GWP Magazines, Business Resource & Lifestyle Magazine Issue #38

GWP M a g a z i n e s ®

SYDNEY - Issue 38

| September / October 2011

Publisher’s Guest: Cr John Chedid, The Lord Mayor of Parramatta

Alan Jones: The Patron of Struggle Street

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

Editing: Larry Woldenberg Leonie George Contributing Writers: Charlie Lynn Angry Anderson Adam Goldstien Scott Tyler Steve Sebbes Stephen Frost Robert Cliff Russell Chegwyn Rick Eardley Bassan Farhat Craig West Jeff Gough Rebecca Smith Art Director: Svetlana Greku Sales Manager: Richard Watts Executive Officer: Daniel Moisyeyev Graphic Design: Xabier Goñi, XDesigns Photography: Francesca Surace, Stilz Fotografika Printing: Pegasus Print Group

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Editor and Publisher: Dmitry Greku

The opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect and are not to be regarded as the official opinion of the editor, publisher or their agents.

All information contained within this journal is provided for general information purposes only and on the understanding that none of the content herein constitutes professional advice. The editor, publisher or their agents accept no responsibility for any claim, loss or damages arising out of or in connection with any materials contained in this journal. Readers should not rely on the publications in the journal and seek appropriate professional advice in respect of their own circumstances.

Contents

CONTENTS 6

24

Cover Story 6

Publisher’s Guest 12

Cr John Chedid The Lord Mayor of Parramatta

26

16

Climate Change Alarmists Target Free Speech Charlie Lynn

18

Big Brother Rules Angry Anderson

5 Tips to Help Manage Work Experience into a Work Inspiration!

Stephen Frost

30

5 Benefits of Online Video Scott Tyler

34

Accessing Government Grants Rick Eardley

40

5 Ways to Protect Your Business from Rising Energy Costs Bassam Farhat

42

Maximise the Value of Your Business Craig West

Regulars Political Agenda

Features

Regulars Business Advice

Alan Jones: The Patron of Struggle Street Larry Woldenberg

32

Telecom

44

28 24

Drive Change and Improve Performance and Productivity

28

Blue Treasure in the Shadow of Kilimanjaro!

Robert Cliff

44

The Establishment of the Gremmo Community Fund

46

Meet, Eat, Play, Stay at Penrith Panthers Rebecca Smith

48

Your Property’s Image, Value and Security Jeff Gough

50

Classifieds

Get Ahead in the Cloud with Telstra’s T-Suite® Steve Sebbes

Business Advice

20 22

Business Dashboard. What are Your Gauges Telling You? Adam Goldstien

Insurance Broker Vs Direct Insurer Who do I Choose?

Russell Chegwyn

36 38

Government Council Focuses on Enhanced Customer Experience The Hills Shire Council

Big Step Forward for Civic Place Parramatta City Council

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Editor’s letter

Dmitry Greku - Editor and Publisher - GWP Magazines®

At Least Brothels are More Affordable than Saving the World I don’t think Australia is simply a “lucky country”. Such success could not be the result of simple luck, and I expressed my view on the term “luck” in one of my previous letters. What is becoming more obvious is that Australian people are one of the most patient people on this planet.

The “lucky” mob is the federal government.

They are the ones who seem to enjoy the most comfortable living in these tough times. They have no understanding of economy or business – but they’re in charge (and we use that term loosely) of both. They managed to kill the whole cattle industry of Northern Territory in just one day. They seem to have plenty of money in the budget – or should I say the union workers’ budget – to spend on prostitutes.

And they can get a free “Labor After Party Recovery Grant” of $90,000.

This government has disgraced itself so many times – they don’t have anything to lose anymore. Currently, they’re digging an even deeper hole for themselves, and unfortunately they’re dragging the whole country down with them.

Mr Rudd enjoys his visits to Africa giving Australian taxpayers’ money away under the mistaken impression that he’s got our mandate to save the world. Anyone can understand that these funds are likely to find their way into hands that will spend it on expensive cars, houses in Europe, and to support drug trafficking and arms

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

dealing. Why wouldn’t this government choose instead, to assist struggling Australian farmers and manufactures to develop and export their products? Is it that complicated? For this government it is!

And I for one would like to know how much money has been wasted by this government as they blunder through potential asylum seeker solutions and other issues, making rash announcements here and there without doing their homework, and consuming TV air time as if it was oxygen. They stubbornly dig their heels in for weeks on these issues before eventually doing a less-than-elegant pirouette and starting all over again. No wonder they all seem a bit dizzy. Or is that ditzy?

Clearly the Australian People are on the bottom of the list. This government spends its energy and our money debating and worrying over a 0.1ºC temperature increase over 1000 or 1500 years, the future of education in Indonesia and gay marriage issues.

Perhaps they’re worried about the comments that the Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon makes from time to time about Australia’s responsibility as a member of the international community to accept more ‘disadvantaged’ individuals from all over the world and send more money to support less fortunate populations. They shouldn’t be. How many refugees does South Korea take? Perhaps the UN Secretary-General should take

a moment to reflect – then go to South Korea and comment on asylum seeker policies of his country. Clearly South Korea doesn’t have any plans of introducing any significant number of refugees into their community.

Is it too much to expect that our government starts thinking about this country and its people? There’s been nothing happening in that direction for most of the last 5 years.

Some of our government representatives are organising their international careers at our expense, others are fighting for the survival of glaciers in Greenland, while it seems others are simply too busy with prostitutes to be much use at all – although, at least that pre-occupation is less expensive that some of this government’s other “green, progressive and revolutionising” fetishes.

Let’s support those who are trying to turn this sad and destructive chain of events around. Let’s restore this great country to its former glory and prosperity.

Have a great day. Take care of yourselves and your clients. G

Please write to me with your views. The best will be published in “Let’s Spin a Good Yarn” Section. e | editor@gwpmagazine.com.au

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Alan Jones: The Patron of Struggle Street

great australian PEOPLE

If you haven’t listened to Alan Jones and his 2GB Breakfast Show, the chances are you’ve heard of him. He’s been one of Australia’s most influential radio personalities for the last 26 years. As the inventor of the term “Struggle Street”, Alan has dedicated his life to serving his listeners. He views radio as an instrument of the public good, there to serve listener needs. He diligently answers around 100 letters a day. Alan Jones agreed to speak with us.

As Alan tells it, his origins were strongly agrarian. His father was Charlie Jones, a man who lost both parents early, had little money, and was uneducated — “a pretty

crook start”. But as Alan fondly relates, “He was a good person, better than all of that.”

Charlie worked all his life on his dairy farm in Acland, Qld, and in the nearby coal mines to supplement his income.

Alan’s mother, on the other hand, was an educated woman who taught a class for the deaf and dumb in Holland Park, a suburb of Brisbane, before being transferred to a one-teacher school near Acland. She met and married Charlie Jones after which she devoted herself to working on the family dairy farm where she branded cows, sewed wheat bags, and did the cooking. She also raised 3 children.

Alan in the studio at 2UE in 1985, which was the year it of his inception to a radio career that has now spanned 25 years

“I don’t need any lectures on poverty. I’ve

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Alan in the 2GB studio

Alan with Nadia Comaneci (left) – 5 time Olympic Gold Medallist and “perfect ten” gymnast with Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser (right)

been there and done all that,” Alan continues.

“Our family never had a holiday. Daily chores just didn’t permit it. There was no electricity.

We had kerosene lamps and no hot water system. Water was boiled on top of the

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stove. There were cows to milk morning and night, pigs to feed and no bitumen roads.

Sometimes when it rained you got bogged on the black soil roads. Shopping was done once a week and there was no daily mail.

“I used to ride a horse 4 miles to school.

When school was finished, I’d untie the horse and ride home again, working until the sun went down.“ But they weren’t the only hardships Alan witnessed growing up. “I remember living through a terrible drought. Cattle died.

But the banks were good back then.

Dad had a personal relationship with the banker. He knew Dad always paid his debts.

In fact I remember once the banker telling Dad to keep some monies for himself, but Dad always insisted on paying out everything saying ‘we’ll be right’. It was then that Dad, to augment income, went and worked underground in the coal mines.

He used to work 3 miles down in water up to his waist.

great australian PEOPLE “During this period people would periodically show up wanting to buy the farm at desperation prices but Mum always refused.

Much later in life, long after I had left home, Mum became sick and Dad was forced to sell the farm.”

But perhaps those of us who enjoy modern conveniences and easy access to credit could use a lesson in doing it tough. As Alan puts it, “It was a totally different world. Today I witness people believing they have some mysterious entitlement to other people’s money. I don’t understand it. There were lots of things we went without. These days if you don’t have a six pack in the fridge, a couple of packs of cigarettes in your pocket, a colour TV while paying for cable TV, a car in the garage, and air conditioning, you’re poor.

“I learnt early on that no one was going to hold your hand. You had to fend for yourself. Those days if you didn’t have it, you couldn’t spend it.” Rise out of our difficulties we did, but only with hard work and determination.

Language and Literature at the University of Queensland, finally getting a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969.”

In the following year Alan Jones moved to Parramatta after being appointed Senior English Master at The King’s School, where he also coached the school rugby union side to Premiership victory in 1974. When, in the same year, he left under difficult circumstances, a parent of one of the boys he taught, Doug Anthony, who happened to be the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and leader of the Country Party, invited Alan to Canberra to work for him. Not long after he arrived an election was called and Alan was urged to run for party pre-selection as the party struggled to find a candidate for the parliamentary seat of Eden-Monaro. His candidature was unsuccessful.

Alan went to Oxford University where in 1977 he took a diploma course in Education, which course allowed him to range across a whole series of intellectual disciplines.

Alan and Sarah Murdoch (formerly O’Hare) in the studio at 2UE “Since there were no secondary schools between Toowoomba and the New South Wales border, I went to Toowoomba Grammar School, a boarding school for my secondary education. When that ended, in order to keep my parents from having to spend more money on my education, I went to Kelvin Grove Teachers’ College in Brisbane on a scholarship. The course was a oneyear programme. I then became a teacher in 1961 at a state primary school, subsequently winning a post at the Brisbane Grammar School for Boys two years later. It was my father who urged me to teach, saying: ‘You can’t come back here. It’s tough.’

“To further my education I attended Queensland University at night time, doing 2 units a year. I majored in English and French

Returning to Australia, he ended up working for the New South Wales Opposition Leader, Liberal John Mason. Neville Wran at the time was Premier of NSW. Alan was urged to stand for pre-selection for the State seat of Earlwood after the former Premier Eric Willis left the Parliament. Neville Wran was in the ascendant. It was virtually a contest between Neville Wran and Alan, Alan lost narrowly. Neville Wran immediately called a general election and Alan had to stand again, where, understandably, he lost again. Alan commented: “It may have been the best thing that ever happened to me.”

And who could argue? Political careers are precarious and honest personal opinions often stifled by the need to toe the party line.

And certainly the latter seems an unlikely fit

with the outspoken personality radio listeners have come to love or loathe.

But before he stepped into radio, Alan had two other fascinating - and no doubt, enlightening - jobs. The night after he lost a very close pre-selection contest for the Federal seat of North Sydney, Alan received a call from the then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser who asked him to become his speech writer. There was, as there so often is in politics, a trade off. Alan had to promise not to contest any more Parliamentary seats. In what must have seemed a cruel twist, after Alan accepted the job as Prime Ministerial speech writer, a dispute resulted in the seat of North Sydney being opened up again for pre-selection. Alan did not contest the seat.

For the next three years Alan worked lengthy hours as one of just 8 staff members for the Prime Minister (Julia Gillard has over 50) before resigning to take up a position of Executive Director for the Employers’ Federation of NSW, where he remained for a further 3 years. It was his decision to take leave from this position to coach the Australian Rugby Union national team, the Wallabies, in 1984, that led him into radio.

Alan recalled with pride: “With a young side, no one had given us a chance. There were four Tests against the Home Nations of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. No one had ever won all four Tests, but our team ended up achieving a Grand Slam as it was called. We not only won all four Tests but defeated a strong side drawn from England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and France known as the Barbarians. Suddenly I was answering press calls at all hours of the night, because of the enormity of the success.

“One person who happened to be particularly impressed with my up-to-the-minute rugby commentaries was John Brennan of 2UE. So in March 1985 he invited me to discuss with him the possibility of joining Radio 2UE. On a Sunday morning in what constituted some sort of an audition, I was asked a raft of questions on everything from industrial relations to health and public policy and asked if I could talk about them on radio. They showed me a microphone, I did the job. John Brennan organised a few people to make some ‘dummy calls’ from outside to mirror the talkback concept of radio and the audition was over. After some days an offer was made and I accepted.

“For the first 2 years I was given the morning shift from 9am to noon. I was told that if my ratings were to reach 10, a generous cash bonus would be made available. I inherited

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being pillaged and farmers are being run over.

Yet one of the most instrumental freedoms that we are meant to enjoy is the capacity to own our own property, but now the battle is on as farmers are being asked to surrender that which they believed was theirs.

“Medicare is an interesting aspect of public policy. Why should someone else be responsible for my illness? We don’t have a Health Ministry – we have an Illness Ministry. We were a nation of independent people until Gough Whitlam came along and basically said well, everyone can have their health care for free. Everyone can have their university education for free. Nothing is free.

Someone has to pay for it and the people who pay at the end are taxpayers. And by sponsoring the notion that things are free we undermine the necessary instinct towards independence that should be encouraged in all Australians.”

Alan with former Premier of NSW Bob Carr

ratings of 3. I thought I’d back myself. We made the 10 by December of that year. Then I was shifted to the breakfast show by Nigel Milan from 5.30 to 9am, and the rest, as they say, is history. In 160 successive surveys we’ve lost I think only one of them.”

Never having studied the media, Alan attributes his success to his diverse interests and early advice from his parents.

“My mother always said to me: ‘If you’re going to be interested, you’ll be interesting.’

And Dad always encouraged me to listen to what others have to say. He’d tell me: ‘Talk to people. Find out their interests’.

“Because my parents always encouraged me to have a breadth of interests, I had no trouble formulating ideas. I had been good at sport, so I had no trouble talking sport due to my own interests. But I always enjoyed reading and the lessons of literature. I had a keen interest in politics and as a child I was devoted to opera.

“One of the problems with the media today is that people seem so limited in the issues they can discuss. I have been always fascinated about the success of others and what has inspired them to that success.

Successful people make good stories. And they’re invariably people who’ve risen from what I have called ‘Struggle Street’. The capacity to help people rise out of ‘Struggle Street’ has always been something to which I was committed. I was committed to helping my listeners. If someone had a problem, I’d

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Alan with former Premier of NSW Nick Greiner (left) often try and help them get their slice of justice. I wanted to use the medium of radio to help people outside the media.

“Radio should be an instrument for the public good. Today, while government has never been so big, nor has it ever been so useless.

It’s time government got out of our lives. We don’t need people telling us what’s good and what’s bad for us. There are so many areas where government is invasive which is detrimental to the wellbeing of Australians and damaging to the public purse. In all of these things I encourage Australians to be guided by common sense.

“But one thing about common sense is that it’s not common. For example, with a food shortage and a growing world population, why are we destroying our farms to make a mining buck? Oil-rich countries have rationed their resources, which helps them to get a better price. We seem to want to mine everything yesterday. In NSW we’re giving a 5 year tax holiday to coal seam gas operators.

Whatever for? Many of them are owned by foreigners. Our prime agricultural land is

Alan seems grateful for the opportunities radio has afforded him to meet some very special individuals, but he says they’re “not always as you would imagine them to be.”

For example, he found Rod Stewart to be “…such a modest, lovely human being.”

He fondly recalls Diana Ross, who”…talked about her family and how proud she was of her son who turned into a music producer and actually produced some of her music.

“Michael Crawford was a magnificent person who found out he was born from a one night stand instead of from his mother’s husband.

But he openly talked about it. He was our first Phantom of the Opera.

“Three people I particularly admired were Joan Sutherland, Donald Bradman and Margaret Thatcher. I knew Bradman personally which was a great privilege. I loved Margaret Thatcher’s toughness. Joan Sutherland in my view is not only the greatest coloratura soprano the world will ever know, but one of the greatest Australians our country has ever been privileged to enjoy.”

When it comes to politicians, Alan Jones judges the individual rather than throwing his support behind a particular party. “John Howard is the same man today as he was 30 years ago. Of course it was said he had to go because he was 68. Why? Reagan wasn’t even President at 68. Paul Keating is still Labor’s smartest politician. Why isn’t he leading the Labor Party? We’re too obsessed with generational change.

“I always admired Bill Clinton. He came from difficult circumstances and I was fascinated

great australian PEOPLE sport without confidence, you can’t cook a meal if you’re not confident in what you’re doing. The nation can’t produce, achieve or deliver if it doesn’t have this inner confidence in itself. Sadly we’ve lost it for now.

“Sadly there are people in Canberra who don’t have the common sense to say that we’re going in the wrong direction and we should turn the vehicle around. The nation has been drained by dreadful policy of the confidence needed for success. And that’s

Alan in the dressing room in 1985 with the Wallabies during his tenure as Wallaby coach (from 1984 to 1987) where his teams won 23 out of 30 International Test matches and were victorious 89 times out of 102 matches

by his depth of knowledge and his capacity to articulate in language the average person could understand. We did a couple of lecture tours together. I found him immensely impressive.

extraordinary things sometimes, but we’re all at the end of the day pretty ordinary. And those who think they are better than the next are the first people to fall.

“Tony Abbott in my view is as good a person as you’ll get in public life. He is a man of dignity and decency, wonderful scholarship and extraordinary humility. I think it would be one of Australia’s great privileges to have Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

“We’re a lucky country.

We’ve got stacks of good people out there. Our job is to harness the success, not to restrict it with stupid binding bureaucracy and dictates from Canberra as to how we should live our lives and what we should do.

Politicians should get out of the way.

Politicians should create the environment in which other people can be successful. I remember interviewing John Stone recently, a former Rhodes Scholar and Secretary of the Federal Treasury between 1979 and 1984. John Stone is a man of extraordinary intellect with a great clarity of thinking. He made the point that if an election were called tomorrow, the stock exchange would go up by 1000 points. Confidence would be restored. And it’s a very valid point. You can’t do anything without confidence. You can’t play good

“Of course in the media you get to meet a range of people. Josh Groban, a marvellous young man, the American singer. I remember Michael Buble sitting on my balcony wondering whether he’d ever make it to the Opera House. Now he packs it out. Teddy Tahu Rhodes, one of the great bass baritones of the world. I regard him as a close friend.

And great athletes like Timmy Cahill, Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer, Lleyton Hewitt, Ian Thorpe, Matthew Targett. These are all young men who set a wonderful example to young Australians. Brett Lee is one of the finest young people I’ve met. And Cadel Evans has become a metaphor for Australian life. This is what young people can achieve if they set their mind to it. There are many of them.

“But all of these people had one thing in common. They had their feet on the ground and were very human and accessible. They recognised one common humanity. They didn’t view themselves as better than anyone else. In spite of their success, they were all pretty ordinary. We might be asked to do

Alan in the 2UE studios with the late Laura Branigan, an American singer-songwriter who is best known for her hit “Gloria”, which is the introductory song to Alan’s breakfast program

Alan with President Bill Clinton at an after party in 2002 during a speaking tour with President Clinton in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne

why protests are emerging, questioning whether or not democracy is dead. We have to rekindle the democratic spirit, hear people, listen to people and act in the best interests of people.”

And even if you don’t agree with everything this outspoken radio personality has to say, you’d have to admit, there’s often a lot of old fashioned common sense in Alan’s words. G

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Publisher’s GUEST

Publisher’s Guest

Cr John Chedid The Lord Mayor of Parramatta with Dmitry Greku, Publisher/Editor, GWP Magazines

DG: How do you view your year as the Lord Mayor and what major changes in your opinion could you achieve in the Parramatta Region?

JC: I’d like to think that my year in the Lord Mayor position has been a good pro-active year where a number of important initiatives have been worked on — initiatives that are relevant to our City. Some of the ones – the Safer City Initiative, for example, is about bringing better security, a safer environment specifically by Church Street Mall. That was an area we needed to focus on. So we’ve put together our policy, and we worked in partnership with our local police. Our community safety officers played a role in that.

That has been a successful plan and we’ll continue to work on that. Set up was one of the important initiatives and it was something the community had been asking for many years to do something about our mall and the safety around our mall.

Some of the other initiatives have been the old rangers. As you’re aware, everyone’s got rangers. What we did is, we introduced a new policy, and now we’ve got community safety officers. So we changed the name of our rangers for the image. They don’t dress up like rangers, so they’re more like ambassadors and the focus is more about the safety around the local schools, around the pedestrians, to assist the elderly, young kids crossing the road; so it’s not just about revenue.

And part of what we set up we’ve called an ‘adjudication panel’. It’s the first one of its kind set up in NSW. That panel is an opportunity for whenever you get issued with an infringement. Now we give out warnings, so you get a warning for infringements, but then if you get issued with a fine, you’ve got an opportunity to actually have your fine reviewed to seek leniency. So you will write to our panel of three people and they’re all qualified people. Two of them are members of the community and one is from council.

Forty percent of the people that wrote in the last 7 months had their fine removed; so that’s been a very good system – better than people going to the State Debt. They write into the State Debt and nothing ever happens. So that’s something I believe proves to the people we’re about moving with the times; we’re about focussing on the needs of the community and that we should be reviewing policies, making our policies better and improving our services. And one of them is this: giving people confidence in the local government.

One of the other things that I wanted to focus on with our team on council is our river, our river foreshore. We’ve got a beautiful natural asset in our river foreshore and we don’t use it enough. We had a number of great projects.

The first one was New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Eve was held on the river banks - the first time in its history. We attracted more than 30,000 people. We had fireworks on the water and

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Publisher’s GUEST

it allowed a lot of the locals to come out and enjoy a family friendly atmosphere. So that was a great success. We’ve also had ideas how we should redesign our river so we have a river like the Brisbane South bank, one that looks like Darling Harbour, one that will capture something like Venice where you’ve got water activities and boats and canoes happening. You’ve got the asset – we need to utilise it. We need to stop turning our back on the river and start connecting the river with all of Parramatta as a city. That was another important initiative as I mentioned.

Community Pride Day is something that I’ve been pushing. And Community Pride Day falls into running a couple of events out there in the community about people taking greater pride in where they live and work. It’s about making you feel that you’re part of the community, but we’ve all got an obligation to keep our community clean, safe and interacting. We’ve had a number of events on that and they’ve been very successful.

We’ve also introduced a new policy on illegal dumping to deal with people that do the wrong thing by dumping furniture and rubbish onto our streets. It’s not the image we want as a city, so we introduced a new policy. One was to educate people about our clean-up services; the other one was to remind people of their obligation to help us keep a clean city. And the third one was that they’ll be issued with a fine so people understand that everything comes at a cost.

So far, we’ve saved close to half a million dollars by introducing that new policy. Now if there’s anything dumped in front of a block of units, they will be asked to remove it with 24 hours or they’ll get issued with a fine. So I believe the community have seen a better and a cleaner city after that policy.

What are some of the other things?

DG: eParramatta?

JC: eParramatta. We want to become a smarter city where people have got access to data, to information and resources. So how do we do that? We do that by having a smarter wireless city. We were very fortunate.

We were one of the few cities and councils that were successful in our bid for funding to work on eParramatta. And that is to have information available to people through your phone on what you need to know about Parramatta. If you want to come and visit certain shops, if you want to see the doctors, financial professionals, etc. It will actually assist you in directing you to where you go. Parking – it will tell you the best places

to go and park. It’s about giving people the necessary information and tools to be able to get around our city a lot better. So that’s something we’ll continue working on and pushing to move forward. It’s becoming a smarter city. So that was another great initiative that we got to continue.

DG: Where are we at with this eParramatta project? I had this as a separate question, but since we started talking about this now, where are we at in this eParramatta Smart City project, because that project is directly related not just to the visitors to the City but to the local Business Community as well.

JC: It’s an ongoing project. We’ve already got all of our libraries that are wireless. Now we’re looking at bringing it into our CBD. We’ve already got a funding of $168,000. As I mentioned, it’s to have digital applications on people’s mobiles for retail, tourism. We were one of eleven successful applicants. What we’re doing soon is we’ll be working through a number of other initiatives and hopefully in the next couple of months we will know more, but one of the ones I would like to see happen is the free wireless within our CBD around the centre. A lot of work is happening in the background but that’s where we’re at now.

It’s an ongoing project and it’s going to take a while but we’ll continue with it.

DG: And what do your think is the biggest of these achievements, personally, for yourself as the Lord Mayor? What is the closest to your heart?

JC: Look I suppose the closest one to my heart is the Safer City. This is one that we’re really proud of because you would have seen our Winter Light event, the Ice Skating rink.

I think part of events is to show them that your city is safe. And we proved it by having over 6000 people come and enjoy our ice skating rink. Where did that happen? Right in the middle of our mall. So now we know that we have reclaimed back our mall by saying it belongs to the people. I think if I was to judge the best initiative I’d say the Safer City. I think that’s been a really, really great success for the city, and it’s been a great team effort with the help of the local businesses.

DG: You’re absolutely right. You’ve just come back from a three week tour to three different countries. What can you tell me about this and what would be the benefits for the city and especially for its business community.

JC: Sure. Yes, I’ve just headed a delegation of 3 weeks to Lebanon, India and Bangladesh.

The first one is Lebanon. I’ve continued the work that was set, the framework that was set by the previous Lord Mayor, Councillor Paul Garrard. He set up what we call a goodwill agreement between the City of Parramatta and the region of North Lebanon and that’s an opportunity through the community for cultural exchange and to share ideas, resources like how to build a city and invest in infrastructure. So it’s about sharing ideas on how we could make things a better place, but in doing so we’ve also have an opportunity to promote Australia and our city as a place to visit for tourists and that it’s a good country to invest in. It’s the first initiative of its kind.

No goodwill agreement has ever been done like this so this will give a good foundation for better things to happen between the two countries or the two regions; so we’re really excited at that because it allows the community to get behind it too.

Then on to our visit to India – we were the first delegation of any local government in NSW to head a delegation to India and Bangladesh. We had representatives from the Australian-Indian business community with us, along with a representative from the Westmead Hospital. We had the CEO with us. And we had a representative from the University of Western Sydney obviously promoting our University and its Parramatta Campus. It was an opportunity for us to promote our city once again for business investment. It was an opportunity for our University to promote its campus as a place for foreign students to come and study, and an opportunity for our hospital to see other hospitals around the world and to look at having an exchange of students and medical staff which I think will be a great opportunity for both countries. After all we do get doctors from overseas. It’s great to put them into a program where they get an idea about the standards of Australia, so when they do apply to come and work here they already have an idea of our expectations and our standards.

From a business point of view, we met with many companies like IT companies, textile companies and pharmaceutical companies that are very keen in investing in Parramatta.

They see Parramatta as a city that’s growing.

They see us as a unique city that’s got a lot of beautiful natural character and assets.

They’ve heard about our Rydalmere precinct and that we want to turn it into a specialised business park. There’s a synergy between the Rydalmere business park and the University campus; so there’s an opportunity for businesses who want to invest there and a number of them are showing their interest.

Even in Bangladesh there are pharmaceutical

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

13

Publisher’s GUEST

companies that are already investing in Europe and the US and are very interested in investing in Australia. They’re already working with our Canberra authority in getting their pharmaceutical approved, but I know they’re very keen on having something in Parramatta because we do have the largest medical precinct in Australia. And the other one is the textile industry. It’s a growing industry and I think it just gives another opportunity for them to come into our country.

As I mentioned a number of IT companies would fit in very well investing in Australia and they’re very keen on it. We do run a lot of our IT courses at the Parramatta Campus, so there’s already a connection there; so we’re really excited at the opportunities this trip has for the future of Parramatta, and the five cities that we have visited. The people that we met with were all very positive; they were all very keen to learn and understand more about Parramatta, Australia. And we just reminded them that Australia is a great country that welcomes all good people and that opportunities are provided for everyone but we’ve also got an obligation to look after and contribute towards this great country. So yeah we’re very, very excited. I

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must say that I would never visit that part of the world in summer again. It did get very, very, very hot and I can honestly say that infrastructure wise, they’re very keen to learn from how we’re looking at improving our infrastructure because traffic is a big problem over there! So just like I said to them, we’re looking at opportunities. I’d like them to come here and sit down with some of our specialised people like Infrastructure NSW to learn how they could improve their infrastructure. It was a great experience that we will look back and really appreciate and value but we need to capitalise on it.

DG: Finally, what would be your message to the business community of Parramatta and outside Parramatta as well?

JC: Look, my message would be a simple message. I’m one that believes in Parramatta and I’m a big supporter of Parramatta and as a local, I’m proud of the way Parramatta has developed, our major stakeholders and the businesses in Parramatta, that have invested with us many years ago. They are going to be part of something special. Parramatta’s heading towards great success. And I want

to thank them for their investment into our city and that I can assure them we’re going to do everything possible to make sure Parramatta fulfils its full potential. And it’s through publications such as yours that helps us to sell a message of our great success of our businesses so that’s important because selling a message out there is critical. I want to thank you for the work that you do, for your publication, and I think it’s important that people know that.

I can only speak to so many people. You can reach out to thousands and I think you’ve demonstrated that. And I want to tell the businesses outside our region that they should look at Parramatta if they want to look at expanding. I’m not about getting anyone to relocate. I believe in expansion.

I believe Parramatta is growing and our population will continue to grow. If you want to expand your business, Parramatta is the place to come and do it. We are in the heart of Sydney; we’re central to everything.

I would encourage them if they want to invest, to come and invest in Parramatta.

DG: Wonderful, thank you very much.

JC: It’s a pleasure.

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

15

Political Agenda

The Hon. Charlie Lynn - Member of the Legislative Council

Climate Change Alarmists Target Free Speech ‘The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance’ according to the motto of the RSL. Many see it as an ageing motto for ageing veterans. More prescient observers would like its meaning to be revisited in view of recent events.

Veterans who fought against Nazism, communism, socialism, and terrorism across the globe understand it. These murderous regimes slaughtered tens of millions of innocent people in two World Wars and other conflicts. As a result they know the price of liberty and are aware of the need to be forever vigilant against any threats to the freedoms we cherish, and often take for granted, in Australia today.

These freedoms are now under threat from an insidious spawn of these disgraced ideologies. Environmentalism is their new cause; Green their new colour; and the intelligentsia their new congregation.

Doomsayers all, they invent causes to suit the times – the Millennium Bug, the hole in the ozone layer, global warming and now, climate change. These alarmists are the ‘green-reapers’ of our modern era.

Those who disagree with them are branded sceptics, deniers, red-necks, racists, rightwing Tory’s, etc.

The Greens now hold the balance of power in the Senate. Their alliance with the Gillard Government has emboldened them to pursue their agenda of social engineering and wealth distribution.

But first they have to curb media criticism of their extreme enviro-agenda. The

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means at their disposal include a zealous pursuit of political correctness and ideological censorship.

They understand that the freedom of ideas and expression are the great gifts of democracy. They know such freedoms are also the greatest threat to their longterm survival. This is the motivation behind recent calls to curb scrutiny of their policies

by News Limited who they have branded as ‘hate media’.

The News of the World hacking scandal in Britain exposed their ideological hypocrisy. Although there is no evidence of such practices in the Australian media the Greens have now seized upon the likelihood of it happening to curb criticism of their Carbon Tax.

consummated her political marriage with Greens leader Bob Brown.

Political correctness is a potent form of suppression currently being developed into an art form by the Left. Illegal immigrants are now ‘asylum seekers’. Witnesses to crimes are not allowed to describe the race, religion, ethnicity or skin colour of criminals. ‘Happy holiday’ greetings are replacing ‘Merry Christmas’. Dead people are ‘living impaired’. The list is endless and it starts by massaging the minds of the young at kindergarten. They are easy fodder for climate change alarmists.

Political correctness is the Green-Left’s most insidious weapon restricting dissent against their anti-white, anti-capitalist, antiAustralian ideology.

Media bias in a free press is a given.

Journalists and commentators will always be influenced by the personal values and views in their writings. Those who do not agree with them can exercise one of our other great freedoms, i.e., choice.

Newsagencies in Australia carry a range of papers and magazines covering the complete political spectrum. It’s the same in the electronic media. Readers, listeners and viewers have the freedom to choose which papers and magazines to read, which radio stations to listen to and which television stations to watch.

Freedom of ideas and expression are akin to fresh air and water. We take them for granted until they are threatened. Without them a fulfilling life cannot be sustained.

This is why we need to keep the RSL motto at the forefront of our minds. G

It seems the Greens don’t like the fact that most people read the Daily Telegraph, listen to 2GB and choose not to watch the ABC.

For more topics and to contact Charlie Lynn, please visit www.charlielynn.com.au/blog/

But these are not the only freedoms being manipulated by the extreme left which has substantially increased its influence since Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

17

Political Agenda

By Angry Anderson

Big Brother Rules Be careful what you say: “Little pigs have big ears”. Mothers still say this to fathers, other mothers and friends as they watch their children at play. Children are like sponges and will and do soak up all that they hear, right from early childhood, until they reach young adulthood and beyond.

This advice is well founded and should be followed and practiced as part of our responsibility as their parents. We teach far more by example than we ever could by instruction - yet another truism or wisdom.

It is how we live our lives as decent human beings that really matters, that really counts for anything of real value, and in turn teaching our young to conduct themselves as responsible, caring, compassionate and law abiding citizens.

To live their lives with respect for themselves and their fellow man is of far more value to our children, and therefore the rest of humanity, than it is to bog them down with endless regulations and an ever-increasing mire of rules and behavioural guidelines set down by faceless bureaucrats driven by a politically correct ideology.

This political correctness is at best, like the modern version of multiculturalism, an illconceived, badly planned and fraudulently implemented social experiment, that will probably have tragic consequences.

The increasing over-regulation of our society is an affront to our collective intelligence, as it assumes that we are not intellectually or emotionally equipped to regulate ourselves, and therefore to teach our own children the difference between right and wrong. The powers-that-be in their infinite wisdom have decreed that we, the rank and file, the Jack and Betty, the mainstream, the backbone, the working class, the heart and soul of this our

18 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

beloved country, cannot and should not be entrusted with that responsibility.

which is a chronic state of over-reaction and over-regulation.

Having said that, That Right, the right to morally and ethically educate ourselves, we, of course, need guidelines and we of European/British lineage have accepted the teachings of the Christian persuasion that you do not steal, you do not kill, you do not covet your neighbours’ wife or cattle, you treat others as you would have them treat you and that you will go peacefully into the world.

We are becoming bogged down by endless trivialities, there are laws on every part and every facet of our lives - one day we will be “living” so little of our lives that we are in danger of losing all communion with the creator and the creational process; of no longer enjoying any relationship spiritually with our natural realm, of allowing ourselves to became, as foretold in that wonderful literary work “1984” by Orwell.

You have the right to live your life in this fashion as an example of that which is the good in man and to shun all that will rise in us as evil, or in other words, do your best to be a decent human being. Part of the purpose of the creational process is, I believe, to have us struggle with this proposition that good must and will triumph over evil given the chance to do so. I believe it is inherent in all but a few to do good when and where they can and when they encounter those that will oppose this universal law, they will do their best to overcome and punish those few who defy that law.

I think this book is frighteningly prophetic for the times we live in - when “Big Brother” rules the world with a “One World Order” brought about not by the beauty of the human soul and intellect working in wonderful harmony together to achieve a better world, but by the heavy hand of one seat of an all-wise and all-knowing power.

You cannot rely just on regulations to have a better society; you will never create a better world to live in by rules and regulations alone - life is to be “lived” in all of its manifestations. I truly believe that, if left to our own devices, most of us will be decent human beings given half a chance. To make decisions for all based on the errors of a few is not only wrong, it is against the natural order of all things.

There has been and there will always be those that will not obey the fundamental rules or guidelines that we all generally accept as the right thing to do, but to punish the rest of us for those few is a futile exercise leading to what we have now -

We are in danger of becoming a populace ruled over and enslaved by those that would tell us that they, and only they, know what is best for us and that to disobey is punishable with the loss of our freedom, which by that time we will have precious little left of anyway.

I ask you all to remember that when injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. G

Please contact us if you would like to invite Angry as a Guest Speaker for your corporate, charity or private event: angry@gwpmagazine.com.au For your feedback please contact Angry at: e | angrytat@gmail.com

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19

business ADVICE

Adam Goldstien, Wealth Adviser - Skeggs Goldstien Associates

Business Dashboard What are Your Gauges Telling You? When driving your car, there is a lot of information readily available about the performance of your vehicle. A quick glance at your dashboard will give you information on your speed, distance travelled, fuel consumption and engine temperature.

So when it comes to your business, do you have a dashboard where at a glance you can see and understand the performance of your business?

When it comes to growing your business, one of the most powerful tools that can help you succeed is a dashboard for your business. Specifically, it’s useful to create a monthly and yearly dashboard where you can see - at a glance - the key metrics that make the biggest impact on your business.

These indicators should be both lead and lag that is non-financial and financial.

Like the dashboard in your car, they do not need to provide every piece of information about your business, but should be designed to give an overall scorecard taking into account the key financial and non-financial KPI’s.

When designing a dashboard, the metrics used are going to differ between businesses. However, when it comes to measuring the financial performance of a business the metrics used are similar.

At Skeggs Goldstien we commonly find that business owners understand their Profit/Loss statements very well, but little attention is given to their Balance Sheet.

Some key areas of focus should be: • Profitability – the operational performance of the business

20 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

• Liquidity - cash/assets available to meet immediate and short-term obligations • Working Capital – how well the business is managing its cashflow for day-to-day operations • Efficiency – measures how well the business is using its capital to generate a return • Gearing – measures the debt employed in the business and its ability to cover its interest obligations.

For example, if it is taking you 60 days to collect invoices from your debtors, you could measure the financial impact on your business if you were able to improve that collection by just one day.

Whilst these metrics are important they should not be relied upon in isolation as they are generally “lag” indicators. They are the outcome of an earlier input to generate the result. So it is also important to measure your “lead” indicators that have been responsible for generating the financial outcomes. For example:

So what should you do next?

If you want to understand the performance of your business and the various factors that can influence its success, a business dashboard is the first step in achieving this. But you need to ensure that your dashboard incorporates the key metrics that will motivate you.

• How many phone calls did your sales staff make last month?

• What is the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns?

• Quality of your product or service • Customer Service levels.

Skeggs Goldstien Associates located in Norwest Business Park and Chatswood is a Financial Services Business specialising in Growth, Succession and Transition Planning for Small to Medium sized businesses.

These lead indicators will differ between businesses and will be dependent on your product or service. So whilst there are a wide range of measurements that could appear on the dashboard, the key is to focus on the most meaningful ones for your business.

If you don’t know how to create a dashboard for your business and would like to know more, contact Skeggs Goldstien to arrange an initial obligation free consultation.

The results could be the difference between being successful or going broke. G

Skeggs Goldstien Associates Once your dashboard has been designed and you have agreed upon the key metrics to be measured in your business it is vital for your dashboard to allow you to vary the targets set. This will enable you to build in “what if?” scenarios where you can see what level you need to lift your business to in order to turn your scenarios into reality.

p | 1300 753 447 e | admin@sgapl.com.au w | www.sgapl.com.au

skeggs golds ien

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

21

business ADVICE

Russell Chegwyn, Managing Director - Chegwyn Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd

Insurance Broker Vs Direct Insurer Who do I Choose?

The question of ‘Why Should I Use an Insurance Broker’ is always one that raises plenty of debate depending on which side of the fence you are sitting.

One of the most common statements that you hear regarding the use of an Insurance Broker is that you will pay more for your insurance. The fact is that this statement could not be farther from the truth. If you are choosing your Insurance coverage based purely on cost then there will always be someone who is ‘cheaper’ whether they be another broker or a direct Insurer.

The following are some of the reasons for choosing an Insurance Broker over a direct Insurer: • Insurance Brokers have access to a wide variety of General Insurers and Underwriting Agencies.

• You are receiving specialist advice on alternative products that are available within the market place that you would not receive from a direct Insurer that does not provide these products (i.e., Trade Credit Insurance, Management Liability, Corporate Travel and the like).

• Insurance Brokers are engaged by their client and work for their client. They are not acting on behalf of the Insurer and are not protecting the interests of the Insurer.

•T he advice given by an Insurance broker to their client is protected by their Professional Indemnity coverage that they are required to hold under their Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). Note that when dealing with a direct Insurer there is no recourse of

22 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

action against them for failing to provide the correct advice.

• Your Insurance Broker will handle all your claims enquiries and submissions and ensure that settlements of your claims are correct. In many cases we have seen Insurers decline claims when their policy wording suggests that they had no right to decline. If you are a direct customer with a large Insurer then you will not be receiving any independent advice but simply accepting that the Insurer is correct.

For businesses that have held their policies via the direct Insurers such as NRMA, AAMI and the like for many years it is highly likely that they are not aware of the range of Insurance products that are available to specific businesses. The direct Insurer will only offer the products that they have available and no more.

Our role as an Insurance broker is to provide a complete review of your business activities and to provide an insurance programme that is tailored to what you need. Whilst not all of our recommendations are taken up by clients the fact remains that they are being given the advice on what is available and are then making an informed choice as to whether they take the coverage or not.

When you receive your next renewal notice from your Insurer ask yourself whether you have ever looked at the coverage you have taken and whether or not it will actually protect you in the event of a significant loss. Too often, many direct Insurance customers will simply receive their renewal notice showing the coverage provided and advice stating that their monthly payments are ‘x’ dollars per month. There has been no formal review process as to

any changes in the client’s business. There may be some hidden clause relating to your Duty of Disclosure to advise the Insurer of changes to your business. The fact is that as an Insurance broker we are pro-active in asking these questions and do not simply rely on the client to advise us.

If you are a direct Insurance customer consider engaging an Insurance Broker to provide an alternative option to you on your next renewal. You may be pleasantly surprised as to what you find in terms of the advice given and the premiums charged, and best of all there is no charge from the broker in providing this service to you. G

Chegwyn Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd Suite 105, 447 Victoria Street, Wetherill Park NSW 2164 p | 02 9604 6166 f | 02 9604 6188 w | www.chegwyninsurance.com.au

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

23

FEATURE

Drive Change and Improve Performance and Productivity In recent times, Dexion faced two major challenges - an increasingly competitive market and an ageing workforce, whose company knowledge forms a valuable resource that Dexion could not afford to lose.

Dexion is an international organisation, which manufactures and markets a broad range of storage and materials handling products used in both industrial and commercial applications.

In 2009, Dexion and TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute (WSI) formed a partnership to deliver Competitive Manufacturing Training to manufacturing and warehouse staff, and an Advanced Diploma in Lean Business Skills which is offered to office staff.

Dexion assessed the capabilities of a number of Registered Training Organisations (RTO) in a bid to discover who could deliver a program that would best meet their requirements.

According to Dexion’s Operations Manager, Mike Molyneux, WSI was selected because of their best practice industry benchmarking, and their ability to demonstrate more flexibility in their approach to course structure.

“The relationship between WSI and Dexion is excellent at all levels,” Mike says. “We have a very frank and open dialogue and exchange of information designed to improve all aspects of the training. The content and standard of the course has been excellent and focused at the right level to engage our employees.”

Staff participation rates have been very high because the training is delivered during normal working hours at the Dexion Kings Park site, and because of its success, a number of senior staff have gone on to enrol in the Advanced Diploma course offered at Mount Druitt College.

Since the program began, Dexion has measured a direct correlation between the training and a double digit improvement in productivity. They have also noticed a cultural transformation in all areas on the shop floor, as well as improved quality and reduced

24 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

Dexion provides warehouse storage solutions and integrated systems across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region. manufacturing costs, which have been attributed to staff awareness in company procedures once they began applying their training to their daily activities.

Dexion staff now have the ability to research and prepare reports, present findings to management and enjoy better communication within the organisation.

With the new skill set, Dexion’s staff now actively seek opportunities to drive change and improve safety performance and productivity.

The relationship between Dexion and WSI has deepened over time.

“WSI staff very quickly identified our employee strengths and weaknesses and

“We very much see a continuation of the relationship we have started and look forward to it blossoming into new opportunities into the future,” Dexion’s Mike Molyneux says.

With the new skill set, Dexion’s staff now actively seek opportunities to drive change and improve safety performance and productivity. readily supported people in a very subtle but proactive manner. All the WSI representatives have a great blend of practical industry experience, supported by relevant academic qualifications,” Mike says.

Program teacher John West noticed that the WSI staff developed a close relationship with Dexion management due to their in-depth understanding of the industry, its processes and Dexion’s people.

“Dexion requested trainers with solid industry knowledge and training excellence, who had the ability to customise the training to suit Dexion,” John says. “Dexion’s staff select the appropriate units of competence and tailor the content to the needs of the organisation.

The training resources are developed to accommodate Dexion’s process, practices and organisation culture.”

Dexion operates throughout the Asia-Pacific and Middle-East regions, with around 250 employees in Australia and New Zealand.

Since its beginnings in 1947, Dexion has developed into the market leader of highend warehousing storage solutions such as pallet racking, shelving and integrated systems incorporating conveyors and automated cranes. G

p | (02) 9208 9421 e | trainingsolutions.wsi@tafensw.edu.au w | www.australianworkforcedevelopment.edu.au

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For more information (02) 9208 9421 trainingsolutions.wsi@tafensw.edu.au www.workforcedevelopment.edu.au GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

25

business advice

Stephen Frost, Managing Director - BREED Local Community Partnership

5 Tips to Help Manage Work Experience into a Work Inspiration!

Let’s face it, we have all been in this situation. You’ve agreed to take a work experience student for a week and they are due to arrive any minute. You have back to back meetings, reports are due, its end of month, staff are complaining that they just don’t have time to hold someone’s hand… the list goes on.

organisation, but they may also be inspired to study harder to make your industry their

2. Have an induction plan: What are the hours, when is morning tea and lunch?

2010 Auto Winner Beau Smith & Scott Lutiger

The student turns up and you do not know what to do with them. The easiest thing to do is send them off to do some photocopying, data entry or cleaning whatever requires the least amount of effort and supervision.

After the work experience week, do you wonder why the youth of today show no enthusiasm, initiative and grunt? Could you have managed the opportunity differently?

Turn this situation around and it is you that have turned up for work experience and it’s the first time you have been in a work place situation. You are so excited about the opportunity, but you’re so nervous!

Are you dressed ok? Where do you put your bag? Will you be able to do everything they ask you to do? Will they like you?

You are greeted friendly enough but you sense that they forgot you were coming!

Then you are given some menial tasks like photocopying, shredding or cleaning but no explanation of what you are copying or why and how it fits into the process of the business.

Students who are inspired from their work experience with your organisation are the best advocates for your business and your industry. Not only do they tell their parents, teachers and friends about the wonderful time they had in your

26 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

career choice. You can play a major part in the future of our youth by providing an inspiring work experience opportunity.

Just a little bit of planning on behalf of the employer can turn the experience around for both the employer and the student.

YOU can turn the Work Experience into Work Inspiration. Here are some tips that can help you manage your next work experience placement: 1. Inform your Team: When you agree to host a work experience student gather your team together and let them know a student is coming. Seek their input on how to make this work experience the best possible for both the student and your organisation.

What jobs need to be done that a student can help with but also that the student can gain an insight into your organisation and industry?

2010 Metals Winner Joshua Harrison & Mario Simic

business advice to learn or experience during their time with your organisation. If you cannot provide this opportunity is there another business in your business network where they may gain the experience – if not during the week with you, you may be able to line it up during school holidays; if they are keen they will go.

2010 Retail Winner Angelique McLoughlin

4. Have some pre-set back-up plans for those busy times: Have some reading material on your company or industry. Have an aspect of your industry you would like researched and summarised into a one page document. Get the student to write an induction guide for the next student from a student’s perspective what should they be told on arrival into your workplace.

2010 Apprentice Jarrod Pratt & John Anet at Neat

5. Allocate time with you to talk about your organisation and your industry: What

2010 Business Admin Winner Isabella Sen & Rachel Hanlon

2010 IT Winner Charles Said & Bozica Siljeg

Who do they go to if they have a question?

If that person is not available, who is the next person they should see? You do not want them sitting around for an hour doing nothing if you are busy in a meeting.

Can they use Facebook during work time or is it ok to do this from a company computer during their lunch break? What is your policy on students receiving or making calls on their mobile phone during work time? What is your workplace smoking policy? What do they do in case of an accident – do you have a designated first aid officer? Jot the things down you would like to know if it was your first day on the job, so you don’t forget to tell the student and ask them if there is anything they would like to know.

3. What are the Students Objectives?

Ask the student on the first day if there is anything in particular that they would like

are the minimum requirements to get a job in the industry? When and where is the best time to apply? What are the opportunities for advancement in your industry? Be a job coach and a mentor; not just a boss.

Turning Work Experience into Work Inspiration is an industry lead initiative of Business in the Community (BitC) in the UK. After seeing it work first hand, along with my Business Education and Community Alliance (BECA) colleagues, I am inspired to see if we can apply the UK concepts in Australia. We have arranged for representatives of BitC to come to Australia in December 2011.

If you are interested in hearing about the UK experience and how we can apply the lessons learnt in an Australian context, please contact me on 9853 3200 or one of my colleagues on the numbers below. G

For more information on Partnership Brokers, please contact your local office listed below.

Members

Blacktown admin@breedcp.com.au p | 9853 3247 Parramatta info@parrasip.com.au p | 9633 7100 Penrith info@schoolsindustry.com.au p | 4725 0310

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

27

FEATURE

Blue Treasure in the shadow of Kilimanjaro!

By Robert E Cliff F.G.A.A., JP` Africa – does anyone think of gemstones when they hear that name? Diamonds yes, but Gemstones? They should, it’s a continent that provides the world with many truly magnificent gemstones and one that is the most beautiful and treasured is Tanzanite - named after the east African state of Tanzania, the only place in the world where it has been found.

Discovered in l967 in the Merelani Hills near Arusha in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, this magnificent deep-blue crystal Zoisite has been lying in wait for millions of years grown in deposits on the inside of these unusual elevations. Unseen by man until passing Masai shepherds noticed some sparkling crystals lying in the sun and took them along with them, perhaps thought to be Sapphires. When the stone was tested, it was found to have different properties than Corundum (Sapphire). What the shepherds had found was a crystalline form of the mineral Zoisite.

of licensed merchants, mostly small scale. Approximately 90 percent of all Tanzanite merchants are official members of the International Coloured Gemstone Association and are thus bound by high ethical standards and in this way the exclusive gemstone is not subject to trade in dubious channels, but instead, despite its rarity, passed on along reputable trade

The search for these magnificent crystals goes on today in Merelani in several fairly small mines – some utilising modern methods, most not! Generally speaking only smaller crystals are found, however, now and again the miners unearth larger ones and it is these that are coveted. The trade of this gemstone is in the hands routes to established cutting-centres and subsequently to major jewellers all around the world.

When the magnificent and rare gemstones were first offered to the New York jewellery company Tiffany not long after it was first discovered, they loved it; however, their marketing team felt that the name Zoisite (or correctly speaking, blue Zoisite) was too close to the word “suicide” and would not market well. They proposed to give it the more marketable name of Tanzanite after the place where it was found. The name quickly became general use because it was Tiffany, who two years after its discovery presented the exclusive gemstone to the general public via a huge advertising campaign.

Tanzanite has a fantastic deep blue and

28 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

FEATURE

Award winning

Designers & Manufacturers Since 1984 runs from ultramarine blue to light violetblue. The most coveted colour is blue surrounded by a delicate hint of purple – especially magnificent in sizes over 10 carats. Most raw crystals are somewhat spoiled by a brownish-yellow component; however, a good cutter when he heats the stone carefully to a particular temperature and cuts even more (ensuring

Tanzanite will be exhausted. Conservatives have suggested 10 – 12 years for the current life in some of the mines, liberals – 20 plus years!

to be undertaken. It weighs approx 16,389 carats. Tentative plans are to have this round stone cut, of course, into highly prized smaller gems.

Tanzanite is not a particularly hard gemstone, but quite durable and should always be worn carefully when set into Jewellery. I advise a setting that provides

May I suggest that purchasing should be only considered through a Registered Gemmologist and Valuer, thus ensuring that your magnificent piece of “Tanzanite”

the stone has no inclusions in the first place) will have the beautiful colour showing in no time. This burning method of treatment, customary in the trade of Tanzanite, can only be done with perfect stones. Working with Tanzanite can be very difficult for even the best of the cutters. This exclusive gemstone is cut in every imaginable shape from a classical round shape to a number of imaginative designer cuts.

good protection for the stone and ultrasonic cleaning should be discouraged.

is thus and not another gemstone “spiked” with colour.

The price of Tanzanite continues to rise with less and less gem quality crystals being mined – supply and demand. Price depends on the depth of colour and size (colour and cut come in to play as does with Diamonds). Tanzanite is often purchased for its investment potential.

One of the leading Gemstone producers of Tanzanite announced in 2010 that we would see an increase in the price per carat of l6.5 percent.

To own a piece of Jewellery with a glorious Tanzanite set within sees you joining one of the most exclusive clubs in the world! G

The United States and surrounding areas consume more Tanzanite than any other region in the world. The continuing availability of this stone must be understood by the fact that the geological formations in Tanzania where this is found are quite unique and perhaps not found anywhere else in the world. This means, that someday the supply of

Robert Cliff Master Jewellers Shop 380A Castle Towers Castle Hill, NSW 2154 p | 02 8850 5400 e | shop@robertcliffmasterjewellers.com.au w | www.robertcliffmasterjewellers.com.au

The largest of these crystals was found 270 metres underground in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and measured 220mm by 80mm by 70mm – approximately the size of a brick! No price has been placed on this as I write as more analysis needs

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

29

business ADVICE

Scott Tyler, Managing Director - Brightblue Marketing

5 Benefits of Online Video Online video accounts for 25% of all Internet traffic. It is akin to what the Web page was a decade ago — and where Facebook was three years ago. Early adopters are embracing it in order to gain an edge over competitors. Video is proving to be compelling for these early adopters. It offers benefits that are unrivalled by static websites or alternative print marketing collateral.

The 5 proven benefits of online video: 1. I t provides a channel to talk directly to customers in ways previously accessible only to large companies that could afford TV advertisements 2. I t offers a means for you the business decision-maker to show your products.

Without doubt, online video may be the best way to demonstrate a product 3. A business with a range of products can quickly demonstrate and display products with an engaging video 4. V ideo gives customers a reason to ‘tune’ into your website. Video can become the reason for a customer or lead to come to your site and stay there. Video can be an effective means of planting your brand name in their minds, particularly if the content contains useful information about the products/services 5. V ideos posted on YouTube offer tools that allow measuring the effectiveness of your videos which can help to make videos even more compelling.

Digital media is shifting away from passive, static websites to dynamic forms; note too that YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google (which owns YouTube) and represents the biggest pool of potential customers on the Internet. Indeed, YouTube video can be packaged up into different

30 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

advertising options. A business can not only optimise their web site for search engines using video, but also adopt costper-click or cost-per-view advertising and only pay when users click on ads or watch ad videos.

Where a business has more complex products and services, such as software applications, online education programs, do-it-yourself applications, training modules or sophisticated services, video is the ideal communication medium to provide instruction. Remember the expression “Show, don’t tell?” Many businesses have turned to video for instruction manuals and how-to guides.

medium for communicating and educating prospective clients on your products and services. It is also a great way to boost brand awareness to new levels. Understand that when it comes to web video, prospects are listening even if you don’t have their contact information. This is the nature of seed nurturing.

The internet is always evolving; the web is no longer static — it’s dynamic, interactive, and video is become an increasingly popular form of content to engage and retain customers. G

Optimised video content can really work, whether used: 1. As part of your website to enhance your brand message and values, establish credibility, provide education and/or instruction 2. To boost traffic via search engine optimisation and social media strategy.

It is important to note that many people actively search specifically for videorelated content.

Increasingly, video content is being used to strengthen PR efforts as a sales tool and to demonstrate capability via customer testimonials. Moreover, many business owners and professional service firms are finding that video can be used to tell a story, provide product demos, and highlight happy customers.

The most effective way to integrate video on your website is to first upload it on one of the numerous video platforms available such as YouTube. Then simply embed the code provided into your website.

Online video is engaging and is the perfect

Web video has never been more affordable.

Would you like to learn more? Please contact Inspired Biz-casting on 1300 309 171 or email scottt@inspiredbc.com to organise a free consultation. At Inspired Biz-casting we’re spreading the word. www.inspiredbc.com

Brightblue Marketing Suite 710, 12 Century Circuit Norwest Business Park NSW 2153 p | e | | t | w |

1300 309 171 info@iibe.com.au www.linkedin.com/in/scotttyler www.twitter.com/scott_tyler www.brightbluemarketing.com.au

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

31

TELECOM

Steve Sebbes, Director - Telstra Business Centre Hills/Northern District

Get Ahead in the Cloud with Telstra’s T-Suite ®

SaaS (software as a service) is a cloud computing technology that provides instant access to enterprise grade applications for an easy monthly fee.

It means any business can gain the same software advantages as their biggest competitor.

Welcome to Software without the Hard Costs Say goodbye to large up-front software costs and hello to innovation that can help drive your business productivity. T-Suite lets you connect eligible staff to worldclass business software for a monthly fee whether they log on in the office, at home or from a client’s side. It means they can more easily access up-to-date software and business information.

T-Suite can help you: • Access and use enterprise applications cost-effectively

grade

• Improve cash flow through predictable monthly costs • Respond more effectively to customers • Secure your web connection business critical information

and

• Reduce the complexity of your IT systems and support

Microsoft® Office 365 for professionals and small businesses

Look more professional everywhere Office 365 will help empower your business, whether you need a simpler way to sync your fixed and mobile e-mails, contacts and appointments, more freedom to manage your documents, projects and relationships from almost any location*; and easy-to-use tools to build your own website, giving you greater flexibility to communicate through web pages, live meetings and instant chat.

Designed for professionals and small businesses that need communication and collaboration tools, Microsoft® Exchange Online provides the benefits of cloudbased email without sacrificing the business-class capabilities of Exchange Server while Microsoft® Lync™ Online can help your business increase individual staff productivity by adding presence, instant messaging and audio/video calling to your business’s infrastructure. Microsoft® SharePoint® Online gives your business a highly secure, central location to assist your people to efficiently collaborate, find stored organisational resources, manage content and workflow, and gain the business insight they need to make betterinformed decisions. G

• Improve staff productivity • Free up resources for more productive tasks.

Instead of spending time and money on IT maintenance, T-Suite will let you invest more of both in your business.

32 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

For a free 30-day trial† of selected T-Suite services, or for more information, visit or call Telstra Business Centre Baulkham Hills on 1300 721 400.

Telstra Business Centre Hills/ Northern District Suite H, Ground Floor, Lexington Corporate 24 Lexington Drive, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 p | 1300 721 400 e | enquiries@business-connect.com.au *S ubject to internet availability or mobile network coverage. † Each Microsoft® Office 365 (Plan P1) trial is limited to 10 seats and expires after 30 days. You may only receive one trial. You may, during or within 30 days of the expiring of the trial, choose to convert your trial users to a paid subscription for any Office 365 suite or any of the individual components of the Office 365 services. No early termination charges apply for not converting to a paid subscription. User information and data, including mailbox content, hosted data and other related settings will be deleted within 30 days after the expiry of the trial unless you have purchased a subscription for the Office 365 (Plan P1) suite or any of the individual components of the Office 365 (Plan P1). If you choose to purchase from a different suite to that trialled, your existing account and service data will not be migrated and will be deleted. Telstra may in its discretion cancel the Trial prior to the end of the 30-day period. For complete terms and conditions, including information on trials, see T-Suite Our Customer Terms. ® Registered trade mark of Microsoft Corporation Limited. ® Registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Limited ABN 33 051 775 556.

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

33

Business Advice

Rick Eardley, Director - Grants Spectrum Australia

Accessing Government Grants Research & Development Tax Credit There’s a new scheme in town ... so what do you want first, the good news or the bad news?

The new Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit will replace the current R&D Tax Concession from last July. The introduction of this new scheme seems to be indicative of the processes involved in our current hung Federal Parliament.

The new scheme was announced in the 2009 Budget and the Bill was introduced in May 2010 with a proposed start date of 1 July that year. The Bill has still not been passed, but the Government has recently obtained crossbench support to agree to pass the Bill with a start date of 1 July 2011. Submissions to the Guidelines to administer the scheme were still being sought up to Friday 6 August 2011.

The good news is that, at first glance, the level of benefit available is being increased for every claimant, and many more claimants will become eligible for the enhanced additional level of benefits within the scheme. This is obviously the focus of many reports put out by the Government.

The bad news is that Treasury has basically said that’s all very nice, but the new scheme must be revenue neutral.

So how exactly do you significantly increase the number of eligible applicants without it costing any more? You simply introduce new definitions and criteria that allow the government to “provide better targeted and more beneficial financial support”.

Therefore, if you are currently claiming the R&D Tax Concession, do not prepare your claims for the R&D Tax Credit using the same criteria as they may have changed. There is still a great deal of uncertainty on how the R&D Tax Credit legislation will be interpreted.

34 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

The Upside As mentioned, the new scheme will in many ways be more generous than the existing scheme. There are two levels of benefit within the scheme: For companies with an annual turnover of less than $20 million that have tax losses, a 45% refundable tax offset (equivalent to a 150% deduction X 30% corporate tax rate) is available. This compares to the current benefit of a 37.5% tax offset (125% X 30%) for companies with a turnover of less than $5 million.

For companies in profit or with an annual turnover of more than $20 million a nonrefundable tax offset of 40% (equivalent to a 133% tax deduction X 30%) is available.

This compares to the current tax concession benefit of a 125% tax deduction.

The new R&D Tax Credit Offset will also be decoupled from the corporate tax rate. Therefore, if the corporate tax rate should drop, your R&D tax credits will not be reduced. It will be available to all businesses and corporations that are residents of Australia, residents of a country with which Australia has a double tax agreement or which carry on business through a permanent establishment in Australia.

Other new benefits include: • In-house software restrictions will also be relaxed where businesses are undertaking the development of new and improved software applications; • The current $2 million limit to access the refundable component of the scheme has been removed; and • There are plans to permit access to the benefit quarterly from 1 January 2014.

The Downside A new “dominant purpose” test is being introduced. Previously, many company overheads could be potentially claimed as eligible expenditure on a pro rata basis in line with the claimant’s “R&D effort”. Now, it must be demonstrated that the dominant purpose of incurring the expenditure was for R&D purposes before it can be an eligible R&D expense.

For example, assume that 20% of your salaries are dedicated to R&D. Previously, an equal percentage (20%) of payroll preparation and some general administration costs could be claimed as eligible expenditure, relating to the overall R&D effort of the claiming company. Under the new scheme, many of these costs may now be ineligible as the dominant purpose of these costs may not be primarily for R&D purposes.

In Summary If you are a company in a pre-sales R&D phase, the increased benefits of the new R&D Tax Credit will be significant. If you are a larger, more established company with sales, then the dominant purpose test may eat away many previously eligible items of expenditure. You will just have to hope that the larger rate of headline benefit will offset the loss of previously eligible expenditure. G

Grants Spectrum Australia e | info@grantsspectrum.com.au w | www.grantsspectrum.com.au

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

35

Government

Council Focuses on Enhanced Customer Experience With the New Financial Year, The Hills Shire Council is Turning Its Attention to Enhanced Customer Service and the Renewal of Community Assets Priorities.

Customer contact centre The Hills Shire Council is proud to announce a new initiative in customer service. The brand new customer contact centre began operating recently to provide new and enhanced customer service.

Customers are always welcome to come into Council to do business, however, the new contact centre has been developed in response to the large number of customers choosing to conduct business over the phone and online.

Castle Hill Main Street and other community assets are set to be enhanced.

“We want to improve the perception of Council for our residents and provide a strong and reliable service within realistic time frames,” Customer Service Manager, Mark Stanton, said.

Residents will start to see targeted activity in their neighbourhoods, with community halls being repaired and painted, local roads being upgraded, footpaths being fixed and parks and playgrounds improved.

“We want to solve our customers’ requests 80 per cent of the time in the first point of contact without the call needing calls to be transferred to another part of Council,” Mr Stanton said.

In the first year of the program, Council will spend more than $1 million on renewal of community buildings, $780,000 on refurbishing parks and playing fields, $317,000 on footpath repairs, $1,082,000 on additional footpaths, $1.5 million on the Castle Hill CBD, $7 million on repairing local roads, $200,000 on bus shelters and $1.6 million on erosion protection and storm water upgrades.

Council’s friendly contact centre team is ready to take your call on 9843 0555.

Can we fix it? Yes we can Local roads, footpaths, community buildings, parks and cycle ways are set to get a boost as The Hill Shire Council begins work on projects to enhance customers’ experience through refurbished community infrastructure.

Council looks after more than a billion dollars worth of assets on behalf of the community. The 2011-2012 Hills Shire Plan sets out a charter for the next four years to maintain and upgrade the Shire’s assets.

Through the development of a comprehensive Asset Management Strategy, Council has created a sustainable plan, starting with upgrading those areas in greatest need of renewal first.

36 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

Full details of the renewal program can be found by visiting Council’s website. Click on the ‘Council’ tab on the home page, select ‘Documents and Policies’ and view the Hills Shire Plan 2011/2012.

E-fix it!

The Hills Shire Council is also embracing a new range of technologies to help business and residents get in touch.

Residents are able to contact Council 24 hours a day and seven days a week via our online e-request system. Using e-requests, people can report potholes and graffiti, book a community venue, make a submission and more.

Council has recently introduced a range

of processes which enables the problem that you have reported to Council to be transmitted electronically as a work order to a service vehicle, and this initiative is expected to dramatically improve the response time of our repairs.

Customers can make an e-request on Council’s website. Click on ‘Make a customer request’ in the green box on the left hand side of the home page. iPhone ap makes reporting easy Do you have an iphone? You can use it to send notifications to Council about problems such as damage to council infrastructure. Download the free ap ‘Snap, Send, Solve’, and start reporting. This application is one of a range of ‘apps’ that allow customers to take a quick ‘snap’ of a pothole, graffiti or other problem area, ‘send’ it to Council and have it ‘solved’. G

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

37

government

Big Step Forward for Civic Place The delivery of Civic Place, the biggest urban re-development in Parramatta’s history, is now one step closer after Parramatta City Council secured the final remaining properties last month.

Following this landmark announcement, Parramatta Lord Mayor, Cr John Chedid confirmed Council was now looking forward to its private partner, Grocon, submitting plans and starting building preparation for the three hectare site.

“This is a landmark occasion for Parramatta and Western Sydney, with this development set to totally re-shape our City,” Cr Chedid said.

“Talks with the affected property owners over the past 12 months have been reasonable and I’m pleased to say that the lengthy negotiations have resulted in a positive outcome, with final compensation almost determined,” he said.

Hassell Architects’ overlay of Council buildings for Civic Place site

“Council has always been determined to follow through with the $1.6 billion project and this announcement is proof of our commitment to its delivery – we now look forward to seeing our private partners build on the momentum and accelerate this vital development.”

The Civic Place site adjoins the main bus and heavy rail interchange and will be phased over an estimated 10-year period. It will deliver over 170,000 sqm of commercial, retail, residential and civic space, and more than 6,000 sqm of high quality public domain designed to radically overhaul the city’s centre and provide for a range of new civic and cultural activities.

The project will include new Council facilities including library, exhibition and technology centres, Council Chambers, community meeting rooms and Council workspace for over 400 staff.

The significance of the project cannot be under-estimated, particularly with the wider Western Sydney region expected to top more than 2.3m people by 2028.

Council has repeatedly stressed that one of its main goals is to create a future city

38 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

based on good urban design, environmental standards, large public spaces and effective integrated public transport.

Cr Chedid added that with one of the

lowest A-grade office space vacancy rates in the country, Civic Place would also help satisfy growing demand from the commercial sector.

government

The site has the potential to house up to 5,000 new jobs.

Grocon CEO Daniel Grollo said he was pleased the freehold on the remaining properties had been secured by Council and was excited by the opportunities that Civic Place presented.

“We’ve had ongoing and positive discussions with Council whilst it was negotiating to secure the site and now it has advised us this has happened - it represents a big step forward for this project,” he said.

“Despite the challenges that both Council and Grocon have faced, over the next two years we’ll be working with Council, anchor tenants and other stakeholders to finalise plans to bring this exciting project to fruition.” G

Lord Mayor, Cr John Chedid met with Grocon CEO, Daniel Grollo to discuss the next phase of the Civic Place development If you wish to comment, please feel free to contact: Solaire Eggert, Manager Economic Development Parramatta City Council p | 02 9806 5730 m | 0408 958 248 e | seggert@parracity.nsw.gov.au

“We’ve already had a number of enquiries from blue-chip companies and state agencies, who have not only recognised the value of this project, but also the value of Parramatta, the capital of Western Sydney.

“With our City firmly planted at the core of one of the fastest growing economic and residential regions in the country, Civic Place cannot come soon enough.”

GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

39

business ADVICE

Bassam Farhat - Horizon Solar Technologies

5 Ways to Protect Your Business from Rising Energy Costs Are you concerned about rising energy costs for your business? Recent figures show that over the past 10 years energy rates for both Energy Australia and Endeavour Energy have increased by 12.5% per annum with no indication of slowing down. So is your business prepared for greater costs and the implementation of a carbon tax? Find out what you can do to protect your business from an inevitable rising expense.

Calculate your Carbon Footprint A carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of Carbon Dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions given off by a specific individual, product or organisation.

Calculations in a footprint include travel, electricity usage and waste output.

Businesses can contract carbon auditors to evaluate your business’s carbon output and identify key emitting elements. Alternatively there are many online carbon footprint calculators that can be used for a general output overview. The use of a carbon footprint won’t save you money straight away; however, it will provide a measure for you to monitor emission progress over time.

Conduct an Energy Audit An energy audit involves the inspection and analysis of energy flows in order to identify areas for potential energy reduction. The scope of an audit can range from an entire building site right down to a specified energy process. The audit involves a trained specialist to track and monitor energy use and allows for businesses to evaluate their environmental impact. Energy audits differ to the carbon footprint calculation as it is primarily focused on the infrastructure, systems and equipment of the property.

40 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ÂŽ

Solar Power Solar power uses sunlight to create electricity and is a valid source of renewable energy for businesses.

Solar power has been geared towards businesses in conjunction with easy net metering arrangements that allow energy to be produced and consumed on premises.

Solar systems can be designed to produce the same amount that a business uses during its day to day activities, and with the cost of solar panels halving in the past few years, the rate of return is very attractive.

The variety of solar powered products are expanding such as Photovoltaic panels, hot water systems and ventilation units and can be accompanied by government incentives. In this sense, Solar Power is emerging as the best way to protect your business from rising energy costs.

shut off the monitor as it consumes the most power. Also, using laptops can save energy costs as they generally consume less than a desktop. It may also be effective to invest in a timer lighting system or occupancy detectors for switching on lights only when necessary. G

Become Energy Efficient The best defense is a good offence. By making a few small changes to the way you use energy, you could make a huge difference to your next energy bill. A simple change to retrofit LED lighting can reduce lighting consumption from 50 to 90 percent and lasts for 58,000 hours longer than incandescent and fluorescent lighting. By investing in appliances that have a good energy rating, you can save money purely by lower running costs.

Horizon Solar can offer a comprehensive look at your energy consumption and can design a solar system to suite your business. Call us on 1300 938 413.

Reduce Your Consumption Minimising the amount of energy used is a direct and economical action you can take to reduce energy costs. Simple steps such as switching off appliances can reduce standby consumption. Utilising a power strip can make this process quicker. Optimise energy settings on your computer by enabling sleep mode when the computer is idle. It is important to also

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

41

business ADVICE

Craig West, M. Tax Law, M. Bus (Acct / Fin) , B. Bus (Mgmt) Partner, CPA - Succession Plus

Maximise the Value of Your Business Strategies for effective business performance and succession planning.

Succession Planning is actually about putting in place a strategic business plan for your business which allows you to outline your business and personal goals and relates directly to your ability as a business owner to extract the maximum amount of value from your business when you exit to provide for your retirement planning needs.

55% of business exits in Australia are failures of some sort – bankruptcy, liquidation, divorce, death, partnership dispute, receivership – a strategic business succession plan should ensure your business does not fall into this category.

Many businesses find they need to grow, employ more people or raise capital as an initial step towards an exit or transition towards retirement. Many people underestimate the time involved in implementing a strategic plan for their business and therefore do not maximise the value of the business. If you do not have a strategic approach to business succession planning, any value you have been able to build into your business may well retire when you do!

It is clear that a vast number of business owners are not prepared for their succession and will end up making decisions at the last minute with the likely outcome to be a poor result not only for the business owner, but also the clients, suppliers and staff. Most business owners go into business not only to earn an income, but also (and perhaps more importantly) to build the value of the business and to sell at a profit after a thorough business valuation. Our partners are experts in the accounting and tax, financial planning, legal and organisational management fields and combined can work strategically with your business over

42 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

a period of time to ensure it delivers your retirement goals.

In fact, more than half of all small business owners in Australia plan to use their business as the primary source of funding for their retirement. The average age of family business owners in NSW today is 56 years – so for many, retirement is not too far off. For many owners, the value lockedup within their business is their second largest asset behind the family home, and in some cases it is even more valuable than the family home. Our process determines your business valuation and provides mentoring and advice to ensure that valuation matches your financial needs as a business owner.

Yet while most people will happily invest time, effort and money planning for the sale of their home, they don’t do the same with their business. Choosing to invest the time and effort to develop a strategic business succession plan based on professional business advice ensures that you realise the maximum value from your business when you retire may be one of the most important financial decisions you ever make.

Most business owners go into business to build their equity value and sell.

Unfortunately, many never get there and 55% of business exits are failures! Why take the risk? Even if you plan to be in your business for another 10 years or more, now is the time to put your succession planning in place. There are a number of innovative strategies you can employ now to ensure your future business transition is seamless and yields the best possible return. G

Breakfast Briefing Series – Norwest In conjunction with our events partners; Matrium, 360HR & Dooley & Associates, we invite you to attend our series of business breakfast briefings at The Crowne Plaza, Norwest: • 7th September – Planning your business exit - How to double the value of your business and sell within 3 years • 19th October - Business Valuation – what is your business worth and how do you improve that value?

• 23rd November – Funding Growth – how do you manage and fund the growth of your business?

Maximise the Value of Your Business Seminar Details • Briefing Series (includes a light breakfast) • 7.45am registration • 8am – 9.30am • Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills NSW • Parking available at the hotel.

Succession Plus provides practical business management and succession strategies to help small business owners maximise the financial outcomes from their businesses now and into the future.

To register and for more information call 1300 665 473 or go to: www.successionplus.com.au

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43

Feature

The Establishment of the Gremmo Community Fund The Gremmo Community Fund Inc. was established in 2008 as a facility to deal with the increasing number of community projects that we were becoming involved with. The establishment of the fund allowed us the opportunity to ensure that these events could be managed with the same philosophy with which we conducted our core business while not interfering with it.

The genesis of the organisation was a casual conversation with our friend Dr Jim Taggart OAM of Taggart Group regarding a benefit that we had both become involved with after a game of touch football in Kellyville. We agreed that it would be beneficial to have a mechanism that could manage such events that would remove the requirement of individuals to undertake many of the logistical tasks involved while providing the necessary resources to ensure that these events were successful.

Our Community Fund is governed with the assistance of two external directors, Dr Jim Taggart OAM and The Honorable Alan Cadman AM. Both Jim and Alan have vast experience in community involvement and fund raising and are widely respected for their efforts. The Gremmo Community Fund Inc. is a non profit organisation and its directors, committee members and volunteers are not remunerated for their time and expertise.

Deborah Gersbach OAM, CEO of NWDS asked us to manage their race day.

Our inaugural Race Day was held in August 2008 with over 300 people in attendance. A fantastic day was had by all, and through the generosity of our friends, business colleagues and suppliers we were able to raise over $35,000. Our 2009 Race Day raised over $25,000 for NWDS, bringing our 2008/2009 Charity Race Day total to over $60,000.

Players enjoy the community atmosphere of the 2010 Gremmo Homes / Taggart Group Touch Football Carnival

After discussing the possibilities of what we could achieve with the establishment of such an organisation with the relevant professionals and consulting with others who had experience in the field, we determined that the most effective way to ensure that the organisation would be able to realise our goals would be to create our own rules and objectives which were specific to what we hoped to achieve. The establishment process was arduous - as it should be - ensuring that the structure of the organisation was robust.

The establishment of the Gremmo Community Fund Inc. also ensures that the wider community can have confidence that any events that we are involved with are managed efficiently and effectively through simple governance measures which the Community Fund adheres to. The Gremmo Community Fund Inc. has its Rules and Objectives registered with the Office of Fair Trading and has been granted Fund Raising Authority approval from the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing. The accounts of the fund are audited annually.

44 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

One of the first events that we undertook after establishing the organisation was the management of the North West Disability Services (NWDS) Race Day in 2008. Gremmo Homes had been a previous supporter of NWDS, contributing to building projects at their facilities and we were delighted when

The opening of the North West Disability Services Technology wing in 2006 (l-r) Andrew Gremmo, Dr Jim Taggart OAM, Wayne Merton, Deborah Gersbach OAM, Richard Gremmo, Michael Gremmo, David Gremmo

Feature

In 2011 we are once again promoting the North West Disability Services Race Day. The Race Day will be held at Hawkesbury Race Club on Thursday, September 22.

The day provides a fantastic opportunity to network with fellow businesses in a comfortable environment while assisting those less fortunate in the community.

There are a number of sponsorship opportunities available for businesses to promote themselves. It is also a fantastic way to reward your staff with a relaxing day at the races. Further details are available at www.gremmohomes.com.au/raceday.

The Lions Club of Baulkham Hills and Life Education Australia.

The inaugural Gremmo Homes/Taggart Group Touch Football Carnival was held in November 2009. Sixteen teams entered,

held on Sunday, September 11, at Oakhill College in Castle Hill. If you would like to find out more information regarding the Gremmo Homes/Taggart Group Touch Football Carnival or to register a team, please visit www.gremmohomes.com.au/touchfootball.

Another event that we are very proud of is the Gremmo Homes/Taggart Group Touch Football Carnival. The Touch Football Carnival is a unique event in that

Guests enjoying the 2008 North West Disability Services Charity Race Day

Plastamasta Minchinbury presents a sash to the winning owners at the 2008 Race Day

it uses a healthy activity as its fulcrum for businesses to promote team building and community spirit amongst their staff and friends. The relaxed environment also provides a great networking opportunity for businesses.

Touch Football is a fun activity which allows both men and women of all age groups to be involved, and players can participate in various divisions according to their competitive spirit and ability. The Touch Football Carnival also receives fantastic assistance from The Hills Shire Council,

with over 250 people in attendance. The 2010 Touch Football Carnival saw 22 teams involved with winning teams supporting a number of charities including Life Education Australia, The Starlight Foundation, The McGrath Foundation and World Vision.

Teams involved in the Touch Football Carnival have the opportunity to nominate a registered charity that they can share their prize money with if they are successful on the day. Teams receive $500 prize money with an additional $500 donated to their nominated charity. At our previous two carnivals all of our winning teams have also generously donated their $500 prize money to their nominated charity.

Guests enjoy a game of heads or tails at the 2009 North West Disability Services Race Day

We look forward to seeing you at our community events and hope that you can help us support some of these worthy causes. G

Gremmo Community Fund Inc. p | 9894 1633 e | info@gremmohomes.com.au

Our 2011 Touch Football Carnival will be

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Feature

Meet, Eat, Play, Stay at Penrith Panthers

Rebecca Smith, Group Marketing & Public Relations - Panthers Group

The stress of organising Corporate Conferences and Events is a thing of the past with Sydney’s newest and most versatile event centre at Penrith Panthers.

21st Birthday

Imperial

Located only 50 minutes from the heart of the Sydney CBD, 35 minutes from the Hills District and 55 minutes from the top of the Blue Mountains, Penrith Panthers is easily accessed by road or rail.

Having recently been part of a $30M refurbishment, the options are endless in a venue that oozes style and sophistication.

With eleven different function spaces to choose from, Penrith Panthers offers the ultimate in tailored solutions.

Delegate accommodation is managed with ease with the four star Chifley Penrith Panthers onsite offering 223 rooms or Nepean Shoes located close by on the banks of Nepean River.

Versatile function spaces can cater to themeing limited only by imagination!

Previously showcasing amazing Arabian Nights inspired events, Roman-esque soirees and Aussie Outback bashes, these are only the start of what’s possible in areas where transformation is as swift as it is smooth.

Kristy-Lee Bainbridge, Penrith Panthers Meetings and Events Manager, says to keep in mind the following top five tips when planning your Corporate Conference or Event: 1. Availability: Companies book and/ or re-book their Corporate Conferences and Events up to 12 months in advance.

Missing out on the perfect venue often disappoints, so ensure you leave yourself enough time to book your venue of choice.

2. Budget: Providing the venue with your budget per head allows your Event Manager to tailor your Corporate Conference and Event package specifically to your needs.

Take the time to discuss your financial flexibilities and limitations to ensure you get the perfect function without breaking the bank!

46 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

Imperial 3. Accommodation: Delegate comfort is of utmost importance to ensure your Corporate Conference and Event is a success. Look for venues that have onsite accommodation – it not only goes a long way to keeping your delegates happy, it also streamlines time efficiencies.

4. Audio visual requirements: Most venues offer standard Audio Visual Equipment such as lecterns, data projectors and projector screens. Are there any additional requirements you need to consider for your Corporate Conference and Event?

Cordless microphones, conference phones, laptops and WIFI are essential for seamless conferences.

5. Site inspection: A site inspection will allow you to get a better feel for a venue, one that is not available through favourable photography and jazzy copywriting on websites and brochures. Meeting the staff and having a personalised tour provides a first hand view on the size, shape, light and ambience of a room, as well as an insight to the level of customer service you will receive at your Corporate Conference and Event.

Breakout activities are a great way to reinvigorate delegates after lengthy conference sessions. Located at the foot of the breathtaking Blue Mountains, Penrith Valley offers an adventure and aquatic playground where your Event Manager can organise activities such as: white water

rafting, wake boarding, canoeing, paddle boat rides and even skydiving – all within 10 minutes of Penrith Panthers!

Why not join the ranks of some great company such as KPMG, OI Sydney and Nepean Private Hospital and hold your next Corporate Conference and Event at Penrith Panthers. G

Call 02 4720 5511 today and quote GWP to receive the 2011 Golf Package for only $199 per person. Package includes: • Overnight accommodation at the Chifley Hotel, Penrith Panthers • Full breakfast in the Terrace Bistro • Full day conference package • Hot buffet lunch • One game of Aqua Golf • 3 course dinner in a private dining room PLUS • 18 holes of golf at Wallacia Panthers!

Terms and Conditions apply. Minimum of 50 conference delegates. Bookings and deposits to be received by 30 September, 2011 for events up to 30 June, 2012. Subject to availability at the time of booking.

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FEATURE

Jeff Gough, Managing Director – Liverpool Glass

Your Property’s Image, Value and Security ‘Servicing Sydney with Quality Australian Products for over 35 years’ Welcome to Liverpool Glass Company where my team of glass experts and I can help you with everything from a shower screen, mirror, table tops and shop fronts to the repair work you may need from time to time. Whether it be 1 o’clock in the morning or 10 o’clock at night, you won’t get a computer answering service here.

We will personally answer the phone and any questions you may have and, yes, we will come out and secure your premises whether it’s the home, shop or office for the purpose of fingerprinting and/or replacement of glass next day as needed.

We aim to please and can carry out most repairs on a same day service Policy (with the exception of some specialty products that may need to be ordered).

We have a general rule of thumb that requires us to be on your door step within 1 hour of your first call. Being centrally located to the M5 and M7 enables us to provide you this level of service. Our friendly professional teams of experienced trades people are able to schedule installation of your glass products at a time that will have the least impact on your day to day business. Our prompt services gives clients comfort in the knowledge that things are underway. We also keep you, our clients, fully informed throughout the process from start to finish all at a realistic price.

It’s so simple that we can with just a few questions give you the information and price over the phone before we attend to your needs in person, allowing you to make a fast, informed and easy decision.

48 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

provide an audit on your building, shop or office to ensure your building is secure and adheres to current Australian Safety Standards (AS1288-2006).

When it comes to our clients we give them exactly what they want. We provide clients with guidance on the correct products for them whilst maintaining safety standards for them and their staff/families. We are a company that strives for continual improvement and our many happy clients are a testament to our efforts.

So for your next job that requires glass, call the glass specialists and get the job done right the first time! G In recent times it has been difficult to source a complete range of quality replacement glass. But with our expanded range of suppliers we are able to have a good crack at matching more of the old obscure patterns enabling shopkeepers, business owners and landlords a greater chance of replacement matches thus saving them money.

Integrity and image of our business Since taking over this business in July 2007, we have built a reputation based upon excellence in customer service, providing quality products at affordable prices with staff that prides themselves on good old fashioned honesty, integrity and a job well done.

Security A poorly fitted and damaged glass structure is an open invitation to unwanted guests for any business. Many landlords and tenants fail to consider their glass walls and structures when considering their security; we can

Repair work specialists > 24/7 Service > Australian Standard Certified > Fully Licensed & Insured > Latest Technology > Real Estate Agents & Strata Management Specialists > Over 35 Years Experience Liverpool Glass p | 9607 6566 e | admin@liverpoolglass.com.au w | www.liverpoolglass.com.au

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

49

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50 GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 ®

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GWP Magazines | Issue 38 | September / October 2011 速

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