VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone has welcomed the Federal Government’s announced support for start-up businesses and entrepreneurship as part of its Jobs and Small Business package to be included in next week’s federal budget. 

"Victorian new business start-ups will benefit from July 2016 by being able to deduct professional costs associated with starting a business immediately, whereas currently costs must be written off over five years," Mr Stone said.

"Business start-ups will also save time and money during registration, as the current fragmented process will be streamlined through a single online registration site.

"These changes are consistent with VECCI Small Business Taskforce’s “Small business. Big opportunities” recommendations to support small business growth. 

"As part of the united chamber movement’s national “Small Business. Too Big to Ignore” campaign prior to the 2013 federal election, we commend the Federal Government’s focus on small business development."

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

vecci.org.au

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THE The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has welcomed The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to an historic low of 2.0 percent today. 

Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said today’s decision will help to provide Australian businesses with much needed relief and is a step toward building higher levels of business and consumer confidence.

“While a reduction in rates is always welcomed, this alone is not enough to stimulate business and jobs growth. Retailers are now looking ahead to the Federal Budget to ensure small business tax cuts are being delivered in order to boost their bottom lines.

“Low interest rates are acting to support borrowing and spending and today’s rate cut is certainly a positive step, however, business growth must still be supported with a solid plan in the upcoming Federal Budget,” Mr Zimmerman said. 

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $265 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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Improving Australia’s maritime safety and the future direction of the tourism industry in Australia will be on the agenda when two treaties are examined in a public hearing on Monday.

The Treaties Committee will investigate the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Instrument Implementation Code which provides a mandatory audit scheme aimed at improving maritime safety.

The IMO is the United Nations agency responsible for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. A range of relevant IMO conventions will need to be amended to make sure the Code applies to regulations such as fire safety and management and environmental standards. The audit will help Australia and other countries ensure compliance with IMO regulations. 

Committee Chair, Wyatt Roy MP, said Australia already takes part in the audit scheme on a voluntary basis.

“Making the scheme mandatory will encourage ongoing compliance and help the IMO identify countries that require assistance to meet its standards,” he said.

The committee is also looking at a proposal for Australia to withdraw from the World Tourism Organization (WTO).

The WTO is another United Nations agency which provides an international forum for promoting sustainable and accessible tourism. The proposed withdrawal has been prompted by claims that Australia is not receiving value for money from its membership of the organisation. It has been suggested that Australia would benefit more from membership of bodies that focus on its key tourism markets, such as the APEC Tourism Working Group and the OECD Tourism Committee.

“It is the committee’s responsibility to ensure that treaty actions are in the national interest. We will be carefully examining the arguments for and against this proposal before we make any recommendation to the Government,” Mr Roy said.

Public Hearing:  Monday 11 May, Committee Room 1R5, Parliament House, Canberra
 
11.00am  Australia’s withdrawal from the World Tourism Organisation under Article 35 of the World Tourism Organization Statutes
11.45am  Resolution A.1070 (28): International Maritime Organization (IMO) Instruments Implementation Code and amendments to various IMO treaties
12.30pm  Close

The hearings will be broadcast through: www.aph.gov.au/live

Copies of the treaties and submissions received can be found at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Treaties

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Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) welcomes some strong commitments to grow the Victorian visitor economy in today’s state budget.

A highlight is the provision of $190 - $210 million for the Stage 2 development of MCEC which VTIC has long supported.

“VTIC is a long-standing advocate for the MCEC expansion,” said VTIC Chief Executive Dianne Smith.

“This announcement paves the way for the expansion which will allow Melbourne to continue hosting large scale international conventions and events that contribute significantly to Victoria’s economy and help drive visitation to regional destinations.

“We look forward to full details of the expansion’s design and timeframe for completion.”

Chair of the Victoria Events Industry Council Peter Jones was also pleased with today’s announcement.

“Together with the announcement of additional funding for major events, the MCEC expansion will further cement Victoria’s reputation as the events capital of Australia. It is important we continue to support the high-yield business events sector with essential infrastructure investment,” said Mr Jones.

The budget also includes a wide range of projects for regional Victoria, delivered through the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, many of which will support visitation to regional destinations.

These include:

- Grampians Peak Trail ($19 million)
- Geelong Performing Arts Centre  ($30 million)
- Sovereign Hill by Night program ($8 million)
- Eureka Stadium (and other Ballarat sporting infrastructure) ($31.5 million)
- Victorian Wine Tourism Strategy ($1 million)
 
Business throughout Victoria will welcome the $20 million in funding to support regional arts and culture, including a regional touring strategy for major exhibitions, performances and programs.

In addition, the Victorian visitor economy as a whole will benefit from the substantial funding allocated to improving public transport infrastructure and services, including significant road and rail investment and the trial of all-night public transport on weekends, commencing 1 January 2016.

VTIC notes that there is an absence of detail in the budget regarding tourism marketing and development.

 “We look forward to working closely with the Minister and Treasurer to ensure that these government-funded areas are appropriately resourced to take advantage of the growth opportunities available to our state,” said Ms Smith.

“Overall this budget delivers many positives for the tourism and events industry and we look forward to the outcomes of the Visitor Economy Review to further boost Victoria's competitiveness.”

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

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CeMAT, the global intralogistics and materials handling event, debuted in Australia today at Sydney Olympic Park, attracting hundreds of visitors from around the country and the world to view a wide range of integrated and efficient approaches to materials handling and transport logistics.

CeMAT concluded a successful first day of the three day show with colourful and interactive displays from exhibitors including Hyundai Forklifts, SeaBox International, hrd-Logistic Products, Lonking Holdings, DB Schenker, Knapp, adaptalift and Vivid Industrial, to name only a few.

Mr Wolfgang Pech, Senior Vice President of Deutsche Messe, owners of CeMAT said that the key themes for CeMAT AUSTRALIA are the hot topics for the fast moving and evolving intralogistics industry. Topics such as the Internet of Things and E-Commerce are vital in ensuring the industry adapts integrated solutions and better ways of introducing new technologies to run warehouses smarter, smoother and more efficiently. 

"Our first day at CeMAT AUSTRALIA in Sydney has been a great success and the performance of our exhibitors has well and truly exceeded our expectations.

"Walking around the show, you can see a fantastic line-up of exhibitors featuring technologies, products and system solutions that are ready now for the logistics market in this region and the rest of the world.

"This show represents the impressive and strong commitment of the logistics industry to further bolster their sector in this region with their support of CeMAT in Australia."

CeMAT includes over 100 exhibitors on show for three days, a conference on day one, workshops on day two and industry site visits on day three.

Key speakers from the conference today included Armin Weih, Deputy Managing Director of VDMA (pictured below); Nathan McKenzie, CEO of Speedshield Technologies and Ron Koehler CEO AU/NZ of DB Schenker.

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

CeMAT will run for two more days – Wednesday 6 May and Thursday 7 May 2015.

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PRODUCTIVITY measurement, definition of key terms, and data sources are some of the themes highlighted in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Statistics Review Discussion Paper, released today.

The ICT Statistics Review is a joint project between the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Department of Communications, Bureau of Communications Research (BCR).

The Review is designed to assess the priority information areas for ICT statistics, as well as ways to improve the quality of digital economy data available for Australia’s decision-makers.

Public submissions were sought early this year and the paper includes a summary of topics emerging from these submissions and outlines the next steps as part of the ICT Statistics Review.

Diane Braskic from the ABS said the submissions showed strong support for a review of ICT statistics and provided a good base from which the Review can progress.

“The public submission process saw 28 submissions received addressing various aspects of the ICT Review’s terms of reference,” said Ms Braskic.

“The paper provides a summary of the information needs that have been identified and gives further opportunity to provide input to prioritise these for the final report.

“Consultations will continue and we strongly encourage further input to identify and prioritise information requirements relevant to stakeholders.”

Head of the BCR, Dr Paul Paterson echoed the sentiments of Ms Braskic.

“We’re delighted with the response." said Dr Paterson. "This input provides a sound basis to build a robust platform for data collection and analysis in a fast-moving and dynamic sector of the Australian economy.”

Feedback on the information requirements can be provided to the Review Secretariat atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5.00pm AEST, 22 May, 2015.

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THE Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) has announced Vodafone as its major sponsor for the National Small Business Summit, an annual premier event focusing on the policies and processes that impact small enterprises.

The Vodafone National Small Business Summit (NSBS) will be held on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 July 2015, at Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney. This year’s agenda is set to discuss competition policy review, workplace relations and small business influence on national security.

CEO of COSBOA Peter Strong said Vodafone was a natural fit for this year’s Summit, with both organisations knowing that telecommunications is fundamental to the success of every small business.

“As we all know, speed and cost of communication are key issues for small businesses in Australia. In the context of the current competition review, Vodafone and COSBOA look forward to challenging the status quo in the telecommunications space to ensure the voice of small businesses is heard,” said Mr Strong.

“One of the topics we’re going to address at the Vodafone NSBS is the importance of companies being mobile and using the cloud, something typically only fully utilised by large organisations. Mobile technology feeds into everything we do, with many businesses highlighting this as a high priority for their future growth.”

Vodafone’s General Manager of Business, Andrew Chanmugam, said the company is excited by the partnership with COSBOA for the Vodafone National Small Business Summit.

“We believe it is the perfect platform to discuss the challenges facing Australian small businesses today,” he said.

Mr Chanmugam said that while the convergence of mobile and cloud presents unprecedented opportunities for Australian small businesses, many are not ready for the change.

“Our research shows 82% of small businesses believe exploiting mobile technology will help optimise the way people work, but only 22% believe their current systems deliver the flexibility and responsiveness they need,” he said.

“We are committed to supporting Australian small businesses to become ‘Ready Businesses’ - able to harness the opportunity to deliver better operational agility, better connected employees and better customer engagement.”

The 2015 Summit is once again expected to draw a high profile line-up of guest speakers and attendees, including Vodafone Chief Executive Officer, Inaki Berroeta.  

“Small businesses form a significant part of the Australian economy - employing more than 4.5 million people. The Vodafone National Small Business Summit and COSBOA are committed to ensuring small businesses have the support they need to grow, and are recognised for their contribution and success,” said Mr Strong.

Registrations for Vodafone NSBS open on 15 May.

For more information visit www.nationalsmallbusinesssummit.com.au

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RETURNING income taxing powers to the states needs serious consideration for Australia to stand any chance of repairing its broken federal/state taxing and spending structures, the Taxpayers Research Foundation* (TRF) said today.

Failure to take tough decisions, including a fair dinkum look at returning states' income taxing powers, risked Australia’s economic and social future, the TRF warned.

Launching its latest Tax Policy Journal: A New Federalism. A New Tax System, TRF spokesperson Terry Ryan said Australia desperately needed tax reform to provide long-term fiscal sustainability for all the governments in our Federation.

“Policy makers at federal and state levels must recognise the need to implement long-term reforms to our federal and state spending and taxation structures,” Ryan said.

“We need vigorous debate and commitment to reform at a critical time of our economic and political cycle. We simply can’t leave this to chance given the current political uncertainty in Canberra,” he said.

While the Federal Government has commissioned the White Papers “Tax Reform” and “Reform of the Federation” to be delivered by the end of this year, with a view to presenting reform proposals, the 2015 Tax Policy Journal focuses on better informing the public and policy makers about our Federation’s fiscal problems – particularly the mismatch between revenue and expenditure between the different levels of government.

Ryan said Tax Policy Journal papers highlighted:

• states revenue sources are insufficient to fund their expenditures and the Commonwealth’s tax bases deliver more revenue than needed to meet its spending commitments. And a half of that amount is tied to federal spending priorities
• vertical fiscal imbalance is common under federal systems, but is high in Australia by international standards. Nearly a quarter of federal tax revenues are passed back to the states, in the latest year $54.9 billion in untied grants, mainly from the GST and $46.3 billion in specific purpose payments
• even with the untied grants the allocation of these funds to the different governments is determined by Federal government equalisation priorities and not by the revenues collected per state, eg Western Australia only receives about a third of its total revenues from federal funds whereas South Australia receives nearly half of its revenues from the Federal government
• while there are many benefits for Australia in a federal system, reform of income taxes, GST and state taxes can reduce the imbalances in our federal system and increase efficiency for all levels of government.

Ryan said there was a strong argument to give real power back to the states.

“This includes allowing them to again levy income tax to reduce the imbalances and this is discussed at some length in the 2015 Journal.

“Also discussed are the specific roles governments perform and the governance needed to ensure genuine accountability and responsibility from all elected representatives.”

Ryan said past failed attempts to make meaningful changes were also discussed, highlighting that reform from the two White Papers “would be just the beginning”.

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