THE Federal Government should seriously consider de-registering the CFMEU and the MUA after the unions this week threatened crippling and unlawful strikes at a national level. according to a statement by national resource industry employer group Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) chief executive Steve Knott.

"These threats are an attempt to coerce prosecutors into dropping charges against 101 construction employees being pursued over illegal strikes in Perth in 2013," Mr Knott said. "The threats must be scrutinised by the government and condemned by the leadership of the ALP and ACTU.

"Government, employers and the broader community need to stand united. We cannot allow any group in our society to continually break the law and then threaten illegal strike action to force a government regulator to back down.

"It is beyond belief that in the 21^st Century the CFMEU, MUA and their respective members are oblivious to the fact that illegal industrial action may result in organisational and/or individual prosecutions and fines.

"An avalanche of evidence in recent months highlights that it may be time to take away the privileges these organisations receive as registered industrial organisations. These privileges include default bargaining representation rights, extensive powers to enter worksites, special standing before the Fair Work Commission, and lesser fines and penalties than corporations."

Mr Knott said recent examples of illegal action included:

• Thousands of unionists walking off their jobs in Melbourne to protest against two senior CFMEU officials being charged with serious blackmail offences uncovered by a Royal Commission;
• Hundreds of CFMEU members downing tools in Brisbane and rallying in support of a fellow unionist who was charged with assaulting a female building developer; and
• The Federal Court imposing penalties of $151,000 on the CFMEU and a number of its officials for their role in illegal blockades during the Grocon dispute in 2012 – this came after the CFMEU agreed to pay Grocon $3.55m in damages in June this year.

"The FWBC Inspectorate has a record number of cases currently in court (52 as of August) and almost 90% of these cases have the CFMEU or CFMEU officials named as respondents," Mr Knott said. "It is no surprise that Federal Court Judge, Justice Christopher Jessup, last month condemned the CFMEU’s culture as one in which breaking the law has become normalised.

"The threat from the CFMEU and the MUA is also the first sign of the damage that will be created by the planned amalgamation of the two unions.  Legal action against construction employees has nothing to do with the maritime industry or the employers and wider community that will be harmed by any MUA strikes in support of their law-breaking mates at the CFMEU.

"It is 2015, not the 1970s. If the militant minority of Australia’s trade union movement continually refuses to recognise this, they strengthen the case of those who argue that deregistration is the only way to end their calculated and contemptuous law breaking."

www.amma.org.au

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TODAY Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mark Birrell launched the Victorian Chamber Internship Program, which will provide students with the opportunity to attain meaningful 'real world' work experience.

“Business needs work-ready graduates who have had exposure to, and involvement in, a professionally relevant work environment. Research shows that it is difficult for young people to get a job without this experience,” said Mr Birrell.

“This internship initiative by the Victorian Chamber will provide students with vital work experience. It will support the development of a skilled, adaptive and productive future workforce that is aligned to the needs of Victorian business.”

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis AC addressed the audience on the value of giving students the opportunity to acquire work experience to complement their university education.

The Program will see the Chamber invest over $1 million to help place more than 300 interns during a three year period. Participating businesses will meet all workplace employment requirements for the interns they take-on, including payment for work undertaken. These businesses will be encouraged to offer extended employment where possible.

A distinguishing feature of this Program is that the Victorian Chamber will provide the employer with a placement contribution of up to $3,000 to support the cost of each internship. Students employed as part of the Internship Program will be paid award wages and the Victorian Chamber contribution will cover, in addition to wages, other on-costs including superannuation, payroll tax and WorkCover premiums.

The Victorian Chamber’s university and business members strongly support the Program and will annually provide 100 higher education students with paid internships in some of Victoria’s most prominent and well-respected small, medium and large businesses.

Victorian Chamber member businesses will host up to 95 students and the Chamber will itself take five interns annually.

Interns will be engaged as employees and undertake a specific project with a focus on providing a meaningful learning experience, while delivering a tangible benefit to the host business. Placements will generally be for 120 hours, worked over a one month period.

Students will benefit from valuable work experience, networking opportunities and the chance of ongoing employment. Higher education providers will benefit from strengthened relationships with industry and the opportunity for their students to increase their practical skills and improve their employment prospects.

“This initiative will further strengthen the excellent working relationships we have with our business and university members and more importantly provide young Victorians with valuable work-ready skills,” said Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Mark Stone.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is building on its strong record of training and apprenticeship success and business advocacy to promote the value of practical work experience.

The Victorian Chamber’s recent submission to the State Government’s VET Funding Review highlights the crucial need for industry and universities to build closer relationships. This is a significant step in that direction.

“Employers are demanding a greater level of work-readiness from graduates and higher-education providers are seeking to facilitate these experiences,” said Mr Stone.

“We are delighted to be working with business, the higher education sector and students on this significant project to build Victoria’s future workforce.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, established in 1851, is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

victorianchamber.com.au

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ELIMINATING inefficient elements of state taxes, such as the payroll tax threshold and conveyancing duties on the transfer of properties, would add a third of a percent to Australia’s GDP, says Victoria University economist John Madden.

Professor Madden from the University’s Centre of Policy Studies will join a leading panel of economic experts examining Tax Reform in a Modern Federation at the next Melbourne Economic Forum tomorrow.

He will assess the economic gains from proposed state and federal tax reforms.

“There are clear economic gains to be had from these reforms but they would only have a minor impact on the budgetary problems of the federal and state governments,” he said.

“The government faces a considerable fiscal task that requires substantial tax increases to meet planned public expenditures. Economic modelling suggests that increasing the payroll tax rate would be less damaging to the economy than an increase in the GST rate.”

The Turnbull government has pledged to place tax reform at the top of the policy agenda but the hardening of positions on tax reform from unions and business underscores the difficulty the government will face in achieving consensus on a tax package.

Other speakers at the Melbourne Economic Forum include:

• Professor Ross Garnaut, Professorial Research Fellow in Economics, University of Melbourne
• Professor John Daley, Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute
• Professor John Freebairn, Ritchie Chair of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
• Professor Miranda Stewart, Director, Tax and Transfer Policy, Australian National University
• Laureate Professor Emeritus Cheryl Saunders, Director of Studies, Government Law, Co-Director of Studies, Public and International Law, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne.

 
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.

Tax Reform in a Modern Federation

When: Thursday 17 December, 11am to 2pm
Where:  University of Melbourne: Woodward Conference Centre, Level 10, Law Building, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton.

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THE resource industry welcomes four high calibre appointees to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) as Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash injects new business experience and practical competencies into Australia’s national workplace tribunal.

AMMA chief executive, Steve Knott, says new Deputy Presidents Melanie Binet and Richard Clancy, and Commissioners Katrina Harper-Greenwell and Jennifer Hunt, are high calibre, merit-based appointees well-placed to assist employers and employees in navigating Australia’s workplace laws now and into the future.

“It’s no secret that when last in government, Labor overwhelmingly slanted its appointments to its own industrial alumni, with 18 of the 27 new members to the tribunal coming from trade union or ALP-affiliated backgrounds,” Mr Knott says.

“Minister Cash’s new appointees have demonstrated business experience, including in managing complex resources and infrastructure projects, and should be welcomed by all with an interest in a balanced and modern workplace relations system, productive enterprises and diversity.

“It is further welcomed that Minister Cash, who is also Minister for Women, has improved the gender diversity of the FWC by appointing three additional women to the Commission, all bringing a wealth of practical experience to their new roles.”

Mr Knott says the Federal Opposition’s criticism of these appointments shows the ALP is ‘out of touch with the professional and modern workplace relations system Australia needs’.

“Mr O’Connor’s call for trade union alumni to continue to dominate FWC appointments in the 21^st Century lacks credibility when just 11% of Australians working in the private sector choose to participate in trade unions,” Mr Knott says.

“Australian employers and employees need appointments to our workplace tribunal to better reflect 21^st Century workplaces and the diversity of the Australian community.

“AMMA, which represents the national resource industry and manages the Australian Women in Resources Alliance, congratulates the Minister in making these 21^st Century appointments and looks forward to further high calibre, well regarded individuals filling future tribunal vacancies.”

www.amma.org.au

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will commence biannual public hearings with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

This process is similar to that used by the committee to review the RBA and APRA which are also scrutinised and held to account by the committee at biannual public hearings.

Committee Chair, Mr Craig Laundy said,“The ACCC has a vital role in promoting competition, fair trading and regulating national infrastructure for the benefit of all Australians. The ACCC’s role in promoting competition is particularly important as our economy transforms and rebalances activity following on from an enormous mining construction boom.”

The hearings will provide an opportunity for the committee to scrutinise the ACCC on its core objectives including how it maintains and promotes competition and remedies market failure, protects the interests and safety of consumers and supports fair trading in markets, and promotes the economically efficient operation and investment in monopoly infrastructure.

The committee notes the work of the Harper review into competition policy. The work is timely and heralds a new phase in competition policy which will help promote innovation, increase investment and help raise Australia’s productivity levels.

The first public hearing with the ACCC will be held in Canberra on Friday, 26 February 2016 with the full details shown below.

Public Hearing Details

Committee: House of Representatives Economics Committee
Venue: Committee Room 1R4, Parliament House, Canberra
Date: Friday, 26 February 2016
Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm

Webcast: The hearing will be webcast  http://webcast.aph.gov.au/livebroadcasting/

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has praised NSW Premier, Mike Baird, and the NSW Government for the successful passing of a Bill that will allow all retailers across the state to trade on Boxing Day this year.

NSW has been one of the only states in Australia to enforce Boxing Day retail closures, with only stores in the Sydney CBD and tourist areas allowed to trade.

Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA, said the new ruling to allow all retailers to trade on Boxing Day is a fantastic outcome and will eliminate the uneven playing field that was fostered by the previous law.

“The passing of this Bill is a windfall for the majority of NSW retail businesses. It will allow those who would like to trade on Boxing Day outside of tourist areas and the Sydney CBD to cash in on this lucrative day of consumer spending,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The previous law was a draconian decision which left NSW, the largest economy in Australia, behind the rest of the country and blocked thousands of retailers from opening on the biggest sale day of the year.

“We now live in a seven day consumer economy, and shoppers are demanding to be able to shop whenever and however they want. This is a common sense decision that will benefit retailers and consumers alike.

“The ARA thanks the Government, and Premier, Mike Baird, for his work in pushing for this change, and Fred Nile’s Christian Democrat Party for its support, which will see the NSW economy benefit from the huge profits that can be made by retailers opening on Boxing Day,” said Mr Zimmerman.

It is important to note that in 2015, as Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, both December 26 and Monday December 28 will be classified as public holidays and penalty rates of 250 percent will apply for employees rostered to work on these days.

The ARA is currently engaged in a review of General Retail Industry Award 2010 (GRIA) with the view to lowering of penalty rates to reduce the costs for retailers trading on Sundays and public holidays, with an outcome expected in the first half of 2016.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $284 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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AUSSIE SHOPPERS are tipped to spend $2.3 billion nationwide on Boxing Day 2015, according to the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), with a total of $16.8 billion to be spent from December 26 to January 15, 2016.

Post-Christmas spending estimates by the ARA and Roy Morgan Research indicate sales will be four percent higher than the same period last year, evidence of Australia’s growing love affair with bargains.

“Pre-Christmas 2015 saw record sales at retail stores, and we’re expecting to see a very similar growth story play out in the post-Christmas sales,” said Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA.

“A rush of bargain hunters will be out in force on Boxing Day, with December 26 one of the biggest shopping days of the year across the country.

“Boxing Day heralds the opening of the post-Christmas sales period and is traditionally when the biggest savings can be made.

“Of course, the sales will continue beyond December 26 right through January, so for those who aren’t able to get to the shops on Boxing Day, there will be further opportunities to snap up some bargains,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Victoria will see the lion’s share of the post-Christmas shopping growth, up 5.6 percent to $4.2 billion across the 21-day period tracked by ARA and Roy Morgan, followed by NSW at 3.8 percent growth and $5.3 billion.

“All states are predicted to see healthy growth this year, as are all retail categories, although the ‘other’ category will shine particularly brightly in the post-Christmas sales with 6.1 percent growth to $2.3 billion, as will department stores at a 4.3 percent increase and $1 billion sales.”

When it comes to Boxing Day, the ARA anticipates that NSW and Victorian residents will spend the most at $750 million and $721 million respectively.

ARA ROY MORGAN POST-CHRISTMAS 2015/16 SALES PREDICTIONS

December 26, 2015 – January 15, 2016

Boxing Day 2016 sales

(Australian Retailers Association)

2015/16 Post-Christmas Sales Growth by State

(ARA/ROY MORGAN)

2015/16 Post-Christmas Sales Growth by Category

(ARA/ROY MORGAN)

 About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $284 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.

ENDS

THE Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) has welcomed the Andrews Government’s recently released masterplan to upgrade the Shipwreck Coast, but has called for the strategy to be supported by further funding for the implementation of the plan’s measures.

“The tourism sector is pleased to see the masterplan to improve this iconic visitor destination, however we want to see significant funding for these much-needed initiatives,” said VTIC Acting Chief Executive Erin Joyce.

Industry was pleased to see the announced $4.4 million to improve the sewer facilities at the Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre, as called for by local tourism operators. However, VTIC calls on the Andrews Government to commit significant funding in the coming months to the $174 million upgrade.

Stage 1 priorities include:

$10 million to improve the interpretation facilities and amenity at the Twelve Apostles kiosk site;

$100 million over two years to commence infrastructure improvements throughout the masterplan region, such as:

• Establishing both a Visitor Experience Centre and Park and Ride Transport Hub in Port Campbell;

• Upgrading the Port Campbell, Princetown and Peterborough townscapes;

• Commencing construction of the Twelve Apostles Trail, linking to the Great Ocean Walk trail;

• Establishing Visitor Hubs at Princetown and Peterborough; and

• Planning for the proposed Glenample Visitor Experience Centre. 

“This funding will attract private sector investment in walking trails, eco-lodges and larger scale accommodation, as well as adventure, and health and wellness developments in appropriate areas,” said Ms Joyce.

In addition, $500,000 is needed to develop an implementation plan for the rest of the projects, to give business certainty regarding the full implementation of the masterplan.

Due to the strong international demand to visit the area, all projects included in the masterplan must be completed within 10 years, rather than 20 years as currently planned.

“The masterplan forecasts that, when fully implemented, the projects will add $214 million per annum to the regional economy and create over 1,000 jobs in the area,” said Ms Joyce.

“Given this significant potential and the fact that the coast is one of Victoria’s greatest tourism drawcards, we call on the government to allocate significant funding as a priority for 2016.”

The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is the peak body for Victoria’s tourism and events industry, providing one united industry voice. Tourism and events are growth industries for Victoria and contribute more than $20 billion to the state economy each year and employ more than 200,000 people.

vtic.com.au

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