Chamber of Commerce Queensland and Industry Queensland

Chamber of Commerce & Industry Queensland continues to represent the business community on a range of issues. Over the last week the CCIQ has made the following representations:

Inquiry into Employment Opportunities: CCIQ has lodged a submission to the Queensland Parliament's Economic Development Committee Inquiry into Employment Opportunities calling for the State Government to remove the barriers for business to employ.
> View the complete submission (PDF)

Business Lending: CCIQ has written to the major banks about their broader responsibility to facilitate economic development in Australia and to provide financing for small businesses.
> Read the correspondence in full (PDF)

Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into Energy Efficiency: CCIQ has made a submission to the Queensland Legislative Assembly's Environment and Resources Committee Inquiry into Energy Efficiency Improvements. CCIQ's submission focused on the impacts of energy efficiency on the business community (costs and benefits) and measures which could help to increase the uptake of energy efficient technologies and practices by individual businesses.
> For further information please email policy@cciq.com.au.

CCIQ is using the information from a successful Freedom of Information Application on payroll tax revenues to build the case for raising the threshold for payroll tax.

With the information obtained in the FOI request, CCIQ has made an additional submission to the Federal Government's Henry Review of Taxes advocating that the existing diminishing exemption threshold be replaced with a flat exemption threshold (which would be set at a minimum of $2 million).

The submission highlighted the fact that this proposal would have a minimal impact on payroll tax revenue (which would be reduced by 9.5%) but would allow over 13,155 businesses (or 72% of the businesses which currently payroll tax) to avoid the financial and compliance burdens associated with payroll tax.

Payroll tax reform will remain a topical issue over the coming months, with the Henry Review of Business Taxes due to report by the end of this year. To have you say on this issue please email policy@cciq.com.au.

CCIQ is supporting Adult Learners' Week (ALW) through a series of targeted events and projects aimed at raising industry awareness and participation in adult learning and workforce upskilling activities.

CCIQ is hosting the ALW Launch breakfast on Tuesday 1 September 2009, which also coincides with the start of CCIQ's Adult Learners' Study Festival during which more than 100 free training places will be made available to employers and their staff to help them realise the benefits of life-long and workplace training.

The Study Festival program is available below. For further information contact Megan Lewis on 07 3842 2254.

As expected, the Coalition, Greens and independent Senators combined to vote down the Australian Government's CPRS legislation in the Senate last week. CCIQ played a pivotal role in providing background information to Queensland senators on business' overwhelming opposition (84%) to the passage of the Bill through parliament before our international competitors embrace their own emissions trading schemes.

Despite that setback, the Government has indicated that it still wants the legislation passed prior to the UN Convention on Climate Change which will be held in Copenhagen in December. This means it is likely that the relevant Bills will be reintroduced into the Senate in November.

If the Senate votes against the Bills for a second time, it will create a trigger for a double-dissolution election. The prospect of a double dissolution is unlikely to be welcomed by the Opposition so there is a very real possibility that the Opposition (the Liberal Party at a minimum) may agree to a compromise which would allow the Bills to pass through the Senate. That said, the Coalition has indicated that it is strongly in favour of delaying any further vote on the CPRS Bills until after the Copenhagen meeting.

At its August meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3 per cent.

The RBA considers that global and domestic economic conditions are beginning to stabilise, business/consumer sentiment is recovering and that these developments are likely to negate the need for further rate reductions in the near future.

The RBA acknowledges that the Australian economy will be fragile in the short-term but expects that the cash rate is likely to move towards a more normal level (around 5 to 5.5 per cent) if further signs of a durable recovery emerge in the future.

A further 7,700 Queenslanders became unemployed in July 2009 and the state's unemployment rate has now risen to 5.8%.

The shift from full-time to part-time employment also continued and it is likely that there are now a significant number of people who, whilst still employed, are working less hours than they would like to work.

Earlier this year the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, introduced a series of changes to processing arrangements for visa applicants under the General Skilled Migration program.

The purpose of the reforms was to ensure that the program is more tightly targeted to our skill needs during a period of weak labour demand amid the unfolding global recession, including by shifting the focus of the program from independent to employer and State sponsored migration. Among the changes was the introduction of a Critical Skills List . Unsponsored applicants whose nominated occupation was on this list were given priority ahead of other applicants.

Senator Evans also announced the government would conduct a review of the Migration Occupations in Demand (MODL). Since its introduction in 1999, the MODL has been the primary targeting mechanism for selecting skilled migrants from among the pool of visa applicants. The decision to introduce the CSL and review the MODL signalled that the government felt the MODL was insufficiently responsive to changes in economic conditions.

CCIQ will be providing a detailed submission to the Review to ensure that those Queensland businesses needing to access oversees workers can continue to do so. To have your say please contact us with your name, location and brief comments by email at policy@cciq.com.au.

Following extensive criticism of the interaction of the Lobbying Industry with the State Government and also concerns with Political Party fundraising the State Government has issued a Greenpaper for community feedback. The paper provides an overview of the state's current integrity and accountability system, and how it compares with other relevant jurisdictions.

CCIQ will analyse to see what if any implications there are for the Chamber movement and its members in Queensland. To have you say on this issue please email policy@cciq.com.au.

The Queensland Government is continuing to develop its ClimateSmart Business Service, with a view to rolling the program out across the State in 2010.

CCIQ has been invited to nominate a representative for the industry reference group and intends to provide constructive input into the development of the program.

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