THE Australian Parliament’s Health, Aged Care and Sport Committee will be holding public hearings in Sydney on Tuesday, February 5, 2019 and Melbourne on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, as part of its Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia.

The Committee chair, Trent Zimmerman MP, said that "sleep is a fundamental biological need, and along with a good diet and physical exercise, sleep is the third pillar of a healthy lifestyle".

"Increasingly, Australians are balancing their work, family, and social commitments by cutting back on sleep," he said. "We know as many as 40 percent of Australian adults are not regularly getting enough sleep. And it is not just adults, for young people spending increased time on the internet, playing digital games, and social networking can come at the expense of sleep.

"In the short-term the consequences of insufficient sleep includes: decreased work or school performance and an increased risk of road accidents. Over the longer term, insufficient sleep has wide ranging health effects including: increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and dementia," Mr Zimmerman said. 

Further information about the inquiry is available on the Committee's website.  

PUBLIC HEARING DETAILS:

SYDNEY: 9am to 2.45pm, Tuesday, 5 February 2019, Macquarie Room, Parliament of NSW

MELBOURNE: 9.30am to 3.15pm, Wednesday, 6 February 2019, Ground Floor, 55 St Andrews Place

The hearings will be broadcast live at www.aph.gov.au/live.

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QUEENSLAND Resources Council CEO Ian Macfarlane has released a supportive statement on high job application numbers to work at the Adani Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin.

"It's not surprising that almost 14,500 people have expressed interest in working on the Adani mining project," Mr Macfarlane said.

"The resources sector is a strong and steady employer of Queenslanders, despite the fact that Queensland's unemployment rate is among the highest in Australia.  

"Over the past 12 months, the resources industry has added more than 10,000 extra jobs. Its continued strength is essential to our state.

"Resources jobs underpin the economy of South East Queensland, but importantly, they also drive the economies of Central and North Queensland too. 

"The resources sector is primed to keep investing and keep employing, especially given the global demand for our commodities including thermal coal, met coal, bauxite and zinc.

"It is essential that we have the right processes in place to ensure the resources sector can continue to support the Queensland economy, and that Queensland maintains its reputation as a stable place to invest.

"All projects should be given a fair go and treated on their merits, with consistent rules and regulations," Mr Macfarlane said.

"The Adani Carmichael project has undergone stringent state and federal assessment processes over the last eight years.

"The QRC urges the Palaszczuk Government to complete the final assessment in a timely and transparent manner.

"There should be no unnecessary hurdles or delays. Queenslanders' jobs are depending on it."

www.qrc.org.au

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STUDENTS from Alexandra Hills State High School will be among the best equipped in Queensland to tap into the careers of the future, with the first sod turned today for the Centre for Excellence in Automation and Robotics.
 
The Centre for Excellence will operate in partnership with the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) to set students on the path to excel in the industries that are at the heart of Queensland’s future – including the resources sector.
 
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace today performed the honours at the ceremonial sod turning to kick off construction on the $4.77 million facility. 
 
Queensland Resources Council (QRC) director of skills, education and diversity Katrina-Lee Jones welcomed the State Government’s $4.7 million investment in the centre, which would further develop the skills Queensland needs for the future.
 
“Alexandra Hills State High School is one of 60 schools that partners with the QMEA to provide students with experience and insight in the diverse, high-tech and rewarding resources and energy sectors,” Ms Jones said.
 
“The QMEA gives students hands-on experience with projects that rely on the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
 
“QMEA students participate in a range of activities ranging from data-modelling, to using drones and robotics, to using 3D printing to apply to real-life scenarios relating to solar-power generation.
 
“Experience in automation and robotics goes hand-in-hand with the QMEA program, which helps equip Queensland students with the skills they need for a long-term and prosperous career, and at the same time puts our resources sector on an even more stable long-term footing with access to skilled workers for the future.
 
“The Queensland resources sector is continuing to make new investments in technology and innovation.  A recent QRC survey of CEOs found 91 per cent of CEOs are planning further automation activities, just over a third are implementing artificial intelligence and almost 10 per cent are taking the next step to use augmented reality technologies. 
 
“The skills students from Alexandra Hills State High School develop through the QMEA and through this Centre for Excellence in Automation and Robotics will put them in prime position to capitalise on these jobs of the future.
 
“I look forward to the completion of this outstanding facility.”

www.qrc.org.au

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THE NSW Office of Responsible Gambling is looking for the best and brightest minds to help understand gambling-related problems and develop innovative solutions.

Prevention, innovation and technology grants are available for projects that develop innovative initiatives to promote responsible gambling and/or reduce gambling harm.

The Office welcomes proposals or projects that will relate to people living in NSW from organisations or individuals across Australia and internationally.

Submissions open from Tuesday 29 January and close on Tuesday 26 February.
 
Find out more about this grants program. 

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SMALL BUSINESSES in the building and construction industry will benefit from the Federal Government’s decision to extend the instant asset tax write off scheme, according to Master Builders Australia.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said, “Master Builders are strong supporters of this measure because it boosts our member’s business success. There are more than 370,000 small business builders who will be winners from this initiative.

“The increase in the small business tax write off scheme to $25,000 and its extension till 2020 is good news for builders around the country but we continue to call for it to be made a permanent fixture.

“This decision is a sign that the Government is listening to industry on what is needed to support small business,” Ms Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE Joint Intelligence and Security Committee will hold a public hearing in Canberra tomorrow as part of its review of the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Strengthening the Citizenship Loss Provisions) Bill 2018.

The Committee will hear from a range of submitters including the Law Council, Australian Human Rights Commission and the Department of Home Affairs.

Committee chair Andrew Hastie MP said that the Committee looks forward to hearing from the Human Rights Commission and the Law Council.

“Input from these organisations will greatly assist the Committee in preparing its report on the Citizenship Loss Bill before it,” Mr Hastie said.

The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Strengthening the Citizenship Loss Provisions) Bill 2018 was introduced in the House of Representatives in November of 2018. 

Public hearing details: 9am to 2.30pm, Wednesday 30 January, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

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

More information about the inquiry, including a full list of witnesses and submissions received to date, can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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THE Palaszczuk Government deserves credit for declaring the $1.4 billion Sconi project near Greenvale in North Queensland a prescribed project and the Queensland Resources Council has urged it to continue to work to unlock a more than $70 billion pipeline of resource sector projects.
 
QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the Sconi project aims to produce nickel, cobalt and scandium for use in battery manufacturing, electric vehicles and similar high technology applications for export markets, and the 'prescribed project' declaration was another milestone in its development.
 
“The Queensland resources industry is at the forefront of the State’s future in terms of advanced manufacturing and the development of technologies such as batteries for electricity storage or for the expansion of renewable energy or for the addition of more electric vehicles on our roads,” Mr Macfarlane said.
 
The government has confirmed that two million tonnes of ore per annum would be processed at the Greenvale site producing an estimated annual average production of 8500 tonnes of cobalt, 53,500 tonnes of nickel sulphate and 77 tonnes of scandium oxide for at least 18 years.
 
“The approval announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and State Development Minister Cameron Dick today follows the important work in exploration and proving up the resource led by our member Metallica Metals,” Mr Macfarlane said.  
 
“The QRC and the Queensland Exploration Council applauds the Government’s commitment, through Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Anthony Lynham, to promoting exploration for coal, minerals, petroleum and gas across our State.  By proving up these resources, the industry can attract more investment, create more jobs, deliver more exports and generate more royalty taxes for the Government and all Queenslanders.”
 
Mr Macfarlane said Deloitte Access Economics last year estimated a $77.5 billion resource project pipeline, with $3.4 billion under construction, $2.6 billion committed, $52.5 billion under consideration and another $19.4 billion possible.
 
“The challenge and onus for the Government is to ensure we have stable policy – from assessment and approval of projects to the underpinning policy for the operation and rehabilitation of projects to rates of royalty taxes paid back to the Government – to ensure we secure as much of this project pipeline as possible,” he said.
 
Mr Macfarlane said resource project approvals, like other major projects in renewable energy and tourism, have to go through a comprehensive environmental assessment process with the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments.  This assessment process includes public consultation.
 
“All projects should be treated on their merits, but through the same process applied consistently.  Each project deserves a ‘fair go’,” he said.

www.qrc.org.au

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BHP BILLITON, the Anglo-Australian multinational mining company headquartered in Australia, has been accused of dumping its Australian crew from two vessels that carried iron ore from Port Hedland in Western Australia to steelworks in Port Kembla and to China, by the International Trade Union Confederation. 

“BHP has turned its back on Australian values. The once proudly Australian company has used a legal loophole to avoid paying Australian workers their entitlements and chosen to lower its working standards and conditions,” said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.

a total of 80 Australian seafarers will lose their jobs, ending more than 100 years of Australian-crewed iron ore shipping servicing BHP and BlueScope steelworks. The jobs will be replaced with crew on Flag of Convenience (FoC) vessels which exploit cheap foreign labour, and are registered in jurisdictions which allow companies to avoid paying tax, according to the International Trade Union Confederation.

“It is totally unacceptable for global businesses to exploit the workers of low wage countries by transporting them to high wage jurisdictions to take the jobs off local workers. This is not how a good global corporate employer behaves. For the trade union delegation in Davos, the case of BHP represents the crisis facing the global economy,” said Mr Burrow said.

“BHP’s use of insecure, low wage jobs will do nothing but fuel insecurity, fear and inequality. BHP’s corporate influence over the Australian government, who issued visas for low wage workers to assist the sacking of Australian workers, demonstrates the risk to democracy when governments fail to protect their own citizens. Fear and insecurity are generating an age of anger,” Mr Burrow said.

Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) also condemned BHP’s decision from Davos.

"Seafarers working on Flag of Convenience registered ships are subject to poor working conditions and lower wages because they are at the mercy of a system that allows for minimum regulation and the acquisition of cheap labour," he said.

“BHPs replacement of decent jobs with exploited workers exposes their corporate greed and the Australian government’s failure to take responsibility for its own citizens,” Mr Cotton said.

The ITUC has joined Australian trade unions and the International Transport Workers’ Federation in putting BHP on notice and demanding that these jobs are immediately reinstated.

About the ITUC

The International Trade Union Confederation is the largest democratic organisation in the world representing and promoting the rights of working people. The ITUC represents 181 million workers in 163 countries and territories and has 340 national affiliates, campaigning, organising and advocating for workers' rights.

About the ITF

The International Transport Workers' Federation is a democratic global union federation of 670 transport workers trade unions representing over 20 million workers in 140 countries. The ITF works to improve the lives of transport workers globally, encouraging and organising international solidarity among its network of affiliates. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers' unions in bodies that take decisions affecting jobs, employment conditions or safety in the transport industry.

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