Western Sydney Business Access May 2020 Edition

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS

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MAY 2020 ISSUE 109

Western Sydney's most sought-after business publication

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DOWNSIZERS FEAR UNCERTAINTY

7-ELEVEN OUTLETS SELL

Older Aussies are living in their home years longer than needed: 2

Mum-and-dad investors have purchased 12 7- Eleven outlets in Western Sydney: 12

BLACKOWN LOCAL BUSINESS AWARDS PROCEED: 19

WESTERN Sydney will soon have more world-class health services right on our doorstep, with construction now complete on the Westmead Health Precinct’s new Central Acute Services Building.

PAGE 6

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Downsizers fear market uncertainty ARKET uncertainty and selling costs are causing empty nesters to put off downsizing according to real estate expert Adam Rigby.

It means the empty nesters are eating into their super and locking younger families out of the housing market.

Mr Rigby is the Upside Realty CEO and founder and he said older Australians were living in their home years longer than was suitable for them, because they feared market uncertainty and the costs associated with selling.

“This is typically one person living in an otherwise empty six-bedroom house and there are more than 100,000 underused houses in NSW and Victoria alone,” Mr Rigby said.

“The increased expenses associated with running these homes is dangerously eating into retirement funds and locking families and first-home buyers out of the market.”

Mr Rigby said the latest ABS data showed that 49% of Australians were living in underutilised dwellings – in houses with two or more empty bedrooms.

He said the number increased throughout the property downturn last year and had now spiked with the drop in sales volume led by the Covid 19 outbreak.

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“In the last month we have seen a 28.7% decrease in sales volume compared to 2019, a year which was already substantially down, compared to previous years.”

“This stalemate has been going on for the last 18 months or more.

“Seniors keep delaying a downsize because they are unsure about the market and they know they will be slugged with a huge tax.”

Mr Rigby said Australia was unique in the world in terms of property transaction costs.

“The high cost of sales transactions and stamp duty urgently needs to be addressed if the government is serious about improving affordability and assisting in the nation’s economic recovery.”

“In Victoria, homeowners who pay $680,000 for a home, have to come up with a further $35,870 in stamp duty. In NSW, homeowners buying for the same amount must pay $26,032 in stamp duty. In Queensland, the stamp duty on a home of the same price is $16,450.

Upside is a ground breaker in the fixed-fee real estate field and is already disrupting the

Adam Rigby.

industry in seven markets across the country, including Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Using market-leading technology, vendors work with an experienced agent to sell their

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the network under their own power,” Mr Constance said.

“Over the next few months, you’ll see more of these trains on the network as we progressively test all train systems including Automatic Train Protection, passenger door systems, passenger information, CCTV, ride comfort as well as the maximum speed of 160kph.

“We’ll also be using this time to familiarise the train crew with the new operating systems and technology on board.”

Mr Toole said work was continuing

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MAY 2020 Western Sydney Business Access (WSBA) ACCESS NEWS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ABN 39 600 436 799 Publisher/editor: Michael Walls M: 0407 783 413. E: michael@wsba.com.au Associate Editor: Dallas Sherringham Journalists: Red Dwyer, Elizabeth Frias, Paul Haigh.

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Details: www.upside.com.au

Testing of new train fleet ramps up ESTING is ramping up on the New Intercity Fleet with the first two new trains now travelling on the network under their own power.

Minister for Transport Andrew Constance and Minister for Regional Transport Paul Toole were given a close-up look at the progress being made.

“When the trains first arrived, ontrack testing involved using a locomotive to haul the carriages. What we are seeing today is an exciting milestone because they are now travelling around

COVER: Drone images of the new worldclass Westmead Health Precinct’s new Central Acute Services Building. The facility will house 300 patient rooms and is the centrepiece of the $1B-plus Westmead redevelopment. Story page 6.

home for a fixed fee of $8900 for private treaty or $9700 for auction.

IN these challenging times of Coronavirus Western Sydney Business Access (WSBA) is taking steps to ensure our readers and clients continue to have easy access to Western Sydney’s leading business news service.

We are mindful of following the Government's social distancing guidelines, while maintaining our relationship with the regional business community and our loyal reader base.

From the April edition and until further notice WSBA will adopt an online distribution platform and reduce the number of hard copy newspapers delivered.

This means that WSBA will be created as usual and posted as a downloadable PDF at www.accessnews. com.au for easy viewing 24/7, as we have always done.

Further, we will be broadcasting the edition to more than 50,000 carefully targeted Western Sydney residents and businesspeople via Facebook, LinkedIn and direct email links.

We have engaged the services of respected media agency Happy Hippo Media to work with us on this.

We are confident that our new online distribution model will result in even more readers of WSBA. As the global pandemic eases, we will resume normal distribution of our newspaper. We wish all Western Sydney residents the very best in these challenging timers.

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on important enabling works across the intercity network.

“These are modern trains featuring the latest technology, so we need to ensure we upgrade the infrastructure on the network to accommodate them,” Mr Toole said.

The new trains will feature more amenities for customers, including comfortable two-by-two seating, charging points for mobile devices, as well as storage for luggage and bicycles.

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Greater We Western Sydney foo footprint.

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News Regional Round-Up NORTH WEST

with RED DWYER

Lawyers lease space

Population growth ONE of the areas with the largest population growth in 2018-19 was Riverstone-Marsden Park by 20 per cent.

Market expansion BRISBANE-based Set Up Camp has leased a 1075-square-metre freestanding warehouse, at 19 Sovereign Pace, South Windsor, from a private landlord on a three-year leased, on a gross annual rental of $144,850, plus a three-year option. The lease enables the company to expand in the Sydney market.

COLEMAN Greig Lawyers have leased 1355 square metres of office space at 32 Smith Street in the Parramatta CBD, from GPT Group, for 7.5 years at an undisclosed rent.

Bathla leases site BATHHLA Group has taken a threeyear lease on a 4500-square-metre site, at 3 Augusta Street, Blacktown, for a gross rent of $300,000 plus GST.

$7M site sale AN owner-occupier has sold a 2283-square-metre, freestanding office and warehouse, at 5 Tollis Place, Seven Hills.

OK for concept plans THE $300M Castle Hill Panorama, at Cadman Avenue, Castle Hill, has received concept approval for the 6000-square-metre residential development by the Sydney Central City Planning Panel.

SOUTH WEST

32 Smith St, Parramatta.

Liverpool economy

Private investor leases

THE economy of the Liverpool local government area has a gross regional product of $11.33 billion across a diverse range of industries.

RNL Alchin Holdings has leased a 2949-square-metre, at 1/46 Redfern Street, Wetherill Park, for $335,000 for four years, to a private investor.

Smithfield tenants REGIONAL Road Express, TRI Underground, Modular Building Systems\ and Transconnect Logistics are among the manufacturers and logistics companies have taken space in an 8-hectareb site, at 2 Percival Road, Smithfield.

Ponmora buys Private investor sells PRIVATE investor JVMC has sold a 27,320-square-metre vacant site, 5 Yarrawa Street, Prestons, for $16.25M.

PONMORA Pty Ltd has bought a 1455-square-metre property at 451A Victoria Street, Wetherill Park for a private investor for $3.8 million

CENTRAL WEST Occupier sells site A private-owner occupier has sold a 1568-square-metre freestanding warehouse, at 104 Derby Street, Silverwater, to Parramatta Asset Management Pty Ltd for $5 million

Economic recruit CUMBERLAND Council plans to recruit an economic development coordinator to sit within the Place and Engagement Team. This

will be a key role, together with council’s business engagement coordinator and strategic planning team, in developing council’s open for business and investment approach.

Showcase area CUMBERLAND Council aims to participate in the Greater Parramatta and the Olympic Peninsula Familiarisation Program, in March 2020, coordinated by the Greater Sydney Commission. It will showcase the area to international businesses.

More events The Sydney Olympic Park Authority hopes to see a number of new multi-cultural events added to its annual event calendar when an expression of interest process and Grant program aimed at expanding the event offering is launched in the second half of 2019.

POST YOUR JOB FOR FREE JWS is here to help

In times of Coronavirus, Jobs Western Sydney is here to support local businesses.

Until May 31 we are offering free job postings on our website and Facebook page for all businesses. Job details will need to be posted via our website

www.jobswesternsydney.com.au 4

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

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Marriott for Auburn and Blacktown ARRIOTT International has announced the signing of Courtyard by Marriott Sydney, Auburn and Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Blacktown.

The signings are an agreement with Sydneybased property developers, Mr Ning He and Timothy He, Directors of T1 Constructions.

The properties are due to open in 2023 and 2024 respectively and mark the planned expansion of the Courtyard by Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton brands in Australia.

“These latest signings reflect Marriott International's strong commitment to the travel and tourism industry here in Australia.

During these unprecedented times, our ongoing goal remains to grow our business and to strengthen our offering in this region,” said Richard Crawford, Senior Director of Hotel Development, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, Marriott International.

“With these signings in Auburn and Blacktown, we are doing just that, and strategically expanding our footprint into growth corridors outside Australia's metropolitan areas.

“Auburn and Blacktown are rapidly growing communities, with a range of demand drivers for visitor accommodation. Marriott International is therefore pleased to collaborate with T1 Constructions to deliver what will be outstanding developments as we move into this exciting new phase of our expansion.”

Courtyard by Marriott Sydney, Auburn is planned to be located at 93 St Hilliers Road, Auburn, close to the Parramatta River, Sydney Olympic park and at the gateway to SouthWest Sydney sights, including the Royal National Park and the beaches of the South Coast.

Each of the hotel's 203 guestrooms will be well-appointed, and guests will have access to a range of amenities, including an outdoor pool with a sun deck, and a modern fitness centre complete with sauna and steam rooms.

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Courtyard by Marriott Sydney, Auburn

Signature amenities It will also feature several of the Courtyard

by Marriott brand's signature amenities: The Bistro, an all-day, fast-casual restaurant featuring live stations, a collaborative lobby lounge space, for guests to unwind, relax and socialise as they please and the 24/7 Market – a grab and go café serving bakery items and pastries.

For meeting and event planners or those travelling on business, 370 square metres of meeting and event space will be included to accommodate intimate meetings or larger conferences.

Courtyard by Marriott Sydney, Auburn will feature stylish and functional design through-

Four Points by Sheraton, Blacktown

out, delivering a modern environment for guests to work or relax.

Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Blacktown is planned to be located at 17-21 First Avenue, Blacktown, providing easy access to downtown Blacktown, to attractions including the iconic Blue Mountains, the new Sydney Zoo, Raging Waters Sydney water park and to the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.

In addition to 206 comfortable guestrooms, the hotel will feature an all-day dining venue, a grab and go café featuring coffee and pastries and a lobby lounge space to kick back and relax over a local craft beer.

An outdoor pool and spa and modern fit-

ness centre featuring a sauna and steam rooms will help active guests maintain balance while on the road.

“We're thrilled to expand the Courtyard

by Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton brands here in Australia.

Both properties will also join the global Courtyard by Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton portfolios.

Courtyard by Marriott operates 1,213 hotels worldwide, and it has been an industry leader in business and leisure travel for the past 35 years, providing the best hotel experience to support its guests' personal and professional endeavours.

FEEL AT HOME AT QUEST PENRITH Ideally located in the regional hub of Penrith, Quest Penrith brings a new standard of accommodation to Western Sydney for the short and long stay traveller.

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News Story Cover

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Above: Drone view of the new hospital (left building) and the heli pad at the new facility.

West’s newest hospital finished W ESTERN Sydney will soon have more world-class health services right on their doorstep, with construction now complete on the Westmead Health Precinct’s new Central Acute Services Building.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new state-of-the-art hospital building, which includes two new emergency departments and more than 300 patient rooms, is the centrepiece of the $1B-plus Westmead Redevelopment.

“Major construction has finished three months ahead of schedule, meaning this cutting-edge building will bring additional health services to Western Sydney at a critical time.” Ms Berejiklian said.

“This redevelopment will help ensure our health system continues to provide high-quality healthcare, research and education facilities for decades to come, as well as ensuring the system can deal with potential surges in COVID-19 cases.”

The NSW Government is actively planning for a range of options to expand physical and resource capacity of health facilities and areas for self-isolation due to COVID-19.

Due to construction finishing early, the Central Acute Services Building has the capacity to provide hundreds of beds to care for COVID-19 patients, should the need arise.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said that once up and running, the new facility will not only transform healthcare in Western Sydney but will provide a centre for ground-breaking health research to benefit every Australian.

“Our health experts will be working alongside top medical and scientific researchers in this new 14-storey hub, which embeds staff from The University of Sydney, and includes research, education and training facilities,” Mr Hazzard said.

The Central Acute Services Building is a collaboration between Westmead Hospital, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, the University of Sydney and Health Infrastructure.

In the coming months, work will be carried out to complete equipment installation and other preparations for the opening and staged move of services and staff.

The NSW Government has also committed an additional $619M for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Stage 2.

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State-of-the-art features Once fully operational, key features of the new building will include: • Two new emergency departments — one for adults and one for children; • Digital operating theatres; • Expanded imaging, pharmacy and logistics; • More than 300 patient rooms (a high proportion of single rooms with dedicated carer zones);

• More spaces with natural light; • Landscaped entry plaza and forecourt; • Education, training and research facilities on every floor; • 1.5 floors for the University of Sydney to enable greater integration of education, research and health services delivery.

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

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Keneally, Pilger speak up for heritage “We have a mountain to climb and we’d better start climbing it now,” he said.

He echoed Keneally’s sentiments that heritage shows us where we have come from and who we are as Australians.

Ms Owens said some of the $1.5B slated for the controversial move of the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta should be spent on the Factory and precinct.

 DI BARTOK UTHOR Tom Keneally and journalist/ film-maker John Pilger were happy to lend their kudos to the ongoing battle to have Parramatta’s Female Factory added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, at a gathering on the site just before International Women’s Day. The event, attended by a couple of hundred people, was to hand over 10,000 petitions to Parramatta Federal MP Julie Owens, who will present them to Parliament.

It continues Ms Owens’ long fight to support the World Heritage listing that will protect the Fleet St site from development.

The fight has been led largely by Friends of the Female Factory’s Gay Hendrikson, who, with her supporters, has had no trouble engaging luminaries such as Keneally and Pilger, and “green ban’ champion Jack Mundey, to speak up for heritage.

Meg Keneally, an author like her father, also spoke at the event.

Keneally said that “without heritage, we are a people stripped of our imagination”.

He spoke of the Factory as “a place of wails, of crying” where women, considered the lowest of the low, had found their humanity.

A

About the Female Factory

John Pilger.

Keneally said the site was “important to the world, not just Australia”.

His daughter Meg pointed out that her great great grandmother Mary Shields was a convict at the factory, transported from Limerick in Ireland for stealing clothing.

Pilger’s great great great grandmother Mary Palmer was at the Factory in 1823, at 16 and pregnant.

The renowned journalist and film-maker bemoaned the fact that “politically, the opposition to heritage is enormous”.

THE Female Factory, located in what is known as the Fleet Street Heritage Precinct in Parramatta, was built by convict architect Francis Greenway in 1818 to house female convicts.

Up until 1848, it housed about 5000 women. The Factory was the place officers and freed convict men would visit when looking for a wife. Some also went into domestic service.

In 1827, it became the first site of female worker insurrection with a breakout.

Hyde Park Barracks, of the same historical significance, has World Heritage status while the Female Factory does not.

It has had plenty of uses over the years, including being part of Cumberland Hospital.

The NSW government has been eyeing of the site for a university campus, with surrounding residential development.

Airport link to 2020 manufacturing expo  RED DWYER ESTERN Sydney will host the inaugural exposition of the advanced manufacturing sector while drawing attention to the potential opportunities surrounding the second airport.

“I want Western Sydney to be the advanced manufacturing capital of the region,” said Premier Gladys Berejiklian when outlining the government’s vision in the NSW

W

Advanced Manufacturing Development Strategy.

“The Advanced Manufacturing Expo, at the Sydney Showground, ensures manufacturers and industrial SMEs based in Western Sydney are only a short distance away, with the region continuing to grow as a focal point for investment and growth in NSW”, said Jono Whyman, exhibition director, of Reed Exhibitions Australia.

The Western Sydney Aerotropolis was under development and would be a hub for

advanced manufacturing he said echoing the Premier’s vision.

The government’s strategy document said Western Sydney was fast becoming a major focal point for investment and was seen as an important source of growth and innovation in NSW. The region was home to a large number of SMEs that produce highly innovative products, export globally and were keen to transform their business processes Many of the disruptive technologies of

Industry 4.0 were driven by small innovative companies such as those in Western Sydney.

The Advanced Manufacturing Expo was developed to inspire the manufacturing industry to continue its status as a source of economic strength and innovation, and increase global competitiveness, by adopting advanced state-of-the-art technology, Jono Whyman said.

The expo, which replaces the NSW National Manufacturing Week, will be held at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, November 2020.

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Westfield Liverpool expansion approved Designed by FJMT architects, Liverpool Civic Place on Scott St will provide new public spaces, community facilities and job opportunities for residents while attracting more HOPPERS in Sydney’s third CBD will commercial investment into the city. soon be enjoying an upgraded Westfield “Complementing the Liverpool thanks to a massive significant developments in revamp of the popular centre.

Liverpool is Council’s detailed Plans for a $93M revamp at Public Domain Master Plan, Liverpool have been approved by which paves the way to a the Sydney Western City Planning greener, brighter, more vibrant Panel. and active city centre,” Mayor The new look Westfield will Waller said. provide extensive new commercial “The plan builds on our and entertainment offerings for city’s great bones and will help shoppers and businesspeople. The Council to transform Liverdesign will add to the changing pool into a city of the future.” skyline of booming CBD. The Liverpool City Centre The redevelopment will Public Domain Master Plan include nearly 10,000 sqm of Mayor Wendy Waller. is on public exhibition until A-grade office space and an 8000 Friday February 28 and the community is sqm retail, entertainment and leisure precinct. encouraged to visit www.listens.liverpool.nsw.

“The Westfield Liverpool redevelopment gov.au to have its say. will add to the retail and entertainment options for people who live, work and study in Liverpool,” Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said.

“The development will anchor the northern end of the Liverpool city centre and help to enhance our night-time economy.”

BRAVE father who conquered a mountain, a The 11-storey Westfield development is bus and coach enthusiast and a woman who one of several major projects transforming communicates using her eyes were among Liverpool’s skyline. the winners of the 2020 Stroke Foundation Anchoring the opposite end of the LiverStroke Awards. pool City Centre will be Liverpool Civic Place, The Stroke Foundation Stroke Awards a $400m mixed-use precinct being jointly derecognise the incredible stroke survivors, carers, veloped by Liverpool City Council and Built. volunteers and health professionals who continuThe proposal, currently under assessment, ally go above and beyond to make a positive will feature new Council offices, Council difference for people with stroke. chambers, an early education centre, a new Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer state-of-the-art city library, commercial and Sharon McGowan said while the Stroke Awards retail spaces, a hotel or student accommodawere not able to be presented in person this year tion building and parking.

 DALLAS SHERRINGHAM

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Artist impression of the new project.

2020 Stroke Awards winners announced

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(due to the coronavirus), there was still much to celebrate.

“The calibre and variety of the entries we received for the Stroke Awards this year from all around Australia was outstanding,’’ Ms McGowan said.

“I am in awe of the nominees, finalists and winners, who have all demonstrated such passion, dedication and selflessness to make life better for stroke survivors and their families and to reduce the burden of stroke on our community.

More than 60 Stroke Awards nominations were received in six categories: Creative, Fund-

raiser of the Year, Courage, Volunteer of the Year, President’s Achievement and Improving Life after Stroke.

Ms McGowan said some of this year’s nominees began raising awareness of stroke within weeks or months of their own experience of stroke and for some this commitment has extended for decades.

There is one stroke in Australia every nine minutes and more than 475,000 stroke survivors live in the community.

Visit ww.strokefoundation.org.au

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Stuart Ayres.

Simon Gould.

Gai Hawthorn.

Jobs boom with Nepean Business Park The investment firm behind the construction of a major new Business Park in Penrith set to create more than 18,000 jobs has reaffirmed their commitment to the project.

ENRITH MP and Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres and Penrith Mayor Ross Fowler announced the start of the Nepean Business Park project that is funded by Australian firm-Precinct Capital.

The Minister and Mayor made their announcement separately in compliance with social distancing requirements and cancellation of a planned sod-turning business and media event. This followed the formal signing of a contract with Penrith-based Baker Group to undertake stage one rehabilitation works.

Rehabilitation works on a 47ha former quarry site adjacent to the Sydney International Regatta Centre and the North Penrith employment area is expected to take 18 months to two years to complete before building construction work starts.

The project is expected to cost $613M and will generate $2B in economic activity during construction. Once operational, the Park will generate $295M in wages and contribute $500M annually to the Penrith economy. (*Figures provided by Hill PDA economic benefit analysis report).

“In these times, good news is particularly important when it comes to business and jobs creation. This is a critical project that is starting at a critical time and it’s important we record the commencement,” Precinct Capital Project Director Dylan Baudinet said.

He said the decision to move forward on the project was in response to a call to arms

by Planning Minister Rob Stokes to have a pipeline of projects ready to power NSW into recovery after the pandemic.

The business park is shovel ready but still requires planning department approvals for second and third stage works.

This would put it in line with government moves under their Planning System Acceleration Program to fast-track approvals to create opportunities for more than 30,000construction jobs across the State.

P

“

It’s going to generate jobs.

It’s going to bring private investment into the area which is critical on the back of all the capital the Government are putting in. On top of all that, it’s being done in such a way that’s protecting green space and it’s contributing to the Great River Walk as well.”

– Mayor Ross Fowler.

Great Progress Minister Stuart Ayres said he was delighted Precinct Capital was making great progress with the Nepean Business Park Project to establish the groundwork for future business and jobs creation.

“Right now–probably more than any other time in our life, we need to be looking to the future and to do so optimistically. It’s investments like the Nepean Business Park which will allow us to approach that future with confidence knowing there will be billions of dollars coming into Western Sydney.

“This is about creating more jobs closer to where people live,” the Minister said.

Penrith Mayor Ross Fowler congratulated Precinct Capital on its investment in Penrith and commitment to expand the Great River Walk as part the firm’s community benefit contribution.

“What is going to be developed out at Nepean Business Park is something exceptional. It will be a great asset for the city.

More importantly, there will be 2.2ha of open space dedicated to the city and this will form

part of the Great River Walk which is linking the city to the lakes and beyond,” Mayor Fowler said.

“We’re looking forward to the business park being completed … and looking forward to it being completed sooner rather than later because of the benefits it will give to the city both in terms of recreation but also in terms of job opportunities.”

The local business community has also reacted favourably to the start of work on the new project, with Gai Hawthorn, CEO of the Penrith CBD Corporation saying the project was a big boost for business and jobs.

“The Nepean Business Park is a great initiative locally not only economically but will help our employment status. We’re really excited for the Nepean Business Park to start especially at this time when globally things are tough.”

Penrith Valley Chamber of Commerce President Simon Gould said the chamber has “been supportive of this project right from the very beginning”.

“It’s going to generate jobs. It’s going to bring private investment into the area which is critical on the back of all the capital the Government are putting in. On top of all that, it’s being done in such a way that’s protecting green space and it’s making a contribution to the Great River Walk as well.

“This initial stage is exciting because it’s happening where we really do need to boost the confidence of local businesses.”

VISION: www.sydneywest.tv

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Family Mediation Hub offer specialised dispute resolution services for separated couples. They can assist parties to reach agreement without court. Their mediators are nationally accredited and specially trained. They offer mediations for parenting issues, property disputes, financial agreements, child support, without the long waiting periods.

Storage King Their storage solutions not only encompass secure self-storage space but also supply packaging material to protect your valuables and convenient transportation of these precious goods into our facility.

First Class Accounts Hornsby and Penrith is a full service bookkeeping corporation serving a wide range of industry types. Their services are ideal for organisations who do not have the time or background to handle accounting functions. They will visit your business and set a course of action customised to your situation.

Minuteman Press Penrith is a full-service digital print, marketing and design company who also provides document binding services.

BREAKOUT NOT OUTBREAK We know... All the Zooming has been overwhelming but the fact is, we miss seeing you! We also know that a big part of what many of you love about your membership is being able to make those face-toface acquaintances and develop those local and reciprocal relationships. And while it appears the social reigns may be loosened slightly as of this weekend, who knows how long it will be before we are allowed to gather in larger groups again.

So rather than wait, we've decided to craft a virtual version of a traditional Chamber Connect event and you're invited.

Our guest speaker, Luke Magee from Chill IT will get us ready to make the most of our virtual experience, giving us a 10 minute prezzo on webinar etiquette.

And then we will be facilitating some speednetworking-style breakout sessions, giving you a more intimate opportunity to connect.

We are even including our usual business card draw (in a completely unusual way). One lucky attendee will win a delicious $150 local food hamper from Our Penrith, generously sponsored

by Rafton Family Lawyers.

Potential benefits to networking online...

•

It doesn't matter if you have bedhead... no one can see the back of your head.

•

Pants and bra's are optional (depending on your camera angle).

•

There are no drink driving laws to adhere to, and the wine is to your taste.

•

If you're not enjoying yourself, you can pop off whenever you like and blame the "bad connection".

•

Speaking of connections... you might make some really good ones, so jump on in.

•

It's FREEEEEEE.

Please send any enquiries through to admin@penrithchamber.org.au

ABOUT The Penrith Valley Chamber of Conmmerce exists to promote and support Penrith's growing and dynamic business community. It is only through our collective efforts that we are able to drive positive outcomes for the benefit of all.

Considering membership?

Contact our Member Services Manager, Stacey Randell on (02) 4722 6969

WWW.PENRITHCHAMBER.ORG.AU WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

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News

www.wsba.com.au

Investors swoop on 7-Eleven outlets  EKIZABETH FRIAS O-CALLED mum-and-dad investors cleared out nearly a dozen of 7-Eleven fuel and retail outlets in prime locations around Western Sydney at a recent Burgess Rawson commercial property auction in Sydney and Melbourne.

Compared to other localities around Sydney, the nine 7-Eleven properties in sought after locations in Penrith, Minchinbury, Plumpton, Colyton, St Marys, Clyde, Liverpool, Toongabbie and Seven Hills sold briskly to private investors clearly confident of future good returns to their money, said Burgess Rawson principal Bill Holderhead.

“Across all nine properties, they sold for a combined total price of $39.385 million with blended yield of 4.3% compared to 4.97% yield on other properties we sold across Sydney and around NSW such as ACT and Newcastle, and that shows mum-and-dad investors have strong confidence in Western Sydney than the rest of Australia,” Mr Holderhead said.

The final price tags for each of the properties that sold instantly soon as bidding opened went way above expectations, Mr Holderhead said, citing as an example the 7-Eleven outlet in Liverpool investors snapped at $5.750M despite initially forecast to go under $5M. Just off Elizabeth Drive, this fuel and food stop offered investors a huge slice of property listed as a blue-chip freehold investment with an adjoining vacant land for potential expansion subject to the local Council’s approval.

The first Burgess Rawson auction was held in October in Melbourne for 15 properties owned by 7-Eleven, of which six were outlets in Western Sydney, and at the second event in Sydney CBD last February, three sold quickly.

All nine outlets come with new 12 year lease to 2032 plus an option for another 20 years to 2052.

In those two successful auctions that brought in nearly 400 bidders and over 1600 enquiries throughout the campaign, Burgess Rawson disposed 33 outlets owned by 7-Eleven across major cities such as Sydney, ACT, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth for a grand price of $156M. The 7-Eleven brand consists of over 700 outlets scattered around Australia.

At the time of the auction in Sydney, a bushfire was raging around NSW and other states thus Burgess Rawson generously pledged to donate $1000 for every property sold, the monies to be spread around various charities assisting affected families.

“Western Sydney now was like Brisbane five years ago when serious government infrastructure developments and investments were happening such as road duplications and widening,” Mr Holderhead said.

“We now see long-term quality infrastructures up in the Western Sydney region and in that regard, combined with population growth projections, quality residential area developments and a new international airport at Badgerys Creek, Western Sydney appeals to private property investors.

“Investors tend to always look out for good returns, and if they were prepared to purchase properties on an average yield of 4.3% for an average land site of 3,325 square metres, they have an eye for future opportunities where there are aggressive yields,” Mr Holderhead said.

“With all that pretty exciting developments happening in the region, even if 7-Eleven decide to move from the site in the future, these investors are left with a really good development site in 10 to 20 years looking at big chunks of land along near main roads with good access.”

The 7-Eleven outlets that went quickly on the auctions were: • 1 Dublin Street, Plumpton NSW, strategic corner near M7 and M2 major arteries, next to Cellarbrations Hotel, nearby two schools, prime 1,877 sqm site with 48 metre Richmond Road frontage and 36,000 vehicles passing daily. Price sold $4.475 million, 4.84% yield.

Strategic corner petrol station next door to Cellarbrations Hotel and less than a kilometre to M7 and m2 Motorways.

Fantastic highway site with five-way intersections and 95 metres frontage.

Located at the gateway to major industrial precinct and employment hub in Western Sydney.

Trophy investment property along major east-west arterial road and M4 Motorway.

Located in a street with links to main roads between Toongabbie and Seven Hills suburbs.

A steal at $3.345 million within 14 kilometres of new international airport at Badgerys Creek and booming Penrith.

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The convenient retail store at Toongabbie 7-Eleven

Situated at the gateway to Liverpool CBD, this area is forecast for 70% population growth by 2041 and a bargain at $5.750 million.

Inside the retail space at Toongabbie

Located in a suburb with forecast population increase of 135,170 new residents by 2036.

• 1042 Great Western Highway, Minchinbury NSW, trophy franchise in a highway corner site on a 6,667 sqm site with 34,000 vehicles passing daily, within the City of Blacktown with forecast population increase of 135,170 new residents by 2036. Price sold $4.999 million, 5.46% yield.

• 15-19 Aspen Street, South Penrith NSW, thriving freehold investment, significant 4,421 sqm site adjoining Dan Murphy’s and KFC, just off the prominent The Northern Road artery currently undergoing $1.6 billion road upgrade, nearby Nepean Hospital and Western Sydney University campus in Kingswood and other schools, more than 40,000 vehicles passing daily. Price sold $4.560 million, 4.19% yield.

• 95 Elizabeth Drive, Liverpool NSW, blue-chip 7-Eleven freehold, 4234 sqm including 993 sqm of vacant land for potential expansion STCA, along important arterial road with 48,000 vehicles passing daily, situated at the gateway to Liverpool CBD, area is forecast for 70% population growth by 2041. Price sold $5.750 million, average 3.82% yield.

The Penrith South 7-Eleven outlet was a strong performer at the Sydney auction.

• 104 Great Western Highway (corner Bennett Road), Colyton NSW, prime 3.521 sqm corner site with 134 sqm frontage including 1,024 sqm vacant land with 34,000 vehicles passing daily, within 14 kilometres of new international airport at Badgerys Creek and nearby booming Penrith.

Price sold $3.355 million, 4.02% average yield.

• 13 Parramatta Road (corner Harbord Road), Clyde NSW, trophy 1,499 sqm investment corner site along major east-west arterial road and M4 Motorway, with 45,000 vehicles passing daily, nearby auburn Mega Mall, Bunnings, Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Costco, McDonalds and Hungry Jacks, nearby Parramatta and Granville with forecast population of 346% by 2041. Price sold $3.925 million, 3.98% yield.

• 3 Metella Road (corner Cornelia Road), Toongabbie, Highly visible 2,030 sqm corner site fronting Cornelia Road, a key link between Toongabbie and Seven Hills, long term future residential development potential (STCA), nearby Toongabbie CBD, Train Station, Woolworths and Toongabbie Christian College within 450 metres. Price sold $2.985 million, 4.58% yield.

• 2 Christie Street (corner Forrester Road), St Marys NSW, key 3,938 sqm site on busy roundabout with 111 metres of combined frontage, opposite revamped McDonald’s, St Mary’s Leagues Club, Holiday Inn, Adventure Park and Indoor Play/ After-School Care Centre, gateway to major industrial precinct and employment hub Western Sydney. Price sold $5.010 million, yield 4.5%.

• 151 Prospect Highway (corner Station Road, Johnson Avenue and Seven Hills Road), Seven Hills NSW, high exposure 1,739 sqm highway site with five-way intersections, 95 metres frontage with 44,000 vehicles passing daily, nearby train station with 1,315 car spaces, Woolworths, Aldi, Bunnings, McDonalds, M7 and M2 Motorways, forecast population growth of 37% by 2036. Price sold $3.705 million, 3.9% yield.

For more information about upcoming auctions of Burgess Rawson properties, visit www.burgessrawson.com.au.

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

REPORT | May 2020

Corporate risk management has failed under threat of HYBRID WARFARE  MARIO BEKES EGARDLESS of the cause, corporate risk management is failing in the COVID-19 crisis and corporations need to be better prepared for Hybrid Warfare.

Hybrid Warfare is a mix of conventional and, non-conventional methods that cross political, economic and social boundaries. These methods include, misinformation, investment strategies, corporate intelligence gathering and cyber infiltrations.

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most governments and countries have seen obstacles preventing them from functioning fully, with corporations around the world suffering from immediate disruption.

Big picture thinking could have predicted the challenges created by a global virus pandemic. After all, this is the seventh coronavirus outbreak stemming from a similar part of the world.

Risk Management Frameworks are designed to expect disruptions, usually calculating risk from geostrategic, political, and economic perspectives. Corporations, however, were never prepared for a crisis like the COVID-19 and Hybrid Warfare. When Hybrid Warfare is considered by corporations, the focus is largely on cyber risk.

“By leveraging state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Chinese technology companies and partnerships with foreign partners—including Western universities—the CCP is building a massive and global data-collection ecosystem.”

Engineering global consent, The Chinese Communist Party’s data-driven power expansion.

Policy brief Report No. 21/2019Dr Samantha Hoffman pp3 China is a communist country, and its citizens are continually educated with a strong patriotic ideology. It is dangerous to underestimate a strong ideology and politically motivated citizens, who will often choose to act for the greater good of their country rather than just their organisation.

For risk managers, protecting information is paramount. Adopting creative thinking to include scenarios such as the COVID-19 pandemic and understanding how to utilise human intelligence, rather than relying on Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT), Traditional Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence, will highly benefit future corporate strategies and Risk Management Frameworks.

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Western tragedy One of the tragedies for many Western corporations is that most of the strategies for preparing and responding to major risks are publicly available for competitors to analyse.

The same cannot be said for Chinese corporations and the Chinese government in general.

Why has Corporate Risk Management failed to respond to the COVID-19 and Hybrid Warfare?

Corporations have been unable to recognise the danger and potential of Hybrid Warfare because their risk management processes were formed without a clear understanding for what Hybrid Warfare is.

The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a clear example of Hybrid Warfare and thus, the need for comprehensive risk management both now and into the future.

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

There is a massive debate and range of opinions about the COVID-19 and how the ensuing crisis has transcended social, political, and economic borders.

Certainly, national economies everywhere are reaching breaking point. Some are failing.

The reasons for the current pandemic can only be speculative and ultimately academic.

What we do know for sure, is that nations and corporations are being attacked on several fronts, including Psychological Warfare, Legal Warfare, Financial Warfare, and Cyber Warfare.

We may never know the exact truth about how and why the COVID-19 pandemic started.

History tells us pandemics are as old as time. So too is manipulation and propaganda.

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We talk about Soft Power, Economic Power and Strategic Culture. These are the three warfares and need to be included in a risk management process.”

– Mario Bekes.

Over recent months, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, has caused a global COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in the sudden isolation of a large proportion of the world’s population, thousands of deaths, and hundreds of thousands of infected individuals. These numbers are still rising rapidly.

Concurrently with this pandemic, there is ebbing fear and anxiety amongst the population. Regardless of social status, wealth, race and religion, we are all facing the possibility of infection, job loss, and adverse changes to our lifestyle. Curfews and lockdowns are now common across the world, in an effort to prevent the spread of the COVID-19.

Most governments are declaring war. This is not a typical war, that uses brute force with conventional weapons, but a war against an invisible enemy, the COVID-19.

This war requires tremendous sacrifice, both by governments and their citizens. It requires the acceptance of inevitable economic downturn and that fear from uncertainty will exist amongst the people.

It is now up to the world governments, health professionals, historians, and many others to look past the chaos of this pandemic, in an endeavour to learn how, exactly, it started.

The COVID-19 enemy and Hybrid Warfare In 1999 Colonels Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui published manifesto and translated into English with the not so accurate title “Unrestricted Warfare” (Chao Xian Zhan, literally “War Beyond Rules”) Small Wars Foundation 2010 pp 2.

In a nutshell, this book, War Beyond Rules, was adopted along with the “Peaceful Rise” doctrine by circles of Chinese officials. This prompted China to develop a model of “Three Warfares”.

This is basically explained as the reinforcement of political work for media, psychological, legal, financial, and cyber warfare elements, as well as overseas investment. Together these can be defined as Hybrid Warfare.

The world is changing every day in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments are making decisions to keep the sick alive, support the economy and provide certainty for citizens.

While Western governments are pumping billions of dollars into their economies, businesses are still suffering. This is not because of inferior products or services, but because the global and domestic markets are freezing with uncertainty.

Forecasts from economic analysts are very grim. We will all experience something new, something we were not prepared for at all.

Hybrid Warfare on the world stage is going to continue and probably increase between corporations who are looking for market dominance. In saying this, most businesses are still operating on an ‘ad-hoc’ modus operandi.

Hybrid Warfare is not new. We experience it in the form of misinformation, disinformation and the non-kinetic suppression of activities.

The lesson corporations need to learn is that a new risk management process should be implemented and activated as soon as possible, without waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to be over.

There are two simple reasons for this, certainty, and security. Particularly for employees.

They have worked hard to put businesses in the positions they were before the start of this crisis.

When we talk about a risk management process and Hybrid Warfare, it is important to

distinguish the key elements of Hybrid Warfare from traditional Warfare such as armed conflict, weaponry, guerrilla Warfare etc.

Soft Power We talk about Soft Power, Economic Power and Strategic Culture. These are the “Three Warfares” and need to be included in a risk management process, taking into consideration: • Cyber protection, which includes a corporation’s digital ‘cloud’ and looking at what country your information resides in (e.g. Titan Rain 2003, which crippled the USA and UK government agencies).

• Information Risk Management to prevent and protect from misinformation, disinformation, and theft of information.

• Geostrategic positioning of businesses and plants, suppliers, transport, and communications between all entities.

Managing your supply chain has never been more important, or complex.

• Adopting Human Intelligence analysis as part of your risk management processes with the emphasis on strategic intelligence analysis.

• Prevention of manipulation, deception, coercion, and all other elements of sabotage, subversive activities etc.

This becomes a greater challenge in times of hardship and vulnerability.

• Having an in-house, tailored PR team and War Room. Do not outsource everything.

• Reducing SOCMINT (social media intelligence) as a source of information, instead using human intelligence for data collection and as a means of managing the intelligence and counterintelligence cycle.

By incorporating these activities into their Risk Management Frameworks, corporations will be equipped to prevent public, employee and supplier mistrust in their capabilities, thus, safeguarding the confidence of all stakeholders during any crises.

The global economic landscape is likely to change significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Forward-thinking corporations need to act now to ensure they are part of the future and not consigned to the past.

Mario Bekes is managing director of the Insight Intelligence Group. He is an intelligence and investigative professional, with a wide range of experience spanning military and civil intelligence in Europe and Australia. To find out more visit: www.insightintelligence. com.au and www.mariobekes.com.au

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Coronavirus Report

Businesses provide essential supplies VER 1,800 businesses from across NSW have answered the government’s call for locals to fill the medical supply chain, helping stabilise stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) urgently needed in the fight against COVID-19.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the government had engaged with more than 1,600 businesses so far and ordered critical items including face masks and shields, hand sanitiser, disinfectants, gloves, surgical gowns and paper products through the Emergency Supplies portal.

"We’ve received an overwhelming response to our call for assistance to meet demand for these key protective products, which prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“I’m proud so many local suppliers and manufacturers have acted quickly to source or produce equipment that protects our emergency and frontline medical workers serving our community in this time of urgent need.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Industry and Trade John Barilaro said 20 per cent of the businesses listed on the portal are from regional NSW. “We know businesses in regional NSW are struggling, having dealt with drought, bushfires and now COVID-19,” Mr Barilaro said.

“However, people in the bush are resilient and resourceful and that’s never been more evident than now as companies re-purpose their product line to provide medical and

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cleaning products, to help during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Small businesses are the backbone of regional towns, providing employment and services and it’s great to see them reskilling their workforce during the COVID-19 crisis, keeping locals employed and dollars flowing.”

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said a team from across Government had been working to contact over 1,800 businesses who had registered on the portal, assessing their capability to meet strict Therapeutic Goods Administration standards.

“Less than a month ago we faced a global shortage of PPE products, and the Premier and I issued our call for businesses to step up and help meet this urgent challenge,” Mr Ayres said.

“Today, thanks in part to their efforts, we’re confident our requirements can be met in the medium term. We have identified hundreds of new suppliers of these critical products through this process and it has shone a light on the tremendous capability and resourcefulness of NSW companies.”

“We know that local governments, businesses and industry also rely on access to this

Beauticians get green light for retail ITH Mother’s Day coming, thousands of small businesses offering beauty and personal care products can now open their doors for retail sales only after a partial easing of public health orders.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Government decision will allow spas, nail salons, beauty salons, waxing salons and tanning salons ordered shut to now open their doors, but only to sell goods and gift vouchers.

“As we head towards Mother’s Day, this exemption will give smaller businesses a boost as it puts them on an even footing with larger retailers already selling beauty and personal care goods,” Mr Hazzard said.

“For small business owners in rural and regional areas, the pre Mother’s Day sale is a

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big part of their annual profits and will help those who are already doing it tough due to drought and bushfires. It means they can put their ‘open’ sign in windows again.”

Case numbers have fallen steadily across NSW thanks to widespread testing, strict quarantine measures and general adherence to social distancing restrictions.

“This exemption signals a positive step NSW is taking towards relaxing restrictions under the public health orders but will still require observance of the four square metre rule.

“In-store activity will be restricted to retail sales only, including collecting goods brought online or over the phone, with customers urged to spend minimal time collecting their purchase. Services like waxing, manicures and tanning are not permitted.

“We know this is a small concession for these businesses but hopefully if COVID-19 cases remain low, further allowances can be made in the future.

“To ensure the safety of customers and other staff, the operator of the business must ensure that any person who is unwell must not work in the business. Further, they must practise good hygiene and have hand sanitiser available.”

The NSW Government has already injected $750M into the Small Business Support Fund as a third wave of support measures to keep small business afloat.

It follows assistance packages to support NSW business including $5B in payroll tax waivers and other tax deferrals and $1B towards jobs creation.

Pubs, bars, hotels post COVID-19 HE NSW Government is inviting community feedback on the second stage of its 24-hour economy liquor law reforms, which propose a host of changes to kick start Sydney’s night time economy post COVID-19 and beyond.

The draft Liquor Amendment (24-hour Economy) Bill 2020 aims to create a vibrant and safe 24-hour economy, with risk-based liquor laws that support business.

Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello and Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the proposals follow on from the Government’s response to NSW Parliament’s Joint Select Committee on Sydney’s night time economy.

“The proposals will help boost the state’s nighttime economy by removing outdated laws, simplifying licensing processes and creating a new incentives and sanctions system that rewards licence holders with a clear record,” Mr Dominello said.

“We want pubs, bars and hotels to hit the ground running on the other side, but we are mindful of how rules such as social distancing may need to be accommodated.”

Mr Ayres said the hospitality sector is a significant employer and lifeblood for many communities but has been dealt a devastating blow and brought to its knees due to COVID-19.

“COVID-19 has hit the hospitality industry hard and fast. We recognise the importance of streamlining the previously compli-

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cated legislation to make it easier for industry to get back on their feet as social distancing restrictions ease,” Mr Ayres said.

“There is now clearly a light at the end of the tunnel for our hospitality sector and this will give them hope for the future.”

Key proposals include: • A new incentives and sanctions system with ongoing fee discounts for licensed venues that maintain a clear record; • Removal of outdated live music restrictions;

• Allow small bars to offer more family friendly services to customers, by permitting minors in certain circumstances; • Reducing red tape by aligning liquor licensing and planning processes; and • Enhancing same day alcohol delivery regulations.

• Feedback must be submitted by 14 June by visiting https://www.customerservice.nsw.gov.au/consultations/laws-to-help-grow-a-24-hour-economy

important equipment for their day-to-day operation.”

To ensure businesses also have access to these critical products, the NSW Government is helping industry connect with these suppliers through the launch of a new, public COVID-19 Emergency Supplies Portal.

“We encourage industry to use this Portal to identify suppliers that can service industry needs across a range of PPE products through business-to-business transactions,” Mr Ayres said.

“Our focus will now also move towards establishing domestic supply chains and supporting local manufacturers capable of reducing our reliance on imports.”

Local governments and industry can access local PPE suppliers by visiting www.buy.nsw.gov.au and businesses can still register their interest to supply at www.nsw.gov.au.

Test results available in 24 hours IGH risk patients will now receive their COVID-19 test results within the hour, down from 24 – 48 hours, as the NSW Government deploys new rapid testing kits statewide.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kits have been in use in priority regional areas where clusters of concern were identified and will now be rolled out to 29 additional labs.

“The faster we can isolate higher risk patients and quarantine their contacts, the less likely they can unknowingly spread it to others,” Mr Hazzard said.

“On average, test results are being processed in less than 48 hours from the far corners of this vast state which is an achievement, given the issues with flights and logistics.

“Now we will have even more vital hours up our sleeve, which will allow us to speed up our contract tracing efforts to map and isolate known contacts of cases.”

NSW has among the highest testing rates in Australia and the world. Mass testing is critical to identifying cases and implementing measures to slow COVID-19.

The new, rapid PCR testing kits are presently in use in NSW Health Pathology laboratories in Broken Hill, Wagga Wagga, Orange, Coffs Harbour and Tamworth and 29 more labs across the State will commence rapid testing from next week.

NSW Health Pathology has thoroughly tested and evaluated the TGA-approved COVID-19 testing kit from the US and has secured a regular supply to meet demand.

Mr Hazzard said the technology used for the rapid COVID-19 testing kit is already in use for the testing of influenza and other respiratory viruses by NSW Health Pathology.

“These kits are in high demand globally but NSW Health Pathology is working with clinicians to ensure our most high risk patients reap the benefits,” Mr Hazzard said.

NSW Health Pathology can perform more than 8,000 tests per day within its specialist laboratories, which continues to exceed current demand.

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Coronavirus Report

More cleaners to combat COVID-19 ORE than 550 new and redeployed cleaners are boosting the State’s first line of defence against COVID-19 under the NSW Government’s $250 million cleaners’ package.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the fresh wave of cleaners had resulted in enhanced cleaning of vital public infrastructure including schools, TAFE and transport facilities.

“While these cleaners are improving hygiene across the State, this package will provide a much-needed social and economic boost across the State,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Not only will this package support jobs and businesses, importantly it will also give the public the peace of mind that the Government is ensuring our public transport and education facilities remain as clean as possible at all times.”

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the NSW Government was on track to see the equivalent of 3,000 full-time cleaners on board by the end of June.

“The thousands of jobs being generated from our stimulus package is also keeping people in jobs, and businesses in business,” Mr Perrottet said.

“We’re hiring new cleaners, increasing the hours of existing cleaners and redeploying cleaners who would otherwise have lost jobs due to the temporary closure of some public facilities.”

The funding has helped Western Sydney company VDG Services, who are sanitising

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more than 550 State Transit buses daily in the eastern suburbs, keep a dozen workers in jobs after some clients cut back on cleaning.

Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said this was one example of the Government’s package making a meaningful difference in Transport, where cleaning efforts across the network have increased by over 83,000 hours since March.

“We’ve introduced a number of new measures to ensure our transport network is as clean as possible with crews working through the night to disinfect trains, buses, metro, light

rail, ferries, depots and facilities ready for the morning commute,” Mr Constance said.

“People catching a train might see one of our flying squads get on at one station and wipe down the train before getting off at another station to get on another train to do the job again. Or those catching a ferry, might see one of our teams wiping down the Opal readers or cleaning the terminal, making sure people are protected.”

Transport for NSW has distributed approximately 185,500 litres of hand sanitiser to staff, while 300 hand sanitiser stations across all 165 stations on the Sydney Trains network

are available for customers, with the expansion to ferry wharves underway.

Thousands of personal hand sanitisers and packets of disinfectant wipes have also been distributed to staff at all train stations, bus depots, work sites and offices, including our frontline workers.

Mr Perrottet said small and medium-sized cleaning businesses could apply for supplementary Government cleaning contracts to help fight the spread of COVID-19 through a new business portal.

“We’re recruiting small and medium-sized cleaning businesses to help existing contractors with the cleaning task, with more than 50 businesses pre-qualified and able to get to work as ready-to-go teams,” Mr Perrottet said.

A compliant application takes around three days to be processed, with businesses placed on a pre-qualified list for Government agencies to engage with.

Supplementary contracts available include; • General cleaning in low risk areas, • Enhanced cleaning for COVID-19 risk reduction, • Environment cleaning of facilities after a suspected COVID-19 diagnosis, and cleaning auditing services.

More information about the NSW Government economic stimulus packages is available at www.nsw. gov.au.

Heat maps to protect communities Digital scripts to pharmacists N an Australian first, heat maps pinpointing COVID-19 cases by postcode will now show how many people have recovered from the virus, the estimated number of active local cases and number of tests completed.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the de-identified NSW Health data would help inform the community about COVID-19 testing and recovery rates across the state.

“NSW has one of the highest COVID-19 testing rates in the world. We have tested more than 200,000 people and have capacity to test more than 110,000 in a fortnight,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“This new way of showing NSW Health data will help communities understand the numbers of people being tested, and encourage more people with symptoms to come forward for testing when they see the impact COVID-19 is having on their local area.

“It also provides encouraging data showing how people are bouncing back from the virus.”

Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the heat maps build on the ransparency of existing data and will help the

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community stay informed.

“Providing these heat maps to the public makes NSW a leader in the delivery of live information about COVID-19,” Mr Dominello said.

“At this point in time, it shows the community is rising to the challenge and doing the right thing by our State.”

This data reveals the positive effect of the NSW Government’s communication and testing efforts focussed on hot-spot clusters.

For instance, in Liverpool there was less than 1,000 tests a month ago but that has climbed to more than 2,600 at recent count.

In Orange, where confirmed cases reached 10, NSW Health has tested more than a thousand people which has helped slow any increase in cases.

The tool provides a colour representation of the total cumulative cases across postcodes.

The darker shades indicate the most cases.

The heat map can be accessed at: https://www.nsw. gov.au/covid-19/find-facts-about-covid-19 and for further COVID-19 information visit www.nsw.gov.au.

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OCTORS can prescribe medicines via email or fax from April 17, making it more convenient for patients to access medications from their pharmacists during the COVID-19 crisis.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said under the NSW Government changes announced today GPs and nurse practitioners will be able to send a digital image of the prescription.

“These changes are designed to make accessing your medications easier and safer, particularly for those in the community with chronic conditions,” Mr Hazzard said.

“It ensures people with compromised immune systems will not need to go to the doctor’s surgery in person and can get their script entirely through a telehealth appointment.”

Only allowing scripts to be sent by email or fax rather than via text to a pharmacist, will stop potential prescription forgery and diversion to the criminal supply chain.

The regulation amendment follows other recent changes including the strengthening of laws against people who spit or cough on health workers, including pharmacy staff.

President of the Pharmacy Guild of NSW, David Heffernan, said the new $5,000 fines send a clear message that frontline healthcare workers should be treated with respect.

“Community pharmacists and their staff are working tirelessly to put patients’ needs first, often under stressful conditions and we will be here until the end,” Mr Heffernan said.

NSW Health is also addressing the availability of prescription and over-the-counter medicines by introducing limits to ensure equitable access. Pharmacists are also able to dispense certain medications without a prescription and can stay open 24/7.

Families can also take advantage of an initiative announced earlier this year, enabling pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to anyone over 10 years of age.

Support package for Liverpool community IVERPOOL City Council has unveiled a comprehensive resilience package to support members of the community and businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have entered unprecedented times and Liverpool City Council will continue to do all that it can to support those doing it tough,” Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said.

“Close to 20 initiatives, ranging across community support, local economy, rates, fees and charges and advocacy, were adopted at an Extraordinary Council Meeting last night.”

The wider community will benefit from: • Continued access to Council’s online services and free event programming; • An amendment to our hardship provisions to allow residents, business and farmland properties to apply to delay rate payments; • Suspension of debt recovery actions until further notice; • Refunds or credits to hirers of community facilities; • Support for the most disadvantaged

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

• • • • • • • • •

members of the community, including rough sleepers; and Parking officers will apply discretion when issuing infringements, while protecting public health and safety.

Key initiatives to support businesses and workers include: A grants program for heavily impacted businesses; Suspension of health inspection fees and the refund of any fees paid since 1 April 2020; Free rent for most retail and small tenants of Council-owned properties for a period of six months; A free parking permit system to support essential workers and local businesses that continue to trade; Development of a business to consumer program in response to disrupted supply chains; An option for developers to defer up to 50 per cent of Section 7.11 payments; Hosting business resilience webinars and providing access to learning tools;

• Skills development support for those who have become unemployed or redeployed; and • Ramping up the #LoveLivo support local campaign.

"We are working to ensure our community is supported and we can get through this difficult time together. We are focussing on measures to keep businesses going, people in jobs and ensuring community members receive financial assistance to get through to the other side,” Mayor Waller said.

“In line with the direction from the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, we'll fast track certain Development Applications to stimulate the regional economy and keep people working.

“We will also seek funding from the NSW Government for a package of shovel-ready capital works projects which will support the arts and cultural sector, improve community services and public amenity through muchneeded infrastructure.”

Mayor Waller also reiterated her call for the community to support one another.

“During this challenging time, I ask com-

munity members to be kind and look out for one another,” Mayor Waller said.

“Please help keep small businesses going by purchasing goods, services or gift cards from local stores online, or order takeaway from one of our many fantastic restaurants and cafes.

“Small businesses still open are encouraged to complete the relevant form on Council’s website and we’ll add them to our ‘Open for Business’ directory that will be promoted to the community. Businesses and the community are also encouraged to use #LoveLivo on social media to help spread the local love.”

Council has previously announced a host of measures to support those impacted by COVID-19, such as waiving outdoor café permit fees, making parking spaces available for essential workers, supporting the homeless and vulnerable through access to Council facilities and running a free webinar series to get local businesses online.

For up-to-date information on Council’s response to coronavirus, visit www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/coronavirus.

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Coronavirus Report

Backyard and home photography projects  SEBASTIAN GIANTA OR photographers and creative minded individuals who find inspiration and motivation in the outside world, our current circumstances can pose a challenge.

But there are ways to cope and get your creative juices flowing.

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The DIY Photobook These days, you can create top-notch photobooks online with apps and tools like Blurb, Motif Photos, and more. If you have the time (and a printer) you can also make a book from your old favourite prints that have been in that box for years. Design your pages using an app like InDesign, print your images and bind them.

Also Skillshare has several bookbinding classes to help you get started.

The Food Shoot Cooking is a well-known stress reliever, and the current pandemic is encouraging more of us to make do with what we have in our pantries with simple and staple ingredients.

If you are experimenting with new recipes, use it as an incentive to bring out that camera or phone and you do not have to be a great chef or photographer.

Keep in mind that, depending on the food, you might want to photograph it before it’s completely cooked to keep that vibrant colour.

Consider using natural light such as window light or take your dish out side. Even look at creating a time-lapse as you are preparing your masterpiece. Most phones have that feature now.

Also think about how you can play around with various angles and set-ups.

Images by SEBASTIAN GIANTA.

The Macro Shoot Now is the time for small and close-up things, and perhaps there’s no better way to embrace that than shooting with a macro lens or a homemade macro system.

You can work with any subject you choose, from smoke to soap bubbles, insects to plants.

If you don’t have a macro lens, you can “hack” it by putting a manual lens on your camera in reverse, using extension tubes and electrical tape to hold it in place. See sample of the photos attached.

The Self-Portrait We all take selfies, but there’s something to be said for the old-fashioned self-portrait.

Taking photos of ourselves can inspire introspection and deepen our understanding of our goals, worries and desires.

There are no specific rules for this. You can use a document-style approach and chronicle your daily routine at home, black and white, think about your background or you can shoot some cinematic tableaux using coloured gels, long exposure or double exposure. You can play a character and dress up or may be think about how you can improve your new LinkedIn profile photo.

Alternatively, you can also bring in a prism or experiment with bending light, reflections of water or mirror.

The Pet Portrait As far as we know, there aren’t any “meaningful signs” that pets can get or spread COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean that your pet isn’t in need of a little extra care during this difficult time.

Like humans, animals can become stressed or depressed when stuck indoors, and The New York Times recently published a great story on keeping them enriched right now.

In between playing puzzle games, plan a photoshoot both you and your pet will enjoy.

The key is to make it fun and pleasant for the animal, so bring out some toys and treats and use it as a bonding experience.

You can roll out that seamless background

for more formal portraits or document them as they go about their daily routines. If you have a fish tank or lizard you may want to create a time-lapse of their activity. Most smart phones now have a time lapse feature.

Conclusion Use this time to think about how you can leverage your skills to help others through this difficult period, in small ways and large.

That can mean offering a discount on your products or giving something away on Instagram.

It can mean creating a blog post full of tips for other artists. It could mean posting a photo every day that makes you smile, or maybe it

means sharing information about how people can donate supplies to local hospitals.

Get creative, and find ways to connect with the larger community, without in-person interactions; with a little ingenuity, shelteringin-place doesn’t have to be something we do alone.

We’d love to see what you’re shooting during this period, so feel free to tag us on Instagram at @sgphotographics and ACCESS NEWS (ADD social media) If you tackle one of these projects, let us know how it goes!

Sebastian Giunta is a photographer in lock down.

Source photoshelter.com. www.sgphotographics.com

Keeping fit at home with sports stars

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HE NSW Government and top athletes from the NSW Institute of Sport are encouraging communities to keep fit, healthy and active during the COVID-19 pandemic.

High Performance at Home is a free online resource which takes the best expertise and sporting knowledge to create online exercises for everyday families.

Acting Minister for Sport Geoff Lee said daily exercise and stretching can help us look after our physical and mental health during this pandemic.

“NSWIS is renowned for their world class training programs which they apply to hundreds of elite athletes on a daily basis and now we can all train like our stars,” Mr Lee said.

“It’s fantastic to see these training tips from our NSWIS experts helping everyone at home with their nutrition, flexibility, strength and fitness.”

Four-time world champion track cyclist Kaarle McCulloch who qualified for the postponed Tokyo Olympics said High Performance at Home is a brilliant resource.

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“As NSWIS athletes, we are able to benefit from the best day-to-day advice and training programs to prepare us to compete at the top,” Miss McCulloch said.

“I’m thrilled the Institute has been able to offer this free advice to help support and educate the community on various ways to remain healthy over the coming months.”

McCulloch has joined fellow NSWIS athletes including Jess Fox, Melissa Wu and Ellie Cole in providing home video of their training drills and skills.

The NSW Government has also launched its Staying Active resource page to provide information on activities to entertain families, as well as sports and fitness tips for kids, seniors and people with disability.

NSWIS High Performance at Home: www.nswis.com.au/highperformanceathome Office of Sport Staying Active: www.sport.nsw.gov.au/ staying-active WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Coronavirus Report

Coronavirus raises many legal issues  STEVEN BROWN HE pandemic has led to Government banning groups of more than 100 people inside premises and banning groups of 500 or more congregating in public. We wait to see what is next.

The ACCC has issued Notices to Inform Consumers and Business about this extraordinary situation. See https://www.accc.gov.au/ consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/covid-19-coronavirus-information-for-consumers We look at the issues under the following headings.

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Contracts The coronavirus pandemic might affect your business by: • You not receiving raw materials that you need to perform your contracts; • You or your employees cannot work because of the coronavirus; • Planned events are cancelled; and or • Your ability to get from one place to another is stopped.

The general legal principle is that if you promise to do something and you have underestimated the cost that is no excuse.

There is no general rule that an interruption to your business excuses you from performing your contractual obligation. Events that cause your performance under a contract to be: a. inconvenient; b. more difficult; or c. more expensive; do not excuse you from having to perform your obligations.

The possible situations where the coronavirus pandemic can interrupt your ability to perform a contract and excuse you. The cases are: If the purpose of the contract is "frustrated".

If the coronavirus is an event that covered by a force majeure clause in your contract.

If the contract contains a hardship clause.

If the Australian Consumer Law unfair contract terms regime applies.

Frustration Frustration arises when a contract: 1. Because of a supervening event; 2. That is beyond the control and foresight of the parties; 3. Causes the performance of the promise of the contract to be impossible.

Frustration comes in various forms: Impossibility – a prime example is Taylor v Caldwell (1863). The Surrey Gardens and Music Hall was hired "for the purpose of giving four grand concerts". Six days before the first concert, the hall burnt to the ground. The Court held that the contract was discharged because its subject matter had been destroyed.

Frustration of purpose – frustration of purpose relates to the recipient of goods or services. It applies when a supervening event has so reduced the value of the contract to him that he should no longer be bound to it. An example is Krell v Henry (1903).

A contract for the hire of a flat to view the coronation of King Edward VII. When the coronation procession was postponed due to the illness of the King, the Court held that the day hire of the flat was reduced to such little value that it ought to be discharged. The hirer was only paying the exorbitant price to see the procession. In the absence of the procession, the hire should be discharged.

A contract is not frustrated if the event is one for which express provision has been made for it in the contract: (See force majeure, below). Nor is a contract frustrated because it has become a very bad bargain for one party or the other.

When a contract is frustrated, the contract is automatically at an end. You and the other party can enter into a new contract: But the frustrated contract is discharged. As a general rule, losses "lie where they fall" and there is no recoverability against either party.

Frustration is extremely difficult to establish.

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Force Majeure

Hardship

Force majeure clauses are creatures of contract. Force majeure clauses deal with the release (or suspension) of contractual obligations upon the occurrence of certain events beyond the reasonable control of the parties.

A force majeure clause can operate if the event does not frustrate the contract. Depending on how the force majeure reads, parties can invoke the clause where frustration would not apply.

Force Majeure is a term in a contract. It discharges the parties from their obligation to perform their contractual duties.

It permits a party to the contract to be released from their obligation to perform the contract, sometimes permanently, sometimes only for the duration of the force majeure event, if an agreed event beyond that party's control (the force majeure event) occurs.

A force majeure event is one which: • Is beyond of the control of the party relying on the force majeure clause; and; • Could not have been prevented by the party relying on the clause taking reasonable steps to prevent the event from occurring.

A well-drafted force majeure consists of a non-exhaustive list of events that trigger a party seeking to suspend their obligations.

Some also have a generic 'catch-all' wording (e.g. "events beyond the reasonable control of the parties"). Force majeure clause that have the catch-all are like hardship clauses and have the same issue of uncertainty that stops them being used.

Items in the non-exhaustive list of triggers would include, things like: • act(s) of God; • Government action or bans; • industrial action; and • supply chain problems.

How does this work? If you have no employees or you cannot work because they and or you are at home ill with the coronavirus.

You will not be able to fullfill your contracts.

But as seen the fact you are ill is not an excuse.

Without a force majeure clause you cannot suspend your performance of the contract.

However, if your contract has a force majeure clause that contains an act of God or Government action trigger then: The Governments banning of people congregating could if Government action is a trigger of a force Majeure clause be used to enliven the suspension provisions of such a clause.

Similarly, if there is an act of God trigger, the courts may be convinced that the pandemic satisfies this criteria to enlive a force majeure clause to suspend you from having to comply with your contract.

Hardship is another creature of contract.

Usually, a hardship clause will apply to both parties.

Hardship clauses are uncertain. As parties dislike uncertainty in their arrangements, hardship clauses are rarely inserted. The issue is in determining what is meant by "hardship".

If your contract is one of the rare ones, you may be able to rely upon the hardship clause.

Unfair Contract Terms The Australian Consumer Law contains provisions that allow courts to remove, and rewrite contracts that include unfair contract terms. It may be possible that a contract that is sought to be enforced whilst you are suffering from a business interruption caused by the pandemic, may be relieved under the Unfair Contract Term regime in the Australian Consumer Law. The form and degree of relief, if any, would be determined case by case.

Work, health and safety Under most State and Territory work, health and safety legislation a person in control of a business undertaking must look after the health and safety of those working and entering the premises. Having regard to the pandemic, preventing people from working together or not maintaining social distancing could be a problem for business owners.

While this is an issue, if an employee is stricken by Covid 19 it is not something they could claim workers compensation about.

Employers do not have to engage casual employees or contractors. Employers can dispense with their services as and when not needed. To a lesser extent this applies to permanent part time employees.

The extent to which it applies will depend on the terms of the employment contract the employer has with these class of employee.

Employers greatest challenge is with permanent employees. Unless an award or the employees employment contract has specific provisions that allow the employer to stand down permanent employees when there is no work, the general rule is that employers must pay employees even if the employer cannot gainfully use them.

The Fair Work Act does have a provision for employers to apply to have employees stooddown where the is a "stoppage of work for any cause". The coronavirus pandemic might satisfy this.

As yet I am unaware of any application to stand down employees, but by the time you read this, in such fast-changing times, this

may have happened. All I can say is that the door could be opened. Whether a court will open, it needs to be seen.

If you do not wish to pay the costs and take the risk of exploratory court action, you can consider: 1. Using sick leave entitlements to pay employees; 2. Have employees agree to take holidays during any closure; 3. Have employees agree to take unpaid leave; 4. Have your employees work from home and continue to pay them; or 5. Continue paying their salary whether they are at work or home while the pandemic subsists.

Government Powers The Federal Government has powers to prevent people from entering the Country under the Biosecurity Act 2015.

State Governments have broad powers to deal with people congregating, leaving or staying in their homes and indeed basically complete power to restrict people in any way they see fit to protect the welfare of a State.

Currently, there are no restrictions on the number of goods a person can buy at any time. Nor are there any laws as to what price a good or the amount of products can be sold at. Unless and until such laws are passed, businesses are free to determine to whom they sell, how much is sold and at what price.

Let us hope this situation continues, and laws are not needed to control the panic buying that we are experiencing because of the pandemic of CoVid 19.

Take Away Points The pandemic may not be enough to excuse you from fulfilling your contractual obligations. The general rule is that you must perform as promised.

If you are suffering business interruptions get your contracts reviewed.

Consider what amendments you may need to your existing contracts. Do you have a force majeure clause? Is it adequate? Should you have a force majeure or hardship clause inserted into your contracts.

Start discussions with your employees about how you and they will act should the situation worsen.

Consider your work, health and safety issues of the pandemic in your workplace for you, your employees and invitees.

Steven Brown is Chairman at Etienne Lawyer. Visit www.etiennelaw.com.au

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Blacktown Local Business Awards

www.thelocalbusinessawards.com.au

2019 winners.

Local Business Awards to proceed  CHRIS JAMGOTCHIAN HIS year’s Blacktown City Local Business Awards program will go ahead despite the current COVID-19 health crisis.

Precedent Productions Managing Director Steve Loe, said the program would proceed on schedule, with the only change being the delay of the presentation evening until the end of the year.

“I have no doubt everyone is experiencing the stress of uncertainty during this unprecedented and challenging time,” he said.

“All of us at Precedent Productions extend our thoughts to those of you who are doing it tough”.

“Now, more than ever, small businesses and their staff in the Blacktown City area need the support of their community.

“These are extremely challenging times for every member of our community, and the number one priority for all of us is to listen to the regulations being put in place by government at all levels and heed the advice of our health professionals”.

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“We also need to support each other physically and emotionally in any way that we can, in particular keeping in touch with friends, neighbours and relatives (especially the elderly) via phone or email.

“Business owners and workers everywhere are naturally concerned for their health as well as their livelihoods”.

“But in more than 35 years of running the Local Business Awards I have come to learn that Australians are courageous, resilient, resourceful and community spirited people”.

“We can and we will get through this by sticking together.”

Mr Loe said the Local Business Awards had always provided a morale boost to businesses and their staff by allowing the community to show their appreciation and support for their hard work and dedication.

“The only difference is that the awards ceremony, where we announce the winners in each category, will be held at the end of the year when this crisis is, hopefullly, behind us”.

“Until then, I urge residents of the Blacktown City community to show their support for the local businesses and their workers, who deserve a boost now more than ever.”

Mr Loe thanked the Local Business awards Major sponsors; Blacktown City Council, Blacktown Workers Club, NOVA Employment and Westpoint Shopping Centre and Support Sponsors; Seven Hills Plaza, Stanhope Village, Blacktown MegaCentre, White Key Marketing, Greater Blacktown Business Chamber, BREED Business Centre and Rotary Club of Blacktown City for their continued support in what is a difficult time for businesses of all sizes.

“Their ongoing sponsorship proves their commitment to the community,” he said.

“Finally, allow me to stress that by being positive and supporting each other as local businesses we can influence how we make it through this period.

“Please make an effort to 'Shop Local, Buy Local' wherever you possibly can, and ensure a local business benefits from your trade.”

For more information about the Local Business Awards program, call Precedent Productions on 8363 3333.

02 9679 8992 20 Garling Road, Kings Park

SPECIALISING IN THE SERVICE, REPAIR, SALE WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

info@aussieforklifts.com.au www.aussieforklifts.com.au

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Blacktown Local Business Awards

www.thelocalbusinessawards.com.au

Last year's Blacktown Local Business Awards in photos

Message from Mayor Tony Bleasdale, OAM Blacktown City Council is proud to sponsor the 2020 Local Business Awards.

Blacktown is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia, with our current population of 395,000 forecast to be well over half a million residents within 15 years.

The growing size of our community provides more opportunities for our local businesses to enlarge their customer base. In turn, your energy and activity can help us grow our local economy.

Our economy is over $18 billion and based on the trading activity of nearly 25,000 businesses in our City.

'XULQJ WKHVH GLIÂżFXOW WLPHV ZH VHH WKDW LW LV SDUWLFXODUO\ LPSRUWDQW for our Council to support local businesses who are weathering the current storm and uncertainty of this pandemic.

As a result, the Blacktown City Local Business Awards is an opportunity for our community to acknowledge the great work our local businesses are doing in providing jobs, goods and services to support our City’s people.

Blacktown City blacktown.nsw.gov.au

BLACKTOWN SNAPSHOT 25,000 Registered businesses supporting

143,000 Local jobs

395,000 Population $ 18.8 billion Economy S 4.6% Average economic growth rate

COMING IN 2020 The exciting transformation of the Blacktown CBD has begun

I look forward to acknowledging these great efforts when presenting the winners of the business categories later in the year. &RQJUDWXODWLRQV WR DOO ÂżQDOLVWV LQ WKH $ZDUGV

New urban plaza

Warrick Lane Precinct redevelopment WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

ACU university campus

450+ car spaces

For more information visit blacktown.nsw.gov.au/warricklane

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2020 Blacktown City Local Business Awards Congratulations to all Finalists!

MAJOR SPONSORS

SUPPORT SPONSORS

A community program supported by

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The support of the Local Business Awards sponsors helps bring a special program for local business people to life - We thank them for this.

Media partner

2020 Blacktown City Local Business Awards Presentation Evening

COMING SOON! 22

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Women In Business

www.wsba.com.au

Shining light on lives of others  ELIZABTH FRIAS HE inspiring women who shine a light on other people’s lives were recognised at the inaugural Innate Power of Women Forum at Parramatta to mark this year’s NSW Women’s Week and International Women’s Day. This year’s focus is on women’s health, economic and social contribution and the important role women play in the community and workforce, said NSW Minister for Women Bronwyn Taylor.

Before awarding the achievers, Ms Taylor told the forum that women accounted for half the population and are the backbone in every community they live and work in “from the boardroom to building sites, fundraising to firefighting.”

“NSW Women’s Week recognises and applauds the amazing work women do whether it’s climbing the corporate ladder, volunteering at the local school or collaborating on creative projects,” Ms Taylor said.

She also urged women to “tell your stories” because “there’s more to be done” then shared her own journey as a practising nurse for cancer patients and how she formed a charity to establish an oncology unit at Cooma Hospital prior to her election as Member of the NSW Legislative Council in 2015.

Lawyer and academic, Pallavi Sinha, convened the forum and organised it in conjunction with the Community Migrant Resource Centre.

“It’s about providing a platform for bringing diverse women together so their talents can be showcased and they can be informed by unique speakers. Women are inspiring and juggle many things from managing a household or a workplace, to juggling motherhood” said Ms Sinha.

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The recipients of the 2020 NSW Women’s Week awards with former MP for Berowra and now Hornsby Shire Mayor Phillip Ruddock.

TV journalist Tracey Spicer & Tania Rhodes-Taylor; (Standing) Malini Raj & Pallavi Sinha (Photo courtesy of Harmohan Walia).

“Most women are doing many things all at the same time in a single day. They have an inner strength they can tap into, and I hope that every woman shines inside and out, today and every day.”

The first set of panel speakers was a mix of high-profile women such as TV journalist, author, and Walkley Award winner Tracey Spicer who was named 2019 NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year, Commonwealth Bank’s head of

Multicultural Community Banking Malini Raj, and University of Sydney Vice-Principal Tania Rhodes-Taylor.

One of Ms Sinha's key visions as an outcome of the forum was the creation of a working group to help improve women’s lives, such as increasing their participation, and promoting their health and well-being. Next year’s forum will be bigger and better with lots of surprises.

The awards went to deserving women who make a difference in their field of work and as volunteers in community organisa-

tions across Sydney and NSW: Violet Roumelitous – Grassroots Champion of the Year, Bindi Shah & Susan Day – Senior Champion of the Year, Mili & Susan Day – Senior Champion of the Year, Mili and Khushi Dakshin – Young Champion of the Year, Janelle Speight – Initiative of the Year, Dalya Karezi – Initiative of the Year, Khawlah Asmaa – Rural & Regional Champion of the Year Award, Lisa Harnum Foundation – Initiative of the Year Award (Group), Tamil Women’s Development Group – Initiative of the Year Award (Group).

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23

Technology Success

www.wsba.com.au

Take ADVANTAGE of the DATA security benefits of Microsoft Teams  DARRYL MCALLISTER EAM messaging platforms have become especially popular with the growth of remote workforces. This is especially true during the changes brought about by the global pandemic, which have focused on social distancing.

For businesses in Sydney and throughout Australia, this has meant the need to implement cloud communication platforms fully. They keep employees in touch with their co-workers, customers, and their workloads.

Cloud solutions also help to ensure technology success and resilient business operations during unexpected times, like the one we’re in now.

With about 13 million daily users, Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular team collaboration platforms. It incorporates realtime chat, video and audio calls, live stream conferences, and file sharing.

But did you know Teams also provides important data security benefits?

This is especially important when you have staff spread out and working from different locations. Whether you have several offices or several employees telecommuting from home, trying to instill policies for data security and compliance is challenging.

What happens when: • Files are saved to the hard drives of personal computers?

• Customer communication trails aren’t being captured in one place?

• Sensitive information is accidentally shared with unauthorized users?

• Several copies of the same confidential document are created?

We’ll go through how Teams can help with all of the above scenarios and provide benefits beyond just team communication.

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Ways that You Can Improve Information Handling with Teams Preventing data breaches and inadvertent “data leakage” requires content security poli-

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“

With about 13 million daily users, Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular team collaboration platforms.

It incorporates realtime chat, video and audio calls, live stream conferences, and file sharing.”

– Allister. cies. These include the ability to know where all your company files and communications are and secure who can access them based upon their level of sensitivity.

Here are the ways that you can deploy Microsoft Teams for document security.

#1 Know Where All Your Files & Communications Are Microsoft Teams keeps all your company communications and files in one place.

Teams connects to both OneDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft 365. The free version of Teams also includes 10 GB of team file storage and 2 GB of personal file storage per person.

Why is this important? Because it gives you a place to keep all company files and com-

munications, no matter where your employees are creating that content.

For example, when working on a sensitive Word document, employees can access and collaborate on the file within the Teams interface. There is one copy of the file that is stored in your company’s cloud storage through Teams, instead of multiple versions of the same sensitive content being saved on multiple employee computers.

This reduces the risk that the file will be compromised. It is also much more efficient and mitigates the time wasted going through file versions.

When you capture all company content in one place, you’re able to secure it. Teams enforces organization-wide two-factor authentication, single sign-on through Active Directory, and encryption of data both in transit and at rest.

Have employees save documents, emails, and all other communications within Teams.

These can include: • Documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.).

• Video/Audio calls.

• Emails (by forwarding to a Teams chat channel).

#2 Prevent Unauthorized File Sharing with Sensitivity Labels Sensitivity labels have been in force for a while in Microsoft Office applications. They allow you to tag content based upon sensitivity and then apply security policies based on those tags.

This capability is currently in roll out with Microsoft Teams. Applying sensitivity labels to Microsoft Teams sites, allows you to automatically control the information shared within that team.

By assigning a sensitivity label to your team sites as they are created in Teams, you can do the following: • Control who has access to that chat channel/team group.

• Designate whether or not that team can add guest users.

• Restrict who can access/share information within the chat channel.

• Control how team data can be accessed from unmanaged devices.

#3 Improve Compliance Using Information Barriers There are certain situations, especially in the financial, legal and HR sectors, where certain departments need to have communication restricted.

An example would be an innovation department and a sales department. You wouldn’t want an overexcited salesperson touting a new product benefit to a customer before it had been fully tested and fleshed out.

There are also areas where conflict of interest can arise. For instance, you may want to maintain the confidentiality of client information obtained by a firm’s lawyer from being accessed by another lawyer at the same firm representing a different client.

In these cases, using information barriers in Teams can provide a big benefit.

Information barriers allow you to control which groups or individuals can connect with each other within the Microsoft Teams interface.

You can restrict things like: • Ability to see each other in the platform.

• Ability to chat, message, and file share.

• Ability to screen-share during video meetings.

• Ability to share any data outside of a specific group.

Get Help Customizing Teams for Efficiency and Security By requiring your staff to communicate through Teams, then employing Information barriers and/or sensitivity labels, you can gain better control over your document and communication security.

Darryl McAllister is CEO at Netcare. NetCare can help your Sydney area business customize your Teams platform to fit your workflow and security and compliance needs. Contact us today to learn more. Call (02) 9114 9920 or reach out online.

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

WESTERN SYDNEY

Family Business

With David Pring

Welcome to KPMG Family Business feature articles.

If you would like to discuss these articles or how KPMG can help with your business please feel free to contact me on 9455 9996 or davidpring@kpmg.com.au

Welcome COVID-19: SME SURVIVAL phase one – rapid response  SARAH CAIN  PUNEET GULATI  ERIC BEERE RAPID response framework can assist private, mid-market and family businesses to navigate the coronavirus challenges.

Private, mid-market and family businesses, need to act fast, stay informed, and do whatever it takes to survive, adapt and contain the business impacts from coronavirus (COVID-19).

We believe that businesses can prepare to respond to the challenges that crises’ create through a three-phased journey: respond, rebuild and rebound. Phase one, respond, is centred around having a rapid response and it calls for businesses to focus on three things – Survive. Adapt. Contain.

In time of crisis, private, mid-market and family organisations need to focus relentlessly on the necessary short-term arrangements required to weather and survive, adapting to new operational paradigms, and containing damages.

To support your organisations ability to navigate through this phase, we have developed a Rapid Crisis Response Framework.

The framework is intended to help mid-market organisations plan their response around eight key focus areas that need immediate early attention.

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Rapid Crisis Response Framework

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

The important eight areas of focus 1. Governance COVID-19 is testing mental toughness of leaders like no other crisis has in recent memory. As private, mid-market and family businesses, you may not always have the combined subject matter expertise to test ideas, scenarios or approaches in your leadership teams – you have to lead with the capabilities you have.

Governance affects every aspect of your business, and requires an appropriate level of attention, oversight, challenge and expertise applied to the decisions being made.

Governance in times of crisis is even more challenging and requires leaders to make difficult choices, on almost an hourly basis. It’s important that you understand the strengths and limitations of your operations and organisation, and access external subject matter expertise when required.

2. Operational continuity Keeping the lights on is a priority. Private, mid-market and family businesses need to understand which part of the businesses and operations must remain operational and in what fashion. This covers areas such as your digital workplace, process changes, security and privacy, and legal and regulatory.

Alternatives to current operational processes need to be established while enabling your employees to perform their jobs regardless of their physical location. Protecting your organisation from security and privacy vulnerabilities, and understanding new regulatory

constraints is fundamental. The most effective short-term solution may not be elegant, but will often be the ‘least bad option’.

3. Human resources Private, mid-market and family businesses need to understand the options available them around their policies, mental health and WHS, benefits, payments and rewards, and workforce management during this period. There are often complicated and fast moving circumstances when managing through a crisis, and we recommend that you seek specialist advice before making important decisions that affect your teams.

While organisations make changes to the work environment – policies and procedures need to be updated to support the new ways of working. Special attention is required to maintain the metal health of the workforce, ensuring that staff have access to the right support channels.

4. Agile workplace As the workforce becomes more agile and distributed during times of crises, organisations will need to introduce mechanisms that enable their workforce to work from home while enabling accountability and performance measurement in the ‘new normal’.

Enabling the workforce from not only the people aspect but also the processes and technology aspects, will be fundamental for the short term and long term success of the organisation. A leadership team that drives cohesion and team dynamics in times of crisis, and provides remote support and clarity for employees will reap benefits of a more engaged and connected workforce on the other side of the crisis.

5. Financial risk management As liquidity and solvency challenges increase, organisations will need to revise cash flow positions, working capital management and inventory forecasts, alongside their supply and demand forecasts. Understanding how the financial stability of the organisation may be impacted and the restrictions in access to credit is essential. This can be achieved through financial stress testing, perform-

ing cost optimisation, capital planning, and accessing any government grants that may be available.

6. Supply chain and third party risks As essential services, transport, logistics and supply chain operators must continue to function throughout a crisis. Private, mid-market and family businesses need to understand supply chain risks, such as logistics shortages, sources of supply and changing delivery times among others – this can be uncovered through performing supplier criticality mapping to inform your contingency strategy.

Third party risks need to be clearly understood. For instance, many makeshift transport providers may advertise services to support the short-term surge in fulfilment. Assessing if your third parties have the appropriate skills and certification, and ensuring ethical practices will help you protect your organisation and your customers. Consider reviewing and where possible negotiating contracts. We recommend that you seek specialist advice before making decisions that could impact your company’s liabilities.

7. Communications and crisis response Providing clarity and updates to your employees, customers, suppliers and regulators (where applicable) on the steps you are undertaking to manage the crisis is fundamental – consider establishing a dedicated crisis response team to assist with this. Some strategies involve creating a baseline of information that can be shared with all stakeholders, while a targeted approach is used for engaging with different stakeholder groups separately. Ensure any information you share from external sources comes from credible and verified sources.

8. Monitoring and control Operating businesses in times of crisis, with ‘emergency’ processes, limited supply chain, distributed, and sometimes disconnected, decision makers and employees put the organisation at higher levels of risk. Organisations need to log, monitor and manage risks in a pragmatic but cohesive manner. Any operational changes and risk management changes need to be reflected in the incident response playbook. Leadership will need access to risk insights to make informed decisions.

First published by Sarah Cain, Partner, Enterprise Risk Consulting, KPMG Australia, Puneet Gulati, Director, Enterprise Risk Consulting, KPMG Australia and Eric Beere, Partner, Enterprise Risk Consulting, KPMG Australia on KPMG.com.au

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Family Business

www.wsba.com.au

COVID-19: Financial stress testing for SMEs  DALE KHOURY MPLEMENTING of financial stress testing is a proactive way for SMEs to combat the challenges caused by coronavirus.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) creates challenges for all businesses, private, mid-market and family businesses should implement financial stress testing to allow them to take a proactive approach.

Business resilience, a business’ ability to adapt to changes in circumstances and implement measures that underpin the health of operations, people and assets, is something all organisations are implementing during the coronavirus challenge. As part of this preparation, many businesses have already started their crisis management plans – but many don’t realise that financial stress testing should form part of any holistic approach to managing through times of crisis.

Scenario analysis and stress tests are not the sole domain of large businesses, SMEs should be undertaking these as well. The depth and length of this downturn is unknown, therefore it is imperative that you are as prepared and knowledgeable as possible on how to prioritise activities, where payments are directed and how stakeholders are managed. Some simple analysis can reveal the key areas of business stress and vulnerability.

Businesses need to respond with speed during any crisis – but your activities must be well thought through – you should consider engaging with your advisors to access quick to deploy diagnostic tools that preserve cash and help identify areas of focus.

I

The what and why of financial stress testing Financial stress testing is fundamentally about identifying the areas of vulnerability and weakness in a business so plans can be designed and implemented to address them in a timely and proactive manner. These plans might cover: • tactical initiatives – implemented quickly with minimal cost and disruption • operational initiatives – seeking to make longer term changes to the business’ operating model • strategic initiatives – which shift an organisation’s strategic focus and or business model.

Stress testing will allow you to determine the length of time your organisation can trade under different circumstances (and what its safety net is), and allow you to be deliberate in your crisis response rather than being rushed into an action because there is no time to consider alternatives. The benefit of time will allow your business to engage with key stakeholders (shareholders, regulators, staff and funders) and negotiate outcomes, something that becomes increasingly difficult to do once the business is in a state of distress.

Stress testing allows you to assess the impact on the financial health of your business as a result of applying greater than normal changes to key assumptions (that drive the business). Consider how changes to assumptions impact financial performance (i.e. the profit and loss), financial position (i.e. the balance sheet) and cash flow.

You can choose to apply the variation of assumptions on an isolated basis – making drastic changes to one assumption and holding the others constant (example one below); or by making changes to multiple assumptions and assessing the aggregate impact (example two below).

• Example one: dramatic and rapid decline in revenue, but maintaining normal staff and creditor payment cycles.

• Example two: dramatic and rapid decline in revenue and extended debtor collection periods.

How to undertake a stress test Financial stress testing is essentially assessing the health of a business projected into the future. To allow you to do this two things

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need to occur – building a financial model and undertaking data analysis:

1. Building a model of financial performance and cash flow Building a financial model does not need to be a complex task – it can be as simple as analysing the cash inflows and outflows, and varying the driving assumptions. There are many advantages to this ‘sources and uses of funds’ approach. It’s relatively quick and easy to establish, and can be done by people who understand cash flow, but are not necessarily trained accountants.

However if you have a larger or more complex business, you’re likely to need a more comprehensive financial model. This can be built by starting with the historic profit and loss (P&L) and balance sheet, and extending these out for a forecast period. A cash flow forecast is derived by reflecting how the movements in the P&L and balance sheet impact cash flow – this is often called a three-way model or an integrated cash flow forecast.

Using this approach means that management needs to understand and determine key performance indicators and business-specific stress indicators, so that they can be linked to the P&L, balance sheet or cash flow forecast and updated automatically as the model updates. These ratios should be prominently displayed through the model so they can be monitored as new assumptions are tested.

Important considerations when building a financial model Purpose and granularity Define the model purpose upfront, and decide on the right amount of granularity.

Key performance indicators: • Be clear on the KPIs that drive the assessment of business performance and balance sheet health.

• List KPIs so they are prevalent throughout the model.

Flags Errors should be automatically flagged, as should performance, solvency and liquidity indicators when defined triggers are reached.

Flexibility Well-built models should have the flexibility to accommodate scenario analysis and changes in assumptions without the need to re-write formulas.

Visual • Model should be easy to read and formatted for easy printing.

• Graphs and charts should be used to summarise data and drive insight development.

• Cells should be clearly identified as input, or formula or output.

2. Data analysis Few private, mid-market and family businesses have sophisticated data analytic capabilities – but there are some basic forms of data analysis that can help you identify business vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are usually determined by how significantly they impact business health when varied. The examples below generally don’t require sophisticated analytics capabilities but can be crucial in identifying a business’ potential fatal flaws: • Concentration of sales by customer or product.

• Supplier dependency.

• Pricing benchmarks and impacts of pricing changes.

• Business unit / product / customer profitability.

• Ratio of fixed costs to revenue • Percentage of non-revenue generating staff costs to revenue.

• Percentage and value of overtime/ bonuses to total wages.

• Head room in debt facilities.

• Debt facilities maturing in the near term, or on a month to month rolling basis.

• Debt instruments with conversion rights and the impacts of those conversion rights on control and capital.

• Current or forecast capex projects, and ability to defer/suspend.

Indicators of financial distress There are a number of indicators of financial distress and once you have identified these – additional assumptions can be applied through the financial model to determine the best course of action to be taken. Consider: • Breaches of debt covenant ratios – debt covenants (often restrictive) are imposed by lenders to ensure businesses retain the ability to make interest and capital payments when

due. Common ratios include debt to EBITDA, debt to equity and interest cover ratio.

• Negative operating cash flows – operating cash flows are those cash flows generated by a business’ day to day operations.

• Solvency issues – in a solvent business, total assets are greater than total liabilities. What this indicates is that the company can pay its debts when they fall due. But when liabilities are increasing and assets are static or declining, a company’s solvency position is worsening.

• Liquidity issues – a business is said to be liquid when it can settle its debts when they fall due, or it can easily convert its assets so that debts can be settled. It is measured as a ratio of current assets to current liabilities.

• Increasing working capital cycles – A working capital cycle is the number of days it takes for a company to sell its stock, collect its debtors and settle current liabilities. When debtors delay paying invoices or suppliers demand earlier payment of their invoices the working capital cycle extends (or becomes negative) and this can have a significant impact on cash.

For many of us, our immediate focus through the coronavirus is, and should be, on the safety and wellbeing of our employees. It’s important to remember your statutory obligations during this time.

The best chance for your business to achieve favourable outcomes during these unprecedented times is advance preparation.

Preparation will allow you to execute lead as planned rather than be forced to make drastic moves. Make sure you engage with all of your stakeholders early, and be well prepared for the meetings and presentations that will be coming – this will give credibility to the discussions and the logic of what is being proposed. But these early analyses of your financial position will allow you to make better decisions when embarking on a potential future cost and business model optimisation programs.

First published by Dale Khoury, Partner Enterprise Advisory, KPMG Australia on KPMG.com.au WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

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Cumberland Business

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Manufacturers Respond, Rebuild and Rebound  ANGELA HAYNES OW are manufacturers responding to COVID-19? What steps are they taking to set themselves up for a successful rebound? Cumberland Business Chamber has spoken to three Wetherill Park industrial manufacturers who are making the most of these unprecedented times.

H

Respond…

What actions and decisions did you make to in order to survive, adapt and contain?

Many manufacturers have been fortunate to maintain operations during the pandemic.

For Premier Steel Technologies, the immediate priority was business continuity.

This included informing the workforce and prioritizing health and safety, including mental well-being. Hygiene and segregation strategies were implemented such as split shifts, taking breaks in isolated areas of the premises and establishing working from home options.

In extension of their already familyfriendly workplace, earlier this year and before COVID-19, Consep Engineering Innovation had opened an in-house crèche three days a week. They found this to be very useful during COVID-19 to support workers with young families in continuing to work. Video conferencing was also widely adopted as a great way to retain personal contact in times where we need to be physically distant.

A key COVID-19 response for Fluid Power Engineering services was to have a firm handle on the finances of the company on a day to day basis. This involved working very closely with customers to meet their needs and similarly with suppliers to sure-up critical elements of the supply chain. This has allowed the business to navigate these waters and respond with open eyes.

Fluid Power Engineering Services has used COVID-19 as an opportunity to criti-

Rebuild…

How will you reimagine, reshape and re-design your business to support its rebuild? cally assess their businesses ‘in the trenches’ giving management the opportunity to understand internal processes and efficiencies. They’ve developed an ‘Efficiency Group’ to look at areas where they can cut business costs as, like many SME’s, the business is not immune to market down-turns and adverse economic conditions.

Grant Steward, Managing Director of Consep Engineering Innovation, describes how Consep has always manufactured locally and he puts great value on this. Consep is investing in their local manufacturing capability by overhauling and upgrading their Hallstrom Place facilities, together with increasing skills and people power.

Speaking of investment, General Manager of Premier Steel Technologies, David Allan recognises that a successful rebound will be enhanced by a healthy balance sheet and cash reserves that enable a business to capitalize on growth opportunities, a focus for their rebuild phase.

Rebound…

What are your ideas for reenergising, improving and innovating your business?

With Australia doing extremely well in containing the disease, manufacturers are embarking on their rebound. Following 15-20 years of products moving offshore to be manufactured, David Allan is cautiously optimistic that demand for Premier Steel Technologies locally manufactured products will increase as a result of COVID-19. He is proactive in discussions with past and current customers about sourcing local product again and is pre-

pared to diversify into non-traditional forms of manufacture if opportunities arise.

As the name suggests, Fluid Power Engineering Solutions has been built on solutions and has been embracing Industry 4.0 and IoT, the Internet of Things for some time. John Ferguson sees further innovation and development of unique propositions as core to FPES rebound strategy. He believes that it is not a time to sit quietly and FPES is increasing their external sales and marketing presence and also looking to up-skill their workforce.

For Consep, the rebound is already underway following what Grant Steward considers a privilege to have kept operating through COVID-19. Consep has identified external demand for their rubber lining capabilities, which have typically been used in-house only and soon will open up to the wider market.

They are also investing in a robot welder to drive quality and efficiency.

Consep has tenders out for major projects in the WA iron ore industry which, if successful, will fill the factory for the next 12-18 months. Their gold mining equipment has had a record quarter with sales to Russia and Saudi Arabia being particularly strong. When international borders open they look forward to servicing, installing and commissioning equipment for their global customers as well as kicking off Consep North America.

Clearly each of these Wetherill Park based manufacturers are serious about a successful rebound from COVID-19. Cumberland Business Chamber is proud to be associated with these and other Western Sydney industrial manufacturers who have been tenacious in their COVID-19 response and vigorous in their search for growth and diversification opportunities.

Angela Haynes is President of Cumberland Business Chamber. For enquiries about joining or sponsoring the Cumberland Business Chamber please contact president@cbchamber.com.au or go to www.cbchamber.com.au

Understanding and predicting the flow of money in and out of your business can help you make better decisions, plan and face the challenges of COVID-19.

Presented by Tiz Porreca, Marketing Strategist, Amongst

YOUR R MA A RK K ET T ING M A KE E OVE ER – R EVII E W, RE E VA A MP & RE E N OVA AT E

A cash flow forecast is an essential tool to make informed decisions and it can also support requests for additional funding or relief by creditors and suppliers.

May 13 @ 5:30 PM - 6:45 PM www.cbchamber.com.au/events Join us to run through the steps to create a marketing plan with a strong strategy while focusing on 5 key things to keep in mind when marketing in a time of crisis/challenge.

Changing your mindset and understanding how marketing should work is key. Build the foundation for your marketing plan so you can be proactive rather than reactive – no matter what obstacles are thrown at you.

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Free Webinar: Preparing a Cash Flow Forecast May 27 @ 5:30pm -6:45pm www.cbchamber.com.au/events

Presented by Scott Baker, Trade Finance Specialist ANZ and Angela Haynes, Head of Restructuring Services, KPMG Greater Western Sydney.

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Travel

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There is much to like about Chiang Rai LEN finds that temples, parks, museums, waterfalls, northern food and even a beach attract visitors to Chaing Rai, Thailand’s northern-most city. Many come on a day trip from larger, more well-known Chiang Mai, but that does not allow sufficient time to experience all that this city offers. It really deserves much longer than this.

AY visitors see the extraordinary big three attractions – the White Temple, the Black House, and the Blue Temple – but miss out on the history, the serenity and the character of the city.

D

The History Chiang Rai was founded in 1262 by King Mengrai as the first capital of the Lanna Thai Kingdom before he later moved his capital to Chiang Mai. Chiang Rai was subsequently conquered and occupied by the Burmese and it was not until 1786 that Chiang Rai became a Thai territory.

The spiritual heart of Chiang Rai is a lifesize monument dedicated to King Mengrai the Great. Backed by three giant golden tungs (Lanna flags), the King’s monument is a good place to understand the early history of the city.

Next visit Wat Phra Kaew which is the original site where the famous Emerald Buddha statue was enshrined. Subsequently, the Buddha was relocated to Lampang, Chiang Mai, Luang Phra Bang, Vientiane and eventually to Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) in Bangkok. Today, a jade replica of the Emerald Buddha dressed in full regal attire is housed inside the crimson, Lanna-style pavilion behind the chedi.

Wat Klang Wieng, built in 1432, houses the original city pillar shrine as well as a spectacular temple complex built in a contemporary Lanna style. The temple has ornate grillwork, roof finials and gilded decorations on its vivid red façades and is a popular photographic spot.

The Culture If you are visiting the hill-tribe villages around Chiang Rai, it’s a good idea to first drop by the Hill-Tribe’s Museum and get familiarised with their culture. The museum aims to build awareness of responsible tourism by educating visitors about Thailand’s ethnic hill-tribe communities and local etiquettes that they should observe.

The museum showcases the history, customs and traditions of the seven major tribes inhabiting the northern highlands of Thailand, and displays the colourful tribal costumes of the ethic hill-tribes.

If you want to know more, head over to the Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park. Set in a lovely landscaped lake garden is a cluster of teak structures, constructed in traditional Lanna and hill-tribe styles.

At the Oub Kham Museum you can see royal regalia and costumes and an assortment

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King Mengrai. Images: Phensri Rutledge

of rare antiques, pottery, ancient Buddha images, artefacts and tribal costumes. The collections are housed inside five exhibition rooms and a man-made cave.

Chiang Rai’s modern culture is displayed at the city’s clock tower. This is another offering from Chaloemchai Khositphiphat, the creator of the White Temple. It is best viewed in the early evening when the tower comes to life in an eight-minute light and sound show.

Traditional Thai music plays and the monument turns from gold to all the colours of the rainbow.

Other modern cultural elements are seen in the Night Bazaar, Saturday Walking Street and annual Jazz Festival.

The serenity Chiang Rai City should be all about chilling out and taking it in slowly. The city is built beside the Mae Kok and while there are a few hotels and restaurants along its banks it is largely undeveloped from a tourism point of view. To fully appreciate the beauty of the Continued on page 31

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Travel

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Continued from page 30

river, it is best to hire a long-tail boat and go for a ride.

An alternative is to rent a bicycle and take a leisurely ride around the city using the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s cycle map highlighting six routes following the river, or in surrounding districts, that visit most of the city’s popular sightseeing spots on quiet lanes.

Cycling is also popular around Singha Park on the outskirts of town. This agricultural tourist attraction has its own cycle lane around part of the extensive parkland, tea plantation and orchards. The park is a very low-key attraction spread out over a wide area but there are a few specific attractions such as a minizoo, a zip line, a restaurant, and a pizzeria.

Beyond the cycle paths, the travel experience could touch on meditation, yoga classes or a serious introduction to Buddhist teachings.

There are wellness retreats which offer vegetarian meals, meditation, yoga and Tai Chi.

The Food Thai food is a major attraction to most visitors and Chiang Rai offers plenty of variety.

Khao Soi Gai Nong, a coconut curry noodle soup with chicken leg, is a local favourite. It comes with a side serving of red onions, lime, and pickled cabbage.

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Riverside Restaurant

Hilltribe Museum

Sai Ua or Northern Thai sausage is a combination of minced pork meat, curry paste, herbs and spices which creates an explosion of flavours. Then try some Joi Yor Sod spring rolls. The pork, fresh vegetables, and rice noodles go just right with some good chili sauce.

For a special treat try the ambiance of a riverside restaurant or enjoy the action and street food at the Night Bazaar.

Getting to Chiang Rai There are many daily flights from Bangkok on several airlines which take about an hour and 15 minutes. If coming from Chiang Mai, the road trip takes about three and a half hours. The city has a wide variety of accommodation suitable for all tastes and budgets. https://www.LenRutledge.com https://www.youtube. com/channel/UCX5HUmGP1lR2aoscn3O8P2Q Feature supplied by: www.wtfmedia.com.au

Wat Phra Kaew

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Recruitment

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People will remember these times

“

Be empathetic. Remember, not being at work or working from home is challenging in its own way!

Encourage people to keep talking to each other.”

– Margot Gallagher.  MARGOT GALLAGHER IGHT now, many employers have been placed in the position of having their teams working from home, on standdown, working reduced hours, or on leave.

In spite of this – in fact, because of this it's important that you keep your employees engaged with your business, even if they're not physically present in the workplace. After all, you're going to want and need them back at work for you when all of this settles down!

There are a range of things that you can do to keep your employees engaged and "in the loop". Of course, you might already be doing this, but here are some suggestions:

R

• Send a fortnightly email to all your employees – even just to say "hi" and ask them how they are going.

• Keep employees updated about the business - inform them about how your business is performing during this time when compared to other companies, to highlight and remind them that this is a global issue and we are all in this together.

• Check if they have questions about what’s going on from a work perspective and respond to these questions promptly. And if you do not have answers to their questions, then be clear about that too.

• Be empathetic. Remember, not being at work or working from home is challenging in its own way! Encourage people to keep talking to each other. Lots of people are missing the social interaction that work provides, and will be pleased to chat with others. Perhaps consider communication/collaboration technologies such as Slack, Asana or Trello.

• Don't micromanage them – trust them, and focus on results and output, not time spent logged on. Some might take advantage of the time away and not work as hard as they could, but the majority will be keen to keep their jobs and keep doing what they have to to keep the business afloat.

• Consider sending employees little things like birthday or service anniversary cards during the period they are not at work to let them know you're thinking about them. Small gestures like this will go a long way in the long run.

• Organise a regular video catch up – this can be formal or informal. If you want to have fun with it, you could theme it –

Footy Jersey Friday, High Tea, etc. Do a quick round-the-room "what's up" catch up with everyone.

• Remind employees of support mechanisms you have in place – for example, do you have an Employee Assistance Program? Is there someone they can call if they have questions / need information / need support?

Most importantly, keep in mind that people will remember how they’re treated by you during this time – and they’ll tell others (family, friends, and so on), which can be great for – or potentially

damaging to – your business when recovery kicks in. If you want to keep them as employees, you need to look after them now.

If you need help or would like more information on managing staff during COVID-19, check out our resources page at https://bit. ly/3eWaWKL Margot Gallagher is a Senior Consultant with HR Success, who have been supporting businesses and organisations in Western Sydney for over 13 years. Visit www.hrsuccess.com.au for further information or make contact via ph. 1300 783 211 or email support@hrsuccess.com.au for assistance.

• Need help to manage staff during COVID-19?

• Are staff issues constantly distrac ng you from growing your business?

• Are compliance and staff performance worries keeping you awake at night?

• Does your team seem to lack direc on, mo va on and drive?

• Do you find it difficult to recruit and retain quality staff?

• Is running your business just not as enjoyable as it used to be?

HR Success has been providing professional, prac cal HR support for local start-ups, SMEs and larger organisa ons for in excess of 13 years, and we do so without retainers or lock-in contracts!

Our services include: • • • •

Recruitment Support Leadership, Culture & Engagement HR Risk Management Short N Sharp Training

Need help to sort out the “people stuff ” in your business?

Check out our website or give Greg or Margot a call.

www.hrsuccess.com.au ph. 1300 783 211 | support@hrsuccess.com.au

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

Health

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Improve your health by getting cold  LINDA MUSIC HE idea, that to improve your immunity you should take cold showers or swim in cold water, sounds counterintuitive, if not outright wrong.

After all, most of us grew up believing that being cold increased our chances of getting sick. But increasing evidence shows there is real benefit to gradually increasing your exposure to the cold.

But how?

Cold immersion increases the body’s metabolic rate both during, and after, the immersion. Increasing your metabolic rate plays a dual function.

Not only does it help burn a few extra calories but also activates the immune system by increasing the production of white blood cells which, you may remember from high school science, are the body’s “soldiers” in the fight against viruses and bacteria.

The benefits of cold therapy are well known in many Nordic countries, as well as in Russia, where thousands of people participate in weekly cold-water plunges during winter.

Most notable in the area of cold therapy is Wim Hof, whose program the Wim Hof Method (WHM), claims to improve your health and immune system using gradual exposure to the cold.

In 2013, a research team at Radboud University in The Netherlands set out to see if Hof could prove his claim.

Over a period of 10 days, Hof trained 12 volunteers in the WHM which included a specific breathing technique as well as gradual exposure to cold conditions. When the 10 days of training were over, the volunteers all received an injection containing E-coli bacteria.

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“

Eventually, you can increase the time of your cold shower to 10 minutes and then start including two-to-threeminute ice baths, with the aim of being able to swim in cold water in nature. “ Normally, exposing the body to this bacteria would result in the individual experiencing flu-like symptoms. However, this didn’t happen.

In fact, the volunteers showed far less signs of influenza than the control group who were not exposed to gradual cold training.

Breathing Techniques The researchers of this study concluded that the breathing techniques and cold exposure taught in the WHM had a positive impact on the immune system.

Getting cold also has other benefits. When we expose or bodies to short bursts of stress, like 5-10 minutes of cold immersion, we release a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine.

In short bursts, norepinephrine can play a role in reducing inflammation in the body.

Indeed, studies have shown that cold stress, such as short cold showers or a quick dip in the cold sea, can increase norepinephrine levels five-fold.

This increase in norepinephrine has been shown to reduce inflammatory proteins in the blood. Due to the increasing number of people claiming that cold therapy has helped them alleviate symptoms of conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, researchers are starting to explore this benefit these claims.

However, a word of warning: having too much norepinephrine can also be detrimental to your health as it increases heart rate and blood pressure.

Therefore, it is important that people with heart conditions do NOT undertake cold therapy without talking to their doctor first.

So how often should you undertake cold therapy?

The advice from Wim Hof Method advocates is to gradually increase your exposure to the cold. Certified WHM instructor, Asher Packman, recommends starting with just 10-20 seconds of cold in the middle of your normal shower and then turning back to warm again.

Eventually, you can increase the time of your cold shower to 10 minutes and then start including two-to-three-minute ice baths, with the aim of being able to swim in cold water in nature.

Cold therapy is a simple, natural, at-home measure that most healthy people can try.

It only takes a few minutes a day, doesn’t cost a thing and, if you really can’t handle it, there’s no reason why you can’t turn the tap to the left and finish your shower nice and warm.

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Creative kids expansion goes digital HE NSW Government is helping Creative Kids providers go digital in response to the COVID-19 crisis, expanding access to the popular program for kids across the State.

From today eligible Creative Kids providers will be able to access up to $5,000 in digital adaptation grants to help them offer creative learning activities online thanks to a $1M injection.

This includes purchasing equipment and internet services to help them transition online so they can provide lessons to children or young people who are at home and can’t attend workshops or classes in person.

The program’s eligible activities are also being expanded to include those which support the 2020 school curriculum, with Creative Kids providers able to supply creative supplies and equipment such as instruments, art and craft supplies and other materials to children or young people.

The changes to the program announced today by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello include: • $1M in digital adaptation grants of up to $5,000 for Creative Kids providers to further support online delivery of Creative Kids programs.

• A toolkit to help providers pivot to online delivery.

• Extension of the use of Creative Kids vouchers for online programs and educational materials.

• Improved Service NSW website to make it easier for parents to find an online provider.

Mr Perrottet said $1M in small business grants would help arts and cultural providers deliver programs remotely providing a vital economic boost for small businesses doing it

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tough and keeping kids connected to quality cultural and creative activities.

“Whether it’s school education or extracurricular activities, we want our kids to be able to maximise every opportunity. Creative Kids has been incredibly popular, and these changes will help to ensure that continues,” Mr Perrottet said.

“At times like this, adapting your business can be the key to survival. Our digital adaptation grants will flow to more businesses and sole traders in the arts and creative industries, helping to keep people in jobs and businesses in business in a sector that has been hit hard

by COVID-19.”

“They say William Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine, and we want to give our own generation of budding creative geniuses every opportunity to keep honing

the creative skills that will enrich our culture in the years ahead.”

Mr Dominello said the updated Service NSW Creative Kids webpage would list the eligible providers and help parents navigate the process.

“In a Covidian world we need to use technology to make life easier for people. That is why we are building a new online navigator that makes it simple and hassle free for parents to identify the right program for their children,” Mr Dominello said.

The Creative Kids program offers families an annual $100 voucher for every school aged child to contribute to registration, participation, and tuition costs for performing arts, visual arts, coding, languages, literature, music and other creative and cultural activities.

Applications for the Creative Kids

provider grants will open 6 May 2020. To be eligible, grant applicants must: • Be a Creative Kids Provider.

• The provider must be a small business (have fewer than 20 employees).

This also includes non-for-profit organisations.

• Clearly demonstrate adaptation and expansion of Creative Kids activities to online delivery.

• Describe how this support can maintain or increase voucher redemption during COVID-19.

• Meet the objectives of the Creative Kids program.

Find out more information including details on how to apply at www.create.nsw.gov.au

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National Awareness Day to protect from driveway danger RIVERS are reminded to look out for young children in driveways as the Georgina Josephine Foundation launches the first annual National Low Speed Vehicle Run Over Prevention Awareness Day today.

The inaugural awareness day is in memory of Georgina Josephine Cockburn who was just 15 months old when fatally injured in the driveway of her family’s home in Young, NSW, on April 16, 2011.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the day is an important reminder for everyone to take care when using driveways.

“In NSW, at least 12 children under 17 years have been killed and 27 seriously injured in driveway crashes since January 2013,” Mr Toole said.

“With more children and parents now at home adjusting to the current restrictions, it’s really important for everyone in the family to be aware of the safety risks associated with driveways, particularly for young children.”

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said low speed vehicle run over (LSRVO) crashes can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, although it is young children who are the most vulnerable.

“Peter and Emma Cockburn have fought so hard to protect other parents from experiencing the pain of losing their child in this way. We do not want to see another tragic loss like this,” Ms Cooke said.

“Families need to ensure they supervise children near vehicles and not let driveways be play areas. Children are counting on the adults in their lives to keep them safe.”

Peter Cockburn from the Georgina Josephine Foundation said their aim is to reduce

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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

“

In NSW, at least 12 children under 17 years have been killed and 27 seriously injured in driveway crashes since January 2013.” driveway deaths and injuries and develop support services for affected families.

“When we lost Georgy our lives were changed forever. There’s nothing we can do to bring her back, but we want others to learn from our experience,” Peter said.

“In these unprecedented times, we take the opportunity to highlight that out-ofroutine circumstances may lead to tragedy.

We encourage you to continue to supervise children around driveways, separate driveways from play areas and look around your vehicle to see where children are whenever you get behind the wheel.”

For driveway safety advice, tips on home design to reduce the risk of driveway hazards and more please visit: www.gjfoundation.com.au or roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au

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Marketing

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Virtual networking guide for beginners ď Ž LEANNE SHELTON AS networking always been a key part of your marketing strategy - but Covid-19 has taken this tactic away from you?

If you’re like me, you probably enjoy meeting new people. Hearing their stories.

And feeding off their enthusiastic energy.

So, what do you do when you can't build your professional connections face-to-face anymore? But still eager to grow your business?

During this somewhat quiet time in the business world, this is your opportunity to change your approach and jump into ‘virtual networking’.

There are various ways you can network online or *gasp* over the phone. Here are some suggestions to help you get started.

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Rekindle potential partnerships Have you collected piles of business cards over the past 6 months - but they remain untouched on your desk? Now is the time to act.

Reach out to those people by sending LinkedIn connection requests, calling, or emailing them. Set up Zoom chats to discuss that potential collaboration previously discussed. Better to be late than never.

Join online communities There are plenty of online groups out there on Facebook, LinkedIn, and MeetUp - and now is the time to be part of them.

Search and join groups targeting your ideal client or those focused on business in your local area. Then get involved by answering and asking questions, as well as recommending personal contacts to help others solve issues.

This interaction will increase your visibility and make your name and face known. On that

note, make sure your profile picture features a clear headshot of you.

Create your own virtual gatherings Set up a Facebook event to host your own virtual networking session via Zoom. You could have a topic in mind or make it an open discussion.

Invite energetic business owners and encourage them to invite others. During the session, provide opportunities for everyone to speak live and interact in the chat box - plus share their LinkedIn links and email addresses.

Keep an eye out for virtual interactions organised by others as well.

Go live on Facebook Don’t be scared. Show your face by doing Facebook Lives. You could provide updates on your business and life status (without over-

Improve your LinkedIn visibility

recommendations in the ‘My Network’ tab.

I recommend sending voice messages where you can - so others can get a real feel of who you really are.

Most importantly, share posts on a regular basis. These should feature a balance of longform storytelling, videos, advice, testimonials and reviews, and promotional posts.

I hope the above ideas encourage you to spring into action and ‘virtual network’ with others. You never know what opportunities lie on the horizon.

Leanne Shelton is a copywriter and content coach at Write Time Marketing. She’s also the host of the ‘Marketing & Me’ podcast.

Review your LinkedIn profile and ensure it paints a true picture of you and your business journey.

Then expand your network by creating new connections based on searches or

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leanneshelton www.writetimemarketing.com.au www.marketingandme.com.au

sharing) or share any shifts you’re currently making.

It could be awhile before people see you in person, so it’s a great way to remind people what you look like!

Seek guest opportunities Write a guest blog or put your hand up to be a podcast guest. This allows you to put yourself in front of a new audience and share your expertise and website link.

Being a guest is free to do but can be quite effective for building exposure.

POSITION VACANT Business Development / New Property Sales Consultant.

Parramatta/Hills District/Greater West We Are Growing – We are a leading New • 2SSRUWXQLW\ WR EH LQYROYHG LQ UHIHUULQJ WR Property Sales Consulting and Property RXU IHOORZ 0RUWJDJH %URNLQJ FRPSDQ\ ZLWK Strategist company.

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THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE: • $Q LQWHUHVW LQ MRLQLQJ D &XVWRPHU IRFXVHG ZRUN environment • +DYH D JUHDW RXWJRLQJ SHUVRQDOLW\ YHU\ SHUVRQDEOH VWURQJ IRFXV RQ FXVWRPHU VHUYLFH DQG LQWHJULW\ LQ WKHLU GHDOLQJV with them • '\QDPLF DQG D KXQJHU IRU VXFFHVV • 7HOHSKRQH VDOHV H[SHULHQFH LQ LQGXVWU\ RU VLPLODU LQGXVWU\ • 5HDO (VWDWH /LFHQFH RU FHUWL¿FDWH RI UHJLVWUDWLRQ for 1 + years • .QRZOHGJH RI 3URSHUW\ RU ODUJH LWHP UHWDLO VDOHV • $ GHPRQVWUDWHG FRPPLWPHQW WR FRQWLQXRXV LPSURYHPHQW DQG OHDUQLQJ • $ KLJK DWWHQWLRQ WR GHWDLO DQG DFFXUDF\ • 'HPRQVWUDWHG DFKLHYHPHQW DQG SHUVHYHUDQFH LQ SDVW HQGHDYRXUV • 3ROLFH &KHFN DQG )XOO FRPSUHKHQVLYH &UHGLW report • +ROG GULYHUœV OLFHQFH DQG RZQ YHKLFOH • 2U LI \RX KDYH TXDOL¿FDWLRQV LQ 3URSHUW\ 0DQDJHPHQW 5HWDLO 9HKLFOH 6DOHV DQG DUH D IDVW OHDUQHU ¹ ZH DOVR KDYH D SRVLWLRQ IRU \RX DQG ZRXOG OLNH WR KHDU IURP \RX WORK ELIGIBILITY: • 7KH FDQGLGDWH FDQ ZRUN SHUPDQHQWO\ KHUH LQ $XVWUDOLD ZLWK QR UHVWULFWLRQ RQ KRXUV 5HTXLUHG

This is a fantastic opportunity with great income earning potential through a very competitive commission structure (Salary plus Commissions)

DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 2QO\ FDQGLGDWHV PHHWLQJ DERYH TXDOL¿FDWLRQV DQG UHTXLUHPHQWV QHHG DSSO\ 6HQG 5HVXPHV Wɨ 32 %R[ 1RUZHVW or Email LQIR#XQLWRSURSHUW\ FRP DX Address *URXQG )ORRU 6PLWK 6W 3DUUDPDWWD Salary Range ¹ Total Years Experience Working Status The candidate must have the right to live and work in Australia

WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS MAY 2020

W H AT THEY SA ID...

www.wsba.com.au “From submissions to manufacture ventilators and PPE, to manufacturers offering up raw materials and supplies to other businesses, the overall response has been extraordinary.”

- Dr Jens Goennemann, MD, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, on manufacturers’ response suppling medical and other essential items.

“Right now– probably more than any other time in our life, we need to be looking to the future and to do so optimistically. It’s investments like the Nepean Business Park which will allow us to approach that future with confidence knowing there will be billions of dollars coming into Western Sydney.” – Minister for Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres.

“It is an exemplar for research and development that is innovative, collaborative and solutions-orientated … these kinds of projects are integral for super-charging Western Sydney as a high-skill jobs hub across aerospace and defence.”

- Stuart Ayers, Minister for Western Sydney, on the university’s collaboration with the US Navy on an International Space Station project.

“ResMed is taking every measure possible worldwide to maximize the production of ventilators, masks, and other respiratory devices.” – Mick Farrell, CEO, ResMed, on the participation of its Belle Vista facility in the production of essential medical supplies.

Planning starts on the Nepean Business Park.

"We're looking at our recovery and want to ensure Penrith retains its strength now and into the future.” –Mayor Ross Fowler on council’s $300 million investment in the local economy in its adopted of the 2020-21 Operational Plan.

“With an ambitious program of capital works planned or in progress for Cumberland this project is one of our biggest.” – Steve Christiou, Mayor of Cumberland City Council, on the construction of the Granville Multi-Purpose Centre “Greater Sydney is well on its way to becoming a thriving metropolis of three cities and I thank Lucy for her outstanding service and leadership.” - Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Premier, on Lucy Turnbull standing down as Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, based in Parramatta.

“Women across our community undertake crucial work as professionals and volunteers. This year’s nominees and winners demonstrate the outstanding skills, ideas and experiences women across Western Sydney bring to their work and community.”

– Professor Denise Kirkpatrick, Western Sydney University’s acting senior deputy Vice-Chancellor, commenting on the 2020 Women of the West Awards recipients

“The changes in commute times outlined in NSW’s latest household travel survey are far from surprising, with massive time increases for Western Sydney growth areas.” – Clr Barry Calvert, president WSROC, when calling on the NSW government to prioritise north-south rail connections following the release of Transport for NSW’s latest Household Travel Survey.

“This accolade is unprecedented. I commend all the staff involved in developing, delivering and supporting the program, and believe the achievement is demonstrative of the entrepreneurial culture of Macquarie Business School.” – Professor Bruce Dowton, Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor, commenting on the Macquarie Business School Global MBA program ranked as No 1 in Australia be CEO magazine.

“Through our involvement with the SmartCrete CRC, Western Sydney University will develop new technologies and capabilities for the engineered design and advanced manufacturing of concrete products.” – Professor Deborah Sweeney, Western Sydney University’s vice president (research, enterprise and international) on its participation in a consortium awarded $21 million to form the SmartCrete Cooperative Research Centre.

“Council is excited for The Voice S9 to make Liverpool its new home, setting a precedent for other large-scale television and film productions to come to our great city in the future.” - Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller.

“I want Western Sydney to be the advanced manufacturing capital of the region.” - Premier Gladys Berejiklian when outlining the government’s vision in the NSW Advanced Manufacturing Development Strategy.

“Auburn and Blacktown are rapidly growing communities, with a range of demand drivers for visitor accommodation. Marriott International is therefore pleased to collaborate with T1 Constructions to deliver what will be outstanding developments as we move into this exciting new phase of our expansion.”

- Richard Crawford, Senior Director of Hotel Development, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, Marriott International.

Western Sydney’s best online viewing

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Featured here: Mt Pritchard & District Community Club Ltd, Winner of WSABE 2019 icare Excellence in Workplace Health & Safety