Business News 245

October 2015

HACK ATTACK WHY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO IGNORE CYBER SECURITY

ISSUE 245

Join our journey. . .

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

16. COVER STORY

6 Biz News 10 New Appointments 14 Tech Update 24 Business Advice

12. FEATURE

25 Legal

“It’s just too easy for hackers to to figure out usernames and passwords like, ‘password’ or ‘123457’. Those are some of my previous passwords.”

– President of the United States, Barrack Obama

26 Property

40. ARTS

28 Governance 31 Finance 34 Crush 36 Elevator

42. COMMUNITY

38 Tech Guy 46 After Hours

ISSUE 245 OCTOBER 2015 Read online at: www.biznewsmag.com.au

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BUSINESS NEWS | 4

EDITOR

A NEW HOPE

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ragmatism and outcomes … not two words we have been accustomed to associating with federal or state politics in recent years. Yet, it just could be that the spilling of Tony Abbott as leader of the Libs, and subsequently as PM, has ushered in a new era of realism in Canberra around what needs to be done and what can be done to steer the nation into the future.

There is a palpable sense of optimism in the air. It all feels a bit like coming of the enclosed and heightened atmosphere of the cinema in the middle day to emerge, blinking and momentarily blinded, into a warm sunny day.

The suddenness of the change of mood does raise a few questions, like will the quietly pervasive sense of optimism out here survive past the political honeymoon? Will the newly instated Turnbull Government walk past the short-term opportunism and blatant mandate seeking of calling a snap election before the end of the year and let the electorate make its decision on or not too far before 14 January 2017? Will the honeymoon settle into a comfortable relationship?

The new-look Cabinet has been out and about, and there is the flavour of electioneering in the wind, but that could just be the unaccustomed scent of optimism. It has something of the same redolence as the flow on from last year’s state election, as if we were coming back to a new kind of normal – or at the very least a direction we were more comfortable with.

The state government under Daniel Andrews is getting on with the job of moving the state agenda and infrastructure projects forward, the federal government is making some very positive noises and The Greens have been a revelation of pragmatism and outcomesbased policies under local Senator, Richard di Natale.

The discourse has shifted. Real tax reform is all of a sudden a distinct possibility. Innovation means something other than thinking up creative ways of claiming tax payer-funded expenses. The provision of health programs and services is now being looked at through a more equitable and sustainable lens, education innovation is at least on the agenda and, as a nation, we are no longer pretending climate change isn’t real or that renewable energy is a fad that is destined to go the way of Beta tapes and Mark Latham’s political capital.

And locally, major projects like the building of a Geelong convention centre, under the direction of the new Geelong Authority, the revitalisation of the city centre and the attraction of at least part of the Land 400 defence program have crossed over from the being merely aspirational to now seeming likely.

The thing about politicians is that when they are doing their job well we can, by and large, forget about them and get on with our own jobs… a bit like that other rare and precious beast, an AFL umpire who gets it right often enough to defy comment. Long may it continue …

DAVINA MONTGOMERY

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 5

BIZ NEWS

INNOVATION ON THE NATIONAL AGENDA IS A WIN FOR START UPS

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he Australian Computer Society (ACS) – The professional association for Australia’s ICT sector expressing its support of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s focus on setting a national agenda around innovation.

“It is extremely encouraging to see Innovation as part of a portfolio at the Federal level. Innovation is the key to achieving sustained economic prosperity and particularly for Australia as we look to reduce our traditional reliance on the mining sector and develop new engines of growth,” said acting ACS CEO Kim Finch.

StartupAUS, Australia’s peak national startup advocacy also welcomed the bipartisan push for putting innovation on the national agenda.

CEO of StartupAUS, Peter Bradd, issued the statement following the recent announcement of Labor’s innovation policy that promises to create 100,000 university placements for STEM students, a ‘Startup Year’ for 2000 final year university graduates to kick-start Australia’s aspiring young entrepreneurs, an Entrepreneur Visa to attract the best talent from overseas, and a

‘graduate’ Entrepreneurship Visa to encourage the most talented international students to stay in Australia after they complete their studies.

“This latest announcement confirms that the both sides of politics understand that the future drivers of Australia’s economic growth are innovation, entrepreneurship and a thriving tech startup ecosystem,” Mr Bradd said.

“Earlier this year, StartupAUS released the latest version of its Crossroads report - a credible, action-oriented plan to help Australia capitalise on the enormous opportunities technology presents. This document has been critical in shifting the political debate around policy settings to stimulate start-up activity and we are thrilled to see many of our recommendations being taken up by both major parties.

“As highlighted in the Crossroads report, technology-based startups have the potential to add over $US109 billion to Australia’s economy by 2033, creating more than 540,000 jobs in the process. This opportunity is too big to ignore,” Mr Bradd said.

MERCURE OPENS RENEWED FUNCTION FACILITY

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ercure Geelong has reopened the doors of its fully refurbished function space to reveal a more energized and engaging event space.

The refurbishment has resulted in a completely new-look venue taking in both the interior and exterior of the hotel to deliver a more prominent outlook, and a revitalised stylish function space for weddings or corporate events.

A feature of the new function centre is an elegant and inviting foyer with mixed-style designer seating for delegates to relax and recover between sessions. The bar area has also undergone a face-lift to provide a more open and inviting space for delegates

and guests to enjoy a drink or catch up with fellow attendees.

Under the direction of Melissah Weigall from Indesign Concepts, one off designer pieces, quality soft furnishings and floor and table lamps have added pops of colour, scattered around the venue to add interest and personality. Bright limited edition Australia artworks have also helped to invigorate the function space.

With new cutting edge technology and ambient lighting the refurbished function rooms will provide local businesses with an outstanding venue to meet, break, co-ordinate or entertain.

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BIZ NEWS

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GEELONG SMALL BUSINESS FESTIVAL A GREAT SUCCESS

MINISTER ENCOURAGES GEELONG’S CONTRIBUTION TO LABOUR HIRE INQUIRY

housands of local business people got onboard the Geelong Small Business Festival, with 2,650 people attending events.

More than 45 events were held over the month of August as part of the annual festival.

The festival, now in its fifth year, celebrates the importance of Geelong’s many small to medium enterprises by providing opportunities for them to access practical advice and information for their business. It is part of the Victorian Government’s Small Business Festival Victoria.

Key features of the festival included a major networking event “Success Doesn’t Just Happen You Create It” with celebrity Chrissie Swan, hosted by Enterprise Geelong Opportunity, and the “Amplify Your Success” dinner with Naomi Simson, organised by the Victorian Government.

Geelong Mayor Darryn Lyons said the high profile presenters had been a big drawcard this year.

“We’re seeing more and more entrepreneurs emerge in Geelong.

Each year the festival attracts new people with a great range of business ideas,” he said.

“It’s also great to see a lot of the same people return from year to year to up-skill or make new connections. And it is really satisfying to see their businesses go from strength to strength.”

“It was fantastic to have two local businesses selected to be part of the 2015 Victorian Faces of Small Business Exhibition – Pam Hutchinson Photography and Philippa Bakes Advisory.”

A RECENT EMAIL SIGNATURE CAUGHT OUR EYE: Q: Why is this email three sentences or less?

A: http://three.sentenc.es

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inister for Industrial Relations, Natalie Hutchins, has met with local business owners and union representatives to discuss the Andrews Government’s inquiry into the labour hire industry and insecure work.

Joined by Member for Geelong Christine Couzens, Ms Hutchins hosted a roundtable discussion on rogue labour hire practices, insecure work, sham contracting and the abuse of visas, and how it was impacting upon vulnerable workers and local businesses.

Ms Hutchins visited Geelong after recently announcing Professor Anthony Forsyth as the chair of the inquiry.

Professor Forsyth currently teaches labour law and legal research at the RMIT University Graduate School of Business and Law, and is a consultant with the Corrs Chambers Westgarth Workplace Relations Group.

Professor Forsyth also recently completed a study of the Fair Work Commission’s role in enterprise bargaining and has contributed to a study of workplace dispute resolution for the International Labour Organization.

The inquiry will release a discussion paper in the coming weeks, and is calling for submissions from interested parties. The inquiry will include extensive public consultation, including meetings in regional and metropolitan Victoria.

The inquiry is due to deliver its report on 31 July 2016. For more information on the inquiry and its Terms of Reference, please visit www.economicdevelopment.vic.gov.au/labourhireinquiry

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BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 7

BIZ NEWS

COSBOA SLAMS SECRET BIG BUSINESS LETTER TO GOVERNMENT

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ouncil of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) has publicly expressed deep concern at the existence of a confidential briefing letter provided to the Federal Cabinet from the Business Council of Australia (BCA), arguing against an effects test in competition regulation.

The small business council released a statement outlining its concerns at the confidential nature of the 8-page letter.

Paul Nielsen, Chairman of COSBOA said, “We note, as reported in the AFR (24 Sept 15), that the Chairman of the BCA, Catherine Livingstone has provided a confidential eight page briefing letter on 25 August to the Federal Cabinet that spells out the BCA’s case against an effects test, including an attachment containing their views on unintended consequences.

“Whilst we understand the need for secret inter-governmental briefings from departments such as Defence on security matters, the BCA and its members are public companies and competition policy affects the whole business community – not just the big

businesses that make up the BCA,” said Mr Nielsen.

“Given that Competition Policy and the proposed changes to the effects test by the Government’s own Harper Review will affect all businesses in Australia, we are dismayed that the BCA should try and unduly influence Government policy under a sinister cloak of secrecy. What do they have to hide?” asked Mr Nielsen.

Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA added: “The only comment that we have seen from the confidential briefing from the BCA is that an effects test will ‘put at risk developments such as the iPhone’.

The iPhone was developed in a country that has an effects test, the USA. There is an argument that it was because of the effects test that innovators were able to prosper and grow in that country.

“An effects test will aid the ACCC to make informed assessment of competition and ensure any dominance is good for the economy and not just for a few big businesses,” said Mr Strong.

DEAKIN’S INNOVATION SECURES NEW US DEFENCE CONTRACT

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eakin University has signed an innovative research with leading US defence technology company, General Dynamics to advance and develop research in robotics for defence, healthcare and other world-class commercial applications.

The Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in Washington DC accompanied senior Deakin University academics and administrators on the successful visit to the US to meet with a series of companies and to sign the research collaboration with General Dynamics in Fairfax, Virginia.

Deakin University’s Centre for Intelligent Systems (CISR) is home to more than 60 researchers, developing state-of-the-art algorithms and methodologies that provide solutions to real-world problems through research on next generation robotic control systems.

Victorian Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, Philip Dalidakis said the Labor Government is investing in defence technologies as one of the six industries that have the potential for extraordinary growth.

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BIZ NEWS

GEELONG AUTHORITY TO BOOST INVESTMENT AND DRIVE JOBS

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he work of the newly formed Geelong Development Authority kicked off late last month when the members of the authority – chaired by Peter Dorling, Business Manager at Avalon Airport, the members include Chairman of Costa Group Holdings and GRIIF, Robert Costa, former CEO of the TAC, Janet Gore, member of the Central Geelong Taskforce, Roz Hansen, and Geelong Performing Arts Centre General Manager, Jill Smith – met with the Victorian Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne.

centre. Places Victoria will also work closely with the Authority to build and invest in urban renewal projects, through land acquisition, infrastructure design and development partnerships.

Mr Wynne said the Authority will streamline major planning opportunities, drive greater investment and improve Geelong’s streetscapes and open spaces.

Mr Wynne will be responsible for major planning decisions, which includes development proposals greater than 5000 square metres in floor area, five storeys in height or 50 or more dwellings.

The Authority will work with the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning to draft an action plan for Geelong which focuses on urban renewal and land development opportunities.

Mr Wynne said the Authority would provide him with advice ahead of the Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan, which will help to better plan for the coastal communities. The Victorian Government has committed $500,000 to establish the Geelong Authority and $3 million for on the ground projects, which includes $1 million for sustainability works in central Geelong.

Mr Wynne said the Authority would work closely with the Central Geelong Task Force to identify ways to revitalise Geelong’s city

The Minister said another key partnership will be working on job creation and economic growth plans with Regional Development Victoria, backed by the $500 million Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund.

GEELONG’S LAND 400 BID GAINS MOMENTUM

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consortium led by Elbit Systems Australia has formally announced its bid for the Land 400 Defence Program.

Team Sentinal, as the consortium is known, is bidding for systems integration and turret manufacturing as part of the first phase of the Department of Defence program. To be based in Geelong, Team Sentinal modeling suggests the manufacturing facilities would create around 300 direct and indirect jobs locally and with a total of around 500 across the state.

Welcoming the consortium to Geelong for the bid announcement, Member for Corangamite, Sarah Henderson, said Team Sentinal’s

bid focused on delivering ‘a very high percentage of Australian industry content’.

“That means more jobs for local workers and more opportunities for businesses and the extended supply chain,” she said.

“Geelong companies will have the opportunity to play a vital role in this project including in relation to component and parts supply, integration of Australian communications, sensor and weapons systems, engineering and testing facilities, and vehicle sustainment and logistics.”

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BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 9

NEW APPOINTMENTS

DEB HALLMARK

GROUP MARKETING MANAGER - EMC GROUP Deb Hallmark comes to the EMC Group with a few decades of experience in the advertising and media industry in both the creative side of advertising as a copywriter and in management as an Account Director.

She has managed clients such as Kraft Foods, Primus Telecommunications and government programmes such as Turning the Tide on Drugs for Premier Jeff Kennett.

PROPERTY Vaia Allen is the new PR and Marketing Coordinator at Release Property Management.

Moving down from Melbourne, she brings over 10 years property marketing and communications experience.

Vaia provides the Property Management team with a full suite of marketing knowledge including branding, research, event management and has an in-depth understanding of online marketing. She is currently completing her Diploma of Digital Marketing with the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK,

In recent years, Deb assisted not for profit organisations, trusts and foundations in the charity sector, including running the Good Friday Appeal for the Herald & Weekly Times, Cool Australia and Rainbow Riders for Cotton On Foundation.

Deb was appointed as a Board Director of the Transport Accident Commission in July 2010 and is still a current Board member, working with the community on the new TAC direction “Towards Zero”.

“I’m looking forward to my new role, creating exciting events, exploring great cuisines for our clients and having some fun with the great team at Baveras Brasserie, The Pier and at EMC Group,” Deb said of her new position as Group Marketing Manager.

COMMUNITY INITIATIVE

COMMUNITY INITIATIVE

INSURANCE

Anne O’Brien has been appointed as Director of the GROW (Geelong Region Opportunities for Work) a regional strategy to address place based disadvantage by generating jobs through procurement and investment.

A partnership between Give Where You Live and G21 Anne’s role will link across all sectors advocating for the co-ordination of related activities, facilitate GROW’s Strategic directions and develop individual projects with partners to addresses joblessness in our region.

Liz Everist has joined the GROW Project (Geelong Region Opportunities for Work) team as Engagement Officer.

Liz will work alongside Anne as part of the GROW team, with her roles of engagement and opportunity brokering, building relationships across the region and scoping opportunities with business, projects, development plans and infrastructure initiatives for potential employment pathways The new GROW team is now project planning under the GROW strategic plan.

Tresidder Insurance Brokers welcomes Brendan Wills and Jeremy Woolman. Brendan brings significant commercial underwriting and broking experience to the Tresidder Broking division, having worked in the Geelong and Melbourne insurance markets for over 10 years. Jeremy is predominantly working on Claims Management for our clients, which is a key focus for the business. Jeremy has worked in Commercial Broking in the Geelong Region and has recently moved back home from Warrnambool.

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TRAINING Jessica Brawn has joined AGB Training as Marketing and Communications Officer.

Jessica recently graduated from Deakin University with a Bachelor of Public Relations and already has a range of experience in media and communications within numerous industries, from creative to not-for-profit organisations. Possessing a keen interest in social media and journalism, Jessica looks forward to assisting with AGB Trainings social media and marketing activities

INSIDE WORD

GEELONG SMALL BUSINESS ACES NATIONAL INDUSTRY AWARD

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ports Courts Victoria and owner Jason Cobb scored a big win last month when the Sports Contractors Association of Australia awarded the business the Best Court Resurfacing Project for 2015. The winning project was the resurfacing of the Galvin Park Tennis Club in the Wyndham Shire – saving the court and giving new life to a valued community asset.

With 25 years of industry experience, for Jason, the win was validation of a chance he took six years ago to leave the family road construction business and strike out on his own to start Sports Courts Victoria.

The award was announced at the SCA national conference at RACV Royal Pines Resort in Queensland and Jason said he was thrilled to receive this award on behalf of his small team of local employees, and he thanked them for their magnificent work and dedication.

“This is a prestigious award in this industry, and we could not be happier to see all our hard work and attention to detail recognised in front of our industry peers from all over Australia.

“We are very proud of all the quality work we do here at Sports Courts Victoria, and the reason we won this award (we believe) is because every job - big or small - is just as important as the next.”

G2 INNOVATIONS’ BIG DEAL WITH GLOBAL BRANDS

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eelong-based innovation consultancy, G2 Innovations, has just secured a contract with multinational consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser, the parent company to brands such as Durex and Scholl. G2 Innovation will be conducting market and trend landscaping and analysis for a number of Reckitt Benckiser’s brands.

“We are thrilled to be working with the team at Reckitt Benckiser.

Forecasting the future is integral to the success of businesses today and it’s a great testament to our team that a global heavyweight has chosen us as their service provider in this area,”

said Andrew Jones, co-founder of G2 Innovation.

Rob Lewis, Head of Health Transformation at Reckitt Benckiser said, “The team at G2 Innovation consistently deliver their services with intelligence, integrity and creativity. We are thoroughly looking forward to working with them on this project.”

G2 Innovation’s Futures Forecasting service uses a dynamic pool of researchers and technology experts from Geelong and across the world to conduct trend analysis and market landscaping, so that companies can better understand their current and future marketplaces.

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 11

FEATURE

CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN AN AGE OF DISRUPTION

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omplacency is a terrible thing,” mused Janet Dore, former CEO of the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), during a recent interview.

I met with Janet and Lantern Legal Group Managing Principal, Dan Simmonds, to talk about innovation and change management in the legal profession after her appointment as the first independent Chair of the Board of the parent company of Harwood Andrews Lawyers and Sladen Legal.

Janet Dore has built a career out of championing innovation as the key to successful change management.

“If you’re not innovating you’re not going anywhere,” Janet said, and having built a career out of successfully managing periods of change in regional cities, she knows what she’s talking about.

The first CEO of the newly amalgamated City of Ballarat in 1994, Dore was also a key figure in the revitalisation of Newcastle during the New South Wales city’s transition away from a heavy reliance on coal and traditional manufacturing to a strong and growing economy based around education, services and tourism. She has held board positions at NIB Health Funds, Newcastle Airport, NSW Heritage Council, NSW Sustainability Advisory Council and the Victorian Planning Appeals Tribunal.

as someone who lives and speaks his values of high integrity. I couldn’t work with anyone who didn’t do that.”

Dan said that the firm first began looking at appointing an independent Chair around five years ago, but had not come across the right person for the job.

“Earlier this year, I had that a-ha moment that here was someone who had the credibility in business throughout Victoria, that had the experience and was keen to take on another challenge, but that also understood that difference between regional and metropolitan, so we offered her the role,” he said.

It is an interesting move from a firm with a 174-year history, but one that is illustrative of the progressive nature of Harwood Andrews.

The state’s largest firm based outside of Melbourne, Harwood Andrews is targeting growth in regional Victoria. With a staff of 165 people, 105 of whom are employed across offices in the state’s regional commercial hubs – Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo – the firm is looking to further expand in regional areas.

“to successfully operate in this changing environment requires a willingness to embrace change”

During her seven years at the helm of the TAC, Dore rolled out the TAC2015 six-year strategy that saw a $400 million reduction in liabilities. Since stepping away from her role at the TAC in recent months she has been appointed Chair of the Committee for Ballarat (Dore lives in Buninyong) and was a key appointment to the newly established Geelong Authority.

Janet said she was ‘enormously flattered’ by the invitation to Chair Lantern Legal Group, saying, “Dan has always impressed me

While the profession may be stigmatized (not in all cases unfairly) by an impression of weighty leatherbound tomes, centuries-old traditional court dress and exorbitant fee structures, the legal sector is every bit as caught up in the maelstrom of disruption activity and digitallydirected change as everyone else in business in Australia.

The firm has to compete with big law – in Victoria most of this is based in Melbourne – and new law. New law is the raft of disrupters; small firms, who will outsource their back office operations often to low-cost service economies like India; those who work from a virtual office; and small boutique firms – often with just a few lawyers and staff - who focus solely on one very specific area of the law.

BUSINESS NEWS | 12

FEATURE These new disrupters are on the rise and Dan pointed to a firm of very senior lawyers who operate effectively as guns for hire for large corporations. These types of operations are part of a global change in the legal profession, and to successfully operate in this changing environment requires a willingness to embrace change.

“Communication is the most important thing in any organisation.

It’s each of the leaders in the business that have to be consistent about what we are about, what is our differential, what are the things that we have to consider to enable us to maintain success in the future,” she said.

Harwood Andrews has already shown itself to be progressive– of its 20 Principals, two-thirds are less than 45 years of age and 38 per cent are women, including the recent promotion of Vittoria De Stefano to Principal at Harwood Andrews Lawyers in the month before she went on maternity leave.

“To me, a good Chair can take those conversations and steer them towards outcomes and can challenge people to go back and do what they say they are going to do and being accountable.

That is the benefit of a strong independent Chair under our corporate model,” Dan said.

And, earlier this year, Lantern Legal Group became just the second Australian law firm to receive B Corp certification. B Corp is a system of private certification by non-profit B Lab in America.

The influential certification is achieved through a rigorous process of assessing the positive impact of the business on its workers, on the communities in which it works, as well as having a sustainable environmental footprint and a socially responsible governance structure.

The global community of B Corporations sign on to work with one unifying goal – to redefine the meaning of success in business as not only striving to the be the best in the world, but also to be the best for the world. There are now 73 B Corp companies in Australia.

Lantern Legal Group is far from the typical B Corp company, coming as it does with an employee base of 165 – the other Australian B Corp legal firm has a staff of four.

B Corps tend to be startups that build the values of best practices policies in staff welfare, community support and environmental sustainability from the beginning. These same values have been re-engineered into the operating structure of Lantern Legal Group, and while it hasn’t been an easy or quick process, it is one that Dan said has been well worth the effort.

“We were already doing a lot of the right things, it was just more formalising our policies, for example we were already a genderdiverse firm and we thought we were already pretty sensitive to gender issues. But we found there were areas where we weren’t being gender sensitive – for example, we were only giving one week of paternity leave, so we made that two weeks because that’s what good practice said we should do. It was that sort of review that has made a difference,” he said.

“It’s a key differentiator and, I think, very powerful,” Janet said. “It’s fascinating for me, because this is such an exciting time in any business. I think the medium sized legal firms, with values like this one sits so well with my whole philosophy. Being a force for good in a private sector firm has real value.

“I’m proud of my record at the TAC in terms of shifting the model, embracing change and putting clients first. You know here, as a law firm, we are only as good as the clients who are doing business with us. They are our best advocates, or should be,” she said.

In an industry sector where micro and small-scale firms are building their business models around being highly specialised, Harwood Andrews is continuing to grow as a diversified firm working in the regional business and local government space.

“We’ve had the size to be able to specialise,” Dan said, “to have people who do specialise in superannuation, in tax, in high-level business work, who do big disputes, who specialise in family law, or who can do the local government work and act for other government authorities.”

The firm recently acted for the City of Yarra when that local government organisation took on the State Government in the Supreme Court – not an opportunity that would often present to a regional law firm.

And the separation of the brands of Harwood Andrews and Sladen Legal, with both operating under the umbrella of Lantern Legal Group, has allowed both brands to continue to grow in their respective markets without confusing the messaging.

“Harwood Andrews is very comfortable with their presence as the leading regional Victorian legal firm, while Sladen Legal operate as a Melbourne firm from a Collins Street address,” Dan said.

“What having the two brands has allowed us to do is to have a city firm that can concentrate on their service offering to private clients.

In the two and a half years that we’ve had that, the profile of the work that is coming through the door has risen and the quality of the people and businesses that we are acting for has allowed us to become a more broad-based practice there.

“The opportunities for Harwood Andrews in regional Victoria are immense. It’s great having sixty people in Melbourne, and obviously there is room for growth there, but we’ve now got the opportunity to continue to expand in regional Victoria through expansion of our offices in Ballarat and Bendigo, but also by looking for other areas to operate from, and we are actively doing that.”

Janet said she believes that there has never been a better time to be in business in regional Victoria than now.

And while championing change at the top is one thing, bringing the people at all levels of the business or organisation along with you is another thing entirely.

“The whole business about manufacturers closing down and leaving, it’s the same as in Newcastle; it provides new opportunities, to reposition, to be modern, to go forward into the future. Look at North East England, where I’m from, it’s been reborn. Newcastle upon Tyne now is unbelievably cool.

“I won’t quote the new Prime Minister,” Janet said, “but I think he’s approach is going to engage people throughout the country by first of all being positive about what you want to achieve, and secondly, actually having a discourse around that.

“I’ve said in every regional city I’ve lived in, that people inside forget how good these places are. They’ve all got their similar strengths and weaknesses and their weaknesses are that they talk themselves down.”

DAVINA MONTGOMERY BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 13

TECH UPDATE

GEELONG BUSINESS IN THE GRIP OF NARROW BAND Geelong business is in the grip of a diminishing broadband Internet service and for many, it won’t be fixed until the NBN is activated in three years’ time. Our Technology Analyst, Jon Mamonski reports from the recent ICT Geelong Broadband Summit.

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ransforming Geelong and the G21 region into a smarter digital economy is being stymied by poor broadband services to business. According to Vicwest Telco chief Geoff Hutchinson, Geelong business spends $160 million a year on information technology and communications (ITC). While the NBN is slowly rolling out to new housing estates, businesses particularly in the city, G21 town centres and industrial estates are on the back burner.

Uploading strangled At the recent ICT Geelong Summit, Cr Rod Macdonald and ICT Geelong’s Geoff Crowl said the current Internet infrastructure could not deliver enough bandwidth at a fair price for business, especially uploading speeds (sending data) that run at a snail’s pace. And why? Demand has skyrocketed and there is little investment in expanding current broadband technology when the NBN is coming, albeit, for many, not for another three years.

Snail speed University and TAFE students are suffering narrowband as well.

Coursework often demands that completed assignments be uploaded from home yet the Internet crashes time and again.

It has become known as the ‘Netflix Effect’ and for many businesses there’s no point trying to upload data services between 3.30pm and midnight when the Internet is saturated.

That means that where a typical Geelong ADSL connection can have a download speed of between 2 to 10MB per second, the upload speed is often 0.1 to 0.5MB a second or, to put it bluntly, snail speed. Geelong cannot transform at this rate.

Business investment killer The situation is now deemed to be critical and the Broadband Summit was called to address what many believe is a business investment killer. Geoff Crowl said, ‘Businesses tend to move to where the Internet service is good, with some leaving Geelong in sheer frustration because of the poor service.’

Eight years ago a G21 commissioned report from Deloitte into Geelong’s ICT opportunities found that “bandwidth is seen as insufficient” and one responder in the report said, “I can connect faster (to our office) from China than I can here”. That was 2007.

The demand is far higher now.

The Internet service quality map clearly shows that industrial areas in and around Geelong and many in the CBD as having the poorest quality service.

Continued.....

Source: Australian Government Department of Communications. www.mybroadband.communications.gov.au

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TECH UPDATE

PIVOT SUMMIT 2015

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he inaugural Pivot Summit comes to Geelong on October 28 and provides a unique opportunity for local businesses to hear from and interact with speakers working at the highest levels of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector on issues that effect all businesses, from the micro-business and home startups right through to global corporations.

Topics to be explored at the one-day summit include: technology innovations; understanding customer behavior; communicating with clients, employees and other companies using new media strategies; how to build a successful startup; taking a tech solution through to fruition; to everything you didn’t know you needed to know about protecting against cyber threats.

There are few businesses that operate without a digital presence and the key to successful operation and growth in the digital age comes from understanding the opportunities and the challenges that digital has to offer.

Pivot Summit Inc. President, Leighton Wells, said the summit will also help to highlight the strength of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the region.

“What isn’t well known in Geelong yet, is the depth and breadth of jobs and enterprises we already have in the region in digital and creative industries,” he said. “Data shows that within the City of Greater Geelong alone, 6.3 percent of all jobs provided are within the digital and creative industries sector (10,745 jobs). With the manufacturing sector in decline, growth in creative industries is clearly seen around the world as a growing sector. Pivot Summit will have clear linkages to future job creation and economic growth.

Before his elevation to the top job, Malcolm Turnbull saw the local rollout of the NBN first hand alongside Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson.

Sarah Henderson MP is on record for pushing Geelong’s business case, saying, “I believe Geelong has a very strong future as a premiere city of innovation, science and research.

But to give us every chance of reaching our full potential, fast broadband is essential”. That said, it isn’t the city’s business districts but the new housing estates and the Great Ocean Road that will have NBN before Geelong businesses do and they cannot afford to wait any longer.

Take control of your destiny The Summit saw business leaders taking their Internet future into their own hands by calling for the establishment of a Geelong Internet Service Provider (ISP) that a consortium of local business can subscribe to. According to Geoff Hutchinson, this would give Geelong businesses real clout in negotiating faster and cheaper Internet services than they get now and he challenged the Geelong Business community to take control of its own destiny.

To this end ICT Geelong is calling for all businesses to complete a short survey about their current broadband at http://tinyurl. com/ofcqy3w or contact the ICT Geelong team on phone: 0468 688 118.

JON MAMONSKI

“Attracting the calibre of speakers from across the country and the world to Geelong in October is an outstanding achievement and will pave the way for Pivot Summit to become a multi-site, multiday festival of digital, music, film and future thinking in the years to come.

“This event will bring hundreds of digital professionals and creative thinkers to Geelong and inspire our future as a 21st Century City.

The multi-media presentation to be unveiled tomorrow is just a taste of the world class design and visual identity development that will be a core part of the Summit experience itself,” Mr Wells said.

Leading speakers including Rackspace Futurist and former Chief Microsoft Technology Evangelist Robert Scoble and Principal Digital Analyst for Altimeter Group Brian Solis will provide ideas and insights to help businesses innovate to generate economic benefits for sustainable jobs of the future. Jodie Moule, CoFounding Director of Symplicit, will talk about how to look at the way people do things and create technology-based solutions for everyday problems. CEO and Founder of iAccelerate will present on entrepreneurship, while Adam Cartwright, Global Head of Cyber Security at ANZ will discuss managing technology security and infrastructure. And Shaun Holthouse, CEO and Co-Founder of Catapult Sports – creators of wearable sports technology seen on the backs of AFL, NRL, New York Giants, Chelsea Football Club and AC Milan players – will share his insights into turning a great idea into reality.

Pivot Summit Inc is an industry-led not for profit organisation supported by ICT Geelong. Sponsors include: City of Greater Geelong Enterprise Geelong, Telstra, ICT Geelong, Digitalsmith, Fluid, Deakin University, Frank Health Insurance, tandemVox, Tribal, Geelong Connected Communities, nalu productions and Perfect Events. Supporting partners include: BTS Technologies, AIMIA, Hydrix and The Pier.

Tickets to Pivot Summit 2015 are now on sale for $195. Visit www. pivotsummit.com.au or email info@pivotsummit.com.au for more information.

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COVER STORY

HACK ATTACK WHY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO IGNORE CYBER SECURITY

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he issue of cyber security can produce good fodder for a laugh. Nick Helm’s quip of, “I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” was judged as the funniest joke at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011. A Forbes Magazine article on the murky world of cyber crime included the very clever, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to phish and he’ll use your credit card to buy dinner.” (September 14, 2013). And the already infamous Ashley Madison hacking saw the internet flooded with memes, tweets, posts, and listicled jokes.

Even the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, has joined the ranks of hack attack gags, joking at the White House Summit on cyber security that, “It’s just too easy for hackers to figure out usernames and passwords like, ‘password’ or ‘123457’. Those are some of my previous passwords.”

But that is about as funny as the threat of a cyber attack or data breach gets. The reality of living in an increasingly connected world is that there is a myriad of opportunities for someone with malicious intent to break into cyber networks and take what they want.

A 2014 McAfee report estimates the annual cost to the global economy of cyber crime at between $375 billion and $575 billion US dollars.

The big data breaches make global headlines. One was the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the US that saw the personal details of millions of people who had gone through government clearance processes. But perhaps the most notorious IT security breach is the intimate exposure of the members of the dating site for marrieds, Ashley Madison.

The Australian Government is well aware of the threat cyber security poses and a number of government agencies are charged with identifying and responding to cyber threats. CERT Australia is the national computer emergency response team and part of the Federal Attorney-General’s Department. It is the point of contact between businesses experiencing cyber security issues and the Government.

CERT is a key element in the Australian Cyber Security Centre and works closely with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Signals Directorate, the Defence Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Crime Commission.

According to David Campbell, the Acting Executive Manager of CERT “The privacy issue is one to really watch,” Mr Campbell said.

“Whenever we transact online we are placing a lot of trust into who we are transacting with. At the end of the day, none of us want to see our personal information available for someone with malicious intent.”

He said that there have been a lot more data breaches in recent times, but that Australian businesses have become significantly more aware of cyber security than they were even two years ago.

While under-reporting makes it difficult to gauge the full cost to the economy of cyber crime, what we do know is that the cost impact to the Australian economy of just the reported attacks is over $1 billion. It would be safe to assume that figure is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cyber crime in Australia.

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Ph

“There is an awful lot of malicious cyber activity around at the moment, and that’s an international problem. We’ve got relationships with CERTs all around the world and we’re all saying the same things about the activity that we’re seeing.

“Sometimes it can be really heartbreaking, because you’ll find small businesses who are being targeted with these ransomware attacks, where their information is all encrypted and they are asked to pay some sort of extortion-based payment, usually in the form of Bitcoin, and for small business that don’t have the knowledge and experience to be able to deal with that it can be quite devastating.

The size of a business or organisation is no predictor of the likelihood of a cyber attack. Here in Geelong there have been a number of large businesses and organizations that have been targeted by ransomware and denial-of-service attacks.

Some of the measures that can mitigate the impact of these types of attack include taking your database offline with a good backup policy so that you can restore your (and your customer’s) data.

“Quite often we find with smaller to medium-sized businesses is that they’ve outsourced their infrastructure management. It’s very, very important for businesses that when they are in that contract phase, before they sign the agreement with whoever is going to look after their systems, that they ensure that things like what happens during a cyber security incident and what that service provider will do for the business in that instance,” Mr Campbell said.

Then, just days later, came news of the Experian hack in the US, exposing the private information of around 15 million people who had applied for credit checks.

Australia’s Privacy Commissioner said there had been a huge jump in reported data breach notification in the 2014-15 financial year.

The Commonwealth Bank is warning that a global cyber-security skills shortage could open the way for more and more high profile and damaging computer attacks and the Federal Government expects demand for computer security experts will grow by more that 20 per cent over the next five years.

All in all, it paints a grim picture.

The Australian Information Security Association (AISA) is Australia’s peak body for the Australian cyber-security industry, formed to advance the awareness of cyber-security and the dangers of cyber-attack and data theft.

Puneet Kukjera, AISA Advocacy Spokesperson, pointed to the example of Melbourne-based web hosting and domain name registry business Distribute.IT. The business was the victim of a deliberate and targeted hack attack in 2011. It took just 30 minutes for hackers to destroy 4800 website accounts and the backups to ensure data could not be recovered. Distribute.IT. was forced into receivership as a result of the attack.

“It took just 30 minutes for hackers to destroy 4800 website accounts and the backups to ensure data could not be recovered.”

“Any business of any size can call us if they think they’ve had a cyber security issue and we will try to help them. If we can’t help them, we always try to point them in the direction of where they can get help,” Mr Campbell said.

Along with the CERT website (www.cert.gov.au), the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) has some very good information on how businesses can protect themselves and where both individuals and businesses can report cyber incidents online (www.acorn.gov.au).

Hacking has changed almost as much as the internet itself. What began as a way for really smart kids to prove just how smart they are, through to hacktivism (idealogically-driven malicious hacking) through to cyber crime perpetrated by organized crime gangs and nation states, the growing scale of cyber crime is mindbending. Yet hacking methods, in the large part, haven’t changed all that much.

Hackers look to entice individuals to click on to corrupted emails or websites, downloading malicious software (malware) and gaining access to networks connected to that computer.

The first recognized computer virus was the Morris worm, which made its way around the then nascent internet in 1988. Robert Tapan Morris, the 21 year-old student who developed the worm, became the first person to be convicted under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Today Morris is a respected computer sciences associate professor at MIT. As I was working on this article, news rolled in that two major Australian retailers, David Jones and Kmart Australia, had reported their networks had been breached and some customer details, although not credit card details, had been stolen by hackers.

“People seem to have forgotten about that, perhaps because it was a tech company and tech companies come and go. But this company went not because it was a bad business, but because of what is now called a cyber attack or data breach.”

Earlier this year, Telstra announced that the Singapore and Hong Kong-based Asian telco services, Pacnet Limited, had been hacked just prior to Telstra acquiring the company. Telstra revealed that unknown hackers had gained access to Pacnet’s corporate network, exposing corporate clients, including the Australian Federal Police.

“For say an Australian tech startup who is doing some very interesting work, let’s say in the biotech space, that they are looking to launch, what’s stopping another nation state or some other participant in that industry from undertaking a cyber attack? In Australia, cyber is one of the last things startups worry about when it comes to securing their intellectual property,” Mr Kukjera said.

“These are the issues that Australian small to medium businesses need to start thinking about from a cyber protection perspective.”

For small to medium businesses, particularly startups, the cost of cyber security managed services can be prohibitive, and given a choice of spending thousands or tens of thousands annually on data security or spending the same amount on building the capability of the business to bring in more revenue, it becomes a difficult decision.

Mr Kukjera said businesses should be paying more attention to the risk of cyber attack and asking questions around just how secure their networks are.

“Do you have antivirus on all your machines? Do you have network protection outside of your antivirus? When was the last time you ran a vulnerability scan on your systems? How comfortable are you with the patch management system of your

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COVER STORY boxes? And do you have these risks listed as technology risks more broadly, not just as cyber risks? Do you know that your backups are safe and secure?

“Australia’s small and medium businesses need to be thinking about these broader considerations. Do you think your business is digital? Do you have a reliance on data for your business to be operational? If you are connected to the internet then you are digital. For example, can you run a small transport business without running customer data and without tracking of your trucks? Can you run a warehouse business without having a system that runs your billing? Have you even thought about it?”

Locally, ICT Geelong is the peak body for the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) industry in the Geelong region.

Aamir Qutub, General Manager of ICT Geelong and CEO and founder of Enterprise Monkey, said that when most people think about cyber security, they tend to think about hackers attacking either banks or government websites. Most people running small to medium businesses wouldn’t think their data is of any relevance to these hackers. “[Hacking] is a bigger threat to smaller to medium rather than larger enterprises now because criminals have identified small to medium enterprises (SMEs) as a very easy target. For these businesses, successful attacks can harm your reputation or even shut your business down,” Mr Qutub said.

For businesses, the threat is not only to the data of that business, but also their clients’ data. Six-degrees of separation applies every bit as much in business as it does in society. It might not be your data a hacker is after, but that of one of your clients, or that of a third party connected to one of your clients.

“Now that we have document integration and cross-functional integration into different systems, it is easier for a hacker to attack

the smaller fish rather than directly attack the bigger fish,” Mr Qutub said. “[The Australian] Government is trying to secure companies and the country from cyber attack, but this is a completely different type of crime and it is very hard to track down the criminals.

Cyber policing hasn’t really caught up. And the tools that these criminals are using to attack small to medium businesses are much more effective that the tools those businesses are using to try to protect themselves.”

Malware, poses the biggest threat to SME businesses, and that includes things like viruses, worms, keylockers, Trojans, spywares and botnets. Most businesses have had malware of some kind installed on their system without knowing it.

Phishing emails, corrupted websites, social media, corrupt USBs and Wi-Fi networks without strong encryption are the hooks cyber criminals use to install malware on the even wary internet users.

“One of the most common threats that businesses face and the biggest threat to a business’ reputation is having a compromised website. A compromised website is a threat to the business, providing access to the company servers, and also to its customers,” Mr Qutub said.

“Ninety per cent of the websites around are dynamic websites, which means it has a double-encrypted management system with a log in and password. That means there is a database attached to the website.

“It is very easy to compromise a dynamic website and to inject something into the server and get the information out. Google identifies these websites as harmful, and Google warns visitors that there is malware on the site and the website’s ranking drops right down.”

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COVER STORY

“Do back up your data every night and keep your back ups off the network (back ups linked to the network can be corrupted in an attack), do patch your systems automatically so that they are always up to date and do control who has privileged access to sensitive or valuable data on the network.”

While some cyber attacks are launched from Australia against Australian targets, the majority come from overseas.

Major corporate websites, such as banks, and government departments, are hit with thousands of attacks every day, with incursion attempts coming every single day, and are countered by live around-the-clock cyber security response teams.

Mr Qutub said that for SMEs, the first step is to understand that this is a problem.

“Once we have recognized, each of us, that we are a target, then we need to identify what our assets are, what our intellectual property is and what data we are storing that could be of interest to hackers. Then it comes down to having a good security system and there are things a small business can do with few IT resources.

“Creating an IT policy is a good first step that doesn’t cost a lot, but identifies all of the risk that your business has and how you deal with attacks that may happen or that are happening,” he said. “There are easy guides online around how to create an IT policy.”

And while having a cyber security policy is a very good step, a secure system means that every person who uses that system has to have a minimum of training to know how to identify a potentially corrupt email or website.

“You can have the best system in place, the best security, but if one person’s password is leaked through their personal activities online or on social media then the whole organisation is exposed to threats. It’s about creating a culture and awareness around cyber security,” Mr Qutub said.

For businesses that are based on trust – lawyers, doctors, accountants – the potential damage of getting Cryptolocked and losing all of their client databases can be catastrophic. And new privacy laws in Australia mean businesses can be held responsible for the loss or unauthorized accessing of client data.

Technically, it is incredibly difficult to protect against all breaches and punitively blaming the victim of the attack is unlikely to reduce the risk. But tracking down and prosecuting perpetrators of cyber crime is equally difficult, particularly as it is almost impossible to prosecute across borders.

According to a confidential source in the cyber security industry, there are plenty of highly organised crime gangs who do nothing but cyber crime, because the money to be made is so big and the chance of getting caught and prosecuted is so small.

they don’t necessarily protect you against the newer stuff that is coming out and virus scanners won’t be any help if someone is particularly targeting you.”

For upwards of 90 per cent of small businesses, their most likely threat of cyber attack will come from getting caught up in a broad-based attack rather than a targeted theft. Pieces of software that get installed through clicking on a corrupted email link or website will alert the hacker and they are in, searching through the computer for information they can use or sell.

Targeted attacks are much harder to guard against. Typically, a targeted attack will start with reconnaissance. From websites to social media, there is a wealth of information about companies online and on social media, making it easy for hackers to spend a couple of weeks mapping out the known structure of the company and the people who work for and with the company.

A hacker will be trying to find someone with privileged access, and may even call reception asking for the contact details of a targeted person and be given them.

Using information about a targeted person’s work, their business connections and their lives – all available from sites like Facebook and LinkedIn – hackers can then send a personally directed and seemingly plausible email. As our source commented, people really do make it easy.

A targeted attack takes time and effort, and a hacker or gang of hackers won’t put the effort in without a reward at the end.

Companies that have particularly valuable or unique intellectual property – such as market-leading or highly unique products or services – have that value for hackers. If they can steal the information they can sell it.

The first step in protecting against hack attacks is understanding what category your business falls into. To defend against targets of opportunity, following the advise of the Australian Signals Directorate’s advise (www.asd.gov.au) is a good place to start.

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), part of the Australian Department of Defence, Intelligence and Security, advises that just following the directorate’s Top 4 mitigation strategies on the list of Strategies to Mitigate Targeted Cyber Intrusions could prevent 85 per cent of the targeted cyber intrusions that ASD responds to.

The ASD’s Top 4 mitigation strategies are: 1. Use application whitelisting to help prevent malicious software and unapproved programs from running.

Potentially, one in two Australian companies have been breached and don’t know it.

2. Patch applications such as Java, PDF viewers, Flash, web browsers and Microsoft Office.

“Detection is very difficult. Virus scanners and intruder protection systems are signature based and tend to look for things they’ve seen before, so they are fairly easy to defeat. All you have to do is to change a few bytes in a piece of code and that can be enough for a virus scanner to not recognize it.

3. Patch operating system vulnerabilities.

“Most of the stuff that is out there is signature based, and the virus scanners do a great job of protecting against that stuff, but

4. Restrict administrative privileges to operating systems and applications based on user duties.

These are the basics of cyber security that every business, regardless of size, should be doing to keep themselves, their business and their clients or customers safe. Do back up your data every night and keep your back ups off the network (back

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COVER STORY ups linked to the network can be corrupted in a Cryptolocker attack), do patch your systems automatically so that they are always up to date and do control who has privileged access to sensitive or valuable data on the network.

For more sizeable businesses or ones that run their own web servers, going to big cloud providers means that you can leverage their security on your network. The things that a business on their own wouldn’t be able to afford in high level security they can now buy as a service on the internet.

But the shortage of people with the skills to work in cyber security is both a concern and an opportunity.

Security is one of the deeper technical areas of ICT; it’s easier to become a platform engineer than to do security, because to work in cyber security you have to not only understand how to build a platform, you also have to know how to break it.

The dearth of people skilled in cyber security is a global problem, and with our advanced education system Australia could and should be looking to train or skill up science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) students and workers to not only fill the gap in Australia, but who can potentially start their own companies and consult around the world.

The other rather more positive message coming from cyber security experts is that there is a big difference between having

your network security compromised – which is a given - and being successfully hacked.

Lockheed Martin developed the Cyber Kill Chain, the industrystandard model of seven steps a cyber attack needs to get through to be successful: Reconnaissance; Weaponization; Delivery; Exploitation; Installation; Command and Control; and Action on Objectives.

While it’s almost impossible to stop individual computers becoming compromised, at each of the steps from the incursion to extricating information that are steps that can be taken by security services to prevent the attack going further into the system and extracting valuable information.

Security services will look to identify malware as soon as possible. Further along the chain of access, they will look for unusual user activity, multiple log ins or people looked in where they shouldn’t be, individual PCs talking to or scanning the network.

“It would be fair to say that any large corporation is dealing with multiple attempts to do that initial compromise every day. What you are aiming for is to never get to the point where you discover they’ve got though the whole Kill Chain and got the data and you don’t discover it until a year later. That happens quite a lot.”

DAVINA MONTGOMERY

IT Security You’re more vulnerable than you think Find the weaknesses in your business before someone else does

OBLIGATION FREE SECURITY AND PENETRATION TESTING Talk to our experts

Results of our recent poll

Top 5 major SECURITY concerns for local businesses 73% are concerned about data leakage via mobile devices 68% are concerned about cloud based data leakage 64% are concerned about former or disgruntle employees 59% are concerned about hacking by organised crime groups 56% are concerned about viruses and malware

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03 5228 3000

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OPINION

THE FUTURE IS IN SIGHT Geelong Chamber of Commerce was pleased to introduce the following new members at our September After 5 event .

Held at Cotton On. Hosted by Unite Water & Run Geelong.

Andrew Wiebusch Belinda Doherty Crigan Estate Strategies Pty Ltd Crowder Accounting Services Pty Ltd Geelong Australian Taxation Office Jackie Matthews Mule Coffee Shed To discuss your possible membership with the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, Contact: Jody Keating, Membership Services Manager.

Ph: 0429 223 432 Email: jody.keating@geelongchamber.com.au

Upcoming events: HARWOOD ANDREWS LAW BREAKFAST 8 October 2015 Geelong Football Club

OCTOBER AFTER 5 14 October 2015 RACV Resort Torquay Hosted by RACV Resort Torquay

CORPORATE PARTNER LUNCHEON 15 October 2015 Le Parisien Hosted by Vic Super & Geelong Chamber of Commerce The Hon Richard Wynne MP Minister for Planning, keynote speaker

BEYOND BLUE BREAKFAST 17 November 2015 The Pier Bookings opening soon

NOVEMBER AFTER 5 19 November 2015 Village Cinema Hosted by Village Cinema

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or more than 50 years, people entering Geelong via the Melbourne Road were welcomed by the Shell refinery and the Ford manufacturing plant – proud reminders of the city’s heritage as a regional industrial powerhouse.

But the city’s economy is changing – and with it Geelong’s skyline.

We have the light towers at Kardinia Park, the new library and heritage centre, and soon Geelong’s evolving skyline will feature the new Victorian headquarters of WorkSafe.

Recently, local businessman and Chamber member, Michael King, introduced me to representatives from Folkestone, his joint-venture partner for the development site in Myers Street; one of four sites being considered for the WorkSafe development.

Folkestone is an ASX-listed real estate developer and fund manager, which has a development pipeline of $1 billion. It promises to bring a new level of scale, experience and capability to the Geelong market.

Through our discussion it became clear to me that whoever wins the right to build the new WorkSafe building will have an exciting opportunity to change the Geelong skyline and set the direction and standard for the future of construction in this city.

And while at one level each new piece of infrastructure creates a visual reminder of our changing economy, the true power behind each new development is in the underlying economic impact.

The lights at Kardinia Park create opportunity to host new sporting events, at new times and attract new visitors to our region. The architectural masterpiece that is the new library and heritage centre brings with it opportunity to grow and expand Geelong’s cultural and tourism program and to establish an arts precinct right on the edge of our CBD. Each of these buildings adds direct and indirect jobs and economic activity to our region.

And so it will be with the new WorkSafe building. Required to house more than 700 employees, there is no doubt that this will be a building that changes Geelong’s skyline.

But what excites me as CEO of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce are the underlying economic benefits that this move will bring.

When I hear of 700 new employees coming to Geelong, I immediately envisage 700 new customers for our local traders. But for our city, the benefits of relocating WorkSafe to Geelong have the potential to reach so much further than the impact of 700 new customers.

Those 700 new people moving around our city – buying lunch, meeting for coffee, dropping off dry cleaning, picking up provisions – will create unprecedented demand for more products and services; adding new hubs of economic activity, activating long-dormant shopfronts and underpinning the revitalisation of our city.

This is such a rare and exciting opportunity to inject new economic stimulus into Geelong. Where the new building is located and how the planning authorities and WorkSafe itself use the move to activate our economy will be of great focus and attention to the Chamber and its members.

I look forward to seeing a smart and considered assessment of the best way to bring WorkSafe to Geelong, so that its relocation is leveraged to deliver the broadest possible benefit to our economy and makes the greatest contribution to the future prosperity of our great city.

For more information about the Chamber visit www.geelongchamber.com.au

BERNADETTE UZELAC Chief Executive Officer, Geelong Chamber of Commerce

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N l t a S f

INSOLVENCY

ATO TURNS UP HEAT ON TAX DEBTS & INSOLVENCY

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n July 2015, the Inspector General of Taxation’s report on Debt Collection indicated that the outstanding tax debts managed by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) total $35.3 billion (2013-2014). This amount is categorised by the ATO as: - Collectable - $20.3 billion (57%)

BEN TE WIERIK, SENIOR MANAGER, JIRSCH SUTHERLAND

- Disputed - $8.4 billion (24%) and - Insolvent - $6.5 billion (19%) Sixty per cent ($12.4 billion) of the collectable amount is owed by small businesses, of which, those with a turnover of less than $500,000 make up 74 per cent; individuals account for 16 per cent of collectable debt.

Anecdotally, Jirsch Sutherland, both locally and nationally, has seen an increase in the number of insolvency related inquiries as a result of ATO recovery activity.

“...Jirsch Sutherland... has seen an increase in the number of insolvency related inquiries as a result of ATO recovery activity.”

A reduction in the ATO’s threshold for initiating bankruptcy and winding up proceedings may be the catalyst for this increased activity.

The move to a reduction in the thresholds for taking Insolvency Action was foreshadowed in a recent speech to the Tax Institute by Tax Commissioner, Chris Jordan in March 2015.

Historically, the ATO had waited to initiate bankruptcy proceedings when an individual’s tax debt was, on average, greater than $300,000. Similarly, on average, the ATO waited to instigate wind-up proceedings against companies when tax debts exceeded $340,000.

This compares with action taken by other creditors who pursued bankruptcy and windup actions for outstanding debts averaging $35,000 for individuals, and corporates with debts averaging $93,000.

Some of the more common tools used by the ATO include: Garnishee notices: which allow the ATO to issue a notice in writing to both the taxpayer and a third-party who owes money to the taxpayer. The notice requires the third party to pay to the ATO monies owing to the taxpayer up to the amount owed to the ATO;

Nothing in this article should be construed as legal, financial or professional advice. Whilst the information is considered to be accurate and correct at the time of publication, Jirsch Sutherland does not take any legal responsibility for any inaccurate information.

Insolvency action: which refers to ATO initiated proceedings against Individuals or companies to have the taxpayer made bankrupt or wound-up in insolvency. In recent months, Insolvency action by the ATO has seen the number of ATO initiated windup applications against companies spiking

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to over 550 applications in May 2015 and remaining around 400 per month in June, July and August. By comparison, the total number of ATO initiated wind-ups for the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 years were 1,555, 1072 and 1,333 respectively.

Director Penalty Notices (DPN): can be issued by the ATO when a company fails to meet obligations for its PAYG Withholding or Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) liabilities by their due dates, making the company’s director(s) personally liable for those debts.

Where a company’s lodgements are not up to date, the ATO can issue a default tax assessment or estimate the Company’s SGC liability and use these as the basis for issuing a DPN, to instigate recovery action to recover the penalty. The ATO can also collect the penalty by other means, for example, by withholding a tax refund.

A DPN can be satisfied if the company: 1. pays the outstanding amount, or 2. reported its PAYG & SGC liabilities within three months of their due dates and within 21 days of receiving the DPN: - a Voluntary Administrator is appointed or - the Company is wound up Where the company failed to report its PAYG & SGC liabilities within three months of their due dates, personal liability of the director can only be avoided if the Company pays the outstanding amount. (Note: where a Company enters into a payment arrangement for the payment of the debt, the ATO has indicated that it will not attempt to recover the penalty from a director whilst the payment arrangement is in place).

What does this all mean?

The ATO is more active in pursuing outstanding tax debts and is initiating insolvency action earlier.

If your business is not viable and unable to meet obligations, action is required.

An individual, or a director of a Company, who finds themselves on the receiving end of the ATO’s increased debt collection activity, should be proactive; engage with the ATO; and speak to their accountant or advisor as soon as possible.

Putting your head in the sand is a mistake!

BUSINESS ADVICE

RISK PROTECTION FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS

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client with a thriving business decided to take out a business loan to finance further growth. Without any warning, the client was diagnosed with an illness so serious they were expected to be away from their business for at least a year whilst they recovered.

ANDREW MCDOUGALL, RISK INSURANCE MANAGER, REPRESENTATIVE, CROWE HORWATH

While coping with the news of their illness, the client faced a major financial and lifestyle choice: to retain or sell their business?

Fortunately, when he obtained finance, we helped him to arrange personal insurance, which provides a lump sum payment following a serious illness or disability.

With a carefully constructed risk management strategy in place, our client did not have to worry unduly about the immediate future of their business. As soon as we were advised of their illness, we helped our client to make a claim on their insurance policy.

How would your business cope if you suffered a serious accident or illness? The much needed insurance payment means the client has been able to continue their business while assessing their options. It has also allowed them to focus on what is most important – getting better!

This article provides general information only, current at the time of production. Any advice in it has been prepared without taking into account your personal circumstances. You should seek professional advice before acting on any material.

Crowe Horwath Financial Advice Pty Ltd is the holder of Australian Financial Services Licence number 238244 ABN 51 060 092 631

Sadly, not all business owners have such foresight and are inadequately prepared for major illness or injury. It is also important to think about what you would do if your spouse suffered a serious illness or injury. If you had to take time off to help them recover, would a lump sum insurance payment come in handy?

A Risk Insurance Advisor will review your exposure, negotiating and obtaining information

BUSINESS NEWS | 24

about your options, providing advice and handling all the paperwork on your behalf. In most instances their services to you do not incur a fee. So you should make use of this opportunity.

As Crowe Horwath provides the full range of financial services, our Risk Advisors are able to liaise with our General Insurance experts, Lending Brokers, Financial Advisors and Business Advisors for a truly comprehensive risk assessment.

Don’t take chances with your business or your own protection.

LEGAL

D

DOTTING THE ‘I’S AND CROSSING THE ‘D’S SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR SMSFS

eath, disability, disqualification and departure from Australia are collectively known as D events and any of these D events could render a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) non-compliant if a trustee of an SMSF has no succession plan in place.

EMILY CAPILL, LAWYER CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL

“If a D event occurs rendering an SMSF trustee or director incapable of acting in Australia, the SMSF may become non-compliant”

The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1992 (SISA) and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 relevantly provide that for an SMSF to be a complying fund: each trustee of an SMSF must be a member of the fund, and in the case of a corporate trustee, each director of the company must be a member of the fund; and the central management and control of the fund must ordinarily be in Australia.

If a D event occurs rendering an SMSF trustee or director incapable of acting in Australia, the SMSF may become non-compliant. By being prepared for such eventualities, an SMSF may avoid the taxation and administrative penalties that ordinarily follow non-compliance.

When an SMSF member dies, their membership ceases. This may raise compliance issues, particularly if the SMSF is a twomember fund and both members are individual trustees. To prevent the SMSF from becoming non-compliant, action must be taken to convert the fund into a single member fund. SISA provides a 6-month grace period from the date of the member’s death for the SMSF to get its affairs in order.

A SMSF may be converted into a single member fund upon the death of a member by either appointing a corporate trustee, of which the sole member is a director; or appointing a second individual trustee.

Although not mandated by SISA, it is recommended that following the death of a member, the member’s legal personal representative (LPR) - who is usually the surviving member - be appointed as the second individual trustee until a corporate trustee is established.

If the SMSF has a corporate trustee, then the directors should have a direction in their will that transfers their shareholdings in the corporate trustee to the surviving member of the fund.

This will ensure that the surviving member will become the sole director and shareholder of the company.

If a member is under a legal disability which renders them incapable of being able to fulfil their trustee or director duties, then the member’s LPR who has an enduring power of attorney to act in their role without causing the SMSF to become non-compliant.

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Where there is a corporate power of attorney, which provides for an alternate director for the corporate trustee, the LPR appointed under that power of attorney need not formally be appointed as trustee but may act on behalf of the member until the member is no longer under a legal disability (provided the company constitution permits the appointment of an alternate director).

The ATO highlights the importance of trustees and directors understanding their obligations prior to accepting such appointments.

For an SMSF to be eligible to receive the taxation concessions, it must have its central management and control ordinarily in Australia.

This means if the trustees or directors of the corporate trustee of the SMSF travel overseas and reside outside Australia for more than two years, there is a risk that the SMSF will become non-compliant. For this reason, it is recommended that the trustees or directors prepare an enduring power of attorney that appoints an attorney to act on their behalf whilst they are overseas.

Section 120 of SISA provides circumstances in which a company or individual will be disqualified from acting as trustee or director of a corporate trustee of an SMSF. Similar events, which include bankruptcy and certain criminal convictions, will also disqualify a person from acting as director of a corporate trustee.

If a person becomes disqualified, they are required to immediately resign from their appointment as trustee or director.

Because section 17A(10) of SISA provides that an LPR cannot act as trustee or director of a corporate trustee on behalf of a disqualified person, this leaves the member (who is disqualified from being a trustee or director) no choice but to cease being a member of the fund, otherwise the SMSF will become noncompliant.

As an SMSF trustee or director, it is crucial that the member has a backup plan if a D event occurs. Planning for such events will involve ensuring the trust deed and company constitution adequately address matters pertaining to the appointment and removal of trustees and directors when a D event occurs.

It is also essential that SMSF members have an enduring power of attorney in place both for themselves personally and for their companies.

Such a small investment now can save the SMSF a hefty liability down the track.

PROPERTY

YOUR 12 BUYING CRITERIA In the August edition, commercial property investment expert, Chris Lang, shared his 8 Investment Objectives when looking to invest in commercial property: enduring value, ongoing cash flow, steady growth, super growth, lending appeal, future collateral, cost control and tax benefits. In this column, Chris sets out the 12 key buying criteria for a successful commercial property investment.

Tenant Calibre & Lease Term These two criteria alone could prove to be most important in achieving your Investment Objectives. What you’ll look for is a strong corporate (or government) tenant, with a minimum of a five-year lease term.

With that in place, you’re well on your way to making a successful investment.

Recent Construction & Flexible Design When a property has been recently built, it will generally have ongoing appeal to subsequent tenants; plus it will require less renovation to maintain its modern appearance.

This also means you’ll start to enjoy significant tax benefits, thanks to generous depreciation allowances early in the building’s life.

Likewise, a flexible design means that you are not left with an inefficient floor layout if your principal tenant were to vacate at the end of lease term.

In other words, you’ll have an adaptable layout — which will allow you to draw from a wide market when re-letting is required.

Lease Structure & Absence of Competition Lease structure relates to things like the frequency and method of your rent reviews: who pays the operating costs; and to what degree a tenant is responsible for total building maintenance.

Absence of competition relates to how many similar properties there are (or could be built) nearby.

This determines whether the market might become over-saturated — which could affect your return from the property when it comes to reletting.

Zoning relates to your property’s present and potential future uses. This type of information is available from your local council. It’s something you need to be on top of, as there are specific zoning and density changes occurring on a regular basis.

And you can often make windfall gains if you’re astute.

Good Position & Emerging Trends

Title Options & Vendor Motivation

All other things being equal, the better the location, the better your property will perform. However, this also depends on the nature of the property, and includes factors like visibility, accessibility to public transport and the property’s position within the surrounding suburbs.

Emerging trends can include demographic issues like population movements — which invariably leads to many new investment opportunities. But equally, new trends are emerging in relation to construction, design, energy conservation, security, lift technology, automation, and so on.

All of these will affect the future demand for, and appeal of, your property.

Passing Yield & Zoning Passing yield refers to the current yield for an existing investment. If it comes from rentals considered to be “above market” (i.e.: higher than the rents currently being paid by the tenants of similar properties), you are unlikely to receive any increase from your market reviews.

Alternatively, if the rental is below market and your future reviews are fixed — being incremental reviews, or are tied to the Consumer Price Index — then, you’ll only be adding to (and deferring) your problem until the lease expires.

On the other hand, if your passing rents are at (or even below) market level you could enjoy some Super Growth — having identified an opportunity other investors have overlooked.

A Surveyor will be able to tell you, with little expense, if you can subdivide the title for a parcel of land, or an entire building — in which case you are then able to significantly enhance your property’s marketability and what it’s worth.

You may still choose to sell the property as a whole; but purchasers will be attracted to it, because of the added flexibility. And people will pay you a handsome premium for that flexibility — well in excess of your cost of creating it.

Vendor motivation is important, but ought not be your main reason for buying a specific property. Having assessed all the fundamentals, and satisfied your earlier criteria, a motivated vendor can provide you with some additional interesting benefits.

With a motivated vendor, your focus quickly moves away from the price and starts concentrating on how to structure the most attractive contract terms.

Now you have established your Investment Objectives and Buying Criteria, the secret lies in combining them to quickly shortlist potential properties. However, all the hard work has already being done for you. Just go to the App Store, where you can download the Hi-Return Filter.

You’ll find it very intuitive; and it also has a couple of walkthrough videos explaining everything.

CHRIS LANG Chris is a 6-time published author on Commercial Property and CEO of CommercialPropertyMadeEasy.com Important information: This content is general in nature and does not constitute formal advice. Individuals should seek appropriate professional advice that considers the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs before making investment decisions.

BUSINESS NEWS | 26

ENERGY

HAVE YOU HAD YOUR ANNUAL ENERGY CHECK-UP? Are you sick of coughing up more and more money each bill to pay your business’ rising electricity costs?

According to Australia’s largest business-only electricity retailer1 ERM Business Energy, a simple annual energy price check-up can be the answer and has the potential to highlight savings for many businesses in Geelong.

ERM Business Energy Sales Manager, Peter Bennett, believes business owners are unwittingly paying more for power than they should be, simply because they are on a standard retail contract – either because an old market contract has expired, or they have never shopped around for a better electricity deal.

“There’s considerable confusion about energy pricing, with many people believing that the Government still sets retail electricity prices.

“This is not the case in Victoria. While the Australian Energy Regulator approves network charges, it has no role in setting retail prices,” Mr Bennett said.

Network charges are the charges for delivering electricity from power stations to the end user and include the costs of building, maintenance and operation of the electricity poles and wires that transport electricity. Network charges can represent a large component of electricity bills sometimes at around 50 per cent.

“Retail prices are set by energy retailers, and these can vary considerably from one retailer to the next. Retail prices include wholesale electricity costs, the cost of complying with various green schemes and retail services costs such as billing, account management and customer support,” Mr Bennett said.

“If your business has a standard retail contract with Origin, AGL or EnergyAustralia and you haven’t compared rates in the past year, the chances are your business is paying too much.

“We recommend an annual energy price check-up to see how your electricity retailer compares with the competition.

“You can get an instant quote online or alternatively upload your most recent electricity bill at ermbusinessenergy.com.au. It only takes a minute. We’ll do the work and let you know if you could be better by switching to ERM Business Energy,” he said. “Some of our small business customers have saved thousands.”

ERM Business Energy pricing is simple and competitive. There are no gimmicks or discounts on inflated base rates and there are no exit fees.

Like the online energy price check-up, making the switch to ERM Business Energy is quick and easy with online sign-up taking less than five minutes.

“ERM Business Energy specialises in energy for businesses. Our customers value this expertise, having ranked us number one for satisfaction for four years running.3 “We focus on the things that matter to business and we understand that time means money. So we don’t have huge call centre queues jammed with residential customers. Instead, speak to a local expert in our dedicated small business team,” Mr Bennett said.

Get an instant quote or upload your most recent bill at ermbusinessenergy.com.au to see how much your business could save with ERM Business Energy.

1 Based on volume of electricity sold to customers 3 Utility Market Intelligence (UMI) survey of large corporate and industrial customers by independent research company NTF Group in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU BUSINESS NEWS | 27| 27

GOVERNANCE

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RELATIONSHIPS AT THE TOP

O

ne of the key success factors in achieving a good governance business model is to establish and maintain an effective relationship between the Board, the Chairman and the Chief Executive. In this article, we will identify these key success factors and also note a few early warning signals that generally mean all is not well in the relationship.

Mutual respect, incorporating an open and honest approach to all matters: Both the Board and the Executive are appointed to work in the best interests of the organisation at all times. It is not a competition; rather, it should be a collaborative relationship that enables each to undertake their particular role with the knowledge and comfort that mutual support and regard is present at all times.

Clearly defined and articulated respective roles for the CEO, the Chair and the Board itself: Confusion around accountability (i.e. for what and to whom) is a sure way to diminish the effectiveness of an organisation. The Board’s focus is on setting the direction, creating a shared vision of the future and ensuring the organisation has the resources to do what is expected. The Chief Executive develops and implements the business plan that aligns organisational performance with the Board’s expectations.

Documentation and communication will ensure valuable resources are not wasted ‘doing business with yourself’.

An agreed approach to ongoing feedback, both formal and informal: An open feedback system, both formal (annual performance review) and informal (monthly meetings with the Chairman) will go a long way to ensure alignment between strategy and implementation and to create the right culture for all to work within. If recalcitrant behaviour needs to be dealt with, this should be done immediately such behaviour becomes obvious, not delayed until the performance review. The two activities are quite separate and should be managed accordingly.

Mutual support: The Board and the Chairman has a responsibility to support, mentor and advise the Chief Executive, however the Chief Executive also has a responsibility to educate, advise and request support/input from the Board. The Chief Executive, by the very nature of his/her role, has far more information on any matter before the organisation and if the relationship is to realise the maximum potential of the collective knowledge and experience around the board table, then the Chief Executive must invest time and effort into the continuous education of the Board on matters that are not generally known to Board members. This does not mean that Board members should not make their own endeavours to better understand the nuances of the business they govern, this is fundamental to good governance, rather it should complement their efforts and generate a positive multiplier effect for the organisation.

No secrets, no surprises: No one wants to find out about their organisation/business from the front pages of the local paper or a surprise agenda item at a board meeting. Relationships can be easily eroded through poor communication and are generally difficult to resurrect once trust is lost. An open, honest and transparent relationship will establish trust, encourage candour and create an effective governance model.

Sometimes, however, things do not always go to plan. So the following are a few indicators that may suggest that the Chief Executive is not aligned with the Board’s expectations.

Questionable behaviours include: • Too little or too much information is provided for the Board to make decisions; • Board members are restricted from easy contact with people at all levels of the organisation; • The Chief Executive plays “divide and rule” with Board members; • A sensible whistle blower policy is opposed; • Key talent leaves the organisation without plausible explanation; • Advice is neither sought from the board on key matters nor listened to when provided; • The focus is too much on internal issues to the extent that the external environment is ignored or only given scant attention; and • The Chief executive is no longer fully committed to the organisation, demonstrated by too many outside distractions or activities.

Employment relationships, even at the highest level, do not always work out and Board members should be vigilant in their attention to the performance and the attitude of their Chief Executive – he/ she is their only direct report, so this should not be a difficult task.

In summary, for the governance of an organisation to be truly effective, it is critical that the relationship between the Board, the Chairman and the Chief Executive be one that is clearly defined, open, transparent and based on trust. Nothing should be taken for granted and feedback should be both formal and informal on an ongoing basis. Great organisations and governance models start with this framework and never become complacent in managing the relationship.

And finally, it is not a contest, rather collaboration between key leaders who all have the same focus and that is to create a sustainable business and organisation.

MARK SCHULTZ For further information, go to www.governancetoday.com

BUSINESS NEWS | 28

LEGAL

TWO NEW SERVICE OFFERINGS FROM HARWOOD ANDREWS We are proud to announce that Harwood Andrews has established two new service offerings focused on not-for-profit organisations and startups.

Andrews has a proud history of guiding not-for-profits through this legislative maze so that these organisations can focus on making a difference in their community.

Through our community involvement, we have recognised the need for not-for-profit and startup entrepreneurs to have access to legal support and advice when beginning their ventures and running their organisations to reach their goals.

We are always trying to find new ways to best assist the not-for-profit sector. That is why we are pleased to announce a new service available to not-for-profit clients. For an annual subscription organisations will have access to the following:

Startups

nnual health check – we meet with you annually one-on-one to •A assess the legal health of your organisation and a report of the findings •A dedicated, 9am-5pm, toll-free advice line •A commitment to respond to telephone messages and emails within one business day •A ccess to additional member only resources •M ember-only invitations to biannual seminars discussing relevant topics to the sector •A commitment to answer preliminary enquiries in the following areas of law and referral where appropriate to specialists within Harwood Andrews in these areas: •H uman resources and employment •T axation concessions •S pecific laws surrounding the National Disability Insurance Scheme •G overnance and constitutional review ommercial contracts and arrangements •C •B usiness structuring • Bequests •P roperty and leasing

Our goal is to help you get your big idea off the ground - from initial discussions on what legal structure is best to protect your business, to helping you crowdfund to turn your ideas into reality, and finally getting your business ready to go to market with terms and conditions and any other necessary documents your business requires. Our startups team is dedicated to assisting and helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex legal landscape.

We know that establishing a startup can be one of the most difficult and risky ventures that you undertake, but for many, becoming an entrepreneur is also the most rewarding.

This is why we have developed our Startup Suite, providing affordable lawyers for timely, accurate and practical advice in the following areas: • structuring • i ntellectual property • crowdfunding ontract preparation and review •c • confidentiality agreements • t erms and conditions mployment and contractor agreements •e For more information on startups call 5225 5205 or email startup@harwoodandrews.com.au.

You can also follow the latest startup news and tips on our Twitter account startup_legals.

Not-for-profit service The not for profit sector faces increasingly complex issues when it comes to the legislative framework that governs the industry. Harwood

We are offering this service in response to a need within the not-forprofit community to be able to ask legal questions that arise in the dayto-day operation of running a not-for-profit organisation, and have these questions answered cost-effectively and time-efficiently.

To access this service call 1800 328 233 or email nfpadvice@ harwoodandrews.com.au.

For more information about these new offerings please contact Laura van Stekelenburg in relation to startups on 5225 5205 or Ella Vines in relation to not-for-profits on 5225 5216.

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VECCI

R

HIGHER EDUCATION GROWTH VITAL FOR GEELONG

ecommendations to strengthen the higher education sector, a key industry in Geelong and throughout Victoria, are detailed in VECCI’s recently released Higher Education Taskforce Report.

Growing our share of the international education market, boosting innovation, increasing workforce productivity and enhancing student access and employability are among the pillars of the report.

Victoria’s higher education sector, which includes universities and private providers, is diverse, competitive and internationally recognised as delivering high quality graduates and leading edge research.

The sector is crucial to building a highly skilled, adaptive and productive workforce, supporting the dissemination of innovation throughout industry and driving international trade. The challenge for policy makers, higher education providers and business is to build on these strengths. As a higher education hub, Geelong business and the broader community is well placed to benefit from growth in this sector.

VECCI’s Higher Education Taskforce Report, Strengthening the competitiveness of Victoria’s higher education sector, makes a range of recommendations to support continuing growth.

Strengthening Victoria’s position in the international education market While our performance has been strong, there are several barriers that could see our reputation come under pressure as global competition in education services intensifies. These barriers range from student transport costs, health cover costs to student accommodation affordability and availability. These issues need to be addressed in order to enhance positioning for inbound students.

Recommendations: •E ncourage universities to develop streamlined systems to help students and graduates find employment and work-based learning placements. xtend public transport concessions for international students to •E short-term tickets across all fare zones in Victoria, providing the same discounts that apply to domestic students.

• I mprove student accommodation across the state, facilitating affordable close to campus and on campus options.

Driving innovation by broadening and deepening university-industry research links

• Undertake a feasibility study to extend physical and virtual technology enterprise zones and start-up hubs with incentives for universities and industry to co-invest in research infrastructure.

Increasing productivity and employability by more closely aligning graduate skills with employer needs Industry is constantly changing, and so too are the skills and competencies required by employers. While our education standards are already high, more needs to be done to ensure students not only possess relevant technical qualifications, but appropriate job ready skills and work experience.

Recommendations: • Create an online portal to link higher education students to employers with information on available internships, post study placements, research and training projects.

• As part of student coursework, include an internship preparation unit to teach students how to engage in a work environment and necessary ‘employability’ skills (teamwork, communication, lateral thinking, flexibility and resourcefulness).

• Aim for a 30 per cent increase in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) graduates over the next decade, recognising that a workforce with a strong STEM skills base is critical to business innovation.

Enhancing student access, learning and employability Students need to be confident that their studies will lead to employment outcomes. While the higher education sector cannot guarantee employment for graduates, it should aspire to ensure students graduate possessing employability skills. Further, because how and where students study is also changing, education providers and employers must embrace new learning models using technology to provide flexible and innovative learning on and off campus.

Recommendations:

With global competition intensifying, research and development collaboration between Victoria’s higher education sector and industry is more important than ever.

To remain competitive, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) must acquire the knowledge and capabilities needed to continually adapt their business models, developing new markets and new applications for their products and services. This means looking outside their boundaries for new ideas and expertise.

Recommendations: ncourage SMEs to partner with universities on research and •E development by reducing the company tax rate to 10 per cent on SME profits earned from their patents developed in Australia. rovide $50 million of seed funding and grants for universities and •P students to partner with industry to pay for patent costs, technology transfer operations and the set-up of spin-off companies.

• Provide free Wi-Fi on all metropolitan and regional public transport, assisting students to study while travelling.

• Introduce a competitively priced disposable Day Pass for all international and interstate students using public transport throughout Victoria.

• Strengthen the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among students by establishing mentoring and microfinance programs.

• Support the development of regional and rural education models that attract and retain graduates in provincial Victoria.

Ultimately, the objective of reforms must be to not only strengthen the reputation of Geelong and our state as a market leader in the provision of higher education, but ensures education outcomes are more closely aligned to the needs of employers and students both now and into the future.

JAMES GULLI, VICTORIAN EMPLOYERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

BUSINESS NEWS | 30

FINANCE

THE BIGGEST P WORD

I

don’t know about you, but when l feel like having a chuckle or a small dose of positivity, my mind harks back to Eric Idle and the Monty Python team singing “Always look on the bright side of life…” Reflection of this 1989 one hit wonder prompted me to pontificate on the most powerful P word in our vocabulary; namely, positive.

MARTIN CARTER, BUSINESS MANAGER, MORRIS FINANCE “The modern dictionary defines positive as a desirable or constructive quality or attribute, with a positive attitude generally manifesting itself in the form of optimism, motivation, happiness and creativity”

The modern dictionary defines positive as a desirable or constructive quality or attribute, with a positive attitude generally manifesting itself in the form of optimism, motivation, happiness and creativity.

When this frame of mind engulfs our thinking it can help in so many ways, such as expectations of success and not failure, feelings of inspiration, persistence, belief, self-esteem and confidence in recognising and seizing opportunities.

In a modern world, where there never seems to be enough hours in the day and we are engulfed by social media primarily reporting on negative events and occurrences, it’s easy to get swept up in the pessimistic energy. I vividly recall my teenage years, which, by the way, had 1440 minutes and 24 hours in the day way back then, when l was displaying all of the traits of teenage rebellion and the poor poor pitiful me attitude. My father sat me down and let me know in no uncertain terms that no matter how bad l thought things were l should be acutely aware that there were teenagers worse off than myself, using the anonymous proverb that “I thought l was unlucky because l had no shoes, until l met someone who had no feet.”

From virtually that day onwards l have learnt some extremely useful ways of remaining unaffected by negative emotions, dealing with them by applying

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 31

positivity in your life by creating happiness from within, practicing positive thinking, looking for reasons to believe in yourself, excluding negative people from your circle of choice, accepting failure as a way to learn and grow, controlling your thoughts, focusing on solutions rather than problems, not looking for anyone’s approval, learning when to say no, taking full responsibility, devoting time to relax, spending chill out time in nature and exercising regularly.

Some amongst us will still say that no matter what they do their lot in life dictates their forlorn destiny and, to this end, l believe that it is negativity of the highest order. One of the most compelling truisms l also live by is that “Life is 1% what happens to you and 99% the way you react to it.” We all have the luxury of making choices in life and if we choose to be positive in the face of adversity that will go a long way towards controlling our destiny.

Developing a positive attitude is not easy work by any stretch of the imagination, although the pearls of wisdom Morris Finance preach when engaging management and staff on what got us to where we are revolve around the basics; such things as choosing to be happy at work, finding reasons to smile more internally and externally, looking at the bright side of life, appreciating what we have, visualizing what we want to happen and remembering the people that say you can’t and you won’t are most probably those that are scared that you will.

Until next month, onwards and upwards in your quest for positive outcomes and success, both on the business and personal front, a lifelong flight where your attitude determines your altitude.

BIZ NEWS

NEW STUDY FINDS CORRELATION BETWEEN WEBSITE INVESTMENT AND PROJECTED BUSINESS GROWTH

A

ustralian micro-businesses are moving online with huge expectations – 79 per cent of businesses planning to build a website project will grow by 10 to 50 per cent in the next 3 to 5 years, according to a new study commissioned by global domain registrar, GoDaddy.

The survey, conducted by RedShift Research of 502 micro Australian businesses with one to five employees, shows that this is not an unrealistic expectation. Forty-five percent of businesses with websites say their business grew once they had built their website, with over a quarter seeing more than 10 per cent growth. Additionally, 64 per cent of those with an existing website expect up to 50 per cent business growth in the next 3 to 5 years. Interestingly, those with no plans to build a website in the next two years have lower expectations for the growth of

their business. Only 4 per cent of those with no plans to build a website said they project 25 to 50 per cent growth in the next 3 to 5 years.

Australian businesses are recognizing the link between having a website and strong business growth,” said Tara Commerford, GoDaddy Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand.

“We know that micro-businesses recognize the potential of being online, but it’s critical these businesses also consider creating a long-term and strategic digital presence. Registering a domain name for their business and creating a website allows them to build their brand, and reach more customers effectively. This approach allows micro-businesses to really tap into the growth potential that an online presence can deliver,” Ms Commerford said.

BUSINESS NEWS | 32

GOLF

45TH ANNUAL TOURNAMENT TO TEE OFF AT CURLEWIS GOLF CLUB ELITE GOLFERS.

F

LOCAL LEGENDS. FIVE DAYS OF TOP COMPETITION.

ive days of great golf will form the 45th Annual Tournament at the picturesque Curlewis Golf Club from Tuesday 13th October - Sunday 18th October 2015.

A range of events are available for golfers of all standards, ranging from the 4BBB Stableford events on Tuesday October 13th, the ambrose events on Wednesday and Sunday, the hugely popular Irish 4BBB on Friday October 16th, through to the serious golf of the Women’s 18 Hole stroke on Thursday October 15th and the Men’s Ivo Whitton 36 hole stroke event on Saturday 17th October.

With a total prize pool in excess of $6000, all events are filling quickly, with golfers seeking to grab their share of the spoils and become part of the highly acclaimed Curlewis Golf Club history.

Elite golfers from around the state will be seeking to win the 36 hole Curlewis Open. Curlewis member and 4-time club champion, Todd Morgan, won the Curlewis Open in 2014 and will be seeking back-to-back victories. The impressive list of winners of the Curlewis Open includes local legends Steve Symonds, Viv Nivarovich and Matt Milne. Other notable winners of the event include Luke Hickmont and James Zapelli.

The Thursday 18 hole stroke event will be hotly contested with SWDLGA Champion and Curlewis member, Wendy Tottenham, is the player to beat.

Club Manager, Steve Power, said that since the purchase of the Club by David and Lyndsay Sharp a number of improvements had taken place leading to an invigorated club and social atmosphere.

“The course is nearing prime condition for the week long tournament - there are plenty of reasons to play in this year’s tournament,” Mr Power said.

Entry forms are available via www.curlewisgolf.com.au and can be e-mailed to manager@curlewisgolf.com.au

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 33

Bringing you the pick of the latest offerings from our region’s wineries

2015 PINOT GRIGIO

NV SPARKLING BRUT

$23.00 bottle

$21.00 bottle

Pale straw with a pink tinge, displaying a lifted bouquet of nashi pear and citrus.

Generous fruit weight, and mid palate richness, is supported by firm acidity, a mineral backbone and long finish.

Pale straw with a salmon blush. A delicate fruit driven style with a lively persistent mousse. Lemon citrus and subtle yeast characters dominate the palate with firm acidity giving the wine overall balance, length and freshness.

Hand harvested early to retain acidity, producing a dry fruitdriven “Grigio” style.

Best consumed young while expressing the fresh fruit driven characters of the variety.

A blend of Pinot Noir (78%) and Chardonnay (22%) grown on the Bellarine Peninsula, Geelong.

Enjoy now as an aperitif with or without food.

Come and see us at Oakdene Vineyards, we have so much to see and do. Start with a guided wine tasting at our ‘Upside-down House’ cellar door, checkout Mr Grubb café or Oakdene Restaurant for a delicious meal followed by a relaxed stroll through our extensive gardens. Our award winning wine can be purchased at cellar door or online.

These wines are just a couple of suggestions to get you ready for all the Spring fun ahead.

Halliday Oakdene Vineyards Restaurant, Café & Cellar Door cellardoor@oakdene.com.au Phone: 5256 3886 Fax: 5256 3881 www.oakdene.com.au

2014 YES SAID THE SEAL CHARDONNAY

2014 YES SAID THE SEAL SHIRAZ

A rich, resonant yet impeccably sculpted and gracious Chardonnay.

Bold aromas of citrus, honeysuckle and peach dominate with a hint of grilled cashew. The sumptuous, cascading palate embraces citrus vitality alongside ripe melon, peach and nougat. Matured in the finest French oak barrels with minimal lees stirring and partial malolactic fermentation, commanding length and precision are signature features of this wine.

A rich, spicy and vibrant Shiraz showcasing red berries, violets and hints of pepper. Crafted from premium cool climate Bellarine fruit, this wine is bold, fleshy and full flavoured. Pronounced depth and complexity have been achieved via whole bunch fermentation, moderate ferment temperatures, fine grained French oak and patience.

Delight in the lifted aromatics, deliciously haunting tannins and balanced acidity.

95 Points Halliday Wine Companion 2016; VIC 100 Wine Awards 2015

Welcome to Yes said the Seal, a premium new winery on The Bellarine.

Located onsite at the spectacular Flying Brick Cider House, Yes said the Seal comprises a suite of limited release cool maritime climate wines unavailable anywhere else in Australia. As a newcomer to the Australian wine scene - the Seal has gone straight into Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion 2016 rated FIVE STARS! Winemaker Darren Burke’s passion and skill has been the driving force behind the Seal along with the creation of a plethora of fine, multiple award winning wines for Leura Park Estate, as well as wineries across Australia including the Western Australian Frankland River region, the Barossa Valley and Geelong. Yes said the Seal is exclusively available at Flying Brick Cider House or online www.yessaidtheseal.com.au Yes, Said the Seal 03 5250 6577 1251-1269 Bellarine Hwy (Enter via Swan Bay Rd), Wallington Vic 3222 Enquires: info@yessaidtheseal.com.au www.yessaidtheseal.com.au

BUSINESS NEWS | 34

Halliday

CRUSH

MELBOURNE CUP DAY IN THE VINES

AUSTINS & CO CELLAR DOOR OPEN DAYS

Why be trackside when you can be celebrating Melbourne Cup Day with fabulous food and a magnificent carnival atmosphere at 2 of our great Bellarine Peninsula wine venues; Oakdene Vineyards or Jack Rabbit Vineyard.

Both of these premier locations are hosting events on the biggest day of the racing calendar so head to www.oakdene. com.au or www.jackrabbitvineyard.com.au for details on how to reserve your tickets.

SAVE THE DATE! KILTYNANE NEW RELEASE WINE TASTING & DINNER. Join Kiltynane Wines, Wine Director, Kate Kirkhope for a twilight dinner at Basils Farm where she will introduce our new release wines and provide tastings.

Includes: Tastings of our new release wines, a glass of wine with dinner. Main course – fire pit roast and seasonal sides from the garden. Great acoustic tunes from local talent Sam Hanson. Stay tuned for further information!

Event Details Date: Saturday 28th November Time: 5.30pm – 8.30pm Venue: Basils Farm, Nye Road, Swan Bay

Come and visit……

Austins & Co. are delighted to announce their monthly Pop Up Cellar Door. Having commenced on the weekend of October 2nd- 4th and extending all the way until March, Austins & Co.can’t wait to open up their doors and invite you in for a wine tasting and chat.

To find out more information, visit the website –www. austinsandco.com.au

Details Upcoming dates: November 7 and 8 December 5 and 6 Jan 2 and 3 Feb 6 and 7 March 5 and 6 Venue: Austins & Co, 870 Steiglitz Road, Sutherlands Creek Bookings: Bookings are recommended as places are limited BOOK NOW!

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the

ELEVATOR

The ELEVATOR allows businesses the opportunity to give their ‘Elevator Pitch’ to the rest of the regional business community free of charge.

FOR DETAILS SEE WWW.BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU

Eventfulness is located on the Bellarine Peninsula and provides events and promotional services to community groups; government bodies; corporate enterprises and individuals Victoria wide.

Interaction is how your customers experience your business, whether it’s the product, the service, or its digital presence. Your brand isn’t what you say it is, but more of what they make of it. Regardless of what stage of the evolution process your business is in, Red Herring Digital exists for brands that have the ambition to propel themselves into tomorrow.

Like a long-lasting marriage, we’re here for the journey to build your brands awareness, offering various services in the digital space including: digital strategy, advertising, website development, application design, email marketing, and connecting brands socially.

Collaboration with our clients is a vital key of our structure in order to learn your business and discover new opportunities, made possible by our workshops and hands-on creative studio. Unlike other digital agencies, we work hand in hand as equals, all contributing to each discipline, as everyone has creative ideas and a voice.

Red Herring Digital believes that mixing creative design, technology, and empathy can alter behaviour and effectively improve our lives. Challenges excite us, and we are driven by unfamiliar opportunities and uncharted territory. We’re ambitious in pioneering the seas of tomorrow, together.

Our services are flexible from total event management to task specific projects (incl. Event Health Checks), and we can work on your event all year, just for the day or anything in between.

I (the Ness in Eventfulness) can manage all or otherwise select steps in the events process for you, though should your project require a tailored team it can be built to suit your needs, from creative design through to portable facility hire and anything in between.

There is a long list of Eventfulness events and client testimonials which can be found at our website however here are just a couple from happy customers: “… over this time as a contractor, she has stood out as undoubtedly the most efficient operator we have come across. Vanessa’s attention to detail and diligence with follow up is outstanding and every single one of our clients has sent us positive feedback on her account management skills year after year.

One of our clients has actually stayed with our agency on the proviso that Vanessa lead the account year on year. Incredibly pleasant to deal with, Vanessa would be an asset to any project – from the small detail to relationship management and big picture thinking – we can’t fault her professionalism and dedication to our clients.” - Industry: Music.

“I found Eventfulness always provided a very high level of professionalism and diligence for all tasks completed and was considered to be a valued partner - rather than being viewed as a supplier only. I will not hesitate to engage Eventfulness / Vanessa Briody in any future projects as not only I could not fault the professional aspect of Vanessa Briody I also found her to be someone I enjoyed working with on a personal level due to her wonderful disposition and constant ‘can do’ attitude.” - Industry: Hospitality/Alcohol.

The mission of UnKluttered Life is to see a world of organised people enjoying their lives, not wasting time looking for things or wasting money buying the things you already have.

The UnKluttered Life team offers a variety of services within the areas of professional organising, whether that’s creating improved organisational flow for your office, decluttering homes, styling for sale or working with hoarders to transform existing spaces.

No home or office is the same. UnKluttered Life tailors their service to fit the needs of their clients. From working at a rapid pace to prepare a home for sale through to working with hoarders at a slow and steady pace to allow time to adjust to changes in their environment; or perhaps you are chronically disorganised and just need some help today.

With qualifications in Interior Design, Arts, Business Management and ongoing studies through the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (USA), the UnKluttered Life team of natural born organisers has the right person for any of your professional organising needs.

Call UnKluttered Life today for a free no obligation consultation to discuss how to get the organised life of your dreams.

I look forward to discussing your event needs over coffee (and lots of it!).

You’re on the right track.. www.redherring.net.au 9020 7065

Vanessa (Ness) Briody Eventfulness Pty Ltd 0402 997 926 ness@eventfulness.com.au www.eventfulness.com.au

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0418 127 979 happiness@unkluttered.life www.unkluttered.life

THE ELEVATOR

Care at Home Communication Solutions To Streamline Your Business GTC has been operating in the Geelong region for over 35 years, servicing over 500 clients across all sectors.

Recent winner of the GBEA ‘Best First Year Entry’ Award 2015, GTC specialises in all telecommunications technologies including cloud, fibre optic and cabling solutions.

GTC helps small to medium businesses cut on their communication costs by an average of 30-50% and have their phone system actually help them make more money.

One of our solutions is GT Cloud; a cloud-based phone system connected via the internet that ensures you never miss a call again.

GT Cloud allows you to use all the features and functionality of a modern office phone system without the cost!

One of the most flexible and comprehensive systems in the market today, GT Cloud grows and adapts with your business and helps you consistently deliver exceptional customer service.

If you are tired of missing calls and leaving money on the table then let GTC help cut the telecommunications confusion and collaborate with you to tailor a solution just right for your business needs.

Call us today for a FREE, no obligation consultation to help reduce your telecommunications spend.

Keeping You Connected

4 Dowsett Street South Geelong, Victoria 3220 Australia

Ph: 03 5221 5644

www.gtc.com.au

Independent Cabinet Makers (ICM) is a group of individual Cabinet Makers and suppliers who share a vision.

It’s all about YOU. The home renovator, mums dreaming of a kitchen with a butler’s pantry, expanding families looking for storage solutions and couples wanting a luxury walk in robe with all the ‘bells and whistles’.

Shows such as The Block have sparked an incredible amount of interest in home improvements. And we want to help!

What does a cabinet maker do?

Your local cabinet maker can help with storage solutions such as walk – in robes, entertainment units and bookcases. Occasional furniture, desks, alfresco kitchens and even wine racks and fish tank cabinets!

So much more than kitchens and bathrooms …

Why use a local cabinet maker?

Custom made, custom fitting AND competitive pricing.

You will be supporting Geelong manufacturing and many of the proud family-run businesses in the area.

Made locally for you …

Banding together, cabinet makers and suppliers from around Geelong, Surf Coast and the Bellarine have set up a website.

Locating a cabinet maker near you, it showcases some of their best work and latest designs and ideas in kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and more.

Seek inspiration for your next home improvement from an Independent Cabinet Maker near you.

Independent Cabinet Makers Geelong

www.icmgeelong.com.au facebook.com/ICMGeelong @ICMGeelong

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 37

Prestige Inhome Care specialise in providing Registered Nurses and professional carers committed to helping people stay in their own home and live as happily and independently as they can.

We strive to provide the highest possible standard of care: professional, reliable and all with a friendly smile.

Prestige was established in Melbourne in 2005, but with a desire to expand our services opened a Geelong office in June 2014. In December 2014, the organisation was lucky enough to acquire the business previously held by Active Care, which had a 15 year history of serving the Geelong community.

All Active Care staff and clients were welcomed to the Prestige team, and the organisation now services all of Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, and the Surf Coast.

Services offered by Prestige are available from 1 hr to 24hrs/day and include, but are not limited to: Personal Care, Post-hospital Support, Domestic Care, Disability support, In home Nursing, DVA Community Nursing Program, Specialist Palliative and Dementia Care.

Prestige works with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the TAC, the NDIS and other community care organisations. We also support private clients directly. If you would like to discuss how we might work with your organisation we would be delighted to explore this.

130 Yarra St, Geelong, VIC 3220 Ph: 5222 8580 www.prestigeinhomecare.com.au

Every month, our Tech Guy, Jon Mamonski, brings us the wildest, most mind-blowing gadgets he can find...

AMAZON THIN TABLET Amazon makes affordable tablets as well as Kindles and here’s two new Fire HD tablets that come in eight and 10.1-inch versions and are only 7.7mm thick. The new tablets now automatically download Amazon Prime videos based on your video recommendations so that when you are offline you have videos ready to watch. The new Word Runner feature for reading is to help you get quickly through a chapter or a book in record time. And, to make sure you have enough room for all those videos, songs and books you’ll be consuming, the tablets ship with microSD slots for additional storage for content.

SLEEPSENSE Samsung has launched a sleep-tracker called SleepSense. Rather than making you wear something on your wrist at night, Samsung’s SleepSense is a disk-like device that slips under your mattress. It then monitors your heart rate, breathing and movement during sleep with 97 per cent accuracy. That information is transmitted to a smartphone app, which gives you an individual sleep score based on seven factors, including total sleep time, the number of times you woke up and the percentage of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. The app will provide expert advice from a Harvard sleep expert on how to improve by changing nutrition, exercise and other factors. SleepSense also works with Samsung’s SmartThings Internet of Things home automation system. When it detects that you’ve fallen asleep, it can turn off lights or the TV and lower the air conditioning. How good is that?

BUSINESS NEWS | 38

STETHOSCOPE UPDATED The stethoscope was invented 200 years ago and, at last, it’s getting a digital upgrade. The US FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) has approved a device called the Eko Core that attaches to a normal stethoscope. It amplifies and records the transmitted sound signals then sends the sound waves wirelessly to an iPhone app. From there, doctors can record the sounds and either listen to it later or compare it to a future visit to test the effects of a treatment. It will also be handy to teach medical students.

MARSHALL PHONE

ELVIS IS STILL IN THE BUILDING Is Elvis still in the building? Hologram USA is ‘bringing back’ Whitney Houston by way of advanced 3D technology in a stage spectacular with real life dancers and a light show. “It’s a great opportunity for her fans to see a reinvention of one the most celebrated female artists in history,” says Pat Houston, sister-in-law to Whitney and executive of the star’s estate. “I’m looking forward to the partnership.” Elvis isn’t far away…

Maybe it’s because you want to be different and not own an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy. The Marshall brand, famous for its guitar amplifiers, has already moved into headphones and Bluetooth speakers - modern day lifestyle products - and now, a smartphone. Specs look pretty good too and while I’m thinking about hollering for a certain car battery, I’m warming to the idea of a Marshall smartphone

FACEBOOK ‘EMPATHY’ BUTTON AND EVENT INVITATION HONESTY There are times when ‘liking’ a pal’s Facebook post just doesn’t seem appropriate. Mark Zuckerberg has discovered, at last, that we have a range of emotions we’d like to express in addition to ‘like’ - in particular, a way to show empathy. Facebook plans to launch it in the near future.

STOP GETTING CAR SICK Motion sickness can make road trips and show rides an absolute nightmare. The solution to that, according to a group of researchers at the Imperial College London, is a little zap of electricity to the brain. When the researchers strapped people to a spinning chair to induce motion illness, it was found that when the subjects wore EEG (electroencephalogram) caps with electrodes to stimulate their brains using electricity (a process known as transcranial direct-current stimulation or tDCS), they didn’t experience typical symptoms like dizziness and nausea as much and they recovered quicker. Even so, somehow I can’t see a head-zapping helmet catching on for those trips down the Great Ocean Road…

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ARTS

‘Sheep in ‘Long Grass’, Merricks Victoria, 1979

ANDREW CHAPMAN: CLASSIC AND COLLECTABLE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM 10 OCTOBER

Documenting country Australia and political culture since 1970, Andrew Chapman: Classic and collectable photographs is a comprehensive survey of images by an artist who has relentlessly pursued his craft with a passion for life on the land, ordinary people, the Australian bush and the shifting culture of Australian Federal politics for over forty years, leaving us with a remarkable trove of historic images.

Chapman’s work has been featured on the covers of Time Magazine, The Bulletin and BRW and he has exhibited regularly since the late 1990s. His major exhibition Click: Rural Photographs by Andrew Chapman featured 60 works at the National Wool Museum, Geelong in 2000. Photography from his book Campaign has been fully acquired by the National Library of Australia.

Andrew Chapman: Classic and collectable photographs includes images from a number of Chapman’s enduring Australian photographic collections including The Shearers 2006, Woolsheds 2011, Around The Sheds 2012, Working Dogs 2013 and The Long Paddock 2014. metropolisgallery.com.au

Leah Grant

TRANSPARENCY UNTIL 16 OCTOBER

Analogue Academy presents Transparency, a solo exhibition by visual artist Leah Grant. Originally from Geelong and now one of Adelaide’s favourite contemporary artists, Grant brings light and colour to her former hometown with a range of giclee prints and light boxes.

Grant’s work is an escape from the chaotic pressures of everyday life, with an emphasis on the power of light to create colour. Drawing on her life experiences, relationships and emotions, she has created a body or work with individual stories.

‘Nelson Mandela’ Melbourne 1990

www.analogueacademy.com.au

BUSINESS NEWS | 40

ARTS

1979

‘Jenny Kee’ Carla Fletcher, mixed media on linen, 203 x 153.5 cm

QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015 EMERGING ARTIST GRANT RECIPIENTS

‘Start the riot’ Kim Leutwyler, oil on canvas, 152 x 102 cm

THE 2015 ARCHIBALD PRIZE UNTIL 15 NOVEMBER

The Art Gallery of Ballarat is proud to be the exclusive Victorian venue for Australia’s favourite art award, the 2015 Archibald Prize, which is a touring exhibition of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

One of our most prestigious art awards, The Archibald Prize is awarded to the best portrait painting and is a who’s who of Australian culture – from politicians to celebrities, sporting heroes to artists.

Over the years, the prize has been awarded to many of Australia’s most prominent artists including Nora Heysen, William Dobell, Brett Whiteley, Ben Quilty, Tim Storrier and Fiona Lowry. As part of the exhibition, Ballarat Art Gallery is running a comprehensive program of events, including activities for children and families. artgalleryofballarat.com.au

SWAN LAKE 18 OCTOBER

The Imperial Russian Ballet Company 2015 performance of the most loved classical ballet of them all marks the company’s eighth visit to Australia.

Swan Lake crosses the world of magic and mystical creatures with that of the real world. It is a story where the virtues of love and forgiveness in the end conquer evil and betrayal.

This year’s masterpiece is presented in two acts and follows the original storyline. Gediminas Taranda, Artistic Director of the Imperial Russian Ballet Company, has introduced subtle revisions and variations. gpac.org.au

Queenscliff Music Festival is pleased to announce Geelong based singer songwriter Rough River (a.k.a. Kate Skinner) and Ocean Grove three-piece psych-rockers Tiny Giants as recipients of the 2015 Emerging Artist Grant. Rough River receives a $7000 grant and Tiny Giants have been awarded $5222, with both acts using the funds to record, produce and release new full length albums in 2016.

A classically trained musician, Rough River released her debut self-titled album in 2014, which received praise from the likes of Triple J presenters Zan Rowe, Max Quinn and Chris Scaddan, as well as Mess + Noise. Tiny Giants are also no stranger to industry praise with their first two albums garnering numerous spins on Triple J and community radio nationwide.

Now in its fifth year, the Queenscliff Music Festival Emerging Artist Grant aims to provide young local artists with the opportunity to enhance their musical career through the receipt of much needed funds to assist recording new original music.

The program has become a key offering of support to emerging talent in the regions of Geelong, Barwon South West and the Bellarine Peninsula.

Both acts will join the line-up at Queenscliff Music Festival on 27-29 November which features 19-Twenty, Ainslie Wills, All Our Exes Live In Texas, Angus and Julia Stone, Augie March, Ben Whiting, The California Honeydrops (USA), Cookin’ on 3 Burners featuring Tex Perkins and Stella Angelico, Estére (NZ), Franky Walnut, Hailey Calvert, Harts, Hey Frankie, Hoodoo Gurus, John Williamson, Kate Miller-Heidke, Kingfisha, L-Fresh The Lion, Lior (Autumn Flow 10 year anniversary show), Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Morgan Bain, Paul Dempsey, Raised

by Eagles, Robert Forster, Ron Sexsmith (CAN), Sahara Beck, The Snowdroppers, Tash Sultana, Thomas Oliver (NZ), Tinpan Orange and Trinity Roots (NZ). www.qmf.net.au

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STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN September had barely started before the country was shocked by the murders of two Queensland women, in two separate incidents, at the hands of men they had once shared their lives with. The violent deaths of the two women put a tragic face on the grim statistic that in Australia, at least one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.

Locally, figures released in June by Family Violence Prevention Minister, Fiona Richardson, revealed that family violence incidents in Geelong had increased by 99 per cent since 2010. Local women’s refuges are buckling under unsustainable caseloads.

According to world-first research by VicHealth, intimate partner violence is the largest contributor to death, disease and disability for women aged 15 – 44. As well as the personal toll of broken relationships, homelessness and the long-lasting and traumatic effects on the children caught up in family violence, there is also a huge economic cost. The Australian Government estimates that violence against women and their children cost the Australian economy $13.6 billion in 2009. That cost is

FEED GEELONG As more and more people in the Geelong Region struggle to put three meals a day on the table, figures show that each year in Victoria we throw out 700,000 tonnes of food – the equivalent of 28,000 fully stocked supermarkets. Too much of this is fresh and perfectly fit to eat; especially when a study of homeless young people in Geelong found that only 20 per cent ate any fruit and only four per cent were consuming the current recommended daily intake for major nutrients.

According to last year’s Food for Thought Report, 53 provider organisations and three distributor organisations make up the Geelong Food Assistance System, distributing over 365,000 meals a year to those in need in our region.

expected to rise to $15.6 billion by 2012-22 if action isn’t taken.

So it’s timely that a month of action against domestic violence begins in late October, bookended by Reclaim the Night on Friday 30 October and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November. In between, there will be numerous events to raise awareness and try to make a change in the attitudes and behaviours in our society that allow men’s violence against women to continue.

Individuals, groups and organisations in the G21 region can use the Barwon Month of Action to unite in their commitment to ending violence against women by hosting or participating in an event or activity.

Through raising awareness, it’s hoped the prevalence of violence against women in the Barwon region will be reduced. The Month of Action introduces the wider community to information, resources and services that seek to prevent violence, as well as providing information and support to women either at risk of, or experiencing, violence. For more information, visit www.monthofaction.com.au So it’s time to assist those who assist others. This month, help feed Geelong during Give Where You Live’s annual Feed Geelong Appeal, an initiative that promotes awareness of Geelong’s food crisis and raises valuable funds for those organisations that collect, store and distribute food to the men, women and children of our region who are doing it tough.

Each Thursday this month you can enjoy a bowl of healthy soup and fill up your stomach with the knowledge that all proceeds are going to directly to help those with empty stomachs. Soup Kitchen Thursdays start at midday in the Little Malop Street Mall and in the new pop up Soup Kitchen at King of the Castle, 24 Pakington Street Geelong West.

Friday 16 October is Brown Paper Bag Day – the day to “put your money where your mouth is” by donating what you would normally spend on lunch to the Feed Geelong Appeal. To register your business, school, community organisation or church to take part, contact Feed Geelong on feedgeelong@givewhereyoulive.com.au or 5229 4364.

The last Friday in October is the Annual Feed Geelong Community Lunch, taking participants inside Geelong’s emergency food relief system as they experience a meal at Christ Church, one of Geelong’s major emergency food relief centres. Tickets are $25 each or $125 for a table of six and all proceeds help those experiencing food insecurity in our region. Book at feedgeelong.org.au or phone 5229 4364.

For more information or to make a donation, visit feedgeelong.org.au, email feedgeelong@givewhereyoulive.com.au or phone 5229 4364.

BUSINESS NEWS | 42

COMMUNITY NEWS HISTORIC AGREEMENT SIGNED TO ROLLOUT NDIS IN VICTORIA The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will extend to cover Golden Plains Shire, which covers part of the Corangamite electorate, from 1 January 2017 following an agreement for the full rollout by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments last month.

Federal Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson said the agreement for the transition to the full NDIS in Victoria was a huge milestone for the scheme.

“The NDIS headquarters currently employs 270 people, with the number of jobs rising to over 350 by July 2017. It’s estimated that 330 of these employees will be based in Geelong,” Ms Henderson said.

“In addition, 160 people are currently working in the Geelong and Colac Barwon trial offices. This workforce will transition into regional offices to be established under the full NDIS rollout.”

People living in the City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire, Borough of Queenscliff and Colac Otway Shire can currently access the NDIS under the Barwon region trial, with more than 3,300 people with a disability in the Barwon Region participating in the trial.

Ms Henderson said the agreement delivered on the Heads of Agreement signed by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments to implement the full scheme across Victoria by July 2019.

Ultimately, around 460,000 Australians and their families will benefit from the NDIS across Australia, and with the agreements in the two largest states signed in September more than half of eligible people in Australia will now be covered.

BARWON HEALTH REVIEWS MENTAL HEALTH, DRUG AND ALCOHOL SERVICES In keeping with its reputation for innovation in mental health, drug and alcohol services, Barwon Health recently reviewed the services it offers in this area and their accessibility.

The health organisation moved to a central point of access for mental health and drugs and alcohol services, including the introduction of a 1300 number, in May last year following government directions to provide centralised mental health triage and recommissioning of Alcohol and other Drug (AOD) services to include a centralised regional intake point.

“Earlier this year we recognised that that the community was having difficulty with accessing the service; this is something we weren’t comfortable with and resulted in us commissioning an independent review,” says Barwon Health Acting Executive Director, Jennifer Black.

“The review has highlighted the need for improvement, including an immediate review of the operation of the 1300 number, which has already been initiated by the leadership team.”

The review, undertaken in July and August, included extensive feedback from the community, including consumer and carer groups, staff and key community stakeholders.

The independent report outlines improvements for streamlining access to care and in supporting staff to better deal with the increasing complexity of co-existing mental health and drugs and alcohol presentations.

“It provides momentum for a more fundamental review of our model of care in the region and direction to engage with consumers, carers and the wider community to co-design elements of our service system,” Jennifer says. “Having already conducted a review we will be willing to share our findings and contribute to the recently announced State Government State-wide review of services in a constructive way.

“We are committed to putting consumers at the forefront of their care by working in partnership to provide responsive and seamless access to care for people with mental health and drugs and alcohol problems in the Barwon region.”

RIVER’S GIFT CHARITY HOME AUCTION Local builder Geelong Homes has pledged to raise much-needed funds for Geelong-based Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) charity River’s Gift by donating all profits from the auction of a contemporary four-bedroom home in Ocean Grove.

Construction of the home, which features a generous master bedroom, open plan living, north facing alfresco area and fully landscaped gardens, began last month with the auction scheduled for early 2016.

The project has been made a reality thanks to the generous contribution of Geelong Homes and its sub-contractors and suppliers, along with River’s Gift supporters who are contributing their time, products and services to the building of the home.

Karl Waddell, Director of River’s Gift, says the pledged funds “will go a long way to River’s Gift raising the awareness of SIDS and helping find a preventative cure.”

To help Stamp Out SIDS and to put their support behind Geelong Homes pledge for River’s Gift, the community is invited to follow the progress of the build at www.pledgeforriversgift.com.au and on Facebook and Instagram @geelonghomes hashtags: #geelonghomes #pledgeforriversgift #riversgift

CLOTHING THE COMMUNITY: UPDATE

The Clothing the Community campaign, run throughout July by Encompass Community Services in partnership with Bay FM has been declared a huge success, with approximately 550 bags of quality clothing donated during campaign; a significant increase from an average of 120 bags per month.

According to Encompass, the Geelong community donated a large variety of warm winter coats, hats, jumpers and much more.

ReadyStart, Encompass’ pre-loved shop, was kept busy sorting the donations, giving out clothing to those in need and selling items to those who couldn’t afford to buy them new.

ReadyStart has also assisted families fleeing from domestic violence and regularly provides clothing assistance to people who need to get ‘job-ready’.

“We are very grateful for the support of the community, who have been happy to support those who may be doing it tough this winter. A big thank you as well to the Options and Connections participants, who have done a fantastic job collecting the donations for us,” says Jan Daniels, Encompass’ Business Services Manager.

If you still have some clothes or items that you would like to give away, you can drop them off at Encompass’ head office at 400 Pakington St (River End).

PAKO FESTA OFFICIALLY DECLARED THE BEST REGIONAL EVENT

Diversitat Pako Festa is the State Award Winner for the Best Regional Event Award for the Australian Event Awards of 2015.

The annual multicultural street festival in Pakington Street, Geelong West, is the largest free celebration of cultural diversity in Australia bringing together local ethnic communities, organisations, schools, community groups, the business sector and people with physical and mental disabilities to celebrate diversity.

This year’s Pako Festa incorporated 33 different cultural community groups. Festival organisers said the ever-popular event shows that our cultural diversity is much more than culinary enrichment.

“Pako Festa catalyses a deeper appreciation of our multitude of cultures, languages and traditions, capable of enriching all Australians, and builds tolerance and community cohesiveness.”

To be awarded Best Regional Event, Pako Festa achieved a number of criteria, including being an event that benefits the local community, engages in environmentally sustainable practices, reflects corporate social responsibility and delivers longer term benefits to the industry, sector or the community in general.

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COMMUNITY

GMHBA WENT OUTBACK AT NARANA Narana is an Australian Aboriginal cultural, tourism and educational enterprise that seeks to build healthy relationships and shared understanding with individuals and groups from all community backgrounds through personal interaction, presentations, displays and performance.

The Centre is also committed to supporting local indigenous communities through mentoring, training and employment initiatives.

Recently, ten keen GMHBA employee volunteers spent a day in the beautiful surrounds regenerating an arid dam to make it ready for refilling and stocking with yabbies and eels. Their work involved removing saplings and debris from inside the dam, relocating bordering plants into the

FORD LENDS A HAND AT JIRRAHLINGA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

surrounding dam area, as well as landscaping and maintenance inside the three acres of native garden.

Kirsten Bonds, Narana Events Leader, Curriculum and Program Development Manager, believed the volunteer event facilitated by Karingal BacLinks, “offered many positive flow-on effects for the organisation,” while GMHBA Community Relations and Partnerships Manager, Amy Gillett, said the project aligned well with their commitment to be at the heart of healthy communities.

“Our team really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and support the local community in practical ways that make a tangible difference.”

OUR COMMUNITY DIRECTOR AT KARINGAL BACLINKS BREAKFAST

As part of Ford’s ‘Global Month of Caring’, twenty-nine employee volunteers from Ford’s Broadmeadows and Geelong plants rolled up their sleeves to spend a solid day’s work painting and garden maintenance at Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary.

Located in Barwon Heads, the Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary sits on two hectares of land where it provides sanctuary and treatment to a variety of injured native wildlife, including sick or injured marsupial species, echidnas, dingoes, reptiles, birds, penguins and seals.

Guests were treated to a topical and very informative presentation on ‘The shift to smarter giving’ by Our Community’s ‘chaos controller’, Kathy Richardson.

Kathy helps to oversee the organisation’s many enterprises, reform initiatives and new business directions, which make her ideally placed to know the challenging requirements and demands now being placed by organisations of all sizes and types to contribute to their communities in a way that is accountable, effective and can demonstrate provable outcomes.

Businesses can learn more about how they can be environmentally and socially responsible contributors to community by visiting the Our Community website www.ourcommunity.com.au/

The sanctuary, which receives over 5,000 calls a year to attend to sick, injured and orphaned animals, includes a hospital incorporating three large treatment areas and a fully equipped nursery to accommodate baby animals and birds. The grounds include a number of large enclosures as well as numerous aviaries, a dam and a reptile house.

Jirrahlinga also provides educational experiences for Primary, Secondary and Tertiary students to learn about our wildlife, and invites social groups such as the elderly and those with disability to experience the animals.

Jo Forssman, Karingal BacLinks Manager, said, “The sanctuary requires a high degree of maintenance that cannot always be achieved by the regular team of workers and volunteers. The additional labour provided by the Ford employee volunteers ensured essential grounds and building maintenance can be carried out.

“Karingal BacLinks are proud to facilitate projects such as these as they really make a difference and we are pleased Ford Australia are willing to put so much back into their community.”

BUSINESS NEWS | 44

Fo

Karingal was proud to support the Every Australian Counts Campaign which was a catalyst for the launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2013. Simone Stevens, Lynne Foreman and Joyce Schroeter were three of the campaign champions who worked tirelessly to lobby for the rollout of the NDIS. Two years on, the three women take some time to reflect and also look ahead…

Name: Simone Stevens (participant)

Name: Lynne Foreman (participant)

Name: Joyce Schroeter (parent/carer)

Age: 37

Age: 58

Age: 67

When the NDIS was announced, I dreamed of… a world where people with disabilities’ needs were met there and then, that they no longer had to wait unnecessarily; no more restrictions and a fair system for all.

When the NDIS was announced, I dreamed of… having more hours, so I wasn’t juggling my time (e.g. have I got time to have a shower and also get my washing pegged out?), as I was on the waiting list to receive more hours from DHS. Under the NDIS I can still go swimming and now have a coffee and cake afterwards.

When the NDIS was announced, I dreamed of… it bringing an end to the tragedy of services denied or delayed, and instead offer people with a disability the care and support they need over their lifetime.

Two years on, I feel… empowered but also restricted because of the change of the mobility finances.

A highlight for me… is that I have more choice and control in my life, which I will be eternally grateful for.

I have been with VISTA Community Support for four years. My personal support, medical appointment and community access hours have significantly changed for the better.

I only wish this was the same for all participants.

There’s room for improvement…. as I believe that people with intellectual disabilities are not being included, while there also seems to be a lot of responsibilities for older parents and carers, but not enough advocacy to support people with all disabilities.

The most important issue we face ahead of the full roll-out is… not enough advocacy training from advocacy organisations to empower people, especially those with intellectual disabilities, so that they can have more say and more inclusion in their own plan.

Two years on, I feel… I am now in control of my life - I am in the driver’s seat. I can take my package with me interstate so I can get the care that I receive in Victoria.

A highlight for me… I can now pick and choose my providers, and not be locked into just one. Under the NDIS I now have two new providers.

There’s room for improvement… as the NDIS rolls out in other states.

The NDIS is learning from different areas and also they are learning ‘that’ is working well, but ‘this‘ is not.

The most important issue we face ahead of the full roll-out is… that all states and territories, have to have the same legislation for the disability sector, so when and if we do decide to move, we are all on the same page.

Two years on, I feel … blessed we have the launch site in Barwon.

I am discovering that people with a disability are being given more opportunities than ever before to reach their potential.

A highlight for me… is seeing people with a disability having their needs recognised and given more choice and control than ever before.

There’s room for improvement… in the planning process. It is imperative NDIS planners are effectively skilled to recognise participants with an intellectual disability who cannot advocate for themselves. They need to liaise with a supporter who will make sure their plans are designed and implemented so they can reach their full potential.

The most important issue we face ahead of the full roll-out is… securing more affordable and accessible housing and accommodation options for people with a disability. There needs to be a plan in place to prevent this housing crisis from developing further. It is a real concern for ageing carers.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a great advancement for people with a disability and Karingal would like to thank the National Disability Insurance Agency, Federal and State Governments, industry professionals, parents, families and participants for their dedication to making the scheme a success.

For more information about Karingal’s services please call 1300 558 368 or visit karingal.org.au

AFTER HOURS

A MASTER CLASS FOR THEATREGOERS

Theatregoers were treated to a master class in stagecraft at the 2015 Deakin Theatre Season’s stunning finale at GPAC in September. Celebrated Greek-Australian performer, Maria Mercedes, took on the role of a lifetime as legendary Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s Master Class.

Set in 1971, the play depicts Callas’ famed visit to New York’s Juilliard School of Music to conduct a series of master classes. Featuring three of Australia’s most exciting young operatic talents, Master Class fused opera and theatre like never before, touching opera aficionados and novices alike with the power of Bellini, Puccini and Verdi.

Supporters of the arts and lovers of theater and opera flocked to see season finale that closed out a stellar line up of productions that will be hard to top in 2016.

Photos by Ferne Millen, Ferne Millen Photography

BUSINESS NEWS | 46

AFTER HOURS

The Bellarine’s Most Beautiful Conference Venue

90 McAdams Lane, Bellarine

03 5251 5536

www.terindahestate.com

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 47

AFTER HOURS

LOANED EXECUTIVE AWARDS EVENING Over 100 people gathered to celebrate the 2015 Loaned Executive Awards Evening acknowledging the outstanding work of 35 passionate volunteers that have helped increase Give Where You Live annual income by over $120,000.

Over 1800 people have taken part over the Loaned Executive Program’s 49 year history that is the force behind Give Where You Live’s nationally recognised Workplace Giving Program. The program involves a group of passionate nominees from Geelong businesses who help promote the Give Where You Live message to hundreds of Workplaces throughout the Geelong Region. This year the group made over 200 presentations, received over 600 pledges to donate which resulted in an annual increase of $120,000 to the Give Where You Live Workplace Giving Program.

Photos by Elisha Lindsay EL Photography

Leigh Johnston, Wayne McCorkell & David Potter

Hannah & Shane Drury

Joe Adamski & Mike Dillon BUSINESS NEWS | 48

Anne O’Brien & Cynthia Scherer

Chris Davies, Karen Mansell & Reyan Fernando

Kathryn Egan & Helen Butteriss

AFTER HOURS

Angela Campbell & Michael Scaddan

Peter Fuller & Sophie Noss

Mike & Marianne Scott BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 49

Hours: Open Monday - Friday, 10am-3pm.

Other times by appointment.

Phone: 5248 1319 50 Leather Street Breakwater www.pastlastandpresent.com.au

Find Joy in the Journey Metal Sign in bright yellow 82 x 22 cm

If you’re happy block sign 30x55cm

Free standing timber plane with rotating propeller. Standing at 25cm high it makes a nice piece to add to a bookcase, wall unit or study nook.

Go Retro! This black retro settee is finished with white trim and coloured buttons! Totally Groovy! Measures 133 x 74 x 93cm

BUSINESS NEWS | 50

A nesting set of ceramic measuring cups makes a perfect gift. Cute spotty and stripy designs.

A fruit bowl with a difference! This cute and quirky Rooster Decor Box with its spotty exterior measures 53 x 19 x 16 cm. Use it for fruit, household items or treasures and trinkets!

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BOOKS

DIGITALLY ENHANCED James Crook Local businessman and founder of Choc Chip Digital, James Crook, has written a comprehensive and easily accessible guide to marketing your business (or yourself) effectively online. Digitally Enhanced cuts through the jargon, and the confusion of where and how to get your business message out there, with some straightforward advice and plenty of direct pointers along the way.

The business world is in the midst of the biggest economic shift since the advent of the industrial era and the digital era is demanding that businesses catch up. At the forefront of growth are smaller, nimble businesses, led by people who know how to do what it is they do particularly well. But, in order to be successful, they need to attract quality clients quickly. This book offers a simple and effective framework for building a successful presence online.

If you are a ‘corporate escapee’ becoming a consultant, coach, speaker, or simply starting your own business – if you need to gain more clients quickly without spending all your time on marketing and sales – then this book might just be for you.

THE MARK AND THE VOID Paul Murray A madcap institutional folly weaving through investment banking, art theft, www.myhotswaitress. com (yes, hots with an s, don’t ask), a four-year-old boy named after TV detective Remington Steele, a Pacific island and a pest control business run by an exKGB agent. Marooned in the damp and paradoxical realm known as Ireland, disillusioned banker Claude is approached by a down-on-his-luck author Paul, who’s looking for his next great subject. Under Paul’s fictionalizing influence, Claude finds life getting steadily more exciting, especially when a beautiful Greek waitress called Ariadne enters the picture. But Paul’s plan is not what it seems - and neither is the Bank of Torabundo, Claude’s employer, which swells through dodgy takeovers and derivatives trading until - well, you can guess how that shakes out. The Mark and the Void just might be the funniest novel ever written about a financial crisis.

AUSTRALIA’S SECOND CHANCE George Megalogenis Most nations don’t get a first chance to prosper. Australia is on its second. For the best part of the nineteenth century, Australia was the world’s richest country, a pioneer for democracy and a magnet for migrants. Yet our last big boom was followed by a fifty-year bust as we lost our luck, our riches and our nerve, and shut our doors on the world. Now we’re back on top, in the position where history tells us we made our biggest mistakes.

Showing that our future is in our foundation, Australia’s Second Chance goes back to 1788, the first contact between locals and migrants, to bring us a unique and fascinating view of the key events of our past right through to the present day. With newly available economic data and fresh interviews with former leaders (including the last major interview with Malcolm Fraser), George Megalogenis crunches the numbers and weaves our history into a riveting argument, brilliantly chronicling our dialogue with the world and bringing welcome insight into the urgent question of who we are, and what we can become.

THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SHADOW Gregory David Roberts In the sequel to the epic novel, Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts returns to the story of Lin, an Australian fugitive, working as a passport forger for a branch of the Bombay mafia. Two years on from the events in Shantaram, Lin lost two people he had come to love: his father figure, Khaderbhai, and his soul mate, Karla, married to a handsome Indian media tycoon. Lin returns from a smuggling trip to a city that seems to have changed too much, too soon. Many of his old friends are long gone, the new mafia leadership has become entangled in increasingly violent and dangerous intrigues, and a fabled holy man challenges everything that Lin thought he’d learned about love and life. But Lin can’t leave the Island City: Karla, and a fatal promise, won’t let him go.

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 51

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