“APPROVALS for new detached houses across Australia are at their lowest ebb since late 2013,” according to Shane Garrett, chief economist of Master Builders Australia. 

ABS figures which have just been released indicate that detached house approvals fell by 2.1 percent during September to record their weakest monthly result since December 2013. There was better news for apartment and other dwelling approvals which benefited from a 10.7 percent bounce during September. 

“The descent to a five-year low for detached house approvals is an unwelcome milestone and reflects a number of unfavourable factors,” Mr Garrett said. 

“House prices are continuing to fall in Australia’s two largest markets and this makes it more difficult to deliver new housing supply. The results of last week’s MBA industry survey also demonstrated how the ongoing Royal Commission has led to tougher financing conditions in recent months,” he said. 

“The unprecedented level of new home building over the past five years has substantially expanded the capacity of the Australian economy by boosting the number of construction jobs and allowing greater numbers of workers in all sectors to put a roof over their heads.

“With new home building activity starting to flag, it is vital that government policies remain focused on allowing our industry to provide enough new homes to meet our future demands,” Mr Garrett said. 

During September 2018, approvals for new dwellings saw the largest increase in Victoria (+30.5 percent), followed by Tasmania (+15.7 percent) and South Australia (+7.8 percent).

The largest reduction in approvals hit Western Australia (-19.0 percent), followed by Queensland (-10.5 percent) and the ACT (-8.4 percent). There were also fewer approvals in New South Wales (-6.8 percent) and the NT (-6.9 percent) during September 2018.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomedf the $5 billion Future Drought Fund to support farmers and communities in rural and regional Australia.

Ms Carnell said the focus on expanded mental health services and support is particularly important, for farming family enterprises and the many small business owners who are also doing it tough.

“Running a farm or a small business during an extensive period of drought is one of the toughest situations to be in as a business owner," Ms Carnell said.

“While this new fund will deliver crucial water infrastructure and drought resilience projects, it will also provide more access for more people to mental health services and support.

“Never underestimate the importance of mental health. We know that one in five Australians will experience a mental health issue at some stage in their life.

“For farmers, many experience high levels of stress for a prolonged period of time and beyondblue research shows male farmers die by suicide at rates significantly higher than the general population and non-farming rural males.

“This is why additional mental health services are so crucial. The more support for farmers and small business owners facing high rates of stress and depression, the better.”

The increase to funding for mental health services by $15.5 million will go towards early intervention and community well-being services.

“Early intervention is key. A further $3.6 million will expand Medicare Benefit Services to enable local doctors to offer mental well-being support services via telehealth to rural and remote patients,” Ms Carnell said.

The government has also pledged $30 million to key charities to provide support to at least 10,000 households facing hardship.

“As long as these funds are used within the drought-affected communities, it should provide a much needed injection back to those who need it most; the small and family businesses trying to keep afloat during these periods of prolonged drought,” Ms Carnell said.

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE House of Representatives Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee has commenced a new inquiry into automated mass transit, focusing on developments in the use of automation and new energy sources for land-based mass transit.

Committee Chair John Alexander said that automation would make our mass transit systems “better, stronger and faster”, by making them safer, more efficient and more reliable than they are today.

“International experience of automated metro systems shows what they could do to improve connectivity within our rapidly growing cities,” Mr Alexander said.

“Automation and platooning present real opportunities to make bus networks more reliable and responsive, as well as more efficient, creating real competition between different modes of transport.

“In addition, new fuel sources—such as electricity and hydrogen power — have the potential to make mass transit cheaper, reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce our reliance on the importation of fossil fuels.”

The Committee will inquire into and report upon current and future developments in the use of automation and new energy sources in land-based mass transit, including:

• Rail mass transit
• Road mass transit
• Point-to-point transport using automated vehicles
• Commonwealth roles and responsibilities in the development of these technologies.

Submissions are open until Friday 7 December 2018. For more information about how to make a submission, contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Further information on the inquiry, including the full terms of reference, is available on the Committee’ website.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is holding further public hearings into the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Lowering Voting Age and Increasing Voter Participation) Bill 2018.

This Bill as proposed by the Greens would extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year-olds on a voluntary basis, allow enrolment for 14 and 15 year-olds, and permit a provisional vote on election day for unenrolled citizens.

Chair of the Committee, Senator James McGrath said that given the evidence from the initial hearing, held in September in Melbourne, the Committee was interested to hear further evidence from both young people and academic and legal experts.

The hearing will be held at Glenala State High School, enabling young people to engage with the committee process.

The full program can be found on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details:

Date: Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Time: 10:00am –  1:45pm
Location: Glenala State High School, Durack, Brisbane

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

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ENHANCING financial literacy skills amongst the small business sector will go a long way to ensure small business viability and growth, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“The IPA believes that the government should make funding, for vocational education courses to enhance SME owners’ financial literacy, a priority,” IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway said.

“We also support the notion that practical education in areas encompassing business strategy and management to form part of the educational offerings.

“Incentives for further financial literacy and SME business management education, such as tax deductibility for educations costs, should be offered to SME owners via the tax system.

“Registered Training Organisations could partake in government incentives and play a more active role in encouraging SME operators to improve their knowledge in business management and finance,” Mr Conway said.

These recommendations stem from the Australian Small Business White Paper produced by the IPA in partnership with the IPA Deakin SME Research Centre. 

For more information: https://www.publicaccountants.org.au/news-advocacy/small-business-white-paper

About the Institute of Public Accountants

The IPA, formed in 1923, is one of Australia’s three legally recognised professional accounting bodies.  In late 2014, the IPA acquired the Institute of Financial Accountants in the UK and formed the IPA Group, with more than 35,000 members and students in over 80 countries.  The IPA Group is the largest SME focused accountancy organisation in the world. The IPA is a member of the International Federation of Accountants, the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants. 

publicaccountants.org.au

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THE City of Melbourne welcomed the largest delegation of smart city commissioners and executives that India has sent offshore, with 25 influential leaders arriving in Melbourne last week.

Prosperous City portfolio chair, Councillor Kevin Louey said this was testament to Melbourne’s industry capabilities in liveability and smart city initiatives.

The delegation comprised senior officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, New Delhi Municipal Council as well as representatives from key Indian companies.

Cr Louey said the program was envisaged to provide a world stage to local business to showcase Melbourne's industry leadership across urban design and development, water and waste practices and smart city initiatives.

“We look forward to creating lasting relationships with these organisations in India and having the opportunity to showcase our city’s global standing in these areas," Cr Louey said.

“The four-day mission will consist of City of Melbourne and State Government briefings and site visits, private sector networking and business matching sessions,” he said.

"The purpose of these missions is to create and close export opportunities for local businesses, build new relationships and leverage the City of Melbourne’s strong network of business and government connections to enable trade and investment.

“We continue to work closely with local business to create connections in India, and create better access for our local business into the significant opportunity that India offers Australia,” added Cr Louey.

The inbound visit from India is part of its ‘100 Smart Cities’ initiative, which provides 100 cities in India with funding to transform the country by fostering more sustainable and inclusive development, a clean environment and the applying of smart solutions.

The City of Melbourne worked in close partnership with Austrade and the Victorian Government to establish this mission.

The City of Melbourne has hosted two previous inbound missions in 2015 and 2016 and led an outbound mission to India in 2017, which significantly strengthened Melbourne’s partnership with India.

For more information on the city’s key international partnerships, visit the City of Melbourne website.

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THE Queensland resources industry is planning new investments in technology and innovation that will make it one of the state’s most cutting-edge job creators, according to the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

The QRC's latest quarterly State of the Sector survey has found resources CEOs are on the cusp of new investments in the full range of advanced equipment ranging from automated vehicles to virtual reality tools.

“The resources industry is one of Queensland's most resilient and innovative sectors. And that’s good news for people who want jobs both now and in the coming decades,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“The resources industry is both high viz and high tech.”

QRC’s State of the Sector survey has found 91 percent of CEOs were planning further automation activities, a third were implementing artificial intelligence and almost 10 percent were planning the next step to use augmented reality technologies. For example, a virtual reality computer version of a mine that can guide equipment along the most efficient and safest path.

“The investments are being targeted to make mining smarter, safer and to deliver even better value to Queenslanders,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“New technologies can increase safety for workers through use in hazardous situations such as fires, or preventing collisions in remote operations. New technologies can also be used to maximise the returns from mining projects in a sustainable way. The more of our commodities that are accessible the greater the royalties return for Queensland.

“But there’s no replacing the skills and expertise of resources employees. Importantly, company CEOs see automation and innovation as a way to enhance their mining projects, not focussed as a way to reduce jobs.

“Resources jobs will continue well into the future, as our resources sector strengthens its role as an early adopter of technology and as a global leader in mining expertise," he said.

“In fact, more than 80 percent of resources companies expect the demand for STEM graduates to increase in the next five years.

“This underlines the importance of the work undertaken by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), which is currently operating in 58 schools across the state. It introduces students to the diverse range of skills, including STEM skills, that could help them pursue a career in the resources sector.

“Our resources sector is a heavy hitter for the Queensland economy, and we want to ensure it continues to benefit regional communities and our big cities. Over the last twelve months, the Queensland resources sector has created the equivalent of a new job every 40 minutes.”

The quarterly State of the Sector report also found that resources CEOs were vigilant about cybersecurity. The majority of CEO responses (84 percent) considered cybersecurity a ‘moderate’ to ‘very high risk’ over the next 12 months.

“The Queensland resources sector is on stable ground for the future, with CEOs ready to invest to make best use of technology, while at the same time ensuring its application maintains the integrity of their businesses,” Mr Macfarlane said.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE LATEST National Survey of Building and Construction shows residential building activity has entered more challenging waters, according to Master Builders Australia’s chief economist Shane Garrett. 

“The Activity Index for Residential Building fell to 55.0 points in the September 2018 quarter compared with 59.8 points in the previous three-month period,” Mr Garrett said. 

“Looking forward, optimism has dimmed in the residential building sector with the survey’s Expectations Index falling by 1.9 percent during the September 2018 quarter. This suggests that those in the industry anticipate further weakening over the coming six months,” he said. 

“Residential building is being hit by tighter finance availability as well as the softening of house prices in Sydney and Melbourne over the past year. These factors are likely to drag new home building lower over the next few years.

“It has always been a struggle to consistently deliver enough new homes to meet demand. This has resulted in house prices steadily outgrowing wages and incomes over many decades,” Mr Garrett said. 

“Policy settings need to ensure that we can build enough new homes to accommodate a growing economy and a larger workforce.

“Newly-released modelling from Cadence Economics confirms that proposed restrictions on negative gearing and CGT would result in up to 42,000 fewer new homes being built over a five-year period – enough to house over 100,000 ordinary Australians,” Mr Garrett said. 

“These latest survey results show that residential building is already cooling. We don’t need to weigh it down even more."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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