Industry News

The University of Queensland has announced a comprehensive Integrity and Accountability Reform Program in the wake of last year’s allegations of misconduct and nepotism.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said the move will strengthen the University’s overall governance framework.

“A review of key areas of the University has been underway since the very serious admission irregularity emerged last year,” Professor Terry said. 

“The reform program includes a review of all of the relevant policies and systems across the University; and input from a number of independent external parties including a leading Australian ethics centre, the CMC, and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). 

The university’s reform program will include:

• More robust admissions rules and procedures, including an annual audit 
  report documenting all offers made under the authority of the Admission Rules that permit offers by exception 
• Enhancement of the University's policies and processes to prevent potential conflicts of interest 
• Strengthening organisational structures to support assurance, investigation and risk management 
• A review of the University's processes and policies relating to the management and handling of misconduct and complaints, aligned with the CMC's quality audit processes 
• A stronger working relationship with the CMC. This includes improved case monitoring and implementation of follow-up action overseen by a group comprising the Vice-Chancellor, Executive Director (Operations) and the Director, Assurance and Risk Management Services 
• Commitment to ongoing preventative educational programs for all levels of University leadership 
• Implementation of communication and organisational development initiatives to ensure the highest standards of accountability 
• Review of internal culture in order to ensure a strong culture of integrity 
• Regular updates to the relevant external bodies including the CMC and TEQSA 
• Development of programs focused on ethics, accountability and integrity for the University's key decision makers. These will be developed in conjunction with a leading Australian ethics centre. 

Professor Terry said the reform process will include the provision of an Integrity and Accountability report that will be published by late 2012. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has completed a review of a number of notifications that require the mortgage brokers of four lending businesses to belong to the Mortgage Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).

"The ACCC believes the arrangements continue to deliver a benefit to the public, notwithstanding the commencement of a national regulatory regime for the credit industry in 2010," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

The MFAA's membership requirements impose higher educational and certain other professional standards on its members than the regulatory regime. 

"The ACCC considers requiring MFAA membership is likely to assist those lending businesses to ensure that their brokers are of a consistent high standard and to meet their compliance obligations under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act," Mr Sims said.

More information about the ACCC's review of the notifications, including public submissions received and a copy of the ACCC's Statement of Reasons, are available from the ACCC's website www.accc.gov.au/ExclusiveDealingRegister.

Leighton subsidiary Metronode has been selected by the New South Wales Government to consolidate its 130 data centres. The company will be contracted to construct two new centres to consolidate the state’s public sector data hosting requirements.

“The NSW Government estimates construction of the centres will create 250 jobs across both sites, while the operational phase will support network and ICT jobs in NSW on an ongoing basis,” State Minister for Finance and Services Greg Pearce said.

The contract forms part of the NSW Government’s ICE Strategy 2012 released earlier this month.

“The two centres will provide up to 9MW each of IT load allowing the NSW Government to consolidate Government data centres and reduce unnecessary technologies used in its daily operations, with the decommissioning of existing data capacity to begin once the new facilities are complete,” Mr Pearce said.

The Federal Government has released draft regulations of the Government’s plans to reform and modernise the country’s insolvency framework.

The release of the framework comes after the Corporations Amendment (Phoenixing and other Measures) Bill 2012 was passed earlier this month.

"Passage of this Bill will benefit the employees of abandoned companies by facilitating access to their unpaid entitlements through the government's employee assistance scheme," Parliamentary Secretary Bernie Ripoll said.

The Bill empowers the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to order the winding up of companies that directors abandon in the context of fraudulent phoenixing, allowing workers to access their entitlements under GEERS.

"The Bill also paves the way for the publication of corporate insolvency notices via a single, publicly available website. This will benefit creditors of companies in external administration, by reducing the costs of complying with these regulatory obligations," said Mr Ripoll.

The draft Corporations Legislation Amendment Regulation 2012 can be accessed on the Treasury website, www.treasury.gov.au. Submissions are due by 1 June 2012. 

The ANZ bank has dropped its variable rates for mortgages and business lending by 0.37 per cent, dropping to 7.05 per cent.

The bank projects the decrease will save the average customer $20 per week on an average home loan of $280,000, while small businesses are expected to save $9.25 per week for the average business loan of $130,000.

ANZ CEO Australia Philip Chronican said: “At this month’s review we noted that the RBA’s recent decision to reduce the cash rate has impacted domestic funding sources giving us scope to reduce lending rates by 0.37%pa.

“We continue to work hard to ensure we are competitive despite sustained funding pressure driven by the high rates we are paying to our 2.9 million deposit customers relative to the Reserve Bank’s cash rate and the ongoing volatility in wholesale money markets,” Mr Chronican said.

The monthly interest rate review follows an announcement by ANZ in December 2011 that it would review variable rates for retail mortgages and small business lending on the second Friday of each month.

Recent figures released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) show that insolvencies are remaining at high levels.

The March quarterly report shows the third consecutive quarter in the current financial year in which external administrators exceeded 2,5000 per quarter.

ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader of the Insolvency Practitioners team, Adrian Brown, said the quarterly results show external administrator appointments remain at historically high levels.

The first quarter of the 2012 calendar year saw external administrations (EXADs) increase by 16.7 per cent (see table 1) compared to the same quarter in 2011 and is a rise of 2.5 per cent over the previous quarter, Mr Brown said.


Table 1— Companies entering into EXAD in first quarter 2012

'In terms of location, we again see a rise in Queensland with the two other largest states of New South Wales and Victoria remaining relatively steady', Mr Brown said.

ASIC publishes monthly insolvency statistics detailing the number and type of corporate insolvency appointments. External administrators are obliged by law to notify ASIC of their appointments. ASIC will provide brief commentary on its statistics quarterly throughout the 2011-12 financial year.

The full statistics can be found here

http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/Insolvencies%2C+teminations+%26+new+reg+stats+portal+page?openDocument

The Australian and Victorian Governments will provide $25 million towards installing the latest freeway management technology in Melbourne’s West Gate Freeway to help traffic flow and ease congestion.

The funding will deliver the following improvements:

• new mounted variable speed limit signs;
• new ramp signalling at entry ramps;
• closed circuit TV;
• new digital variable message signs to provide live updates about traffic conditions and delays;
• new signs to advise drivers of which lanes to use and speed restrictions during accidents; and
• upgrade of supporting communications networks and central control systems.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, said the technology will ease traffic flow for the 160,000 vehicles that use the freeway every day.

State Minister for Public Transport and Roads, Terry Mulder, said that Victoria was a leader in the installation of this smart technology.

“At the moment, the technology on this section of the M1 is limited to variable speed limits and traffic lights on entry ramps to control access to the freeway,” he said.

“Once completed, the project will provide a seamless technology link between the M1 east of Williamstown Road and the current M80 Upgrade.

“The full integration of these systems will make travel along two of Victoria’s busiest freeways safer and more free flowing.”

The Australian Government has committed $12.5 million to the upgrade through the $60 million National Smart Managed Motorways component of the Nation Building Program, with the Victorian Government also contributing $12.5 million towards the project.

The Federal Government will start paying out its new Household Assistance Payments, paying a total of $35 million to over 1.6 million Australian families over the coming months.

Families on Family Tax Benefit Part A will start receiving Clean Energy Advance payments of up to $110 for each child and families receiving Family Tax Benefit Part B will get up to $69. This payment will be paid straight into families’ bank accounts over the coming few weeks.

Pensioners, students and other eligible payment recipients are also set to receive increases in their support payments before the end of June. And in July Australian workers will benefit from new tax cuts.

Under the scheme, from next year the Federal Government will also offer:

• A new Schoolkids Bonus for more than 1.3 million families - $410 a year for each child in primary school and $820 a year for each child in secondary school to help with education costs; and
• A boost to Family Tax Benefit Part A for all 1.5 million eligible families - for families on the lowest incomes with two or more children an increase of $600 a year, and $300 a year for one child families.

More information on the Household Assistance Package can be found here

The Federal Government has released a new assessment tool and announced a new team of trained assessors to help childhood educators get better qualifications faster.

Federal Minister for Early Childhood Peter Garrett said the tools would allow the Government to better understand the needs of the sector.

“The national assessment process allows educators who have extensive experience in the industry, but lack formal qualifications, to have their skills recognised,” Mr Garrett said.

“New assessment tools, developed for Certificate III, Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Children’s services, will ensure a nationally consistent approach to Recognition of Prior Learning assessments and will make the assessment process clearer and more user-friendly.” 

Grants of up to $1125 are available for existing early childhood educators in rural and remote areas to travel to undertake a Recognition of Prior Learning assessment, and early childhood services can also arrange for a trained assessor to complete assessments on their staff. 

The Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport has approved the Gold Coast Airport’s Master Plan, which sets out the airport’s strategic direction for the next 20 years.

A statutory requirement under the federal Airports Act 1996, the Master Plan outlines growth and further development in communicating with the local community in relation to noise and other issues.

“I expect to see genuine engagement with the community as Gold Coast Airport develops in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games,” Mr Albanese said.

“I am also aware of the community's concerns about environmental issues, particularly at Coolangatta Creek

“I have made it clear that the airport must ensure appropriate management of species listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.”

The plan outlines major investment in aviation infrastructure over the coming 20 years, while making sure that the Airport is capable of handling increased traffic during the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Over the next 20 years Gold Coast Airport forecasts that it will create nearly 2,500 full-time jobs, contribute almost $768 million to the economy and help bring nearly 5.5 million tourists and visitors to the region.

The Gold Coast Airport's Master Plan is the first to be approved under the Government's strengthened legislative requirements for airport master planning.  These more stringent, new requirements means the Master Plan now includes:

• a ground transport plan;
• more detailed information on developments in the first 5 years; and
• an integrated environment strategy.

Bayside City Council has adopted a long term Climate Change Strategy following a period of public consultation.

Developed over the past two years, the Strategy outlines actionsCouncil will take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within its own operations and across the City generally, for at least the next four years.

Council also approved a community summary version of the Strategy, copies of which will be available in the coming weeks. The new Strategy incorporates information received from several community engagement activities and includes advice and comments received from members of a Community Peer Review Panel during the development of the final document.

The Panel comprised three Bayside residents with expert knowledge on climate change. They are Barry Pittock,  former head of the CSIRO Climate Impact Group,  Professor Roger Jones and Alan Pears,  Adjunct Professor RMIT University.

The Strategy outlines programs and projects that Council is already implementing to assist residents reduce energy use and actions they can take, including piloting a Sustainable Homes Project that is being implemented in partnership with the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance.

The document also outlines Council’s contingency plans to address any impacts resulting from climate change, details of how Council would support the community adapt to climate change, as well as opportunities that may arise as a result of predicted climate change.

A major feature of the Strategy includes details of Council’s plan to install 5,300 more energy efficient street lights across the City over the next four years and ensuring that Council’s buildings achieve higher environmental performance standards and emit less greenhouse gas emissions.

Following the adoption of the new Strategy, Bayside Mayor Louise Cooper-Shaw said Council will continue to support and educate the community by implementing a community-wide information project that will be linked to, amongst other things, the installation of more energy efficient lights across the City.

 “Council recognises that global action is required if we are to make a major impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and thereby manage the projected impacts of climate change. Council also recognises that any negative impacts of climate change will be felt locally and that, therefore, we need to play our part at the local level,” she said.

Bayside City Council manages over 200 buildings on behalf of ratepayers and has already commenced the implementation of measures to improve their environmental performance and reduce energy use.

Council is also encouraging the development of more environmentally friendly housing via its annual Built Environment Awards program.

Mayor Cooper-Shaw said Council understands that additional planning and collaboration with other asset managers, such as government agencies, is required to address longer-term impacts (such as flooding) that may be associated with extreme rainfall events and possible inundation and erosion associated with rising sea levels.

In order to address these issues, the Mayor said Council has now commenced preparing a draft Flood Management Plan and is working with Governments and other Councils on measures for adapting to the predicted rise in sea levels.

Information about Bayside City Council’s Climate Change Strategy is at  www.bayside.vic.gov.au/policy.htm.

Gladstone Regional Council has appointed former Queensland Treasurer, Dr David Hamill, as the inaugural Chairperson of Gladstone Airport Corporation.

Gladstone Airport Corporation commences operation as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gladstone Regional Council on July 1, 2012.

 
Joining Dr Hamill on the board are five, non-executive directors: Owen Williams (Deputy Chair), Elizabeth Baker, Brad Bowes, John George and Tony Goodwin.

Mayor Gail Sellers said the Council was delighted to have attracted candidates of the calibre of Dr Hamill and his colleagues to help lead Gladstone's airport business into an exciting growth phase.

"The challenges presented by this growth demanded that we had the best available candidates leading the business, but we were conscious that local representation was also retained.
 

"I believe that our robust recruitment process, in which we conducted a nationwide search for skilled directors using independent recruitment expertise, has delivered us that right mix of skills, experience and background."

Dr Hamill said he looked forward to working with the board and the airport staff on charting a course for Gladstone Airport.
 

"Gladstone Airport is a critical asset for the region, with so many people relying on it as a transport or freight hub and it is an incredible responsibility to be asked to lead the business on a path of continued capital development and record passenger growth."

 
The first task for the new board is to interview candidates for the position of CEO and this will happen in the next couple of weeks.

"None of the directors are under any illusion about the importance of Gladstone Airport being able to co-exist in a growing urban community and we will expect our new CEO to take that responsibility very seriously," Dr Hamill said.

A Parramatta Economic Development Forum held at the Sydney Opera House and attended by some of the country’s most influential leaders in business, planning, education, politics, tourism and sport, has highlighted the key role of Parramatta in providing a solution to Sydney’s growth problems.

Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Cr Lorraine Wearne, said that with Western Sydney expected to house half of Sydney’s population within the next 25 years, the time for talking was over.

“I was excited by the willingness of many of our guests – the planners, our political leaders and key decision-makers – to make Western Sydney a priority and get on with the job of building the ‘city of cities’ as outlined in the State Government’s Metropolitan Plan for the future of Sydney,” she said.

“These are people that recognise that there is a clear imbalance when it comes to where the jobs are in Sydney, how they’re being dispersed and the issues, such as traffic congestion, losses in productivity and declining liveability that are being caused because of it.

“They also recognise that we need to start building cities and creating jobs where the people are and Parramatta, as the heart of Sydney, has the current foundation and vast access to an ever-expanding Western Sydney labour market that make it an ideal starting point.”

Cr Wearne said that getting the ‘centre of Sydney’ right needed the support of all three levels of government, plus the private sector.

“All the great cities of the world have strong centres, we need to get it right and if we don’t then everything else fails – the simple message is for Sydney to succeed, Parramatta must succeed,” she said.

“As a Council, we’ve taken a lead role in advocating for the needs of our City, and wider Sydney through events like today, and our strategies such as the Western Sydney light rail network and the jobs campaign Parramatta 10,000.

“It is a role we’re excited to continue to drive and following today’s forum feedback, we’ll continue to develop the strategic partnerships that will fuel the growth of Western Sydney and relieve the stress on Greater Sydney. Let’s make it happen.”

Manly Council is integrating its ‘Green Up Your Life!’ Sustainable Living Workshops Series and Community Gardens project into an innovative ‘education for sustainability’ program called ‘DIG Manly’.

With a focus on encouraging discussion on a wide range of current sustainability issues, the new program will aim to inspire people to embrace sustainability by providing practical advice and a range of possibilities for change through fun and inspiring events.

DIG Manly, to be launched on May 30 at a screening of David Suzuki’s film, ‘Force of Nature’, arose from a community survey conducted by Manly Council in 2011 which found that people who are committed to sustainability want broader opportunities for involvement as well as more practical advice on how to live and work differently.

‘DIG’ is an acronym for ‘Dream. Inspire. Grow.’ and represents the need for a strong vision of a sustainable future (Dream), assistance from sustainability leaders in how to live sustainably (Inspire), and a strong community that continues to grow and work together in building a sustainable future (Grow).

Presented by Manly Council’s Community & Environmental Partnerships team, the ‘DIG Manly’ program is designed to:

• Engage and involve Manly residents in sustainability education and other community initiatives
• Encourage residents to question their current lifestyles through exposure to current scientific research, leading sustainability professionals and local sustainability leaders, and
• Build the capacity of residents to live sustainably by providing skills training and access to other learning opportunities.

‘DIG Manly’ workshops will feature titles such as ‘The Future of Food’ – an insight into public health, sustainability and social equity issues from paddock to plate, ‘Green Renting’, ‘Composting & Worm Farming’, ‘Small Space Gardening Made Easy’, ‘What’s Your Carbon Price?’ (How will a price on carbon affect our cost of living?).

More information is at http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/

Gold Coast City Council has announced it will provide funding of $22,000 for the installation cost of free WiFi at Southport Broadwater Parklands.

Councillor Dawn Crichlow, who moved the motion for the allocation, said it would be made as a service to the community. 

The funding will cover the cost of installation with Onthenet which has agreed to waive the monthly service fee of $650 for a period of two years.

Cr Crichlow said Broadwater Parklands in a short time had become the most popular park on the Coast, with around 600,000 visitors a year.

“This is very exciting as it will be the first park to offer locals and visitors access to the WiFi service.

“We already provide this service in our libraries, as do many hotels and other businesses in the hospitality industry and it will be most welcome in this wonderful outdoor setting.

“Up to 50 users will be able to utilise the Broadwater Parklands WiFi at any one time, with unlimited downloads,” said Cr Crichlow.

The Wollongong City Council has called for submissions to its draft Wollongong 2022 Community Strategic Plan.

The draft Strategic Plan sets out the community's vision and goals for the next 10 years that will guide Council’s projects and services. It forms part of a suite of strategic management plans currently on exhibition which also includes the Draft Report To The Children and Young People of Wollongong; Draft Resourcing Wollongong 2022: Resource Strategy; and Draft Delivering Wollongong 2022: The Next Five Years which outlines Council's response to draft Wollongong 2022 and details the key projects, activities and finances for the next 5 years, and 2012-13.

The draft Wollongong 2022 is available here  and submissions must be received by Thursday, 24 May 2012.

The Australian National University (ANU) has announced the appointment of Professor Matthew Colless as Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Professor Colless will join the ANU after a highly-distinguished career in astronomy, most recently he was Director of the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young said Professor Colless is a star in the field and will bring strong leadership to the school

“Matthew Colless is a remarkable researcher and one of the world’s most respected astronomers. He will bring immense talent and experience to the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and I welcome him to the team,” Professor Young said.

Professor Colless will join the University in 2013. He takes over from Professor Harvey Butcher, whose five-year contract ends later this year.

The City of Greater Bendigo Council has given the green light for the development of a long-term plan for Bendigo’s transport network.

Mayor Cr Alec Sandner said the City would contribute $150,000 towards the Integrated Transport and Land Use Strategy with the State Government to provide additional support.

Cr Sandner said sustained population growth in recent years meant Greater Bendigo now enjoyed the benefits of a diverse economy, improved services and better job and education opportunities. However, the pressure applied by increased freight and people movements had the potential to impact on the city’s liveability.

“Council is responding by taking a holistic approach to transport and land use rather than seeing improved road infrastructure for private cars and trucks as the only solution,” Cr Sandner said.

“A partnership approach involving the community, City and the State Government will be vital in ensuring this project’s success. Ultimately, the degree to which we can avoid having congestion and widening more roads will be governed by the degree of change our community is prepared to adopt.”

As a precursor to the Strategy, Council staff developed an Integrated Transport Research Paper which examined how other jurisdictions had responded to
their transport pressures and the role of communities and local government in enacting change.

Types of initiatives being used elsewhere include establishing community bus systems, building bicycle lanes and, in some cases, ‘cycle freeways’, promoting development along key transport corridors and around activity centres, creating pedestrian friendly streets and giving priority to inner city development.

For information about the Integrated Transport and Land Use Strategy contact the City’s Strategy Unit at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mirabela Nickel has promised it will review its executive pay packages after its Annual General Meeting saw just over 40 per cent of proxies voted against the company’s proposed remuneration package.

The vote delivers the first strike under the Federal Corporate Governance laws introduced last year, meaning the company will have to revisit the drawing board for a more acceptable pay package for its executives, or else run the risk of a board spill.

Shareholder anger is mostly directed towards the 44 per cent increase in remuneration for the company’s top four executives, with CEO Ian Purdy pocketing a total of $1.94 million, including a $464,000 bonus. 

The Hobart City Council, Glenorchy City Council, Kingborough Council and the Brighton Council have joined forces to partner in a tender for joint procurement of asphalt for local roads and footpaths.

Lord Mayor of Hobart Alderman Damon Thomas said that for a number of years the Hobart City Council had operated an asphalt plant producing asphalt for its needs in the Council’s Quarry at Lenah Valley.

“In the past Kingborough, Glenorchy and Brighton have individually tendered to fulfil their supplies of asphalt. There is a strong probability of savings being made through improved administration and the fact that tenderers are given the opportunity to offer alternatives for the supply of asphalt to more than one council.

“There will also be an opportunity to jointly program road and footpath works across all four Councils to gain further efficiencies and savings,” he said.

Kingborough Mayor Dr Graham Bury said the Council stands to gain significantly from the joint tender.

“Too often in the past there has been criticism of councils for not sharing resources or their knowledge base for the benefit of their ratepayers. While we hope to be able to achieve savings, we’re also achieving the benefits of regional cooperation by working with neighbouring councils,”  he said.

Acting Brighton Mayor Geoff Taylor says the tender contracts will be comprehensive in nature and cover a range of asphalt products and related services such as supply only and supply and lay.

Lord Mayor Thomas said it will be up to each council to make its own decision on the joint tender process.

“All four are confident their ratepayers will be the beneficiaries of significant savings. This has already occurred when a number of Greater Hobart councils jointly tendered for insurance brokerage services to effect major savings on premiums,” he said.