Industry News

The New South Wales Government has released an issues paper and announced a parliamentary committee as the next steps to reforming WorkCover NSW.

State Minister for Finance and Services, Greg Pearce, said the scheme will run a $4 billion deficit and would fast become unviable unless it was reformed to make it more economically sound.

“We want to transform the scheme to ensure injured workers get the best treatment as quickly as possible; that employers are not hit by massive premium hikes; and that our State has a solid scheme which will do its job well into the future,” Mr Pearce said.

“Analysis by WorkCover, the independent scheme actuary - PwC - and the Auditor-General have concluded that the scheme in its current form is not financially sustainable.”

Mr Pearce warned that without immediate action, NSW businesses could face premium hikes of up to 28 per cent on average.

“Huge increases in premiums would be a damaging impost on business owners and operators who work hard to make a living and generate jobs for others,” Mr Pearce said.

“With premiums in NSW already between 20 and 60 per cent higher than in Victoria and Queensland, any increase would only drive more businesses and more jobs interstate.”

Mr Pearce also announced the Joint Parlimentary Committee of eight, to be chaired by Robert Borsak, and consist of four Coalition MPs, two labor MPs and one Christian Democratic Party MP.

The committee will be tasked with inquiring and reporting on:

• The performance of the scheme in the key objectives of promoting better health and return-to-work outcomes;
• The financial sustainability of the scheme; and
• The functions and operations of the WorkCover Authority.

The committee will report to the Government in late May

The issues paper can be found here 

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

High demand exists for early childhood teachers, Diploma candidates and candidates with experience working with children with additional needs.

“From January 2014, preschool and long day care centres with fewer than 25 children will need to have an early childhood teacher in attendance for some of the time the service is provided to children. Services with 25 to 29 children will need to have an early childhood teacher in attendance when the service is provided. In addition, fifty percent of staff will need a diploma qualification or be studying towards their qualification, while all coordinators will be required to have a diploma qualification.”

Short term contract workers are sought in secondary teaching and also executive candidates available for school leadership positions in 2013.

The north, east and city of Sydney is experiencing a severe shortage of qualified teaching staff in early years.

“In the middle of the year long-term temporary roles become more common due to the prevalence of maternity and long service leave. Many jobs are recruited on a temporary basis until the end of the year, when a permanent candidate is sourced for the start of the following year,” says the report.

The report can be found here.

International professional services specialist Hays has released research that found that growth, cloud, social, mobile and analytics are among this year’s top HR trends.

According to the company’s 2^nd annual Human Capital Trends 2012, Leap Ahead report, these trends will provide businesses the opportunities to accelerate growth for 2012 and beyond.

The report examines eight major human capital trends that are reshaping the field of HR, while also highlighting major trends that will have the most potential to impact businesses over the next 18-24 months.

According to Lisa Barry, Deloitte Consulting’s National Leader of Human Capital, businesses in Australia need to continue to drive growth by ensuring HR boosts capabilities in three key areas: emerging markets, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and innovation.  

“In 2012, these three areas are not only offering significant growth opportunities for organisations but also present a wide range of people-related challenges. For example, within emerging markets there is a raft of capabilities, employability and cultural issues impacting on talent which needs to be prioritised in order for growth opportunities to be met.”

“Mergers and acquisitions may be a fast way to expand a business but often specific talents and capabilities can be gained using M&A as a strategy. It is critical that HR’s role in M&A activity also leverages culture, leadership and talent in order to gain from these transactions,” said Ms Barry.

The report identified that HR and innovation can actively support an organisation’s growth agenda. However, organisations need to ensure innovation is not narrowly defined and includes HR innovations such as aligning people and talent factors like leadership, capabilities, processes, technology and organisational structures.

“Innovation must not be relegated to a specific team of people focusing on product development. A more holistic approach to innovation can drive business growth and leaders need to define innovation broadly to include services, processes, and business model and cost structure improvements across an organisation,” added Ms Barry.

The report identified specific steps HR can take now in order to support the CEO’s growth agenda:

• Manage talent with growth in mind
• Groom business leaders who can drive growth and innovation globally
• Counsel the executive team  in people-related areas
• Build an HR team focussed on informing and enabling growth.

“It will be those organisations that use HR teams to deal with people related challenges and adjust their HR and talent priorities accordingly that will leap ahead and drive efficiency and value in an organisation” said Ms Barry.

The report can be found here

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

Recruiters are in strong demand in the mining sector and associated industries. Employers are up-skilling their employees so Learning and Development and Training specialists are saught.

SA’s public sector is looking for contractors for Learning & Development projects and Change Management candidates following a portfolio restructure of Government Departments.

The report can be found here.

Brisbane Based manufacturer Ferra Engineering has won the prestigious Boeing International Supplier of the Year award.

Ferra was selected from a pool of more than 17,5000 Boeing suppliers.

Ferra manufactures a range of parts for Boeing including:

• Rudder pedals for Super Hornet fighter planes; and
• Spare parts to Boeing B737, B747 and B757 commercial aeroplanes.

“This is an outstanding achievement. This is a testament to the capability of the Australian Defence industry – especially our small and medium sized businesses like Ferra,” Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare said.

Ferra won the work with Boeing through the Federal Government’s Global Supply Chain Program which facilitates opportunities for Australian industry to gain access to export markets with international defence primes.

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of an independent expert committee to assist and advice Innovation Australia to deliver $1 billion in Clean Technology Investment programs.

The seven member committee is comprised of leading technology figures and will assess applications by businesses for funding under the two Clean Technology Investment programs.

Announcing the committee, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation Senator Kate Lundy said there has been a strong response to the programs since they were launched in February and that they would help Australian businesses transform to a clean energy future.

We have seen a huge amount of interest from the manufacturing sector in these programs and this committee of experts will play a vital role in assessing the merit of applications," Senator Lundy said.

"Collectively, the new appointments have a broad range of experience in business and clean technology and I am very pleased that we have been able to appoint a committee of this calibre.

"Their manufacturing experience and expertise will enable them to help deliver the important Clean Technology Investment programs to ensure the sector invests in clean energy and remains competitive."

The committee will oversea the investment funding from the two programs: the $800 million Clean Technology Investment Program and the $200 million Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program.

Full biographies can be found here

http://ausindustry.gov.au/programs/CleanTechnology/Pages/CleanTech-CommitteBiographies.aspx

The Victorian Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell has announced she has accepeted the recommendations of the final report of the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) on its electoral represenations of the review of the Melbourne City Council.

As a consequence the Melbourne City Council will have the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and 9 Councillors elected to an unsubdivided municipality at council elections on 27 October this year. This is an increase of two Councillors over the current arrangements.

"I'm satisfied the VEC has complied with public consultation process set out in the Act, has given due consideration to the submissions it received and that its recommendations will provide fair and equitable representation for the MCC," Mrs Powell said.

The VEC review of the Council's electoral structure was initiated at the request of the MCC.

"Since the last electoral review of the MCC in 2001 there have been substantial changes to the municipality with the incorporation of Docklands and parts of Kensington increasing the population substantially.

The Victorian Government has granted construction approval for Australia’s third-tallest building, with a permit with conditions given for the $275 million tower to be construction at the former Queensbridge Hotel site.

The 71-storey (276 metres) residential tower will be Melbourne's second-tallest building (Eureka 297 metres, Rialto 254 metres) and will comprise 592 apartments as well as ground floor and mezzanine retail space. The project will create more than 800 jobs and will be a major employment boost.

The project will be a major employer, creating 650 construction jobs, 50 jobs in planning and design, 25 jobs in building management, and 80 retail jobs.

A number of stringent conditions are attached to the permit to appropriately respond to Melbourne City Council's views, including increased setbacks from neighbouring buildings, and access arrangements and ground level amenity that reflect consideration of the public feedback and concerns addressed to the Minister.

Details of the proposal by Schiavello (Vic) Pty Ltd are outlined in the planning permit available at www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning/permits 

Victorian Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell has released the quarterly report from the government-appointed Monitor overseeing the activities and performance of Ararat Rural City Council.

"I appointed Paul Evans to the role of Monitor in January 2012 and I'm pleased that his report indicates the Council has improved its understanding of and compliance with the Local Government Act," Mrs Powell said.

"Last year's investigation into the Ararat Rural City Council by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate raised significant concerns regarding the operation of the Council.

Mr Evans, a former Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police, was appointed to guide the Council in regard to good governance and administration and assess the implementation of the advice provided.

The investigation was ordered after it was found that there were significant concerns with aspects of the Council’s processes and compliance with the Local Government Act 1989.

Victorian TAFE institutions are in a healthy financial position, with a combined total surplus of $98 million, according to annual reports tabled in the State Parliament.

State Minister for Higher Eduaction and Skills Peter Hall said the reports show that the state’s TAFEs had adapted well to funding changes.

"The annual reports show despite the transition, Victoria's 18 TAFEs have posted robust financial results, with a combined funded surplus of $98 million, and have held their student numbers in the face of strong training competition," Mr Hall said.

"These are sound financial results which will enable TAFEs to continue providing the incredibly important training programs to support the Victorian economy and meet the needs and aspirations of Victorians."

Mr Hall said the 2011 annual reports showed:

• Box Hill TAFE experienced a significant enrolment increase to 22,222 students, up 4,681 students from 2010;
• Gordon Institute of TAFE also experienced an enrolment jump to 16,000 students, up 3,025 students from 2010;
• Fees from international students attending Victorian TAFEs totaled $132 million, up from $125 million in 2010.

Mr Hall said of the 18 TAFEs two had recorded a small operating deficit.

"The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is now working with those institutes to address the financial problems they are facing," he said.

Mr Hall said TAFEs played a critical role in Victoria's training system and they would continue to be supported by the Coalition Government.

The Victorian Minister for Local Government, Jeanette Powell, has opened the 2012 Australian Local Government Women’s Association with a call for more action to address the gender imbalance in local government.

"Women outnumber men in Victoria and outnumber men as staff in local government, yet when it comes to leadership positions in local government women are in the minority," said Mrs Powell.

Less than 30 percent of Victorian councillors are women. In the last local government elections, over a quarter of voter wards and un-subdivided municipalities had no women candidates. Today only 14 of 79 councils have female CEOs.

"The Victorian Coalition Government is taking direct action to expand the pool of intelligent and articulate women candidates," Mrs Powell said.

"Think Women" forums have been held across the state over the past six months to encourage women to participate and there are more planned.

"It's through this kind of targeted support and encouragement for women considering candidacy that the imbalance of women at the local government level can really be tackled.

The Western Australian Government has released design guidelines for the new Prth Waterfront project.

State Planning Minister John Day said the guideline gives an accurate impression as to what the site will look like when completed.

“Perth Waterfront will be developed as a place for people - it will showcase the latest thinking in sustainable building and urban design, with a key focus on the way people interact,” he said.

“The design guidelines set provisions for building specifications and land use across each of the nine development sites and provide a flexible framework to encourage innovative design from future developers.

In addition to the release of the draft design guidelines, the Minister said a proposed scheme amendment which would officially transfer planning authority for the Perth Waterfront project to the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) was also open for public consultation.

The Western Australian Government has released a comprehensive plan to address traffic congestion in and around Perth’s CBD in the wake of the Perth Waterfront Development and Perth city Link.

State Transport Minister Troy Buswell and Treasurer Christian Porter announced the $47.6 million 2012-13 Budget package to ensure the city had a sustainable transport network to accommodate major city projects and a growing population.

“The Perth Waterfront Development, Perth City Link and Riverside projects are under way or are about to start, and are integral components to the transformation of Perth into a vibrant and modern city,” Mr Buswell said.

“These projects will clearly impact on the flow of traffic in and around the city, and the CBD Transport Plan outlines how this impact will be managed and how we can better meet the needs of drivers, users of public transport, pedestrians and cyclists.”

The Minister said $47.6 million from the Perth Parking Management Account would be used to introduce active traffic management, which uses CCTV cameras to provide information to road users and to incident response crews which remove broken-down vehicles.

“Active traffic management will increase road safety and traffic capacity by minimising disruption from crashes and breakdowns on the Graham Farmer Freeway and the inner-city sections of the Mitchell and Kwinana freeways, as well as blockages from illegal clearway parking in the CBD,” he said.

“It will also involve real time management of traffic signals, so where incidents occur or roadworks are impeding traffic flow, Main Roads will modify traffic signal timings to maximise traffic flow, particularly during peak periods.”

The Queensland Minister for Environment Andrew Powell has demanded chemical manufacturer Orica improve its environmental track record or face serious consequences.

The threat comes after Mr Powell visited Gladstone earlier last week to examine the development of the area and meet with local council members.

“After receiving information relating to the company’s activities in Gladstone, I immediately asked for an urgent detailed briefing,” Mr Powell said. 

Orica is presently subject to Planning and Environment Court proceedings, where EHP is seeking an ‘Enforcement Order’. The company is also subject to a prosecution relating to cyanide contamination of stormwater in 2010. 

“I am deeply concerned by the long history of environmental non-compliance by Orica, and frankly disappointed by the lack of immediate action by the company to address issues at the site, particularly in light of the past poor performance of the company which dates back to 2007,” he said. 

Mr Powell said Environment and Heritage officers had spent considerable time onsite recently overseeing operations to ensure that ongoing management of Orica’s cyanide plant complies with approval conditions. 

“I have been informed that there is no risk to public health with issues relating to the latest breaches, however this behavior clearly constitutes a serious violation of our environmental standards,” he said. 

“I encourage Orica to continue to do its utmost to co-operate with EHP and demonstrate a commitment to ensuring the site is at an appropriate standard. 

The Queensland Government has announced the launching of a new tool to assist irrigators calculate when and how much water their crops require.

The Scheduling Irrigation diary, released by South East Queensland Irrigation Futures, is a web-based software tool to assist in boosting water efficiency in the state.

“The tool uses real time rainfall, as well as evaporation data from the Bureau of Meteorology to determine soil moisture content and work out the water requirements of the crop,” Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Andrew Cripps said. 

“Irrigators simply enter data such as soil types, crops, plant and harvest dates into the program which then determines when and how much to irrigate, up to a week in advance. 

“To have this knowledge ahead of time will enable irrigators to make better decisions and avoid over or under watering, thus saving both water and money. 

“Improving and refining irrigation scheduling on the farm is one of the keys to water use efficiency in agriculture and making good choices about water use is a focus of government and industry water use efficiency programs,’’ 

The tool has been developed by the National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture, based at the University of Southern Queensland. 

For further information or to set up a free account please visit the Scheduling Irrigation Diary at http://sid.usq.edu.au  

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

Due to a huge shortfall, there is a call out for experienced Fleet Controllers and MSIC cardholding drivers.

Both warehouse and transport industries will see a demand increase for Account Managers with operations backgrounds.

“Warehousing and distribution is being outsourced to specialist 3rd party providers and this is fuelling a continued need for candidates. In addition, larger 3rd party logistics providers are increasing their market share on smaller competitors either through acquisition or by offering solutions that smaller businesses cannot, such as direct into store, warehousing and transport and 4PL,” says the report.

The freight forwarding industry is experiencing need for sea imports and exports operators who have been exposed to the project sector.

The supply chain industry needs candidates with experience in the resource industry who can work on large scale contracts.

Also, with the focus shifting towards IT in the logistics industry, Supply Chain, Inventory and Material Analysts are needed.

Hays report can be found here.

CommSec has released this quarters State of the States report, providing an in depth analyses of the country’s states using eight key indicators: economic growth retail spending requipment investment unemployment construction work done population growth housing finance and dwelling commencements.

Western Australia was clearly found to be the country’s best performing economy, outperforming all states in economic growth, construction work, unemployment, retail trade and equipment investment.

While lagging behind in equipment investment, Victoria maintained strong housing indicators and good retail spending, with the ACT also recording similar growth.

Queensland is continuing its forward momentum in all performance rankings, with the state benefitting from rebuilding work and coming in second place on economic growth.

New South Wales was found to be lagging behind in economic growth, while its population is providing an ample amount of skilled labor and floating housing finance.

Tasmania has slipped further down in economic performance rankings, lacking momentum in key areas, while recording strong dwelling commencement.

The report found the Northern Territory to be enjoying low unemployment and strong retail spending, while lagging behind in housing indicators and population growth.

The full report can be found here 

The Federal Government has released the Australian Water Supplier Compact, which will aim to encourage the country’s water suppliers and urban utilities to meet the needs of Australia’s urban water supply.

"This will be an opportunity for the water supply industry to work with utilities to meet the changing needs of Australia's urban water supply,” Minister for Industry and Innovation Greg Combet said.

"The Water Supplier Compact demonstrates that Australian urban water utilities and suppliers are committed to tackling barriers to innovation, investment and trade, and to increasing suppliers' access to business opportunities within the sector.”

Mr Combet also announced a $700,000 grant to increase opportunities for local water companies to win contracts in the United States.

The funding is part of the Supplier Access to Major Projects (SAMP) program and is being delivered through the Industry Capability Network (ICN).

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

Mechanical Designers with a good knowledge of Inventor software are in demand particularily resources and mining projects.

The building services market is gaining momentum and reflects a growing need for candidates with a background in Mechanical Engineering. Candidates with a focus on Green Star and Environmentally Sustainability are well regarded.

There is a demand for senior Electrical Design Engineers and experienced Revit Design Drafters.

“Within rail infrastructure demand is rising for Traction Power, Signalling & Track Design Engineers with Engineering Authority and Rail/Civil Estimators. Given our aging population of engineers, the number of experienced designers holding the appropriate authority is shrinking rapidly and intermediate engineers are not being mentored or trained to take over,” said the report, which can be found here.

Global recruitment specialist Hays has released its quarterly report into recruitment trends for the April – June 2012 quarter.

The report finds an expected surge in demand for health and aged care providers, as the country’s ageing poplation leads to an increase in residential and community services.

Specialist nurses and midwives will be needed in rural areas, where recruitment is the most difficult according to the report.

“In addition, the new accreditation process means that standards in every area are improving. As a result, more full time and casual staff are needed,” the report found.

The report can be found here