THE administration of the Early Years Quality Fund (EYQF) will be the focus of a public hearing tomorrow by Parliament’s Joint Public Accounts Committee.

The committee will hear from representatives of United Voice and Good Start Early Learning.

Committee Chair, Dr Andrew Southcott MP, said that a number of issues raised in the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report on the EYQF required further public scrutiny.

“The ANAO noted that the level of funding available under the EYQF, which was estimated to only cover around 30 per cent of all long day care workers, meant the program would most likely be oversubscribed. Indeed, the $300 million funding cap was reached less than 13 hours after the application process commenced.

“The report concluded that the design of the EYQF policy contained inherent risks and it was foreseeable that these risks—particularly the funding constraints, the first-in first served approach and the short timeframes—would affect access to the program and its ultimate success. The committee will be interested to hear the views of the union and Australia’s largest day care provider on the findings of the ANAO report," Dr Southcott said.

The EYQF was established in July 2013 to provide grants to long day care providers in order to supplement wage increases for childcare workers for a period of two years. The EYQF was ceased in late 2013 and replaced with an alternative program.

The ANAO’s findings and recommendations are set out in Report No. 23 (2014-15), Administration of the Early Years Quality Fund.

Public hearing date: Thursday, 15 October 2015
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra
Program
10.45am United Voice
11.30am Good Start Early Learning (via teleconference)
12.15pm Close

Further information about the committee’s inquiry, including the program for the hearing, can be accessed from the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa. The hearing will also be streamed live at http://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Parliament.

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A TREATY designed to ensure the safety of workers, cargo and the overall safety of ships at sea is one of three to be considered by the Treaties Committee at a public hearing on Monday.

The treaty deals with amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the changes will tighten the requirements for verifying the weight of containers before they are loaded to ships, improve fire safety measures and ensure that cargo ships carry the equipment to test air quality in enclosed spaces.

The second treaty will provide a framework of practical arrangements for Brazil and Australia to exchange evidence and information for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting serious crimes. Australia now has 29 mutual legal assistance treaties in place with other countries.

The last treaty establishes an air services agreement with Laos, opening the way for airlines to expand air travel between the two countries. These agreements ensure that Australian safety and security standards are met while providing an opportunity to increase tourism and export activity.

Public Hearing: Monday 12 October 2015,

Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House Canberra

11.10am  International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
11.45am  Treaty between Australia and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
12.20pm  Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic relating to Air Services
1.00pm  Close

The hearing will be broadcast through: www.aph.gov.au/live
Hearing programs, copies of the treaties and submissions received can be found at  www.aph.gov.au/jsct 

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WHETHER the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) provides economic benefit through remittances will be investigated today, when the Joint Standing Committee on Migration holds a public hearing as part of its inquiry into the Programme.

Committee Chair, Louise Markus said the SWP provides potential economic and development benefits to seasonal workers, their families and communities.

“Remittances from the Seasonal Worker Programme have provided increased income to seasonal workers and their families which have led to investments in individual household needs and education as well as local community health and water access projects,” she said.

The committee will hear from the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program of the Australian National University as it examines:

• how the SWP supports development in the Pacific;
• the role of seasonal workers in the horticulture industry;
• whether the SWP should be expanded to include other countries and sectors;
• how the SWP affects Australian jobs;
• increasing access for overseas women and youth workers; and
• issues with attracting seasonal workers, including the granting of visas.

Public hearing details:
Date: Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Time: 9.50 am
Location: Committee room 1R4, Parliament House, Canberra.

The hearing will be audio webcast live on: www.aph.gov.au/live
Members of the public are welcome to attend. For a program and more details, visit the committee’s website: http://www.aph.gov.au/mig

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THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has welcomed the news of the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

“The IPA has advocated that while Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and other trade agreements are beneficial to our economy, more can be done to realise the benefits, especially for small business and small-to-medium enterprises,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“The TPP region represents 32.6 per cent of Australia’s trade as at 2013 and 37.5 per cent of global GDP; its significance cannot be overstated.

“We are very pleased to see the TPP goes beyond the traditional view and seeks to ensure that the benefits of the TPP extend to SMEs.

“But we also acknowledge that greater opportunities for SMEs seem to come with growing complexity with the TPP sitting alongside existing FTAs and the plethora of trade agreements around the world.

“It is therefore beneficial that the TPP promotes mutual recognition of professional qualifications (and best practice regulations for professions like law).  It is also essential that we promote trade in services where Australia can be competitive. 

“IPA especially applauds that the TPP is not just about trade and economics but also looks at the ‘horizontal issues’; that is, the regulatory and legal framework with the intention of promoting transparency and regulatory coherence as well as capacity building through regional integration around the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are excited about the future prospects of the TPP going forward and the potential to boost Australia’s exports.  Further recommendations can be found in the IPA’s Australian Small Business White Paper,” said Mr Conway.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

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AUSTRALIAN shipbuilder Austal will discuss how its high speed ferries and navy ships are making inroads into Middle Eastern markets with federal parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade at a public hearing in Canberra on October 14.

The Trade sub-committee’s inquiry into trade with the Middle East will hear from Austal about the potential of Australia’s manufacturing sector to find new export opportunities in a region with a population of more than 350 million.

Austal is a global defence prime contractor, designer, and manufacturer of defence and commercial ships. For more than 25 years, Austal has been a leader in the design, construction, and maintenance of mostly high performance aluminium ships for governments, navies and ferry operators around the world.

Defence vessels designed and built by Austal include the Littoral Combat Ship for the United States Navy, and military high-speed vessels for transport and humanitarian relief, such as the Joint High Speed Vessel for the US Navy and the High Speed Support Vessel for the Royal Navy of Oman.

Austal opened its regional representative office in the United Arab Emirates in 2010, and has also been delivering maintenance and repair services to government-owned aluminium high speed vessels in the Sultanate of Oman since 2009.

Offshore industries are another growth opportunity in the Middle East as high speed vessels can move more personnel and stores out to oil and natural gas platforms than helicopters at less cost. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ordered two 45m high speed ferries in 2014 for this purpose.

Public hearing
Date/Time: Wednesday 14 October 2015, 11:05 am
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra
Organisation: Austal

Live audio broadcast will be available at www.aph.gov.au/live

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THE Australian Made Campaign has issued a reminder to businesses to boost country-of-origin branding on products and produce as an important part of their strategy to leverage the new export opportunities available via the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“The TPP will significantly reduce trade barriers, opening up new markets for Aussie growers and manufacturers, but it is important that they make the most of the marketing opportunity presented by ‘being Aussie’,” Australian Made Campaign Chief Executive, Ian Harrison said.

“Prominent country-of-origin branding will play a key role in driving sales in the Pacific region, which has demonstrated increasing demand for Australian products and produce.”

The Australian Made Campaign administers and promotes the country’s only registered country-of-origin certification trade mark for all classes of Australian goods, the green-and-gold Australian Made, Australian Grown kangaroo logo.

“The stylised kangaroo has been used to promote genuine Aussie products and produce for almost three decades, and the research shows it works,” Mr Harrison said.

Research clearly establishes that the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo is by far Australia’s most recognised and trusted country-of-origin symbol.

In addition, surveys conducted by YSC Online in 2010 found that products carrying the logo in export markets were more likely to have increased sales than those which did not.

“Australia has earned itself a reputation for making and growing high quality products and produce, with the Australian dollar falling in value, demand for Aussie exports is growing strongly,” Mr Harrison said.

“For many small businesses involved in export, the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo, with its proven, established links to Australia, becomes their strongest brand in the marketplace.”

In addition to its role as a marketing tool in countries worldwide, the logo is already a registered certification trade mark in TPP nations Singapore and the USA. Plans for further registrations are underway.

ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MADE, AUSTRALIAN GROWN LOGO

The green-and-gold Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo is the only registered country-of-origin certification trade mark for the full range of genuine Australian products and produce.

The AMAG logo supports growers, processors and manufacturers in Australia by helping businesses to clearly identify to consumers that their products are Australian. At the same time it provides consumers with a highly recognised and trusted symbol for genuine Aussie products and produce. It does both of these things in conjunction with a campaign encouraging consumers to look for the logo when shopping; it has been doing this since its introduction by the federal Government in 1986.

The AMAG logo can only be used on products that are registered with the not-for-profit organisation Australian Made Campaign Limited. The strict set of rules governing the logo’s use also require that it must always be used with one of five descriptors; ‘Australian Made’, ‘Australian Grown’, ‘Product of Australia’, ‘Australian Seafood’ or ‘Australian’ (for export use only). To use the logo goods must meet the criteria set out in the Australian Consumer Law as well the more stringent Australian Made, Australian Grown Logo Code of Practice. More than 2350 businesses are registered to use the AMAG logo, which can be found on some 15,000 products sold here and around the world.

www.australianmade.com.au

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MARS Petcare will give evidence about the opportunities for milkfish aquaculture to supply product to the pet food industry when it appears before the Northern Australia Committee in Canberra on Tuesday, 13 October.

The public hearing is part of the committee’s inquiry into opportunities to expand the aquaculture industry in Northern Australia.

Committee Chair, the Hon Warren Entsch MP, said: ‘Milkfish is a non-carnivorous fish which has been grown in Asia for hundreds of years in a variety of aquaculture systems. As a tropical fish suited for pond aquaculture, milkfish production in Northern Australia could provide the pet food industry with an important high quality ingredient.’

Large scale milkfish aquaculture is undertaken in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Milkfish is an important ingredient in cat food.

Where: Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House, Canberra
When: Tuesday, 13 October 2015, 6.15 pm–6.55 pm

Hearing programs are available at: www.aph.gov.au/jscna

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NATIONAL resource industry employer group, AMMA, is urging the Palaszczuk government not to risk jeopardising future resource investment in Queensland through any punitive or short-sighted over-regulation of Fly-In-Fly-Out (FIFO) work.

AMMA’s call comes at the state government considers recommendations from a review panel examining the impact of FIFO work on local communities, and ahead of a further report on FIFO work expected for release this week.

“The review panel’s recommendations are under-considered and raise more questions than they answer,” says AMMA executive director, policy and public affairs, Scott Barklamb.

“They would impose a range of new reporting requirements and penalties on resource companies and those who do business with them, precisely when Queensland is under growing pressure as a viable destination for future global resource investment.

“In addition to imposing new compliance costs, liabilities and delays, the proposed new regulations bear little relation to how resource operations work in practice, and would be ineffective in supporting the development of local communities. Whilst it is welcome that changes would operate prospectively, the regulation would poses real risks for Queensland.”

With the recommendations likely to drag the industry down with additional layers of bureaucracy, Mr Barklamb says it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the review panel has put the creation of jobs for public servants ahead of the creation of jobs in the resource industry.

“FIFO work in Queensland is already in decline. The last thing an industry struggling with a massive downturn, and struggling to keep people in work, needs is the imposition of speculative and superfluous new regulation and new penalties,” he says.

“The Palaszczuk government was elected with a commitment to a substantial social and economic program.  Any new regulation that would endanger job creating investment, and make operating in Queensland more costly, inflexible, or risky can only threaten what can be achieved for the entire Queensland community.   

“The key to addressing any concerns with FIFO work is cooperation and engagement with industry, not more regulation. We urge the government to properly consult with industry before attempting to give effect of any recommendations that would change access to FIFO work.”   

The FIFO Review Reportis the first of two reports on FIFO, with the Queensland Parliament’s Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee to also report on FIFO work on 9 October 2015. 

www.amma.org.au

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