THE FEDERAL Government has announced as part of its commitment to improving consumer outcomes in the financial services sector it will consult business leaders and the public on the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) industry funding model.

Federal Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said an ASIC industry funding model was an important element in the government’s plan to deliver on this commitment.

She said under the ASIC Industry Funding Model, the costs of regulation are borne by those that have created the need for it, rather than the Australian public.

"Industry funding increases transparency, makes industry more accountable for its behaviour and makes ASIC a stronger regulator," Ms O'Dwyer said.

"The industry funding model delivers on a key recommendation of the 2014 Murray Financial System Inquiry, as well as the 2013 Senate Inquiry into ASIC’s performance.

"The first phase of industry funding commenced on 1 July 2017 with the introduction of industry levies."

The government last week released draft regulations to make technical amendments to the levies in the industry funding framework to ensure they operate as intended. The amendments include:

• Establishing new industry subsectors to reflect the recently introduced licencing schemes for crowd‑sourced funding intermediaries and financial benchmark administrators;
• Creating separate industry subsectors for small and large credit rating agencies; and
• Simplifying the operation of the large securities exchange participants industry subsector.

Comments on the draft Regulations close on May 14, 2018.

"The Government appreciates industry’s continued engagement throughout the development of the industry funding model and stakeholders are invited to provide their feedback on the draft regulations on the Treasury website."

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THE Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) plan to remove the investor lending benchmark and replace it with better practices and strengthened lending standards should be treated with some caution, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“The removal of the current investor lending benchmark may be good for individuals and small business but on a macro level, the onus on authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) should be considered with caution,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

APRA is seeking assurances from ADI Boards that ‘they will maintain a firm grip on the prudence of both policies and practices’.

“Given the findings of the Hayne Royal Commission which continue to emerge, the IPA has some reservations about the ability of certain ADI Boards to control or oversee the activities of ADIs; and the commitment of certain ADIs to strengthening some practices in line with prudent policies.

“We agree that not all ADIs should be tarred with the same brush, but we remain cautious just the same.

“The IPA continues to stress that borrowers need to be prudent as well. They need to be responsible borrowers and not just rely on responsible lending practices of banks and other ADIs.

“If a loan was not appropriate or serviceable before, then it won’t be appropriate or serviceable now, just because APRA is removing the benchmark.

“The IPA welcomes the intention of replacing the benchmark with higher, permanent standards, even though work still needs to be done by ADIs.

“The need for financial and business literacy is paramount for all small businesses when seeking to borrow and enter into any financial arrangement; this is where they should engage a public accountant to assist.

“The need for financial literacy was a feature of the commentary we received throughout our national small business roadshow last year.

“Currently we are developing the second edition of the Australian Small Business White Paper through the IPA Deakin SME Research Centre which looks at access to finance for small business, and borrowing from ADIs is just one avenue.  We also encourage risk-adjusted lending and other innovative policies,” said Mr Conway.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

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AN EXPERT panel is examining whether our national broadcasters are operating in a manner consistent with the general principles of competitive neutrality.

On March 29, 2018, the Australian Government launched an inquiry into Australia’s national broadcasters to examine whether they are operating in line with competitive neutrality principles.

RESOURCE SECTOR regions are enjoying strong jobs growth over the last 12 months, according to data released today, Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said.

Mr Macfarlane said data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today showed that over the last 12 months, the Mackay region had added 4500 extra jobs, an increase of 4.8 percent; the Darling Downs-Maranoa had added 2100 jobs, an increase of 3.4 percent; outback Queensland, which includes the North West Minerals Province, had added 1200 jobs, an increase of 3.9 percent; and the Fitzroy region had added 400 jobs or a 0.4 percent increase.

“Last financial year, the Queensland resources industry added almost 5000 new full-time equivalent jobs in Queensland to more than 38,150 direct jobs. The industry supports a total of 282,634 jobs – the equivalent of one in every eight Queensland jobs,” he said.

“Today’s jobs data comes as Santos announces the completion of a major project in the Bowen Basin – in the Darling Downs-Maranoa region– to expand its Scotia compression plant and field from 23 to more than 100 wells. The project delivered by more than 400 workers will boost gas supply to the Santos GLNG project, supporting jobs in local industry by increasing east coast domestic gas supplies as well as those jobs from exporting LNG.

“There are more jobs and more optimism in the resources sector, and stable policy with continued access to resource, will underpin new investment, new opportunities and new jobs for Queenslanders.”

As Queensland Minister for Employment Shannon Fentiman said earlier this month: “It’s pleasing to see the fast-growing resource sector is providing more jobs for the regions. Since the Palaszczuk Government was elected we have worked with business and industry to create more than 160,300 new jobs in Queensland.”

The Queensland resources sector now provides one in every $6 in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State – with almost 7000 businesses in the Greater Brisbane region – all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

Link to Santos announcement on Scotia project 

Link to Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham statement on Scotia project 

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INDUSTRY superannuation fund First Super welcomed the decision by the Australian Council of Superannuation investors (ACSI) to formally recommend investors in AMP vote against the re-election of directors at the upcoming AMP AGM.

Commenting on the decision, First Super CEO Bill Watson urged other institutional investors to also follow the ACSI voting recommendation.

“We call on other superannuation funds, fund managers and proxy advisers to follow the lead of ACSI and send a message to the industry that the types of practices perpetrated by AMP and recently uncovered by the Royal Commission are unacceptable," Mr Watson said.

“First Super will vote its shares against the re-election of the three directors and calls on the rest of the board to seriously consider their individual and collective positions.”

Mr Watson said it was imperative the AMP board investigate and action how to recover bonuses paid to executives who presided over and permitted practices for which the board has now acknowledged and apologised for.

“The actions of AMP management and the atrocious governance failings that have recently come to light has had real world consequences for millions of hard working Australians. Shareholder value has been destroyed with the share price down 20 percent in the last month," he said.

“News today that the Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission submitting that is open to the Royal Commission to recommend criminal charges against AMP is yet another indication of distressing and unsustainable problems at that firm. 

“From an investor perspective the situation is profoundly disappointing and we need to see some accountability and reckoning.”

www.firstsuper.com.au

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BAROQUE top of the pops, still widely used today in everything from Eurovision to TV series such as Outlander, will have star billing when the Queensland Choir presents Baroque Brilliance at Brisbane's St Stephen's Cathedral on April 27.

The Queensland Choir’s musical director Kevin Power said Brisbane audiences have the chance to hear the original hits in all their power and glory when five outstanding young soloists perform with the choir and the Sinfonia of St Andrew's for the concert.

“Contemporary audiences and lovers of popular culture may be surprised to know that they can thank composers Bach, Handel and Charpentier for the theme music of films and TV shows such as The Crown, The Young Victoria and Outlander,” Mr Power said.

Baroque Brilliance will showcase uplifting and enjoyable classics including Handel's Zadok the Priest, Bach's Magnificat in D, Vivaldi’s Sinfonia in G, and the lesser known Te Deum in D by Charpentier, which was only rediscovered in 1953.

 “These gems of the Baroque era are part of the fabric of popular culture. Anyone who watches the Eurovision Song Contest will recognise Charpentier’s Te Deum, which is Eurovision’s signature tune and was originally written to celebrate a French military victory in 1692,” Mr Power said.

“Zadok the Priest has been sung at the coronation of every British monarch since Handel wrote it in 1727, and has featured in other royal weddings including that of Danish Crown Prince Frederik to Princess Mary.

“Movie-goers will find they know the works, which have featured in films and TV shows including The Crown, The Young Victoria, Outlander, and even, in modified form, The Mentalist.

The concert also offers the chance to hear outstanding up-and-coming young singers whose repertoires range from classical to pop. They are:

Soprano Irena Lysiuk, 25, of Kelvin Grove, a classically-trained soprano with more than 15 years of performance experience, who has also toured nationally and internationally with Brisbane pop groups Avaberee and Charlie Mayfair. Irene played the Pussycat in the new opera The Owl and the Pussycat at the CommGames Festival. She has also recorded an original album with Avaberee in Los Angeles and has sung with Opera Queensland.

Soprano Cassandra Wright, of Annerley, is a final year Bachelor of Music student at the Queensland Conservatorium and has sung with The Seven Sopranos, with the Townsville Barrier Reef Orchestra and has won numerous competitions including the Queensland Vocal Competition’s Lieder and Sacred sections in 2017. She was also the winner of the 2016 Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition.

Brisbane-based mezzo-soprano Melissa Gregory, of Mt Gravatt, is a first-class honours graduate from the Queensland Conservatorium and recently made her Opera Queensland debut in Mozart Airborne with Expressions Dance Company. She was the winner of the Conservatorium’s 2015 Elizabeth Muir Postgraduate Prize, has performed with the Song Company, the Bach Society of Queensland and was a finalist in the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria Competition and the Wollongong Operatic Aria Competition.

Originally from Newcastle, tenor Phillip Costovski, of Nundah, is a Conservatorium student who has performed in various roles including Mayor Upfold in film director Bruce Beresford’s production of Albert Herring, the new opera Tales of Scheherazade alongside acclaimed Australian baritone Jeffrey Black, and will premiere the role of Henry in Paul Dean’s new opera Dry River Run as part of the Brisbane Festival.

Bass Oliver Boyd, from Collingwood Park, recently completed post-graduate studies in opera performance at the Conservatorium and plans to travel to Europe to continue his studies in Germany. Oliver has sung major roles in productions including the world premiere of Floods: A Travelling Opera, Bruce Beresford’s production of Britten’s Albert Herring, and in concert with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He has sung with ensembles around Australia and overseas and won awards including first prize and audience prize at the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic aria competition and was a finalist in the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto competition.

“Brisbane offers an amazing range of talented performers, many of whom have gone on to win acclaim internationally, and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy and share the experience as these young, rising stars showcase their talents to local audiences,” Mr Power said.

THE Queensland Choir presents Baroque Brilliance is on Friday, April 27, 2018, from 7.30pm at the Cathedral of St Stephen, Elizabeth St, Brisbane.

Tickets: $45-$55, available from 4MBS ticketing.

www.4mbs.com.au

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SAFE Work Australia Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Baxter, says the death of fourteen young people in work-related incidents is too many and urges leaders to educate young workers about work health and safety (WHS).

World Day for Safety and Health at Work and Workers’ Memorial Day (Saturday 28th April) is a time to focus on work health and safety, and to honour the memory of those who have died from a work-related injury or illness.

“Fourteen young workers* were killed in work-related incidents in 2016, which is fourteen workers too many,” said Ms Baxter.

“Young workers have an increased risk of workplace injury due to lack of experience, maturity and awareness of WHS responsibilities, so we must focus on building safe and healthy workplaces for this vulnerable group.

“I can’t overstate the important role of employers, employees and business leaders in educating young workers about their WHS rights and responsibilities, providing the right tools and in ensuring they feel empowered to speak up about safety and health.

“Our young workers’ web page, launched for World Day, provides easy access to resources and toolkits to help both young workers and their employers create safe and healthy workplaces,” said Ms Baxter.

To access the young workers’ web page and find out how you and your workplace can get involved in World Day, visit safeworkaustralia.gov.au/worldday

*(aged 15 to 24 years)

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QUINN Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (QE) is investigating a class action against Australian financial services giant AMP, which has admitted to lying to customers and regulators and has lost A$1 billion in shareholder value since early March.

QE intends to pursue the class action with backing from Burford Capital, a global finance firm focused on law and the world’s largest provider of litigation finance.

AMP’s shareholders have watched its stock fall sharply following revelations to the ongoing Royal Commission that the 169-year old financial services company charged customers fees for advisory services that were never delivered, and then repeatedly lied about its behaviour to regulators at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). 

AMP's head of financial advice acknowledged that the company had lost count of the number of times it misled ASIC, and its CEO resigned on 20 April.

Damian Scattini, Partner at QE, commented: “The revelations of AMP’s misconduct are especially upsetting given the people who were hurt – the ordinary Mums and Dads who as shareholders gave AMP one of Australia’s largest shareholder registers, who have now lost their savings due to its dishonesty, and who as customers were charged for services AMP has admitted they never received, all so executives could make hefty bonuses.”

Mr Scattini continued: “QE has been investigating AMP’s precipitous share price fall even before the most recent revelations of misconduct, and having Burford, the world’s top litigation finance company, in place as our partner means we’re ready to move quickly on behalf of shareholders.”

Craig Arnott, Managing Director of Burford, commented: “The conduct admitted at the Royal Commission is starkly at odds with AMP’s responsibilities and shareholders’ legitimate expectations, requiring redress so that AMP’s shareholders can recover the value that has been lost. Burford is glad to join forces with Quinn’s first-rate team so we can help deliver that result for shareholders, which we hope will be as swift as possible.”

www.quinnemanuel.com

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