16 News

The Morrison Government has today passed legislation making permanent the temporary changes to Australia’s continuous disclosure laws in May 2020.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill amends the Corporations Act 2001 so companies and their officers will only be liable for civil penalty proceedings in respect of continuous disclosure obligations where they have acted with “knowledge, recklessness or negligence”.
Introducing a fault element will more closely align Australia’s continuous disclosure regime with that of the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Government’s reforms follow a review by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services as part of its inquiry into litigation funding and the regulation of the class action industry.
These changes will mitigate the risk of companies and their officers being subject to opportunistic class actions under our continuous disclosure laws and in doing so, will support companies and their officers to release forward-looking guidance to the market.
Importantly, during the period the temporary fault element was in place, Treasury identified that there was an increase in the number of material announcements to the market, relative to the same period last year.
The changes strike the right balance between ensuring shareholders and the market are appropriately informed while also allowing companies to more confidently make forecasts of future earnings or provide guidance updates without facing the undue risk of class actions.

Australian manufacturers can now apply for a share of $800 million in funding for major job creating projects under the Collaboration Stream of the Morrison Government’s $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
Funding of between $20 million and $200 million is available, covering up to 33 per cent of eligible project expenditure.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter said the Government will strategically invest in projects that will help manufacturers to scale up and create jobs, with investments targeted at projects within the six National Manufacturing Priority areas.
“As a Government we plan to harness Australia’s manufacturing capability to drive job creation and spur private investment, especially as we chart our economic recovery from COVID-19 and build our future resilience,” Minister Porter said.
“Through the Collaboration Stream, we are determined to co-invest in industry-led proposals that will transform our National Manufacturing Priority areas, by encouraging manufacturers to move up the value chain to higher value, higher margin activities, including drawing on our world class research.
“This is at the heart of our $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy which is all designed to support Australian manufacturers to scale-up, build resilience, become more competitive and create the jobs we need not only now but for generations to come.”
The six National Manufacturing Priority areas are: medical products; clean energy and recycling; food and beverage; defence; space and resource technology and critical minerals processing.
Applications are open until 9 September. More details and the guidelines are available at www.business.gov.au/mmic

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report on climate science reinforces the need for a coordinated, global effort to reduce emissions.
The report, released today, provides an update on the latest physical science on climate change, including the rates, causes and likely future trajectories of global warming and other changes to the climate system.
Overcoming these challenges is a shared responsibility.
Australia is committed to achieving net zero emissions as soon as possible, and preferably by 2050, and to meeting and exceeding our 2030 commitment, as we already have with our 2020 targets.
Since 2018, Australia’s 2030 position has improved by 639 million tonnes (equivalent to taking all of Australia’s 14.7 million cars off the road for 15 years). The Government will release updated forecasts ahead of COP26 which are expected to show a further improvement.
These improvements are driven by Australian households and businesses adopting new energy technologies at record rates. Australia now has the most solar per person of any country in the world, the most wind and solar of any country outside of Europe, and the highest uptake of household solar in the world.
The Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap is positioning Australia to be a leader in the next generation of low-emissions technologies that will make net zero emissions practically achievable.
The Roadmap will drive $80 billion of investment in low emissions technologies in Australia by 2030 and create 160,000 jobs.
We are reducing emissions in a way that transforms industries through the power of technology, not through taxes that destroy them and the jobs and livelihoods they support and create.
We are focused on getting low emissions energy sources to commercial parity with high-emitting alternatives to reduce emissions across all sectors of the economy while creating jobs and economic growth. This is a practical approach with global application.
Australia is driving increased global cooperation on low emissions technologies through new international partnerships with Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom and constructive engagement in multilateral forms like Mission Innovation.
When it comes to emissions reduction, our record is one of delivery and achievement that Australians can be proud of.
Our technology-led approach to reducing emissions will see Australia continue to playing its part in the global effort to combat climate change without compromising our economy or jobs.

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report makes it clear the government’s current 2030 climate targets amount to a death sentence for Australia.
This major report exposes the stark reality that without emergency action and an increase to  2030 targets we will head past the 1.5 degree goal in the Paris Agreement, potentially within a few years.
The report must now force action from the government to lift Australia’s ambition by doubling to tripling our 2030 targets, and Labor must stop letting the government off the hook with its silence on 2030 targets.
The report highlights that we are already experiencing extreme weather, including more frequent and more intense heatwaves, fire weather, droughts and extreme rainfall events, and heading for much, much worse, including the threat of crossing tipping points in the climate system that will take us past the point of no return with “many changes irreversible for centuries to millennia” and having enormous impacts on Australia.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt said:
“The Greens, the G7, Joe Biden and Boris Johnson agree, while Liberal and Labor are with Saudia Arabia and Russia in 2030 denial.
“After this report, failure to lift 2030 targets is criminal negligence.
“This report shows Scott Morrison’s 2030 targets are a death sentence for Australia.
“Exceeding 1.5 degrees of warming means that we will lose the Great Barrier Reef, have widespread and sustained drought, more extreme weather events, and catastrophic bushfires will become the norm.
“The rest of the world understands that if we don’t do more by 2030, we all go over the climate cliff, so the Liberals’ 2030 denial and Labor’s 2030 silence are putting Australian lives at risk.
“Delay is the new denial, we can’t wait until 2050, and anything less than 75% emissions cuts by 2030 means giving up on the 1.5 degree goal in the Paris Agreement.”
The Greens’ Climate Policy:

• Net zero emissions by 2035 and 75% cuts by 2030, consistent with the science and the independent Climate Targets Panel, which found that cuts of 50% on 2005 levels by 2030 were needed for a 2 degree climate goal, and 75% necessary for a 1.5 degree goal.
• Lead the world on climate action by phasing out coal stations and exports by 2030 and legislating against new coal mines and gas fields.
• Achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030 and work towards 700% renewables, funding a massive investment in infrastructure that will transform our energy system over the next decade and grow a new export industry.
• Phase in 100% electric light vehicle sales by 2030, with subsidies to make them affordable for all
• Reduce bills by $200 a year by creating a publicly owned energy provider and subsidising investment in solar power and batteries.
• Build a multi-billion dollar clean energy export industry to replace coal exports.
• Invest in local coal and gas communities so they can attract the jobs and new industries they want, retain, upskill and ensure these local communities can continue to thrive.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed the release today of the Big Steps/United Workers Union report Exhausted, Undervalued and Leaving: The Crisis in Early Education. The survey of more than 3,800 educators finds a sector at ‘breaking point’, with high turnover, low pay, and no plan from the Federal Government to fix it.
Senator Faruqi said:
“This report makes for very alarming reading. This is a story of government neglect, an undervalued workforce, privatisation, and an essential service delivered on the back of burnt-out staff.
“It’s a national shame that early educators are taken for granted in this country. Staff are leaving in droves and frankly the sector is in crisis. We should not be in a situation of chronic understaffing and high turnover.
“The government needs to completely rethink its approach to early learning and care. That means strong and sustained investment to make early childhood education free once more, and a workforce strategy that deals directly with issues of low pay and understaffing.
“Perhaps not surprisingly, this report finds worse results for staff in for-profit centres as opposed to not-for-profit services. Education is not a business.
“The Greens back the Big Steps campaign and the call for a workforce strategy that delivers higher wages for early educators. Early learning is invaluable for children and educators deserve our utmost respect.”