THE Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia is holding a public hearing in Canberra on Friday, February 15, 2019, as part of its Inquiry into the Opportunities and Challenges of the Engagement of Traditional Owners in the Economic Development of Northern Australia.

The Committee Chair, Warren Entsch MP, stated that, "The Committee is interested to hear from Federal Government agencies about how Traditional Owners in Northern Australia can be supported to take advantage of economic opportunities. In particular, the Committee will examine the role of representative bodies, government entities, and any legislative, administrative and funding constraints to the economic engagement of Traditional Owners."

The hearing program and further information about the Committee’s inquiry is available on the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/jscna. The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.  

PUBLIC HEARING DETAILS:

Canberra

9.15am to 11.45am, Friday, February 15, 2019

Committee Room 1R2, Australian Parliament House

ends

LEGISLATION to implement the recommendations of the banking Royal Commission should be treated with the same diligence and rigor as any other new bills to be brought before parliament, Financial Services Council CEO Sally Loane said today.

In Canberra today, Ms Loane said the FSC understood the appetite for immediate reform and was broadly supportive of the Commission’s recommendations.

“With the release of the final report, there is a real and justifiable desire to get on with the job of strengthening and improving our financial system,” Ms Loane said.

“There are already several important superannuation reform bills languishing in Parliament that have not yet been passed into law. The FSC would like these passed without delay.

“The next tranche of financial system reform needs to be treated with the same rigor and scrutiny as any other legislation or regulation would receive.

“While we must move quickly to repair the sector’s damaged reputation and ensure that consumers are able to trust the people, products and services in our sector, it was only eight days ago that the final report of the Royal Commission was released by the Government. 

“In some important areas of reform, further information has been either been sought by Treasury or further analysis is required. We need comprehensive industry consultation to ensure that the unintended consequences of any technical changes are identified and dealt with.

“We cannot end up in a situation where well-intended reforms deliver poor customer outcomes down the track. It makes no sense to ram through new reforms in a way that could damage our economy, hurt small business or harm consumers.”

About the Financial Services Council

The Financial Services Council (FSC) is a leading peak body which sets mandatory Standards and develops policy for more than 100 member companies in Australia’s largest industry sector, financial services. Full Members represent Australia’s retail and wholesale funds management businesses, superannuation funds, life insurers, financial advisory networks and licensed trustee companies. Supporting Members represent the professional services firms such as ICT, consulting, accounting, legal, recruitment, actuarial and research houses. The financial services industry is responsible for investing almost $3 trillion on behalf of more than 14.8 million Australians. The pool of funds under management is larger than Australia’s GDP and the capitalisation of the Australian Securities Exchange, and is the fourth largest pool of managed funds in the world.

ENDS

WITH LEGISLATION passing through Parliament today, employers with 19 or fewer employees will have to report under the Single Touch Payroll (STP) regime by July 1, 2019.  Employers with 20 or more employees came under these reporting requirements as from July 1, 2018.

“While it is appreciated that not all small or micro businesses are digitally ready for STP, their accountant is in the driver’s seat to assist them to meet these new reporting obligations,” IPA chief executive, Andrew Conway said.

“In fact some 30 percent of small businesses are still not on a digital platform and while cost may be a factor, some may well be missing out on many efficiency and productivity benefits that could help their business grow.

“STP has been in the pipeline for a long time.  For those seeking a digital solution, the IPA partnered with Reckon to establish IPA Books+ which provides a low cost STP solution and is readily available to all members of the IPA Group,” Mr Conway said.

For a cost as little as $8 per month IPA Books+ provides a digital base to monitor the cash book, view budgets, process payments, GST, manage pay runs, leave, super and STP for an unlimited number of employees.

“We acknowledge that for some micro businesses, a non-digital option may be a better fit to manage STP requirements, in the short term," Mr Conway said.

“With such tools available, accountants are encouraged to contact us today to become Cloud Advisers to assist their clients transition.

"Public Accountants are in the best position to help their small business clients transition to the digital world,” Mr Conway said.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

ends

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today tabled the fourth report of its ongoing inquiry into Australia’s four major banks.

In October 2018, the CEOs of CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB appeared before the committee, shortly after the release of Commissioner Hayne’s Interim Report.

The chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP said, "The Royal Commission has revealed shocking examples of behaviour by Australia’s four major banks. The conduct has, in many cases, been contrary to law and has fallen well below community expectations."

Mr Wilson said, "Since the committee began its inquiry into the four major banks in October 2016, the Government has undertaken major reforms to the banking and financial sector, including increasing penalties to protect Australian consumers from corporate and financial misconduct.

‘The Government has also taken action to impose higher standards of behaviour on senior executives through the Banking Executive Accountability Regime and has set up a one-stop shop for consumer complaints," Mr Wilson said.

On February 4, 2019, Commissioner Hayne delivered the Royal Commission’s Final Report, charting a course for future reform of the banking and financial sector.

Mr Wilson said, "The Government has agreed to take action on all 76 recommendations and is going further in a number of important areas.

"As a consequence of their own actions, the banks now face a considerable challenge in rebuilding the community’s trust and confidence."

The report can be accessed from the committee’s website at:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Economics/completed_inquiries

The committee’s next round of hearings will occur on March 8 and 27, 2019. Further details are available at:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Economics/FourMajorBanksReview

THE House Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy will hold a public hearing tomorrow for its inquiry into controlling the spread of cane toads.

The Committee will convene two roundtable-style sessions involving scientists and groups involved in controlling cane toads.

The inquiry is focused on how cane toads can be controlled and additional support that could be provided.

A further public hearing is planned for next Wednesday 20 February 2019.  Details will be announced in due course.

Public hearing programs, submissions received and further information can be found on the inquiry website at www.aph.gov.au/canetoad. 

Public hearing details: 10am – 11.30am (Canberra time), Wednesday 13 February 2019, Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House

An audio broadcast of the public hearing can be accessed at https://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Parliament.

ends

RESOURCE company donations to the flood recovery in North Queensland have been further boosted, to almost $3 million, with a $250,000 donation by the BHP Foundation to the Australian Red Cross and a $100,000 donation from Incitec Pivot.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said with the recovery well underway the costs would start rolling in which meant every dollar donated was critical.  

“I’d like to thank the BHP Foundation and Incitec Pivot for these donations which will go a long way in supporting people who are trying to get back on their feet after this widespread and damaging flood,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The Queensland resources sector is 100 percent behind Queenslanders who have been affected by this significant weather event and the total contribution from the sector and QRC members has grown to $2.95 million. Glencore and South32 donated $1,000,000 each, MMG Dugald River contributed $250,000, Aurizon gave $250,000 and Adani Australia $100,000.”

Townsville is an important part of the Queensland resources sector, within the Townsville City Council area the sector contributed $925 million to the gross regional product and supported 5996 full-time employees last financial year. 

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk started the appeal with a $200,000 donation and her government listed The Australian Red Cross, UnitingCare, Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland as the non-government partners and said people can also donate to GIVIT.

www.qrc.org.au

Link to QRC economic contribution forTownsville City Council area https://www.qrc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Townsville_LGA_2018.pdf

ends

PROPERTY research house RiskWise is calling on the Council of Financial Regulators to introduced legislation to ban borrowing for property against Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs).

In December last year, as reported in The Australian, the regulator "offered the sector a new lease of life indicating no apparent appetite to quash the practice in its quarterly statement" due to a "shift in dynamics in the housing market".

However, RiskWise Property Research CEO Doron Peleg said all of the major banks had stopped loans to SMSFs, and this had flowed on to their subsidiaries, including the AMP. The ATO has also expressed concerns about the risk to the retirement savings of individual SMSF trustees in the event of property decline, while the Financial System Inquiry (FSI) has recommended a ban on direct borrowing by SMSFs to prevent an "unnecessary build-up of risk in the superannuation system".

“Lending to SMSFs is an accident waiting to happen as people gamble with their retirement funds,” Mr Peleg said.

“It really is high risk and, in fact, Labor will move to ban borrowing against SMSFs if they are returned to power in the next Federal election, which is extremely likely according to polls.  And David Murray’s Financial System Inquiry in 2014 even recommended the practice be outlawed.

“Super is the only asset class you can leverage against but using it to buy property is definitely high risk if things go wrong.”

Mr Peleg said this risk had been acknowledged by the major banks and the regulator should take notice and implement it across the entire industry. However, while most banks have halted the practice, non-banks lenders are filling the void and continued to do so.

The good news is the banking Royal Commission findings will now require advisers to tell clients in writing if their advice is not independent and why this is the case. They will also be required to outline each year the total fees they are paying and services they are receiving.

Over the past few years, Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) have gained such popularity there are now more than 600,000 in Australia, managing around $700 billion in assets. This is according to figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

In fact, according to the ATO, in the five years to 2017, SMSF assets grew by $274.3 billion, or a staggering 65 percent. However, the Productivity Commission says SMSFs with balances lower than $500,000 deliver significantly lower returns than average ones.

Borrowing on super to feed into property is governed by strict conditions known as 'Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements'. And according to Industry Super Australia, there has been a 200 percent rise in the past few years.

RiskWise research shows off-the-plan (OTP) properties are very popular with SMSFs, however, many carry a high level of risk largely due to potential oversupply - leading to squashed property values, high vacancy rates and a cooler market.

Mr Peleg said in many cases marketers generated very large commissions that were factored into the property price, in some cases up to 8 percent of the property value and that meant there was an increased settlement risk. In addition, generally the buyer had no idea how high the commission was or that the sellers were not independent.

Inner-city Brisbane is a case in point where weakness in the market has led to a high level of risk for investors and therefore lower valuations and rising defaults on settlements, as well as huge price reductions and lower rents.

“What this means is that many individuals fall into debt they can’t climb out of as their SMSF hits the ‘rock bottom’ known as a ‘property bust’,” he said.

“The three major types of risks associated with over-supplied OTP high-risk suburbs are Equity Risk, Cashflow Risk and Settlement Risk and they all add up to potential disaster for the anyone staring retirement in the face, especially as set-up costs for these types of borrowings often have higher fees.”

Mr Peleg said when considering buying property through a superannuation fund it was important to identify loss of income if there was an oversupply in the area and there was a problem finding tenants to rent the property, especially as these dwellings appealed to a limited market and not families with children seeking bigger homes and a decent-sized block.

www.riskwiseproperty.com.au

ends

AUSTRALIA is on the edge of a transport revolution, as governments and industry prepare for the introduction of automated vehicles on our road and rail networks.

According to the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, “The use of automated vehicles for ride-sharing or ride-hailing, for automated on-road mass transit services, and for the provision of ‘last-mile’ connectivity, could deliver benefits such as significantly improved safety outcomes, greater efficiency and reduced congestion, better access to transport services for those unable to drive, as well as more liveable urban and regional communities”.

The Department noted, however, that “deploying automation on a crowded, mixed-user road system is a complex engineering and transport planning challenge”.

The Department will be appearing at a public hearing tomorrow as part of the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities’ inquiry into automated mass transit.

The Department’s submission outlines the challenges for government and the measures being put in place to meet them.

Committee Chair, John Alexander OAM MP, said the Committee is very interested in exploring how governments can facilitate and manage the introduction of automation in our transport systems.

“A critical role for government is ensuring that automated vehicles enhance the sustainable development of our cities and regions. Transport automation should figure in the master planning of the urban and interurban environment alongside everything else,” Mr Alexander said.

“The Committee is also keen to explore how new fuel sources, such as electricity and hydrogen power, can augment our mass transit systems."

Public hearing details: 5pm – 6.30 pm, Tuesday, 12 February 2019 Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live

ends