A highlight was the Assistant Treasurer’s, The Hon Stuart Robert, announcement that the Federal Government will fund 10 Australian universities to implement Student Tax Clinics. These Student Tax Clinics will provide students (under supervision) the opportunity to provide advice and advocacy to those vulnerable Australians who do not currently have tax agent representation. Griffith University was short listed as one of the 10 preferred universities to implement one of these clinics, recognising Griffith’s strengths in taxation (including the Tax Minor as part of the Bachelor of Commerce), work integrated learning and its emphasis on social justice. Additionally, these Student Tax Clinics will allow industry (including accounting and law firms) the opportunity to provide pro bono services, as well as the opportunity to mentor student learning. If you are interested in more details or how you may be involved don’t hesitate to contact me here.
The ATTA Conferencealso had Keynote presentations by Andrew Mills (2nd Commissioner of Taxation, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)) and Karen Payne (Chief Executive Officer, Board of Taxation).
Addressing the conference theme of ‘Tax in a Changing World’, Andrew Mills discussed how improved technology is enabling the ATO to better facilitate the self-assessment system. This included how the ATO will be better be able to use data to prevent taxpayers mis-stepping, thus enabling the ATO to be proactive in assisting taxpayer compliance, rather than coming in after the fact with audits and penalties etc. He also highlighted how about one-third of Australia’s workforce is now within the Single Touch Payroll System, providing better reporting systems. While technology will mean greater automation, this then brings into question what the role of tax agents will be in the future, and how release of the Inspector General of Tax’s report of the Future of the Tax Profession is of great interest. Andrew Mills also outlined various initiatives that the ATO has undertaken to provide better and alternative ways to provide taxpayers more effective and cheaper ways to raise concerns about their assessments, including alternative dispute resolution. The Assistant Commissioner briefly outlined how the ATO is assisting the profession upskill their small business clients through the Cash Flow Training Kit where over 1,000 small businesses to date have been coached by their professional advisers on better cashflow techniques.
Andrew Mills
Karen Payne’s address raised three important things that have become apparent to her in her role as CEO of the Board of Taxation, these being: (1) Importance of an independent voice; (2) Policy matters and (3) Commerce matters. She challenged academics that their voice should be louder in tax policy debates, although she acknowledged that a number of the reviews being undertaken by the Board of Taxation have academics members, such as Professor Chris Evans (UNSW) and myself working on the Small Business Tax Review Committee. Karen also highlighted how it has become more evident to her of the important role the Executive arm of government does play in the formation of tax policy and law. In terms of this, she emphasised the importance of acting in the public interest. In her view having (and knowing) the policy intention of legislation is critical, as it helps, for example the Board of Tax know how consider and evaluation tax law, and whether reforms should be recommended.
Karen Payne
I myself was involved in two technical presentations at the conference, including with Dr Toni Chardon were we presented our preliminary findings into the role that advisors see themselves in developing their small business client’s literacy in terms of taxation and financial. This topic is of growing importance given the regulatory environment that requires advisors to ‘act in the best interest of their clients’. The research explores to what extent do advisors take active steps in ascertaining the financial capability of their clients, which is critical given their clients have to understand their advice.
The other presentation, with Dr Sue Yong and others, discussed the meta-analysis that we have conducted using the Leximancer software to analyse over 700 studies on tax compliance over the past 20 years. This analysis demonstrated how new concepts are being explored in tax compliance studies, with 19 new concepts identified compared to the prior 1998 study. The study finds that the top five concepts over the 20 year period in tax compliance studies are: tax evasion, tax system, probability of detection, tax rate and tax morale. Leximancer is able to determine connected concepts within these studies, and it appears (for example) that tax evasion is linked with the concepts of perceived opportunity, tax avoidance, tax perception and tax inducement. It is with such a thorough analysis of tax compliance we can have a greater sense of which factors are important to this critical part of the tax system.
Also, at the Conference dinner it was my pleasure to announce that Griffith’s Dr John Minas was awarded the 2019 OUP-ATTA Doctoral Prize, as his PhD was judged as making a significant contribution to tax policy. This means John’s PhD will now be published as book by Oxford University Press. This is the second time a Griffith staff member has received this award out of the nine times it has been awarded. This award was for his thesis titled: The Implications of Capital Gains Tax Rate Preferences for Personal Taxpayers in Australia.
A suite of five ACIAR small research activities (SRAs) is bringing together mango supply chain stakeholders and researchers from seven countries in a mango agribusiness program designed to understand the lucrative Chinese mango market and improve livelihoods for smallholder mango producers.
Robin Roberts is a professor in agribusiness at Griffith University, and the mango agribusiness program project lead. Researchers from seven countries–Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam and Australia–are participating in five ACIAR small research activities. The project aims to:
Improve communication, collaboration and capacity development
Identify market development opportunities and implications in China
Identify research and development opportunities for entry of mangoes into Chinese markets
Evaluate opportunities for improving mango quality
Prioritise opportunities for processing mangoes in selected markets.
Roberts says the goal of the program is to engage Australian and partner country researchers in understanding the dynamic Chinese market and what is needed operationally for successful mango trade with China. The mango agribusiness program has cross-institutional and multidisciplinary teams working together to develop a common platform for mango quality, to understand the implications related to market entry and biosecurity in mango trade, to profile the breadth and depth of the market from an economic standpoint and to understand consumer mango demand. ‘It’s important information to share, especially with the technical people who are developing new varieties, to understand consumer and customer (retailer) preferences.’
‘The mango research information is the umbrella project,’ Roberts says, ‘and the key to the success of the project as a whole.’ This project has three streams: communication, collaboration and capacity building. A newAsia-Pacific Mango Network website,Facebook pageand a newsletter,Simply Mango, were created to provide a platform for researchers and industry to communicate program activities and share ideas.
‘With multiple researchers across a number of partner country institutions, including the Australian Mango Industry Association and national governments,’ Roberts says, ‘effective collaboration is essential. The first priority is developing a mango research network’.
Griffith Law School welcomed over 350 Year 11 and 12 high school students from around Brisbane, for a two-day legal conference held this week.
Legal studies students and their teachers attended workshops exploring contemporary legal issues ranging from copyright in social media, cybercrime, laws on teenage parties to refugee law.
Senior lecturer Ms Heron Loban opened the conference with a keynote address on whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander laws exist.Griffith’s legal experts joined other industry guest speakers to share their knowledge and passion for the legal profession.
Griffith’s Dr Chris Butler hopes students will take away new ideas about the areas of laws that interest them, potentially for their own career.
“They get to experience how Griffith approaches law, which is based on thinking independently about the connections between law and a diverse range of social issues,” he said.
Griffith is ranked number 1 in Australia for Law* and hosts the conference with the Business Educator’s Association of Queensland.
*2018 Academic Rankings of Worldwide Universities
Professional development is needed to increase teacher knowledge about anxiety-related behaviours in students with autism after a Griffith University study found teachers report that they would respond differently to students with and without autism.
The study, published in the journal, Research in Developmental Disabilities, found that teachers report being more likely to use responses for children with autism that may increase the child’s anxiety levels in the long-term, such as over-protection or avoidance.
With those not on the spectrum, however, teachers reported they would be more likely to respond with autonomy-promoting responses such as encouraging problem solving and rewarding of independence or bravery.
Sixty-four primary and secondary school teachers took part in the study — 60 in mainstream schools and four in special schools.
Lead author Dr Dawn Adams from Griffith’s Autism Centre of Excellence said while at least 50% of students on the autism spectrum experienced clinical levels of anxiety, there was scant research focussing upon anxiety at school in children with autism.
“This is the first study to explore how teachers respond to anxiety-related behaviours in students with autism and compare how these may differ from responses to students without a diagnosis of autism,’’ she said.
“Teachers report they are likely to respond differently to anxiety-related behaviours of students on the autism spectrum, but the causes and impact of such differences are yet to be determined.”
“We already know that some teachers report feeling apprehensive, or ill-prepared, to support students with autism in their classroom, so it may be that the combination of autism and anxiety increase these feelings of apprehension.”
“We need to be doing more research to investigate anxiety in children with autism at school, including teacher patterns of responding, so that effective professional development can be offered to teachers who support students with autism at school.”
The Autism Centre of Excellence has a range of free professional development videos on autism and anxiety for parents, teachers and professionals, which can be accessed from its Facebook page
Hon Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for International Development, Petero Civoniceva Australian former professional rugby league footballer, Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Hon Bridget McKenzie, Minister of Sport. Image credit DFAT/Mark Graham
Last week Senators Marise Payne (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Senator Bridget McKenzie (Minister for Regional Services, Sport, Local Government & Decentralisation), and Senator Anne Ruston (Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) launched Sports Diplomacy 2030, outlining the soft power value of sport.
In 2015 Australia became a world-first in bringing sport and diplomacy together as a means to a series of foreign policy ends. The first strategy achieved significant wins for Australia in advancing its national interests both at home and abroad. It established sporting linkages and development programs across the Indo-Pacific. Sports Diplomacy 2030 builds on these existing successes.
The strategy’s renewal process was headed by an expert panel comprising GAI Director Professor Caitlin Byrne, Associate Professor Stuart Murray (Bond University) and Associate Professor Emma Sherry (Swinburne University). Through national consultations with sporting organisations, athletes and industry stakeholders, Sports Diplomacy 2030 showcases the role that sport plays in advancing Australia’s influence, relationships and reputation both regionally and abroad, while also maximising outcomes for the sporting industry.
Sports Diplomacy 2030 prioritises four main objectives: empowering Australian athletes and sports codes to represent us globally, including Asia and the Indo-Pacific; encouraging Australian sports codes to build links with our neighbours in the region; maximising the tourism and investment opportunities from sport; and using sport to strengthen communities in the Indo-Pacific.
The renewed strategy reaffirms the value of Australian sport as an important diplomatic asset in the region.
The release of the final report on the recently concluded royal commission into banking misconduct has highlighted several areas of concern within the Australian financial services sector, with far-reaching implications for consumers and institutions alike.
Unbridled desire to make a sale or profit at any cost and the bank executives’ remuneration schemes linked to profit were at the centre of the much-publicised malpractices of the banking industry.
“Greed” is the word used by the royal commission in describing the conduct of the banking, superannuation and financial services industry. Otherwise, how can one explain charging fees for services not provided? How can one explain fees charged to dead people?
The Australian banking industry has been politically very successful in recent decades. During the GFC, the government of the day provided financial guarantee to deposit-holders for preserving public trust in the banking system. It was long thought that the Australian financial regulatory system is one of the best in the world. There was also a tacit acceptance in the Australian community that a strong economy needs a strong banking industry. So when the cost of funds kept rising in the international markets in the post-GFC years, banks found a solid excuse for raising their lending interest rates asynchronous to the RBA’s interest rate decisions.
Consequently, when the average home-loan borrower felt the pressure from rising bank interest rates, they were told by the government of the day to “switch banks”. Meanwhile, Australian banks learnt their ways of making money through service charges and fees. For example, starting with $27.06 billion in FY 2013, the four major banks’ aggregate after-tax cash profit reached a record high of $31.5 billion in FY 2017. The average net interest margin on a cash basis for these banks was 200 basis points or more over the FY 2013-2018 period. Ironically, nobody raised their eyebrows when the four major banks reported record profits despite crying poor about the rising costs of funds in the international markets.
READ MORE
The desire to survive and excel under tough global conditions perhaps resulted in a culture of performance in the banking industry. Profit and revenue became the gold standard of performance in banks. Moreover, in the pursuit of delivering performance and creating shareholder wealth, executive remuneration schemes were linked to performance. The desire to perform better and aim for excellence sounds ideal in theory, but this can also lead to the pursuit of profit at any cost, which in turn informs employees what the firm values. This is central to the misconduct in the banking industry.
In markets for tangible goods and everyday services (like cutting hair in a barber shop), the customer is relatively well informed. The customer can readily verify whether they have been conned or not. But with complex products like banking and financial services, the average customer is far less informed. It is virtually a David and Goliath battle: the naïve bank customer against the sophisticated bank with all of its superior information set, advanced analytical tools, and sharp legal minds.
There is no way the naïve customer can get a “fair” deal unless the customer is protected by the law. The only other hope for the bank customer is whether the bank believes in a “fair go”, whether the bank employees behave ethically, and in the best interest of the customer. This will require a moral shift — an attitude to be fair. Such a change in attitude cannot spring out of the bottom. It has to come from the top.
The final report of the commission clearly outlines that the primary responsibility of this misconduct fiasco lies with those who manage and control the banks: top management and the board of directors. The commission, in many instances, found the relevant boards did not get the right information about operations and non-financial risks, did little to obtain adequate information, and did nothing much to question or challenge management on such risks. Clearly, they have not been as effective as they should have been in carrying out their duties.
The obvious question is: shouldn’t board accountability and responsibility extend beyond shareholders to customers and other stakeholders? The commission touts for self-regulation and recommends financial services entities improve their culture and governance through continuous assessment, identification and dealing with any problems of that nature, but does little to punish the boards of those entities that were found involved in the misconduct. This is perhaps one of the biggest shortcomings of the report.
The final report of the Hayne royal commission delivered some big recommendations for superannuation, although they aren’t all new ideas.
Broadly, the recommendations for superannuation can be split into two areas — those aimed at protecting members’ interests, and those related to the governance and regulation of superannuation.
For members’ interests, the recommendations seem pretty straightforward, such as restrictions and limitations on deducting advice fees unrelated to superannuation interests from member accounts.
Perhaps the recommendation with the biggest impact is that members only have one default account, although this was previously recommended in the Productivity Commission’s report on the efficiency and competitiveness of our superannuation system.
Linked to default superannuation, Hayne’s report also recommended prohibiting trustees from treating employers, a practice which see funds courting employers — such as Hostplus spending $260,000 on tickets to the Australian Open for 120 employers.
In terms of governance and regulation, a recommendation was made to restrict the roles or offices that trustees could hold, so they can no longer wear ‘two hats’. The final recommendation is for civil penalties for breach of covenants and like obligations, so if a trustee breaches their duty to, for example, act honestly and in good faith, there will now be an enforceable penalty.
While generally sensible and well thought out, many of these recommendations will not be welcomed by the superannuation industry. It will be interesting to see Labor’s response and what happens from here.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry identified numerous instances of misconduct by financial services entities, which include banks, financial planning and advisory licensees and practices, as well as their representatives. ASIC is the government agency which serves as an educator, administrator, advisor, investigator and enforcer of laws which regulate financial services. ASIC’s role as an enforcer was the focus of the royal commission’s final report.
Commissioner Hayne was critical that the laws regulating financial services entities were not enforced, or not enforcement effectively by ASIC (at p.3):
… too often, financial services entities that broke the law were not properly held to account. Misconduct will be deterred only if entities believe that misconduct will be detected, denounced and justly punished.
Effective enforcement deters misconduct, and deterrence requires “visible public denunciation and punishment” (p. 433). The severity of the punishment needs to fit the misconduct (or crime), and the misconduct publicised and condemned.
ASIC has multiple enforcement tools at its disposal when a financial services entity breaches the law, including: banning financial advisors; infringement notices for misconduct requiring the payment of a penalty; court enforceable undertakings; civil penalties (e.g. pecuniary penalties and compensation orders); and criminal proceedings (fines and imprisonment).
Commissioner Hayne’s concern was not about the availability of ASIC’s enforcement tools, but rather their choice and application by ASIC to achieve the purpose of deterring misconduct.
READ MORE
Commissioner Hayne recommended that ASIC should adopt an approach to enforcement that: begins with the question of “whether a court should determine the consequences of a contravention” (p. 37-38), or “why not litigate?”; utilises infringement notices primarily for “administrative failings” involving entities other than large corporations; and focuses on deterrence in deciding whether to accept an enforceable undertaking.
Infringement notices and enforceable undertakings, being out-of-court procedures that are published on an ASIC register and summarised in a media release, may not have the same deterrent effect as court actions in which civil or criminal action is pursued in public, and where the punishment for misconduct is likely to be greater.
For example, ASIC has accepted enforceable undertakings from financial services entities that charged clients fees but did not provide any services in return. Despite the enforceable undertakings, as well as a report by ASIC that it was investigating multiple instances of ‘fee for no service’, some financial services entities were still engaging in this practice.
Consistent with Commissioner Hayne’s recommendations, I would envisage more civil and criminal actions involving financial services entities in the short to medium term. In fact, Commissioner Hayne referred ASIC to two financial services entities that may have breached section 1041G of the Corporations Act, which makes it a criminal offence to engage in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or service. Specifically, the conduct related to ‘fee for no service’.
However, a greater focus on civil and criminal action for ASIC requires more government funding. The public denunciation of financial services entities arising from the proceedings of the Royal Commission, combined with the Final Report, could be used by ASIC to lobby the Federal government for additional funding in an election year. A corporate watchdog that is sufficiently resourced to publicly beat the ‘villains’ of the financial services industry may serve both legal and political objectives.
By exposing poorfinancial sector behaviourand making 76 recommendations to remedy those that came to light,Commissioner Hayne’s final report will hopefullyresult in cultural change and amuchimproved banking andfinancial system that is more ethical andcustomer-focused.
Financial systems in advanced economies have characteristics, such as the asymmetry of information between savers/lenders and borrowers/investors,as well asfractional reserve banking,thatset them apart from other markets/industries in the economy governedprimarily bythe normalforces ofsupply and demand.For that reason, governmentregulation of banking and finance becomesnecessary,although by how much has long beenan issue for economic debate.
A key lesson from the inquiry was that not only banks but the existinggovernmentregulators, ASIC and APRA, had failed. So a new overarching regulatory body recommended in the reportis to be welcomed. That may, however, imply more effective, not necessarily more, financialregulation overall.
From a macroeconomic perspective, there is theriskthat policymakers overreact tothe Hayne recommendations and over-regulate, especially inrelationto the big four banks,turning already-tightened credit conditions currentlyaffecting property markets Australia-wideinto a”credit crunch”. That would adverselyimpactAustralian businesses and households and increase the risk of recession, definedas two successive quarters of negative growthmeasuredonan incomeper headbasis.
The insurance-related recommendations signal a more serious approach to meeting the needs of consumers, improving transparency and fairness and, most importantly, resolving known issues that have existed for some time.
For example, enforcing a time delay between point of sale and the offering of ‘add-on’ and consumer credit insurances is a win for consumers. ASIC investigations have shown ‘add-on’ and consumer credit insurances to be poor value, with high costs and low payout rates. It’s important to recognise that while consumers are excited about their latest purchase such as a car or electronic goods or taking out loans or credit card debt that they are vulnerable and may accept policies whether or not they want them or need them.
Some recommendations were expected by the public after exceptions to insurance commissions remained following the Future of Financial Advice reforms. The proposed delay in winding down commissions may be perceived as too soft, but this allows consumers time to adjust to further increased upfront insurance advice costs, which impact on the affordability of insurance.
When it comes to claims, sure, there are those involved in insurance fraud, but many honest consumers are caught out by having forgotten to provide historic information or not believing certain information to be relevant to their insurer. Moving from a duty of disclosure to a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to an insurer puts more responsibility on insurers to ask the right questions, a step taken in the UK six years ago.
These and other important changes such as the anti-hawking recommendations are necessary in rebuilding trust between insurers, advisers and their communities. We’ll likely see some players exit the market, yet others take the opportunity to innovate — another consumer win.
Is the Hayne banking Royal Commission a watershed moment or does it avoid structural reform? The Final Report of the Hayne Royal Commission points to failings in corporate governance, culture and ethics in the finance sector. Furthermore, Australian regulators have been found wanting when it comes to regulatory enforcement and compliance.
There will be many winners and losers in the post Royal Commission era in 2019 and beyond. Good corporate governance and a stronger ethical dimension can aid to restore the community’s trust in the finance sector.
Griffith University will host an industry breakfast on Friday 22 February to discuss these issues and the way forward for the Australian financial services sector.
The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), got first-hand insights into the world’s first human clinical trials of a whole parasite blood-stage malaria vaccine when he visited theInstitute for Glycomics.
In what wasone of his last duties before retiring in March, General Cosgrove wasgivena tour and updates on the trial of a whole parasite blood-stage malaria vaccine in human volunteers that has yielded safe and immunogenic outcomes.
The study team comprises staff from Griffith University and clinicians at Gold Coast Health, and fundraising efforts by Rotary has enabled the trial to continue.
A single dose of the trial vaccine was administered to volunteers at Griffith’s Clinical Trial Unit who were healthy, malarial-naïve males aged 18-60 and it induced a broad parasite-specific cellular immune response that recognised different malaria parasites and did not adversely affect the volunteers.
“We are hopeful that the immune response induced by the vaccine would be able to kill the parasite if recipients were exposed to the parasite out in the field,” Dr Stanisic said.
The next stage in the malaria vaccine trial process is to determine if the immune response from the vaccine can actually kill the parasites in humans as it has been shown to do in laboratory animals.
Once it has been established that it is safe and effective in human volunteers, the vaccine would be trialed in a malaria-endemic area then across multiple sites in multiple countries.
Professor Good expressed great thanks to the volunteers and praised the hard work of the team over many years to get to this point.
“It is wonderful to have the community so much behind this important project. We all realise what a devastating disease malaria is for so many people around the world,” he said.
Prof Mark von Itzstein, Director of the Institute for Glycomics is delighted with this significant milestone in the development of the world’s first blood stage malaria vaccine.
“This is a tremendous advance in the development of a blood stage malaria vaccine and as the Director of the Institute, I am thrilled to see this very important study now published” Prof von Itzstein said.
There are approximately 3.2 billion people living in malaria endemic countries worldwide and of the 500,000 sufferers who die each year, 80 per cent are young children who are not strong enough to fight off the killer parasite.
This project is being enabled by the Malaria Vaccine Project, which is a partnership between Rotary District 9640 and the Institute for Glycomics that aims to raise funds to support the clinical trial.
Wave energy advocates argue that consistency is an advantage in the mix of renewable energy technologies, particularly in a future low-emission society.
New research by Griffith University reveals seasonal and inter-annual variations in wave energy generation are considerable and should be factored into wave energy feasibility assessments.
Scientists from Griffith’s School of Engineering and Built Environmentand Griffith Centre for Coastal Management based on 31 years of high-resolution simulated historical wave data, examined the temporal variability in the wave energy resource off the Australia’s southeastern shelf and in the conversion of wave power into electricity at three promising sites along the NSW central coast using a range of wave conversion devices.
It has been estimated ocean wave energy alone could contribute up to 10% of Australian renewable energy needs by 2050.
There are a few wave energy farm projects planned for Australia along the coasts of Victoria and Western Australia (Albany, Carnegie Clean Energy Ltd) – that are financially supported by State Government Schemes, using wave energy technology comparable in maturity with international wave conversion devices.
Griffith’s research team – including Dr Nick Cartwright, Dr Darrell Strauss, Amir Etemad-Shahidi, and PhD candidate Joao Morim – combined the simulated wave data from the coasts of Newcastle, Sydney, and Seal Rocks, with conversion efficiency data obtained from 10 ‘pre-commercial’ wave energy devices (national and international), examining the variability of wave energy production and performance from between months and from year-to-year.
According to the researchers, temporal variations of wave power production can be highly significant and should be accounted for. The researchers said that recent assessments of the economic viability of wave energy farm projects failed to consider these variations and were instead based on annual and/or seasonal averaged assessments.
Morim said such assumptions could be misleading in terms of anticipating the revenue of wave energy farm projects. He said the findings instead support the long-proposed viability of wave energy farm projects.
“We have shown that inter- and intra-annual variations of monthly wave energy production can reach ~30 to 70% depending on the device and site, showing thateconomicalfeasibility studies based on stationary annual/seasonal-averaged analysis are misleading,” Morim said.
“Our preliminary analysis finds that smaller-scale wave energy devicesoptimisedto local sea states can not only potentially lead to a much higher wave conversion performance, but also lead to reduced electrical production variations between months (~30 to 80%) and between years (~11 to 80%) – which plays a key role in the cost-efficiency of wave farm projects.”
“These results show that using wave technology specifically developed for certain sea-states characteristic of a region is key to significantly enhance energy conversionperformance, anddecrease variations in electricity supply – which represents a promising finding for the future of wave energy exploitation and support future estimations of economic viability of wave energy farm projects within Australia and other countries.”
These findings are particularly valuable since wave energy is largely uncorrelated with wind power and has only a third of the natural variability exhibited by wind energy. Furthermore, waves can be forecast three times further ahead than wind.
Queensland College of Art alumnus Jasmine Dowling was recently named Creative of the Year at the Cosmopolitan Women of the Year awards, capping off a stellar run that has seen her become one of the country’s most successful young creative entrepreneurs.
The Brisbane-based typographer and blogger studied graphic design at the Queensland College of Art – launching her freelance business, blog and online store during her final year at Griffith.
She is known for her stunning hand lettering projects and prints, and has also attracted a devoted following on social media, with more than 200,000 Instagram followers.
“I am such an introvert and I didn’t have any contacts when I started my business,” she said.
“It was through social media that clients were able to discover my work and I was able to build my own audience base.
“Social media has also made it possible for your work to go viral and be seen by huge numbers that weren’t possible before.”
Jasmine credits her time at the Queensland College of Art for giving her the freedom to experiment and the confidence to push the boundaries of design.
“I had design tutors that rewarded creativity, experimentation, the unconventional, and the not so perfect,” she said.
“That sort of attitude to design really helped me let go with my process and not be afraid to try something new.”
“The projects where brands have put their full trust in me to try something new are huge milestones for me,” she said.
“On a recent collaboration, I was creative director, photographer and hand letterer.
“I was a little out of my comfort zone but they gave me so much creative control and trusted in that. I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out.
“I also recently did lettering for a Brisbane City Council campaign so that was super special because it meant I could see my lettering on billboards around my hometown.”
“At first I got shaky at the thought that I had to get up in front of a room of women that I look up to give a speech, but then honestly I was just in disbelief,” she said.
“I have worked by myself, for myself for so many years now that it really gave me a opportunity to sit back and look at what I have worked on and achieved.
“To be recognized for that work was so special and meaningful.”
How has the digital revolution transformed journalism practices? Can the professionalisation of banking restore its integrity?
These questions will be explored in two twilight sessions as part of the Professional Futures Conference at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University on February 6 and 7.
“While journalists have a critical role in holding governments to account, they have never professionalised in the way other occupations have,’’ says conference convenor Professor Charles Sampford.
“It now faces new challenges in loss of media revenue, casualisation, fake news and ‘echo-chambers’.”
Meanwhile in banking he said the Hayne Royal Commission, reporting this week, has highlighted serious, comprehensive and systemic wrongdoing.
“The litany of revelations has shocked even those with a low opinion of banks. Public trust in bankers and banking is plumbing depths not seen since the 1890s and 1930s depressions. Is professionalisation of banking part of the answer — as is currently being attempted with Financial Advisors?”
Unbridled desire to make a sale or profit at any cost and the bank executives’ remuneration schemes linked to profit were at the centre of the much-publicised malpractices of the banking industry.
The final report of the Hayne royal commission delivered some big recommendations for superannuation, although they aren’t all new ideas.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry identified numerous instances of misconduct by financial services entities, which include banks, financial planning and advisory licensees and practices, as well as their representatives. ASIC is the government agency which serves as an educator, administrator, advisor, investigator and enforcer of laws which regulate financial services. ASIC’s role as an enforcer was the focus of the royal commission’s final report.
By exposing poorfinancial sector behaviourand making 76 recommendations to remedy those that came to light,Commissioner Hayne’s final report will hopefullyresult in cultural change and amuchimproved banking andfinancial system that is more ethical andcustomer-focused.
Is the Hayne banking Royal Commission a watershed moment or does it avoid structural reform? The Final Report of the Hayne Royal Commission points to failings in corporate governance, culture and ethics in the finance sector. Furthermore, Australian regulators have been found wanting when it comes to regulatory enforcement and compliance.
It has been estimated ocean wave energy alone could contribute up to 10% of Australian renewable energy needs by 2050.