reducing unnecessary costs.

NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean said the program is made possible, thanks to funding under the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.

“From Bega to Byron, and Swansea to Silverton the NSW Government is committed to reducing waste right across the State, that is why we are investing more than $800 million in the largest waste and recycling program in the country, to support projects like Planet Ark’s Business Recycling platform, that educate businesses on the benefits of boosting recycling efforts not only for the environment but for productivity too,” Mr Kean said.

The information provided on Business Recycling and Recycling Near You is representative of available recycling services in Australia.

BusinessRecycling.com.au. 

Key research findings:

• · 69% of Australians agree that recycling at work makes them happy*
• · 68% of Australians claim workplace recycling services improve perceptions of employer responsibility*
• · 62% of Australians claim that recycling at work is easy and convenient*
• · 43% of Australians claim there aren’t enough recycling options at work*
• · 39% of Australians claim their employer does not communicate waste and recycling information well*
• · Over 1 million Australians have used Business Recycling since it was launched, with over 3.2 million page views
• · Merging Business Recycling and Recycling Near You will result in a further half a million visits per year to the business platform.

* Research conducted by Pollinate. Sample: n=545, working Australians 14-64, Mar’20

About Planet Ark 

Planet Ark Environmental Foundation is an Australian not-for-profit organisation with a vision of a world where people live in balance with nature. Established in 1992, it is one of Australia’s leading environmental behaviour change organisations with a focus on working collaboratively and positively. Planet Ark promotes and creates simple, positive environmental actions – for everyone.

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THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has welcomed the Federal Government's announcement of additional funding for the tourism industry but remains concerned by a lack of specific funding to support the businesses which deliver international visitors to Australia.

The government package will bring some desperately needed support to major, mostly internationally focused, tourism businesses across regional Australia but support is still needed to ensure the inbound tour operators (ITOs) who supply international visitors to these areas survive.

“ITOs are essential to the export tourism supply chain and are a vital part of the fabric of our connection to the global tourism marketplace,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said. 

“Without ITOs many of these regional tourism businesses would have never had the level of international visitation that has helped them to build their product and if ITO businesses disappear, the long term viability of these regional tourism businesses is questionable too.

“Right now support to enable tourism businesses to better connect with domestic visitors will be very welcome but their previous success was built on having a mix of international and domestic visitors with international visitors making a stronger contribution to the bottom line – they simply stay longer and spend more.

“Australians just don't travel the same way or spend on the same things as international visitors and in the long run these businesses will need to turn back to their international market for survival and they will typically do this in partnership with inbound tour operators, their international distribution partners.

“The export tourism industry has a complex supply chain which relies on business relationships which have been forged over decades and ITO businesses have been the platform on which Australia has grown its annual tourism export earnings to over $45bn annually," Mr Shelley said.

“We know many of our regional tourism supplier members will be very happy to see this funding, but there remains many gaps in the solution and many tourism businesses will still be looking for help.  Businesses in metropolitan areas which have seen their business grind to a halt, ITOs which have had no income since February and those businesses which fall outside of the funding guidelines. Twelve months ago they were all viable and today they face extinction through no fault of their own.”

Mr Shelley said the funding will be welcome in the short term but will be quickly exhausted given the extent of need within the industry.  ATEC has been calling on the Federal Government to establish a long term, well-funded strategically focused tourism resilience fund which will provide layers of support to assist recovery and restart of our industry over the next three years.

"Earlier this year we saw the government announce a sizeable $1bn fund for tourism as part of its initial COVID stimulus package, funding which was quickly allocated to supporting large infrastructure like regional airports.

“While we recognise the importance of these priorities, many tourism businesses are struggling to survive and many have completely shut down their operations, exasperated by the uncertainty of state border closures. Over the past decade Australia’s export tourism industry has delivered more than $350bn in export earnings to our economy and this success has supported one in 12 jobs and has been the lifeblood of many regional communities," Mr Shelley said.

“Recognising the importance of international visitors to the future of regional tourism operators ATEC continues to urge the government to directly address the survival of the ITO sector and look to provide support in the upcoming Federal Budget.”

www.atec.net.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council has today repeated its call for a bipartisan commitment to a Resources Industry Development Plan to deliver more jobs, more investment and more exports for the state’s COVID-19 recovery.

“During COVID-19, QRC’s member companies kept the 372,000 Queensland men and women employed in, and because of the resources sector, safe, working and earning,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“We’re pleased the Queensland Government has acknowledged the resources sector will be important to the COVID-19 recovery. We now need a firm pre-election commitment the Government will work with our sector to grow and help Queensland recover stronger and sooner.”

Mr Macfarlane said the industry development plan would focus on how to:

• expand the availability of land for mineral and energy resource exploration, development and production;
• strengthen export partnerships, create new resource export markets and increase development of advanced manufacturing and renewable energy in Queensland;
• and work together to identify and develop the skills and training needed for our resources industry and towards opportunities for diversity of employment by increasing the number of women and Indigenous Queenslanders in the industry.

The Resources Industry Development Plan is a key part of the joint QRC- AMEC (Association of Mining and Exploration Companies) Resources Industry Recovery Agenda.

Mr Macfarlane said the QRC was also seeking commitment on behalf of its member companies to streamline assessment and approval processes for resource projects, plus a 10-year hold on royalty rates and thresholds on all resource commodities.

“The LNP has already committed to a 10-year royalty hold at current levels, so we’re looking for the Queensland Government to match this commitment to give potential resource investors greater certainty around development opportunities,” he said.

“While the government has committed to a three-year hold on coal and metals, and a five-year hold on gas and petroleum, we’re looking for a longer-term commitment to match the longer timeframes it takes to plan major resource developments.”

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said an overhaul of lending laws proposed by the Federal Government would offer a necessary funding injection to the small business sector.

Under the plan announced today by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, lending laws will be changed to lift onerous barriers to small businesses applying for loans.

“Access to finance is critical to small business survival, particularly as support measures are tapered over the coming months,” Ms Carnell said.

“The reforms outlined today would give small businesses the confidence they need to seek funding to get through this crisis, so they can grow and employ. Since the Banking Royal Commission, small businesses have faced an uphill battle to secure a loan, due to unrealistic serviceability requirements from the banks.

“The pendulum has swung too far and now is the time to correct this imbalance which is harmful to small businesses.    

“Even in the best of times, many small businesses struggle to secure finance, with a recent Sensis report revealing that of the dwindling number of small businesses that applied for a loan in the three months to August, about one in four had been knocked back. There’s a good chance the onerous small business loan application and bank assessment process is partly to blame.

“We are aware of small businesses that have been asked for all sorts of documentation by the banks - even for loans that have been 50 percent guaranteed by the federal government – including director guarantees, which really means the family home. It’s no wonder small business owners are reluctant to borrow.

“Importantly the banks will still be accountable to ASIC and the Government has pledged greater protections for vulnerable borrowers. ASIC will also have the power to impose penalties for prohibited or excessive fees and interest charges," Ms Carnell said.

“Small business borrowers should always ensure their lender is an AFCA member and to go their trusted accredited financial adviser before taking out a loan.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has described the decision to grant the mining lease for Pembroke Resources’ Olive Downs coking coal project in central Queensland as a “critical jobs booster” for the state’s COVID-19 recovery.

“The granting of the mining lease means construction and creation of over 1,000 new jobs in the region can get underway.  These jobs will come just when Queensland needs them the most, with the state’s unemployment forecast to increase to 9 percent due to COVID-19,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“Olive Downs had been well advanced before COVID-19 with the Queensland Government announcing its approval in May 2019, and its progression to construction could not have come at a better time for Queensland.

“The mine is expected to provide much needed local stimulus during COVID-19 recovery, with up to 500 jobs during construction and over 1,000 new jobs when the project reaches full operation.

“New resource projects, like Olive Downs, deliver for Queensland. The QRC will continue to work to ensure the comprehensive and transparent assessment and approval processes for these projects are streamlined to secure the jobs, investment, exports and royalties for Queensland as soon as possible.”

Mr Macfarlane said over the last month, QRC had used a public awareness campaign to highlight the 372,000 Queensland men and women working in or because of the resources sector across the State and the $74 billion economic contribution to the state last financial year. 

The mining and gas sector have been a life raft for Queenslanders during COVID, keeping the Queensland economy afloat, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs, particularly in regions hit hard by the impacts on tourism and providing billions of dollars in royalty taxes to pay the wages of nurses, doctors and police.

“Queensland can count on the resources sector to deliver," Mr Macfarlane said. "The resources sector boosts local communities through 14,400 businesses and 1395 community organisations, underpins 80 percent of Queensland’s export sales and pays billions of dollars in royalties to the Government.

“In terms of royalties, Olive Downs has been forecast to deliver more than $5 billion in royalty payments to the State Government over the life of the project.  That will help future Queensland Government deliver services and infrastructure for all Queenslanders.”

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Federal Government has given the rebuilding of the economy a big boost by removing overly restrictive lending requirements for finance lenders, including mortgage finance, according to Master Builders Australia.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said, “We commend the Federal Government for winding back regulation to a more reasonable position that allows the market more flexibility to approve housing finance. We hope this means that banks will reconsider their loan to value ratios (LVRs) to help people overcome the deposit gap.

“We expect that loan applications for borrowers should also become less cumbersome.

“The Reserve Bank has already flagged that the tighter regulatory provisions have been holding back credit growth and some banks have acknowledged that they have been forced into being overly conservative,” Ms Wawn said. 

“It is good to see the Federal Government is giving banks flexibility to deal with applications on a case by case basis which should result in lenders providing mortgage finance to more people.

“It should help streamline the processing of HomeBuilder applications on top of pre-approval processes which have been adopted in some states. All states and territories should adopt these pre-approval processes,” Ms Wawn said. 

“Access to finance, land titling and planning approvals can substantially delay building of new homes and measures are needed to remove these impediments and speed up processing of HomeBuilder applications.

“While today’s announcement should open up access to mortgage finance, we now need state and territory governments to activate their option under the agreement with the Federal Government to extend the HomeBuilder construction deadline from three to six months, as has already occurred in Victoria. 

“This will ensure that the economic stimulus provided by HomeBuilder can be maximised to save more tradie jobs, and give more people access to the opportunity HomeBuilder provides,” Ms Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE CARAVAN INDUSTRY Association of Australia has welcomed the announcement today from the Federal Government of a $250 million regional Australia package with $150 million specifically for tourism and infrastructure projects to assist regional tourism.

Caravan Industry Association of Australia CEO Stuart Lamont said the caravan and camping industry was much loved by Australians, and with the desire for tourists to "control their own environment" the industry was "poised to help in the immediate recovery of regional tourism as caravanners and campers travel further and for longer as Australians look to explore our own backyard". 

Visitor expenditure by caravanning and camping tourists already contribute over $10 billion annually with a significant amount of this dispersed across regional and rural Australia, supporting local jobs and contractors.

Mr Lamont said, "We have a real opportunity for Australians to rediscover the attractions and experiences which are plentiful in regional Australia, but which are under real threat without government support.

“The tourism industry has been savaged through a winter of COVID off the back of a summer of bushfires.  While we have seen recent green shoots in concentrated regions, many tourism industry businesses (and those businesses which rely on tourism) continue to be on their knees.  We are in a feast or famine situation at present with some of our most significant tourism regions hardest hit with the challenges of 2020.

“With many of Australia’s tourism icons located in the regions, and international travel off the cards for some time yet, today’s announcement is a significant boost for domestic tourism, while encourages the development of important tourism infrastructure which will underpin the industry when normal travel returns.” 

On World Tourism Day, Mr Lamont said this announcement supported the theme Tourism and Regional Development and is consistent with the Caravan Industry Association of Australia’s calls for shovel-ready tourism projects to be supported in regional Australia. 

"These projects will not only introduce or upgrade important long-term assets but will encourage the use of local contractors, local accommodation, and the use of local services during construction," Mr Lamont said. "With caravan and camping in 2019 being the number one commercial accommodation provider in regional Australia, today’s announcement provides some level of optimism for operators still reeling from huge losses from touring markets.

“Caravan parks, for several years, have been developing the accommodation experiences available which has brought new markets on board and led to record numbers in 2019.  This announcement from the government will help businesses return faster to the lofty heights set in 2019,” Mr Lamont said.  

“Tourism is such an important social and financial contributor to regional and rural communities, and it will be important to make sure funding from today’s announcement is equitably spread and provided for immediately to get this money flowing through the system.    

"Caravan Industry Association of Australia looks forward to engaging with the Federal Government regarding the eligibility and appropriation of this important initiative."

www.caravanindustry.com.au

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NEW COVID-19 related research conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and super fund Cbus has identified that urgent short-term needs for funds are driving people’s decision to withdraw some or all of their superannuation savings under the COVID-19 Superannuation Early Release Scheme.

The study has also revealed that many people who withdrew their super over the past few months are uncertain about the long-term consequences of their decision.

To understand the operation and effect of the COVID-19 Superannuation Early Release Scheme, a multi-organisational research team analysed survey results of over 3,000 members of Cbus, a leading industry superannuation fund, who withdrew some or all of their superannuation savings in the first phase of the COVID-19 Superannuation Early Release Scheme between April and June 2020.

The results show that the $10,000 limit both guided and constrained withdrawal amounts and that most respondents withdrew the upper limit. Around 25 percent of surveyed members withdrew almost their entire account balance, according to the study.

Immediate financial need (59%) and concerns for future expenditures (27%) were the main reasons members gave for accessing savings. 

“Some surveyed members expressed they are uncertain about the long-term consequences of their decisions,” said study co-author Susan Thorp, professor of economics at the University of Sydney Business School.

“Around one third of respondents said they were unsure about the impact of their withdrawal on their retirement balances, or had not thought about that, or did not care,” Prof. Thorp said.

Co-author Hazel Bateman, professor of economics at the UNSW School of Risk and Actuarial Studies, said they also compared respondents’ estimates of the impact of their withdrawal with a projection of that impact based on assumptions made in a Cbus guidance on the early release scheme for members.

“Around half of the survey respondents either underestimated or didn’t estimate the impact of the withdrawal on their superannuation balance at retirement,” Prof. Bateman said.

“These findings demonstrate that many withdrawers either could not or did not evaluate the impact of their decision.

“However, another finding is that those who spent longer thinking about their decision and consulted more information sources before withdrawing their savings, held more realistic expectations of the impacts on retirement wealth and were half as likely to decide to withdraw within one day or less than members who used no information sources.

“This shows that more attention to information is related to an attempt to assess impact on retirement balances,” Prof. Bateman said.

Robbie Campo, Cbus Super group executive, said, “This research highlights the fundamental importance of the super systems cornerstones – compulsion, universality and adequacy. Cbus’ membership recognises the importance of these principles to ensure all Australians can enjoy a dignified and secure retirement.”

Background:

The COVID-19 Superannuation Early Release Scheme was one of the first pandemic-related policy changes made by the Australian Government. By mid-August 2020, Australian superannuation fund members had made more than 3 million applications to withdraw retirement savings under the COVID-19 Superannuation Early Release Scheme, supporting more than $31 billion in payments.

Full industry report: https://cepar.edu.au/sites/default/files/20K-now-or-50K-later-WhatsDrivingPeoplesDecisionToWithdrawTheirSuper.pdf

Key findings of the industry report:

• Surveyed COVID-19 early release scheme applicants expressed urgent short-term need for funds and considerable uncertainty about the long-term consequences of their decision.
• The $10,000 limit both guided and constrained withdrawal amounts.
• Around 25% of surveyed members withdrew almost their entire account balance.
• Immediate financial need (59%) and concerns for future expenditures (27%) were the main reasons members gave for accessing savings.
• Around 30% of surveyed applicants were unsure of, or unconcerned about, the long-term consequences of their withdrawal.
• Around 50% of surveyed applicants either underestimated, or didn’t estimate, the impact of the withdrawal on their superannuation balance at retirement.
• Members who collected information from Cbus and from other sources, such as news services or social media, were half as likely to decide to withdraw within one day or less than members who used no information sources.
• Members who spent longer thinking and consulted more information sources before withdrawing their savings held more realistic expectations of impacts on retirement wealth.

About CEPAR

The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) is a unique collaboration between academia, government and industry, committed to delivering solutions to one of the major economic and social challenges of the 21st century. The research centre is based at the University of New South Wales, with nodes at the Australian National University, Curtin University, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney.

cepar.edu.au

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