Industry News

The Western Australian Government has released the preferred planned rail line to Perth airport, with State Transport Minister Troy Buswell saying it will significantly improve access to and from the city.

Master Builders Australia has bemoaned the disappointing housing finance results published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, saying it shows little sign of an imminent recovery.

Vodafone has announced it has switched on its 3G+ service in the countries major capital cities, forming a major part of the company’s planned roll out of its 4G LTE service in 2013.

A report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that Australian graduates are enjoying some of the world’s most attractive pay packages.

The Federal Government has released a report outlining a comprehensive roadmap aimed at breaking down the barriers faced by Indigenous students to a university education and creating a new generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professionals.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has commenced the largest ever Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health survey, aimed at improving knowledge of the health issues affecting Indigenous Australians.

New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the country’s new home building sector slipped into recession in the 2011/12 period.

Federal Minister for Home Affairs and Justice, Jason Clare, has released the new Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games, which are due to come into effect in January next year.

Around 92 per cent of the one million Australian students who took part in literacy and numeracy testing this year are at or above national minimum standards according to the Summary Report for the 2012 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) released by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

A new national framework to set common standards and energy efficiency ratings on appliances, machinery and other materials will come into effect on 1 October, following the passage of legislation through Federal Parliament.

A study examining the health and recovery benefits of early exercise in hospitalised patients with life-threatening illness or injury will lead to future trials of early mobilization (EM) programs in intensive care units (ICU).

Property group Mirvac has announced that Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz will commence as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on Monday 5 November 2012.

A report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found that many health risk factors are on the rise, although some, such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, have dropped among certain age groups, particularly among young people.

Building and construction materials company, Boral Limited, has appointed Mike Kane as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

The Australian Industry Group has been pushing the case for national licensing for certain trade occupations, arguing that a consistent national system would improve productivity and deliver the greater labour mobility.

AustralianSuper has unveiled plans to build an internal management team in a bid  to further reduce costs.

The Queensland budget has effectively frozen recurrent funding for non-government schools, and cut more than 40 services for children at school.

The Queensland Government has given in-principle support to the  proposed merger of Central Queensland University (CQU) and Central Queensland Institute of TAFE (CQIT).

The Victorian Government is looking to appoint a new Auditor-General following the resignation last month of Des Pearson.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has released a discussion  paper exploring the future for super funds of investing in transport infrastructure.

In his introduction to the discussion paper, Gordon Noble, Director, Advocacy and Policy Strategy with ASFA said Australian superannuation funds had played a major part in financing  transport infrastructure, citing CityLink, Peninsula Link, EastLink (VIC), LEM7 (QLD), Lane Cove Tunnel and Cross City Tunnel (NSW) as all examples of projects that superannuation funds have invested in.

“Unfortunately while transport infrastructure has the capacity to deliver superannuation fund members with long-term, stable investment returns, the experience of superannuation funds investing in toll roads has been mixed, with some very public disasters,” he said.

“The superannuation industry’s transport infrastructure investment experience has implications for future investment. To ensure that investments deliver on the objective of providing Australians with income to support their retirement in the future, the superannuation industry will be much more proactive, not only when it comes to considering individual deals, but in advocating for investments that deliver on their investment return objectives and deliver productivity benefits that improve the environment for other superannuation fund investments, including property and equities, to prosper.

This paper considers both the challenges for superannuation funds investing in supply side transport infrastructure and whether there are investable demand side solutions that deliver productivity benefits.

“The question, from both a public policy perspective and for future investors, is where, and how, should infrastructure investments be made,” Mr Noble said.

The discussion paper is available here.