Industry News

Leighton Contractors has been awarded a three-year contract worth $604 million for the provision of mining services at the Peak Downs Mine in Central Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

The contract, awarded by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), extends the services provided at Peak Downs Mine and includes project management, fleet maintenance and operational services for overburden mining at the project.

Greg Fokes, General Manager, Leighton Contractors’ Mining Division, said “This demonstrates our ability to work closely with our clients and add value to their operations, and recognises the hard work the mining team has put into the project over the years at Peak Downs.

“Our relationship with BMA at Peak Downs has now entered its eleventh year and we look forward to continuing to work with BMA and developing future opportunities in the region.”

GHD, one of the world’s largest engineering and architectural consulting firms, has merged with the Sernas Group, a large water engineering firm based in Canada and the USA.

The merger will solidify GHD’s expansion into the Americas with the addition of offices in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Richmond Hill, Whitby, Mississauga and Kitchener.

“We are very excited to have Sernas join our global family. We have been in search of the right partners in the GTA for some time. In Sernas, we have found a group that aligns well with both our culture and our market sectors. Through our combined resources we are able to expand our global reach and share knowledge to serve vital infrastructure markets,” says Ian Shepherd, CEO of GHD.

Reg Webster, former President of Sernas says, “We are excited to be part of GHD and to merge with a Canadian company that operates locally yet is part of a global company of more than 6500 people. Sernas has always been open to opportunities that bring value to our clients, employees and shareholders. With our mutual commitment to clients and staff, and our shared values and culture, GHD is the right fit.”

Downer EDI Limited is combining  its two infrastructure businesses, Downer Australia and Downer New Zealand, to form Downer Infrastructure.

Downer Group will now consist of three businesses – Downer Infrastructure, Downer Mining and Downer Rail.

The Chief Executive Officer of Downer, Grant Fenn, said the establishment of Downer Infrastructure would deliver a range of benefits flowing from greater collaboration including sharing of skills, knowledge and best practice.

“The establishment of Downer Infrastructure will help us optimise our performance, deliver better results for our customers and implement change more effectively,” Mr Fenn said. “It will also deliver a range of benefits across Zero Harm, Risk and Project Management and our key business systems.

“Both in Australia and New Zealand Downer operates in the Transport Infrastructure, Water, Communications and Power markets. Bringing our core businesses together will ensure we leverage our existing expertise more broadly and improve our performance.

“It will also enhance our ability to capitalise on growth opportunities. Significantly, Downer Infrastructure will offer our customers a substantially enhanced asset management capability. This business will provide a completely integrated suite of asset management solutions, from strategic consulting advice, data management systems, tools and programs, through to maintenance skills and services.

“Importantly, Downer Infrastructure will provide greater career opportunities for our employees by facilitating the movement of people as well as knowledge and best practice,” Mr Fenn said.

Downer Infrastructure has work-in-hand of $8.4 billion (31 December 2011) and contributes around half of Downer Group’s revenue and earnings before interest and tax. It employs around 14,000 people.

Downer Infrastructure will now consist of five operational divisions (Australia East, Australia West, New Zealand, Resources and Specialist Services). David Cattell, currently CEO of Downer Australia, has been appointed CEO of Downer Infrastructure.

South Australia’s Parliament has become the first jurisdiction to pass legislation through both houses, establishing Australia’s first National Rail Safety Regulator.

The Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) bill  is a critical component of the Council of Australian Government’s commitment to a single National Rail Safety Regulator by January 2013.

The National Rail Safety Regulator will be based in Adelaide and an announcement on the appointment of the new regulator is expected to be made later this year.

The other states and territories are expected to deliver this legislation through their parliaments in the coming months.

The national regulator will replace seven separate regulatory authorities and 46 pieces of state, territory and Commonwealth legislation.

Doubts have been cast on the future of Sydney’s $8.5 billion, 23 km North West Rail Link by Infrastructure Australia.

National Infrastructure Coordinator, Michael Deegan, said that the NSW Government's analysis of the North West Rail Link is still being considered for Infrastructure Australia to recommend the project join the national infrastructure priority list.

However, while he acknowledged that the NSW Government had undertaken some good work in developing the proposal for the North West Rail Link,  he said it had not yet made a compelling case for the project.

A further meeting to progress the matter had been proposed by Infrastructure Australia, but the NSW Government declined at the last minute to attend.

Mr Deegan said the NSW Government submission provided only preliminary economic analysis and that analysis shows that on the Government's own figures the project is of marginal economic benefit.

“We have to remember that we are talking about a project estimated to cost $8.5 billion. It is not a small amount of money.

“In addition, the submission has left unanswered the question as to how rail network capacity problems from Chatswood into the CBD are to be addressed. There may be interim solutions, for example terminating some trains on the lower north shore, but these have not been presented to us.

“At a deeper level, we also have a question about whether this project is obviously the highest priority project in Sydney. If this project goes ahead, what other projects do not go ahead? Mr Deegan said.

“Unless we look at different ways of funding transport projects, the harsh reality is that government budgets probably only have enough capacity over the next 25 years to build two new rail projects in Sydney.

“We want to make sure that, before governments commit significant funding to these sorts of projects, we are absolutely sure they represent the best way of meeting Sydney's long term needs.”

“With Sydney growing to a population of between 6–7 million in the next 30 years, and much of that growth occurring in western Sydney, we might be better served by a north west link that can build up Parramatta as a second CBD.

“I stress that I'm not talking about the Parramatta-Epping rail link. That project is not on Infrastructure Australia's priority list.

“Compared to the level of analysis we have seen from some other governments, on similarly large projects, the analysis to date from the NSW Government on the North West Rail Link is quite limited.

Those other submissions have provided detailed economic analysis, rigorous assessment of project risks and complete environmental impact statements. That work has not yet been undertaken for the North West Rail line.”

NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell, has accused Infrastructure Australia and the federal government of political brinkmanship over the issue.

The Federal Government has announced 317 projects to be funded under the first round of its Biodiversity Fund, a key component of the Government’s strategy aimed at enhancing a biodiverse carbon storage environment and clean energy methods.

Announcing the first round of funding under the program, Federal Minister for Environment, Tony Burke, and Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet, said the projects would help revegetate and rehabilitate and restore 18 million hectares over the next six years.

Minister Burke said the Biodiversity Fund would provide much needed long-term commitment to biodiversity conservation and restoration with almost half the projects announced today running over a six year period.

“Providing long-term support to land managers leads to enduring results for our environment and for the community,” Mr Burke said.

“Across Australia, farmers and other land managers already do a great job through Landcare work and the Biodiversity Fund will build on this work.

“A number of projects announced in this first round also align with the intent of the draft National Wildlife Corridors Plan helping to improve connectivity in the landscape through the establishment of landscape scale wildlife corridors.

“This program has received overwhelming support from land managers right across the country with the Biodiversity Fund encouraging an additional $207 million in in-kind or financial contributions.”

The Gillard Government will provide $7.1 million over four years to ensure five Community Based Employment Advice Services (CBEAS) can continue to assist thousands of Australia’s most vulnerable workers.

CBEAS are not-for-profit organisations which provide advice, assistance and information to Australians who experience difficulties in asserting and exercising their rights at work.

Clients of CBEAS include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, working Australians with disability, women, mature-age workers, migrants and young people.

The five Community Based Employment Advice Services which will receive funding grants are:

• The South Australian Working Women’s Centre
• The Queensland Working Women’s Centre
• The Northern Territory Working Women’s Centre
• Employment Law Centre in Western Australia, and
• JobWatch (Victoria).

Services offered by the CBEAS include self-help information sessions for people representing themselves before Fair Work Australia, evening legal advice services, community legal education and research services, and telephone advisory services.

The new funding arrangements will commence on 1 July 2012.

Have your say on Work Health and Safety for the next decade 

With only two weeks left until the public comment period closes, workers, employers and policy makers across Australia are reminded to have their say on work, health and safety for the next decade.

The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022 will identify priority industries and set key targets and objectives for the progression of work health and safety in Australia for the next ten years.

Chair of Safe Work Australia, Mr Tom Phillips AM urged all interested Australians to be actively involved with the development of this strategy.

“Safe Work Australia is seeking your views to develop a practical, overarching strategy with targets that all Australian workplaces can and should aspire to achieve,” said Mr Phillips.

“I encourage all those interested regardless of business size and industry to have their say on the future of work health and safety reform in our nation.”

Public comment on the Australian Strategy closes on Monday 21 May 2012. The draft Australian Strategy is the result of months of extensive consultation with workers, unions, employers, employer associations, community groups and other key stakeholders.

To find out more about the Australian Strategy or to provide comment go to www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au.

The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022 will be launched later this year.

Low Carbon Australia’s CEO Meg McDonald addressed the Property Funds Association Conference at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast about the opportunities that existed for transforming existing buildings into greener, more highly desirable commercial space.

"While businesses are focused on the impending introduction of carbon pricing, they haven’t lost sight of the fact that we are already in an era of rising energy prices that are increasing building operating costs, which ultimately can lead to an impact on valuation prices," she said.

"But the threat of increased costs can also provide the incentive to act now to create greener commercial properties."

Ms McDonald said upgrading commercial buildings to make them more energy efficient had a range of advantages including:

• Increased attractiveness to tenants looking for greener, more energy efficient premises
• Prospect of higher rental returns based on evidence that higher NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Ratings System) ratings deliver higher rates of return
• Improved property values
• Compliance with compulsory NABERS disclosure at sale and lease

Low Carbon Australia, which was established by the Australian Government in 2010, partners with major financial institutions and utility services including Origin, NAB, Macquarie, Alleasing and FlexiGroup to provide financial packages to allow the commercial property sector to upgrade buildings with energy efficient equipment and systems.

Low Carbon Australia has certified Western Water’s Class A Recycled Water Plant in Melton, north-west of Melbourne as carbon neutral.

Low Carbon Australia’s CEO Meg McDonald said the Melton plant’s biogas cogeneration facility, which began operating in 2010, uses methane emissions generated from the water recycling process to power the Class A Recycled Water Plant’s operations.

"The plant has been able to reduce its total carbon footprint by just under 75 per cent through cogeneration. It has then purchased offsets approved under the Australian Governments National Carbon Offset Standard to achieve carbon neutrality," she said.

Western Water’s Managing Director John Wilkinson said Western Water was committed to reducing its carbon footprint and adapting to climate change in a way that was socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

"For us, gaining carbon neutral recognition has been an important step towards a sustainable future," he said.

The Class A recycled water is used in Eynesbury for domestic uses other than drinking including toilets, garden watering and car washing. It has helped reduce the pressure on drinking quality water. The planned suburb of Toolern will also receive recycled water from the Melton Plant through a dual-reticulation system.

The Class A recycled water is also accessible for fire fighting.

Claims by the NSW government that public transport would be safer by replacing Transit Officers with Police is merely a smoke and mirrors trick said the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW Secretary Alex Claassens said the move would compromise the safety of commuters and rail workers.

“Replacing 600 Transit Officers dedicated to the train network with 300 Police Officers tasked to cover the whole public transport system cannot possibly improve public safety,” Mr Claassens said.

“By the Government’s own admission they will not increase police numbers back up to 600 until the end of 2014, more than 18months away, and even then they will be stretched across trains, buses and ferries.

“This is a net loss of security presence in the system and a negative outcome for the safety of commuters. “In the meantime dedicated Transit Officers have lost their jobs or been re-tasked to the Revenue Protection Unit – raising revenue for the Government.”

Mr Claassens said using Police to patrol public transport had been tried and failed before.

Economist, business-owner and environmentalist, Peter Whish-Wilson has been selected by the Tasmanian Greens to replace Bob Brown in the Senate.

"Peter will be a superb representative for Tasmania. As an economist, business owner and campaigner to stop a polluting pulp mill in the Tamar Valley, he brings great experience and an excellent skills-set to the Senate and the Greens party room,” Australian Greens Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

Mr Whish-Wilson said "I feel honoured to have been chosen by the Greens to be their new Tasmanian Senator, and I'm very excited to be working with Christine Milne.”

Australian Greens spokesperson for communications Senator Scott Ludlam warned against further extending the loosely defined and already over-reaching online surveillance powers of Australia's intelligence agencies.

"[The] announcement starts the next chapter of the 'data retention' debate (#ozlog) which the Government should have backed away from. This is the idea that all our personal data should be stored by service providers so that every move we make can be surveilled or recalled for later data mining. It is premised on the unjustified paranoia that all Australians are potential criminal suspects."

"Australians are already under a phenomenal amount of government surveillance. Nearly a quarter of a million telecommunications data warrants were granted in 2010-11 according to the annual Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act report.

"This includes detailed locational data logged by every smartphone, every minute of the day," says Ludlam.

Six workers in Albury-Wodonga have been back-paid a total of $48,700 following recent intervention by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The largest recovery was $31,100 for two workers at a Wodonga consultancy.

The employees - a male and female in their 40s - lodged complaints with the Fair Work Ombudsman after they were incorrectly classified as independent contractors and underpaid annual leave and long service leave entitlements.

After a Fair Work inspector contacted the business and explained its obligations, the workers were reimbursed all the money owed without the need for further action against the employer.

The two workers were back-paid $17,700 and $13,400 respectively.

In a separate case, three retail workers in Albury have been back-paid $11,100 after they were underpaid the minimum hourly rate.

And in another case, an Albury shop assistant has been back-paid $6500 after she was underpaid annual leave entitlements.

Between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered a total of $68.2 million for 41,224 underpaid workers nationally.

“When we find mistakes, we’re here to assist and give practical advice to employers on how to voluntarily fix them,” says Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson.

Mr Wilson says that the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Assisted Voluntary Resolution team is now achieving resolution of about half its referrals with the first month.

“These Albury-Wodonga businesses have now corrected the errors that led to the underpayments and put processes in place to ensure they will not happen again.”

More information about independent contracting and sham contracting is at www.fairwork.gov.au/contractors.

The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, has announced the completion of three Cap and Pipe the Bores schemes in the state’s north-west, providing a combined savings of 1,400 ML of water annually.

Twenty landholders participated from the Goodooga, Burren Junction and Walgett areas.

“Replacing the free flowing artesian bores and bore drains with efficient piped systems, ensures landholders receive a clean, reliable stock and domestic water supply,”  Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The well-designed piped systems will prevent water being lost through evaporation and seepage as previously experienced with the open earth drains.”

Ms Hodgkinson said as well as saving water, the schemes will stop around 1,300 tonnes per year of salt from entering the Murray-Darling River system.

The construction of the schemes has supplied and installed a combined total of 323 km of pipeline, four new bores, 212 tanks and 480 troughs.

“The landholders will benefit from the schemes through improved water use efficiency, and opportunities for more sustainable land and stock management practices.”

“Capping and piping these artesian bores also assists the recovery of artesian pressure in the Great Artesian Basin.”

“In addition, the new piped schemes will help prevent pests, weeds and land degradation.”

The program has been jointly funded by the NSW and Australian Governments, through the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI).

“This valuable work will help protect and restore the Great Artesian Basin for future generations,” said Ms Hodgkinson.

 “This infrastructure investment is a great benefit to many landholders and the environment across a vast area of north-western NSW,” Mr Humphries said.

“As well as saving water, the capping and piping of these bores will restore artesian pressure and stop large volumes of salt from entering the Murray-Darling Basin system.”

Additional information regarding the Cap & Pipe the Bores Program is available on the NSW Office of Water website: www.water.nsw.gov.au

A property manager employed by a Sydney commercial property management company has been convicted of seven counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and sentenced to a maximum of 18 months imprisonment, suspended on him entering into a bond.

Paul Francis Charles Stevens worked as a property manager at a Sydney commercial property management company for more than six years and in that time he stole tenants’ rent cheques from his employer and deposited cheques into his own account.

Unlawfully having possession of the cheques, he over-wrote the payee name particulars with ‘P Stevens’ and overlayed it with a ‘Not Negotiable’ stamp imprint to disguise the true payee.

Later, he presented the forged cheques to cause deposit credit entries to be recorded in a bank account of Paul Stevens Property Services Pty Limited, trading as Paul Stevens Property Services.

The District Court in August last year upheld the sentence of an unlicensed real estate agent, Phillip Chau, to 18 months imprisonment, with a non parole period of 12 months, for misappropriating monies from clients’ property trust accounts. Mr Chau was ordered to pay $123,830 to the Property Services Compensation Fund.

Earlier in 2011, Fair Trading prosecuted Navid Azzati, the director of a company formerly trading as Raine & Horne Fairfield. Mr Azzati was sentenced to seven months imprisonment, suspended on him entering a bond, for fraudulently misappropriating monies. He was ordered to pay $58,855 to the Property Services Compensation Fund.

The Queensland Government has announced a new wages framework providing pay increases of up to 3 per cent to public servants in return for productivity savings that deliver better services and value for money for Queensland taxpayers.

Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the State Government was committed to good faith bargaining and delivering fair wage outcomes for public servants.

“With headline inflation running at 1.6 per cent nationally, the Newman LNP Government’s wages framework is very fair and reasonable and fulfils our commitment to good faith bargaining," he said.

“The Newman LNP Government is removing Labor’s arbitrary 2.5 per cent wage cap because we know the public service can and will deliver real benefits through savings and improved productivity in return for higher wages.

“This is about delivering fair wages in return for fair outcomes.

“Labor left the state’s finances in a mess, with a $2.8 billion deficit and debt heading towards $85 billion, and we need the assistance of unions and public servants to identify waste and deliver real, bankable productivity savings.

“We believe it is possible to properly reward staff, while also ensuring financial sustainability and good returns for the public.

IP Australia has launched its online service, eServices, which provides a secure electronic business portal to register, login and conduct selected transactions.

In the first release of eServices customers can renew all IP rights and submit trade mark registrations electronically, and pay for them online using VISA or MasterCard. You can also access new features such as the option to save your requests, access your eServices transaction history and update your details.

The services and transactions within eServices have built-in checks and pre-populated fields to save time and help ensure the accuracy of the information.

Over the coming months IP Australia will be adding more transactions and services to the portal to make it a one-stop-shop to help in the management of IP assets.

Poor demand and subdued workloads - particularly in the apartment building sub-sector – has pushed the national construction sector further into the red over April, according to the latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI).

The Index, prepared in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association, was 1.3 points weaker at 34.9 in April (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease).

Continuing the recent trend, apartment building was the weakest of the four sub-sectors with an index reading of 22.9. The index of house building (33.3) and commercial construction (35.2) activity also remained well below the expansion-contraction threshold of 50, reflecting the persistence of weak demand conditions in both sectors. Despite declining in the month, engineering construction continued to be the sector showing the greatest resilience due to the strength of resource related projects.

Australian Industry Group Director Public Policy, Peter Burn, said: "The fall in construction activity in April is further evidence of the widespread nature of the current slowdown in the broader economy.

The ongoing weakness in the residential and commercial construction sub-sectors was exacerbated by the slowing in engineering construction activity that has now been in train since the start of the year.

Last week's reduction in interest rates will help counter the existing headwinds while the construction industry will have a close eye on tomorrow's Budget and the impacts it may have on business, household and public sector demand over the year ahead," Dr Burn said.

Housing Industry Association Economist, Geordan Murray, said: "Evidence of a persistent weakening in Australia's residential construction industry is continuing unabated in 2012. This latest, softer, Australian PCI result vindicates the larger interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank last week and justifies the case for further action. Federal and state government support and policy reform is a vital plank in restoring confidence and activity in the residential construction industry - interest rate relief can't do all the heavy lifting," Mr Murray said.

Australian PCI Key Findings for April:

• The national construction sector contracted again in April with particular weakness in apartment building, housing and commercial construction.
• The latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI) in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association, dropped 1.3 points to 34.9 in April (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease).
• The Australian PCI has now been in negative territory for almost two years.
• While resource-related projects are giving some support to the engineering construction sector, weak demand and difficulties securing funding for work continue to hamper the apartment building (22.9), house building (33.3) and commercial construction (35.2) sub-sectors.
• New orders sub-index contracted for the 23rd straight month in April - recording 32.3.
• Employment continued to contract at a broadly unchanged rate in April (39.6).

The Australian Water Association (AWA) and Opus International Consultants (Opus) have established a new registered training organisation for the water sector, AWA Opus Water Industry Training Institute (WITI).

AWA Chief Executive Mr Tom Mollenkopf says WITI has been set up to ensure that AWA can continue to assist industry to meet skill needs.

“Through this unique partnership, we will be able to deliver efficient and responsive training programs to industry. The establishment of this joint venture RTO will bring a sharp commercial focus to the challenge of delivering quality training particularly in hard-to-service areas of rural and regional Australia”, said Mr Mollenkopf.

Initially WITI will focus on delivering NWP30107 Certificate III in Water Operations and intends to provide NWP20107 Certificate II in Water Operations in the future upon application. Qualifications initially focusing on Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment and Reticulation and Distribution will be offered and can be customised to suit workplace needs.

In the future WITI will also offer short courses based on clusters of units of competency as required for the accreditation of employees.