Construction & Infrastructure - What's News? - 24 April 2012

News

MBA: The carbon tax and your building business The Australian Government's carbon tax will start on 1 July 2012 and will have far-reaching implications for businesses, consumers and the Australian economy, according to Master Builders, including the building industry and for anyone responsible for building contracts (19 April 2012) More...

ABCC's first sham contracting prosecution filed in Queensland The ABCC will allege that Supernova Contractors Pty Ltd and its Director, Steven Paul Long, contravened s357 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) by misrepresenting three employees as independent contractors (17 April 2012) More...

Regional building approvals show positive growth: February 2012 Building Approvals regional figures, released recently the Australian Bureau of Statistics, show positive growth across all regional centres, according to Master Builders, Queensland. The Director of Housing Policy, said that for the first time since the onset of the GFC all regional areas recorded positive growth for total new residential approvals (17 April 2012) More...

Oil giants fight laws on offshore energy projects The federal government faces a backlash against plans for stronger "use it or lose it" laws on offshore oil and gas projects. The government's draft energy white paper aims to reform the much-criticised system that allows petroleum giants to hold and then roll over their offshore reserves in five-year blocks without developing them (17 April 2012) More...

ACCC turns attention to building products sector The building materials industry is set to come under greater scrutiny from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) as major manufacturers flag the likelihood of having to buy from competitors to cover product shortfalls (12 April 2012) More...

Australia and China MOU on Enhancing Cooperation in Infrastructure Construction The Australian and Chinese governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on delivering infrastructure for both nations. The MOU will mean closer co-operation on planning of projects, exchanging information on investment opportunities and technical expertise, training and education, joint conferences, as well as joint infrastructure projects in the future (10 April 2012) More...

Lethal, toxic truth buried in a ditch Fire and Rescue NSW hazardous materials investigators have joined union officials and other authorities at the site where toxic pesticide and possible remnants of radioactive waste were unearthed during roadworks. An environmental impact statement for the upgrade of the Pacific Highway stated there had been some uncertainty about where the waste was buried (19 April 2012) More...

Social Impact Management Plan - Gladstone region to...