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. 

ends

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

ends

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.

ends

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

ends

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.

ends

JOBS GROWTH across Queensland’s resource sector continues to be strong, with more than 10,000 additional jobs created over the last 12 months, but not enough to push the State’s unemployment rate below 6 percent.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said as a Queenslander, it was disappointing to see the State return one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates – 6.2 percent on trend and 6.1 percent seasonally adjusted.

“The resources sector is delivering – one in eight jobs in Queensland are supported by coal, minerals, petroleum and gas industries in our State.  That is more than 316,000 Queenslanders working in our resources industry,” he said.

“According to Seek, there are currently more than 1000 jobs in mining, resources and energy ready to be filled with 70 percent of the available positions paying $100,000 or more.” 

The Queensland Resources Council and its members are encouraging more young Queenslanders to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and explore a future career in the resources sector through the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).  

Supported by the Palaszczuk Government, QMEA now operates in 59 Queensland secondary schools.

“Whether it is the $60 billion in exports or the $5 billion in royalty taxes we return to the Government or the 14,200 local businesses we work with, the resources sector is delivering for Queensland,” Mr Macfarlane said.  

Total vacancies in Queensland for mining, resources and energy is 1,060. 

Seek mining, resources and energy vacancies, by region:

Brisbane 245
Gladstone and Central Queensland 105
Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast 58
Mackay and Coalfields 378
Townsville 99
Mount Isa 80
Toowoomba and Darling Downs 40
Roma 80
Cairns & Far North 38

Source: Seek.

ends

THE LATEST forecasts for the housing market were released by Master Builders Australia today. 

Chief economist Shane Garrett pointed to a challenging year ahead saying, “New home building across Australia is facing into its toughest year in almost a decade with declining house prices and the fallout from the Royal Commission really starting to bite.

“About 234,000 new homes were started at the peak of the market in 2016/17. We anticipate that output will decline to 210,200 during 2018/19 overall and fall to 197,500 during 2019/20.

"A succession of further declines will bring new home starts down to 175,900 by 2022/23,” Mr Garrett said. 

“New home building was lifted to record levels in the middle of the decade by a combination of strong population growth, big house price gains, super low interest rates and keen demand from foreign buyers,” he said. 

“Several of the ingredients that made up this favourable mix are no longer in place. House prices have seen sizeable reductions in a number of key markets, while state governments have erected prohibitive barriers to foreign buyers. 

“Reaction to the Hayne Royal Commission has slowed the circulation of mortgage credit within the housing market and this is the biggest factor holding activity back at the moment. Uncertainty in the lead up to the upcoming Federal Election is also delaying activity in the market. People want to know what the colour of housing policy will look like before they enter into commitments,” he said. 

“The fundamentals of the Australian economy are actually pretty solid at the moment with the robust labour market fuelling a healthy pace of migration-driven population growth.

"As a result the underlying demand for new home building is still elevated but unfortunately this is not being translated into stronger activity on the ground because of the credit crunch and decision paralysis ahead of the election,” Mr Garrett said. 

“It is vital that we get urgent clarity from all parties on exactly what they will do once the Federal Election has been concluded."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

ends

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold public hearings in Merimbula, Chatswood and Bondi Junction, New South Wales, for its inquiry into the implications of removing refundable franking credits.

Chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP, said, "The committee is examining how the removal of refundable franking credits would affect investors, in particular older Australians who have planned for their retirement under the existing rules and whose financial security could be compromised."

"The committee has received well over 1000 submissions, including many from retires who are concerned they will be forced on to the aged pension if the ability to claim a refund on their franking credits is removed.

"These hearings will provide an opportunity for Australians impacted by a change to refundable franking credits to address the committee directly with a three minute statement, and we welcome their contributions and participation," Mr Wilson said.

Public hearing details:

Merimbula, 9am to 10.30am, Monday, 4 February 2019, Merimbula RSL, 52-54 Main St, Merimbula, NSW

Chatswood, 9am to 10.30am, Friday, 8 February 2019, The Chatswood Club, Level One, G11 Help Street, Chatswood, NSW

Bondi Junction, 2pm to 3.30pm, Friday, 8 February 2019, Bondi Junction RSL, 1/9 Gray St, Bondi Junction, NSW

Further public hearings will be announced as the inquiry progresses. The hearings will be webcast live (audio only).

A number of submissions have been received and are available on the committee’s webpage at: www.aph.gov.au/economics.

A number of submissions are currently being processed and will be published over the coming months. Submissions can be made online or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

ends