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Mortgage predators stalked Best start for babies House of Representatives Magazine – Issue 32, September 2007 Bees Billion dollar UP Front Celebrating 20 years In September 1987 the House of Representatives established a system of nine general purpose standing committees that allow the House to consider and report upon the full range of activity by the Commonwealth government. To mark the 20th anniversary, a seminar will be held at Parliament House on Friday 15 February 2008. The date has been chosen to avoid the likely election period. The seminar will consider themes of achievements and challenges, community participation and member education, and future directions for House committees. For further details on the seminar contact Glenn Worthington by emailing glenn.worthington.reps@aph.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 4465. Next year Parliament House turns 20. The building was opened by the Queen on 9 May 1988. To celebrate the anniversary, Parliament House Open Day will be held on Saturday 10 May 2008. Looking at a sea change Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has asked the House of Representatives Environment and Heritage Committee to investigate the environmental implications of the sea change phenomenon, which has seen an increase in population and the intensification of land use along Australia’s coast. Issues to be examined include measures to reduce the environmental impacts of an increasing coastal population and mechanisms to promote sustainable coastal communities and protect Australia’s coastline. The committee is currently examining information available and will call for public submissions at a later date. About the House is published by the Department of the House of Representatives. For more information on the work of Australia’s House of Representatives visit: www.aph.gov.au/house/news Produced by: Liaison and Projects Office, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone: Freecall 1800 139 299 Fax: (02) 6277 8521 Email: liaison.reps@aph.gov.au Editor: Andres Lomp Deputy Editors: Andrew Dawson and Bronwyn Allan Correspondents: Georgie Oakeshott, Sharon Palmer and Judith Ireland Administration: Joe Italiano Creative Direction and Production: Prue Beckett, PBMC Design: Kate Gosnell Printing: Print National Photographs from Photolibrary unless otherwise indicated. Limited advertising space available, contact the Liaison and Projects Office. To subscribe free of charge to this magazine, contact the Liaison and Projects Office. Front cover: Jupiterimages Back cover: Geothermal power station (see feature page 28). Photo: Photolibrary Photo: AUSPIC Tell us what you think About the House will not be published during the upcoming election period, as the House of Representatives will be dissolved at that time and House committees do not operate. We will resume publication once parliament meets again and committees have commenced their work. In the meantime, we would like to know what you think of About the House. Please complete the survey for readers enclosed with this copy of About the House and fax it to us on (02) 6277 8521 or post it back free of charge (just follow the instructions on the survey form). Or go to www.aph.gov.au/house/news and fill in the survey online. With thanks Our Deputy Editor, Bronwyn Allan, will be retiring in September, so this will be her last issue. Bronwyn has been with About the House since 1999—part of the original team that established the magazine. We thank Bronwyn for her significant contribution over the past eight years—helping us to grow from a small bulletin to the magazine it is today. We wish her well with all she does in the future.  About the House September 2007 Contents contents Billion Dollar Bees FeatUres 24 28 32 Traps of the trade Why borrowers should be cautious 18 Issue 32, September 2007 The heat is on Can hot rocks power Australia? Milking the cash cow What’s really driving our economy? 36 42 Baby on board Giving babies the best start Y vote Getting young Australians involved 46 Bridging the gap A professional dilemma regUlars 4 6 8 9 50 51 55 56 57 57 58 Despatch Box Hillside The Law News Extra The Wrap One on One House Rules Education Question Time House Work About the House September 2007  BOX Despatch Mail >> Seniors need home delivery I seek leave to draw your attention to the fact that a lot of senior citizens such as myself will be forced into residential care before our time by the new refusal of many major supermarkets to do any home deliveries at all, making it simply impossible to shop for groceries. It is not satisfactory to say we should shop for the necessities of life on-line for delivery, as a home computer costs a fortune to run even if one were given one, and a lot of very old people can’t use them. No-one is asking for charity: we paid for the groceries and we have tried to offer to pay extra for home delivery to be restored. I don’t know what ‘Friends of the Disabled’ are doing about this (About the House, December 2006), as it also means the disabled can’t shop for the necessities of life in suburbs where the monster supermarket refuses now to deliver, and, like the senior citizens, they pay and are not asking for charity. D Fitzgerald Curtin, ACT Maybe the plight of rural industries in finding labour is about to be recognised. Warren Taylor Australian Queen Bee Exporters Pty Ltd Blayney, NSW Alcohol is the real problem Reading the article ‘Wasted lives’ (About the House, June 2007), one might easily get the impression that the only drugs that “…have devastating effects for families” are illicit ones. Nothing could be further from the truth. The drug that most devastates families is everyone’s favourite—alcohol. This is, and always has been, the case. I sincerely hope that Mrs Bishop tackles the real problem with her committee next. Then again, if the treatment of some witnesses appearing before this inquiry was repeated, many of them would be unwilling to give evidence. Daryl Smeaton Chief Executive Officer, Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation Ltd Deakin West, ACT “A lot of senior citizens such as myself will be forced into residential care before our time.” A cracking read About the House magazine is a cracking read every month. As a lecturer in Public Sector Management the magazine is a great way for me to get my graduate students grappling with how to go about preparing for the management and administration of policy alternatives. The articles give the students the necessary background to understand what is happening and what might come out of the process. It also gives the students an insight into how our political process works, especially the checks and balances undertaken by the Senate. From a personal point of view, it is possibly the best way for someone like me to keep in touch with the Hill without actually being there. Keep up the excellent work. Dr Jason Mazanov, MAPS Lecturer, School of Business UNSW@ADFA Canberra, ACT Something we all face I have been receiving About the House for some time. I am now 64 and navigating the ageing minefield is something we all face. I do a lot of serving for the Prahran Mission and find now that as I get older, sometimes I wonder about my finances, my fitness and my mind. D Fitzgerald receives a $100 music voucher for the letter sent in. Thank you for your article ‘Navigating the ageing minefield’ (June 2007), I found it very helpful. Lyn Ross Prahran, Victoria Have your say Send your letters to: About the House Mail, Liaison and Projects Office, House of Representatives, Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600, or email: liaison.reps@aph.gov.au or fax: (02) 6277 8521 Please include name, address and daytime contact details. Letters may be edited to fit available space and for clarity.  Rural plight recognised Your magazine About the House just keeps getting better. My congratulations to you and your staff for issue 31 (June 2007), in particular thanks to Georgie Oakeshott for her report on rural skills and training entitled ‘The talent drought’. www.aph.gov.au/news >> About the House September 2007 CoMMiTTees geT responses >> Since 1978 governments have followed a practice of responding formally to committee reports by way of a statement presented to the House of Representatives. The original commitment was to respond within six months of the presentation of the report, but in 1983 this period was reduced to three months. This year government responses have been received to a number of committee reports, detailed below. aboriginal and torres strait Islander affairs Committee • Many ways forward: Report on the inquiry into capacity building and service delivery in Indigenous communities electoral Matters Committee • Funding and disclosure: Inquiry into disclosure of donations to political parties and candidates employment, Workplace relations and Workforce Participation Committee • Employment in the automotive component manufacturing sector • Increasing participation in the workforce Foreign affairs, Defence and trade Committee • Review of Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Agreement • Australia’s defence relations with the United States of America • Expanding Australia’s trade and investment relations with North Africa • Australia’s relationship with the Republic of Korea and developments on the Korean Peninsula • Review of the Defence Annual Report 2004-2005 • Review of the operation of the Free Trade Agreements with Singapore, Thailand and the United States of America Industry and resources Committee • Getting a better return • Australia’s uranium: Greenhouse friendly fuel for an energy hungry world legal and Constitutional affairs Committee • Crime in the community Migration Committee • Review of Audit Report No 1, 2005-2006 – Management of detention centre contracts national Capital and external territories Committee • Current and future governance arrangements in the Indian Ocean Territories • Antarctica: Australia’s pristine frontier Public accounts and audit Committee • Report 372: Corporate governance and accountability arrangements for Commonwealth government business enterprises • Report 407—Review of Auditor-General’s reports tabled between 18 January and 18 April 2005 transport and regional services Committee • Ship salvage—Inquiry into maritime salvage in Australian waters • Regional aviation and island transport services: Making ends meet treaties Committee • Treaties tabled on 28 March and 5 September 2006 • Treaties tabled on 7 December 2004 and 15 March and 11 May 2005 Further information can be obtained from the committee websites or by contacting the relevant committee by email or phone (see House Work on pages 58 and 59 for contact details). Changing of The guarD >> Senator Alan Ferguson (pictured), from South Australia, has been elected the new President of the Senate following the retirement of Senator Paul Calvert. For the past eight years, Senator Ferguson has been chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Taking over as chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is Senator Marise Payne, from New South Wales. For the past six years, Senator Payne has been chair of the committee’s Human Rights Sub-Committee. iT’s an honour >> Viewers of Question Time will see him seated in front of the Speaker’s chair, providing procedural advice and taking notes of the decisions taken in the House of Representatives chamber. But there’s a lot more that the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ian Harris does. He is chief executive of the Department of the House of Representatives. Mr Harris also recently completed a three year term as the President of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments, an international association for the leaders of parliamentary administrations. He has participated in a number of United Nations Development Program activities, helping to develop parliamentary democracy in regions throughout the world. Currently Mr Harris also holds the position of Senior Parliamentary Counsel for Timor-Leste. In recognition of all that he does, Mr Harris was recently awarded an Order of Australia. About the House September 2007  Hillside police need more protection IN the wake of the recent murder of Constable Brett Irwin while on duty in Brisbane, the Member for Forde (Qld), Kay Elson, has called on state and territory governments to do more to protect police. Mrs Elson told the House of Representatives 123 people in Queensland were sent to prison last year for assaulting a police officer, another 72 received wholly suspended jail sentences and 15 were placed on intensive correction orders. “Despite the fact that the Queensland government legislated last year to make spitting, biting and throwing bodily fluids at police officers a serious assault, with a maximum sentence of seven years, most of these offenders received sentences of between six months and three years,” Mrs Elson said. “It is clearly not enough to send the handsoff message.” Mrs Elson cited Police Union figures showing that 400 police officers have left the police force over the past 12 months. She indicated that without adequate protection for police the situation would get worse, leading to shortages of police in our community. “We owe it to our officers to let them know that when they go out there in the community to maintain law and order and to protect and serve their fellow citizens, they themselves will be protected by as stringent laws as possible,” Mrs Elson said. “I ask all state and territory governments around the country to introduce mandatory sentencing for this most serious of crimes.” Photo: AAP press freedom carries responsibilities WE need journalism that elevates the standard of debate in the community and challenges popular orthodoxies, the Member for Batman (Vic), Martin Ferguson, has told the House of Representatives. “Not only do we live in a time when there is intolerance of unpopular arguments, but sensationalism and the misuse of information or visual footage is also used often to support a particular view,” Mr Ferguson said. “One example that springs to mind was the misuse of footage supplied by Doctors for Forests to the ABC for use in a news story about tax cuts for timber plantations. The report included statements about the poisoning of native animals, and the footage depicted a dead animal. It did not report that it had been taken out of the fridge and used on a number of occasions previously.” Mr Ferguson said the sensationalist approach to news does a disservice to a public which relies on the popular media—TV, radio, newspapers and, increasingly, the internet—for information about important political issues. “This is the easy way out: an appeal to the lowest common denominator rather than an effort to lift the standard of debate in this country and bring the community along with it,” he said. Mr Ferguson noted that in recent times the media have been running a campaign about the government adhering to the principles of freedom of information. He challenged the media to take a look at themselves in the mirror about their own performance with respect to sensationalism and political correctness on some of the issues they have chosen to report on. Taking industry to the classroom A South Australian program that takes industry into schools is helping students gain a better appreciation of advanced manufacturing and the career possibilities the sector can provide, the Member for Wakefield (SA), David Fawcett, told federal parliament. Developed in conjunction with the Northern Advanced Manufacturing Industry Group, the program allows industry to go into schools and work with teachers and students, providing them with projects that develop their understanding of advanced manufacturing concepts and technologies. Industry tours are also provided. According to Mr Fawcett, the program, which has been taken up by a number of high schools in northern Adelaide, exposes students to the possibilities they could have in advanced manufacturing and raises their awareness about the subject choices they need to make to pursue a career in the sector.  About the House September 2007 Hillside Call to end pension discrimination FEDERAL MPs from both sides of politics have called for the British government to end unfairness in the indexation of overseas British pensions. In a motion debated in the House of Representatives, it was noted that 242,000 British pensioners living in Australia have their pensions frozen in value. Those pensions are not increased when pensioners in the United Kingdom receive annual increases. “Sometimes they are frozen at quite low levels,” said David Fawcett (Member for Wakefield, SA). “There was one lady living in Sydney who at 99 years old was starting to worry about whether she could afford her funeral costs. Her pension from the UK was just £4.50 a week since she arrived here in 1969.” While that pension has been topped up by the Australian government, Mr Fawcett said it should not be that way. With the UK National Insurance Fund Account having a balance of around £38 billion, Mr Fawcett said the UK government is clearly in a position where it can afford to pay indexed benefits to people receiving British pensions in Australia. The Member for Holt (Vic), Anthony Byrne agreed, saying it was “extraordinary that residents from the same country are arbitrarily discriminated against purely on the basis of where they chose to reside”. “The UK government’s main reason for not indexing pensions is the cost,” Mr Byrne noted. “It would cost roughly £420 million a year, we believe, to unfreeze these pensions. It is argued that the policy change would be unfair to taxpayers in the UK and the British government would need to negotiate bilateral agreements with each country individually to change the indexing.” Mr Byrne said these arguments were difficult to swallow for the many British retirees living abroad, given the current balance of the insurance fund, which is £27 billion more than the UK government actuary’s required minimum working balance. “Indexing the pension would only make a small difference to the growing balance of the National Insurance Fund Account, which it is estimated will reach almost £70 billion by 2012,” Mr Byrne said. The MPs called on the Australian government to take up the issue at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Kampala in October 2007. beauty, habitat creation, long roof life and noise insulation. “By using a green layer of grass or trees above the roof you are actually using nature’s own insulation,” Mr Hardgrave explained. It is projected that greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings will increase from 32 million tonnes of CO2 per annum in 1990 to 62 million tonnes of CO2 per annum in 2010. The Member for Reid (NSW), Laurie Ferguson, said green roof projects can make a positive impact against such greenhouse emissions. He said Australia needs to take an active role in developing these sustainable building initiatives. The Member for Scullin (Vic), Harry Jenkins, said more and more developers are coming to understand the marketing potential of sustainable buildings, including developments with green roofs. “They create an atmosphere in which people can relate to the environment that they are living in and that adds to the sustainability,” Mr Jenkins said. green roofs more than decoration We should change the way we think about our roofs, according to federal MPs who told the House of Representatives about the benefits of green roofs. On green roofs vegetation replaces the bare membrane, gravel ballast, shingles and tiles usually found there. And they are popping up everywhere: at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam; at the Ford motor vehicle plant in Michigan; and of course Parliament House in Canberra is Australia’s biggest green roof. Extolling the virtues of green roofs, the Member for Moreton (Qld), Gary Hardgrave, said green roofs provide thermal insulation, storm-water management that causes lower run-off at peak times, reduction of ambient temperatures in cities, air and water cleaning effects, direct energy savings for government, visual About the House September 2007  THE LAW Protecting the source AMENDMENTS to the Evidence Act aimed at protecting a journalist’s sources of information have been passed by federal parliament. The amendments introduce a privilege, at the trial and pre-trial stage of civil or criminal proceedings, for communications made in confidence to journalists. The new provisions set out a guided discretion for the court to exclude evidence which would disclose confidential communications made to a journalist acting in a professional capacity under an obligation not to disclose that information. The changes came about as a result of the recent case of two press gallery journalists Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus from the Melbourne newspaper Herald Sun. The journalists were prosecuted for not revealing the sources of information they used when publishing an article about federal government plans to slash a proposed $500 million increase in war veterans’ entitlements in 2004. Before the amendment, if a journalist was required to disclose his or her sources in court and refused, on the basis of ethical obligations, the conflict could only be dealt with by use of the court’s contempt power. “The amendment introduces protection for journalists and their sources, it will ensure that a judge will have the ability to exclude evidence which would otherwise disclose information communicated to a journalist in confidence,” AttorneyGeneral Philip Ruddock told parliament. “The new privilege will not be absolute. The protected information can be information provided to the journalist, information about the source’s identity, or information that would make it possible for that identity to be discovered.  About the House September 2007 Herald Sun journalists Michael Harvey (left) and Gerard McManus after they were prosecuted for not revealing their sources of information. Photo: AAP “In deciding whether to exclude the evidence, a court will take into account: the nature of the proceedings; the importance of the evidence; the likely harm to the journalist’s source; other means to obtaining the evidence; and the means available to limit the impact of disclosure.” The amendment to the bill was based on a model recommended by the Australian, New South Wales and Victorian Law Reform Commissions. Those commissions undertook an 18 month review of the law of evidence and consulted with a wide range of stakeholders. Mr Ruddock welcomed the news that journalists Harvey and McManus did not receive custodial sentences. He urged his state and territory counterparts to legislate on this issue as a matter of priority as many Commonwealth criminal matters are generally prosecuted in state courts which apply state evidence laws. While former journalist and independent member for Calare, NSW, Peter Andren, welcomed the intent of the bill to protect confidential communications between journalists and their sources, he said the proof would be “in the pudding”. “We are told that the legislation will require courts to give consideration to the protection of interests, including freedom of the press and the public’s right or need to know,” Mr Andren told parliament. “Why do we really have to legislate for this protection? Surely it only underlines the need for constitutional recognition of the right to free press and free speech. The fact that we need to legislate here suggests how dangerously balanced our freedoms are and how challenged they have been in recent times, especially in the past decade and more especially post September 11 in the age of insecurity and on the never-ending war footing in the fight against terror. “This bill is really about commonsense…the greatest weight a court will give in deciding what is allowable and what is not relates, of course, to national security. Under post September 11 circumstances that would be easily understood; but, given the restraints on freedom to know detailed by the media organisations, we come back to square one: just what is national security?” Ws ne Forty-three projects to boost ports A $3 BILLION national fund for critical port infrastructure projects has been recommended by the House of Representatives Transport and Regional Services Committee following a two year investigation into Australia’s transport network. After 194 submissions, 30 public hearings and numerous inspections, the committee made 25 recommendations aimed at ensuring Australia’s roads, rail and ports can cope with the increasing freight demands being placed on them. “At a time of unprecedented prosperity and in the midst of an international resources boom, there could be no more potent images of lost opportunity than the sight of queues of up to 50 vessels off three of our major ports,” said committee chair Paul Neville (Member for Hinkler, Qld). “What we discovered, as we moved from port to port, was a pattern of logistics or infrastructure failures in the access to, or the operation of, ports— a missing supply link, a lack of rail capacity, a need for a bypass or ring roads, road and rail loops, and the functionality of channels to cater for larger or more frequent vessels. While you can excuse one here or there, collectively they impact on Australia’s export performance and on GDP.” The committee identified 43 port access issues that should be addressed urgently through a Critical Port Infrastructure Fund, with the projects generally costing in the range of $70 million to $100 million. They include channel dredging in Melbourne, a multi-purpose terminal at Newcastle, the Geelong bypass, standardisation of the rail line to Mildura, road and rail improvements around Portland, duplication of three kilometres of rail line into the port at Esperance, a rail crossing of the river at Devonport, and completing the Brisbane Port Motorway. According to the committee, the infrastructure fund should be “not less than $600 million a year over a five year program, on the basis of 50/50 participation with either state or private providers”. The committee also recommended the establishment of a More than 50 ships sit off the coast of Newcastle as they wait for coal to be loaded for export. Photo: AAP Critical Port Infrastructure Commission to administer the fund. With ship sizes increasing, the committee noted that dredging had become an issue for most of the ports it visited during its investigation. “In some ports the problem is acute and a shallow channel is reducing access to the port for larger vessels,” the committee said. “In others, the vessels can reach the dock unloaded or partially loaded, but cannot pass through the exit channel when loaded to full capacity.” The committee recommended that the Council of Australian Governments establish an Australia-wide set of standards for the approval of port dredging projects, with “a view to a coordinated and timely approach to achieving critical depth upgrades”. The need for greater cooperation and coordination across jurisdictions was also highlighted in the report. “The committee found that there is a deepening sense among stakeholders in the transport industry that freight movements are growing so quickly that only close cooperation between private enterprise and all levels of government will enable the task to be managed efficiently,” the report stated. “Local government representatives, in particular, expressed concern about the increasing strain on their revenue base, as freight moves from rail onto the roads. Their complaint is that the additional wear and tear on the local road networks cannot be properly repaired from normal rates revenue.” The committee criticised the neglect of infrastructure, particularly roads, which crossed shires and state borders, stating that this neglect was “little short of a scandal”. It identified a number of examples, including the Princes Highway from Port Kembla to Bairnsdale and the Tugun bypass. In response, the committee recommended the establishment of Road and Rail Border Commissions, consisting of Commonwealth and state government representatives (ministerial, departmental and engineering) to advise on, facilitate and execute major border transport projects and cross-border road and rail extensions. These cross-border projects should be funded 50 per cent by the Commonwealth and 25 per cent by each relevant state, the committee said, with the Commonwealth contributing a total of one billion dollars over the first five years. “In much the same way as recent water initiatives have been adopted to overcome border rivalries and inaction, a similar need is evident when it comes to road and rail activities along, and immediately across, interstate borders,” Paul Neville said. “The current situation is a blight on Australia’s ‘can-do’ attitude.” lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/trs/networks/ report.htm email: trs.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 2352 Continued page 10 About the House September 2007  NEWS Continued from page 9 Priority port access projects The House of Representatives Transport and Regional Services Committee has identified the following 43 projects to boost access to Australia’s ports: • Channel dredging in Melbourne • A multi-purpose terminal at Newcastle • Dredging the shipping channels at Newcastle • The Maldon-Dombarton rail link • The removal, or major reduction, of the curfew restrictions at Port Kembla • The rail connection to Webb Dock in Melbourne • A review of the capacity of Westgate Bridge • An upgraded rail connection to West Maribyrnong • The Geelong Bypass • Re-routing of the main standard gauge line through North Geelong • A rail connection for the Lascelles Terminal at Geelong • Standardisation of the rail line to Mildura • Re-instatement of the standard gauge link between Mt Gambier and Portland • Road improvements around Portland, to allow the use of B-doubles • An overpass at Wellington Road, Portland • The Dock Link Road in Melbourne • A standard gauge rail connection to the Port of Brisbane, separate from the passenger rail • A rail freight corridor from Ebenezer to join the standard gauge line at Bromelton • The last six kilometres of the Brisbane Port Motorway • Extension of Kirkwood Road in Gladstone • Completion of Gladstone’s port access road • Rail improvements to the DBCT and Hay Point Coal Terminals • The Townsville Port Access Gateway Project • The development of Oakagee Port • Dredging at Bunbury • The Bunbury outer ring road and its link to the port access road • Provision for a grade separated crossing at Princess Royal Drive, Albany • An additional rail loop in the port at Albany • The Albany Ring Road • Grade separation on the Port Access Corridor in Esperance • Re-alignment of the Port Access Road near the port entrance at Esperance • A rail connection to Shark Lake Industrial Park near Esperance • Duplication of three kilometres of the rail line into the port at Esperance • Deepening the channel at Thevenard • Upgrading the alternative port access road at Bell Bay • A second rail access to the port at Bell Bay • Re-design of the port access at Bell Bay, to improve the yard layout and remove the steep gradient leading out of the port • A rail crossing of the river at the port in Devonport • Direct access from the main rail line to the port terminal at Burnie • Grade separation of the port access road in Darwin • Direct access from the Business Park adjoining the port in Darwin—removal of the need for Business Park companies to go onto public roads to collect their goods from the port • Redesign of the Darwin Port Weighbridge to allow operation for traffic moving in either direction • A dedicated truck parking area outside the port for waiting trucks. Thousands to benefit from social security agreement MORE than 50,000 people are expected to benefit from a social security agreement between Australia and Greece, which has been supported by federal parliament’s Treaties Committee. Under the agreement individuals may be eligible for benefits from both countries if they have lived and/or worked in both countries during their working lives and meet certain criteria. Residents of Australia and Greece will be able to move between these countries knowing that their right to benefits continues to be recognised. Negotiations on the agreement commenced in the 1990s, culminating in its signing in May this year. It is 10 About the House September 2007 part of a network of social security agreements that Australia has with other countries. Most people who benefit from these agreements are age pensioners. According to the national interest analysis prepared for this agreement, it will bring economic and political benefits to Australia. “It will help to maximise the foreign income of Australian residents and there will be flow-on effects within the Australian economy,” the national interest analysis stated. “The agreement will serve to reinforce Australia’s political, business and strategic interests. It will also further strengthen bilateral relations between Australia and Greece and provide choices in retirement for individuals who have migrated (or will migrate) to Australia or Greece during or after their working lives.” The Treaties Committee, which examines all international agreements before they come into force, expedited its review to ensure the agreement could come into effect as quickly as possible. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/jsct/7august2007/ report.htm email: jsct@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4002 NEWS Mortgage predators stalked THERE was a lot of talk about “predators” in Canberra recently. And, this time, it was the predators being stalked. At a roundtable convened by the House of Representatives Economics Committee, lenders, consumers and regulators were brought together to discuss home loan lending practices and the processes used to deal with people in financial difficulty. It soon became clear that mortgage sharks were in everyone’s sights. The sharks are the lenders who deliberately target high risk consumers with the expectation they’ll default on their loan, thus giving the lender possession of their asset. They operate in an unregulated environment, preying on borrowers no bank would touch with an array of non-conforming loans such as ‘low doc’ and ‘no doc’—in essence loans that require little or no documentation to get approval. Mortgage brokers, who facilitate about 30 per cent of home loans, told the House Economics Committee greater regulation is needed to stop this kind of predatory behaviour. “Predators are lenders who lend to customers knowing full well that they can’t repay the loan. They make their money out of repossessing their property and selling. They’re not interested in the consumer at all,” said Phil Naylor from the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia. “At the very margin there are some who are giving the rest a bad name, that’s why we’re pushing for regulation,” he said. Representatives from consumer groups, regulators and the bank and non-bank sectors agreed that home loan lending practices need more regulation to prevent predatory behaviour. Karen Cox, from the Consumer Credit Legal Centre, said there has been a noticeable increase in calls to their credit and debt hotline from people struggling with their repayments. She said in many cases mortgage brokers help people get a better deal, but not always. “The problem is that there are others out to get as much as they can out of the deal, who don’t have any concern about the long term sustainability of the loan, or the welfare of the client. Participants at an Economics Committee roundtable took aim at mortgage predators. Photo: AUSPIC “I think this committee could assist us to speed up the process of getting national regulation of mortgage brokers into place, but also assist us to get the regulation of all lenders on the agenda. At the moment we have very different levels of regulation for banks compared to other lenders in the market. “Certainly the worst practices we see are in the non-bank sector, however, we do have a concern there has been a creep into the mainstream sector as a result of competition, with competitive pressure on banks to lower their lending standards as a result of that competition,” Ms Cox said. Not so, according to David Bell, chief executive of the Australian Bankers’ Association, who said bank lending standards are very high and defaults are very low. “Banks are responsible lenders, it’s in our customers’ interests that we are responsible, and it’s in our own interest to make sure we only loan money to people who can pay it back. We don’t throw money around, we are required by the prudential regulator to make sure we make sound lending decisions, and we do,” Mr Bell said. “There’s a great deal of difference between Australia and America. In America they have a big sub-prime market, it’s up to 25 per cent of their lending, that is lending to people with impaired credit histories. The sub-prime market in Australia is very small, it’s about one per cent, and banks most certainly don’t lend into it.” Committee chair Bruce Baird (Member for Cook, NSW) said the current level of defaults in Australia is low, just 0.2 per cent, but there is a need for greater regulation of home loan lending practices. “There is a problem with predatory operators, in terms of signing up people for loans they simply can’t afford and bringing into that a whole lot of consumer credit as well, and that’s an issue,” Mr Baird said. “The majority have been doing the right thing but there’s certainly a number who have been operating on a less than ethical basis.” Since the roundtable in early August, federal Treasurer Peter Costello has called on the states to accelerate work on licensing conduct and disclosure of mortgage brokers, stating the government will do everything within its power to ensure that consumers have the strongest possible consumer protection framework. The Economics Committee’s report on the roundtable is expected to be released in September. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/efpa email: efpa.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4587 About the House September 2007 11 NEWS Call to bolster export grants THE federal government should increase funding for its program of export market development grants each year according to a bipartisan House Economics Committee report on manufacturing. The committee’s inquiry into the state of Australian manufacturing now and beyond the resources boom found most local manufacturers had a strong future, but these firms must look beyond a small domestic market to pursue export opportunities overseas. To assist with this exporting drive, the report recommended changes to the export market development grants program. These grants are designed to help manufacturing firms of all sizes seek out export opportunities overseas by reimbursing their promotional costs. But the committee found even businesses with strong applications were unsure how much they will be reimbursed when deciding on promotional spending. To increase the funding pool, the committee wants the budget for these grants increased each year and also for any unspent funds to be carried forward to the next year too. Committee chair Bruce Baird (Member for Cook, NSW) said Australian manufacturers must develop export survival strategies appropriate for their line of production. “That may mean producing components off-shore, entering global supply chains within or outside Australia or having certain niche or high-value goods which enable profitable local production,” he said. The report also recommends that the Australian Industry Productivity Centres have a manufacturing focus and be adequately resourced to provide business diagnostics and expert advice to manufacturers across Australia. “Importantly, this initiative would incorporate a one-stop-shop manufacturing advisory portal with a focus on providing information on production, process and entrepreneurial developments, forums and key global issues,” Mr Baird said. The report highlights how well new scientific and technology-based industries are producing competitive, stand alone, high-tech products. “Significantly, frontier manufacturers are also providing an avenue for traditional manufacturers to valueadd by utilising new-age applications,” Mr Baird said. “However, the committee heard that innovative Australian manufacturers are often confronted with start-up funding difficulties.” To help overcome these issues, the report recommends a number of venture capital reviews to improve data and knowledge of this market in Australia. The committee also wants the effectiveness of the research and development tax concession scheme to be examined, because evidence at the inquiry raised doubts about whether these concessions actually encourage additional research and development activity. Another key recommendation was for the federal government to develop a national manufacturing strategy in response to the sector’s current and expected future transformations. Mr Baird said the committee wants manufacturing-orientated federal government assistance programs to be reviewed to improve their relevance, accessibility and to dovetail with the national manufacturing strategy. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/efpa/ manufacturing/report.htm email: efpa.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4587 1 About the House September 2007 NEWS huge jump in calls to drug helpline The number of phone calls to a drug helpline for families has more than quadrupled in seven years. In 1999 the Family Drug Support telephone helpline received just over 5,800 calls from people seeking assistance with drug problems in their families. By 2006 the number of calls had increased to more than 23,000. The statistics are revealed in a submission to a parliamentary committee investigation into the impact of illicit drugs on families. Tony Trimingham, founder and chief executive of Family Drug Support, told the House of Representatives Families Committee 70 per cent of callers to the service are female, mostly mothers. The majority are articulate and well educated. Most callers are in crisis, as they have not sought help early and the problems have become entrenched before they have reached out for help. Many phone back for additional support and many go on to attend support meetings and courses. “Families are often unaware of the problems for a while and are usually quite shocked when they discover drug use,” Mr Trimingham said. “There is a widespread ‘Not in my family, never my child’ belief that prevails. “They feel very isolated and aware of the shame and stigma that drug use brings. Their first attempts to reach out for help are usually to priests or doctors—not always with positive outcomes. “Although often feeling sidelined by treatment services, families do respond well to education, awareness and support.” Peer support, from families who have shared the same experience, is seen as particularly effective. Mr Trimingham, who lost his own son to a heroin overdose, said dealing with drug use is traumatic for families. “Guilt, blame, fear and anger are common emotions,” he said. “With drugs like heroin there is a constant fear of overdose, death, blood borne disease and crime. With stimulants like ice the problems are more behaviour oriented—anger, violence and psychotic episodes. “Family arguments, feelings of incompetence and powerlessness, breakdown of relationships and boundaries are common reactions. All family members are affected.” According to Mr Trimingham, the earlier the family gets support and information, the sooner they get through the negative stages of the process and feel better, at the same time developing skills and resilience. Early intervention was also advocated by Professors Sharon Dawe and Ross Homel from Griffith University, who at a recent public hearing emphasised the need for a more coordinated approach to supporting families where drugs have become a problem. “There is no point in just focusing on one particular issue; if you are going to improve outcomes for children in these really difficult, chaotic families, you need to do something across a whole range of areas,” Professor Dawe said. “It has also been our experience— and a certain amount of research supports it—that there is no point in just trying to shuffle families from one service to another. There is no point in saying, ‘Mum’s got depression so we’ll send her off to mental health; then we’ll send the kids to child guidance’—and somewhere along the way somebody might get some immunisation—because that does not happen either. You need to have a model where somebody coordinates a whole range of treatment approaches.” According to Professor Dawe, a comprehensive intervention program may be expensive up front, but may end up saving millions of dollars in the long term, on costs such as foster care, juvenile justice and medical treatment. “You start saying ‘Hold on, it is going to cost us millions to provide this intervention’ because suddenly we are going to need eight additional staff members trained in family-based intervention for each agency. That is a lot of money, but compare that to what it costs to keep someone in prison,” Professor Dawe said. Professor Homel told the committee about a community-based project called ‘Pathways to prevention’, which has involved some 21,000 people in the south-west suburbs of Brisbane, in an area where illicit drug use and domestic violence have been prevalent. The project has included a communication and social skills program, as well as a family support program, providing material support to families in need. The aim of the program is to create opportunities for children and their families to grow in a positive and supportive environment, where they are encouraged to participate fully as citizens in society, thus reducing the chances they will become involved in crime and related problems. Professor Homel said the project helps ameliorate some of the effects of poverty, and some of the initial reasons for turning to drugs, by getting parents, community leaders and institutions such as schools to work together on meeting the development needs of children. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/fhs/illicitdrugs email: fhs.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4566 About the House September 2007 1 NEWS Tally room’s time may be up ICON of Australian democracy or overpriced anachronism? Australia has had a national tally room since the 1960s, but the election night tradition of politicians, pundits and the public congregating in Canberra to watch and comment on the vote count is under question. In March this year, the Australian Electoral Commissioner, Ian Campbell floated the idea of replacing the national tally room with the web-based virtual tally room as a cost-saving measure. While it subsequently was granted a stay of execution for this year’s election, Special Minister of State Gary Nairn asked federal parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee to consider whether the national tally room should be retained beyond the 2007 federal election. Leading the charge to save the election night tradition are television station executives. Garry Linnell, then director of news and current affairs at Channel 9, told the committee at a recent public hearing the tally room was a vital part of television’s election coverage and an important part of our democracy. “It adds transparency to the process,” Mr Linnell said. “There is access not just to the public but also to a lot of political figures, party members and party officials who are there.” The tally room also gives television coverage that illusive election night vibe. “Clearly, as far as atmospherics go with television, it adds to the event,” he said. “There is constant movement, a constant buzz and constant noise in the room.” Mr Linnell told the inquiry around two million people tune into the Channel 9 and ABC election coverage. It would take a Harry Potter movie (or something similar) to attract as many Australian viewers on a regular Saturday night. However, ABC election analyst Antony Green—appearing in a private capacity before the committee—said the tally room has changed in both purpose and structure over the past two decades. The manual tally board, once the focus of the tally room, now serves as a backdrop to the television coverage. While it provides a backup to the electronically backed up computer feeds, it is usually hours behind. 1 About the House September 2007 Will election night coverage come from the tally room after 2007? Photo: Newspix The tally room is also no longer needed from a technological viewpoint. As recently as the 2004 election, analysts and journalists could only pick up the Australian Electoral Commission’s serial feed of results from the tally room. For the 2007 election, data will be available via the regular AEC website for the first time. The other issue is that tally rooms don’t come cheap. The AEC submission to the inquiry reported that it cost the AEC, and ultimately the Australian taxpayer, $650,000 to run the national tally room in 2004. The commission estimates costs in 2007 will reach around $1,060,000. While media outlets are not charged for their use of the national tally room, they still incur considerable costs, moving staff and equipment to Canberra. However, Mr Linnell believes the cost and logistics are worth it to provide viewers with the ability “to see that something is taking place in the national capital”. But with the AEC reluctant to fund what it views as a “very large media centre constructed and managed by the AEC”, Mr Linnell was receptive to suggestions for compromise. “We would be more than willing to sit down with them [the AEC], have a discussion about that and see what we could do,” Mr Linnell told the inquiry. If the national tally room does get the chop, Antony Green believes television producers would come up with more creative ways of using technology to make election night visually interesting for viewers. “Instead of the money being spent on travel and transport to take all the equipment to Canberra and run a big outside broadcast, we would be able to use it for more interesting technology— more video walls, better graphics,” Mr Green said. Garry Linnell discussed the possibility of Channel 9 combining a Sydney election night headquarters with many more live crosses. Indeed live crosses have already become an integral part of the current coverage. While the national tally room was once a hub for politicians on election night, the only ones who tend to go to the tally room these days are those politicians who have been pre-arranged to sit on the television station panels. A major party leader has not appeared in the tally room since Bob Hawke won the 1983 election. Many big name journalists follow the leaders to their respective bases. However, despite the shortcomings of the tally room, many participants would like to see it survive. “In a practical sense it’s outdated,” said Phillip Coorey, chief political correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, “in a sentimental sense, it’s still a good thing. “You get a little bit of atmosphere on election night, watching people either really happy or really sad,” he said. Local Canberra opinion appears to be strongly in favour of keeping the tradition, with all four federal ACT representatives backing the tally room in a bipartisan show of support. The Electoral Matters Committee is expected to release its verdict before the 2007 federal election. www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/em email: jscem@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 2374 lInks Web: NEWS a mother’s plight serves as a call to action Among the hundreds of submissions received by the breastfeeding inquiry, one mother’s recollection of her early days helped to illustrate to the committee why support for breastfeeding was so important. “The lactation consultants at the hospital did their best with their limited time to try to assist me, but seeing them for 1 out of 16 feeds (in other words once every second day), the damage was being done and I didn’t know how to fix it. I had this hand there, this chair, a pillow here and towel wrapped up under here, a finger pushing this part of my breast, trying to get a nipple shield to stay on and all the while doing this in the middle of the night with a screaming baby and noone by my side. “It wasn’t until I saw the Early Childhood Health Nurse when my son was 7 days old that I was finally told that it wasn’t normal to have such intense pain when you are breastfeeding. I had developed mastitis, had cracked and bleeding nipples, and thrush on them too. Combined with the sleep deprivation, I was not coping with the pain and stress of it all. I was advised to cease breastfeeding for a few days to allow my nipples to heal. So in the meantime I had to express every 3 hours, feed my son the bottle every 3 hours and then try to sleep for an hour in between. This was an all day cycle. “When it came time to try breastfeeding again I had associated feeding with pain and I was experiencing panic attacks half an hour Breastfeeding support would boost health ALL expectant and new mothers should have access to consistent, accurate and timely support for breastfeeding from the health system and the community, according to a new parliamentary report into the health benefits of breastfeeding. The Best start report by the House of Representatives Health Committee recognises that breastfeeding is one of the most important contributors to infant health, providing a range of benefits for the infant’s growth, immunity and development. The report includes 22 recommendations aimed at boosting support for breastfeeding among health professionals and in the community. The Health Committee has called for a national strategy to promote and support breastfeeding in Australia, coordinated and overseen by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. That strategy should include leadership in the area of monitoring, surveillance and evaluation of breastfeeding data. The Health Department should also fund a national education campaign, the committee said, to highlight the health benefits of breastfeeding, along with an awards program to recognise workplaces, public areas and shopping centres that have exemplary breastfeeding facilities. before every feed, just anticipating how painful it would be. For this I went and saw a clinical psychologist because I’d had a couple of severe meltdowns and was in the high risk for post-natal depression. “I so desperately wanted to breastfeed my baby. I had an abundant supply (that took 4 months to stop dribbling out of my breasts), but I was only able to breastfeed for 10 days. I expressed until my son was 6 weeks old and then couldn’t cope with the extra work of expressing any longer and made the agonising decision to bottle feed. “I had very little support from health professionals, it seems that all the emphasis is on breastfeeding and yet for someone like me that couldn’t handle the intense pain (which wasn’t helped by 3rd degree tearing and 80 stitches down below), there was no support. I found it difficult to get any information about how to bottle feed, what was out there in terms of bottles, teats, formula, how to navigate outside of the house. So for the first 3 months of my son’s life I was a recluse, staying at home, ashamed that I had failed to breastfeed my son. I was so disappointed.” The committee found Australia has no reliable data collection system in place to effectively monitor infant feeding practices. It recommended that the Commonwealth Health Department fund research into the long-term benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and infant, along with the evaluation of strategies to increase the rates of exclusive breastfeeding to six months. The public inquiry received almost 500 submissions against a backdrop of concern about breastfeeding rates in Australia dropping below World Health Organisation guidelines. While the most recent National Health Survey, conducted in 2001, showed that 83 per cent of babies are breastfed when first born, by age six months the figure has dropped to around 48 per cent of children being breastfed exclusively. “A woman’s decision to breastfeed is influenced by many factors: demographic, psychological, cultural and social,” the Continued page 16 About the House September 2007 1 NEWS Check up for hospitals PUBLIC hospitals and health departments need to be more accountable to the community for their performance, the House of Representatives Health Committee has stated in a new report. The committee has recommended that the next round of Australian Health Care Agreements negotiated between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments should include a number of additional requirements to boost accountability. This follows a performance audit of the way in which the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing was administering state and territory compliance with AHCAs. According to the committee, state and territory auditors-general should be empowered to conduct full performance audits of AHCA expenditure within the public hospital systems of their respective states. The committee has also proposed a reporting framework that provides the Commonwealth with Continued from page 15 – Breastfeeding support regular and compatible data from the states and territories on the number and nature of complaints and allegations they receive about non-compliance with the AHCAs. “Even on the presently available data, it seems clear that not all public patients are receiving clinical care ‘within a clinically appropriate period’ and that this is significantly worse in some states than others,” the committee said. Incentives and dispute resolution procedures should also be built into the system, the committee has recommended. In particular, it wants the Commonwealth to offer a structure of financial incentives to allow it to reward those states and territories that significantly exceed benchmarks associated with meeting AHCA objectives. “Potentially the AHCAs could offer additional Commonwealth funds to states that significantly exceed benchmarks set for emergency department or elective surgery waiting times … or for providing better access to services in regional and remote areas,” the committee said. “Similarly, incentives could be offered for the early adoption of particular national performance indicators by all states.” lInks www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/haa/auditreport/ report.htm email: haa.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4145 Web: committee said, “and it is often difficult to identify which, if any, is of greater importance.” Professional and peer support can have a significant impact on the duration of breastfeeding, the committee noted, with peer support being particularly effective for low income, ethnic minority or disadvantaged groups. Currently state based breastfeeding helplines receive around 200,000 calls a year. The report recommended funding to expand the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s helpline to become a tollfree national breastfeeding helpline. For those babies who cannot be breastfed, the committee recommended a feasibility study for a network of milk banks in Australia, including the funding of pilot programs. Milk banks collect, screen, process and distribute donated human milk. Currently Australia only has two such facilities. 1 About the House September 2007 “It is clear to the committee that a national network of publicly funded milk banks would give Australian babies a healthier start to life, reduce health care costs and provide real support for mothers who are unable to provide their baby with breast milk,” the report said. The marketing of breast milk substitutes or infant formula was also tackled in the report, with the committee noting that it is a contentious issue among public health organisations, health professionals and breastfeeding mothers. The 2001 National Health Survey indicated that between 1995 and 2001 formula use had increased for infants three months or less in age. During the inquiry, concerns were expressed that the labelling of infant foods is inconsistent with National Health and Medical Research Council infant feeding guidelines, which recommend that a baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. The committee recommended changing infant food labelling requirements to align them with the council’s dietary guidelines. Adoption of the World Health Organisation’s international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes, and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions, was also proposed. This could occur through Commonwealth legislation or a prescribed mandatory industry code of conduct under the Trade Practices Act. “The committee considers it is time to make a decisive and clear statement of the importance of breastfeeding to the Australian community by implementing the full WHO Code and subsequent WHA resolutions,” the report stated. See feature on page 36. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/haa/ breastfeeding/report.htm email: haa.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4145 NEWS sea bed solution for greenhouse gases CSIRO scientists should be funded to start searching below the ocean floor near Sydney for suitable geological sites to bury greenhouse gases from NSW’s many coal-fired power stations, according to a new parliamentary committee report. Responding to community concern over the impact of carbon dioxide on climate change, the House of Representatives Science Committee also wants the federal government to fund large-scale carbon capture and storage projects and subject them to rigorous environmental, health and safety tests. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves the development of cost effective technology to separate carbon dioxide from a power station’s coal emissions. The CO2 is then compressed into a near liquid form, which is injected kilometres underground for storage in suitable and stable geological formations. The Science Committee’s report—Between a rock and a hard place—expressed concern that NSW is the least explored state in terms of potential for future carbon storage. The viability of CCS depends on finding suitable long term and secure carbon storages sites within reasonable distance of major energy hubs such as the Wollongong-Sydney-Newcastle region. The committee welcomed plans by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (the CO2CRC) to undertake a storage assessment of this region. The committee recommended that the government implement a risk mitigation framework to cover CCS site selection, the risk of sudden or gradual leakage of the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the long term monitoring of sites. The committee also wants the government, as part of its fiscal response to climate change, to offer direct and tax based financial incentives for more scientific and industry research into CCS technology. Committee chair Petro Georgiou (Member for Kooyong, Vic) believes geosequestration has the potential to play an important role in the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions, especially for such a coal rich nation as Australia. “There is now compelling evidence that human activity is changing the global climate,” Mr Georgiou said. “Australia is between a rock and a hard place. For many years, Australia has benefited from being able to produce very cheap electricity from our vast reserves of both black and brown coal. Australia has approximately 8.6 per cent of world black coal reserves, which at current production levels would last 215 years. Australia also has enough brown coal to last for another 800 years. “It is expected that Australia, and the world, will continue to rely on coal well into the future. This presents us with the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions whilst remaining dependent on coal. CCS provides a possible solution to these competing demands.” Mr Georgiou conceded there was no certainty about how environmentally beneficial CCS will be. “Some argue that CCS has the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions by 7.8 per cent with potentially greater benefits to be seen in the later half of the 21st century. Others contend that, given the environmental risks, there are more viable options. The committee concludes that there are substantial environmental benefits to be gained from the deployment of CCS.” While the committee supported the endeavour of a number of smaller demonstration CCS projects such as ZeroGen, it expressed concern about the lack of major projects currently underway to prove the integration of technologies with coal-fired power plants. The major challenge ahead was to mount a project at a 500 megawatt power plant which demonstrates all stages in the process— from coal conversion, carbon capture and transport, through to sequestration and long term monitoring. The committee also examined the estimated costs for electricity consumers of implementing CCS technology with the capturing of carbon dioxide considered the most expensive part of the process. “Clean energy comes at a price but, in the case of CCS, the size of a price increase is not clear,” Mr Georgiou said. “Available data suggest that CCS might double the cost of electricity generation from coal. It has been advised that the technological unknowns in cost estimates make industry investment in CCS on a wide-scale unlikely in the current environment. Industry has called for economic incentives, including a carbon price signal, to foster the development of CCS technology.” Four Coalition members of the committee Dennis Jensen (Member for Tangney, WA), Jackie Kelly (Member for Lindsay, NSW), Danna Vale (Member for Hughes, NSW) and David Tollner (Member for Solomon, NT) supported a dissenting report disagreeing with the report’s assumption that global warming is being caused by mankind. These MPs believe the evidence that human beings are changing the global climate is certainly not compelling. “Climate change is a natural phenomenon that has always been with us, and always will be. Whether human activities are disturbing the climate in dangerous ways has yet to be proven,” the dissenting report stated. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/scin/ geosequestration/report.htm email: scin.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4150 About the House September 2007 1 BEES They produce our honey and They pollinaTe our crops. BuT how many of us undersTand The True value of honeyBees and how much we would lose wiThouT Them? Georgie oakeshott reports. Billion Dollar T 1 About the House September 2007 REVOR Monson is not your average beekeeper. Unlike other apiarists whose beehives are for honey production, Mr Monson’s hives are for hire. Based in the fertile Riverina, his blossoming business contracts out more than 100 beekeepers placing 45,000 hives amongst the crops of a growing number of horticulturists prepared to pay for pollination. Horticulture—fruit, vegetables, nuts, nursery, extractive crops, cut flowers and turf— is said to be Australia’s fastest growing agricultural industry, currently worth $7 billion. While initially slow to pay for a service which has always been provided free of charge by feral (or wild) honeybees, the benefits of paid pollination are beginning to be realised. For the Monson family apiary, this realisation has revolutionised their business. Twenty years ago, Mr Monson’s family derived 100 per cent of its income from honey. Today, honey is about 25 per cent of what he does. Strong demand for hives is being led by Australia’s rapidly expanding almond industry, one of a handful of crops 100 per cent dependent on honeybees for pollination. Without pollination, which is the process of bees depositing pollen on fruit and seed producing plants for fertilisation, there is no crop. Or in Trevor Monson’s words: “no bees, no nuts”. “There’s no doubt the almond industry is setting the price per hive, which is currently around $60 per hive. I expect that will go up to $100 in the next few years,” Mr Monson says. He expects more horticulturists will come on board as they realise the benefits of pollination. While essential for some crops, it has been shown to increase yield and quality in others, in a shorter space of time. Mr Monson is already supplying hives to growers of apples, apricots, avocados and rockmelons. “The old guys growing these crops had feral bees they could rely on for pollination, but now, with bigger plantations and heavier insecticides, there’s a shortage of bees,” he says. “They’ve only started paying for pollination in the past 10 years.” Since being introduced to Australia in 1822, feral and commercial stocks of European honeybees have played a vital role pollinating crops for both human and animal consumption. An estimated 70 per cent of crops depend on honeybees for pollination to some degree. Nothing pollinates as effectively and efficiently as this immigrant bee. Australia’s native bees certainly don’t. With demand for hives the way it is, Trevor Monson confidently forecasts his business will grow to 300 beekeepers supplying 180,000 hives by 2015. It’s estimated the almond industry alone will need 370,000 hives by 2015, which is more than half the total number of hives in Australia today. “Honeybees are vital to almond production, particularly commercial almond production which is 100 per cent reliant on pollination by honeybees,” says Julie Haslett, chief executive officer of the Almond Board of Australia. “At the moment the Australian almond industry has a farm-gate value of around $150 million, and that’s expected to increase to over $700 million, with plantings increasing four to five fold in the next few years, certainly making almonds a major industry in Australian horticulture.” Paid pollination is estimated to be worth around $3.5 million. Continued page 20 About the House September 2007 1 Continued from page 19 It’s estimated the almond industry alone will need 370,000 hives by 2015. Honey production is the main source of income for Australia’s 10,000 beekeepers, making up $60 million of the industry’s $80 million gross value of production. But with so many crops dependent on pollination, there’s little doubt the demand for hives will continue to grow, providing vital additional income for honey producers who can no longer rely on sustainable returns from honey alone. However, not all beekeepers are keen on supplying bees for pollination. Take Victorian beekeeper Paul Griffiths, who says the timing often clashes with honey production. Plus there are too many chemicals. “And if your farmer isn’t using a spray, then the one down the road is, and bees will fly two or three miles to another crop. If the honey price is right, you’re better off sticking to honey,” he says. He may be right, but with the honey price the way it is, most beekeepers are welcoming the prospect of additional income from pollination. Executive director of the Australian Honeybee Industry Council, Stephen Ware believes it’s not just important to the honeybee industry’s future, it’s important to agriculture more generally. “The current research says that a lot of the crops which are dependent on honeybees do a lot better if they use more pollination services, so we certainly believe there is an opportunity for beekeepers,” he says. “Importantly, the people who will be the real beneficiaries are the ones who depend on pollination, because if we can deliver a better service, people will be prepared to pay for it, and in the end everybody will win.” As easy as it sounds, there are a few obstacles to overcome. First, it’s an ageing industry, rapidly losing skills and failing to attract a new generation of beekeepers. Secondly, it’s losing access to native forests which provide a valuable source of clean, green flora. Thirdly, and Trevor Monson at a public hearing on the future of the honeybee industry. Photo: AUSPIC perhaps most dangerously, it’s staring down the barrel of a major biosecurity threat called varroa destructor. If you want to make a beekeeper nervous, just mention varroa. This speedy bee-killing pest has already wiped out honeybee populations around the world. It hasn’t made it to Australian shores yet, but most people say it’s only a matter of time. Trevor Monson thinks we could be on the brink of a disaster. “Serious threats to the beekeeping industry have the potential to decimate most facets of agriculture and, in turn, threaten our very existence through a diminishing food supply,” he told a House of Representatives Agriculture Committee inquiry into the future of the honeybee industry. “Almond growers in California are now paying up to $160 per hive for pollination. I met beekeepers there who said honey production is a bit of a nuisance, because they’re so busy keeping their bees healthy. “If we’re unfortunate enough to get the varroa mite in Australia, you can instantly add another $25 to the price of a hive, because of the additional costs of keeping your bees healthy.” Varroa kills quickly, and once in Australia the loss of feral honeybees and their free pollination service would be sudden and dramatic. Price for a wide variety of foods would go up as a result of crop losses, which could cost the economy more than $2 billion. “When you take account of the flow on effects it could actually be more like $6 billion, even higher,” says Margie Thomson, general manager for established industries at the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. “When varroa hits Australia, as soon as it touches a feral honeybee 0 About the House September 2007 it will be dead. So we expect most feral honeybee populations will be absolutely decimated within 12 to 18 months of its arrival. “When it comes to commercial stocks, we can manage it through good commercial practices and also at the moment there are some chemical means. But that’s not a long term solution, not only because of resistance, but we want to maintain a clean, green image. “The benefits of honeybee pollination are felt though the whole of agriculture, so the risks to honeybee pollination services concerns the honeybee industry and all other industries which rely on honeybee pollination.” In its submission to the parliamentary inquiry, CSIRO outlined the impact of varroa on the United States. Managed colonies of honeybees have been reduced by 30 per cent, while costs of maintaining hives have increased 25 per cent. There has been a four to five fold increase in the cost of hives, along with an increasing gap between demand for hives and capacity to supply them. “Given that the more numerous and sophisticated providers of managed hives in the United States have failed to keep pace with demand, it is probable that those in Australia will be even less able. As a consequence, the economic/market shock is likely to be greater and last longer,” CSIRO says. According to Horticulture Australia Limited, the gross value of production for the 20 most honeybee dependent horticultural crops is approximately $2.2 billion per annum. “If feral honeybees disappear, producers of crops heavily reliant on honeybee pollination will see a disastrous drop in yields in a matter of years,” managing director John Webster says. “The continued pollination of some crops will not be possible without managed pollination, the payment for which will increase the production costs of these crops and reduce Australia’s competitive advantage. “The apiary industry has advised that it will not be able to fully satisfy the demand for pollination services regardless of price, resulting in a drop in production of some crops to a nationally significant extent.” On the one hand, it appears that in a post-varroa Australia beekeepers would be laughing all the way to the bank. But not so, according to the Australian Honeybee Industry Council. “Control costs for the pest would substantially add to the cost of production and could have a devastating effect on the industry. Most small beekeepers would probably find it uneconomic to continue,” Stephen Ware says. For all these reasons, the Rural Industries Research and Development Price for a wide variety of foods would go up as a result of crop losses, which could cost the economy more than $2 billion. Corporation recently hosted a twoday workshop, bringing together for the first time representatives from the honeybee industry; horticultural, pasture seeds and grains industries; research and development service providers; state and federal governments; and university research centres. While it was expected to be confirmed that beekeeping and pollination dependent industries aren’t prepared for varroa, what wasn’t expected was that many participants didn’t even know of the significance of the threat in the first place. The workshop identified seven key strategic directions: 1) to establish a new national alliance with a research and development focus; 2) increase access to floral resources; 3) develop the business skills of the honeybee industry; 4) establish public and political support; 5) determine additional research and development priorities; 6) increase communication and extension between pollination Continued page 22 The honeybee industry is failing to attract a new generation of beekeepers. About the House September 2007 1 Continued from page 21 ThE BEES nEEDS ACCESS to native forests on public land is considered fundamental to the future of the honeybee industry, but in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria beekeepers are losing this access. These states are home to 80 per cent of all beehives owned by 80 per cent of all beekeepers producing about 70 per cent of all honey. Most of these beekeepers use public land, such as national parks, for their beekeeping activities. But state governments are placing restrictions on beekeepers accessing these areas, which has the Australian Honeybee Industry Council concerned about the industry’s ability to prosper. The council considers the restrictions a political response to concerns about vehicle access and honeybees not being native. They argue managed honeybees either have a minor or no effect on native insect pollinators or fauna competing for nesting hollows in public forests. Without access to native flora, it says, the commercial beekeeping industry would not exist. Most concerning to beekeepers is the situation in Queensland, where the state government has announced a phasing out of beekeepers on public lands in the south east by 2024. “This is a real problem,” says executive director of the Australian Honeybee Industry Council Stephen Ware. “Between now and then we are supposed to find alternative sights. Considering beekeepers have only a small environmental footprint, the whole thing is strange.” In its submission to the inquiry, the Queensland government says beekeeping is inconsistent with the management principles of national park tenure, and there is a possibility that significant dependent industries; and 7) increase the viability of the honeybee industry. It was also agreed that the honeybee industry couldn’t, and shouldn’t, manage the risks alone. In July, the federal Minister for Agriculture, Peter McGauran announced $300,000 to form a new national alliance to develop a strategic plan including a risk management strategy, a pollination business model, an education and training strategy, and identify research and development opportunities. Timbercorp, an agribusiness investment manager with 8,000 hectares of pollination-dependent almonds, says the funding is an important first step in the right direction. “It would be exceptionally embarrassing for the industry as a whole, embarrassing and difficult for beekeepers, and it would place pressure on state and federal governments if varroa struck and we didn’t have a biosecurity threat plan in place,” Timbercorp’s Max Tolson says. Pollination is already the almond industry’s single biggest operating cost, at around 10 per cent, he says, and any increase in the price of hiring hives would be a big concern. Could Australia’s almond industry afford Californian prices? “No, I don’t think so,” says Mr Tolson. For more information on the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee’s inquiry into the future development of the Australian honeybee industry, including access to the submissions and transcripts from public hearings, visit www.aph.gov. au/house/committee/primind/ honeybee or email aff.reps@aph.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 4500. alternative honey flora resources may exist in other areas of the state. Like other beekeepers, Trevor Monson sees diminishing access to native forests as a major threat to beekeeping. “Continued access to this country’s floral resources is fundamental to the survival of the beekeeping industry,” he says. “Some states such as Queensland are in a phasing out period that will prohibit any use of public forest areas by 2020. Other states have areas where they have excluded bees altogether. “If the government is serious about preserving and rebuilding our country’s resources and its agricultural sector, than legislation and polices need to be reviewed to support these decisions.”  About the House September 2007 Major crops and their reliance on honeybee pollination Apple Pear Peach Macadamia Almonds Avocado Mango Melons Pumpkin Orange Peas Nectarine Strawberry Apricot 90% 50% 60% 90% 100% 100% 90% 70% 90% 30% 50% 60% 40% 70% Jodie Goldsworthy of Beechworth Honey, one of this country’s honey success stories. SwEET or Sour SECOND generation Victorian beekeeper Philip McPherson thinks honey producers are at a major crossroad: either the industry will vanish, or it could be about to turn a corner to a brighter future. One of the biggest problems is attracting a new generation of beekeepers. He thinks young people are staying away from beekeeping as a career because it doesn’t pay enough, and they don’t want to get stung. “At present, honey to the producer is priced somewhere between two and three dollars per kilogram—and that actually is below the cost of production,” he says. “The price definitely needs to get back up between $3.50 and $4 per kilo to at least break even.” Fellow Victorian beekeeper Rod Gell agrees the current honey price is unsustainable. “At the present honey price, the industry will struggle to survive and the number of full time beekeepers will decrease,” he told the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee inquiry. “The current honey price is barely sustainable. We need to get the honey price back to at least $3 as an average, so honeybees are a sustainable industry,” he says. One of this country’s honey success stories, Jodie Goldsworthy of Beechworth Honey, thinks Australian honey has come to the end of an era. “The steps that existed 10 years ago to enable Beechworth Honey to grow as it has no longer exist,” the former NSW Young Business Woman of the Year and member of the Regional Women’s Advisory Council says. “The hurdles have been made so much bigger that sadly Beechworth Honey may go down in history as the last brand that started small and made it this far in honey in Australia.” She believes strong demand for paid pollination services and live packaged bee exports are two key factors which have the potential to positively balance the negative impacts of global factors that impact on the marketing of Australian honey. She says paid pollination can help Australian beekeepers remain viable into the future and make the transition to being less reliant on returns from honey production alone. “As I see it, the harsh reality is that Australian honey packers can survive without Australian beekeepers. Packers can buy honey from wherever they like,” she said. “In addition to that, the high volume Australian retail market can survive without Australian based honey packers. Supermarket chains can buy honey from packers overseas.” But despite this, Australian agriculture cannot survive without Australian beekeepers. “Agriculture needs honeybee pollination,” she says. “Given that two-thirds of the food we eat has been pollinated by a bee I would consider it’s in the national interest to make sure the Australian honeybee industry is viable.” About the House September 2007  TrapSTraDE o lder ausTralians should Take care and seek Good advice Before unlockinG The equiTy in Their homes To fund Their needs in reTiremenT, a parliamenTary inquiry has heard. story: sharon palmer  About the House September 2007 of ThE T HEY have pockets of money and generally advertise in major daily newspapers. They charge a lot, have no regard whatsoever for your circumstances, and systematically avoid the consumer protection legislation. They are “lenders of last resort”, according to Katherine Lane, principal solicitor for the Consumer Credit Legal Centre in New South Wales. Unlike banks and credit unions or the larger mortgage brokers, these other lenders fly below the regulatory radar, often preying on vulnerable people who need cash fast. “They say ‘if you’re in trouble and the sheriff is at the door, come to us’,” Ms Lane told the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee as part of its investigation into older people and the law. Among their victims are elderly Australians who are asset rich but cash poor. In its submission to the committee’s inquiry, the Consumer Credit Legal Centre indicated that many older people are vulnerable to financial difficulties, often leading them to borrow against the value of their home to pay for things they need. But, without proper care and advice, they could end up losing everything. In one recent example from the legal centre’s case files, a pensioner applied for a loan of $40,000 to buy a car. He owned his own home, but his sole source of income was the aged pension. He approached a broker for assistance. The broker talked him into a line of credit loan of $150,000 so all his expenses and needs would be covered. The broker included false information in the loan application form, obtained an Australian Business Number and even lodged a tax return on the pensioner’s behalf. The broker arranged the loan with a major bank. The pensioner is now facing the prospect of losing his home as he has a debt he cannot afford to repay. The parliamentary inquiry has heard irresponsible lending is one of the significant financial abuse issues affecting the elderly. Equity loans from irresponsible lenders are a particular concern, as the effects, including loss of the family home, can be devastating if problems arise. The warnings about unscrupulous lenders come at a time when equity loans, which allow people to borrow against their homes, are on the increase. The variety of products now available can be quite mind-boggling, as can be the choice of lenders. One equity product, the reverse mortgage, has really taken off. Research indicates that more than 27,500 reverse mortgages are currently on issue in Australia, representing an 80 per cent increase in uptake over the past 12 months. Reverse mortgages are loans where the amount borrowed is repaid from the person’s estate after the person has died or the home is sold, with the proceeds from the sale being used to repay the debt. In the April 2007 edition of Choice magazine, the Australian Consumers’ Association roadtested 23 reverse mortgages against six standards for consumer protection. Disturbingly, none of the 23 financial institutions met the good practice standard set by Choice for protecting borrowers from the forced sale of their home. Its advice to consumers was to shop around and be sure of what you are getting. “A reverse mortgage is designed to stay with you for the rest of your life, or close to it, so you need to know exactly what you’re getting into,” Choice said. “The loan contract should be in plain English, be crystal-clear and contain fair and reasonable conditions that don’t place you under excessive risk.” research indicates that more than 27,500 reverse mortgages are currently on issue in australia. The National Seniors Association is so concerned about the implications of some equity release products, it has written to attorneysgeneral across Australia and to the federal government requesting better regulation of the reverse mortgage industry. Appearing before the Legal Committee in Canberra, National Seniors policy manager Peter Brady said while reverse mortgages had certain attractions, they were also something to be cautious about. “We are saying generally the product is good because it provides that sort of benefit to older people who do not have cash but who have an asset. However, we need to provide appropriate legal protection and appropriate information … because there are some unscrupulous practitioners. “The two ways we see a good result are legislation and providing good information to older people.” Mr Brady said there was a lot of confusion in the market because there were a number of different types of equity release products and some people were unwittingly signing up for the wrong thing. “I think there are something like three or four products that are loosely referred to as reverse mortgages for which the interest rates and the cost of the mortgage may have an effect on Continued page 26 About the House September 2007  Continued from page 25 what the older person does with their property,” he said. This concern is shared by the Consumer Credit Legal Centre. “We are seeing more and more people who have signed up for things that kind of looked and smelled like reverse mortgages but in fact were not,” said coordinator Karen Cox. “They were short-term interest-only loans where the house would have to be sold after five years, and that sort of thing.” National Seniors wants the state, territory and federal governments to ensure all mortgage providers are licensed, suitable accreditation standards are introduced, better information is provided to consumers, and an appropriate and effective dispute resolution mechanism is put in place. The need for tighter regulation of the mortgage market has also been raised by Western Australia’s Minister for Seniors, David Templeman, who in his submission to the inquiry quoted from a wide-ranging review of consumer credit matters by Consumer Affairs Victoria. “One of the recommendations arising from this review was that the Ministerial Council of Consumer Affairs should analyse the need for and nature of additional regulation in relation to reverse mortgages, including a prohibition on negative equity and a requirement that consumers get a comprehensive information statement on the distinctive features of reverse mortgages, such as interest capitalisation,’’ the minister said. Mr Templeman supported the recommendation, in a November 2005 report by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into equity release products, that “federal and state and territory regulators monitor closely the development of the market, consumer complaints and problems they point to and keep under review the adequacy of the regulatory structure to address them”. ASIC would also like to see a ‘no negative equity guarantee’ as part of any reverse mortgage equity release Cartoon: Pat Campbell product. While many financial institutions incorporate it into contracts, some still do not. A negative equity occurs when the interest compounding on the loan results in a debt which exceeds the value of the property. Independent legal advice should also be an essential requirement before a consumer takes out a reverse mortgage, according to ASIC, with consumers ideally consulting a financial adviser, Centrelink and their family before they proceed. ASIC said while a majority of lenders required consumers to obtain legal advice, not all did and not all legal practitioners were willing to provide advice on complex financial products such as reverse mortgages. In its submission to the inquiry, ASIC reiterated the concerns of other organisations that “in some cases default clauses applied for conduct as simple as not paying the rates on time or failing to submit a status report on the property at the end of the year”. Matters as minor as these could nullify the no negative equity guarantee and also result in borrowers losing their home.  About the House September 2007 Conscious of such concerns, reverse mortgage lenders have taken steps to ensure their reputation is not damaged by rogue lenders. In 2005 the Senior Australians Equity Release Association of Lenders (SEQUAL) was established, with members signing up to a code of conduct. The code lists a number of protections, including that all products carry a no negative equity guarantee, and that lenders ensure borrowers obtain independent legal advice, clearly and adequately identify all costs, provide in writing a fair and complete package of equity release documents, participate in an ASIC approved external dispute resolution scheme, and ensure all loans are written under the uniform consumer credit code. SEQUAL’s executive director Keiran Dell believes reverse mortgages are a good product as long they are provided ethically and properly. “Reverse mortgages have a lot of fantastic uses as long as the advice is good from the start, borrowers are encouraged to obtain independent legal and financial advice and it does not impact on their pension,” Mr Dell said. He believes equity release products such as reverse mortgages offer people an alternative to having to sell their home to pay for unexpected bills. “Many people find themselves through no fault of their own and with no warning with $20,000 to $30,000 in medical expenses or their car breaks down and they need to buy a new car. They can now say ‘hang on there’s another option here’. “Also we are seeing a shift and reverse mortgages are a popular market with the baby boomers as they move into retirement and they have the same sort of aspirations in retirement as they had when they were working. They want to travel, buy a plasma TV, spoil the kids and grandkids and reverse mortgages can help them to do all of that.” It’s been estimated around 95 per cent of the reverse mortgage lending market is currently covered by members of SEQUAL. Mr Dell said SEQUAL members should be the first port of call for those looking into reverse mortgages. “We are seeing more and more people who have signed up for things that kind of looked and smelled like reverse mortgages but in fact were not.” “Our lenders have to meet every element of our code of conduct to join, it does not matter if they meet most of them, they have to meet all of the requirements,’’ Mr Dell said. At the same time, he conceded that the existing uniform credit code, which lenders must abide by and which is referred to in SEQUAL’s own code of conduct, may not adequately cover equity loans because it was established well before those products became popular in Australia. “I believe there is work to be done to update the code in line with the changes in the market over the years,” Mr Dell said. In addition to SEQUAL, a group of brokers has recently formed a company called Fortus which specialises in equity release products. Under Fortus, members have to abide by a rigorous charter, which stipulates that they must hold a reverse mortgage consultant accreditation from SEQUAL, must belong to a certified body like MFAA (Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia) or CPA (Certified Practising Accountants), hold accreditation of each product recommended to the client, hold at least a Certificate IV financial qualification and maintain membership of an ASIC approved external dispute resolution scheme. “If a lender is not part of SEQUAL you would have to be asking why and similarly if a provider of equity release products is not a member of Fortus you would have to ask why,” said interim chief executive of Fortus, Craig Swan. “And the simple answer is, they do not necessarily offer the guarantees for consumers expected by both bodies.’’ Despite these moves towards tougher self-regulation, concerns remain about the voluntary nature of bodies such as SEQUAL. In its submission to the inquiry, the Law Society of Western Australia has called for a mandatory code of conduct for the lenders of reverse equity products, to ensure all lenders are covered. And the issue of adequate protection for consumers may get more pressing, as housing affordability pressures mount. The Consumer Credit Legal Centre expressed concern about “family members putting pressure on parents and grandparents to use reverse mortgages to improve their own lifestyles or to get into the housing market”. Similarly, the Legal Aid Commission of NSW has warned that older persons using the equity in their house to assist relatives enter the real estate market could become a matter of “growing concern”. For more information on the inquiry into older people and the law by the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, visit www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/laca/ olderpeople or email laca.reps@aph. gov.au or phone (02) 6277 2358. About the House September 2007  heat is on i N the remote South Australian desert, deep underground, a new energy source is being harnessed. Five kilometres below the surface of the vast Cooper Basin, hot rocks could help produce as much clean, green energy as would be generated by 15 Snowy Hydro schemes. And that’s got scientists, energy companies and politicians excited. A visiting geothermal expert from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, Professor Jefferson Tester, recently told a parliamentary inquiry into renewable energy that Australia looms large in the field of hot rock technology. “What’s exciting in Australia right now is this major project in the Cooper Basin, which is being looked at by virtually the entire international geothermal community,” Professor Tester says. “It’s the largest enhanced geothermal site in the world that is active right now. So in many ways you are the leaders at this point and we are looking to you to see how that project goes.” The geothermal power plant of the future will operate by pumping water into a bed of super hot granite  About the House September 2007 The we could Be usinG hoT rocks To meeT our fuTure enerGy needs, reporTs andrew dawson. rock. As this water is forced through the cracks in the fractured hot granite, it becomes superheated to more than 250 degrees Celsius before being piped back to the surface. Above ground, the superheated water passes through a heat exchanger. This heats up another type of fluid that drives the power station’s turbines and generates a continuous baseload supply of electricity without any of the greenhouse gases that dog coal power plants. Water use is kept to a minimum because all of the ground water is continually recirculated through a closed system. Geothermal energy site, Cooper Basin (South Australia). Photos: Geodynamics and AAP Nineteen Australian companies are already pursuing this interest in geothermal energy, with seven listed on the stock exchange. These companies believe within a decade or two they will be generating thousands of megawatts of electricity from water heated up by these hot granite rocks. “Geothermal energy is being used in roughly 70 countries for generating electricity or providing heat for homes, or both,” Professor Tester told the House of Representatives Industry and Resources Committee. “There is about 10,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity around the world right now. In many ways Australia is very similar to the United States—it’s a large country with a very large part of it that has an extremely high heat load so the future looks very bright for Australia.” The geothermal venture in outback South Australia attracting the most attention is a hot fractured rocks project near the remote town of Innaminka being run by Geodynamics. This Brisbane-based company, which lists Origin Energy and Woodside Petroleum as shareholders, is at the forefront of the Australian geothermal energy sector. It has already begun drilling deep into one of the hottest non-volcanic spots on earth. Geodynamics believes the Cooper Basin has enough geothermal energy potential to provide all of Australia’s electricity needs at current consumption rates for 70 years. Chief executive Adrian Williams estimates the geothermal resource they already have identified is capable of producing 10,000 megawatts. “That’s absolutely huge—the equivalent in annual power output to 15 Snowy Hydro schemes,” Dr Williams says. To exploit this potential, Geodynamics has recently purchased a $32 million state of the art drilling rig that began work in July on a new production well to be called Habanero Three. Dr Williams says this could turn out to be the most significant onshore well ever drilled in Australia. “Why? Because it will first of all prove the concept of generating power from hot rocks, and it will launch a whole new industry in this country,” Dr Williams says. “By the end of the year, we will have completed drilling Habanero Three, we will have completed doing a circulation test between Habanero Continued page 30 About the House September 2007  Continued from page 29 “geothermal will be cheaper than solar energy and certainly comparable with wind energy.” Three and Habanero One, and we will have formally proven reserves.” He says it is the first time this will have been done in Australia. “Then we launch into a 40 megawatt commercial development that will enable us to be delivering power into the national grid by the end of 2010. And that in itself will be a very important milestone because once that’s done, there is no stopping us. “We then plan our next project of 500 megawatts to be delivering power into the national grid by 2015.” Such is its confidence in the technology, Geodynamics has already taken out exploration licences for more than 2,000 square kilometres of the Cooper Basin. Professor Tester says the United States is also beginning to realise the possible long-term benefits of expanding its own geothermal energy supplies. “Widespread deployment of geothermal in the United States would have a very positive impact on our energy security, our environment and our economic health,” he says. “In the US we are talking about moving from 3,000 megawatts to perhaps 100,000 megawatts in half a century, which would represent about 10 per cent of our current generating capacity.” The National Generators Forum represents 22 major power generators. Executive director John Boshier shares Professor Tester’s enthusiasm for geothermal energy. “It will take some time to develop. At the moment it is quite costly but it has got very large potential,” Mr Boshier says. While acknowledging that start up costs will be high, Mr Boshier says geothermal energy will become cheaper as more and more power plants are developed. “Affordability has to be measured against the cost of carbon dioxide, so if we are going to have emissions trading and we are going to have a price on carbon dioxide, which looks like being the case, then geothermal energy will become much more economic. “I would say geothermal will be cheaper than solar energy and certainly comparable with wind energy.” Based on renewable energy incentives established in Australia, Geodynamics also believes geothermal energy can compete with wind and 0 About the House September 2007 hydro power. The cost of electricity generated by geothermal power plants will also be independent of future rising fossil fuel costs such as coal, gas or oil. The main capital costs of development in a geothermal power plant are in deep drilling, in the development of the underground heat exchanger, and in the building of the power plant. Geodynamics says the underground costs make up about 50 per cent of the total capital required for a small-scale plant. These underground costs decrease to 20 per cent or less of the total capital for much larger power plants. The cost of developing a demonstration geothermal energy power plant with an electrical output of 10 to 15 megawatts has been estimated at nearly $50 million for a stand alone system. But, according to Geodynamics, on a cost per megawatt this demonstration geothermal power plant producing baseload electricity 24 hours a day compares well with the $45 million price tag for one of the biggest wind power projects in Australia, the Albany Wind Farm. Dr Williams sees the ability of geothermal to deliver continuous baseload power as its main advantage over wind turbines. “An individual wind turbine can provide three megawatts of power but, since it turns for only 30 per cent of the day, it may be only one megawatt, whereas geothermal is continuous. So a 40 megawatt geothermal generator is equivalent in output to about 40 wind turbines,” he says. Mr Boshier sees two significant hurdles facing prospective geothermal electricity producers in Central Australia—its relative isolation and a lack of water. “The problem with the Cooper Basin is that it is a long way from the east coast where the main cities are so that means there is a lot of electricity transmission over to the east coast going to be needed, which can be expensive,” he says. Geodynamics believes these transmission costs will be quite manageable. “The right technology is high voltage direct current lines— that’s the established technology for transmission of large amounts of power over long distances—as used in China’s Three Gorges hydro project,” Dr Williams says. “geothermal leaves a small environmental footprint.” “The point is if the resource is big enough or of high enough quality, then you take the infrastructure to the resource.” As for concerns about access to water, which is critical for operating a geothermal energy reservoir, Professor Tester believes the water aquifers under the Cooper Basin should suffice. “The Cooper Basin is somewhat fortunate in that they have natural water in the reservoir itself,” he says. Geodynamics has no concerns about running out of water to drive its generators because the water is constantly recycled. “Geothermal leaves a small environmental footprint—we have already proven in the Cooper Basin that we do not need an external supply of water because it’s a closed system,” Dr Williams says. Ultimately, whether the potential of geothermal energy will be realised will depend on issues of cost and technology. “There is increasing recognition that geothermal and natural gas are emerging as the most cost effective energy sources as soon as there is a cost on carbon factored in,” Dr Williams says. “If you are not going to cut emissions then you keep using coal, but if you are, then cost will be important. “All the core technology required already exists such as the drilling and managing the geothermal reservoir. We still have a bit to learn but we are waiting on technological breakthroughs to go forward.” Professer Tester knows geothermal can compete economically with the wind or solar renewable energy sectors. “The US has 3,000 megawatts of capacity and all of it is competing in today’s energy markets without subsidies,” he says. “The new geothermal that comes online will benefit to some extent in the US from production tax credits because it’s now officially regarded as a renewable source. “The future is bright at the high grade end and, if we can make the technology work better to bring down some of the costs a bit, it will open up the vast potential of lower grade resources as well.” But Professor Tester warns Australians to be patient about tapping into this renewable energy source. “These are big investments—even if the technology was in place, the capital investment to put in 100,000 megawatts capacity is a significant number—it’s like building 100 nuclear plants.” For more information on the case study into selected renewable energy sectors by the House of Representatives Industry and Resources Committee, visit www. aph.gov.au/house/committee/isr/ renewables or email ir.reps@aph.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 4594. The annual power output from geothermal energy could equal 15 Snowy Hydro schemes. Photos: Geodynamics About the House September 2007 1  About the House September 2007 Milking ThE caSh cow The services secTor dominaTes The ausTralian economy and exporTs of services GeneraTe $44 Billion a year for The naTion. BuT whaT does The fuTure hold for This viTal secTor? Geoffrey maslen reports. “ s ervices,” according to The Economist magazine, “are things you cannot drop on your foot.” That is, services tend to be defined more by what they are not rather than by what they are. Similarly, statisticians describe them as those parts of the economy that are not agriculture, forestry and fishing; or mining and manufacturing. That leaves a rather large range of activities such as education, tourism, hospitality, transport, health and community services, not to mention cultural and recreational matters, communication, accommodation, electricity, gas and water … the list goes on and on. Despite the intangible nature of ‘services’— they don’t, after all, generate products as such— the sector still accounts for a staggering threequarters of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product. And an even larger slice of employment with nearly 9 million Australians or 85 per cent of the working population involved. Mining might currently loom over the nation’s exports yet the ‘invisible’ services sector is worth a tidy $44 billion a year. That is more than a fifth of everything Australians sell overseas and a far bigger slice than any agricultural product, or sheep or wool. To give some startling examples: tourists last year contributed $20 billion to Australia’s bank balance; education exports added another $10.5 billion, passenger transport $8 billion, services to business travellers $2.5 billion, and financial and insurance services $1.5 billion. It was the sheer size of the sector and its importance to Australia’s future that led federal Treasurer Peter Costello in May 2006 to refer the matter to the House of Representatives Economics Committee. The year-long inquiry into the current and future directions of services exports, and the challenges posed by the resources boom, resulted in a 150-page report and 14 recommendations. The 10-member committee received 55 submissions from a broad cross-section of interested groups and held 10 public hearings in five of the capital cities. The report’s six main chapters cover a range of issues that not only focus on the main services industries but also on topics such as innovation and productivity, coordination of the sector, skills and labour shortages, trade liberalisation, export assistance and export statistics. The Services Roundtable—the peak business body for the services industries—told the committee Australia did not have a policy for the sector, did not have a services export strategy, and the only department coordinating an allof-government position was Foreign Affairs and Trade, which in any case only acted within the confines of international trade negotiations. Other groups said much the same and the committee concluded there was little Continued page 34 About the House September 2007  Continued from page 33 doubt the sector was largely overshadowed by Australia’s goodsproducing industries—agriculture, manufacturing and mining. The committee’s report argues one way to achieve enhanced federal coordination would be to create a Minister for Services who would be primarily responsible for those in the private sector. On the second issue of the severe labour shortages in lowerskill positions in industries such as hospitality and tourism, the committee called for a program of permanent migration, as well as incentives for Australian and overseas workers to move to rural and regional areas where the situation is much worse. A theme running through the report is the way the services industry tends to be overlooked because of the present dominance of the resources sector. The committee said in all future bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations the government should give greater priority to the services industries. Tourism and education, however, were the committee’s prime targets and two topics stand out in each: the danger of ‘rogue operators’ affecting Australia’s reputation and the impact China in particular is already having, and is likely to continue to have, on the future of these two increasingly important export industries. In a chapter on the inbound tourism industry, the report records the fact that this field alone employs more than 460,000 people, contributes close on $40 billion, or nearly 4 per cent of GDP, generates $80 billion in consumption and, in export terms, is worth more than $20 billion. Australia’s biggest markets by visitor numbers are New Zealand, Britain, Japan and America. But the report says the largest increase has occurred with tourists from China whose numbers have jumped 280 per cent since 2000. China and India are expected to be the main drivers of growth over the next seven years, with China to become the most significant source of tourists within a decade. But the sheer size of the industry and its huge potential to become even bigger needs more attention than the committee believed it could provide. So it has proposed the government commission an independent inquiry, either by an independent consulting firm or by a leading business figure supported by a secretariat from a government agency such as Treasury. the services industry tends to be overlooked because of the present dominance of the resources sector. Expanding tourism numbers is one thing, but rogue operators— tourism types who mistreat or take advantage of foreign tourists—are another issue entirely. The committee learned these miscreants have long been a serious problem for the industry and remain a troublesome issue. The Australian Tourism Export Council listed specific examples that included operators promising four and five-star CBD accommodation while actually providing three-star motel rooms of poor value outside city centres, with repetitive meals and long travel times in sub-standard mini-buses. “Anecdotal evidence exists of tourists being charged to walk on a beach or to take photographs of landmarks,” the council said. Such treatment resulted in high levels of dissatisfaction when the tourists were surveyed. Although state and federal laws exist that would theoretically protect international tourists, the committee found few investigations had been conducted into the behaviour of rogue operators. The Queensland government, however, did respond to widespread concerns within the industry and introduced legislation that requires tour operators to be registered and to comply with an enforceable code of conduct. The federal government’s response was an Approved Destination Scheme regulating tourist travel to Australia. But the scheme only applies to China and ATEC told the committee some operators were acting illegally outside the scheme, while many Chinese citizens were on non-ADS visas so it accounted for only 30 per cent of the Chinese market. The committee concluded that solving the issue of rogue operators was a matter of urgency, given that misconduct was of fundamental importance to the industry. Its report calls on state and federal governments to take action to eradicate crooked operators, including providing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with extra resources to deal with them, as well as the Inbound Tourism Compliance Taskforce to enable more effective national coordination. Rogue providers also loomed large in the committee’s deliberations on Australia’s education export industry—now the nation’s fourth largest exporter behind coal, tourism and iron ore. Here, too, China’s students alone are worth more in export earnings than all of Australia’s wheat exports to our giant Asian trading partner. In 1991-92, the report notes, education exports generated little more than $1 billion for the Australian economy. In 2005-06, earnings had rocketed to $10 billion with a doubling in foreign enrolments in the past five years. Almost 385,000 foreign students were enrolled with Australian  About the House September 2007 Photos: Jupiterimages education institutions in 2006: more than 172,000 in higher education, some 84,000 in vocational and technical education, 25,000 in schools and 77,500 in English language courses. As with tourism, the Chinese market is a key source of students and enrolments have nearly doubled in four years while those from India have almost quadrupled although from a much smaller base. At the same time, though, five of Australia’s top 10 markets—Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and America—have all declined. A critical factor in this fall, and one which could eventually affect the expansion of the Chinese and Indian markets, is the strong and increasing global competition for international students. Australia’s competitors are no longer the traditional countries of Britain and America but the big Asian economies themselves. As the federal Education Department warned: “The governments of Singapore, Malaysia and China have announced initiatives to increase their international education enrolments and are seeking a greater share of the market.” The committee concluded that education institutions, with government help, would have to develop new strategies to maintain their current market share. One approach would be to diversify the source countries and the fields of study undertaken by foreign students who tend to mostly enrol in business administration and managementtype courses. Faced with increasing competition, the reputation of Australia’s institutions in providing high-quality education is crucial. The committee’s report says here, too, rogue operators could cause untold damage to the nation’s image abroad. Two concerns in particular were raised about crooked colleges in submissions to the committee: ‘student trafficking’ and the failure of the Education Department to take appropriate and immediate action against colleges that were ripping off students. Jeanette Allen of Services Skills Australia—the industry skills council —described how some colleges operated: “What they do is they group two, three and four diplomas and advanced diplomas into a two-year program so that they meet all the [government’s] requirements, deliver the qualification in an institutional setting, and then the people get recognition or points to get into the country.” Ms Allen said such practices harmed the industry’s reputation and did nothing to enhance its capacity to provide qualifications that carried some status. Tim Smith, chief executive of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, said government authorities did not deal with rogue providers effectively. “What particularly concerns my organisation is that the [Education Department] will not act to deal with individual providers who are embarrassing the system,” Mr Smith said. In its response, the department said there was no evidence to support claims it was reluctant to investigate or take action against colleges behaving improperly. But it acknowledged there was an industry perception it was reluctant “to use its powers against rogue operators”. The committee said it was not its role to play arbiter in the dispute but believed there was scope for an external review of the department’s performance. It recommended the department should be investigated by the Auditor-General over the way it tackled rogue colleges and the Auditor-General should conduct a performance audit of the department’s actions regarding alleged breaches of the overseas students act and its national code. Overall, the committee’s report has been welcomed by the various services industries. Australian Tourism Export Council managing director Matthew Hingerty said the report contained “far-reaching, insightful and, in some cases, controversial recommendations”. “The report correctly identifies threats to the sector such as a lack of workers in lower skilled areas, the risk of rogue operators dragging down the reputation of the industry with poor services, and the growing international ‘anti-response’ to climate change,” Mr Hingerty said. Similarly, the Investment and Financial Services Association said the report went a long way in identifying the areas where Australia needed to improve if it was to fully capitalise on the enormous potential to increase exports. Association chief executive Richard Gilbert endorsed the committee’s call for the creation of a Minister for Services, for more resources for the Bureau of Statistics to improve services export data, and for greater priority to be given to the services export sector in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. ACPET chief executive Tim Smith described the Servicing our future report as a great contribution to understanding and appreciating the vital contribution export services make to the Australian economy. “The findings put on the table some important issues and foremost among these is the crucial need for a quality product to be delivered to overseas students,” Mr Smith said. The Servicing our future report by the House Economics Committee is available at www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/efpa/services/report.htm or email efpa.reps@aph.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 4587. About the House September 2007  B a aby on BoarD Not that the scope of the inquiry was confined to scrutinising the longterm health advantages that breastfed babies enjoy. The committee examined the complex issue of breastfeeding from every conceivable angle. At the core of the inquiry were the questions that weigh on the minds of breastfeeding mothers as they contemplate the balance of their baby’s nutritional requirements with the imperatives of returning to work. The inquiry was set up to report on how the Commonwealth government can improve the health of Australians through across-the-board support for breastfeeding. It looked at the extent of the health benefits of breastfeeding, as well as initiatives to encourage breastfeeding and its impact on the long-term sustainability of Australia’s health system. The committee chairman, Alex Somlyay (Member for Fairfax, Qld), had expected a “short, sharp inquiry”. What he got instead was an avalanche of public interest: more than 470 written submissions—more than any inquiry he had been involved in, he reckoned, in his 18 years as a parliamentarian. “It is obviously a topic near and dear to many people’s heart,” he said. wiTh BreasTfeedinG raTes Below world healTh Guidelines, work pressures are a siGnificanT facTor, reporTs James nicholson, as he examines The relucTance of ausTralian offices and Boardrooms To emBrace nursinG moThers. MANDA Lee remembers well a visit she made to Japan some time ago. She recalls being rebuked in the American Club in Tokyo for breastfeeding her baby. Patrons were not allowed to bring “prepared food” onto the premises, she was told. This incredible but true story illustrates the kind of obstacles that breastfeeding women have to overcome at the best of times, never mind when they’re contemplating a return to the workforce. Dr Lee, the manager of Queensland Health’s Nutrition and Physical Health Promotion Unit, was among the myriad witnesses who gave evidence to the House of Representatives Health and Ageing Committee inquiry into the health benefits of breastfeeding. Apart from highlighting her own monstrous experience of societal resistance to breastfeeding, Dr Lee appeared before the committee in Brisbane to champion the health benefits of breast milk. Breastfeeding was, in her view, “probably the most significant issue of public health benefit to be considered within Australia”.  About the House September 2007 RetuRn to woRk was seen veRy much as an obstacle to bReastfeeding by most women. “Given the proven health benefits of breast milk, it is important to look at ways in which society can support women in their choice to breastfeed.” According to 2003 figures produced by Dr Lee, more than 91 per cent of mothers began breastfeeding, but that figure dropped off to 79 per cent within a month, and to 57 per cent within six months. Data from a 2001 study provided to the inquiry by Maxine O’Brien, a PhD student and breastfeeding researcher, was even more alarming: while 93 per cent of women initiated breastfeeding, a paltry seven per cent exclusively breastfed at six months. Those figures fall well short of World Health Organisation guidelines which recommend exclusive breastfeeding for babies until six months. One of the most significant influences on women’s decisions to abandon breastfeeding before that six-month milestone, the inquiry heard, was the need to return to work. Sally Eldridge, from the Australian Breastfeeding Association— a lobby group for working and breastfeeding mothers—said return to work was seen very much as an obstacle to breastfeeding by most women. “Many of the women we encounter do not initiate breastfeeding,” Ms Eldridge said, “because they know they will be returning to work when their child is Continued page 38 About the House September 2007  Continued from page 37 “at the moment there is no onus upon employers to make a workplace breastfeeding friendly.” young and others wean their baby prematurely in order to return to work, even though that is not in line with recommendations of the National Health and Medical Research Council or the World Health Organisation on breastfeeding or duration. “In our positions we also hear lots about the difficulties those women encounter when they do try to combine breastfeeding and work.” The wretched breastfeeding data for working mothers has much to do with women’s increased participation rate in the labour force since the 1980s. One witness from the breastfeeding association laid the blame squarely on industrial relations policies and legislation which fail to protect mothers’ rights to combine breastfeeding and employment. Those charges are supported by a Millennium Cohort Study published in the United Kingdom earlier this year, which demonstrated a strong link between the duration of breastfeeding and employment. It showed that women employed full-time were less likely to initiate breastfeeding than those employed part-time or not employed, and that the earlier a woman returns to work the less likely she is to initiate breastfeeding. At one of the inquiry’s hearings in Canberra, Natasha Pollock, from the Women’s Electoral Lobby Maternity Services and Breastfeeding Working Group, identified the absence of paid maternity leave among a catalogue of barriers confronting would-be breastfeeders as they prepared to reenter the workplace. “Other issues are lack of support and knowledge about breastfeeding ABOUT THE HOUSE TV Watch Sky News at 2.30pm on Fridays of parliamentary sitting weeks for the current affairs program about the House of Representatives. Visit www.aph.gov.au/house/ news for program dates or email liaison.reps@aph.gov.au or phone freecall 1800 139 299 for more information. Now also 1.30pm on the second Saturday of each month.  About the House September 2007 More than 40 organisations across australia have been accredited as being officially “breastfeeding friendly”. management while employed,” she said. “A non-supportive work environment, including a lack of lactation breaks for women to feed their babies, problems with pumping breast milk—some women do not know what to do or what to use, et cetera. “Healthcare professionals’ lack of knowledge around expressing and returning to work; a perception that infants at work impede mothers’ work and job performance—in those instances where it might be best for the baby to be brought in to the mother—and it’s not considered within the scope of the business; a lack of privacy for breastfeeding or expressing milk; an inability to find childcare centres at or near the workplace, and the high cost of child care and long waiting periods.” The most effective means of addressing those issues, Ms Pollock argued, was to educate the workforce —employers, breastfeeding mothers and other employees—so that the practice was embraced in the workplace. “At the moment there is no onus on employers to make a workplace breastfeeding friendly, and women do not know what their rights are with respect to that,” she said. “There needs to be education for the women, for the employers and for the other employees as well, because women need the support of their fellow employees.” Another argument the Women’s Electoral Lobby presented was for paid maternity leave, which would remove the financial pressure for women to return to work before the six-month milestone, and would encourage breastfeeding by taking the workplace out of the equation completely “Paid maternity leave assists women to continue to breastfeed for longer and also to initiate breastfeeding because it provides women with a continuous source of income and employment security following the birth of their baby,” Ms Pollock said. The Australian Breastfeeding Association offered some alternative solutions, including childcare initiatives, the removal of tax on breast pumps, and paid lactation breaks mandated by legislation. But it echoed the Women’s Electoral Lobby in identifying education as the cornerstone for change. According to Sally Eldridge, education is required not just in the workplace, among managers and supervisors, but among the community at large, and among expecting mothers in particular, to convince them that combining breastfeeding and work is a viable choice. “We need campaigns run in Australia to educate the public that work and breastfeeding can be combined and that there are options, and where to get information,” Ms Eldridge said. “We recommend that there be education and training for line managers and supervisors who negotiate return to work arrangements from maternity leave to ensure the needs of breastfeeding mothers are being met and that all requests for job flexibility are properly discussed, justified and documented.” One of the toughest challenges in raising breastfeeding rates, highlighted at the inquiry, was the poor awareness among women that it was even possible to combine work and breastfeeding at all. There was widespread anxiety among mothers returning to work, the committee heard, having to negotiate any breastfeeding provisions. The assumption, whether justified or not, was that they would be arguing from a position of weakness, and that their requests were unlikely to enjoy a sympathetic ear. Much had to be done, the breastfeeding association argued, to empower breastfeeding mothers and furnish them with some certainty as they negotiated their return to work with employers. “We get calls saying, ‘There’s no way that they would let me do Continued page 40 About the House September 2007  Continued from page 39 “there is a strong business case for employers to support breastfeeding women.” that. How could I possibly do that?’” Ms Eldridge said. “That is repeated over and over. If they are prepared to go the extra mile and try it, the next step is: ‘What do I do? What law is there? What can I say to them that will tell them what I need and what they should be doing for me?’ “Getting back to work is hard enough, but to then have to negotiate, in perhaps a hostile working environment, what they need, whether they can have certain things and what they need to do is extremely difficult. Negotiating things like when they can do the expressing and where they can do the expressing is hard.” The Australian Breastfeeding Association’s Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation Program is a progressive initiative that appears to be making a significant impact in shifting attitudes towards work and breastfeeding. The program’s principles serve as a useful basis for women to navigate their way through those difficult negotiations, in order to promote and encourage breastfeeding in the workplace. Employers are provided with a set of guidelines to enable them to meet the needs of breastfeeding mothers at work. To secure accreditation, employers must provide lactation breaks, suitable facilities for breastfeeding or expressing breast milk, and offer support to employees by providing them with breastfeeding information and a breastfeeding policy when maternity leave is taken. Nicole Maruff, the program’s project officer, told the committee accredited employers are provided with a consultancy service to develop a formal breastfeeding policy and to ensure adequate workplace facilities for breastfeeding. They are also subject to an annual review to ensure standards are maintained. Beyond the clear benefit for breastfeeding workers, however, employers too have much to gain from accreditation. “Feedback from employers has been very positive,” Ms Maruff said. “Indeed, accreditation is aligned with business strategies of optimising recruitment and retention, valuing workplace diversity and equal opportunity and building a reputation of being a family friendly employer. We are currently updating our resources and services to deliver more value to accredited workplaces and to encourage more workplaces to gain accreditation.” Since the program began in 2002, more than 40 organisations across Australia have been accredited as being officially “breastfeeding friendly”. TAke A jOuRney THROuGH OuR fIRST 100 yeARS The House of Representatives history pack: a House for the nation The most comprehensive collection of facts, stories and images of the House of Representatives ever produced, now for the special price of $55 for the pack (incl GST). Includes CD-ROM encyclopaedia and four episode documentary (approx 30 minutes each episode) on DVD or video, plus 133-page study guide. To order and for more information, phone freecall 1800 139 299 or email liaison.reps@aph.gov.au Take 0 About the House September 2007 They include Westpac, Pfizer, AGL and Allens Arthur Robinson as well as several hospitals, universities and state and Commonwealth agencies. Indeed, the Australian Breastfeeding Association is eager for the Commonwealth government to show some leadership with regard to the balance of work and breastfeeding, not only by enacting legislation to ensure paid lactation breaks and other appropriate measures and facilities, but also by insisting on accreditation for its departments and other agencies. When it comes to walking the walk on this issue and showing a bit of leadership, Warren Entsch (Member for Leichhardt, Qld), a member of the committee, appears to have stolen a march on his parliamentary colleagues in quite spectacular fashion. Mr Entsch told the inquiry he had been particularly eager to keep one of his valued staffers in the Torres Strait after she had given birth. So he knocked a hole in one of his office walls and converted his boardroom into a crèche and a place for the baby to be breastfed. As Natasha Pollock pointed out, there is much to gain for employers taking a breastfeeding friendly approach. “There is a strong business case for employers to support breastfeeding women and to support the introduction of breastfeeding friendly workplaces,” she said. “It is a low-cost intervention which supports a family friendly work culture. It improves female retention, with some studies showing over 90 per cent of females returning to the same workplace. “There is an earlier return to work in some cases, as well as reduced absenteeism and staff turnover— reduced absenteeism because breastfed babies are sicker less often and for shorter periods of time than bottlefed babies. It can also be an easier work transition and it acknowledges the needs of employees and so improves the relationship between the employer and the employee, which can boost morale and lead to greater loyalty. “It can improve employee productivity and some studies have shown a cost saving of $3 for every $1 invested in breastfeeding support.” And therein, perhaps, lies the key to persuading employers to embrace a culture that encourages and supports breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. Maybe if the powerful health arguments for breastfeeding can’t make an impression on them, then the economic sense of it will. The breastfeeding inquiry report by the House of Representatives Health and Ageing Committee is available at www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ haa/breastfeeding or for more information email haa.reps@aph.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 4145. Meet the who’s who of the House of Representatives Visit the three homes for the House Discover how the House works Includes cd-ROM dIa encyclOpae e a journey About the House September 2007 1 Y W  About the House September 2007 Vote GeneraTion y could help deTermine The ouTcome of This year’s federal elecTion, if enouGh of Them are reGisTered To voTe. JudiTh ireland looks aT why so many younG ausTralians are noT exciTed By The prospecT of voTinG and whaT can Be done aBouT iT. ith a federal election looming and our politicians gearing up for the nation’s biggest contest of the year, we will soon be hearing that familiar mantra of ‘every vote counts’. But when polling booths close, there’s a good chance there will be lots of potential votes missing. The Youth Electoral Study conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the Australian National University estimates that only 58 per cent of Australian 18 year-olds and 81 per cent of 18 to 25 year-olds are enrolled to vote. This suggests as many as 380,000 young people are not on the electoral roll—roughly four electorate’s worth of voters. These figures come on the back of a steady flow of studies and headlines—‘Apathy wins youth vote’, ‘Young voters just can’t be bothered,’ and ‘Politics a turn-off for Gen Y’—declaring young people and politics go together like heavy metal music and a yoga retreat. In its inquiry into the 2004 federal election, federal parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee found that “disconnection with politics appears to have the greatest impact on enrolment levels”. It said more must be done to improve young people’s interest in the political process. Following on from that report, the committee recently investigated the quality of electoral education provided to young people (along with Indigenous and migrant Australians). It received 118 submissions, conducted 11 public hearings across the country, visited 10 schools and held two school forums where it talked politics with 244 students and 47 teachers. Presenting the committee’s Civics and electoral education report, committee chair Sophie Mirabella (Member for Indi, Vic) said the report’s 17 recommendations “will contribute to a healthier democracy with more citizens who are informed, involved and engaged in the issues that are important to them.” But Mrs Mirabella recognised that the task is not a straightforward or easy one. “I don’t think you can force people to have a passion or everyone should be interested in politics,” she said. Young voters have been a priority group for the Australian Electoral Commission since 2003. Initiatives like the joint AEC/ triple j Rock Enrol program have directly encouraged young people to enrol. More recently, some state electoral commissions have begun sending 17 year-olds birthday cards, inviting them to enrol provisionally—a move the AEC is looking to implement nationally this year. The Electoral Committee’s first recommendation asks the AEC to keep a detailed record of how many birthday cards are sent and how successful the scheme is in the lead up to the 2007 federal election. The ACT Electoral Commission has taken the extra step of instituting a ‘bounty system’ in which young people are paid $2.50 if they enrol. ‘young people’ do not behave as a unifoRm block oR shaRe the exact same attitudes towaRds politics. With people searching for ideas (hip or otherwise) to encourage more youth enrolments, the committee examined ways to make the enrolling process more hitech, in order to connect with the generation that eats iPods for breakfast. The report recommended that the AEC costs and determines the feasibility of emailing all Year 12 students an enrolment form to their school email account and establishing an SMS service by which young people can ask the AEC for an enrolment form. It also encouraged all MPs to create “interactive personal websites to facilitate young people’s access to parliament”. However, a text message or Facebook page does not a political enthusiast make. In evidence to the committee, Dr Lucas Walsh of the Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights, Deakin University, cautioned that research into digital democracy has produced mixed results to date. He agreed that while SMS usage has risen ‘exponentially’, it had not yet resulted in increased democratic participation (Big Brother notwithstanding). Of deeper concern to the committee was young people’s apparent lack of civic knowledge—giving rise to the inference that they may not even know why it’s important to vote or how to do so responsibly. The 2007 Report on Government Services found that only 16 per cent of Year 6 students and 23 per cent of Year 10 students surveyed knew what Australia Day commemorated (apart from enjoying a BBQ). The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, in its Civic Education Study for Australia, revealed that “only half of the Australian students have a grasp of the essential pre-conditions for a properly working democracy”. However, it’s not for want of trying on the government’s part. Between 1997 and 2004, the federal government allocated $31.5 million towards civics and citizenship education, with an additional $4.9 million over four years in its 2004-2005 budget. The Discovering Democracy program has since been distributed to all Australian schools. In 2005, $29.7 million was allocated to values education initiatives, aimed at promoting values such as care and compassion, doing your best and giving people a fair go. Continued page 44 Photo: Jupiterimages About the House September 2007  Continued from page 43 Evidence heard by the committee pointed to a lack of teachers’ skills and professional development in the area. Mrs Melissa Rasmussen, a teacher from Western Australia, said “most teachers do not even know about the Australian Constitution … They would not know where to begin teaching it.” This is coupled with a lack of time to teach the subject matter— particularly in high school, where 100 hours in Years 9 and 10 must be found in an already jampacked history or geography syllabus. While students have the option of studying politics and government at university, formal civics education stops at Year 10, as historian Dr John Hirst further pointed out in a recent article in The Australian. “In these vital years we have abdicated the responsibility to prepare students to be citizens of this country,” he wrote. Among the Electoral Committee’s recommendations in response is the development of a short, focused electoral education unit to be delivered in either Years 9 and 10 or Years 11 and 12. The committee also recommended that the AEC be granted sufficient funds to create several electoral education officer positions in each state and territory with responsibility for the development and presentation of electoral education teaching resources. Yet the above is not to say that young people are apathetic or ignorant. As academics such as Sydney University’s Dr Ariadne Vromen have argued, young people may not be voting or joining political parties en masse, but they are involved in less-traditional forms of political participation, such as boycotting products, making a post to an online discussion or joining a community group. It all depends on how you define ‘politics’. In a 2004 article in the Australian Review of Public Affairs, Dr Vromen reported her research that “93 per cent of young people [surveyed] were very involved in collective activities and had been involved in a group of some kind within the last five years”. And given that many older Australians would be hard-pressed to prove their unflagging commitment to civic activity and in- Australian Youth Forum held at the Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne. Photo: Newspix Young people may not be voting or joining political parties en masse, but they are involved in less-traditional forms of political participation. depth knowledge of the country’s political system, it hardly seems fair that young people alone should be tarred with the apathy brush. Other academic studies have been quick to point out that ‘young people’ do not behave as a uniform block or share the exact same attitudes towards politics. The only thing that lumps them together is their age. A survey of 700 young Britons published in the journal Political Studies in October 2005 found there is no “uniform youth orientation” to politics. Rather, factors like socioeconomic status, education and gender were more powerful shapers of attitude and involvement. Sweeping generalisations aside, the committee noted that young people tended to be “media savvy”— they consumed media (mostly via television news) and were critical about that consumption. They take a similarly analytical approach to news sourced via the internet, as Melbourne High School student Alex told the committee: “When I look at blogs, I am actively looking out for different viewpoints on the subject. So I will go to global security and then to global issues, the left-versus right-wing ideas on different issues.” The committee found that young people’s apparent political disengagement is often in response to banal presentations of politics and its associated hangers on—young people might find themselves caring about issues but not the process. According to the University of Adelaide Students’ Association submission to the inquiry, “politics is offered to the public as problematic, limited, lacking in connections, dichotomised, confusing, superficial and media driven”. Potential voters can also be discouraged by feelings of ignorance—or the ‘what would I know’ syndrome. Annie Hebenstreit, a participant in the Adelaide school forum, told the committee: “I think having an interest in voting and so on really comes down to understanding. Personally, I do not know much about all the parties and everything, so I do not think I would be able to make a valuable and proper vote because I do not know enough about all of it.”  About the House September 2007 Mainstream politics’ emphasis on ‘older’, less accessible issues such as mortgages, superannuation and interest rates also makes it difficult for younger electors to work up a care factor. Indeed, the committee noted the Australian Clearinghouse of Youth Studies 2002-03 report, which found that of 800 young people aged 12–15 who were surveyed in 2003, only 13 per cent believed “that governments were responsive to the views of young people”. Nevertheless, (some) younger voters are still interested in making a contribution—and find ‘young people just wouldn’t understand’ attitudes frustrating. As Melbourne High School student Brad told the MPs: “I think a committee like this really should be addressing the problem of youth not being actively involved in the decisions being made by parliament … It is a very individualistic view to say that youth will only be interested in issues that have a direct bearing on them.” Billie Millard, another participant at the Adelaide schools forum, similarly argued that politics cannot be hermetically sealed: “I am an 18-year-old student. I voted in this year’s election. I am doing my year 12 over two years. I have a car, I have a job … it is this [younger] age group that must start becoming aware and thinking, ‘Okay, in five years time I will have finished my uni degree. I will be out there looking for a house. I will be getting married and having kids.’ So now is the time for you to start making your own choices and having your say in what your future will look like.” Speaking at the tabling of the unanimous report in the House of Representatives, Electoral Matters Committee member Alan Griffin (Member for Bruce, Vic) called for an even greater emphasis on technology and an increased number of targeted electoral education programs. “This report raises some important issues,” he said, “but I would urge the House to realise that this is only part of the answer and that more needs to be done.” The Civics and electoral education report by the Electoral Matters Committee is available at www.aph. gov.au/house/committee/em/education/ report.htm or email jscem@aph.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 2374. Australian Electoral Commission initiatives to encourage young Australians to enrol to vote. Photos: Australian Electoral Commission About the House September 2007  infrasTrucTure proJecTs are in danGer of BeinG delayed Because of a shorTaGe of enGineers. aBouT The house looks aT The soluTions BeinG discussed. T hey are problem solvers. They use maths and science to design, create and invent solutions to our everyday needs. Without them we wouldn’t have roads, bridges, buildings, aircraft, power lines, phones, refrigerators or computers. But now engineers have their own problems to solve: not enough graduates; 50 per cent of people with engineering qualifications not working in the field; and an estimated 30,000 people set to retire from the profession in the next decade. Megan Motto, chief executive for the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia, told federal parliament’s Migration Committee the shortage of engineers was beginning to bite. She said many projects were in limbo and many firms were suffering. “Some of the shortages are so critical that our members report that two-thirds of projects are being delayed either temporarily or permanently because they do not have the skilled labour to complete the projects,” Ms Motto said. “With around $500 billion committed in government spending on infrastructure projects over the next few years, this is representing a significant barrier to our productivity in Australia.” The Migration Committee is investigating the use of temporary business visas, in particular 457 visas, which allow employers to bring in skilled workers from overseas. Ms Motto told the committee while her association was working to alleviate the engineering shortage through awareness-raising and education campaigns, temporary help provided by overseas workers was vital. “The project-based nature of much of the engineering work and the very specialist skills sets required means that engineers often need to be brought onto projects in very short timeframes for short periods of time. That being the case, the 457 visa program is completely appropriate and well used in the engineering industry.” While Engineers Australia chief executive Peter Taylor agreed there is a place for the 457 visa scheme, he believes utilising migrant workers on a regular basis does not help solve the overall problem. “Skilled migration is a good short-term measure but it can only be a short-term measure because just about everywhere I have been around BriDging  About the House September 2007 the world in the last few years there are skills shortages,” Mr Taylor said. “Even China with five million engineers and graduating 500,000 a year has got engineering shortages. So sooner or later there is going to be so much competition between the countries that need engineers that we are not going to be able to attract them. “I think the only reason we can attract people now is basically a lifestyle thing but how long will that last before somebody offers some other attraction? We have got to deal with the problem. We have got to look at the long term.” Appearing before the inquiry in Canberra, Engineers Australia president Rolfe Hartley raised concerns about the lack of an assessment process for engineers under the 457 visa system. “Engineers who enter Australia on a 457 visa—unlike many other professionals, including architects, doctors and lawyers—are not having their qualifications assessed by a registration or licensing scheme,” Mr Hartley said. “Other than in Queensland, skills assessment through registration for engineers is voluntary. As a result many of the engineers entering the 457 visa system might not actually be competent to offer their skills to the Australian public.” In their joint submission to the inquiry, Engineers Australia and the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia appealed for the 457 scheme to be used sparingly. an engineering degree is providing access to a range of different work opportunities, including in the financial services sector, project management and information technology. “It is vital that skilled migration is used only where skills are not presently available to the required degree. It is essential that skilled migration does not become a replacement for a reliable and valued Australian skill base. Skilled migration cannot be seen as an alternative to educating and training a highly skilled Australian workforce,” the submission stated. Peter Taylor said one of the problems with attracting young people to engineering was that students were losing interest in maths and science at school. “If you don’t have somebody who sparks an interest and builds an enthusiasm, and just teaches you the basics without really firing you up, then you are not developing that motivation for the kids to want to go on and study hard maths and hard science,” he said. The mystery surrounding the engineering profession also does not help to attract students. “The average member of the public probably does not know enough about what engineering is and so you then have the problem of teachers not knowing, career advisers not knowing, parents not knowing and so when the kids are making their choices they don’t really get a lot of information,” Mr Taylor said. Megan Motto agreed, saying while most pupils understand what vets, doctors and lawyers do, they do not really understand what an engineer does. “They have a misperception that it is dark and Photos: Photolibrary and Jupiterimages. Continued page 48 g ThE gap About the House September 2007  Continued from page 47 “two-thirds of projects are being delayed either temporarily or permanently because they do not have the skilled labour to complete the projects.” dirty, that it is a hard hat down a shaft,” she said. Ms Motto indicated that an engineering degree is providing access to a range of different work opportunities, including in the financial services sector, project management and information technology. This ultimately means that the pool of engineers is being dispersed more widely. Mr Taylor said the latest census conducted last year showed that of the 268,000 people who indicated their primary qualification as engineering, only half were actually working as engineers. “We don’t have a real problem with it,” he said. “All it means is we have got to produce more engineers to fill the technical gaps that are left.” More university places for domestic students would help alleviate some of the shortages. While figures show that there has been a significant increase in the number of engineering students at Australian universities over the past decade, Mr Taylor said the number of international students studying engineering had inflated this figure. He indicated that the number of foreign students studying engineering in Australia had gone up by 320 per cent in a decade, compared with a 20 per cent increase for domestic students. Ms Motto said engineering firms themselves were becoming more proactive in trying to encourage students to study engineering by visiting schools and running competitions such as bridge building, and in the recruitment process itself. “Nowadays, they [engineering firms] are going straight into the universities, and not even at year four but at years two and three, to try to tap into the skills that are coming out of the universities.” For more information on the Migration Committee’s inquiry into temporary business visas, visit www.  About the House September 2007 rEcruiTing Top gun EnginEErS With a current workload including 215 projects worth over $20 billion, the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) is a major employer of engineers in Australia. Of its 6,500 employees, 30 per cent are engineers. “The number of people doing engineering is going down at a time when the number of people we need is going up,” said Shireane McKinnie, head of the electronic and weapon systems division of DMO. “If we can’t get the engineers we need, it is high risk.” DMO is responsible for the acquisition and sustainment of equipment for Australia’s defence forces. It needs to employ 1,250 engineers and project managers in the next two years, with thousands more needed over the next 10 to 15 years as an estimated 80 per cent of the defence force’s war-fighting assets need replacement, upgrading or improving. As part of its efforts to recruit the engineering workforce it needs, DMO recently introduced a cadetship program targeting third and fourth year engineering students at university, as well as a traineeship program targeting school leavers and TAFE students. “The sort of engineering we do in the DMO is really interesting and diverse. You have the opportunity to be exposed to lots of different technology, lots of different types of systems, and you can pretty much work anywhere in Australia,” Ms McKinnie said. An engineer herself, Ms McKinnie noted that employers who never used to take on university graduates are now seeking them, while employers who have already been accepting graduates are looking at cadetships and scholarships for school leavers. “Our cadetship program targets engineering students at university in their final years of their degree and prepares them for our graduate program. We’ve attracted some pretty good people this way, but we need to do more, which is why we’re also targeting talented school leavers,” she said. She’s concerned the school system isn’t producing enough people with adequate maths and science qualifications, but worries that engineering also has an image problem. “Engineers are seen as geeks with calculators, but in reality a lot of engineering is innovative and highly creative.” About the House September 2007  exTra safe house Major General Peter Grant Peterkin, Serjeant-at-Arms at the UK House of Commons, with Australia’s Mace, symbol of the House of Representatives, a gift from the House of Commons in 1951. Photo: AUSPIC Security is a challenging and complex issue for parliaments, according to Britain’s Serjeant-at-Arms, who recently visited the Australian parliament. T heir predecessors used to be members of the King’s bodyguard, back in medieval England. It’s no wonder that maintaining the security of parliament is one of the key responsibilities of a 21st century Serjeant-at-Arms. While acknowledging the traditions of this ancient office, it was the modern challenges of protecting the parliament that was uppermost in the mind of 50 Serjeants and Ushers of the Black Rod from 20 countries who recently attended a professional development conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Among the conference participants, keen to share his knowledge and experience, was Major General Peter Grant Peterkin, Serjeant-at-Arms at the United Kingdom House of Commons, who has the complex task of keeping safe the mother of parliaments. Over the centuries the UK parliament, housed in the Palace of Westminster in London, has faced its fair share of threats and dramas. In 1605 Guy Fawkes tried to blow the parliament up. In 1834 a fire destroyed the original palace, rebuilt in its current form over the ensuing 30 years. During the Second World War, the House of Commons was bombed in the Blitz. Today, it’s terrorism that poses one of the most significant threats to the safety of the parliament. “I think it’s the biggest issue in a sense because it’s the issue that can most disrupt parliament were a terrorist attack to be successful,” Major General Grant Peterkin said. Since 2005 the threat alert for the UK parliament has been ‘severe’, climbing to ‘critical’ since the recent incidents in London and Glasgow. This heightened threat assessment brings a higher level of responsibility for security within the Palace of Westminster and around the perimeter of the estate. That’s especially because it’s in the middle of London, with an underground train line beneath it, two major roads on either side of it, major tourist attractions in Big Ben and Westminster Abbey on its doorstep and river access to it. The roads around the Palace of Westminster have been a major concern, given the propensity these days for terror groups to use car bombs. “You just can’t demonstrably close off roads to secure the building without thinking very carefully what the impact of that will be,” Major General Grant Peterkin said. “So we have concentrated on securing the perimeter by putting in Corus, a type of steel barrier, not particularly attractive but thought to be very effective against vehicle-borne bombs.” The Australian parliament recently also installed a low wall around the perimeter of the building for similar reasons. The barrier at the Palace of Westminster has not diminished the need for police to patrol the perimeter, guard the entrance points and watch movements on closed circuit television screens. According to Major General Grant Peterkin, increased security does give rise to some complaints and differences of opinion. “People’s views on the security profile are divergent, but I think it’s safe to say that every member of parliament wants a secure environment in which to operate,” he said. “The great majority of them want a security profile which is not too obvious and therefore there’s very considerable support for armed police officers on the perimeter, but less support for police officers inside the parliament.” One significant but controversial change within the House of Commons was the installation of a glass security barrier between the public gallery and the rest of the chamber in 2004. This followed the throwing of purple powder at then Prime Minister Tony Blair by protesters. Major General Grant Peterkin said the erection of the security glass was an unpopular but necessary move. “There was only a narrow majority for putting up the glass screen but I think now that we’ve had it for a couple of years everybody recognises the benefits that it brings.” Wily members of the public still manage to sneak banners into the gallery, but their shouts of protest no longer interrupt proceedings. According to conference organiser David Elder, Serjeant-at-Arms in Australia’s House of Representatives, parliaments around the world face similar types of issues when it comes to security. “A particular challenge is balancing the need to protect the parliament from external threats while at the same time ensuring that parliament remains an open institution, accessible to the public and reflecting the democratic values it represents,” Mr Elder said. “Just as there is cooperation and information sharing between intelligence services and police forces, it’s important that those responsible for parliamentary security have the opportunity to share knowledge and understanding on how best to manage security in the parliamentary environment.” 0 About the House September 2007 the Wrap terms of the numbers of stations, with 75 per cent of stations in regional Australia and they’re all live and local—incredibly focused on community need.” Committee chair Jackie Kelly (Member for Lindsay, NSW) also praised the role of community broadcasters. “The sector is the incubator of diverse and innovative programming, and is essentially the training ground for the commercial and national broadcasters,” Mrs Kelly said. “However, getting the governance right is the key to a robust and vibrant sector. This report’s recommendations will ensure that the sector increases its management and financial planning skills, allowing stations to continue to broadcast their important local, diverse and independent programming. “Greater financial accountability is needed. Although these stations rely tremendously upon volunteers—there are over 20,000 volunteers in the sector—it really is high time for paid employees to bring some continuity, corporate knowledge and some stability to the stations and the communities they serve.” Mrs Kelly said encouraging more government advertising on these community stations is important. “Take for example a health campaign targeting the Indigenous community— why wouldn’t that be broadcast on an Indigenous radio station,” Mrs Kelly asked. The report highlighted the threat to the community broadcast sector from spiralling increases to transmission site fees, with reports of some fees going up 50 per cent in a year to between $80,000 and $100,000. The committee recommended further investigation of transmission fees for not-for-profit community stations. It also wants the government to explore whether transmission of community broadcasters’ programs can be made a community service obligation. Mr Melville was hopeful the report would influence the government. “We feel that our hand has been strengthened by seeing such strong recommendations that endorse and validate what community broadcasters do,” he said. “We feel cautiously optimistic to make some advances on behalf of Australia’s more than 400 community broadcasters.” lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/housecommittee/ cita/community_broadcasting email cita.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4601 1 Broadcasting proposals welcomed Waringarri Radio DJ Brooke Jessell, Kununurra (WA). Initiatives to strengthen community broadcasting have been outlined in a new report. A parliamentary report calling for an increase in government funding for Australia’s cash-strapped community broadcasters has been widely welcomed by the sector. The House of Representatives Communications Committee, in its Tuning in to community broadcasting report, made 14 recommendations on a range of issues affecting the future viability of many of the 350 community broadcasters across Australia. The general manager of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, Barry Melville, applauded the report’s emphasis on improving the management and funding structures in the community broadcasting sector. The report’s key recommendations include: an increase of $10 million in core funding, to primarily fund station manager positions; a funding increase to assist in the replacement of station equipment and infrastructure; and an additional $500,000 per year for the development of management training. The report also examined regulation and sponsorship issues, the move into digital broadcasting, and the growing cost of transmission fees. “We welcome the House of Representatives report, most particularly the fact it recommends an additional $10 million per annum in core funding assistance, plus an additional $5 million in targeted funding for specific infrastructure purposes,” Mr Melville said. “There are a number of other really good features of the report—things like recommendations for stronger and better governance in stations and a very strong recommendation for a big increase in the government advertising spend. “Community broadcasters are allowed to carry sponsorship messages to the tune of five minutes an hour on radio and seven minutes in television. There are more than 120 government agencies that advertise on commercial media and if they put a fraction of their budgets towards community media that would be of great assistance on top of direct grants.” Mr Melville said community broadcasters provide a vital alternative to commercial stations for millions of Australians and shouldn’t be dismissed lightly. “There are 23,000 volunteers putting their efforts into community broadcasting and there are audiences of more than four million a week listening to community radio and 3.7 million viewing community television services,” he said. “The sector has more than doubled in the past 10 years in About the House September 2007 the Wrap Constitution] requires a 2:1 ratio,” Mr Hatton said. “In this day and age that is illogical. As the population of Australia grows, do we keep growing the Senate to do no more work and for no more purpose.” Statehood for the Northern Territory is not a new issue. It has been the subject of much debate at both a territory and federal level for the past three decades. Following a rejection of statehood by Territorians in 1998, Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin put the issue back on the agenda in 2003. She announced a new communityfocused campaign and suggested another referendum be held on 1 July 2008, the 30th anniversary of self-government. Committee chair Peter Slipper (Member for Fisher, Qld) said he hoped the statehood seminar and the report will assist Territorians in developing their approach to statehood issues and open up a dialogue between the NT and Commonwealth governments on the way forward. Mr Slipper believed Territorians were still divided on the issue and, until they had definitively worked out whether they wanted statehood or not, the Commonwealth government’s scope and role was limited to providing an advisory service. He told parliament the prospect of statehood raises a host of unresolved constitutional, policy and administrative issues that may impact on current federal arrangements. “These issues include the future treatment of Aboriginal land rights, representation and legislative arrangements, mining and uranium resource issues and national parks and marine protected areas,” he said. The report makes only one recommendation: that the federal government update and refine its position on Northern Territory statehood and re-commence work on unresolved federal issues. “By refreshing its position on statehood, the Commonwealth would assist the Northern Territory in further developing its own position on statehood and allow the territory government to consult its citizens with more concrete proposals,” Mr Slipper said. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/laca/ntstatehood/ report.htm email: laca.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 2358 Matters of state The journey from territory to state is a long and arduous one. A s the Northern Territory approaches its 30th anniversary of selfgovernment, the question of statehood has again been raised. The House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee recently investigated the federal implications of statehood for the Territory and its population of 204,000. The committee’s report—The long road to statehood—confirmed there are no guarantees of federal representation for the Northern Territory in the Australian Constitution. Section 122 enables the federal government to determine the Territory’s level of representation in the federal parliament. Currently the Territory has two members in the House of Representatives and two senators. A new state’s representation would need to be determined as part of the terms and conditions for any future grant of statehood. The House Legal Committee held seminars in Alice Springs and Darwin to discuss the major issues and federal implications of statehood with Territorians. At the roundtables the committee heard from NT senator Trish Crossin, who argued two additional senators upon statehood would be a reasonable starting point, based on the Territory’s population being about a third of Tasmania, which has 12 senators representing 480,000 people. Senator Crossin also provided a timeframe for expanding the representation to the 12 senators in other states, based on projections that the Territory will have a population of 251,000 by 2021 and 350,000 by 2051. “A further four senators . . . could be added in, say, 12 years time and a further four senators similarly added in another 12 years time,” Senator Crossin said. “This would then result in equality with the original states based on the present figure of 12 senators for each state but would take 25 years to achieve.” But another speaker at the seminars, former NT Chief Minister Steve Hatton, regarded the provision of 12 senators as a superfluous issue. “The only real reason there are 12 senators per state is to create enough members in the lower house, in the House of Representatives—section 27 [of the  About the House September 2007 the Wrap Australia Post employs 583 Indigenous people or 1.7 per cent of its workforce. It found the setting of targets ensures that managers continue to build their employment base. Many mining companies also set Indigenous job targets with impressive results. Comalco has an Indigenous workforce of 17.5 per cent in Weipa with a target of 35 per cent by 2010. Twenty-three per cent of the Argyle Diamonds workforce in the Kimberley are local Indigenous people, with plans to increase this to 40 per cent by 2010. Parent company Rio Tinto has 700 Indigenous employees or about seven per cent of its workforce. BHP Billiton Iron Ore has an Indigenous employment strategy with a 12 per cent target by 2010. The committee, which visited the Argyle Diamond mine in Western Australia, heard how Indigenous employment had grown at Argyle from less than five per cent to 23 per cent in seven years. Argyle attributed its success to a culturally appropriate four day hiring and selection process, which provides a robust assessment of the employability of Indigenous candidates. It also runs training programs to skill-up Indigenous people so they can assist with development of their communities. The report also recommended the government provide adequate resources for mentoring, incentives to encourage school attendance and improving educational outcomes with teaching aides and tutors. The committee called for a review of the national Indigenous cadet scheme and better promotion of small business assistance programs for Indigenous business people. “At a time of strong economic performance at the national level and with workforce shortages a growing reality, the opportunities for further development of Indigenous employment appeared to be significant,” committee chair Barry Wakelin (Member for Grey, SA) said. “The recurring theme of many people who presented before the committee was the overwhelming impact of welfare policies as a deterrent to sustainable employment. The need for government policies to strike a better balance between the incentives for work and the incentives to be distracted by welfare is vital.” Continued page 54 About the House September 2007 Targeting indigenous employment Trainee mechanic Chris Winton at El Questro Wilderness Park (WA). Employment targets are helping Indigenous Australians find meaningful jobs. T he setting of Indigenous employment targets can have a positive effect on the job prospects of Indigenous people, according to a new parliamentary committee report. A Queensland government submission to the House of Representatives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs inquiry into Indigenous employment called for the introduction of targets, particularly when funding any housing and construction projects in Indigenous communities. The Queensland government’s own target of 20 per cent Indigenous employment on all civil and building construction projects in Indigenous communities encouraged Cairns and District Regional Housing to achieve a rate of 70 per cent. “Cairns and District Regional Housing has undergone quite a transformation in the last three years,” chief executive Jack Szydzik told the committee. “One of the things that we have tried to do in our rebuilding program is create a situation where, wherever we can, a dollar of money spent on housing also creates an opportunity for employment. At the moment, Cairns and District Regional Housing achieves, on average, a 70 per cent Indigenous labour component as part of its programs.” This success prompted the first recommendation in the Indigenous Australians at work report: that the corporate governance procedures and sound business principles under which the current board of the Cairns and District Regional Housing Corporation are operating be considered as a model practice for other Indigenous housing and tenancy corporations. The report also recommended that all federal government construction contracts give due recognition to aspirational imperatives for Indigenous employment outcomes. The committee also wants the federal government to amend government service delivery tender requirements and contracting processes to recognise and encourage Indigenous involvement. The committee examined the success of other businesses in setting targets.  the Wrap Continued from page 53 The committee regularly heard about the pros and cons of the Community Development Employment Projects program, which is similar to a work for the dole program. The general manager of Waringarri radio station in Kununurra, Western Australia, Colin Cameron, blamed CDEP for the difficulties he faced in trying to lure back previous staff to the Indigenous station. Mr Cameron recalled a typical response: ‘Listen mate, why should I go back there and work when I can get the same money here sitting on the veranda with a can in my hand.’ “CDEP is crushing their incentive,” Mr Cameron said. Labor members of the committee raised their concerns about government changes to CDEP in a minority report. Deputy chair Carmen Lawrence (Member for Fremantle, WA), Annette Ellis (Member for Canberra, ACT), Peter Garrett (Member for Kingsford Cameron Sturt, station hand at Roebuck Plains Station (WA). Smith, NSW) and Warren Snowdon (Member for Lingiari, NT) praised the success of CDEP in the employment of 36,000 Indigenous people. They viewed the near avoidance of CDEP as an issue in the majority report as a serious omission, since in very remote Australia only 15 per cent of Indigenous adults are in mainstream employment, with 42 per cent in CDEP employment. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/atsia email: atsia.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 4559 Coping alone It’s not just the people with dementia who suffer under the disease. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is an incurable, irreversible illness that robs memories and ends in death, usually within a decade. An estimated 500,000 Australians have Alzheimer’s—a figure that is rising as the population ages. Hand-in-hand with that rise comes an increase in the number of people taking on the role of carer. For one woman, her life became a nightmare as her husband’s dementia changed his personality and turned him into a “hostile stranger”. Calling for more support for carers, Anne told a recent public hearing how isolated she felt, having to cope with her husband’s deteriorating behaviour. The hearing was part of an inquiry into older Australians and the law by the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. “When he first developed symptoms of dementia, he denied there was a problem,” Anne told the committee. “He was very assertive. He always made the family decisions. He controlled all our family finances.  About the House September 2007 “As the disease developed, his personality changed. He became very secretive and antagonistic. He lost all his friends and I found myself coping alone with a hostile stranger who unwittingly created a number of specific legal problems.” She described having problems with salespeople, a real estate agent, traffic police, even her husband’s doctor, who refused to help her, she said, because of doctor-patient confidentiality. “I did not know what to do to get help,” Anne said. “My husband became financially irresponsible and forgetful. On one occasion he signed up to purchase a second-hand car. He came home and told me that he had done this, that he had no money and that I had to pay for it. I rang the used car dealer and explained that my husband had dementia, but the used car dealer refused to take that as an excuse. He refused to cancel the contract.” Anne described how things got worse as her husband turned to alcohol, driving dangerously, and even tried to sell the house without her knowing. “My children live overseas and interstate so I was totally alone with a very hostile partner. It was not his fault, he had dementia and I understood that. I do not blame him, but he involved me in a number of difficult legal situations and I did not know where to go,” she said. Anne said there needs to be specific legal access and support for older people caring for a spouse with dementia. “The caring partner has to cope, often alone as in my case, with illogical behaviour which creates endless legal difficulties. The specific legal requirements of elderly spouses and carers of partners with dementia are not being met by our legal system,” she said. The public hearing was one of eleven held covering fraud, financial abuse, power of attorney provisions, family agreements, barriers to older Australians accessing legal services and discrimination. The committee is considering recommendations for its report. lInks Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ laca/olderpeople email: laca.reps@aph.gov.au Phone: (02) 6277 2358 ONE ON ONE Far side of the world The leader of a German parliamentary delegation visiting australia has said the geographical separation between our two countries should not stop us learning more about each other and benefiting from each other’s experience. I s it possible that a European powerhouse with a leading role in the European Union and G8 could look this far south for a lesson in economic development and workplace relations? It certainly is, according to German parliamentarian Nina Hauer, the chair of the German parliament’s friendship group with Australia, who recently led a delegation to Australia. There are lessons we can learn from each other, according to the 39 year old Social Democrat from the world’s fifth biggest economy, which is why she considers parliamentary exchanges to be so important. “We wanted to discover Australia from the other side,” Ms Hauer said when the delegation arrived in Canberra from Perth. “Many Europeans concentrate on the east coast, but starting in the west we learnt a lot about the economic boom that’s happening and gained an insight into how Australia’s position on a number of issues is dictated by its geographical location in Asia. “Australia has a completely different foreign affairs outlook to Germany, because of its position in Asia and our position in the middle of Europe. “Compared to Germany, there are different questions that are of relevance in Australia, for instance how Asia is developing, how China is developing. Australia sees this from a completely different perspective than Germany does as a member of Europe. “To learn about the different perspective is important because in the end, when we talk about managing challenges such as international terrorism or the changes in international trade, we discover that the world is actually smaller—much smaller— than we perceive it. “It’s important for us to get to know other visions, other philosophies of life, and have an exchange on political matters.” Ms Hauer said news reports about Australia in Germany were very rare, so the delegation was trying to find out as much as possible about our way of life. “Things like how you live in old age, how far away you live from each other, how varied the countryside is, how people adapt to the environment, and maybe find themselves in conflict with the environment.” With a German unemployment rate of 9.8 per cent, Ms Hauer said the debate in Australia about labour market reform and workplace relations was especially relevant. “Looking at employment, it’s been far more difficult in Germany to bring people back into the workplace and it’s interesting to see how Australia has addressed that.” The delegation held a roundtable with Australian parliamentary committees dealing with workplace issues and also held discussions with an employment service provider in western Sydney. Nina Hauer, leader of the German parliamentary delegation. With Germany being one of the world’s biggest exporters, the delegation also had a keen interest in China’s economic growth, which Ms Hauer believes puts Australia in a ring-side seat. She indicated opportunities in Asia for growing German trade also had relevance for Australia. This could include increased German investment in the region Environmental issues were also on the agenda, with the delegation discussing issues such as carbon trading with a variety of industry groups and politicians. Ms Hauer said because Germany was already involved with carbon trading, it was useful for politicians and industry leaders in Australia to hear firsthand how the system operates in practice. They can learn from the experience of Germany, she said, so that teething problems the Germans faced can be fixed before a system is implemented in Australia. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ms Hauer is experiencing an historic moment in Germany’s political history as a member of the junior partner in Angela Merkel’s ‘Grand Coalition’, formed between Germany’s two major political parties after the September 2005 election. “Following the last general election there was no other option for a stable majority outside the bringing together of the two major parties,” Ms Hauer explained. “It’s surprising when you find the two big camps cooperating. At the parliamentary level there is a new type of everyday cooperation. “Now we need to start discussing the future, what’s necessary for the coming two years, and look towards the next elections and start finding ourselves a political profile to actually distinguish ourselves from our political partner, and that’s not easily managed.” Ms Hauer said. “The newspapers have more interest in the arguing than the agreeing. So sometimes the impression in the papers is that there is actually more arguing than there is.” About the House September 2007  House Rules In contempt A recent case involving parliamentary privilege has highlighted the power of the House of Representatives to deal with people who seek to interfere with the work of the House and MPs. IT WAS meant to be an April Fools joke but it all went horribly wrong. On 1 April 2005, local media outlets contacted the office of federal MP Gary Nairn (Member for EdenMonaro, NSW) about a media release bearing his name. The release had not been issued by Mr Nairn but rather by someone living in his electorate using fake letterhead. A few days later a concerned constituent called Mr Nairn about a letter supposedly from the MP advising that a government grant awarded to the constituent had been rescinded. Again, the letter was a fake and had a forged signature. As was later shown, it had been sent by the same person who had issued the fake media release. Mr Nairn described the letter as “a very professional forgery with a clear and calculated intent to mislead (the recipient) and to misrepresent my office”. Believing the matter to be a serious issue, Mr Nairn asked that it be referred to the House of Representatives Committee of Privileges, which has the power to investigate matters which obstruct or impede MPs or the House itself in discharging their duties. Under section 49 of the Australian Constitution and the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987, the federal parliament, its committees and its members are given a special legal status because it is recognised that the tasks they have to perform require additional powers and protections. Special rights and immunities are necessary because of the functions of the parliament, for example the need to be able to debate matters of importance freely, to discuss grievances, to conduct investigations effectively without interference, and for members to go about their work without being impeded. Section 4 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act provides a threshold test for conduct to be an offence against the House of Representatives, stating: “Conduct (including the use of words) does not constitute an offence  About the House September 2007 against a House unless it amounts, or is intended or likely to amount, to an improper interference with the free exercise by a House or committee of its authority or functions, or with the free performance by a member of the member’s duties as a member.” In deciding to pursue the matter concerning Mr Nairn through the Privileges Committee, the Speaker and the Clerk of the House referred to a similar case of fraud in 1974, when the committee found a letter written in a member’s name and sent to the editor of a newspaper was a serious contempt of the House. In that instance there was no punishment as they were unable to identify the writer. In this new case, however, evidence from the police pointed to a particular person after a search of premises on the south coast of New South Wales uncovered copies of the letters, along with a filing cabinet and folder titled ‘letterheads’. In a surprising twist, one year to the day after the initial letters were sent, the Privileges Committee itself received a letter on Gary Nairn’s letterhead for which Mr Nairn was not responsible Two more fake letters, also dated 1 April 2006, were sent to constituents, one of them deceased. Ms Harriett Swift was called before the Privileges Committee and admitted to being the person responsible for the correspondence. She said her motivation had been to use satire to make people look at the issue of logging in south-east NSW in another way, and that it was an April Fools Day joke. The Privileges Committee found her guilty of contempt stating she undertook conduct which amounted to an improper interference with the free performance by Mr Nairn of his duties as a member. In its report the committee stated: “Communication with constituents, including communication with the local media, is an important part of the duties of a member, and members rightly rely on this communication being seen as honest and being free from interference.” Punishment for contempt is a matter for the House of Representatives, not the committee. Section 7 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act provides for the imposition of a term of imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of up to $5,000 for an individual or up to $25,000 for a corporation. The House can also impose a public reprimand or admonishment, exclusion from the parliamentary precincts, or the requirement for an apology. No monetary penalty has ever been imposed. However, on one occasion in 1955 two men were sent to jail for three months for publishing articles which were intended to influence and intimidate a member in his conduct in the House. On the basis that the letters had not caused significant damage to Mr Nairn or any other person, the Privileges Committee recommended a reprimand for the writer of the letters. That recommendation was supported by the House. At the same time, the committee warned that any more letters could result in more serious consequences. Speaking in the House about the investigation and the reasons why parliament needed to act, Privileges Committee member Anna Burke (Member for Chisholm, Vic) said: “If we had let this matter pass, we would have been saying to the electorate at large that any member of parliament is fair game; any member of parliament’s letterhead and signature can be abused in this manner. In this day and age of modern technology it is fairly easy to reproduce someone’s letterhead and a very good-looking signature. That could lead to open slather.” For more information on parliamentary privilege, see the infosheet at www.aph.gov.au/house/ info/infosheets/is05.pdf or House of Representatives Practice at www.aph.gov.au/house/pubs/practice Education From chamber to classroom FEDERAL MPs are often accused of behaving like school children during parliamentary Question Time, with Speaker David Hawker under pressure to maintain order in the House. Over the past year, Mr Hawker has visited more than 40 schools to help young Australians better understand how parliament works. During these visits, the Speaker has had a great taste of how real school children behave when he helped conduct student parliaments in schools throughout Australia. The Speaker’s program of school visits supports the work of the Parliamentary Education Office, which has welcomed more than 1,500 schools and 85,000 students to Parliament House in Canberra over the past 12 months for educational programs on parliament, including role plays. “It’s important for students to visit Canberra to experience their federal parliament in action,” Mr Hawker said. “But I felt it was equally important for me as Speaker to take the experience of the House of Representatives chamber directly into the classroom.” Mr Hawker has joined with local federal MPs to help explain to primary and high school students what really happens in the federal parliament. “Students have appreciated the authenticity that comes with having a real life Speaker available to chair their student parliaments,” Mr Hawker said. “They have also been interested to find out about the history of the Speaker’s role. Although I was a little taken aback when students were fascinated to hear that in medieval England Speakers sometimes were beheaded if they fell out of favour with the King. “I reassured them this practice had long been done away with,” Mr Hawker said laughing. “But I was able to explain that this is where we get the tradition of newly elected Speakers struggling to the chair.” The Speaker, together with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, has also delivered lectures to university students on the realities of working Speaker David Hawker with students at Leeming Senior High School in Perth. in the House of Representatives. The lectures have included rigorous question and answer sessions, which according to the Speaker have at times been as testing as the real Question Time. For more information on parliamentary education programs visit www.peo.gov.au or email peo.gov.au or phone (02) 6277 3147. Question Time The following questions were from a reader of About the House. Question What happens to the voting entitlements of an enrolled Australian citizen should they relocate overseas for an extended period? Are they still entitled to vote and what electorate are they enrolled to vote in? Answer Australians who are currently enrolled are able to vote from overseas. You must remain enrolled at your last address in Australia and vote for that electorate. You cannot change your enrolled address once you have gone overseas. If you are going overseas and will be returning to Australia to live within six years of your date of departure, you can register as an overseas elector, which ensures that your name will remain on the roll until you return. If you are moving overseas for an indefinite period, you are not entitled to remain enrolled or vote from overseas. You must be intending to return to your enrolled address in Australia within six years of the date you left in order to be eligible. Enrolment and voting by people outside of Australia is not compulsory. However, if you are enrolled and do not vote, your electoral enrolment may be cancelled. Source: Australian Electoral Commission. For more information visit: www.aec.gov.au DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? If you have a question about the House of Representatives email liaison.reps@aph.gov.au or write to About the House, Liaison and Projects Office, PO Box 6021, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600. Questions published in About the House will receive the CD-ROM A House for the Nation on the first 100 years of the House of Representatives and the accompanying study guide. About the House September 2007  House Work Your guide to investigations by House of Representatives and Joint Committees aboriginal and Torres strait Islander affairs committee • Indigenous employment Report released 13 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/atsia Email: atsia.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4559 agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry committee • Future development of the Australian honey bee industry Public hearings being conducted Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/primind Email: aff.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4500 australian crime commission committee • Future impact of serious and organised crime on Australian society Public hearings being conducted Web: www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/acc_ctte Email: acc.committee@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 3419 communications, Information Technology and the arts committee • Community broadcasting First report released 12 February 2007. Second report released 20 June 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/cita Email: cita.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4601 corporations and Financial services committee • Inquiry into shareholder engagement and participation Submissions being sought • Structure and operation of the superannuation industry Report released 7 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/corporations_ctte Email: corporations.joint@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 3171 economics, Finance and public administration committee • The current and future directions of Australia’s service export industries Report released 18 June 2007 • The state of Australia’s manufactured export and import competing base now and beyond the resources boom Report released 13 August 2007 • Home lending practices and processes Roundtable held 10 August 2007. Report expected to be released in September 2007 • Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report 2006, Second Report Public hearing held 17 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/efpa Email: efpa.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4587 education and Vocational Training committee • Teacher education Report released 26 February 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/evt Email: evt.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4573 electoral Matters committee • Civics and electoral education Report released 18 June 2007 • Certain aspects of the administration of the Australian Electoral Commission Public hearings being conducted Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/em Email: jscem@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 2374 employment, Workplace Relations and Workforce participation committee • Workforce challenges in the Australian tourism sector Report released 18 June 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ewrwp Email: ewrwp.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4162 environment and Heritage committee • Inquiry into the regulation of plumbing product quality in Australia Submissions being sought • A sustainability charter Public hearings and roundtables being conducted Visit: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/environ Web: environment.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4580 Family and Human services committee • Impact of illicit drug use on families Report being prepared Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/fhs Email: fhs.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4566 Foreign affairs, defence and Trade committee • Australia’s trading with Mexico and the region The committee is considering the report • Australia’s aid program in the Pacific Report being prepared • Australia’s relationship with India as an emerging world power Report to be released 13 September 2007 • Australian Defence Force regional air superiority Report being considered • Review of the Defence Annual Report 2005– 06 Report being prepared • Australia’s regional strategic defence requirements Public hearings concluded Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt Email: jscfadt@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 2313 Health and ageing committee • Health benefits of breastfeeding Report released 9 August 2007 • Review of ANAO Report No. 19 2007-2008, Administration of State and Territory Compliance with the Australian Health Care Agreements Report released 15 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/haa Email: haa.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4145 Industry and Resources committee • Renewable energy in Australia Public hearings being conducted Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/isr Email: ir.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4594  About the House September 2007 Intelligence and security committee • Review of administration and expenditure: Australian Intelligence Organisations—No. 5 Report being prepared • Terrorist organisation listing provisions of the Criminal Code Act 1995 Report being prepared • Review of the re-listing of Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (TQJBR) as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Act 1995 Report released 9 May 2007 • Review of the re-listing of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jamiat ul-Ansar(JuA), Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code Act 1995 Report being prepared Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pjcis Email: pjcis@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 2360 legal and constitutional affairs committee • Older people and the law Report being prepared • Federal implications of statehood for the Northern Territory Report released 28 May 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/laca Email: laca.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 2358 Migration committe • Temporary business visas Report expected to be released in September 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig Email: jscm@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4560 national capital and external Territories committee • Review of the Griffin Legacy Amendments Report released 22 March 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ncet Email: jscncet@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4355 procedure committee • The petitioning process Report expected to be released in September 2007 • Question Time procedures Report being prepared Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/proc Email: procedure.committee.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4670 public accounts and audit committee • Certain taxation matters Report being prepared • Financial reporting and equipment acquisition at the Department of Defence and Defence Materiel Organisation Report being prepared • Review of Auditor-General’s reports Inquiry ongoing Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jpaa Email: jcpa@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4615 public Works committee • Villawood Immigration Detention Centre redevelopment, Sydney, NSW Inquiry still current but on hold • Defence Forces School of Signals redevelopment, Simpson Barracks, Watsonia, Vic Report released 23 May 2007 • Proposed National Towers Program Stage 1 for Airservices Australia at Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne and Rockhampton airports Report released 23 May 2007 • Lavarack Barracks redevelopment Stage 4, Townsville, Qld Report released 23 May 2007 • Fit-out of new leased premises for the Australian Customs Service, Brisbane, Qld Report being prepared • Provision of facilities for Project Single LEAP—Phase 2 Report released 20 June 2007 • Fit-out of new leased premises for the Department of Health and Ageing in the Sirius Building, Woden Town Centre, ACT Report released 15 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pwc Email: jcpw@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4636 science and Innovation committee • Geosequestration technology Report released 13 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/scin Email: scin.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4150 Transport and Regional services committee • Integration of Australian regional rail and road networks and their connectivity to ports Report released 13 August 2007 Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/trs Email: trs.reps@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 2352 Treaties committee • Treaty tabled on 6 December 2006 Report released 20 June 2007 • Treaties released on 6 & 7 February 2007 Report released 20 June 2007 • Treaties tabled on 27 February 2007 Report released 21 June 2007 • Treaty tabled on 27 March 2007 Report released 16 August 2007 • Treaties tabled on 9 May 2007 Report released 16 August 2007 • Treaties tabled on 13 June 2007 Report released 16 August 2007 • Treaties tabled on 7 August 2007 Report released 16 August 2007 • Treaties tabled on 15 August 2007 Under consideration Web: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jsct Email: jsct@aph.gov.au or Phone: (02) 6277 4002 About the House September 2007  Can hot rocks power Australia? 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