THE Infrastructure and Communications Committee will hold public hearings in Brisbane and Melbourne later this week as part of its Inquiry into the role of Smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure.

These hearings will allow the Committee to canvass the views of a broad range of expert witnesses from industry, universities and government.

Committee Chairman Jane Prentice MP (Ryan, Qld) said, “The Brisbane and Melbourne hearings of the Smart Infrastructure Inquiry will draw together experts from a range of fields and give the Committee a comprehensive overview of the issues surrounding the use of Smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure in Australia.”

Hearing details

BRISBANE

Date: Thursday, 24 September 2015

Time: 1:00 pm–4:00 pm

Venue: Committee Room 3, Level 6, Parliamentary Annexe, Alice Street, Brisbane

Witnesses: Urban Circus (Submission 3), Queensland University of Technology (Submission 19), AECOM (Submission 21), Associate Professor Tan Yigitcanlar (QUT), and Bentley Systems (Submission 29).

MELBOURNE

Date:Friday, 25 September 2015

Time:8:00 am–3:00 pm

Venue:Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House, Melbourne

Witnesses: Victorian Government (Submission 24), Australian Academy of Science (Submission 5), Victorian Spatial Council (Submission 6), Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (Submission 13), City of Melbourne (Submission 35), Independent Project Analysis (Submission 11), Professor Keith Hampson, Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (by teleconference), Swinburne University of Technology (Submission 36), University of Melbourne (Submissions 17, 31 & 32) and IBM (Submission 2).

The public hearing will be webcast live at http://www.aph.gov.au/live

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COLLECTING and managing data is a key component of the infrastructure information revolution. How data is stored and accessed is a question that is vital to the productivity gains that smart infrastructure can bring.

Tomorrow, the Infrastructure and Communications Committee will meet with representatives of the National Archives of Australia.

In its submission, National Archives highlights how Smart ICT is transforming government and industry business models, resulting in the creation and collection of large volumes of data.

Smart ICT technologies include data analytics, optimisation, modelling and software systems, networked sensors, mobile device integration, and new ways of gathering data.

According to National Archives, “Data provides new insights into how infrastructure investments are made, how infrastructure is developed and deployed, maintained and used, what future infrastructure demands might be and where efficiencies might be gained. It also ensures the accountability of government and industry decision-making.”

Committee Chairman Jane Prentice MP (Ryan, Qld) said that collection, storage and accessibility of data have been identified as vital components in the development of smart infrastructure.

“The Committee’s role is to identify what government and industry can do to ensure data is collected and made available in forms that are useful and enduring, and that the data component of infrastructure lasts as long as the steel and concrete it supports,” Mrs Prentice said.

Hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Time: 8:00 am–9:00 am

Witness: National Archives of Australia

Venue: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

The public hearing will be webcast live at http://www.aph.gov.au/live

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The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is calling on the new Turnbull Government Ministry to follow through on the commitments made to small businesses and tax reforms.

Key reforms include the introduction of a competition effects test and instatement of the zero value import threshold before July 2017.

ARA Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman, welcomed the announcement of the new Turnbull Government Ministry on Sunday, including the retention of Small Business in Cabinet with Kelly O’Dwyer to carry through these all important reforms.

“The surge in confidence expressed this week within business is reflective of the Government’s commitment to address issues including GST collection on overseas purchases and the possibility of real reform of competition policy,” said Mr Zimmerman.

Retailers are looking forward to the Government further lifting retail, consumer and business confidence through support for further GST reform, employment law reform and changes to the payments system recommended by the Financial Systems Inquiry (FSI).

“The ARA is pleased to see small business remains in the Cabinet, with the Assistant Treasury portfolio covering off many important areas for the retail sector, from the FSI payments reform to the Harper Review competition recommendations.

“It is now incumbent on the Turnbull Government to commence the task of implementing many of the recommendations which have been made in recent reviews from the Productivity Commission, Harper Review to the FSI,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The 140,000 Australian independent retail business are demanding that the coalition bring in an effects test as per the recommendations of the Harper review, while a reduction in penalty rates for retailers is crucial in the upcoming Fair Work review."

With the new Turnbull Ministry now in place the ARA is reminding Ministers of the importance of role the retail sector as Australia’s largest private sector employer with more than 10 percent of the working population employed in the retail industry.

“The ARA looks forward to working with all key economic productivity Ministers, including Treasurer, Scott Morrison, Simon Birmingham through Education, Alex Hawke as Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, and Mathias Cormann in Finance.”

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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VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone said VECCI congratulates the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP on his election to leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Australia following the Liberal party room ballot last night.

"Victorian business looks to Mr Turnbull to provide strong, stable leadership and get on with the job of governing," Mr Stone said.

"It is positive that Mr Turnbull has pledged to prioritise Australia’s economic growth through measures that boost business confidence and build an agile, innovative and creative nation. This is in-keeping with VECCI’s recommendations for the future prosperity of Victorian business.

"Business urges Mr Turnbull to progress reforms to raise productivity and increase flexibility in Australia’s workplace relations system; work with the States to fix the federation and undertake critical tax reform; advance the cause of free trade; and provide federal funding for vital infrastructure projects, such as the Melbourne Metro Rail Project," Mr Stone said.

"This agenda must be progressed as a priority given its significance to the Victorian economy and wider business community.

"As part of the united chamber movement VECCI looks forward to continuing to work constructively with the Federal Government and supporting business to capitalise on opportunities for growth in 2015 and beyond."

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

vecci.org.au

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AUSTRALIA’S national resource industry employer group, AMMA (Australian Mines and Metals Association), has congratulated the three new appointees and one promoted member of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) announced today by the Turnbull Government.

"These four highly credentialed professionals are widely regarded for their legal expertise, business acumen and understanding of the complex range of workplace relations challenges facing Australian employers, employees, trade unions and employer organisations," AMMA chief executive Steve Knott said.

"They will contribute to strengthening and renewing the FWC and increasing the quality and relevance of its decisions.

"Having managed and advised on practical business and workforce outcomes across a range of industries, the new appointees will bolster the FWC with much needed ‘real life’ business experience and practical understanding of workplaces, employers and employees: 

• "Tanya Cirkovic is highly regarded across the legal and business communities for her expertise in workplace relations law, and the development of her own employment law practice. 

• "Tony Saunders is a highly regarded employment barrister with a sharp understanding of complex workplace relations matters who regularly represents clients in our highest tribunals and courts. 

• "Chris Platt is a highly experienced industrial relations professional having held senior positions in the resources and agribusiness industries, as well as representing small business. 

• "Geoff Bull, a current Fair Work Commissioner, has deservedly been promoted to Deputy President. This reflects the diligence and professionalism he has demonstrated within the FWC, and his experience advising on workplace relations matters across a range of sectors."

Mr Knott said, "Today’s appointments are an essential injection of practical expertise and capacity to work with employers into the FWC after the unashamed stacking of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd years, which saw 18 of 27 appointments came from narrow pool of union and Labor-affiliated candidates.

"They will bring competencies, experience and qualifications that will strengthen the FWC’s reputation and relevance, and support both employment and fair treatment for working Australians.

"AMMA and its members look forward to further appointments with proven and well-regarded experience in making critical commercial decisions and an understanding of what it means to run an organisation – from our smallest family businesses to major corporations."

In 2014, AMMA published an extensive analysis of the FWC’s composition and background of appointees under the former Labor Government.  This research can be accessed here.

www.amma.org.au

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THE Northern Australia Committee will hold a public hearing in Canberra on Tuesday, 15 September as part of its inquiry into opportunities to expand the aquaculture industry in Northern Australia.

The CSIRO has identified 1.5 million hectares of land in Australia which is suitable for aquaculture — with almost 0.5 million hectares being in Queensland—and has commented that much of tropical Australia is suited to meeting the major requirements for aquaculture development: clean seawater and an abundance of suitable coastal land.

Committee Chair, the Hon Warren Entsch MP, said: ‘The CSIRO has a strong history of supporting aquaculture through developing feedstocks and researching the environmental impacts of aquaculture farm discharges. For example, this has resulted in the introduction of discharge treatment systems and compliance with strict discharge water quality standards that have enabled the Australian prawn industry to operate for 20 years with no adverse impacts on adjacent ecosystems.

 ‘The CSIRO has also suggested the development of a spatial planning framework which would provide a rigorous basis for establishing aquaculture zones along the Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australian coast similar to those operating in Tasmania and South Australia.

 ‘The Committee will examine how new aquaculture projects can coexist in areas of environmental significance, such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, when the Department of the Environment appears at the public hearing,’ Mr Entsch said.

The Department of the Environment is responsible for administering the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 which is triggered when developments are proposed which could impact on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Where: Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House, Canberra

When: Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 6.00 pm–9.00 pm

PROGRAM 

6.00 pm      Department of Agriculture

6.40 pm      Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

7.40 pm       Department of the Environment

8.20 pm      Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

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

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THE Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is disappointed that the State Government is acting to remove the ability of the state to grant 99 year leases in Victoria’s national parks, saying it will discourage much needed tourism investment.

“Reducing the maximum lease period in national parks from 99 to 21 years will discourage appropriate investment by the tourism industry and limit the development of the significant projects that Victoria needs to broaden access to our wonderful park experiences,” said VTIC Chief Executive Dianne Smith.

Ms Smith’s comments come as the National Parks Amendment (No 99 Year Leases) Bill 2015, limiting leases in national parks to a maximum of 21 years, is tabled in Parliament by the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water, the Hon Lisa Neville MP.

“Nature-based products enable Victoria to better showcase our diverse natural and cultural beauty and are vital for our state’s visitors. Many competitor destinations such as Canada, New Zealand and Tasmania have been successful in achieving development that is sensitive to the local environment in partnership with the private sector, with strict controls on use and impact to foster sustainable tourism growth,” said Ms Smith.

“However, reducing maximum lease terms to anything less than 50 years will stifle development as industry will walk away from investing in Victoria.

“We call on the Parliament of Victoria to ensure this amendment is not passed, encouraging business to continue partnering to support our state’s outstanding nature-based tourism opportunities.

“VTIC will continue to work with industry and government to boost tourism investment in Victoria.”

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 $19.6 billion to the state economy each year and employ more than 200,000 people.

vtic.com.au

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A CALL for a new Human Right – the right not to be poisoned – will be made at the CleanUp 2015 conference in Melbourne today.

“This is a right that most of our ancestors enjoyed throughout history – but in the last two generations has been swept away by an avalanche of man-made toxins,” says Australian science writer Julian Cribb, author of the book Poisoned Planet (Allen&Unwin, 2014).

Mr Cribb says that every year human activities release more than 250 billion tonnes of substances into the Earth system in what is proving to be our largest impact on the planet – one that is five times greater in scale even than our greenhouse emissions.

“Official government records show there are now 144,000 man-made chemicals registered for use worldwide, with between 1000 and 2000 new ones released each year. Most of these have never been tested for human or environmental safety, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),” Mr Cribb says.

“Tests reveal that humans in most societies now carry a lifelong chemical burden, that unborn babies are being contaminated with industrial chemicals and that mothers’ milk in 68 countries is contaminated with pesticides and other noxious substances.

“The World Health Organization and UNEP have estimated that one in 12 humans now dies from environmental poisoning and around 86 million are maimed each year: this toll is greater than for HIV, malaria or car crashes. One in five cancer deaths – or nearly two million a year – are attributed to environmental exposure to carcinogens.

“Medical scientists are warning of a ‘silent pandemic’ of childhood brain disorders due to the global release of neurotoxins by human activity. Health officials caution that reproductive and hormonal disorders are on the rise worldwide.

Above all, health researchers are concerned at the impact of mixtures of thousands of different substances combined in the human diet and living environment, which they link to conditions including developmental disorders, sexual dysfunction (including sterility), nerve and brain diseases (including autism, depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s), cancers and heart disease.”

In his talk Mr Cribb explores new opportunities to reduce the toxic risks to humanity and life on Earth arising out of overuse and misuse of unsafe chemicals globally.

He will discuss ways in which social media is helping global consumers and citizens to become informed about chemical risks and how they in turn can encourage and incentivise industry to adopt green chemistry, cradle-to-cradle, clean-up, zero-waste and other enlightened technologies leading to a safer, healthier world.

Mr Cribb will propose ten recommendations for cleaning up the world, including a creation of a new human right ‘not to be poisoned’ under the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

He will present his paper “Cleansing a Poisoned Planet: chemicals, science communication and global people power” at 10.40 am on Monday, September 14 in Crown Conference Centre Meeting Room 13.

CleanUp 2015, the 6th International Contaminated Site Remediation Conference, is being held at the Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne, from September 13-16, 2015. The program is at: http://www.crccare.com/files/dmfile/CleanUpConferenceProgram-03Sept15.pdf

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