THE Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is concerned about regional businesses being hit by the costs of the government’s new public holidays.

Half of the tourism industry is based in regional Victoria and the majority of these businesses are small businesses with significant cost pressure already.

On grand final Friday, the cost to pay Victoria’s almost 2 million full time employees not to come to work could reach $543 million for the day.

Additional wages for the retail, accommodation, food services and recreation industries are estimated to cost small business owners $105 million for the two holidays as wages can be 50 percent higher on Easter Sunday and 150 per cent higher on grand final eve.

“Many businesses won’t be able to afford to operate on these public holidays due to increased wages costs and anticipated financial loss, which will be bad for tourism particularly in regional areas,” said VTIC Chief Executive Dianne Smith.

“We regularly meet with the relevant government ministers and reinforce that this decision is the wrong one and must be retracted.

“Ultimately these public holidays will take money away from the businesses that should be supported to increase employment and create jobs.”

The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is the peak body for Victoria’s tourism and events industry, providing one united industry voice.

Tourism and events are growth industries for Victoria and contribute $19.6 billion to the state economy each year and employ more than 200,000 people.

vtic.com.au

ends

BOOSTING the ability of small business to employ will be top of the agenda when a range of small business representatives, an employee group and two employment services organisations brief the Education and Employment Committee at a public hearing in Melbourne on Monday.

Small business represents over 95 percent of the overall business community and plays a significant role in the Australian economy, accounting for almost half of employment in the private non-financial sector and over a third of production.

Committee Chair, Ewen Jones MP, said that seeking solutions to the barriers small business faces will be the committee’s objective for this hearing.

“We know there are problems but what we are really looking for are solutions,” he said. 

“This Committee is dedicated to seeing national job growth and supporting small businesses is an integral part of that. We want to know how small businesses can create jobs, but also how to keep people happily employed in those jobs, especially those that have a tough time finding work.”

Details of the hearing are as follows:

Date: Monday 13 July 2015
Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Venue: Committee Room G1, Victorian Parliament, 55 St Andrews Place, Melbourne

Submissions to this inquiry have now closed. For further information about this inquiry please visit the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/SmallBusinessEmployment or contact the secretariat on (02) 6277 4573.

ENDS

VODAFONE, Google and Virgin are set to discuss the importance and implications of technology, mobility and the cloud for small business, at COSBOA’S National Summit this week.

On Friday 17th July, Andrew Chanmugam, Business GM of Vodafone Australia, Richard Flanagan, Head of Business Marketing at Google Australia, and Mark Rizzuto, General Manager Distribution and e-Commerce at Virgin Australia will discuss ‘Small Business Mobility Across The Planet’.

Small businesses and their employees increasingly operate on the move, and as such they are using mobility tools, such as smartphones, tablets and apps in the cloud, to improve profitability, flexibility, communications, and collaboration.

Richard Flanagan, Head of Small Business Marketing at Google Australia, added: “Australians are increasingly researching and buying via their mobile phones, so it's vital that small businesses have a strong mobile presence. And business owners can also benefit from the move to mobile, saving time and money by managing their business on the go"

The increasing use of mobile by Australian consumers makes it even more critical for small businesses to ensure their websites are mobile responsive.

The use of mobility tools across small businesses continues to increase at a voracious rate, with mobile app development spending expected by IT organisations to increase by 36% in the next year. 

Google’s new mobile friendly algorithm makes it even more critical for small businesses to ensure their websites are mobile responsive to maximise SEO opportunities.

Cloud computing has, at last, shed its mysterious persona and is being embraced worldwide by small businesses for its opportunities. Better Cloud’s survey of 1,500 IT professionals, representing organisations in 53 countries for its “Trends in Cloud IT”, revealed rapid cloud adoption is expected.

The survey found that 12 percent of companies currently run all of their IT in the cloud. By 2020, 62 percent are expected to run cloud-only IT.

Andrew Chanmugam, General Manager of Business at Vodafone said: “We know many small businesses have moved to the cloud or are considering it. There’s no question that if you’re looking at high IT costs, need more computing power now and in the future, or if you want to truly mobilise your business operations, the benefit of a cloud based environment cannot be denied. The cloud is one of the greatest advances that small business can take advantage of in 2015.”

Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, concluded: “Small business owners often have to be highly involved in all aspects of running their business from accounting, sales, marketing right through to operations and being able to conduct their business while being mobile is vital to their success.

“By streamlining their technology to work harder for them   getting help with the books, admin and legal matters they create time, which is a valuable resource for a small outfit.”

Registrations are open for the Vodafone National Small Business Summit and the Small Business Mobility Across the Planet session takes place on Friday 17th July at 09.45 – 10.30 in the North Pier at Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf.

For more information please visit www.nationalsmallbusinesssummit.com.au

THE deadline has been extended for submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration inquiry into the Seasonal Worker Programme.

The committee is particularly interested to hear from individuals and organisations who have participated in the Programme and would like to encourage all stakeholders who either administer or participate in the employment scheme to share their experiences.

Submissions will now be accepted until Friday 31 July 2015.

As part of the inquiry, the committee will be focusing on the role of seasonal workers in the horticulture industry and investigate whether the program should be expanded to include other countries and sectors.

Further details about the inquiry, including the full terms of reference and how to make a submission, can be obtained from the committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/mig or by contacting the committee secretariat on (02) 6277 4560 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

ends