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.

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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

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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

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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

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A CAMPAIGN demanding the Morrison Government take action to save Australia’s coastal shipping industry will kick off today, with television advertisements highlighting the plight of the nation’s last iron ore vessels, which were axed by BHP last month.

Seafarers from aboard the MV Mariloula and MV Lowlands Brilliance, who were informed by email that they no longer had a job transporting iron ore for BHP from Port Hedland to the BlueScope steelworks in Port Kembla, took their message directly to Prime Minister Scott Morrison ahead of his address at the National Press Club today.

They will be spending the week meeting with key MPs and Senators to outline the personal impact of BHP’s decision, the broader impacts on the viability of the local shipping industry, and the urgent actions the Federal Government must take to save Australia’s remaining coastal trading fleet.

Their experience also features in a television commercial (see link to video at end) which states:

"BHP has sacked nearly 80 Australian workers. These skilled and passionate seafarers were sacked by email while at sea, hundred of kilometres from home. With the help of Scott Morrison’s Government, BHP replaced the Aussie jobs with exploited overseas visa workers."

"Scott Morrison says: “If you have a go, you’ll get a go”. Really Mr Morrison?"

Ben Sirasch, a seafarer of 10 years who was onboard the MV Mariloula when the news came through, said he entered the profession because he thought it was “an industry that was going to last a lifetime”.

He believes that shipping is not only an important industry for an island country, but it also plays an important role in ensuring the economic security of the nation.

“There’s no Aussie [fuel] tankers left in Australia,” Mr Sirasch said.

“It’s pretty scary that we only hold less than two weeks of fuel in the country, but we don’t have any tankers to run fuel around, so basically we’re sitting ducks if anything happens.”

Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said BHP’s decision to replace Australian seafarers with foreign vessels crewed by exploited workers was only possible because of the willful inaction of the Federal Government.

“BHP’s decision to axe these last Australian iron ore vessels — ending more than a century of local seafarers carrying resources for BHP — was only possible because the Morrison Government issued permits to foreign-crewed ships to undertake this work,” Mr Crumlin said.

“It is essential that the Australian public understand that this could not have occurred without the direct involvement of the Morrison Government.

“It is the government that provides the Temporary Licences to the foreign ships that will continue to undertake the work. It was also this government that allowed Maritime Crew Visas to undermine local workers, leading to their replacement and sacking.

“The Australian Government not only has the power to save these jobs, but they must do so for the sake of the entire industry and the critical role it plays.

“Our campaign has a simple demand: we want the Morrison Government to immediately withdraw all temporary licences for foreign ships that have been contracted to replace these Australian ships in this domestic trade.”

Mr Crumlin said that as an island nation it was essential Australia maintained a strong domestic shipping fleet.

“Ensuring coastal trade is undertaken by Australian vessels with appropriately trained crews adhering to Australian laws and regulations doesn’t just support local jobs, it protects our national security, insures us against global conflicts and economic shocks, and protects our natural environment.

“When local seafarers are replaced by vessels registered in tax havens and crewed with exploited foreign labour, all of that is put at risk

“With each Australian vessel that is lost, the viability of our local shipping industry takes a hit. As a country, we also lose the contribution these ships provide to the Australian economy through employment, tax revenue, and supporting local maintenance and provisioning businesses.

“Australia’s increasing reliance on foreign shipping is not in the national interest and it is undermining our economic and national security.”

See television commercial, and an interview with Ben Sirasch and his partner Erin Sharpley, at:

https://www.saveaustralianshipping.com.au/media

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THE FINAL report from the Hayne Royal Commission should encourage the public to be seeking genuine advice and support from their trusted adviser: the accountant, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“There is no doubt that there are many lessons to be learnt, particularly for the banking industry, brokers and even the regulators,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Importantly, the Hayne Royal Commission reinforces the importance of trust and seeking appropriate advice from professionals.

“Professions evolve over time. Whilst every profession faces challenges, the emergence of professionals is an important factor. Accountants and accounting as a profession has evolved literally over centuries.

“Put simply, Public Accountants are not in the business for charging exorbitant fees for advice but rather offer genuine support to their clients.  They want to be able to have broader advice discussion which the current financial services regime prevents them from having," Mr Conway said.

“It is saddening, that so many people; mums and dads, families and small businesses have been subject to unscrupulous behaviour, aggressive selling, dishonesty and greed. 

“They are the aggrieved purely because of self-interest driven objectives of particular market participants in the financial services industry, protecting their patch and personal gain.

“Members of the three professional accounting bodies are answerable to the highest level of professional and ethical standards, subject to ongoing quality assurance evaluations, and must maintain currency of knowledge through committed and continuous professional development and training," Mr Conway said.

“We believe the time has come for a more open conversation about returning to a time where broader and deeper holistic conversations between accountants and clients are allowed through the financial service legislation.

“In some of these cases, such conversations could have identified and potentially resolved a number of the issues or at least alleviated some of the negative impact that victims of financial services misconduct have had to endure,” Mr Conway said.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

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THE VOICE of the nation’s second largest industry is calling on the Federal Government to support growth in the $222 billion building and construction in the Federal Budget. 

Releasing Master Builders Australia’s Pre-Budget Submission, CEO Denita Wawn said the Budget should back the nation’s builders so that they can continue to play their role as drivers of growth, builders of a stronger economy, creators of jobs and opportunities for young people in every community around the country. 

“A strong building industry means a strong economy," Ms Wawn said. "Our industry has done the heavy lifting over recent years to support the economy’s transition from the mining construction boom and is now underpinning much of the economic growth supporting the return to surplus that’s forecast for 2019/20. What we need now are Budget measures to help our industry sustain that growth. 

“Master Builders is the only industry peak body that represents small, medium and large businesses in the building and construction industry. We are calling for Budget measures that will underpin construction activity for contractors and sub-contractors across the residential, commercial and civil construction sectors,” Ms Wawn said. 

Master Builders’ key priorities for the Federal Budget 2019 leading into the Federal Election include: 

Backing Small Business: 

A new independent small business agency to more rigorously test the impact of legislation and regulation on SMEs and spearhead changes to make the Federal Government a ‘model procurer’ making taxpayer funded projects more accessible to small business. 

Tax Incentives to Drive Growth: 

Tax incentives including keeping negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, increasing the instant asset tax write off to $30,000 and make it permanent and a time scale for the 25 per cent company tax rate to apply to all businesses.

Creating More Jobs and Boosting Vocational Skills: 

New funding for an additional kick-start apprenticeship program in 2019-20 and greater support for pre-apprenticeship programs to ensure the industry has an appropriately skilled future workforce. Help revive the apprenticeship brand with parents, teachers and young people with a new $10 million for the Real Skills for Real Careers campaign. 

Increase Housing, Boost Infrastructure, Improve the Built Environment: 

Increase direct government funding of public infrastructure, expand cross-government activities to boost supply of housing and infrastructure, increase the provision of adequate stock of public housing and tie NAHHA funding to performance in meeting targets and boost funding the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) with a focus on implementing the recommendations of the Building Confidence Report (Shergold Weir Report). 

Support for Safety and Workplace Relations Agencies: 

Support a safer and more productive building and construction industry by adequately funding the agencies charged with stopping building union bullying and best safety outcomes on construction sites including the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), the Registered Organisations Commission, Safe Work Australia and the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner.

www.masterbuilders.org.au

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INDUSTRY Super Australia (ISA) has launched an advertising campaign to raise community awareness of the extent of unpaid superannuation and the need to make changes to the law.

According to a 2018 ISA analysis of tax office data, one third of Australian workers are missing out on almost $2,000 a year in superannuation entitlements.

Other research shows persistent underpayment can result in someone having tens of thousands of dollars less superannuation than others of the same age and wage bracket at retirement.

“This money, which could be the difference between living well or just getting by in old age, should be in workers’ accounts,” ISA chief executive Bernie Dean said.

In 2017, a Senate inquiry found that, besides short-changing workers, unpaid superannuation gave some businesses an unfair advantage while driving up public pension costs.

Yet, despite the damning findings, a key recommendation to align the timing of superannuation payments with regular pay cycles has since found little traction with policy-makers.

Mr Dean said that ISA’s new advertising campaign sought to both raise consumer awareness and urge parliamentarians to fully adopt the inquiry’s recommendation.

“Currently, employers are only required to pay super into a worker’s account on a quarterly basis, so what’s on a pay slip may not reflect actual payment," Mr Dean said.

“That the onus is on workers themselves to check they’re being paid a fundamental entitlement is quite unreasonable,” he said.

“Aligning superannuation payments with wage payments would enhance transparency and streamline compliance. It’s a win for everyone”.  

A Bill which extends single touch payroll obligations to all employers and may provide a foundation for further law changes for the synchronisation of superannuation payments and wages is currently awaiting further consideration by the House of Representatives.   

The campaign goes live on 10 February 2019 and will run across television, social media, digital platforms and search engine marketing.

ISA’s director of marketing is Alana Burnside and the creative agency is The Shannon Company.

View the new unpaid super advertisement here.

ISA

Industry Super Australia provides policy, research and advocacy on behalf of 16 not-for-profit industry superannuation funds with around six million members.

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