THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) congratulates James Pearson on his appointment today as CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

Mr Pearson has formerly held roles with Shell Australia, Chevron Australia, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, the Western Australian Department of Resources Development, and the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, and CEO of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia (CCIWA).

ARA Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman, said he is looking forward to continuing to build on the ARA’s strong relationship with ACCI with Mr Pearson at the helm.

“The ARA worked with Mr Pearson in his previous role as CEO of CCIWA, and I expect he will bring the same level of innovation, development and professionalism to his new role at ACCI,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Mr Pearson is a sound choice to lead the ACCI cause with an extensive business background and I look forward to progressing the ARA and ACCI’s cooperative alliance.

“I have no doubt he will be an outstanding advocate for ACCI and its members, given his understanding of the challenges and needs of those he represents.”

Mr Pearson succeeds Kate Carnell, who has taken up the role of Federal Government’s first Small Business Ombudsman. He will take up the appointment within the next few weeks.

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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AMMA chief executive and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) board member, Steve Knott, congratulates experienced business advocate and current Shell Australia executive James Pearson on his appointment as CEO of ACCI.

“James Pearson is an outstanding appointee chosen from a large field of high quality candidates,” Mr Knott says.

“James brings to his new role a strong track record as a proven, effective advocate for the Australian business community, as chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia (CCIWA) between 2008 and 2013, and a former board director of ACCI.

“He has extensive national and international experience in policy and advocacy as a diplomat in federal and state government, and in senior executive roles with some of the world’s preeminent global companies including Shell Australia and Chevron Australia.

“His international experience makes him well placed to add to ACCI's considerable track record of global business leadership through the International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and in business advocacy to the OECD.

“Resource employers and other trade-exposed industries will especially welcome James’ experience in international markets, and understanding what it takes to attract job-creating investment to Australia.

“He is eminently qualified to lead the nation’s peak business representative body at a time when our economy is transitioning, our labour markets and skills are evolving, and there are both significant challenges and great opportunities across all business sectors.

“AMMA, as Australia’s national resource industry employer group and a member of the ACCI network, welcomes James’ appointment and congratulates him on securing the role.”

www.amma.org.au

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NATIONAL and international private sector infrastructure companies will have the opportunity to discuss pricing mechanisms for new or improved transport infrastructure projects in Sydney tomorrow as part of the inquiry into the role of transport connectivity on stimulating development and economic activity.

Chair of the House of Representatives Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee, Mr John Alexander MP, said that paying for new or improved transport infrastructure was one of the key questions before the inquiry.

“So far, the Committee has received a wide range of suggestions for innovative new funding mechanisms for building and maintaining transport infrastructure,” Mr Alexander said. 

"We have heard varied perspectives on the potential benefits and pitfalls of value capture mechanisms and at this hearing we will have the opportunity to discuss these mechanisms with private sector infrastructure companies that are active both in Australia and around the world,” Mr Alexander said.

In its submission, global commercial and industrial property group Goodman emphasises the role that active integrated land use planning and appropriate value capture mechanisms can play in raising revenue to help pay for the costs of transport infrastructure, noting that ‘the existence of a holistic framework for revenue raising and the allocation of funds to well devised projects will give the stakeholders confidence that the property sector can achieve, lasting and sustainable urban and regional growth in Australia.’

Hearing details
Date: Thursday, 7 April 2016
Time: 9:00 am–2:30 pm
Witnesses:

• Autodesk (Submission 56)
• Urban Taskforce Australia (Submission 66)
• Goodman Limited (Submission 65)
• Action for Public Transport NSW (Submission 60)
• Mr Rob Senior
• Centurion Group (Submission 69)

Venue: Macquarie Room, Parliament of NSW, Sydney
The public hearing will be webcast live at http://www.aph.gov.au/live

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FURTHER lowering the company tax rate for small business would help Australia drive productivity and future economic growth, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“The 2015 Federal budget made steps in the right direction with a 1.5 per cent corporate tax cut for incorporated small businesses.  Unincorporated small businesses also receive a tax discount of 5 per cent up to a cap of $1,000,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Small business is still defined as using the existing $2 million turnover test which has not been indexed since it was introduced in 2007.  If this had been indexed it would now be $3 million.

“The IPA has long advocated for a concessional income tax rate for small businesses to compensate for the regressive nature of compliance costs on such entities.

“It must be recognised that the long term well-being of the nation is dependent on the productivity and growth of the small business sector. 

“A two-tier tax system is not as bizarre as some organisations have touted but can be quite the opposite in delivering a more efficient tax regime which is fairer for small business.  A lower tax regime for small business is already part of the corporate tax regime in a number of OECD countries including Canada, France and Japan.

“Whilst differential rates of taxation may add some limited degree of complexity, it is more than offset by the benefits gained by small businesses being able to reinvest cash flow savings from lower taxes to sustain their growth,” 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 with more than 35,000 members and students in over 65 countries.  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.  The IPA was recognised in 2012 as Australia’s most innovative accounting organisation and listed in the top 20 in the 2012 BRW Most Innovative Companies List.

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CONSULTATION is underway to assess the health of Australia’s 520,000-strong heavy vehicle fleet.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said information had been released to each state and territory to measure the roadworthiness of heavy vehicles later this year.

“For the first time in Australia, we’ll be conducting a national survey of heavy vehicle roadworthiness using trained inspectors to gather consistent safety information,” Mr Petroccitto said.

“Different data is currently compiled by each state and territory which means that the roadworthiness of heavy vehicles nationally is unclear. It’s a fundamental roadblock to understanding the safety of the fleet and to achieving national consistency.

“The National Roadworthy Baseline Survey is on track to roll out in August and September and we’ll be speaking to the industry and government in the coming months to discuss the impacts.”

The survey will sample approximately 9000 heavy vehicles, including rigid, articulated, B-doubles, road trains, buses and plant equipment.

Inspections will be conducted by authorised officers at roadside check points and in depots throughout Australia. Each vehicle will have a comprehensive visual inspection, expected to take up to 45 minutes.

“For the first time all heavy vehicle inspections will rely on a consistent inspection manual, also due to be adopted nationally in the coming months,” Mr Petroccitto said.

“This health check of the heavy vehicle fleet is an important building block to a nationally consistent inspection system.”

Further information will be available at www.nhrv.gov.au

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CORPORATE services providers that establish companies in tax havens on behalf of their clients should be subject to Australia’s strict anti-money laundering laws, according to an expert in transnational corporate crime at the University of Sydney Business School.

David Chaikin, an associate professor in business law, was commenting on the so-called leaked Panama Papers through ABC-TV's Four Corners program broadcast on April 4, which revealed the extensive use of tax havens to hide personal and corporate wealth.

“Governments both Labor and Coalition, have long failed to effectively apply Australia’s anti-money laundering laws,” Dr Chaikin said.

"The Panama Papers should encourage the government to apply Australia’s laws to corporate service providers that deal with tax havens on behalf of their clients.”

www.sydney.edu.au

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AFTER almost six years of environmental assessments, legal challenges and bureaucratic delays, Townsville Enterprise acknowledges the actions of the Palaszczuk Government and Minister Lynham over the weekend with the signing of three mining leases for the Adani Carmichael Mine Project.

This is a major vote of confidence by the State Government in the project and in North Queensland.

Townsville Enterprise Chief Executive Officer Patricia O’Callaghan said the move signals the beginning of a significant economic opportunity.

“We’ve been lobbying the State and Federal Governments for years to provide the approvals for this project. The mining leases are a step towards the proposed creation of thousands of jobs and the generation of $16.5B into the economy from the Adani project alone.

“But this is about much more than one project. This approval paves the way for mining projects to commence right across the Galilee Basin which will have flow on impacts across the north.

“Opening up the Galilee Basin provides an opportunity for Townsville North Queensland to become the services and workforce hub of the north, equipped with the skills and resources to service the resources and energy sectors.

Ms O’Callaghan said that the biggest challenge the Adani project will now face is from green and minority interest groups.

“Successive legal challenges to science-based approvals are a major obstacle for jobs and economic development in North Queensland.

“We know that Australia has the highest environmental reef standards in the world. Never before have we seen Governments so focussed on getting the right balance of policies that protect the Great Barrier Reef and our tourism industry and at the same time also allow major job-creating mining projects to prosper.

“We cannot let minority interests deny the job-creating benefits of this project's mine, rail and port projects to our region, our state and our country.”

Townsville Enterprise will be meeting with Adani and the Queensland Government over the coming weeks and will join with economic development bodies and Councils across the State to support the opening up of the Galilee Basin.

www.tel.com.au

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THE Queensland Government’s approval of mining leases for Adani’s Carmichael coal and rail project signals a big thumbs up for economic growth and job creation at a time when resources investment into Australia has tapered off considerably, says national resource industry employer group AMMA.

“The latest Carmichael project approvals could not come soon enough for Queensland. We must grasp this opportunity with both hands and support the development of this significant project,” says AMMA executive director of policy and public affairs, Scott Barklamb.

“In recent years Queensland has seen more than $80 billion in prospective resources projects, and thousands of related job opportunities, fail to proceed. In giving its tick of approval, the state government has recognised the importance of projects of this magnitude going ahead.

“Adani’s Carmichael mine and rail project will deliver much-needed economic and employment benefits for Queensland.

“A potential 5,000 new jobs during construction will be welcomed by resources employees moving on from major LNG and other mining projects recently completed in Queensland.

“A further 4,500 people employed during peak operation of the Carmichael mine will see Queensland families and regional communities benefit from this project for decades.

“This multi-billion dollar project will also deliver critical infrastructure in the Galilee Basin, bolster local business opportunities, and generate millions of dollars in taxes and royalties to help fund important public services.”

Mr Barklamb adds that this major final approval should also mark the end of efforts from environmental activists to block the project and damage Queensland’s reputation as a reliable investment destination.

“Subject to more than 200 environmental conditions, the Carmichael mine and rail project will be one of the most heavily regulated developments in Australia’s history,” Mr Barklamb says.

“The Queensland and federal governments have examined both environmental and economic considerations at length and reached a clear decision that this project will benefit our country.

“This significant project should now be given full support for what it represents – a welcome boost for Queensland’s economy and jobs.”

www.amma.org.au

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