Cannatrek announced on Tuesday, September 5, that it has been granted Good Manufacturing Practice accreditation from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for its Shepparton processing facility.
The company said the $5 million facility was part of a broader $17 million investment plan in Greater Shepparton.
That investment includes the development of a farm to research and grow cannabis, which is expected to start supplying the processing facility next year.
“We’re estimating, over the next three years, to create 70 jobs for the region,” Cannatrek founder and chief executive officer Tommy Huppert said.
“Mainly, it’ll be on the cultivation site. This site (the processing site) has between 15 and 20 people — the manufacturing operations.”
Mr Huppert said Shepparton’s geographical position and climate made it a perfect choice for Cannatrek.
“It’s not only the agricultural food bowl of Australia. It’s an incredibly great logistical position for us,” he said.
Mr Huppert said accreditation had paved the way for broader opportunities, including export, in a sector that had been around for thousands of years in parts of the world, but was only just getting started in Australia.
Loopholes bill
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has weighed in on the Federal Government’s Closing the Loopholes Bill.
Officially known as the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023, the government says it will close loopholes that undermine pay and conditions and will improve work health and safety laws that fall under the Commonwealth’s jurisdiction.
Labour hire and gig economy workers are expected to receive a boost in wages through the changes.
“It deals with the loopholes that undercut wages and conditions and closes those loopholes,” Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke told the National Press Club on August 31.
The chamber, however, says the proposed changes are “broad and vague”.
“The Federal Government has not made the case for change and the Senate should reject it,” VCCI chief executive Paul Guerra said.
Victorian sick pay guarantee
The Andrews Government says it is increasing the number of jobs covered by the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee and extending the pilot by another year.
Employment Minister Ben Carroll said more than 400 new jobs were now eligible for the Sick Pay Guarantee, giving thousands more workers in casual and contract jobs access to up to 38 hours a year of sick and carer’s pay.
Mr Carroll said some of the jobs added include community support workers, taxi and rideshare drivers, arts workers, childcare and early childhood workers, fitness instructors, tourism and outdoor recreation workers, factory workers, fruit pickers and hairdressers.
The pilot was launched in March, 2022, and with the 12-month extension will now run until March 13, 2025.
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