THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed news an additional 4400 jobs were created in July with the sector continuing to contribute one new job every hour across the State and more than 1400 vacancies currently advertised online. 

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the resources sector supported one in every eight jobs in Queensland.

"The resources sector is creating more jobs, delivering more exports and generating more royalties for Queensland. The world wants what we have, particularly with the expansion of renewables, electric vehicles and infrastructure,” Mr Macfarlane said. 

“Over the last 12 months, the resources sector has created more than 8400 jobs – the equivalent of one job an hour. 

“We can continue to create opportunities through direct jobs and spin off benefits for regional communities right across the State. 

“A strong resources sector means a strong Queensland. 

“We are determined to work with the Government for even more jobs, exports and royalties. We need predictable laws to ensure we can invest even more to explore and sustainably develop Queensland’s resources for the benefit of all Queenslanders.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends

ENERGY Networks Australia has welcomed the release of a report by Australia’s Chief Scientist which further promotes the development of a hydrogen industry in Australia.  

Energy Networks Australia chief executive officer Andrew Dillon is a member of the Hydrogen Strategy Group, led by Dr Alan Finkel that produced the COAG Energy Council report Hydrogen for Australia’s future.

“There’s been a growing focus right across the sector on the significant opportunities hydrogen presents for Australia,” Mr Dillon said.

"As the report states, hydrogen can be safely added to natural gas supplies at up to 10 percent by volume without changes to pipelines, appliances or regulations.

“From a gas distributor’s perspective, hydrogen has potential to support electricity and gas networks by allowing renewable hydrogen to be stored in existing infrastructure and then be used for providing heat or generating electricity.

“The storage capability of our existing gas networks is enormous, with the equivalent of six billion Tesla Powerwall batteries already in place.

“Over time, the gas networks will be able to deliver 100 percent hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas for domestic cooking, heating and hot water.”

Mr Dillon said using renewables to generate hydrogen also creates new revenue raising opportunities for solar PV and wind generation.

“Using excess renewable energy to power electrolysis units takes pressure off the grid with the hydrogen stored for later use, just like excess energy stored in a battery," he said.

“Hydrogen also has a role in transport, for powering passenger vehicles, buses, trucks and trains,” Mr Dillon said. 

“Hydrogen is a key component of industry’s Gas Vision 2050 and industry is already leading the development of this technology through various research and pilot projects.”

The Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity is a not for profit coalition of business, government and environmental leaders promoting a more energy productive economy.

ends

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing in Canberra on Wednesday, 22 August 2018 for its inquiry into impediments to business investment.

The chair of the committee, Sarah Henderson MP, said that the committee will examine how government at all levels can better support business investment in Australia.

The committee will hear from the Motor Trades Association (MTA) of Queensland and Townsville Enterprise Limited. The MTA Queensland, in its submission, called for regulatory reform to simplify regulation and streamline administrative processes in the automotive industry. It also encouraged an enhanced role for the Commonwealth Government as a champion for emerging technologies and innovation.

Townsville Enterprise, which represents five local government areas in North Queensland, said in its submission that Townville and the surrounding regions are struggling to attract investment. To help address this, the group recommended tax incentives to encourage investment in regional areas, and for Commonwealth and State Government cooperation on energy policy.

Ms Henderson said, "During the inquiry, business and stakeholders have shared similar concerns about complex and excessive regulation and high corporate taxes as impediments to business investment. It remains crucial for governments at all levels to help businesses in regional communities and across the Australian economy to grow through business investment, to foster innovation and create jobs."

Public hearing details: Wednesday, 22 August 2018, Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

11.10am: Motor Trades Association Queensland (via video conference)
11.50am: Townsville Enterprise Limited (via video conference)
12.30pm: Finish

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

ends

AS SOME CALL for a further delay in passing consumer-friendly legislation -- comprehensive credit reporting -- requiring banks to make consumer data available to their competitors, FinTech Australia is questioning whether a voluntary promise from the big banks can be trusted.

FinTech Australia is calling on the Parliament to pass the legislation without delay and says that relying on the big banks could end in disaster.

Just before the Parliamentary winter recess, in an effort to both repair the reputational damage from the Royal Commission and reduce pressure and urgency to pass the legislation,  the Australian Banking Association, on behalf of the big four banks, announced that the data would be made available on a voluntary basis.

"FinTech Australia understands that there may already be some attempts by the big banks to delay or roll back the promise made by the ABA," FinTech Australia CEO Brad Kitschke said.

"It is concerned this may have been the plan all along, and that the voluntary promise could be just another tactic to prevent a compulsory regime, something the big banks have opposed for some time. The longer the big banks are allowed to delay reform, the more consumers will be forced to accept the status quo of products and services that don’t meet their needs, bad loans, and even worse the kinds of outcomes heard at the Royal Commission."

Mr Kitschke said trusting the banks to share the data on a voluntary basis puts the banks back in charge, undermines competition, and will end in poor consumer outcomes.

”The legislation has been held up for long enough, and the argument that it can be delayed or put off even further because we can rely on the big four banks to provide it on a voluntary basis is foolish given their track record," he said.

"The data about a consumer’s financial information is the consumers' not the banks. Allowing the big banks to control or restrict access is not in the interests of consumers.

"FinTechs rely on accurate data about a person’s individual financial needs to develop bespoke products and services. Without access to this data, consumers will continue to be forced to accept the off-the-shelf generic products on offer from the big banks that don’t meet their needs. Any further delay or allowing the banks to be in control is only in the interests of the banks.  

"You only need to read the transcripts of the Royal Commission to know that the strategy of trusting the banks to voluntarily act in the best interests of consumers doesn’t have a great track record of success," Mr Kitschke said.

FinTech Australia claimed the delays in passing the legislation, owing to the concerns of consumer advocates about hardship, can be overcome.  It has established its own Consumer and Small Business Advisory Committee to allow concerns from consumer advocates to be better understood and insists that delaying legislation just hurts consumers.

“Delaying the legislation would just hurt consumers and empower and reward the big banks at a time when we should be doing everything we can to increase competitive pressure and scrutiny," Mr  Kitschke said.   "While the concerns of consumer advocates about hardship needed to be worked through a further delay would now hurt consumers and competition.

"We need to work together to be fair to consumers and promote competition. However, delaying this legislation hurts both consumers and undermines competition and just rewards the big banks.

"With what we know from the Royal Commission, there should be a greater sense of urgency to increase competition, not rely on a voluntary promise from the banks.”  Mir Kitschke concluded.

About FinTech Australia

FinTech Australia Ltd is the peak body for the Australian financial services, technology and innovation - Fintech industry.  FinTech Australia was founded by startups, and is a startup itself. It works with founders, startups, scaleups and the fintech ecosystem. FinTech Australia represents members and advocates for outcomes that facilitate the growth of the fintech ecosystem with the goal of making Australia a leading fintech market. www.fintechaustralia.org.au

ends

THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the official opening of Sun Metals’ ground-breaking solar project near Townsville.

“This is yet another case study where Queensland is leading the way in making best use of our rich energy resources,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.

“Sun Metals is the first heavy industrial power user to be investing in its own renewable energy source on a commercial scale.

“Reliability and affordability of energy supply are non-negotiable for industries such as zinc refining.

“Through this investment generating approximately 125 MW, Sun Metals has provided further resilience to the refinery and security for its workers.

“Queensland shows there’s no need to play favourites when it comes to our energy sources.

“Coal, gas and renewables all have their role to play in making the most of our energy mix. This in turn delivers the most affordable and reliable power for homes and businesses.”

www.qrc.org.au

ends

ON FRIDAY, August 17 2018, Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit will hold three public hearings.

The public hearings are part of the Committee’s ongoing work in considering the governance and financial performance of Commonwealth agencies.

The Committee will first hear from representatives of private sector contracting businesses as it continues its inquiry into how government agencies report on their use of contractors, based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 19 (2017-18).

Following this, the Committee will hold its first hearing for its inquiry into Australian Government security arrangements. This hearing will discuss issues raised in the Auditor-General’s report No. 38 (2017-18) Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security.

This audit examined the effectiveness of centralised security vetting arrangements for government personnel. In addition, the audit looked at how well government agencies are complying with personnel security requirements.

The final hearing will be based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 39 (2017-18) Naval Construction Programs – Mobilisation, which considered the Government’s planning for a continuous naval shipbuilding program. The shipbuilding program was audited due to its high cost, significance to Australia’s defence, and significant implementation risks.

Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said scrutinising Government expenditure on behalf of the Parliament was one of the Committee’s key responsibilities.

”Inquiries such as these consider not only the financial effectiveness of government programs but also how well they perform against other key criteria, for example in complying with protocols designed to ensure the safety and security of government personnel,” Senator Smith said.

Public hearings: Friday August 17 2018, Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra

8.30am to 10.15am: Audit Report No. 19 (2017-18) Australian Government Procurement Contract Reporting

10.45am to 11.45am: Audit Report No. 38 (2017-18) Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security         

12.00pm to 12.45pm: Audit Report No. 39 (2017-18) Naval Construction Programs - Mobilisation

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live. The hearing program is available from the Committee website.

ends

THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has today announced that it is seeking member feedback on advocating for a return of the ‘accountants’ exemption’ to provide financial advice related to self-managed superannuation.

“Since the accountant’s exemption was removed on 1 July 2016, we believe some Australians have simply opted out of advice altogether which may ultimately place their financial future at risk,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.   

“Simply, trusted accountants have been hamstrung, unable to respond to clients’ questions, particularly around superannuation.

“The public rely on their annual interaction with their accountant to finalise their tax affairs and seek guidance on issues which unfortunately is now considered financial advice as part of this process.

“Without this guidance many will receive no financial advice at all for important matters such as retirement planning.  Before Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) became law less than one in five had any interaction with a financial planner.

“FoFA has failed to achieve its policy objective of making financial advice affordable and removing accountants from providing any assistance has made the situation worse.

“As trusted advisers accountants can play an important role in helping clients manage their financial affairs and revisiting the accountant’s exemption is paramount to restoring access to basic financial advice. 

“Seventy percent of the population and 95 percent of all businesses have a trusted accountant behind them and denying them access to any guidance is not in the public interest.

“We have always maintained that we will act in member’s best interests, and recently members have been asking us to take the issue of the removal of ‘accountant’s exemption’ up with the government.

“The principle at play here is ensuring Australians have access to affordable financial advice.

“The capacity of an accountant to provide advice on self-managed superannuation funds has long been held as not being a systemic risk to the integrity of the financial services system.

“We will engage with members over the next week to inform our advocacy and representation to the Minister to ensure our views are heard. I would encourage any member of the IPA or any other practitioner to make contact with me if they wish to make their views known,” said Mr Conway.

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 36,000 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

ends

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Dr Philip Lowe, in Canberra from 9.30am to 12:30pm on Friday, 17 August 2018.

Since the previous hearing with the RBA in February 2018, monetary policy has remained accommodative with a cash rate of 1.50 percent, following the RBA’s recent decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

Commenting on the decision to keep rates on hold, the RBA Governor said low interest rates are "continuing to support the Australian economy’ and that ‘further progress in reducing unemployment and having inflation return to target is expected, although this progress is likely to be gradual".

The Governor expects growth in the Australian economy to average just above 3 percent in 2018 and 2019, which should further reduce spare capacity in labour markets.

In its August Statement on Monetary Policy, the RBA noted softer than expected inflationary pressures in the Australian economy in the near term, and said it did not expect underlying inflation to reach the middle of its 2-3 percent target band until the end of its forecast period in 2020.

The Chair of the House Economics Committee, Sarah Henderson, said, "The committee will examine these issues in more detail and will ask the RBA if it remains confident that current monetary policy settings will encourage growth and inflation consistent with the target for coming years."

Public hearing details: 9.30am to 12.30pm, Friday, 17 August 2018, Main Committee Room, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be webcast at www.aph.gov.au/live