Industry News

Qantas has announced it will conduct a feasibility study into the potential of an Australian sustainable aviation fuel industry, backed by funding from the Federal Government after the company conducted a successful test flight of an Airbus A330 fueled by a 50-50 blend of biofuel and regulat jet fuel.

The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP, said the $500,000 Emerging Renewables Program grant would see Qantas partner with Shell Australia to undertake a feasibility study into the long-term viability of biofuel feedstock and the production of low carbon alternative aviation fuels in Australia.

"The study will also investigate the opportunity to use existing refining plant and fuel distribution infrastructure for aviation biofuel production," Minister Ferguson said.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the project would explore the conditions needed for the production of aviation biofuel from sustainable sources within Australia.

“Today is a historic occasion in Australian aviation,” Mr Joyce said. “We are delighted to be operating Australia’s first sustainable aviation fuel flights and to be launching a study into the feasibility of producing such fuel in this country.”

“Alternatives to conventional jet fuel are vital to the aviation industry meeting ambitious targets for carbon-neutral growth and emissions reduction.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released new data that shows the country’s mental health workforce is continuing to grow.

The latest workforce information on the AIHW’s Mental Health Services in Australia website (available athttp://mhsa.aihw.gov.au/) shows the number of psychiatrists (including psychiatrists-in-training) per 100,000 people increased at an average yearly rate of 1.4% between 2005 and 2009.

“The number of nurses who work principally in mental health increased at an average yearly rate of 1.5% over the same period,” said AIHW spokesperson Brent Diverty.

Nationally, there were about 18 full time equivalent (FTE) psychiatrists (including psychiatrists-in-training) and 69 FTE mental health nurses per 100,000 people in 2009.

The highest rate of psychiatrists (including psychiatrists-in-training) was in Major cities, while the highest rate of mental health nurses was in Inner regional areas.

Psychiatrists (including psychiatrists-in-training) reported working an average of 40 hours per week and mental health nurses worked an average of 37 hours per week.

The average age of psychiatrists in 2009 was 52 years and more than two-thirds were male.

Psychiatrists (excluding psychiatrists-in-training) aged 55 years and over made up more than one-third of the workforce in 2009, and this has been stable since 2005.

The average age for mental health nurses in 2009 was 46 years and about a third were male. Among the general nursing workforce less than 1 in 10 are male.

“Mental health nurses are ageing, with the proportion of mental health nurses aged 55 years and over increasing from 20% in 2005 to 25% in 2009,” Mr Diverty said.

The Federal Government has opened round three of the Digital Hubs and Digital Enterprise for applications from service providers to deliver the third round of Digital Hubs and Digital Enterprise programs.

Both programs are competitive and applicants to either program will be assessed according to the degree to which they meet the eligibility and selection criteria set down in the program guidelines. A total of 40 communities will be funded under both programs.

“To further support NBN-connected communities, the Digital Enterprise program provides free information and training sessions to small-to-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations to explain how they can improve their online activities and maximise the opportunities provided by the NBN,” Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said.

The closing date for round three applications is Thursday 10 May 2012.

Digital Hubs Round Three Program Guidelines are available at www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalhubs.

Digital Enterprise Round Three Program Guidelines are available at www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalenterprise

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce has called for a review of the country’s baby bonus, despite his party running a previous election platform that would see the $5000 bonus doubled to $10,000.

Senator Joyce made the call after he disputed newspaper reports that suggested he was pushing Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to double the bonus.

"I can assure you I don't believe in doubling the baby bonus. I think that would be a ludicrous idea," Senator Joyce told the ABC.

"I have, to be honest, serious concerns with the baby bonus as it is especially when it ends up not being spent so much on the baby, but on problems in certain communities - especially such as alcohol."

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) has responded to claims that the proliferation of wireless devices will render the NBN project a waste of money, saying that such claims are completely divorced from reality.

NBN Co Chief Technology Officer Gary McLaren said that the latest internet usage data from the ABS in fact proves the opposite.

“There is no question that Australians love smartphones and tablets but the vast bulk of Australia’s internet usage – some 92 per cent - is carried over fixed line connections,” Mr McLaren said.

“The proportion of mobile handset downloads over mobile networks is estimated to make up just 1.4 per cent of total internet downloads in Australia. Other wireless broadband technologies account for just 6.6 per cent.

“The eternal problems associated with spectrum scarcity – such as mobile congestion and a hefty price premium placed on using such a limited resource – are not going to go away. They may help explain why over the past 12 months the average amount of data being downloaded over mobile devices per subscriber per month grew by only six per cent.

“By contrast, average fixed broadband data usage in the same period grew by more than 80 per cent.”

Mr McLaren said that better fixed line infrastructure was essential to ease the load being placed on mobil networks.

Mr McLaren referred to a recent Informa study of 200,000 smartphone users in six countries that showed that on a global basis nearly 70 per cent of data usage on smartphones was over Wi-Fi rather than mobile networks. Wi-Fi generally relies on a fixed line network to connect to the internet.

“Fixed lines remain the engine-room of downloads in this country and around the world. As data-heavy applications such as video become more prevalent there will be an increasing need for robust fixed connections such as the NBN,” Mr. McLaren said.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published draft rules for the digital dividend spectrum auction.

“Publishing the draft rules is a key milestone for the ACMA in preparing for the auction,” said Giles Tanner, General Manager of the ACMA’s Digital Transition Division.

“Over the past months, we have been actively engaging with stakeholders—I’m pleased that we have their buy-in on the approach we’re taking.”

The draft rules consists of two parts—the allocation instruments and the technical instruments.

Once finalised, the allocation instruments will provide the legal basis for the auction. It will describe the spectrum products that are being offered and set out the rules for how the auction will be conducted. The allocation instruments are:

• two marketing plans—one for the 700 MHz band and one for the 2.5 GHz band an
• allocation determination.

The technical instruments will set out the technical rules that the spectrum winner(s) must abide by when using the spectrum. The technical instruments are:

• an unacceptable interference determination
• radiocommunications advisory guidelines for each band.

ACMA will also be hosting a webinar for stakeholders on Tuesday, 24 April 2012, to give an opportunity for interested parties to ask questions about the draft rules. Further information on the webinar will be announced shortly.

Stakeholders have until Wednesday, 9 May 2012, to submit their responses to the draft rules. Responses should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Independent Senator Nick Xenaphon has reiterated his push for a review of Fair Work Australia in the wake of the investigation into the Health Services Union (HSU).

While Mr Xenaphon stressed any probe into the authority would not compromise its independence, he said more must be done to subject the tribunal to more scrutiny.

Mr Xenaphon’s announcement comes after FWA completed its three year investigation into corruption allegations into the HSU, which is embroiling embattled Federal minister Craig Thompson.

"I think they've stuffed it up and there are many questions to ask about the way they operate and they do their work," Mr Xenaphon told the ABC.

"I'm sure they do lots of good work out there but in terms of this critical key investigation there are many questions that need to be answered about the way Fair Work Australia has handled it."

The Federal and State governments have announced $1.75 billion in skills spending at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) held last week.

The skills package will be designed to accelerate skills reform by ensuring the national training system is better able to respond to the needs of the country’s economy.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the package is vital to lift productivity and competitiveness of the country.

“This will help more Australians get the training they need to get a job, to change careers or to up-skill and get a better-paying job,” Ms Gillard said in a statement.

The spending package will see the following reforms:

• The creation of a National Training Entitlement, giving working age Australians guaranteed access to a government subsidised training place;
• The expansion of income-contingent loans to subsidised higher level qualifications in the vocational education and training (VET) system;
• Launch of the MySkills website, to ensure students and industry can make an informed choice about the training that suits them, and a student identifier for the VET system; and
• Measures to raise the quality of skills training and outcomes.

The creation of a National Training Entitlement will see all working age Australians guaranteed access to a government subsidised training place, up to their first Certificate III.

An emergency meeting has been held by the Australian Workers’ Union with steelworkers from across the country, which addressed the worsening crisis facing the steel industry.

Over 80 steelworkers from all major steel plants met with representatives of federal and state governments as well as heads of industry to discuss and plan strategies to save the struggling Australian steel industry.

AWU National Secretary Paul Howes said the crisis facing the steel industry in Australia had worsened in recent months and more needed to be done to save this strategically vital sector.

"Australian steel manufacturers are on the brink of collapse," Paul Howes said.

"We have already seen over 1000 jobs go from BlueScope's Port Kembla and Western Port plants and Onesteel has confirmed it will shed up to 430 jobs by the end of this financial year.

"With numbers like these - there is no doubt the Australian dollar has continued to reek havoc on our local steel manufacturers and we fear it's going to get worse before it gets better."

Key issues affecting the steel industry include:

• The skyrocketing Australian Dollar;
• Lack of action from the Reserve Bank;
• The impact of the mining boom;
• Government and private sector procurement policies; and
• Illegal dumping from overseas markets.

A special 28 page report was released at the meeting as a potential policy proposal and called for the Reserve Bank to slash rates by between 25 and 50 basis points in order to preserve employment numbers.

The Executive and full council of Unions NSW has voted to accept Michael Williamson's resignation as Vice President, and also to suspend the Health Services Union's affiliation until governance issues can be resolved.

Mr Williamson was asked to resign last week, amid ongoing negative publicity about the Health Services Union leadership spilling over to affect the reputation of the broader union movement.

Unions NSW Secretary Mark Lennon noted Mr Williamson's resignation.

Further, he said the suspension of the HSU East branch sent a clear message about appropriate behaviour and governance for the NSW trade union movement.

"Six hundred thousand working people across NSW rely on a strong and vibrant trade union movement to represent their interests in the workplace and tonight's decision allows us to get on with the job of representing working people,” Mr Lennon said.

Mr Williamson has also resigned as a Unions NSW representative on the board of First State Super.

"In due course, Unions NSW hopes to restore the Health Services Union to full affiliation, but only once we are satisfied that all governance issues have been rectified," Mr Lennon said.

"We want to send a clear message to HSU members that they have our full support as we continue to defend their workplace rights and conditions."

The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) has released the March edition of its Australian Performance of Construction Index in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

The index shows that the sector has risen just 0.6 points to 36.2 in March. Poor demand and subdued conditions, particularly in the residential and commercial construction sub-sectors, continued in the month with house building falling to its lowest level in six months. Reduced workloads saw employment levels remain in negative territory and the new orders sub-index has now been contracting for 22 months.

The key findings are:

• The latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association, was broadly unchanged in March - up just 0.6 points to 36.2 (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease).
• March marks the 22nd consecutive month that the national construction sector has been in negative territory.
• Subdued demand, tight credit conditions, strong competition for available work and a lack of new projects hampered growth in March.
• Weakness was particularly pronounced in the house building (30.3), apartments (30.5) and commercial construction (35.5) sub-sectors.
• Engineering construction was 41.2 in the month.
• The new orders sub-index was again in the red - down 1.0 points to 33.2.
• Employment levels continued to fall in line with decreasing workloads, the sub-index registered 39.4 in March.

"There is an unequivocal deterioration underway in the non-resource domestic economy in 2012. As a bell-weather industry, residential construction is clearly highlighting this fact with the rate of decline in the detached house and apartment sub-indices of the Australian PCI® accelerating in March. Furthermore, new orders for house building fell in March to their lowest level in six months. It was time to act some time ago, but nothing has happened. A 50 basis point cut in interest rates is required in May, while Federal and state governments need to get on with the job of boosting new housing supply," Housing Industry Association Chief Economist, Harley Dale, said. 

The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) has urged the Federal and State Governments to place a greater priority on skills and training at the upcoming Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, saying the adaption of a national approach to training is a necessity.  

"For too long our training systems have been plagued by inconsistent approaches, funding models and regulations, variable and often unacceptable levels of quality and unacceptably low levels of completion," CEO Designate Innes Willox said.

"Industry is particularly supportive of the thrust of the Skills for all Australians package that forms the basis for the proposed new Commonwealth and State funding agreement. This includes the 'HECS for skills' initiative which would improve equity and remove the disincentive of upfront fees for diplomas and advanced diplomas."

The group has expressed concerns over the transparency and accountability in the training system, saying it frustrates employers and impedes growth.

"Quality remains a serious concern for industry and we need to see a significant lift in the quality across the sector. Lifting the quality requirements of providers in order to access income contingent loans would be an important step in this direction. Equally the introduction of independent validation of training provider's assessments would be a major achievement and that should deliver greater confidence in outcomes for both students and employers," Mr Willox said. 

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) has announced it will hosting its contact centre in the Gold Coast, reversing an earlier decision to have the service outsourced.

The customer contact centre will be located at Varsity Lakes and is set to begin taking calls in the second half of this year.

“Today’s announcement is great news as the customer contact centre has capacity to employ around 130 people, of which 100 will be employed within 12 months,” NBN Co’s Head of Quality Mike Kaiser said.

“The customer contact centre will play an important role in communicating how the network is being built and the steps householders and business owners will need to take to connect to the NBN and to move across from older infrastructure to Australia’s brand new telecommunications network.

“The new centre will handle the anticipated escalation in NBN queries from the general public, property developers and builders now that the company has begun large-scale rollout of Australia’s largest infrastructure project,” he said.

Gold Coast Acting Mayor Daphne McDonald welcomed the announcement.

"Hot on the back of the news the Gold Coast has been included in the NBN’s three year rollout, this is another win for the Gold Coast with the call centre bringing 100 new jobs to the city in the next 12 months,” Ms McDonald said. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced it will not oppose Foxtel's acquisition bid  for Austar after the Commission accepted court-enforceable undertakings from Foxtel.

The undertakings will prevent Foxtel from acquiring exclusive internet protocol television (IPTV) rights for a 'range of attractive television program and movie content', including:

• Linear channels supplied by independent content suppliers, including  more than 60 linear channels that are currently broadcast by FOXTEL and many more that are broadcast internationally
• Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) rights to current or past seasons of television programs that form part of a linear channel supplied by an independent content supplier
• Movie linear channels (or movies for inclusion in a linear channel) from more than 50% of the eight major movie studios or more than 50% of the eight specified independent movie studios
• SVOD rights to movies, except for an 18 month window in relation to the movie studios from which FOXTEL is not prohibited from acquiring exclusive linear rights.

The ACCC first voiced its concerns over the planned acquisition because of Telstra's 50 per cent stake in Foxetel and Telstra’s ability post merger to acquire preferential access to Austar’s existing subscriber base in combination with its existing content delivery infrastructure in regional areas. This will allow Telstra to offer a superior “triple play” of fixed voice, broadband and IPTV services.

“The proposed acquisition would bring together the two main subscription TV industry players in Australia each with a substantial customer base and significant access to key content. This would in turn give Telstra, FOXTEL's largest shareholder, greater market power in regional fixed broadband and telephony markets,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

“By reducing content exclusivity, the undertakings will lower barriers to entry and promote new and effective competition in metropolitan and regional telecommunications and subscription television markets.”

“Taking into account the undertaking which has been offered by FOXTEL, the ACCC is satisfied that the proposed acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition.” Mr Sims said.

The Federal Government has announced it has accepted all 21 proposals and recommendations of October's Jobs Forum, saying it will introduce stronger Australian Industry Participation rules for the country’s major private sector and government-funded projects.

The Minister for Industry and Innovation, Greg Combet, said the Government will release new requirements aimed at improving  opportunities for local suppliers and service providers to win contracts on large construction, resources and infrastructure developments.

The Government has now accepted all 21 recommendations from a Working Group established to report on reforms to Australian Industry Participation requirements. The Working Group included stakeholders from industry, unions and the WA Government.

Mr Combet said the Federal Government will now:

• Extend Australian Industry Participation requirements to projects funded by Australian Government grants of more than $20 million;
• Work with State and Territory Governments to ensure local industry has full, fair and reasonable opportunities on projects receiving significant federal funding;
• Increase scrutiny of the implementation of Australian Industry Participation Plans (AIP Plans), particularly for private sector projects valued at more than $2 billion that seek tariff concessions from the Enhanced Project By‑law Scheme (EPBS);
•  Require major projects to publish summaries of AIP Plans, including details on how they will seek and use information on Australian industry capabilities and how they will communicate opportunities to local suppliers.

“This will improve the opportunities for Australian manufacturers, construction firms and service providers to win work on some of the biggest projects in the country,” Mr Combet said.

Formal guidance material for grant agreements and grantees, procurement officers, tenderers and EPBS applicants will be available from 1 July 2012. EPBS applicants will have a further three month transition period.
 
More information is available at www.aip.gov.au

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was steady at 5.2 per cent in March, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today. 

The ABS reported the number of people employed increased by 44,000 to 11,491,200 in March. The increase in employment was driven by increased full-time employment, up 15,800 people to 8,080,400, and part-time employment, up 28,200 people to 3,410,900. The increase in employment was driven by an increase in both male and female full-time and part-time employment.

The number of people unemployed decreased by 3,200 people to 629,100 in March, the ABS reported.

The ABS monthly aggregate hours worked series showed an increase in March, up 9.5 million hours to 1,624.2 million hours.

The ABS reported an increase in the labour force participation rate of 0.2 percentage points in March to 65.4 per cent.

The results of the Annual Seasonal Reanalysis were released in the March 2012 publication. This annual review did not result in any significant changes to published estimates. A feature article in the publication - 'Annual Seasonal Reanalysis' - explains the review.

More details are in the March 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming March 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) due for release next week on April 19. Both publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au.

The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has announced Robin Payne as the company's new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), officially placing him in the role he has served in since January following the retirement of Jean-Pascal Beaufret.

Mr. Payne joined NBN Co in 2009 as General Manager of Planning & Development and was instrumental in developing the company’s initial Corporate Plan. The following year he was appointed the company’s lead negotiator on the Definitive Agreements with Telstra that were concluded last month and which unlock the infrastructure that will enable the large-scale rollout of the fibre optic network.

Welcoming the appointment, NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said:

“Robin is a high calibre executive who has already made an important contribution to the NBN. His knowledge of the business and his extensive experience in financial management will be invaluable as the project moves from the planning and design stage to the large-scale rollout of the Australia’s largest infrastructure project.”

“I’ve inherited a strong finance function and look forward to continuing to work with Mike and the team to deliver value for taxpayers on an infrastructure project that will touch the lives of every home and business in the country," Mr Payne said.

Mr. Payne’s appointment follows a thorough global executive search. He worked for a decade at KPMG and a further 10 years at Macquarie Bank in the investment banking division. He was also a co-founder of the Asia-Pacific digital media company, Anytime PTE.

A major business group has today confirmed that the goal of a new push by employers is to cut wages and conditions in Awards.

Interviewed on ABC radio in Melbourne this morning, the Executive Director of the National Retail Association, Gary Black, confirmed that employers were using the current review of the Award system to seek a “radical overhaul” of wages, hours of work, penalty rates and other conditions.

Mr Black said that employers wanted to introduce a commission-based system for retail employees, reduce penalty rates, and cut the pay of new employees:

“There certainly will be some capacity for some people to be paid less. If we get an induction provision… then new employees entering the industry will be paid less than what they would otherwise get.”
(Gary Black on Mornings With Jon Faine, ABC 774, 10 April 2012)

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said this was confirmation that Australian workers are facing a new push from employers to cut wages and conditions in Awards.

The ACTU is today releasing an analysis of employer submissions to Fair Work Australia’s review of Awards which shows that employers are attempting to cut penalty rates, allowances and overtime, with no compensation.

Mr Lawrence said that employers were determined to bring back the worst elements of WorkChoices.

“Employer groups want a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week economy in which they have all the flexibility, the power and control over who works when and how little they are paid,” Mr Lawrence said.

“Cutting conditions and penalty rates without some kind of compensation is simply taking money out of workers’ pockets.”

The submission from the National Retail Association wants a Fair Work Australia decision last year for a 90-minute-a-day minimum for students to be expanded into other retail Awards.

Other employer submissions argue for:

• Reduced penalties for casual employees, particularly on weekends and public holidays.
• New annualised salary arrangements that would avoid payment of allowances, penalties and overtime.
• A narrowing of the definition of shift work to reduce access to pay and leave entitlements.
• Discounted rates for apprentices and trainees where adult rates have always applied.

“All these conditions exist to protect low-paid workers who are required to work weekends and other unsociable hours.

“The sole aim of the employer agenda is to cut the take-home pay of millions of Australian workers.

“Employers forget that cutting wages means that people have less to spend, which is not good for business. Fair Work Australia must recognise these submissions for what they are, a blatant attempt to restore the worst of Work Choices and reduce wages for Australian workers.”

In a submission to the Medical Board of Australia (MBA), the AMA is calling on the Board to fund better access to doctors' health services across the country.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said doctors are at greater risk of mental illness and stress-related problems and are more susceptible to substance abuse than the general population.

“In order to deliver high-quality health care to their patients and the community, and to experience medicine as a rewarding and satisfying career, doctors need to be well,” Dr Hambleton said.

The AMA proposes that the MBA provide funding for existing doctors' health advisory services, which have established networks and strong local knowledge.  Prior to the introduction of national registration, the MBA funded services in some States.

While the MBA has a role to play in funding external doctors' health advisory services, funding arrangements must be structured so as to guarantee independence from the MBA and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.  This is essential if doctors are to trust these services and utilise them at an early stage in their illness.

Australia’s top companies are failing to recognise and manage mental illnesses in the workplace. This is despite ongoing attempts at raising awareness in Australia to the dangers of mental health issues going unnoticed and untreated.

A poll of ASX Top 300 companies by Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) revealed that over 40 per cent of participants did not perceive mental illness as a potential risk to their organisation, and of those that did, close to half, said their organisation did not have policies in place to manage this risk. 

In addition, nearly 70 per cent did not have a dedicated and properly trained resource to identify and manage an employee suffering from mental illness, the poll found.

According to CSA’s chief executive Mr Tim Sheehy, “Despite widespread commentary on the extent of mental health in the community, it still has not registered on the corporate radar. In fact concern about mental health in the workplace seems to be at a similar stage as we were with OH&S in the construction industry 30 years ago when one or two fatalities were widely considered as an ‘unfortunate’ cost of doing business. That degree of indifference would simply not be tolerated today.”

There are compelling statistics on just how prevalent mental illness is in the workplace. Research shows that Australian businesses lose over $6.5 billion each year by failing to provide early intervention and treatment for employees with mental health conditions. In relation to psychological injury claims, work pressure accounts for around half of all claims, compared to harassment and bullying which account for around a quarter of claims.

“Mental illness in the workplace is a reality. Improperly managed, it poses real risks in terms of reduced productivity, workplace conflict and loss of morale, not to mention the spectre of corporate and executive liability if these issues continue to be neglected by senior decision-makers,” said Mr Sheehy.