Jobs on hold as miners wait on Liberals to deliver

Hiring in mining and construction is expected to slightly improve in the third quarter but the sectors are closely watching the Abbott government’s ability to push policies through the Senate before any significant moves are made, according to The Australian.

The quarterly Manpower employment outlook, which surveys the hiring intentions of more than 1500 employers in Australia for the coming quarter, found 22% of employers in mining and construction planned to increase their hiring, 14% planned to decrease and 62% would make no changes.

ManpowerGroup’s resource and engineering company Experis operations manager Nick Lemin said many firms were holding back on hiring because they needed “real confidence” in the federal government’s ability to get its promised legislation, such as repealing the mining and carbon taxes, through the Senate.

Watchdog probes Sino Australia Oil and Gas for market fraud

Sino Australia Oil and Gas is the subject of a criminal investigation after the Australian Federal Police executed search warrants against the Australia-listed mining services company as part of a probe into market manipulation and false trading, according to The Australian.

Former UBS adviser banned by ASIC

The investigation into controversial mining play Astra Resources has claimed the scalp of a former private client adviser at UBS, who has been banned for wrongly pushing clients into the company, according to The Australian.

Sebastian Konjevic of Wodonga, Victoria, was yesterday banned by the corporate regulator from providing financial services for five years after engaging in “misleading and deceptive” conduct.