THE Federal Parliament's Northern Australia Committee today recommended the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Bill 2016 be passed by the Australian Parliament in its report titled ‘Advisory Report on the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Bill 2016’.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility established by the Bill will provide up to $5 billion in concessional financial assistance for infrastructure projects designed to stimulate economic and population growth in Northern Australia. 

The Committee Chair, the Hon Warren Entsch MP, said: ‘The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will provide up to $5 billion in concessional loans, but by leveraging private sector capital, the value of the infrastructure projects it supports will be far greater than $5 billion. The Facility will accelerate the development of an infrastructure base that can underpin the long-term growth needed to unlock the economic and social potential of Northern Australia.’ 

The report is available from the Committee’s website

www.aph.gov.au/jscna

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VICTORIANS who have shown leadership in sustainability and a commitment to improving the environment are encouraged to enter the 2016 Premier's Sustainability Awards and share their stories.

Entries are now open for state and local government, businesses, organisations, community groups, and individuals who are leading the way in sustainable innovation and practices. 

Sustainability Victoria CEO Stan Krpan said the awards are a great way of acknowledging groups and individuals that have made innovative developments in reducing their environmental impact, and are contributing to a more sustainable future.

“Delivering these awards each year means we continue to discover the passion and talent Victorians have for protecting their natural environment and thinking creatively about new sustainable practices.

“The awards encourage innovation across all sectors, with a focus on delivering a triple bottom line – environmental, economic, and social benefits for Victoria.

“It has been inspiring to see the awards continue to grow and strengthen throughout their 14-year history,” Mr Krpan said.

The Premier's Sustainability Awards continues to promote leadership and innovation in sustainability, and encourage a broader adoption of these practices by all Victorians.

There are 10 award categories this year:

• Built Environment
• Community
• Education
• Environmental Justice
• Environmental Protection
• Government
• Health
• Innovative Products or Services
• Large Business
• Small and Medium Enterprises

In addition to these awards, the Premier will personally select two overall winners for the Premier's Regional Recognition Award and the Premier's Recognition Award.

Entries close Monday 27 June, 5pm.

For more information on how to enter, key dates and to register to attend an information session, visit www.sustainabilityawards.vic.gov.au

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CEBIT AUSTRALIA, the largest and longest running business technology event in the Asia Pacific region, has launched CeBIT BLACK, a VIP program to connect the C-suite of Australia’s leading enterprise and government organisations.

Whilst CeBIT Australia has delivered inspirational and informative business intelligence to nearly half a million attendees over its 15 year history, CeBIT BLACK will create an exclusive invite only engagement opportunity for tier one enterprise technology leaders and a limited number of enterprise level technology providers.

CeBIT BLACK will welcome over 200 of Australia’s most influential technology leaders on Thursday 28 April at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, providing them with a unique learning and networking opportunity.

Harvey Stockbridge, Managing Director, Hannover Fairs Australia is excited to launch the dedicated CeBIT BLACK program.

“We recognise that the requirements of elite Australian businesses, and the enterprise and government level technology suppliers they engage, require a distinct event to cater for their needs.

“CeBIT BLACK will be held the week prior to the CeBIT Australia exhibition and conferences, and will feature presentations by Kathryn Parsons, CEO of Decoded from the UK, plus Scott Monty, Crisis Communication Strategist will join us from the US. The Hon Anthony Roberts, Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, NSW Government will also present at the event.

“We believe events like this will assist the growth and productivity of services across the business technology landscape,” concluded Mr Stockbridge.

Registered attendees are from AGL, AMP, Bank of Queensland, Bupa, Caltex, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Cochlear, Deutsche Bank, Network Ten, Nokia, NSW Government, OFX, PwC, Qantas, Red Cross, Samsung, Twitter, Uniting Care, Veolia, Water NSW, Westpac, Woolworths and more. Job titles include, CIO, CTO, CEO, CMO, CISO and Heads of Digital.

The event will be emceed by ABC personality James O’Loghlin, and feature keynote speakers, entertainment and a charity auction in aid of The Smith Family.

CeBIT Australia: 2-4 May 2016, Sydney Olympic Park

www.cebit.com.au

A CUT in the company tax rate could see Australians worse off by an estimated $1600 each, according to economic modelling to released at the Melbourne Economic Forum today.

The modelling, undertaken by Victoria University’s Centre of Policy Studies, reveals that the cost to government revenue from a company tax rate cut outweighs benefits that could eventually flow from increased foreign investment and higher wages.

“The cost to revenue from a company tax rate cut would add to pressure on government to reduce spending in areas such as health and education and income support, or to raise personal taxes,” Dr Janine Dixon, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies, who will present the modelling results said.

Dr Dixon, who undertook modelling for last year’s National Reform Summit, said a company tax rate cut amounted to a transfer of government revenue to foreign investors – but that those investors were expected to invest more in Australia, making workers more productive and driving up wages.

Any new investment, however, would take time and a large share of future company profits would accrue to the same foreign investors.

“Our modelling results for the impact on national production, as measured by GDP, are similar to Treasury’s, but this is not a suitable measure of national benefit,” she said.

"The right indicator of national benefit is the impact of a company tax rate cut on national income and that’s clearly negative.”

Presentations on tax reform from leading economists Professors John Freebairn, Ross Garnaut, and Beth Webster and John Daley from the Grattan Institute were also on today’s agenda.

The Melbourne Economic Forum is a joint collaboration between Victoria University and the University of Melbourne. It is run in association with the Australian Financial Review.

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) says retailers are being forced to wear unreasonably high acceptance costs on credit cards as a result of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s unequal regulation of companies providing card payments.

ARA Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman, says some cards cost retailers more than twice as much in fees to accept than others, leaving retailers with no alternative than to pass these costs on to consumers through a surcharge to be able to continue accepting these high cost cards.

“For many years, unequal regulation of payment cards has caused headaches for retailers,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“While the cost of accepting some cards has been reducing due to regulation, accepting other cards has remained unjustifiably high -  an issue that has caused confusion for both retailers and shoppers.

“It is simply baffling why the RBA chooses to regulate certain payment companies, but not others. The ARA is calling for the RBA to apply the same rules to be applied on all payment schemes,” he said.

Unregulated card companies include American Express, Diners Club, and China Union Pay, who as a result, set the price of accepting their cards so high that retailers are forced to surcharge shoppers who use these cards instore.

“Surcharging is not a positive experience for retailers or customers and should be avoided, however, this can only can be done for low cost, regulated cards,” said Mr Zimmerman.

“The ARA has been pushing for reforms of card regulation and will continue to lobby the Government and RBA on this issue for a better outcome for both retailers and consumers.

“In the interim, it’s important for retailers to be aware that they may be contacted by unregulated payment companies in an attempt to have them absorb their excessive costs and asking them to help protect their market position.

To date, the ARA has been able to reduce costs for retailers on the three regulated payment schemes - EFTPOS, Visa, and MasterCard.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $293 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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ON THURSDAY this week, the House of Representatives Agriculture and Industry Committee will travel to Sydney to conduct a public hearing for its inquiry into agricultural innovation.

The Committee will hear from a range of stakeholders, including representatives from universities, industry, and farming peak bodies.

The Committee will also take the opportunity to visit the Australian Centre for Field Robotics, at the University of Sydney.

Committee Chair, Rowan Ramsey MP, said, "We’ve heard throughout our inquiry that automation is going to have a significant role in the farms of the future. We look forward to seeing firsthand some of the projects at the Australian Centre of Field Robotics, including research and development into robotics and intelligent systems that could have very important applications in agriculture."

Thursday’s public hearing will be the final hearing for the inquiry.

The hearing will be held in The Refectory, Level 5 of the Abercrombie Building, at the corner of Abercrombie Street and Codrington Street, University of Sydney:

Thursday, 14 April 2016
10.00 am - Australian Farm Institute (Submission 85)
10.30 am - Ag Institute Australia (Submission 73)
11.00 am - NSW Farmers (Submission 45)
11.45 am  - The University of Sydney (Submission 40)
12.15 pm - Australian Centre for Field Robotics (Submission 94), Dr Lindsay Campbell (Submission 31), United States Studies Centre (Submission 39), The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering (Submission 43)
2.15 pm - Professor Brian Orr (Submission 30)
2.45 pm - John Deere
3.15 pm - NNNCo Pty Ltd (Submission 34)
3.45 pm - Dr Aharon Arakel (Submission 77)
The public hearing will be webcast live at: http://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Parliament

Further details about the inquiry, including submissions received and the terms of reference, can be obtained from the Committee’s website at: www.aph.gov.au/agind.

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TAX REFORM options, including the proposed cut in the company tax rate, personal tax cuts and incentives for innovation will be the focus at the next Melbourne Economic Forum at Victoria University.

The forum, to be held at the University’s City campus on Wednesday, follows the success of the December forum which closely examined various tax reform proposals, including payroll tax reform as an alternative to increasing the GST rate.

Dr Janine Dixon, senior research fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University, will deliver a modelling assessment on the impacts of a company tax cut in Australia.

She joins a panel of leading economic and tax experts who will take a closer look at Tax Reform in the hope of shedding new light on this national issue, and informing policy.

Speakers include:

• Professor John Daley, chief executive officer, Grattan Institute on the assessment of recent tax proposals and the politics of tax reform 
• Professor John Freebairn, from the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne on the small business investment incentive effects of personal tax cuts 
• Professor Beth Webster, the director at the Centre for Transformative Innovation at Swinburne University on tax policy and innovation.

Professor Peter Dawkins, Vice-Chancellor and President at Victoria University and Professor Ross Garnaut, Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at University of Melbourne will also speak.

The Melbourne Economic Forum is a joint collaboration between Victoria University and the University of Melbourne. It is run in association with the Australian Financial Review.

What:  Melbourne Economic Forum: Tax Reform
When:  Wednesday 13 April
Time: 11am to 2pm
Where:  Victoria University:  Conference Centre, level 12, 300 Flinders Street, Melbourne

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THE FINAL week of hearings in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has kicked off today with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) confident the evidence it has put forward in the case demonstrates that current Sunday penalty rates under the General Retail Industry Award 2010 (GRIA) are costing jobs and impeding growth in the retail sector.

The ARA and the retail industry has been engaged in a review of GRIA for the past 18 months, with the view to reducing the costs for retailers who trade on Sundays, proposing a reduction in Sunday penalties from the current double time (100 percent) to time and half (50 percent).

ARA Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman, says a reduction in Sunday penalty rates will have a number of benefits for the community and economy, in addition to cost reductions for retail businesses.

“Should Sunday penalties be cut, retailers will be able to afford to employ more staff for more hours. With youth unemployment rates at an all time high, and retail being one of Australia’s largest private employers, this change will enable businesses to employ more staff, helping to reduce unemployment levels, particularly in the sector of under 25s,” said Mr Zimmerman.

“Retail employees cite shortage of staff as one of the most significant negative aspects of Sunday work - a direct consequence of the high penalty rates in place under the current GRIA. A reduction in Sunday penalty rates will allow retail employers to be able to provide more labour hours to retail employees who would like to work on Sundays.

“More staff employed for further hours will lead to more money in the pockets of these workers, increasing their spending power and fostering a stronger economy overall.”

Independent research commissioned by the retail industry demonstrates retail employees are prepared to work on Sundays for a lower penalty rate, with most retail workers indicating that their willingness to work on Sundays changes very little whether they are paid at double time or time and a half.

In December, the Productivity Commission’s (PC) final report on Workplace Relations Framework recommended that given changes to Australian lifestyles, Sunday rates should be brought into line with those of Saturday penalty rates - 25 percent, or time and a quarter.

"It is important to note that the ARA does not advocate for the removal of penalty rates, simply a reduction of the current Sunday penalty rate of double time and a half.

“The ARA and our legal teams believe the FWC is in the best position to make a decision on this important issue for the retail industry, and we are hopeful for a successful outcome,” said Mr Zimmerman.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $293 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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