Politics and Policy
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PM Gillard talks Getting Aussie Business Online
Kate Dixon | April 20, 2011Well, it isn’t every day that the Prime Minister talks about MYOB but in late March we were in Perth to talk about Getting Aussie Business Online with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.
They were speaking about plans for the National Broadband Network and the need for businesses to get online to take advantage of the digital economy.
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Protecting your equity, not just your property
Craig Boss | April 13, 2011
Protecting your business against the unexpected departure of a business partner is one of the most important insurances you may ever need.
Many businesses will insure their premises, equipment, and stock. They will take out worker’s compensation and public liability cover. However, they give no thought to the potentially devastating damage to the business caused by the unplanned exit of a business partner due to death, illness, or injury.
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What areas of regulation should COAG target for reform? | Have your say
Sally Rose | April 11, 2011First 5000’s sister publication Open Forum is currently hosting an online National Regulatory Reform Survey on behalf of the Queensland Office for Regulatory Efficiency, Queensland Government.
On 13 February 2011, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) tasked its Business Regulation and Competition Working Group (BRCWG) with developing options for a future national regulatory reform agenda for COAG’s consideration by the end of 2011.
The SURVEY closes midnight, Friday 15 April 2011, AEST.
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Australia’s small medium size enterprise threat part II
Lindley Edwards | April 5, 2011What are some of the ways that Australia can intelligently deal with the challenge that the tax office is becoming a default bank for medium enterprises.
Joining me in this discussion for some additional commentary is Suelen McCallum of dVT Consulting, a chartered accountant and corporate turnaround expert.
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20 tips on the Fair Work Act
Hannah Mills | March 30, 2011In 2009 and throughout 2010 the Fair Work Ombudsmen recouped $26.1 million in employee underpayments and received 1.1 million calls from businesses enquiring how to pay their staff. This was a result of the new Fair Work Act (FWA).
It is important that employers are aware of their compliance obligations under the Fair Work Act and if in doubt, obtain legal advice.
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How about Azerbaijan?
Marc S. Ellenbogen | February 4, 2011Why SMEs need to think about emerging markets.
People who are experts would say there’s no way a SME can operate in Azerbaijan or Kurdistan, or in any centralized economy where a pseudo-dictator is controlling. They would say these are just pipe dreams.
I disagree.
My argument is these people want their economies to grow. Like Dubai, Qatar and the Emirates they see value in slowly bringing in know-how and growing their economies. And they would rather foreigners brought in that know-how, people they don’t feel threatened by politically rather than their own people who might become a counterbalance.
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Don’t bank on competition
Jost Stollmann | January 17, 2011Why business must take action against the big four. CEO of Tyro Payments Jost Stollmann on why the big banks continue to fail their customers and how constructive industry behaviour can help reform the banking sector.
The world of commerce has moved into the internet age. As customers and business owners we demand speed, efficiency and reliability in transactions which are scattered over every facet of our lives. So it’s no wonder when we depend on the major banks – which run on legacy IT systems that are more than 30 years old – we are so often frustrated or left short-changed.
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Paid maternity leave just around the corner…are you confused?
Matthew Tukaki | December 20, 2010It’s time to make sure you understand and are prepared for the introduction of the paid parental leave scheme.
It strikes me that there is a degree of confusion in the business community about a fundamental series of changes that will come into force from 1 January 2011. In the main, those changes relate to the introduction of the Government’s Paid Parental Scheme.
This confusion has been evident in a series of workshops that I have been running around understanding the impacts of legislation on employers and hiring managers.
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New time calls for new rules – First 5000 puts the individual back in business
Peter Fritz | October 25, 2010When I was a child I must have hated authority. It might have been because I was brought up in a Communist country where authority was pervasive.
I never wanted to be run by anybody but myself and that has stayed with me.
I believe people should not have to ask permission to do things, or to have their thoughts filtered through others. In Australia we have a democratic framework which allows people to live their lives more or less the way they want to.
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First 5000 & the NSW economy
Barry Buffier | October 25, 2010On Wednesday 20 October 2010 I had the pleasure of being invited to say a few words at the launch of First 5000.
I was actually standing in for the Minister for Small Business Frank Terenzini, who had to attend to some urgent business at the last minute. It was a great pleasure, because First 5000 ties in perfectly with my normal role.
This blog is based on the address I gave on the day.
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Tax breaks not the recipe for economic growth
Virginia Harrison | October 19, 2010
MEDIUM-size enterprises are the poor cousins of big business with little policy influence, despite their powerful productive capacity.Professor Beth Walker from Edith Cowan University (ECU) School of Management argues both sides of politics have failed on business policy. Perhaps it’s time for a medium-enterprise caucus.
“Neither side had any policy this election. They always talk about reducing the tax rate, but it’s such a tiny amount for most businesses. It doesn’t add up to much. They talk about putting in some small incentive. None of them came up with any new initiatives about how to get more productivity.” She said.
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The Outlook for Australian Trade in the 21st Century
Andrew Leigh | September 20, 2010Transcript of the address delivered by the Hon. Andrew Leigh MP to the Global Access Partners National Economic Review: Australia’s Annual Growth Summit on 17 September 2010.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on whom we are meeting today. I would also like to thank Peter Fritz, Catherine Fritz-Kalish, and Lisa Middlebrook for involving me in this really stimulating discussion.
As I understand my role, it is to provide a relatively high-level overview on trade to kick-start discussion with the other speakers, who will focus on more direct policy-relevant topics.
My interest in trade comes about partly as an economist – it’s almost a stamp of entry into the profession that one must be a free trader. But also then having a policy interest through having worked for 18 months for the later Senator Peter Cook.
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SPEECH: Building on our Strengths
Wayne Swan | September 20, 2010Following is a transcript of the speech delivered by The Hon. Wayne Swan MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer to the opening dinner of the Global Access Partners National Economic Review: Australia’s Annual Growth Summit, Sydney, 16 September 2010.
Thanks very much for having me here today and thanks Lisa [Middlebrook] for that introduction.
Can I welcome Jonathan Coppel, Senior Economic Adviser to the Secretary General of the OECD – who’s sitting over there at my table. Jonathan I hope you enjoy your time in Australia.
It’s great to be involved in marking the opening of Global Access Partners’ National Economic Review, which focuses on “how to boost Australia’s global competitive advantage and drive sustainable growth”. This is the essence of the Government’s mission and I’m looking forward to stepping through some of that for you tonight.
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Time to turn off the Simpsons
Lisa Middlebrook | September 8, 2010Why do Australians take the worst and leave the best of what the USA has to offer?
Having a Mum from Sydney and a Dad from Texas, over the course of my life, I’ve lived, studied and worked in both Australia and the USA. It’s an interesting perspective from which to view the way the two cultures regard one another.
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Open Letter to the G20 Leaders
Patrick Callioni | July 21, 2010Markets make money whether the economy is going up or down – it is only the rest who stand to lose.
