Industry News

If you’re in NSW, you can finally get your driver’s licence on your phone after a lengthy delay, but there’s one annoying catch. Jack Gramenz OCTOBER 29, 2019 news.com.au Legislation is set to be introduced in parliament to enable a rollout of the digital drivers’ licence across New South W… All NSW drivers will finally be able to get a digital version of their licence on their smartphones following a delayed expansion after a trial of the technology. The digital permits have already been trialled in Dubbo, Albury and Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but are now available statewide. While the statewide rollout was originally due to take place in August, it was delayed to “late 2019”. That vague time has evidently now arrived after an update to the Services NSW app enabled the digital permits for all last night. Drivers can now access their digital licence through the Services NSW app…

Registration Now Open! Registration is open for the second international Women in Carwash™ conference being held in Arlington, Texas, January 20-22, 2020!  The first Women in Carwash™ conference exceeded expectations and left its guests enriched and inspired.  Here’s what some of our guests had this to say: What a wonderful experience of learning, networking, and growing ideas through meaningful interaction with insightful and informative speakers. The very first conference has already begun to change the culture of the industry to promote greater collaboration across all areas of the business – Amy Cantin, Zep It was much more intimate and personable than other conferences and seminars I have been to. I am used to a large convention-center type event. … I felt like I got to actually meet and talk to almost everyone in attendance – Emily Gertenbach, Kleen-Rite Corp My company paid for me to be at the conference. It would…

David Marin-Guzman October 28, 2019AFR Unions are calling for employers to face up to five years’ jail or $10 million fines for deliberately underpaying workers as part of reforms being considered by the Morrison government. The ACTU proposed the penalties in its submission to the government’s compliance discussion paper, where the peak body also argued criminal sanctions should apply to underpayments without proof of intention or negligence. The ACTU, headed by secretary Sally McManus, says a “strict liability” test should apply for criminal sanctions of underpayments. AAP Employers have strongly opposed criminalising breaches of workplace laws, with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) warning it would set a “disastrous precedent” where criminality could also apply to workers and unions. The ACTU’s submission, filed last week, said “intentional, reckless or dishonest” underpayments should attract up to five years’ prison or $2 million fines for an individual and $10 million…

Illicit Chinese-imported cigarettes are being delivered Uber-style to desperate smokers’ homes and sold under the counter at hot spots including Dandenong Market, as Melbourne’s tobacco black market flourishes. WATCH VIDEO Paul Shapiro and Suzan Delibasic, October 29, 2019 Herald Sun Australian Border Force arrested a number of people after a series of raids across Melbourne in connection to illegal tobacco Smokers desperate to avoid the rising cost of cigarettes are fuelling the black market in illegal tobacco which is flourishing in Melbourne’s southeast. And the sale of the contraband is boosting crime and leaving legitimate retailers struggling to compete. According to government data, Australian Border Force made more than 286,600 illicit tobacco detections in the last financial year, grabbing more than 426.2 million cigarettes, 310.6 tonnes of tobacco, which equated to more than $668.9 million in evaded duty. An ABF taskforce last week raided four houses, a storage facility and…

Alanah FrostOctober 29, 2019Herald Sun For years the morning latte has been a staple for most Australians, however new research has revealed the popular beverage has been knocked off its mantle by its competitor. Melburnians have ditched the morning latte and are now in favour of a quick and bitter espresso, new research has found. The most searched-for coffee across the city this year has been the espresso, or short black, according to online data released by Google Trends. The insight showed coffee-lovers in and around Melbourne were 30 per cent more interested in a ‘short black’ than Australia as a whole. Melbourne’s top favourite orders for 2019 were the espresso (short black), closely followed by the latte, mocha, cappuccino and flat white. The trends also continued into regional cities, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepparton and Warrnambool following suit and picking up an espresso on their morning coffee run. But…

AFN STAFF WRITERS6TH SEPTEMBER 2019 Economists in CSIRO’s strategic advisory arm, CSIRO Futures, have released an economic valuation of the full range of opportunities identified in the 2017 CSIRO Food and Agribusiness Roadmap. Plant-based protein, foods for health and wellbeing, premium products and other emerging food trends could be worth $25 billion by 2030, new analysis by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO predicts. Their report is being launched today at the ‘Global Table’ event in Melbourne. Senior Economic Advisor at CSIRO Futures, Dr Katherine Wynn, said that if Australia harnessed these opportunities, the food and agribusiness sector could successfully become a growth orientated, de-commoditised, value-adding and differentiated sector. “Achieving this growth will depend on continued innovation and investment by all players in the food industry,” Dr Wynn said. “As consumer demand for healthy foods and foods with added health benefits increases, foods such as enriched yoghurt and fortified breakfast cereals…