Tasmanian Business Reporter May 2019

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T A S M A N I A’ S L E A D I N G B U S I N E S S P U B L I C A T I O N . C I R C U L A T I O N 12,000 M O N T H LY 4 Tasmanian Business Reporter - MAY 2019 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Marinus tops wishlist for election 2019 www.tcci.com.au Growing Vietnam market on the Aussie trade radar Michael Bailey TCCI Chief Executive THE federal election has finally been called for May 18. Some are already complaining about election campaign overload, as the major parties have been on the “trail” for some time, waiting for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to visit the Governor General. In general terms, the Coalition Government will campaign on its economic record and whether Labor can be trusted on the Treasury benches. Labor will campaign on its new policies around franking credits, negative gearing, wealth and capital gains taxes to raise funds for hospitals, schools and other public benefits. The Liberal-National Government will also have concerns about the long-term effects of axing former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, via Peter Dutton’s failed challenge. As well, the Government will lose key members – Julie Bishop, Christopher Pyne, Kelly O’Dwyer among them. The polls still point to a Labor victory, although Mr Morrison remains the preferred PM over Labor Leader Bill Shorten. The election will also be fought on several local fronts, state by state, with the Liberals seeking to shore up seats in Queensland and Victoria. Already, Braddon on the North West Coast has seen multiple visits by Federal politicians of each hue, as the Liberals’ Gavin Pearce comes up against sitting member Justine Keay. In Bass, Labor’s sitting member Ross Hart will be up against popular George Town Mayor Bridget Archer. Again, the polls would indicate that Andrew Wilkie (independent, Clarke/Denison), Julie Collins (Labor, Franklin) and Brian Mitchell (Labor, Lyons) appear safe. As we do for every election, state or federal, the TCCI has put together a wishlist which will we prosecute across the board with both major parties. Wishlist 2019 1 Marinus Project. For the TCCI, this is the project that will guarantee Tasmania’s long-term energy production, economic development and overall future for the next 20-50 years. When completed Marinus will connect Tasmania and the mainland via a second interconnector allowing Hydro Tasmania’s major “pumped hydro” plans to proceed. That, alongside the existing hydro-electric generation system, will provide thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment. 2 GST Support. We have recently seen how certain states can make calls on the Federal Government to boost their GST revenue at the expense of Tasmania. We remain the state, unfortunately, with the most people per capita on federal and state welfare benefits. We need Liberal and Labor to guarantee Tasmania’s GST share forever. 3 Freight Equalisation Scheme. The TCCI wants this scheme to be maintained and guaranteed by both parties. It is the key to Tasmania’s export industries, both to the mainland and internationally. 4 Workplace Productivity. The TCCI wants both major parties to develop and deliver policies to increase productivity and participation for regional Australia and Tasmania. We also want them to ensure their policies enable wages are affordable in regional Australia and Tasmania. I AM writing this column from Vietnam where half the population of more than 93 million people own scooters In Ho Chi Minh City (the locals still refer to it as Saigon) they account for 37 per cent of the air pollution. Crossing the street is an art and not one for the faint-hearted. The country has experienced an average GDP growth of six per cent over the last 20 years and is projected to grow by 6.8 per cent in 2019. Certainly a market close to Australia to keep on the radar. Domestic demand is in part driving growth with, like other Asian economies, a growing middle class. The median age is 30. Opportunities exist in the agribusiness, food and beverage, aviation and aerospace, defence, Scooters are the prefered mode of transport throughout Vietnam. Sally Chandler Tradestart Adviser health care, mining, oil and gas, ICT, energy, transport and water management sectors. Vietnam is covered by two Free Trade Agreements with Australia, the ASEAN Australia- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Australia’s major exports to Vietnam include coal, cotton, wheat, iron ores and concentrates. Australia’s major imports from Vietnam include telecom equipment and parts, crude petroleum, footwear, and monitors, projectors and televisions. Australia ranks 12th on Vietnam’s principal import sources. From Tasmania, major exports to Vietnam are currently zinc and associated products, aluminium and associated products, abalone (where most would find their way to China) and cherries. Vietnam has a long coastline to the South China Sea. Its land borders are with Cambodia, China and Laos. I am benefiting very much from my time in Vietnam with Austrade, attending the Food and Hotel Vietnam trade show and researching sales opportunities for Tasmanian goods and services with Austrade’s Business Development Managers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. I will report further in the June issue of TBR. For international trade and investment assistance contact the TCCI’s TradeStart Adviser, Sally Chandler, at sally.chandler@tcci.com.au or phone 1300 559 122. 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Tasmanian Business Reporter - MAY 2019 5 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP www.tcci.com.au Watch out for lurking winter lurgies IF THE recent weather is anything to go by we are starting once again to get into cold and flu season which means of course the precarious issue of staff being ill. The TCCI often gets questions about personal leave and what employers can and can’t ask for. As set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 s107 employees have notice and evidence requirements they must adhere to on personal leave being: Abbey George Workplace Relations • giving the employer notice of the leave as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has started); • advising the employer of the period, or expected period, of the leave; and • if requested, provide the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person. What evidence this is will depend on each particular circumstance, for The TCCI often gets questions about personal leave and what employers can and can’t ask for. example: • is it before/after a weekend, leave etc? • Is there a history of the taking of personal leave? • Are there policies or procedures or an Enterprise Agreement in place that addresses when evidence is required and what form it takes? • What is the common practice? For example in the past has any leave greater than two consecutive days required evidence? • Are statutory declarations generally accepted or do you only accept medical certificates? • What other information do you have? If you would like assistant with the drafting of a policy or procedure, or are unsure about personal leave, or employment matters generally, please contact either the TCCI helpline on 1300 765 123, the TCC office on 1300 559 122 or workplace relations at workplacerelations@ tcci.com.au Challenge in using capacity Brett Charlton Agility Logistics A SENATE inquiry is something new that happened for me recently – my words are inked in Hansard for eternity. The Tasmanian Logistics Committee was called to Melbourne to present at the senate inquiry into policy, regulatory, taxation, administrative and funding priorities for Australian shipping. The inquiry allowed the TLC to provide the point of view of the majority of Tasmanian industry that our coastal shipping task is already in place and essential to our trading community – on the back of the fact that we are an island (despite one Senator bringing up that dreaded “bridge” concept that anyone with any concept of Bass Strait staples as a chapter of the flat earth policy). The position presented was that our current Bass Strait service providers have invested significantly in new vessels and infrastructure and that any threat to these by international shipping lines being allowed to carry domestic cargoes could bite us in the bum should Brett Charlton, left, with Senators Alex Gallacher, Barry O’Sullivan and Glenn Sterle at the shipping senate inquiry. they erode the viability of our current services. The worst case scenario being that we lose one or more of our current service providers to an international calling vessel that a year later sees something shiny in another part of the planet and disappears. We said Tasmania needed to be viewed as unique as an island trading state but by all means consider options for the big island – coastal shipping seems to make sense there. Although, one of the comments made before us by another party at the senate inquiry raised my eyebrows: “Our infrastructure is not ready for coastal shipping”. Well, we have certainly lived that phrase in Tasmania over the last six months. Speak to any transport company at the moment and there is an underlying tension in the air. Behind the scenes at the moment there is some significant disruption in Tasmania with the freight task. Readers of this column may recall previous statements about “the future is so bright” due to new capacity in the market. The capacity has arrived but there have been challenges in being able to manage and work the new capacity. There is frustration in the ability to secure domestic dry cargo northbound space ex-Tasmania as the mojo of working larger vessels and balancing cargo volumes has not been as smooth as everyone would have liked. Stories of full depots of empty and full equipment, delays for export containers, redirection of trucks at the last minute, short shipments of trailers are common presently. The TLC is engaged in this issue and have assurances that the mojo is being refined – “quickly please” is the message we are giving. Chance to cure ailing Northern healthcare Paul Lupo CEO, StLukesHealth TASMANIA is facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally change the way hospital and health services are delivered in Northern Tasmania after the commitment by Calvary Health Care to invest $100 million in a new private hospital co-located with the Launceston General Hospital. It is vital we use this investment to not just simply relocate the ageing St Vincent’s and St Luke’s hospital campuses, but that we also see it as an opportunity to undertake a full investigation into future health services and needs, including different models of care, to ensure the delivery of the highest quality and most affordable healthcare for both public and private patients. Following Calvary’s unsolicited bid proposal to the Office of the Coordinator-General in 2017, the project has now progressed to the next phase. This involves the assessment panel and Calvary working together to finalise the appropriate location for the new hospital and defining exactly what is required to ensure the co-location ultimately increases and improves services and health outcomes for all Northern Tasmanians. I certainly don’t profess to have all the answers, but as Tasmania’s largest not-for-profit health insurer which invests all its earnings and resources back into the communities we serve, St.LukesHealth is an important contributor in the north and has a role to play in improving health service outcomes for both our members and the wider community. To ensure the best possible outcome for Northern Tasmania through Calvary’s proposed investment, we believe it would be beneficial for the Government to consider the following: • ensuring LGH and Calvary work together to develop a strategy to recruit new and retain current specialists in regional Tasmania; • allowing specialists to provide services in the A co-location is planned with the Launceston General Hospital public and private hospitals without restriction, and ensuring enough support between both hospitals to provide specialists with an attractive work-life balance; • ensuring Launceston is an attractive prospect for specialists by allowing time for specialists to undertake research, with a view to improving patient outcomes; • eradicating the duplication of services to ensure funding allocated to health is spent efficiently; and • ensuring the Calvary project is incorporated as part of the larger Launceston Health Precinct strategy for increased and improved health service delivery. The $260 million UTAS relocation, plus the $20 million Launceston City Heart project and the $100 million Calvary co-location all happening at the same time gives us an incredible opportunity to collaborate, innovate and deliver an example of how a regional city can become a nation leading example in regional health delivery. With all these projects on the drawing board, the State Government also has the ideal opportunity to bring together northern health stakeholders to create a better system for health services for northern Tasmanians. Let’s all get on board and not waste this once in a lifetime opportunity to make a real difference to the health of our local community.
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Tasmanian Business Reporter May 2019

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