THE impacts on local Australian businesses from global internet-based competition will be the focus of a new inquiry by the House Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources Committee.

The Committee will examine how Australian businesses, particularly in the retail and small business sectors, have responded to growing competition from global online companies and what effect this change has already had and will continue to have. The Committee welcomes submissions to the inquiry addressing the terms of reference.

Committee Chair Michelle Landry MP said that the inquiry is both timely and important: “Online sales currently make up a small but noticeable proportion of Australia’s total retail spending. While that will grow, it is vital that Parliament understands the effects it will have on local Australian businesses.”

The inquiry will also examine the effects of global internet-based competition on the broader Australian economy, as well as on the employment levels and conditions for those in the sector.

“Approximately 10 percent of Australians are employed in the retail industry, and around 40 percent of Australia’s private-sector employment is in small businesses”, Ms Landry noted, “so changes in how those sectors operate will have a significant impact on Australia’s economy as a whole”.

The Committee is calling for submissions by 1 December and will schedule public hearings to further examine issues in detail.

The Committee will inquire into the impacts of global internet-based businesses on local Australian business, particularly in the retail and small business sectors and will consider the following:

• How has/will the existing retail industry cope with changes to the sector’s landscape brought about by the existence of global online retail business?
   
• What are the consequences for small businesses in terms of new competition and access to digital platforms?
   
• How are small businesses responding to digital change and what is their uptake of new digital business services?
   
• What impacts do the above have on employment, including employment levels and conditions?
   
• What roles can the Commonwealth Government and Parliament play in fostering innovation for Australian businesses to respond to these challenges?

 Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website.

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit report has found that much work remains for cybersecurity compliance and cyber resilience to be achieved across the Commonwealth.

The inquiry focused on the Auditor-General’s cybersecurity follow-up audit.

The Committee was most concerned to find that the Australian Taxation Office and Department of Immigration and Border Protection were still not compliant with the Government’s mandatory mitigation strategies, despite the Government setting a target date to achieve compliance by 30 June 2014.

The report makes 10 recommendations aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity posture of Government entities, including making it mandatory for all Commonwealth entities to:

• comply with the Essential Eight cybersecurity strategies;
• join the Internet Gateway Reduction Program; and
• participate in the Australian Signals Directorate’s annual cybersecurity survey.

The Committee also recommended that both the Attorney-General’s Department and Australian Signals Directorate report annually to the Parliament on the Commonwealth’s cybersecurity posture.

Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said cybersecurity should be a top priority for all Government entities.

“Achieving compliance with the mandatory cyber mitigation strategies is one way entities improve their cyber resilience and mitigate cyber-incidents, alongside good governance and a strong culture of prioritising cybersecurity within the context of entity-wide strategic objectives.”

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. 

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THE City of Melbourne is encouraging Melbourne companies, entrepreneurs, business owners and start-ups to take part in the 2018 Lord Mayor’s Business Mission to China and Japan.

Expressions of interest are now open to the biennial Business Mission which showcases the best Melbourne has to offer in the fields of innovation, health and life sciences, urban sustainability and general aviation.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle AC will lead the mission to Osaka, Japan and Tianjin, Beijing, Wuxi and Suzhou, China from March 21-30 next year and said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“This Business Mission will expose Melbourne companies to potential global investors and business partners by providing a foot in the door to the Asian market,” the Lord Mayor said.

“It’s not only about showcasing and building relationships with China and Japan, but more importantly about getting contracts signed and trade happening with Melbourne based companies.

“In recent years, the relationships and opportunities forged by Business Missions have delivered millions of dollars in trade and investment for Melbourne across a range of fields including biotech, urban design and planning, and education.”

Leffler Simes Architects Director Stephen Evans said his company is now doing business with one of the world’s biggest furniture stores in China after taking part in the Lord Mayor’s Business Mission in 2016.

“The Lord Mayor’s Business Mission helped us expand on our business relationships with IKEA here in Australia. We are currently designing two new stores for IKEA as part of their expansion into China,” Stephen said. “That’s allowed us to hire additional staff here in Melbourne and establish a new office in Shanghai.

“The City of Melbourne’s Business Mission team helped us by setting up meetings with numerous Chinese building developers and design institutes and as a result we’ve now signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to enable us to co-operate and explore working together.

“Overall, it was a very positive and productive experience for us.”

Businesses, like Leffler Simes, that took part in the 2016 Lord Mayor’s Business Mission were involved in more than 300 tailored business meetings and eight MoUs were signed as a result of the mission.

Applications for the 2018 Lord Mayor’s Business Mission close at 4pm Thursday, 30 November 2017.

When applying to take part, businesses will need to explain what they’d like to achieve by traveling to Japan or China with the City of Melbourne, what their competitive advantage is and include a short profile on their business.

For further enquiries phone 03 9658 9366 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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A PARLIAMENTARY committee will discuss at a public hearing tomorrow the connections between tax avoidance, cash activity and crime in the importation and retail of illicit tobacco products.

The hearing is part of the House Committee on Tax and Revenue’s inquiry into Taxpayer Engagement with the Tax System.

At the hearing, Mr Rohan Pike, Illicit Trade Adviser to the Australian Retailers Association, and Mr Jos De Bruin, CEO of the Master Grocers of Australia, will discuss the impact of the illicit tobacco trade on retailers, particularly those small vendors who find themselves in competition with sellers of the cut price illicit product.

Chair of the Committee Mr Kevin Hogan MP said that the Australian Taxation Office is currently working to produce a ‘credible tax gap estimate’ resulting from unpaid tobacco import duties. While the size of the illicit trade is debated, the Australian Border Force’s Tobacco Strike Team has had estimates that the annual revenue loss could be very significant—around $4 billion, or 28 percent of the total tobacco market.

Mr Hogan said that while the Committee is not intending to review Government regulation of the tobacco trade, it is interested in the impact of illicit sales on retailers and how the funds from the trade can feed into cash activity, tax avoidance and its associations with organised crime. 

“The connection between the cash economy and criminal activity is an ongoing challenge for the Australian Tax Office and a concern to the Committee. The removal of certain note denominations and increased enforcement action are potential responses to the problem,” Mr Hogan said.

“The Committee will also want to hear how small business operators end up in the cash economy, and whether tax reforms or improved services could help them better manage cash flow issues and avoid tax debts.”

Public hearing details: 

4.15 pm to 5.30 pm, Wednesday 25 October 2017
Committee Room 1R2, Parliament House, Canberra 

The proceedings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live 

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. Click on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner and use the forms to login to My Parliament or to register for a My Parliament account.

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