23 April 2020 / COVID-19

PM & Treasurer Media Conference

The PM has just made the following comments:

  • 5,000 additional staff have been added to Services Australia with another 3,000 redeployed within Services Australia and public sector to assist the effort
  • So far 587,686 JobSeeker and related applications have been processed
  • Treasurer has been meeting regularly with the banks – they understand there are frustrations with accessing bridging finance from banks etc and the Gov’t is working through it with them to ensure availability
  • Business feedback to the Gov’t is important to keep banks on the mark
  • The Gov’t is looking at the recovery phase with fresh eyes with any previously proposed reforms over the last decade to see how they can help:
    • Important reform documents being reviewed (ie from Productivity Commission, the Shifting the Dial Report etc)
    • Looking at all important policy options to have an effective and sustainable impact on the recovery
    • Engaging with the many partners (National Cabinet, ACTU, all good relationships forged and continuing to do this)
    • Not a matter of dusting off old reports and putting them in place, looking at them for today to see how they can best help Australians get back on their feet

The Treasurer’s comments:

  • Firmly in the implementation phase following parliament’s sign off of new reforms and support packages
  • ATO has approved 456,000 applications totalling $3.8 billion for early access to superannuation (avg. withdrawal is around $8,000)
  • ATO has also paid out $3 billion to 177,000 businesses employing 2.1 million Australians as part of the cash flow boost measure (min $20K and up to $100K)
  • ATO has brought in extra resources to process extra claims demand ahead of the original start date (28 April)
  • $750 cash payment has gone to 6.8 million people totalling $5.1 billion
  • 900,000 businesses have registered interest for JobKeeper payments (275,000 have already filled in the application in 2 days)
  • Very conscious of the important role banks are playing in bridging payments to help them pay staff – today there was a telephone hookup with 4 bank CEOs and Tax Commissioner to emphasise the need for banks to provide support and have agreed to establish a dedicated hotline for customers to call to receive bridging finance ahead of money from JobKeeper available – they have also agreed to expedite all those applications to the front of the queue for processing

Relevant questions from the media:

  • Construction companies are laying people off in certain areas of their businesses / groups and aren’t eligible for JobKeeper
    • o        The Gov’t acknowledges issues where some projects might be finishing in areas of group businesses, if this is the case businesses should speak to the ATO to see what can be done
    • o        Current Fed, State / Territory gov’t construction jobs are being maintained and still underway
    • o        Looking to put the pedal down to keep gov’t funded construction work coming out

Other Recent Activities

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9 April / Quality Alert
Prohibition on the Use of Engineered Stone

Engineered stone ban effective 1 July 2024

ALL engineered stone, regardless of the silica content percentage, is banned.

Alternative products must be considered and implemented on all projects.

In October last year Hutchies noted that the industry was shifting away from engineered stone due to the risks of respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis and other silica related diseases.

On this basis, Hutchies proactively took a position to ban all engineered stone on our projects, regardless of silica content percentages, from 1 July 2024.

In December last year, we then had confirmation that following an Industrial Relations Ministers meeting, State and Commonwealth Leaders had agreed to ban engineered stone products.

Some at Hutchies have noted that the State and Federal communications concerning the ban have included transition periods as well as exemptions for some engineered stone with low (under 1%) silica content.

For clarity, there has been no change to Hutchies' position following these communications – Hutchies will not be using engineered stone that contains any percentage of silica on our projects from 1 July 2024.

Actions

To mitigate the impact of potential delays and variations, the best approach is to inform clients of the pending ban and to propose and seek approval for an alternative product.

Similarly, ensure all future estimates have the stone specification qualified and priced accordingly.

Refer to Hutchies' Stone Product & Suitability for Use List on the Document Library.

More information

If you need additional support, please contact:

Design — Michael Lawlor / Ogi Latinovic
Work Health & Safety — Jimmy Andersen
Industrial Relations — Ben Young
Other — Russell Fryer

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4 March / Meetings
All Company Update / March 2024

Thanks for participating in Hutchies' All Company Update.

A copy of the presentation slides is available to download below.

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