THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has aligned with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in becoming a lead agency with authority to issue Australian tourism businesses with the globally recognised ‘Safe Travel’ stamp.

The stamp has been developed by the global travel and tourism industry body to recognise businesses which adopt standardised health and hygiene protocols. ATEC has incorporated the Safe Travel branding - designed as a recognisable health and safety trademark for consumers globally - into its COVID Ready program.

“ATEC has developed the rigorous, sector specific ‘COVID Ready’ program which aligns with the standards defined by the WTTC,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said..

"The ATEC program enables tourism businesses to identify covid risk points within the customer journey and implement risk management solutions, all of which are captured in a COVID Ready plan aligned with state and national regulatory requirements.

“ATEC has incorporated the WTTC Safe Travels branding as part of our Tourism Trade Checklist which recognises businesses who have completed and uploaded a COVID Ready Plan. The WTTC Safe Travel global branding is another level of recognition which will assist Australian tourism businesses to stand out in the international marketplace.

“As an organisation with the authority to endorse tourism businesses, ATEC is able to connect Australian tourism businesses with global Safe Travel protocols which quickly verifies a business’s compliance.”

Over the past few months ATEC has been developing a comprehensive strategy to meet the needs of the industry and expectations of the global traveller once international borders open.  The strategy, titled #TravelSafeAustralia includes three components working together to ensure quality COVID Safe experiences, the components include:

• COVID Ready suppliers – all suppliers servicing the international market have completed and uploaded a COVID Ready plan into ATEC Tourism Trade Checklist portal and have  received the WTTC Safe Travels stamp and ready for international visitors.
• COVID Risk Reduction – an alignment with goPassport biometric risk management system, a comprehensive, real-time COVID-19 alert system for inbound international travellers. 
• COVID Safe Managed Travel - Australian based inbound tour operators (ITOs) taking accountability for the COVID Safe travel of international visitors from arrival to departure.

"#TravelSafeAustralia is a world leading strategy to re-engage international travellers in a safe and structured way, delivering a strong and clear message around both our expectations and responsibilities in mitigating the risk of COVID in our community and for our visitors.
 
“We are pleased to be able to connect to the global Safe Travel program in supporting the WTTC in its work to ensure the safety of the global travel workforce and travellers as the sector shifts to a new normal.”

www.atec.net.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said family businesses have been hit hard by the COVID crisis, encouraging everyone to buy local this National Family Business Day (Friday, September 18).

Speaking in a Family Business Australia video marking the day, Ms Carnell said the family business sector needed to be supported as it emerges from this difficult period. 

“National Family Business Day is usually a day to celebrate, but 2020 is a year like no other,” Ms Carnell said.

“Times are incredibly tough and so many family businesses that were viable this time last year are now facing enormous challenges after a devastating bushfire season followed by a global pandemic.

“Family businesses in Victoria continue to struggle with ongoing heavy restrictions.

“The best way you can support family businesses is to spend locally – whether that’s at a mum-and-dad owned bricks and mortar store such as the town butcher or by shopping online via social media campaigns such as ‘Click for Vic,’ 'Buy From the Bush', 'Empty Esky', 'Spend With Them' and 'Stay with Them' – to name a few.

“Family businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and key contributors to our economy – accounting for up to 70 percent of Australian businesses and employing as much as half of the workforce.

“Their survival is critical to our broader economic recovery," Ms Carnell said.

“That’s why my office has produced a comprehensive COVID-19 Recovery Plan recommending a suite of reforms to help small and family businesses survive and thrive.

“The recommendations cover a broad range of areas including taxation, access to justice, industrial relations, government procurement and cutting red tape.”

Ms Carnell said her office was also excited to be working in partnership with Family Business Australia to produce a guide to succession planning.

“Succession planning is a key issue for family businesses and this guide will provide a step-by-step process to ensure the next generation are ready to take the reins when the time is right,” she said.

Read family business stories here and see Kate Carnell’s National Family Business Day video here.

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THE newly released State of Industry 2020 Report from Caravan Industry Association of Australia lays out the past performance of Australia’s caravan and camping industry and highlights the opportunity for the industry to drive recovery.

In 2019, the total caravan and camping visitor nights exceeded 60 million and 14 million trips for the first time.

"When you reflect that there are 24.8 million Australians and 8.4 million households, caravan and camping holidays has become an integral part of our national travelling behaviour," a spokesperson said.

"Without a doubt, the industry has recently been overshadowed by an uncertain world where a devastating bushfire season coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has firmly applied the brakes on what was an incredible period of growth for Australia’s caravan and camping industry."

To put this into context, since 2010 the market has grown by:

•       an additional 5.5 million caravan and camping trips;
•       an extra 17.3 million nights spent caravan and camping annually; and
•       over 196,000 recreational vehicles have been manufactured and registered.

Caravan Industry Association of Australia CEO, Stuart Lamont, said, “Whilst looking back at 2019 may seem unimportant in the current climate, the year marked a number of important milestones for the industry."

It is the year that according to Tourism Research Australia, caravan and camping became the most popular holiday type for Australians. This is no easy achievement when we consider the significant competitive nature of the tourism sector.

“Looking forward, we are optimistic about the future of the caravan and camping industry, especially as Australians look to support local business, reconnect with loved ones and spend time in nature after such a challenging year” Mr Lamont said.

The State of Industry 2020 Report provides an important benchmark and highlights the importance of the caravan and camping sector to the performance of Australia’s visitor economy, bringing together the many different sectors and operating conditions relevant to the caravan and camping industry

Reflecting on the year prior helps to paint a picture as to the wide-reaching positive impact the industry has on regional Australia and the manufacturing industry.

The caravan and camping industry is incredibly well placed to drive tourism and economic recovery through encouraging job creation, creating strong value chains and supporting regional economies," Mr Lamont said.

www.caravanindustry.com.au

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY experts have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement this week of $1.6 billion in funding for ARENA, and $52 million for energy efficiency programs.

“The government’s commitment of $1.6 billion to ARENA – and expanding its remit to cover energy efficiency and energy management – is the right move. It shows the Government has heard our message that ARENA needs to be backed in so it can continue its important work. And the broadened remit will give ARENA the ability to take on some of the big innovation challenges of the coming decade,” said Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council.

The Federal Government also announced funding for new and existing programs that will help businesses and households save energy and reduce their bills, including:

• $12 million to help small hotels and pubs save energy;
• $12 million to help community organisations lower their energy bills;
• funding for existing energy efficiency efforts, including programs that give consumers;
• information on the energy efficiency of buildings before they buy or lease; and
• $94 million to help businesses in the agriculture, manufacturing, industrial and transport sectors to adopt technologies that increase productivity and reduce emissions through a Technology Co-Investment Fund.

Council CEO Luke Menzel welcomed this funding, but said that the Federal and State governments were yet to grasp the big opportunity to drive a jobs boom through energy efficiency stimulus.

“These are sensible measures, but there is more to do," Mr Menzel said. "We can drive a jobs boom in energy efficiency by upgrading schools, hospitals and public housing, helping manufacturers to cut their energy bills; and supporting households and businesses to save energy in their buildings.

“That’s the course recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), who say governments should invest in energy efficiency for economic stimulus as it is the MOST jobs-rich field, far ahead of traditional sources of energy.

“Put simply, energy efficiency is a jobs machine. It is time to start it up.”

Construction and manufacturing jobs created per million dollars of capital investment in the Sustainable Recovery Plan

The Special Report on Sustainable Recovery, produced by the IEA in partnership with the International Monetary Fund, includes a comprehensive analysis of energy related stimulus options. Energy efficiency in buildings – both retrofits and new builds – topped the charts.

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QUEENSLAND politicians vying for government in the upcoming election are being put on notice that now is the time to stop millions of dollars in profits flowing overseas to foreign owned construction companies.

Australian Owned Contractors (AOC) has launched the ‘Let Us Build Queensland’ campaign, demanding that Queensland projects be built by Queensland and Australian owned companies.

The six-week campaign strategically targets marginal seats ahead of the State election, focusing on the Brisbane and Gold Coast seats of Aspley, Mansfield and Gaven and the regional seats of Townsville and Mundingburra.

AOC CEO Brent Crockford and AOC director Scott Power said the campaign deliberately pulled no punches, including election-style advertising and an online petition to force action.

“Voters in marginal seats will be mobilised and politicians pressured to make action on this issue part of their election platform,” Mr Crockford said.
“All of Australia’s major construction companies are now foreign owned and they dominate across our biggest public infrastructure projects.

“In fact, 95 cents in every dollar spent by Governments on these major projects across the country now goes to foreign owned companies.

“The ‘Let Us Build Queensland’ campaign seeks to draw a line in the sand ahead of the State election, and to illustrate to Queenslanders who really reap the benefits of our biggest projects – and it’s not Australian companies.”

The AOC represents 18 of Australia’s leading home-grown and owned contracting companies and has launched the campaign to fight for local opportunity and competition, local skills development, and domestic company growth.

Mr Power said most Queenslanders were unaware of just how high the cards were stacked against local construction and engineering firms when it came to bidding for and winning major work.

“Our companies regularly take on and successfully deliver projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but we are locked out and left fighting for sub-contracting scraps when it comes to leading the biggest projects,” Mr Power said.

“Capability is rarely a factor in these situations – it comes down to ability to take on sole financial risk when procurement is bundled together in mega-projects by government agencies.

“It’s a one-size-fits-all mentality to tendering which relegates Australian companies to second class subcontractor status while foreign owned multi-nationals lead the work on our biggest national projects.”

Mr Crockford said the AOC campaign was unapologetic in drawing voter attention to the issue and urged Queenslanders to sign the petition which called on local politicians to put a stop to offshore favouritism.

The ‘Let Us Build Queensland’ petition is available via the campaign webpage: www.letusbuild.com.au

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ISSUES with travel to Western Australia can’t stop the parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge, with the Northern Australia Committee set to virtually go west next week to speak to Western Australian stakeholders.

Northern Australia Committee Chair Warren Entsch said despite the closure of the border with Western Australia, the Committee is continuing to take evidence from Western Australian stakeholders.

"The Committee remains committed to travelling to Western Australia, but in the meantime we will speak to as many people as we can by video and teleconference," Mr Entsch said.

"Monday’s hearing will allow us to speak to a range of people working on the frontline of heritage protection."

In its submission, the Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation highlighted the importance of Indigenous control of Indigenous heritage.

"Expert voices—Aboriginal people, archaeologists and anthropologists—supported by technical and regulatory infrastructure that befits a first world country, should substantially make these technical decisions," it said. "No single person should have the power, at the stroke of a pen, to destroy sacred places or places that are an important part of the human story."

Western Australian MLC, Robin Chapple, also emphasised the need to empower Traditional Owners in their dealings with government and industry.

"Claim wide participation agreements should cease," he argued. "These contracts, to a large degree, are structured in such a way that many of the signatories and participants to these claim wide contracts had little understanding of the enormity of the unfettered access granted by these agreements to mining corporations, over massive swathes of country."

Programs are available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Monday, 21 September 2020
Time: 10am to 1pm AEST
Location: By video/teleconference

Witnesses include:

Mr Cedric Davies (Submission 82)
Woodside Energy (Submission 79)
Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation (Submissions 38 & 44)
The Hon Robin Chapple MLC (Submission 65)

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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WEALTH manager Atlas Advisors Australia has commended the Australian Government for listening to the needs of business and the economy by recommencing the issuance of 188 visas and allocating interim places prior to the Budget under the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP).

Atlas Advisors Australia executive chairman, Guy Hedley said the states and territories, including business centres of NSW and Victoria, had taken the important step of opening their doors to applicants to the 188C Business Innovation and Investment Visa following the Australian Government’s interim allocation of places.

“We commend the Australian Government and the states and territories for recognising the important role business migration plays in driving our economy,” Mr Hedley said. “This will have a tremendous impact on the post-pandemic recovery of business. It will assist Australian businesses and entrepreneurs to counter the lack of availability of domestic capital investment.

“We encourage the Australian Government to go further by prioritising its review of the BIIP to maximise the benefits to the economy in a post-pandemic era.”

Mr Hedley said the doors to the country were just reopening, yet Atlas Advisors Australia already seen a dramatic increase in interest from high net worth migrant investors including from destinations such as Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong is a vibrant business destination with many rich and highly experienced entrepreneurs and businesspeople,” he said.

“These migrant investors are keen to help stimulate business and employment through ventures in their new homeland.”

About Atlas Advisors Australia

Atlas Advisors Australia is a leading funds manager and investment advisory business, operating between China and Australia offering a wide range of financial services and wealth management solutions. With operations in Sydney, Melbourne in Australia and Hong Kong SAR and Shanghai in China, Atlas is able to support investors in all China and Australia locations. Atlas Advisors Australia AFOF is the major limited partner in the Stoic Venture Capital.

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THE Queensland Government campaign to attract more people into the teaching profession is an opportunity to fill the depleting ranks of industrial design teachers, according to the Queensland Resources Council.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said QRC has worked over the last 12 months with the government and a range of stakeholders to discuss the lack of industrial design – formerly known as 'manual arts' – teachers in Queensland schools.

Mr Macfarlane said the QRC on behalf of the State’s resources industry was working tirelessly with students and teachers to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in 75 secondary schools through the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

“QMEA is a joint initiative between industry and the Government to encourage Queensland students to embrace STEM and the future opportunities open to them in study and in work,” he said.

“The QRC absolutely welcomes efforts to attract more teachers, and we particularly want to see a strong focus on getting more manual arts teachers at the front of classrooms.

“Manual arts – or industrial design as it’s now known – gives students important hand skills that are critical to a range of industries, including resource sector jobs whether it is coal, minerals or gas.”

Mr Macfarlane said the QRC would continue to work with industry to build the capacity of Industrial Design Teachers by upskilling tradespeople who might have lost jobs during the COVID-19 health crisis.

In June this year, the QRC proposed to the government that it offer 20 scholarships at $40,000 per annum for four years to assist with the upskilling of tradespeople.

www.qrc.org.au

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