Australia’s Treasurer, the Hon. Dr. Jim Chalmers MP, will deliver the 2022-23 October Budget at approximately 4:30PM (AWST) on Tuesday 25 October. The Budget will be handed down in an environment of deteriorating global financial conditions and rising local inflation, with the Treasurer outlining the following three priorities for the October budget:
- Providing responsible cost of living relief that has an economic dividend
- Investing in the resilience of the economy by investing in people, supply chains, and areas like skills and training
- Addressing any uneconomical spending under previous budgets.
CME CEO Rebcca Tomkinson and Acting Director of Policy and Advocacy Adrienne LaBombard will be in Canberra for the Budget delivery. The CME team will release a media statement post-Budget followed by a summary of key budgeted measures as relevant to members.
Breakfast with AICD Chief Economist, Mark Thirlwell
Last month CME hosted a breakfast event where Mark Thirlwell (Chief Economist from the Australian Institute of Company Directors) provided an economic briefing to members. Mark’s briefing highlighted globalisation trends and the existing complexities of the geopolitical landscape, the impact of the energy transition on global investment decisions, and how Australia and WA may manage economic transition in an environment of inflationary pressure and labour market transformation.
CME would like to extend its sincere thanks to Mark for visiting our offices in Perth and delivering such an insightful presentation.
If members would like to learn more about this event or the AICD, please contact Rosalie Cobai (r.cobai@cmewa.com.au)
Infrastructure WA workshop
CME recently participated in a Construction Market Capacity workshop hosted by Infrastructure WA (IWA). The intent was to address the current challenges in the construction market (and impact on project delivery ambitions) by identifying the key constraints and target areas for government action.
Workshop discussions were productive and concluded with the formation of three working groups focusing on the following aspects of the infrastructure construction industry:
- Supply and demand in the project pipeline
- Social and environmental industry sustainability
- Industry productivity, innovation, and commercial sustainability.
CME will be participating in the supply and demand working group and will be advocating for improved strategic planning and prioritisation of infrastructure projects to better support demand management.
Hybrid Power Purchase Agreement Guidance published
Energy Policy WA has recently published guidance material to help small and medium-sized mining companies with the contractual requirements for negotiating with Independent Power Producers to provide onsite power for isolated mine sites. The guide and accompanying template are available on the Energy Policy WA website.
The guidance materials are an initiative of the Energy Industry Development (EID) team which was established as part of an election commitment to work with manufacturers and the mining industry to increase the uptake of locally manufactured renewable energy options for remote mine sites. To learn more about the EID team and their collaboration activities in a range of areas including the Future Battery and Critical Minerals Industries Strategy, please reach out to CME or contact DMIRS directly at EPWA-info@dmirs.wa.gov.au.
Contact: Liz Crompton, Policy Adviser – Industry Competitiveness
Email: l.crompton@cmewa.com
