Business news 252

Issue 252

A NEW PLATFORM Geelong Business News goes digital

Want to go somewhere and on the Bellarine?

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Solstice, Soul Food & Cider An epic winter combo Cider? Winter? You bet! There’s a lot happening to warm your soul at the Flying Brick Cider House during the colder months. additions to the menu and the ever-popular Friday Night ROOTS

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release cider has proved an immediate winner with cider lovers

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 6 Biz News 10 Inside Word 12 New Appointments

18. COVER STORY

13 Education 16 Money

14.

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

17 Governance 22 Property

FEATURE

23 Innovation

- George Bernard Shaw

25 Legal 26 Business Advice 27 Employment 30 Tech Guy 34 Elevator 37 Food 44 Business Events

38. ARTS

ISSUE 252 JUNE 2016 Read online at: www.biznewsmag.com.au

40. COMMUNITY

46 After Hours 51 Books

PUBLISHER

DESIGN

T (03) 5221 4408

Maureen Tayler

James Hart

F (03) 5221 3322

MANAGER

FOR ADVERTISING

203 Malop Street,

Caroline Tayler

Abbey Sherwell M 0418 991 203 abbey@adcellgroup.com.au

Geelong Vic 3220

BUSINESS NEWS, is an Adcell Group publication, it is mailed to more than 6000 businesses.

EDITOR

If you would like to receive Business News at your business please contact us.

Davina Montgomery davina@adcellgroup.com.au

Tanya Carroll M 0418 302 869 tanya@adcellgroup.com.au

BUSINESS NEWS | 4

PO Box 491,

adcellgroup.com.au

EDITOR

A NEW ERA FOR BUSINESS NEWS

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old the press! Actually, forget the press … Business News is going digital.

This 252nd issue will be our last printed issue; and for those of you who know that we do things a little differently, it will come as no surprise that we won’t be doing digital the way that big media has been doing digital. We won’t be feeding the (24-hour news cycle) beast – partly because we don’t have time to do that and, more importantly, that’s not what we’re here for.

What we will be doing is bringing the same sorts of stories you are used to us telling, only delivered to your email, laptop, tablet and phone rather than in your mail. We don’t want to do local business news short and fast, but we do want to be bringing you local business news, advice and interest pieces in a much more timely manner and in a way that is far easier to share, and that is the great attraction of digital.

As a marketing production company, our publisher, Adcell Group, has expanded rapidly into digital in recent years, building portals and a whole range of digital and video work as well as our traditional print. So it makes sense for the publishing arm of the company to make the most of all that in-house expertise. Our web and graphic designers have been busy building a brand spanking new digital platform that has the same ‘breathe out’ feel the magazine has had for the past twenty three years.

For us, Business News has always been about producing thoughtful, thought-provoking and insightful content, and that is one thing that won’t be changing.

What we will still be doing: • Keeping the focus on local business and issues affecting local business • Listening to you – the people who are making the stories that we tell • Celebrating the wins • Pushing for positive change • Doing the in-depth stories (that’s right, those cover stories that dig down into local business and issues aren’t going anywhere) • Supporting our local arts and community services

• Shining a light on SMEs • Offering up practical articles and interviews • New Appointments • Elevator • After Hours photos

What we won’t be doing: • Buying in mass-produced content (it’s everywhere, no one needs it from us too) • Printing and posting paper copies • Waiting to publish the stories that we have in our hands now • Saying ‘Sorry, you missed print deadline’ • Saying ‘[add your favourite expletive here] it’s print deadline!’

What will be different: • More videos • Producing regular, easily shareable content • Whatever else you tell us you want – as ever, our content changes and evolves as we talk to the wider business community. It’s the reason the Geelong Business News started (only 7 years after Jeff Kennett entered politics, way back in 1983) and it’s what keeps us going.

Love it or bemoan it, digital is, it seems, changing just about every aspect of our lives apart from the most basic tasks, like how we change our socks … although I’m sure an app for that is in development somewhere. A long slow magazine read is a joy, and that experience is what we are determined to hold on to, even if the way that you read it has a volume button. This new era of Business News is something that has been in development for quite some We hope you are as excited as we are by the changes ahead, because what hasn’t and never will change is that we need a whole range of local voices to be heard and a whole range of local stories to be told.

So, sit back and enjoy this last paper edition of Geelong’s Business News and look out for our new digital edition, coming to you via the www this July.

DAVINA MONTGOMERY * For the new Business News e-zine to make it’s way to a device near you, sign up to the Business News-letter at www.biznewsmag.com.au it’s free, it’s not a subscription, we absolutely won’t sell or pass on your details to any third parties, you can opt out any time you like and it won’t cause an avalanche of pop-ups to invade your screens, because that stuff bugs us too.

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 5

BIZ NEWS

THE POWER OF THE SMALL BUSINESS VOTE

NEW MEMBERS

May 2016 Corio Bay Motel Geelong Ballroom Dance Club Inc Great Ocean Stays Philippa Bakes Business Advisory Small Business Smart Business The Little Mussel Cafe White Rabbit Geelong’s been reinvented and the word is spreading. We’ve had some superb articles published in the journalists and photographers have been surprised and genuinely impressed with what the city has visited and we tailored their itinerary

sites to cool spots with even cooler

too and were impressed with the urban areas.

We know we’re on a winner in is spreading up the highway.

hesitate to get in touch with their Business on 5244 7109 or dnelson@tourismgeelongbellarine.com.au

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he Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) is urging small

voting power in the lead up to the July 2 federal election. The small business lobby group is targeting its message at marginal seats, highlighting that small business people count for large numbers of voters in potentially election-deciding seats.

COSBOA CEO, Peter Strong, said small business voters should also be looking beyond the two major parties for people who truly support small business.

“It cannot be stressed enough the importance of being informed on policy when casting a vote. Small business drives the economy and supports a diverse culture. To disadvantage this sector would be disastrous.”

COSBOA says the main election theme needs to be about transparency in government.

“There must be an end to secret big union and process. It is not just small business it’s also medium businesses, nonemploying independent contractors and Australian workers. The economy cannot be managed effectively in back rooms and dark places,” warned Mr. Strong.

The small business council’s election wish list is below: An Effects Test in Competition (Section 46) - As announced by the Turnbull Government, COSBOA says this must be enacted after the election.

The Road Transport Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) must not be reinstated - If road safety is to be achieved, it won’t be through the workplace relations system.

Health of the self-employed person must be considered - This is particularly important for mental health; we need equality in consideration and responsibility for health where everyone

counts, including the self-employed and employees.

Reform of Vocational Education and Training (VET) - The current system is failing workers, unemployed, businesses and productivity. Small business needs to be funded for training through their businesses and sectors.

Unemployed people and employers are not given the service needed from many government funded providers - provide assessment of performance by associations.

Ensure large businesses pay their tax Most big businesses pay their tax, the ones that don’t need to be brought to task.

Telecommunications, Technology Get the NBN happening faster; ensure fair access to telecommunications and lower cost for businesses and consumers.

B2B communications - There are billions to be saved in time and money if businesses can communicate faster and Digital Business Council and e-invoicing.

Workplace Relations - Focus on small workplaces; use plain English in awards and agreements and create a small workplace industrial award and remove the industry/union cartels.

Superannuation - Remove employers from the superannuation collection process and place it in PAYG. Billions will be saved in administration costs for employers and funds. business must be up to $10m - This change picks up an additional 90,000 businesses that are still small businesses that employ, innovate and add to culture and diversity.

Financing for Small Business - The issues with banks, Fintech, P2P lending attention.

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BIZ NEWS

MOST ATTRACTIVE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKETS: #10 AUSTRALIA

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ustralia is once again in the top 10 most attractive renewable energy markets according to a recently released report by accountants Ernst and Young, but industry leaders and advocates say the sector needs a long-term vision and support from government if growth is to continue.

The Australian renewables sector continues to be hampered by the lack of a clear vision for growing the jobs-intensive and climate-friendly industry beyond 2020, after the end-date of the Renewable Energy Target.

Australia has improved its ranking by three spots, up from 13th in September 2015, according to the report that incorporates the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness.

BETHANY AND GKA EXPLORE MERGER

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ethany Community Support and Geelong Kindergarten Association (GKA) are currently in discussions regarding a merger of the two organisations. The Boards have been unanimous in their decision to further merger discussions and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding as a sign of their commitment to the proposal.

“We are excited by the opportunities and believe that Bethany

The outcome of the merger will be contingent on the support of existing kindergarten committees and the Department of Education.

“We will be holding extensive consultation sessions with all GKA Kindergarten Committees and Department of Education to gain valuable feedback regarding our proposal,” GKA Managing Director Tina Martin said.

“An announcement was made to our staff [in May] and we are committed to engaging staff and stakeholders in the process.”

education programs for children and providing support to families,” Bethany’s CEO Grant Boyd said.

“As one organisation we aim to increase the opportunity and capability in developing new and innovative services to meet the changing needs of children and families.”

“We believe the merger will be an excellent outcome for both organisations and the wider GKA and Bethany communities.”

by August this year.

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BIZ NEWS

AVOID THE INJURY BLUES THIS WINTER

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s the days get shorter, colder and drearier, Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) is urging Australians to ignore the temptation to go into exercise hibernation this winter.

Sports Physiotherapist Rosemary Riley said wet and wintry conditions combined with heightened injury concerns often prevent Australians from being active during the long, cold months.

Sports injuries peak during the months of May, June and July, with sport related hospital admissions increasing by an estimated 30 per cent during winter.

“While exercising in cold conditions can lead to injuries and illnesses ranging from chilblains, muscle strains and ligament sprains to broken bones and hypothermia, many Australians are unaware that most winter injuries can actually be prevented by good preparation and the correct equipment,” Ms Riley said.

“Although cold conditions can place extra demand on the body, with the right knowledge, preparation and attitude, you can be active and safe in

PIVOT SUMMIT ATTRACTS JOBS CONNECTIONS FUNDING

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eelong’s second annual IT and technology summit, Pivot Summit, has been granted $85,000 in funding from the $3.1 million Geelong Job Connections program.

Making the announcement, Federal Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson said the build up to the Summit this year would include a Pivot Jobs Drive, “linking local creative businesses with young, transitioning or disadvantaged job seekers.”

She said the Pivot Jobs Drive would partner digital businesses with motivated jobseekers to provide some insight into opportunities in the digital and tech industries.

“Over the last year we have seen the local unemployment rate fall

by 3.5% in that time which is a great result, but more must be done.

“Since September 2013, employment in the Geelong region has risen by 11,800 (or 9.7%) to a record high of 134,100.

“It’s so important when we engage with young people that they have opportunities to get a ‘foot in the door’ with emerging industries.”

The Pivot Summit will be held on Friday, December 2nd 2016, bringing international, national and local speakers. Preregistrations and expressions of interest for exhibitors and sponsors are open now at

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BIZ NEWS

INNOVATION ON SHOW

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he 15th of June will see The Pier Geelong buzzing with innovation, collaboration and new technology. The fourth annual Geelong Innovation Conference and Expo, presented by the Geelong Manufacturing Council, will bring together local industry leaders, Deakin University, the CSIRO and more together to present new ideas and extend our local innovative culture.

The Victorian Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Larry Lopez, Director of Accelerating Commercialisation an AusIndustry initiative to assist SMEs, entrepreneurs and researchers to commercialise novel products, processes and services – will deliver the lunchtime Keynote address.

Other presenters include: Andrew Jones of G2 Innovation, to provide practical steps towards a permanent innovative culture; Chris Gilbey, co-founder of Imagine IM, who will details plans to produce graphene in Geelong; Prof. Maria Forsyth, Associate

Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), where she leads the research effort in metalair batteries and the development and understanding of new electrolyte systems; and Prof Kon Mouzakis, Director of Deakin’s Software and Technology Innovation Laboratory.

Exhibitors include Paul Cartwright and co. from Print in 3D, ManuFutures – the newly announced industrial incubator for future technology to be built at Deakin Waurn Ponds, new automation technology from ATS Applied Tech Services, Deakin Industry Innovation Unit – your connection with the CADET facility processes in 3D metal printing, and business to major projects connections through the Industry Capability Network.

The event has received funding from the Australian Government, Department of Employment, Enterprise Geelong and Deakin University. geelongmanufacturingcouncil.com.au #geelonginnovationexpo

WESTPAC TARGETS UNCONSCIOUS BIAS WHEN HIRING estpac has announced it will partner with the Victorian State Government to tackle unconscious bias in recruitment by piloting an anonymous applications program across the Westpac Group.

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Speaking at the Victorian Government’s launch of the initiative, Ainslie van Onselen, Westpac Group’s Director of Women’s Markets, Inclusion and Diversity said Westpac was proud to be

Commencing later this year, the program will see an applicant’s name and gender blanked out from their CV to help counter any potential bias during the recruitment process and follows a similar approach to the Name-Blind Recruitment Strategy introduced for the British Civil Service.

“We know a diverse workforce brings together varied perspectives, dynamic solutions and better decision-making.

This initiative is a natural extension to the work we do with our senior leaders, providing internal recruiting and unconscious bias training for hiring managers.”

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INSIDE WORD

After spending the vast majority of adult life being spoilt by award winning coffee and food in one of our major capital cities, Chris the Coffee Drinker has taken up residence in Geelong and is ready to

BLACK CUP 103 Garden Street, East Geelong

busier streets, I stumbled over Black Cup by accident. Unlike many cafes and coffee shops in town, it is not surrounded by other shops and so would not receive as much that I visited, there were plenty of people there, either enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine or inside in the bright and friendly café.

A DELICIOUS WAY TO SUPPORT OUR FARMERS

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he team at Geelong-based The Food Purveyor wanted to do something to support our regional dairy farmers and their families in the wake of the slashing of the farm gate price for milk. So, they have decided to donate 10 per cent of all hampers purchased online through The Food Purveyor directly to beyondblue to help them support the farmers.

“It has become apparent to us that it is just not enough to buy branded milk or milk from small producers, we need to do more,” said The Food Purveyor’s Nicole Newman.

I went to Black Cup for breakfast and enjoyed the range of options available to me. That said, there were also plenty of non-breakfast snacks to enjoy with a coffee at other times of the day.

She said the decision to donate to beyondblue was an easy one in the end.

“The Food Purveyor work closely with many farmers and small producers in regional Australia, sourcing the best quality produce we can. The smallest of changes can impact greatly in regional Australia and that is why we should always consider where and how we purchase our products.”

Anyone who feels they need help can contact beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au or for crisis support call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

FROM TEESDALE TO THE WORLD

get a four a half star rating for your coffee from me without it being really good. Served in the right cup – black, of course – with great crema. Well worth a visit!

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675 Anglesea Road, Mount Duneed

The winning oil is Camilo’s Classic Ligurian, which has previously won a gold medal in Australia at the AOA’s national show in September 2015 as well as silver at Olive Japan in April 2015.

Something of a contrast to the other

In the world of olive oils, fresher is better, and due to seasonal differences, Camilo’s May 2015 Classic Ligurian was up against just weeks old Northern Hemisphere oils, many from the traditional homes of olive oil, Italy and Spain, making the win all the more special.

anything but suburban. Located on a farm on the Anglesea Road, its primary focus is sustainability. One of the great things

he small team at Camilo, the Teesdale-based producers of Australian extra virgin olive oil and artisan food products, had a great big compliment from Italy in recent weeks when they heard they had won “Best International Absolute Southern Hemisphere Award” as well as a gold medal in the prestigious Domina International Olive Oil Competition.

Sei molto bravo, Camilo. of produce that is available for sale, all sourced from local farmers.

The café and market are both located in converted shipping containers, so be warned that it can be a little cool out there at this time of the year. But as long as you wear your coat and beanie, and sit

LANTERN LEGAL’S NEW GROUP CLAIM LAW FIRM

be greeted by good food and very good you do head out there for coffee, though, make sure to leave enough time to purchase some locally produced goodies to take

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antern Legal Group, comprising Harwood Andrews and Sladen Legal, has launched its newest

Burstyner.

/geelongcoffee

www.geelong.coffee

Adley Burstyner will conduct Group Claims for private entrepreneurs and businesses who have suffered from corporate wrongdoing. Heading Adley Burstyner is Group Claims expert David Burstyner.

Managing Principal of the Lantern Legal Group Dan Simmonds said the appointment of David Burstyner is a major achievement for the Lantern Legal Group. “David and his family have generations of experience in litigation and David has worked on some of Australia’s and Europe’s largest Class Actions, and we are thrilled to have him heading Adley Burstyner.”

The Group Claim experts will operate out of

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INSIDE WORD

PARTNERSHIP TO BOOST INDIGENOUS TRAINING

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orthern Futures and Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative have signed an historic partnership agreement that will increase training opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Geelong’s northern suburbs.

signed the Aboriginal Work and Learning Pathways Project Agreement 2016 in May. Ms Brazier said The Aboriginal Work and Learning Pathways Project establishes a collaborative and targeted partnership between Northern Futures and Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Op, drawing on the strengths of the Northern Futures demand-led employment and training model.

“I am very excited about this partnership. By focusing on the them for pre-brokered jobs with Northern Futures’ industry partners,” Ms Brazier said. “It is fantastic to be able to use homegrown solutions to solve problems such as access to training and employment.”

Mr Jackson said a key priority for Wathaurong was to improve opportunities and choices for Aboriginal jobseekers and the partnership with Northern Futures was a major step forward in that process: “This partnership will support the role of an Aboriginal Work and Learning Centre Advisor who will work closely with Indigenous jobseekers, identify their training needs and support them as they become job ready and transition into the workforce.”

Federal Member for Corio Richard Marles attended the historic signing, describing the collaboration as a natural partnership between two strong entities of Geelong’s north.

“When we established Northern Futures in 2007 the aim was to build economic capacity throughout the 3214 suburbs.

This partnership ensures a more direct focus on the needs of Futures’ nationally recognised training and employment model,” Mr Marles said.

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NEW APPOINTMENTS

KIRSTEN KILPATRICK & CATE STEAINS GPAC TRUST Leaders from the diverse worlds of international peacekeeping and regional development will bring an impressive toolkit of skills to the Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) Trust.

Two new members have been appointed to the GPAC Trust, Kirsten Kilpatrick and Cate Steains, bringing diverse and extensive experience to the centre as it prepares to embark on an exciting era of redevelopment and leadership in the arts industry.

The latest appointments take the number of women on the Trust to six, exceeding State Government policy of female representation on boards to at least 50 per cent.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley welcomed the appointments.

“Kirsten and Cate join the GPAC Trust at an exciting and important time for the centre as it embarks on a connection with the city, the region and the community.

They will bring a fresh perspective and invaluable expertise to this task and to the cultural life of Geelong,” Mr Foley said.

Kirsten is Principal Town Planner with Tract Consultants in Geelong and was instrumental in establishing the

REAL ESTATE Peter Norman is a proud member of the Hayeswinckle team and is now stepping up as a Senior Sales Consultant.

Peter always strives to set new standards and break record prices. Having worked closely with Michelle Winckle, Peter has learnt from one of the best agents in the industry and has embraced Michelle’s qualities which has given him in-depth insights on the best way to promote a vendor’s property and achieving the best result in any market place.

company’s regional also held key roles in State Government overseeing major development projects in the region and is a Committee for Geelong board member.

Cate works for the United Nations as a senior international human rights lawyer.

Kirsten Kilpatrick She joined the UN in 2002 and has worked to protect women and children around the world, based in countries as diverse as New York, Sudan and The Philippines. She recently moved back to Ocean Grove for family reasons, but still participates in shorter international assignments.

Kirsten and Cate join Robert Bett (Chair), Jane den Hollander (Deputy Chair), Jenny Blake, Robert Costa, Peter Dorling, Michelle Heagney, Geoff Saunders, Geoff Street and Alice Nash in making up the 11 member Trust.

BUSINESS ADVICE

ACCOUNTING

Les Watson joins the Small Business Smart Business team at the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, delivering seminars throughout the region on topics ranging from business planning, to digital marketing, social media, blogging, funding options for business, and time management. Les has worked extensively throughout Australia and South East Asia over the past 25 years running training programs in self-management, motivation and communication techniques.

Chartered Accountant Alex Mullen joins the team at Patrick Rowan & Associates.

A welcome addition to our growing Medical Accounting team, Alex has a background in providing accounting, taxation and consulting services to the medical profession. His clientele includes general practitioners, specialists, dentists and allied health professionals, both in private practice and salaried positions. After a short period of travel, Alex has recently relocated to Geelong with his family.

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EDUCATION

CREATING POSITIVE FUTURES

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t was a funding decision that in many ways was overshadowed by the larger events happening across the city at the time, but the establishment of a P-TECH (Pathways in Technology) program at Newcomb Secondary College could job-readiness in Geelong.

The P-TECH program at the College will begin in 2017, and is one of only two programs being offered in Australia as part of a pilot of the collaborative education and industry linked model. Funded by the Federal Government and the Skilling Australia Foundation, the program was introduced by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was inspired by P-TECH programs in the United States.

It is an innovative education model that will give senior secondary students the opportunity to study their VCE/VCAL subjects in a career pathway such as health, information technology or option to continue in the P-TECH program to achieve a STEM related diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree.

The program operates with the support of industry partners, creating direct links between education and industry. Partnering with Newcomb Secondary College in the P-TECH program are Barwon Health, Bendigo Bank, GMHBA, Opteon Property Group and Tribal Campus.

Nicholas Wyman CEO of the Skilling Australia foundation, launching the P-TECH program at Newcomb Secondary College in February The focus of the program is preparing students to enter the labour market with better skills and capabilities to meet the demands of jobs in the future.

Unique to this program is the opportunity for students to visit one of the industries, participate in a hands-on experience in the real world of work, as well as having access to their own industry mentor; all of this is designed to lead to the possibility of future employment.

The P-TECH model, which originated in Brooklyn New York, is a fresh approach to engaging students into skilled careers - often careers with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) focus.

Mentoring is a crucial component of the P-TECH Program.

Industry mentors will provide insight into the world of work and engage students in dialogue about the skills needed for success in the 21st century workplace.

of the year has been focused on building relationships with the newly formed industry partners, designing industry visits for Year 9 students and developing, in conjunction with tertiary partners, a number of career pathway options.

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FEATURE

TAYLER MADE

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hundreds of businesses, digging through their stories to see what makes them tick, where they have come from, where they are going, and the highs and lows along the way. In this, our last print edition before we hit the send button on a new era of digital publishing, it felt like the right time to tell you a bit of the story of the company behind Business News.

was tough down there, the owner of the paper, Jim Kent-Hughes was looking for some help. We ended up buying the paper from him and starting a production company with Jim, which was Ad-

One of the Founding principles and managing director of Adcell Group, Maureen Tayler, was born in England and immigrated to Australia with her family in her early teens.

It was here the Taylers also started a new magazine-style newspaper, Geelong Living, produced fortnightly and with a famous Geelong name, Isobel Carmody, as the editor. Back in those days, newspapers changed hands with surprising regularity and an offer came from a central Victorian publisher to buy the two mastheads that would still be produced by the Taylers. Six weeks after the deal went through the new publisher was killed in a motor accident.

While Maureen’s media work dates back to the old 3GL radio days, there were some wild years working in public relations, including rock concert promotion, with her then husband, Terry, who ran radio stations in Cairns, Adelaide and Bendigo. The rock and roll days were marked by some of the Australian music industry’s Chisel and Sherbet. Caroline Tayler, Adcell Group principal and operations director, (who joined the company in 1994) remembers Kamahl coming for dinner in Cairns.

Maureen joined Terry at 3GL after a position with a local Advertising

Street.” It wasn’t long before these premises became too small and a move to the corner of Ryrie and Bellerine Streets took place.

“At that stage, we didn’t have all the money from the purchase, we had staff to pay and we didn’t know what to do. We had been thinking about starting a real estate paper and so we sat down with a group of real estate agents and motor car dealers, who unbeknownst to us had also been talking about starting up a new paper,” Maureen said. The new paper was to be The Geelong Independent.

heading up 3GL, ah those were the days! Working in the schedules and production departments was a hands-on role back in 1977, writing ad copy, getting it recorded and run on to reels, scheduling and trying to make sure it all went to plan on air. Maureen and

“The only way it was going to work was if we sold shares in it, so that’s what we did, selling shares to the real estate people, to the motor people, and it just took off. We were printing 80,000 copies right from the word go and it did really well.

Melbourne-based ad agency T&M Tayler Media in 1983.

probably be around 48 pages. But then it went up to 52, then 64

Maureen supplemented the start-up business income with PR work, that saw her working on projects as diverse as SPC and Steelcraft , Bob Hawke’s election campaign and setting up the photo shoots for the famous Sun Page 3. This was also when T&M

back in 1986.

“Then an opportunity came up to buy the Coastal Telegraph, which was a newspaper that went down the coast, and was based in

“Murdoch had control of all the presses, so we were very limited in where we could print. We wanted to keep the money in Geelong, but we couldn’t, so we ended up printing with a little backyard printer in Melbourne. Then, one of the big printers owned by Rupert said they would print it, and then one night they said they forgot to print it. Then there were so many times when the trucks would

BUSINESS NEWS | 14

FEATURE break down and we had to drive up and unload the papers by hand, all 80,000 of them.

“Our saviour was John Fairfax. Lady Mary Fairfax and her son Warwick took control of Fairfax which left John Fairfax cashed up they were amazing it opened up so many opportunities for us.

out due to illness so with a week to get things together the Taylers purchased it and Alcoa Australia (Portland) remains a print client of the business today. In fact, many of the early print clients including the Geelong Football Club, Karingal, the Golden Plains Shire, City of Greater Geelong, the Queenscliff Music Festival and others have remained with the company for decades.

In 1985 Ad-cell had launched a series of Laser Image shops – remember those, and the days when the novelty of get people’s faces printed on a coffee mug made it the ultimate gift?

The print industry was changing rapidly, and the availability of new technology changed the kinds of marketing products that clients were looking for and the company shifted their service offering with that demand.

of s*%t, but Canon was very good and they really supported us,” Maureen said. “That was new and we were printing all sorts of things.

The Star News Group in Pakenham bought into the Independent, and after the Taylers separated, the Star Group led by Paul Thomas in Geelong bought out the remaining share of the Geelong Independent, while Maureen remained at the helm of what was by then Adcell Print Group.

“We had been in partnership with Jim Kent-Hughes in Ad-cell (including its interest in the Geelong Independent) and the laser shops, but then Jim decided he wanted to do his own thing, so we split and he took the laser shops and we retained Ad-cell. We had seen more colour photo copiers coming into the market and were happy to let the shops go.”

Then a new opportunity beckoned, one that would take the Taylers back into radio. The federal government had released some new FM radio licences in 1989 and the Taylers had applied for 93.9, but had missed out. A little over twelve months later, the new Bay FM radio station went into receivership and the Taylers and the Geelong Independent picked it up at a rock bottom price.

The printing operation that had been run from Moolap shifted into the company’s current location at 203 Malop Street and that brought together the print and design operations under one roof.

“in the aftermath of the Pyramid collapse and the Council amalgamation, the newly formed Geelong Business News was launched in 1993 to try to lift the and to provide some much-needed positive news”

The Bay FM days were a return to that heady rock and roll lifestyle that Maureen was so familiar with, with late nights, screaming print deadlines with the Independent, post-deadline drinks on Thursdays that would often extend to 4am and would wreak havoc on the Friday morning production meetings, as well as all the lively chaos and big personalities of radio in the 1990s.

“We used to do quite a few other bits and pieces and we had been doing a business magazine from the time we were based in Melbourne Maureen said.

So no strangers to business publications, in the aftermath of the Pyramid collapse and the Council amalgamation, the newly formed Geelong Business News was launched in 1993 to try to lift the positive news. One of the early Editors was the much respected Richard Horniblow a colourful and old style Journo who added some of the bite he retained from his tabloid days.

“Back then, media really was part of the community, while of course now everything is syndicated. It was a time when there were so many home-grown personalities and it is still so important that we have locally-produced content and good local content.

“But, of course, the amount of money that businesses used to spend on advertising, and particularly print advertising, was extraordinary. But that was part of business and you had to do it.”

Ad-cell had been looking around for a print business and, once again, someone else’s misfortune created an opportunity. Coa Press, originally started as the print arm for Alcoa Australia, had been taken over by the disability organisation now known as Scope, when it went up for sale prospective buyers had to pull

Design became a fast-growing part of the business and one of Adcell’s former designers, Justin Abrams, started a small digital, design and multimedia company that became Red Onion Creative.

With the small business growing and needing more back end support, Justin proposed bringing the business under Adcell Group. games and producing a handful of football records, the digital arm of the company expanded rapidly

season, across multiple leagues and for both men’s and women’s competitions across metropolitan and regional Victoria and now also in Sydney. Websites for leagues were developed and new portals were built to allow for the high resolution footage, and it caught on, with FFA soccer, baseball in Melbourne and Adelaide, state league netball, the Australian Masters Games, Australian streamed by Red Onion Creative. expand into corporate video and digital design production, including projects for the City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliff, Shepparton City Council, Vixens Netball and Australian Unity just to name a few of the many and varied clients. This was when the early plans to expand Business News into a digital platform began to take shape, with a plan to incorporate more local video news content.

On the print side of the business, a number of smaller printing Printers, Kohler Press and the wide-format and point of sale production services of Eagle Creative (which now has another family member in Nikolas Tayler as part of its team), creating a fullservice marketing production agency delivering creative, marketing, strategic marketers and corporate marketing departments across Geelong, Victoria and interstate.

DAVINA MONTGOMERY BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 15

MONEY

COMBATTING INCREASING PAYMENT TERMS

W

ith many businesses struggling to

an emerging trend of businesses increasing their payment terms with suppliers is a concern.

In addition to two local cases I have heard about in the past few weeks, there was also

CARL JONES, GREAT SOUTHERN CREDIT MANAGEMENT

For an obligation free chat about how our services can assist your business, call Great Southern Credit Management on 5246 5444 today.

Tinto that payment terms to suppliers would be increasing from 45 days to 90 days.

In an article in the Herald Sun on 12 April 2016, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett described Rio Tinto’s decision to, effectively, use their suppliers as an unsecured bank as, “unconscionable, immoral and simply unacceptable.” We couldn’t agree more. The Mr Kennett pointed out that Woolworths had similarly increased their supplier payment terms late last year. Locally, I was asked if such a move by the inquirer’s customer to now pay them at 60 days rather than the normal 30 days was legal. The short answer is ‘Yes, it is.’

The more important question that businesses faced with these circumstances need to ask themselves is ‘So, what can we do about it?’

Large companies like Rio Tinto and Woolworths obviously carry the whip hand with many of their suppliers. But that doesn’t mean that suppliers providing goods and/or services on credit shouldn’t take the time to examine their options.

In the words of Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler, suppliers need to ‘Know when to hold ‘em.

Know when to fold ‘em,’ because, in the end, as suppliers, you need to ensure that you count your money and understand what impact such a change to payment terms may have on your business.

BUSINESS NEWS | 16

If a customer purchases goods and/or services on credit from you, then it should be in accordance with your terms and conditions.

Haven’t got any? Then get some – seek professional advice for this if you need it.

If you want to ‘hold ‘em’, then make sure that your Terms and Conditions incorporate the ability to charge your customer interest or late/ overdue fees if payment exceeds your terms and charge them. Your other option (if you want to ‘hold ‘em’) is to adjust your pricing to factor in the additional cost to your business. Be upfront and engage in open dialogue with them about the impact of their decision on your business and the changes you intend to implement. Your own Terms and Conditions may require you to provide your customers with 30 days prior notice of such change.

If you want to ‘fold ‘em’, then you will simply put up with getting paid later, continue trading with them and absorb the cost. what impact losing that particular customer may have on your business. Perhaps it’s time to reduce the exposure your business may have to that particular customer. Or ramp up your sales efforts and go looking for customers who will agree to better payment terms.

If you part on good terms, there’s every likelihood you will again do business with one another when economic conditions improve.

If they don’t like your decision to part ways, increase pricing or charge interest/late fees and continue to refuse to pay you, then take positive action by referring your accounts for debt collection. In short, don’t put your own viability at risk.

GOVERNANCE

THE BOARD CHARTER – AN IMPORTANT GOVERNANCE DOCUMENT

O

rganisations striving for best practice in board leadership, effectiveness and governance will have in place a Board Charter that all board members should understand and formally commit to through the selection, induction and annual review processes. This month’s article will provide a summary derived from having such a document in the governance system of your organisation.

knowledge and experience (always mindful of the laws of the land), tenure and succession plans; Performance management: approach to individual and collective board evaluation and professional development, performance management of the Chief Executive and management of both these processes; Risk management: the proposed structure to oversee risk, documentation of risk appetite and process employed to manage both the strategic and operational risk of the organisation; Meetings: logistical details and expectations;Relationships: between board members, the Chief Executive, management and staff; how it is to be managed by both individual members and the organisation; and Communication: how a board manages internal and external communication will have a real impact on the effectiveness of both its leadership and management; this section provides the opportunity for the board and senior management to think about this and create the communication strategy that aligns with its business model and culture.

organisation’s governance system are fairly self-evident, however, they serve a number of important functions and are worth noting, including:

Key Components Whilst the development and documentation of a board charter nuances of the business, there are a number of core components that should be included in every such document, these include:

Documenting the policies that the board has decided upon to meet its governance, leadership, social and compliance responsibilities; Providing a useful induction tool for new directors and senior managers; Providing a reference point for disputes;

The organisation’s Vision, Mission and Values: a statement

Removing individual interpretation from the decision making process;

activities of the organisation. An essential starting point for creating the right culture in the organisation, (however, success will depend on actions not words);

issues; and

Code of Conduct: articulating behavioural expectations, decision-making processes, compliance management and focus of the board; The structure of the board: clearly articulating what the governance responsibilities of the collective board, structure and composition, sub committees and any external/stakeholder relationships and communication approach; Duties & responsibilities of board members: details the

Creating a framework to review individual and collective performance and to clarify the roles and responsibilities of both the board and management.

For new boards, the creation of a board charter during the formative stage of the organisation and the board is acknowledged to be a very worthwhile experience and process. For an existing it is a relatively easy process to start and complete. If a charter does exist, then the annual agenda should include a review of its current policies and expectations of the board.

responsibilities; Composition of the board: organisation - skills set, diversity (age, gender, culture) and

communication to stakeholders will have a positive effect and set the benchmark for performance, all of which has to be good for the organisation.

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

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 17

COVER STORY

BAD ECONOMY Why we need to think more about how we spend our budget bucks

I

eye on the approaching federal election, it is a time to review how much we’ve spent and what we’ve got for all that spending. It can be a time when examples of bad economy about – individuals and businesses splashing out on tax-deductible items such as laptops and tablets – in anticipation of claiming their new toy as a tax deduction.

But getting a return of 30 cents for every one dollar spent isn’t great economy, in the same way that failing to get your car serviced to save $300 can end up costing you a whole lot more.

Yet we still do it. When it’s a $1000 computer you can probably live with the loss. When it’s a major car repair or a new car, it stings a bit more. But what about when it comes to the national budget, when the costs come in the hundreds of millions, or billions, or go far beyond money?

Does Australia have a problem with regressive funding?

John Daley is the CEO of the apolitical Grattan Institute. He spends his working days delving into some of the biggest challenges facing our nation and if you were putting a dinner table together of ‘most interesting thinkers’ he would probably get a chair.

“There is one thing we need to bear in mind, and Ken Henry is always very clear about this, that it is a mistake to judge any individual tax or welfare measure as being regressive. You absolutely have to look at the system as a whole,” Mr Daley said.

“If you say that absolutely every tax change that you are going to do is going to be progressive, then you won’t actually get a very good tax system at the end of it.

“That said, there are clearly some areas of our tax system that are highly regressive and don’t obviously serve any other purpose, the most obvious of which is the superannuation system where essentially it has two parts. It has a compulsory contribution that by and large is reasonable sensible and by and large works pretty well. It doesn’t help people in the bottom 20 per cent, but the bottom line is that they don’t earn an income and the aged pension is there to look after them. It works pretty well for people between, roughly speaking, 20 and 80 per cent and that’s exactly what it’s supposed to do.

“Then there is the second part of the superannuation system, which is essentially the various tax breaks that can get manipulated by people with very high incomes who contribute more than they have to under the guarantee scheme. That is highly regressive, the vast majority serve any plausible public policy purpose. If the theory is that this is supposed to supplement or substitute for the aged pension, a very

We are, right now, at the point where the cost of the superannuation tax concessions is higher than the cost of the aged pension. Let me say that again, superannuation tax concessions are a bigger drain on the federal budget of Australia than the aged pension. In 2015/16, superannuation tax concessions cost the budget $50 billion. The aged pension costs $44 billion.

“That’s probably the most egregious single part of our tax and welfare system in terms of being regressive and not serving any form of public policy purpose,” Mr Daley said.

Australia has the most tightly targeted welfare system in the world.

It is pretty generous to people in the bottom 20 per cent, and it is extremely stingy to people in the top 20 per cent. It’s the combination of those things that make it very targeted. We means test welfare a lot more than most other countries, which contributes to this very targeted system. One of the catches is that means testing in itself winds up creating participation traps – situations where it’s really not worth people working because whatever additional income they get but it is extremely well targeted.”

Much of the rhetorical around what we spend, as a nation, as well as what we don’t spend and what sort of value we get from budget spends and savings centres around the principal of fairness. While very powerful, particularly in the shadows of a federal election, the

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COVER STORY “It’s not easy, but I don’t think we do a bad job,” Mr Daley said. “As households that need them, and that is very distinctive. The least targeted part of the system is the aged pension and particularly the way that it does not include owner-occupied housing – or, ironically, ignores all the rest of the value. It’s completely upside down when you think about it, but it’s worth bearing in mind that plenty of countries don’t means test the pension at all or have social security systems where, in effect, you get a bigger pension if you happened to have worked more in your past.”

When it comes to spending to seek a return, it is education and health that dominates the Australian federal budget and with good reason.

But are we getting good value for our big spending buck?

“They have certainly played out very differently in Australia,” Mr Daley said. “If you look at health spending, which has of course increased as a share of GPD (gross domestic product). That is true of every and it is continuing to increase as a share of GDP, it’s not just going in real terms. So we are earning more dollars and we are spending a greater proportion of it on health.

“If you look at the long-run health outcomes, it’s tough to argue that we’re not making progress. If you look at life expectancy, that is going up pretty quickly. If you look at years of life without a disability, that is going up, although not as fast as life expectancy.

If you at amenable mortality, which is a health outcomes concept that looks at how many people die from things that at least some of the time medical

another high-performing country requiring a growing skills set in its future workforce that places a high priority on education, it is relatively rare for students to not attend their local high school. Compare this with Australia where parents are increasingly sending their children to selectively chosen schools – increasingly private or Catholic schools – creating what is commonly referred to as the education gap. This shift to a more differentiated education system is a problem because it reduces the equality in schools across the board and concentrates disadvantage.

Successive studies in Australia show there is no academic advantage in sending students to private schools over public schools, and that publicly educated kids perform better at university.

Government decisions do play a big role in school choice, however.

Under the current federal funding arrangements for education, students at the same level of the socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) will soon receive more funding if they attend a non-government school than if they attended a public school. The obvious question is why?

“The other issue is around school systems,” Mr Daley said, “where we’ve seen the big change being the growth in low C [based on the socio-educational advantage index] true middle-income schools. The big growth has been on the outskirts of our cities and in schools that charge relatively-speaking low fees, that get a lot of their income from government and that are appealing not to the top ten or twenty per cent, but very much through middle income Australia.

“We would have done far better to keep class sizes where they were and to pay teachers more.”

period. If you look at self-reported health, and the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) does a survey on how you rate your, and over a decade that has improved quite materially, and it is quite unusual for self-reported anything to improve.

“I look at those four indicators and think that we must be doing something right in the health system. We are paying more, we are getting something for it, that’s a good outcome.”

When it comes to health spending in Australia, looking at the system as a whole – and there are positives and negatives to be found throughout – but overall, the numbers suggest we are getting it right.

“If I look, on the other hand, at education, in terms of both government spending and in terms of overall spending, that has gone up quite a lot – not as much as in health, but quite a lot per student over the past twenty years – and, to be quite blunt, we don’t have a lot to show for it.

“The big macro transformation across all parts of [education] over the past twenty to thirty years is that we have reduced class sizes and we have largely paid for that by reducing teacher salaries relative to average incomes. In retrospect, that was almost certainly a very, very bad piece of policy. We would have done far better to keep class sizes where they were and to pay teachers more.

“The evidence is that reduction in class sizes has a very, very, very small impact on outcomes but having better teachers in front of your classrooms has a huge impact on outcomes.

“It seems obvious in retrospect, but of course, we have had a vested interest in teachers unions who do not want that outcome, because for teaching unions having teachers paid more doesn’t help that much, but having more poor teachers helps a lot,” Mr Daley said.

The structural problems in the education sector are exacerbated by schools are actually performing, Mr Daley said.

There are many factors that feed into a well-performing school system, and not all of them are driven by governments. In Canada,

“The catch is that we are clearly seeing a substantial segregation in schools, even between different government schools. So we are seeing clusters of high income, high education parents whose children all go to one set of schools, and children of low-education, low-income parents going to a different set of schools.

That is clearly a problem” The problem is compounded by disadvantage, Mr Daley said.

Low-education and low-income are two of the predictors of lower education outcomes. So, the children of low-education and lowincome parents tend to have lower educational outcomes; and kids who are in classrooms with lots of other kids with low-education and low-income parents tend to have lower educational outcomes - in often end up at schools where more students have higher education and higher income parents.

“The higher income and higher education parents are also, by and large, better at lobbying to get extra money for their schools.

And, they can pay more out of their own pockets, whether that’s at independent schools or effectively more cash for government schools.

So you get all those factors coming together,” Mr Daley said.

In short, if Australia wants to provide an education system at the top of the OECD charts, then we are getting it wrong on education.

“One of the other things that I would observe is that Australia has spent enormous amounts of political capital and policy energy arguing about resourcing for schools and which schools get what resources on what basis. We spend far less energy saying ‘irrespective of what system the school belongs to or the precise amount of money it’s getting, how are we spending that money and are we getting the best possible outcome for that money.’

“Other school systems are spending way less money than we are and getting way better results, and that’s allowing for the fact that average incomes in those countries are lower. That is because they’ve put their energy into worrying about how they can run the school better, wherever it might be, whoever is going.”

The Grattan Institute has been doing a considerable amount of work in the space, looking at we go about changing what happens within a school. Mr Daley said he is seeing more of that focus coming from

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 19

COVER STORY various groups that look at school education policy and essentially asking ‘how do we get a better outcome from schools?’

“There are quite a lot of answers and there is quite a lot of good literature on this stuff. Not surprisingly, training your would-be teachers well is a good idea. Not surprisingly, encouraging good surprisingly, really targeted teaching – getting teachers to be testing their students so often that they understand exactly where the student is sitting, what it is that they understand and what they don’t understand and targeting their teaching accordingly makes a really big difference. Many teachers just don’t have the skills to do that.

“For a long time, we’ve had an ideology around every teacher is a professional, and that means that we shut the door of their classroom and no one can tell them what to do inside, which is the most weird

from overseas students and graduate students, but we are certainly spending a lot.

“On the other hand, any way that you try to cut the numbers around transfer of university research into what happens in the real world is pretty poor relative to the rest of the world. Arguably, that is because we have a system that is extremely focused on incentivising the production of refereed journal articles and not very focused on incentivising the use of that knowledge and that capability out in the real world. That is the real problem. Is government spending enough - on the numbers, almost certainly. Are we getting what we would like out of that spending? The answer to that is much less obvious. We’ve more or less doubled our government spending in ten years, but did we see a doubling of anything that we care about? Not really. And doing more of that spending is probably not going to be helpful.”

So, how do we change the outcomes?

was that there was always someone who knew more than you did standing over your shoulder telling you what you should have done differently yesterday. That’s how it works. How can I expect to get any better if no one’s helping me? You know, Roger Federer doesn’t have one coach, he has several coaches,” Mr Daley said.

“Then we asked, how often does a teacher in Australia have someone else in their classroom who might know what they’re doing and telling them afterwards what they love about their class and what they could have done a bit better? If the answer is once a year, you are doing better than most. In an average classroom in Shanghai, the answer is once every two weeks. That might be peers, it might be the head of department, it might be the Deputy Principal, or it might be an academic, a researcher or someone from a government department – either way, there is a lot of help. No wonder they get better.”

“One of the issues is that we’ve tended to have a very cyclised view of innovation. Someone sits in a university, comes up with a brilliant invention, patents it, someone commercialises it and it turns up in the real world. That is not the main game. The main game is people in universities, at the cutting edge of whatever is happening internationally, talking about that, which may or may not be the precise thing that they have personally developed - because if you are genuinely developing some stuff yourself then you generally know a lot about what everyone else is up to – and ensuring that knowledge is transferring to the rest of social production. That we do much less well, we don’t create particularly strong incentives for universities to interact in that way and that’s the big issue,” Mr Daley said.

“Australia has spent more on public infrastructure as a percentage of GDP over the last seven or eight years than we have since we started collecting records in 1987. We have spent more, as a percentage of GDP, than pretty much any developed country in the world.”

We ask an awful lot of our teachers now, much more than we ever have before, yet we are failing to give them the structural systems and robust support they need to be improving. Mr Daley said the only sort of support we do give to teachers is the equivalent of coaching a football team by only having the players sit in a classroom and talking to them about football.

“That’s why we say that the biggest issue in our education system is not how much we are spending or even where we are spending it, spending it distracts us from having that conversation about how we are spending it.”

We are a growing nation; one that has soared up the global economic scales to become one of the richest nations in the world and most of us would like to maintain our very, very high standard of living. But the economic building blocks that got us to where we are today won’t keep us there. Traditional manufacturing and mining are making way to more high tech economic pursuits. But if we truly want to be the innovation nation, or at least one of the leading innovation nations, do we have the right focus on research and development and are our policy settings right when it comes to driving new economic opportunities?

“One of the things that is in fact very poorly understood is that Australia has more or less doubled the amount that it spends on research in universities over the last decade in real terms. There are a lot more researchers than there used to be, output of refereed journal articles is about double where it was a bit over a decade ago and, in terms of comparisons with the OECD, we are spending quite a lot.

“That [wider community interaction] takes time and that means one less refereed journal article is being produced that year and that means one less promotion. So, I think there is a real issue around the way the incentives work inside of the system.

“The other part of it is ensuring that universities are producing very well trained graduates who are the kind of people that industries want to hire. In part, because we don’t have the senior researcher interaction, we probably aren’t providing the kind of education – particularly at the top end – that industry is really looking for.”

If that is a part of the problem, what are we missing in this value equation of university graduates to industry?

“Certainly, by the numbers, we’ve got less entrepreneurialism than you would hope for and it’s probably more about a way of thinking about the world – of thinking, ‘given what I know, how can I apply that to do things differently?’

“The other thing that we’ve done is that we’ve set up all of these university commercialisation arms. So the minute that anyone is trying to make any money out of something that a university researcher has done, you end up going through these centralised university administrations and, by and large, their objectives are to maximise the revenues for the university. As a country, we don’t really care about that, we care about maximising the extent to which the thing gets commercialised and if the university doesn’t get to capture very much of it, well, that’s unfortunate but not really a problem. In many of the countries in which this works well, it’s very much more a direct interaction between the individual researcher and whatever the company might be. And even if the researcher doesn’t get quite as much out of it as we might like, again, that doesn’t actually matter for the things that we really care about,” Mr Daley said.

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COVER STORY “Clearly, the U.S. does this extremely well, and clearly somewhere like Israel does this really well, and some parts of the U.K. are doing thing very well. in the wrong place. You’ve got to be realistic about that and accept that some of these outcomes are going to be less good than they are elsewhere.”

But when it comes to ultimate bang for an awful lot of bucks, is there any area more hotly debated than infrastructure spending? The big questions of what sorts of infrastructure we need now, what we will need in the future, and what delivers best value for money – not to mention how we fund infrastructure – all become the great focus of attention in the lead up to a federal election.

“Just as we have a bunch of interest groups who are very keen for you to believe that we don’t spend enough money on research, there are a bunch of interest groups who are very keen for you to believe that we haven’t spent any money on infrastructure. In fact, Australia has spent more on public infrastructure as a percentage of GDP over the last seven or eight years than we have since we started collecting records in 1987. We have spent more, as a percentage of GDP, than pretty much any developed country in the world.

went, a little bit of it went to supporting the mining boom, but most of it went to regional roads in New South Wales and Queensland. [The Grattan Institute] did a piece of work recently called Road to Riches that asked where did the money go? And the answer was to regional roads in New South Wales and Queensland, and, disproportionately within those states it went to roads where there were marginal seats at elections.

any announcements and for those assessments to be tabled in parliament to avoid ministerial interference, in much the same way that Productivity Commission reports are tabled. It highlights that Infrastructure Australia and the state-based infrastructure assessment bodies, like Infrastructure Victoria, need to be much more to be given to the recommendations of the state-based bodies as they have all the information to properly assess whether a project is actually going to be a good idea.

Of course, not every funding decision by governments can be assessed under a dollar and cents model, and what we have seen in the slashing of arts funding in recent weeks is a particularly potent example. Funding to the arts, as a sector, is a very small part of the federal budget, but the changes to the Australia Council funding model, made under then Arts Minister George Brandis, has seen a cut of $72.8 million over four years. Small change in budgetary terms, but its impact has seen the Australian arts community rally in an unprecedented way and even launched a new political party, the Arts Party.

Evelyn Richardson, the chief executive of Live Performance Australia (LPA) said the arts industry provides both social and economic “It’s not just about the social, community and educational value, which are, of course, very important, but it’s also very important for our policymakers and decision makers to understand our economic impact as well. At LPA we represent the live performance sector, and the arts sector as a whole is much broader than that, but our sector is worth $2.5 billion and supports 34,000 jobs, and we know that those statistics are conservative. And in the context of an election campaign where there is so much focus on innovation, growth, jobs, creativity, knowledge economy and modern economy, there is a fundamental part of that conversation that is missing and that is the contribution of broad creative industries. There is a real silo mentality in how we look at the arts in Australia.”

“We need to be thinking about how the arts and creative

as a nation, and that, at the moment, that is not happening.”

“We got in trouble for talking about the [$1.7 billion] Hunter Expressway, we got in massive trouble for talking about the [$171 million 23 kilometre highway duplication] that goes to Colac – a town with a grand total of 12,000 people – and another egregious one that goes from Launceston up to Bell Bay. The amount of money spent per tonne kilometre or per passenger kilometre is ridiculous on all of those. So we have spent a lot of money and we have spent far too much of it in the wrong places,” Mr Daley said.

“The underlying problem is that we have very poor discipline around where the money is spent. If you look at the current election campaign, there is a lot of money being promised on infrastructure projects where no one has done the work that shows that this is indeed a good idea and that the project will pay off. Politicians will tell you that ‘common sense says such and such is a good investment’; usually what mean is that, ‘common sense will show you that makes complete political sense.”

The LPA is seeking a return of the $72.8 million in funding cuts over years to the Australia Council, and greater transparency of the newly created Catalyst arts funding program in the lead up to the election, as well as tax incentives for pre-production costs for live performances, a seed fund for major Australian works of scale, development of a Creative Industries Strategic Plan and incorporation of the arts in the government’s innovation and STEM agenda.

“I would say that the current funding model is broken and needs to Ms Richardson said that if we want to be an innovative country, the things that foster creativity and innovation and help us to think

And this was the great hope of Infrastructure Australia, that it would set out rigorously analysed implementation and cost-value analyses of big infrastructure projects, as well as directing where our national infrastructure spend is most needed. As a plan, it is very solid. The issue, as Mr Daley pointed out, is that the vast majority of spending commitments are made before Infrastructure Australia has made any kind of assessment of those projects.

funding cuts. At a time when we are increasingly understanding how important it is to have arts and culture programs more widely available to people of all ages, all cultures, and all socio-economic backgrounds, both for cultural development and economic growth as well as education, health and particularly mental health outcomes, it seems counter-productive to be cutting already low funding to the arts sector.

The Grattan’s Roads to Riches report found that we need a

She said we need to be thinking about how the arts and creative

projects, including having projects assessed prior to making

is not happening.

DAVINA MONTGOMERY

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PROPERTY

THE FRAMEWORK FOR A GREAT DEAL - PART 3

O

19. Considering the Telephone?

ver the past couple of months, you’ve quietly worked your

By choice, negotiations should commence face-to-face. However as

during each of your negotiations.

by phone. It takes out all the emotion, and allows you to simply focus on the rational items, rather than any personal issues.

ensure successful negotiations.

So, here’s what you should also be exploring.

Are you:

20. Documenting the Final Agreement?

Sadly, too many people leave the negotiating table with only a handshake. A short summary (by way of heads of agreement, a

15. Remaining Professional?

You simply can’t afford to lose your temper and still retain respect from the other party.

People can be insulting, and it is all too easy to respond aggressively.

But sometimes they’re just doing that to test you, or your patience.

So, you may simply need to suggest adjourning the negotiations to give them a chance to regain their composure.

If it is a genuine outburst on their part, they can cool down. And if it’s merely a ploy then, they’re going to look rather stupid.

each party in the negotiation.

Only then can you properly decide when (and how) to make any of needs and requests.

17. Employing the Power of Silence?

Work on becoming comfortable with silence. Because, most negotiators feel the need to jump in with some comment, whenever there is an awkward pause in proceedings.

But, whenever the answer to your question will actually commit the other party say absolutely NOTHING more. Otherwise, all you’ll get is further conversation.

Never commit on a major point, unless you are quite sure of your answer and you are on solid ground.

No matter what the pressure, all you need simply say is: “I may need to sleep on that, I’ll get back to you tomorrow”.

You need to have some form of documentation at the end, if this is a serious negotiation.

What you might say is: “Let’s make a few notes on the points we have This is vital, because, it provides a basis for the contract to be prepared. And, when the contract arrives and isn’t what you If you both have the same set of notes, it’s easy to verify that the contract has been drawn incorrectly.

Otherwise, you’ll quickly discover how recollections can often change — between reaching agreement and the formal contract emerging.

As a result, you are forced to restart the negotiation over again.

Hopefully, these questions have helped you to gain a helicopter view of how each component of a negotiation relates to all the others.

I also thought it might be helpful if you would have all of these questions summarised in a single document – which you’re able to download and store on your own computer.

To grab your copy go to: CommercialPropertyMadeEasy.com/ neg-framework And with this Framework at your stronger position to tackle every future

CHRIS LANG Best-selling Amazon author & responsible for 7 books on Commercial Property, Chris is also CEO of CommercialPropertyMadeEasy.com Important information: This content is general in nature and does not constitute formal advice. Individuals should seek appropriate professional advice

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INNOVATION

DEATH OF ERPS, RISE OF SAAS AND THE SMARTER WAY

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or years, businesses have relied on traditional ERPs for an endto-end information management solution. An enterprise resource planning system, or ERP, allows a business to consolidate crucial processes and functions, such as product planning, marketing, sales structure. that they require large upfront investment to procure the necessary hardware, software, servers, and facilities. In the case of a lack of an experienced IT staff, companies are also forced to invest in additional personnel who have the requisite skills and expertise to get the ERP system up and running. The costs associated with planning, software is too high. This is even more problematic for SMEs, which just don’t have the budget of large enterprises.

With the rise of Cloud based applications, the implementation and providers have adopted a Software as a Service model (SaaS), where applications are delivered to the customers via the Web, eliminating the need for expensive hardware, servers and on-site staff.

Cloud software provides the leeway for product enhancements to solutions without breaking previously implemented solutions. This allows the business to focus its resources on innovating and helping amount of time on maintaining and managing traditional systems. SaaS applications are easy to implement and customise, as they provide With the inundation of Cloud based applications, companies such as SAP and Oracle have also moulded their traditional ERP systems into a Cloud based system. Cloud ERP offers a predictable, pay-as-you-go

organisation hits a bump in the road and can no longer afford an ERP system, it can simply end its agreement with the cloud provider. But Cloud ERP implementation presents similar challenges as traditional

ERPs for smaller businesses, as they are too complex as a software to

they work in synchronization becomes a tedious task altogether. Cloud ERP can provide very robust functionality, but if the organization is not prepared to manage the change then the value of Cloud ERP quickly dissipates.

Though SaaS applications are built for each function or a department, they are unable to act as a complete enterprise management solution.

For ensuring effective monitoring of all departments and smooth data applications used by different departments are integrated together.

For example, the sales department in a company might be using Salesforce for CRM, the accounting department is dependent on MYOB to carry out its functions and the marketing team makes use of Marketo for marketing automation.

The lack of a common platform that connects these three applications could lead to a multitude of disadvantages such as inconsistency in data, more room for errors, data duplication and reduction in sharing information and customer services. a holistic view of the company. It allows managers to generate reports on any aspect of the business to get a complete view of activities, which in turn could help executives make strategic decisions. One can also identify loopholes in the process and make necessary alterations, helping to steer the company in the right direction. By avoiding the particularly can arise from redundancy, are avoided. A number of factors should be taken into account when integrating applications, such as compatibility of the applications with each other and as well as with the system.

A carefully hand picked and crafted combination of applications integrated together and customised according to the organisational needs can act as a complete enterprise management system.

AAMIR QUTUB - GENERAL MANAGER, ICT GEELONG AND CEO, ENTERPRISE MONKEY BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 23

VIC CHAMBER

INCREASING OUR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS A key election priority for Geelong business

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ith the federal election now well underway and Geelong playing a critical role in the marginal seat of Corangamite, our region will be under the political spotlight. This

MARK STONE IS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE VICTORIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

business and industry to have its say on how government can help drive local economic growth.

The Victorian Chamber, working with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is highlighting key priorities that will help improve the operating environment for Victorian business over the next ten years. Our recommendations aim to increase Australia’s global competitiveness through practical measures that encourage innovation, lower business costs, reduce red tape and deliver world class infrastructure.

Over the past ten years, Australia’s global competitive ranking has fallen from 10th to 21st according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. This impacts not only on business and economic growth, but also our liveability.

That’s why Australia’s next government must make boosting our competitiveness a priority. Regional cities like Geelong need a thriving business community to continue to grow and prosper.

The key recommendations outlined in the Australian Chamber’s election platform, Top 10 in 10: Ten steps towards a more competitive Australia, are:

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1. Give young people a chance to succeed by making it easier for employers to take on apprentices and trainees 2. Ensure government spending is sustainable by reducing it to less than 25% of GDP 3. Help industries grow through workplace regulation that better responds to their needs 4. Let entrepreneurs get on with growing their businesses by reducing government red tape each year 5. Create jobs by allowing employers and employees to negotiate workplace arrangements that best meet their needs 6. Boost incomes by cutting the company tax rate to 25% within ten years through annual reductions 7. Build the transport, communications and energy facilities we need by backing the independent plan of Infrastructure Australia 8. Lower building costs by bringing back the Australian Building and Construction Commission 9. Encourage innovation and value for money by facilitating greater competition in governmentfunded education, health and aged care services 10. Welcome more international visitors by making visas cheaper and easier to obtain

LEGAL

LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CLUBS AND NOT FOR PROFIT COMMUNITY GROUPS

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CAITLIN GARNER, CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAWYER

re you involved in a club or community

basis? If so, you should consider whether the organisation has an appropriate legal structure in place to protect the members from being personally liable for any legal issues or debts that the organisation incurs. One of the main entities to consider is an Incorporated Association.

Becoming an Incorporated Association An incorporated Association is essentially a body corporate that is made up of individual members To be eligible to register as an Incorporated Association, an organisation must:

its members; 3. Use the word “Incorporated” or the abbreviation “Inc.” at the end of its proposed name; and

TOM WHITE, PRINCIPAL AND HEAD OF CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL

4. Either adopt the Model Rules, which are available on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website, or create their own set of rules, and register them with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

If an organisation decides to create its own rules, then they must address eighteen mandatory matters that are set out in the Act, including but not limited to the name and purpose of the

Victoria, Incorporated Associations are registered and regulated under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2010 (Vic).

In essence, an Incorporated Association is very similar to a company setup, though Incorporated Associations are often more attractive structures that they are cheaper and easier to establish and maintain. To illustrate, currently the cost of registering a company is $463.00, whilst the fee for incorporating an association is only $34.00 if the Model Rules are adopted, or $197.20 if an Association adopts its own rules.

Running an Incorporated Association The record-keeping, reporting and auditing requirements for Incorporated Associations are set out in the Act and, as previously mentioned, these requirements are less onerous than those which the Corporations Act 2001 places on companies. becomes registered, it must: 1. Hold an Annual General Meeting at least once

2. Keep minutes of all general and committee meetings; 3. Maintain a register of members; and Consumer Affairs Victoria.

rights and obligations of members, powers of the committee, grievance procedures, general meeting requirements and the keeping of records, securities and other documents.

Furthermore, section 92 of the Act provides that Incorporated Associations with total revenue of less than $250,000 per annum must merely lodge a

When an association becomes incorporated, it becomes a separate legal entity, meaning that, amongst all other things that a company may do, it:

with no requirement to be audited. The reporting requirements for Incorporated Associations with total revenue of $250,000 or more are essentially the same, though these associations are subject to audit.

1. Is distinguishable from its members and its members are not held to be personally liable for any debts or liabilities of the company;

Note: The content of this article is for general marketing purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact Emily Capill on the above email address or (03) 5273 5263.

2. Is capable of suing or being sued; 3. May acquire, hold, or dispose of real and personal property; and 4. Will continue to operate despite the death, bankruptcy, insanity or change of members (this is known as “perpetual succession”).

Each State and Territory in Australia has its own legislation governing Incorporated Associations, such that an association may only operate in the State or Territory in which it is incorporated. In

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How to Register Previously, in order to register an Incorporated Association, you could simply post the application to Consumer Affairs Victoria. However, Consumer Affairs Victoria has recently adopted a new online system known as “myCAV” that requires Incorporated Associations to register and manage their obligations online. This is quite a shift from the old registration process and, while it is designed to be simpler for users in the long run, it can certainly be confusing to get your head around initially.

BUSINESS ADVICE

HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS PERFORMING?

TIM BIRCHALL, PARTNER, BUSINESS ADVISORY, CROWE HORWATH

“Measure the projects, deals and activities that will have a positive impact onyour business success”

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time to develop a performance dashboard for your small business.

It’s a way to graphically assess at a glance your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and make sure your business is on track to reach your objectives.

1. Financial Performance 2. Operational Performance 3. Sales 4. Customer satisfaction 5. Staff Performance How do you know when you are performing or whether your business is in trouble? indicators that are meaningful and relevant to your particular business, its strategic direction and goals, and which will have a positive impact on Then measure and monitor these on a regular basis – measure and monitoring are key!

The trick is to not measure everything that moves within your business.

A powerful single page tool for measuring success It is essential to “get into the performance zone” business over the longer term and to avoid the peaks and troughs of success. Being in the performance zone only every other year can lead to disaster.

Any information in this article has been prepared without taking into account your personal circumstances. You should seek professional advice before acting on any material. While reasonable care is taken in the preparation of this document current at 19 May 2016, to the extent allowed by legislation, Crowe Horwath (Aust), accepts no liability whatsover for reliance on it.

Results on a page A very powerful tool for measuring performance is a performance dashboard, sometimes called Results on a Page. Think of the dials on a car dashboard - at a glance, the driver can see speed, fuel, temperature and so on. A performance dashboard shows on one page, the 4-to-6 most

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business.

Measure the projects, deals and activities that will have a positive impact on your business success, sales and revenue and which will bring the business out of the crisis zone and into the This single page should give you the complete picture at a glance. Use graphs, diagrams, tables, dials and colour to illuminate the information which is easy to do using Excel and even easier if you have migrated from using accounting software into the Cloud.

Dashboard features are a standard built in future on Xero, MYOB AccountRight Live and Intuit Quickbooks – just some of the Cloud Accounting solutions available to subscribe to. understood visual prompt. Results above target can be coloured green, results at target levels can be amber, results below target can be red – and are a serious warning requiring immediate action.

Update your dashboard at intervals that suit your business sales cycle (daily, weekly, monthly). By meeting with your Business Advisor on a regular basis (e.g. quarterly, you can discuss KPIs and and business performance and strategies to implement.

Sometimes, being in the performance zone is strategic goals, but often success is simply the repeated, periodic achievement of the 4-to-6 most important performance measures for your business.

Stick to your strategy and your KPIs and you will certainly increase your chance of success. business.

EMPLOYMENT

TORI NAPIER REMEMBERS HER LIGHT BULB MOMENT

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was on the (Experience Community Services) taster program, at Encompass, listening to a disability worker telling us about their job. I just thought, ‘This is what I want to do!’” Everything

with a new direction informing all her subject choices, Tori is now enjoying a much less stressful Year 12.

The Experience Community Services taster program for school leavers Tori participated in is just one of a number of programs run by the Geelong Region LLEN, designed to immerse participants in the world of community services and health, and experience the wide range of careers options available in this dynamic and rapidly growing sector. Programs have also been run for Year 10 students and retrenched workers.

With extensions to Geelong-based St. John of God and Barwon Health’s University Hospital, plus the brand new Epworth Geelong due to open shortly, there are many opportunities available for those seeking a career path in community services and health.

Geelong is also a hub for social insurers, with TAC, NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) and, soon, WorkSafe, all based in the region. Semi-professional roles, such as allied health assistants, are under-promoted, but provide excellent opportunities for young people wanting to work in the industry, but whose school results perhaps don’t allow them to enrol in a university degree, or who wish to begin working earlier in their career.

Allied health is a rapidly growing sub-sector of community services and health, and the introduction of the NDIA has led to greater demand for these roles. Allied health includes a broad range of health professionals who are not doctors, nurses or dentists.

Looking at the listed jobs on Geelong Careers ‘Careers in Caring’ Talent Community (www.careersincaring.org.au) we saw that among the six most advertised vacancies in the period February – April 2016, four were allied health roles: in audiology, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and physiotherapy.

The Geelong Region LLEN has been actively working to promote careers in the Community Services & Health sector since 2011, initially funded by the Department of Health, and now by Skilling the Bay. Geelong schools currently offer eight VETiS (VET in Schools) or SbAT (School-based Apprenticeship or Traineeship) programs in Community Services & Health, including Allied Health Assistance and Aged Care. In 2015, 212 students were enrolled in these programs. The success of the taster programs, and the VETiS and SbAT are down to the invaluable support of local employer partners, including Barwon Health, St. John of God, St. Laurence, Karingal, Pathways, MacKillop Family Services, Encompass and many more; plus G-Force, Deakin University and local secondary schools.

Considering a career in community services and health has the potential to open up many doors for Geelong’s jobseekers, with a wide range of careers to choose from, many training options, and a growing industry where skill shortages are already being felt.

JOANNE NEMSHICH, GEELONG REGION LLEN www.grllen.com.au

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TECHNOLOGY

Jon Mamonski, brings us the wildest,

AUSTRALIAN - PEGGY It seems nothing is safe from the ‘Internet of Things’ revolution. The latest attempt to make a household object smarter is Peggy, a connected clothes peg by Australian detergent brand OMO. A few basic components sit inside its orange shell, including a thermometer, UV sensor and humidity detector. These track the weather outside and in the case of impending rain, trigger timely alerts to your phone over WiFi. So, if the clouds roll in and you’re busy with something else - maybe you’re out of the house, but someone else is indoors - you won’t be left with soggy washing.

ROBOT PHONE Launched two weeks ago, the RoboHon is real, it’s going on sale, and will cost 198,000 yen, which comes out at over $2,500. If you hadn’t heard of the RoboHon before, it’s all the basic smartphone functions reborn into a tiny robot body. It walks, it dances and an embedded projector inside its head can display photos and video at a functionalinside. It has a two-inch QVGA screen and there’s three different voice recognition. You’ll have to pay a monthly fee (starting from $10) for voice recognition functions. So if you want to have an all singing, all dancing phone, this is it.

To sell the idea, OMO has developed some scheduling tools for the companion app that tell you the best time to put on a wash. Plug in the time it usually takes for your washing machine to complete a load and it’ll explain how many hours you’ll have afterwards before the next downpour. It’ll is done, just in case you need an extra reminder to take out your washing.

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TECHNOLOGY

MCTRAX Would you like a side of sick beats with those French Fries? McDonald’s Netherlands has you covered with the McTrax Placemat, a sheet of paper that allows you to connect with your smartphone to channel your inner DJ. The placemat, built in conjunction with digital production agency This Page Amsterdam and ad company TBWA/Neboko, was introduced as a cool way to help foster creativity in restaurant patrons. While the mat itself is simply made of paper, it’s printed with conductive ink that allows you to connect your smartphone to transform your entire tray into a DJ station.

Using your hands and the “buttons” on the mat, you can connect via your phone and record your own voice snippets, use pre-recorded loops to create beats and serve up your own musical productions all while munching on a Big Mac. The app supports both iOS and Android devices, so if you have a smartphone and an innermost desire to make sweet, sweet music while munching on a burger and fries, you can… in Amsterdam… at least.

DIABETICS AND MICROWAVES

TAP YOUR WRIST new SkinTrack technology from Carnegie Mellon University’s Future Interfaces Group makes the size of the screen a moot point. The SkinTrack system consists of a ring that emits a continuous highfrequency AC signal and a sensing wristband that goes under the watch. the digit is hovering or actually making contact with your arm or hand, turning your skin into an extension of the touchscreen.

Researchers from Cardiff University’s School of Engineering have developed a glucose monitor that doesn’t require need blood after the initial calibration, because it uses microwaves to keep track of your glucose levels. The device then sends the data it gathers to an accompanying app. Professor Adrian Porch, one of its creators, told the BBC that its microwave levels are very low and nowhere near what’s used for cooking. “Think about a mobile phone,” he said, “we’re about a thousand times less than that level.”

The device sticks to your skin with an adhesive and has a long shelf life, as it doesn’t use chemicals. For diabetics who hate having to

The tech is so precise that you’re able to use the back of your hand to dial a phone number, draw letters for navigation shortcuts, scroll through apps, play Angry Birds or select an item from a list. Researchers at the Future Interfaces Group say the tech is 99 per cent accurate when it comes to touch.

“As our approach is compact, non-invasive, low-cost and low-powered, we envision the technology being integrated into future smartwatches, touchscreen,” the creators write in a YouTube description. most stylish and streamlined. You can already imagine the customizable “Smart Watch + SkinTrack ring” bundles.

up to six times a day, for instance), this non-invasive monitor could before it becomes widely available. Thus far, it’s been tested on at least 50 patients at the Swansea University College of Medicine, with more tests to follow.

3D PRINTED WHEELCHAIR Wheelchairs are rarely as comfortable as you’d like. You either have to settle for a generic design or wait ages for a custom model that might still be a little awkward. However, unveiling ‘Go’, a prototype wheelchair that could be easier to live with. The design has manufacturers scanning your body so that they can 3D-print seats and footrests that match your exact dimensions. It’d be more comfortable, of course, but it’d also account for your weight and create an ideal center of gravity that reduces the chances of tipping over or sliding.

It’s too soon to say when we’ll see chairs like ‘Go’ on the market. However, this is very much designed to become a practical product, not a theoretical exercise. Layer estimates that it would take just two weeks to complete a custom wheelchair compared to as long as eight weeks through traditional methods. If ‘Go’ or something likes it goes into service, tailor-made chairs could be relatively commonplace.

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TECHNOLOGY

O’ WHAT A FEELING hotspots using Wi-Fi, UHF and Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN). The solution is a small capsule-like device that attaches to the vehicle’s window with suction cups, providing a signal range of up to 25 kilometres.

The moving network allows you to make emergency calls or send geotagged messages that are passed from vehicle to vehicle. When one of responders and the rest of the world. The LandCruiser network could also crews on the ground attending to the situation at hand. It’s not just a proofof-concept endeavor, either. The system is being tested in the Flinders Ranges, one of the most remote parts of the outback. Toyota is examining the results of the project to determine the next step, which could include employing the network in other areas and eventual commercial use.

EARBUDS, NO WIRES wireless headphones game. Until now, the fast-growing category has been dominated by new players like Bragi and Earin. As much as I love the idea of cablefree listening, cutting the last wire comes at a cost. Usually, short battery life and about having a go at something new, often with mixed results, so will the so-called “Gear IconX” buds break that mould? Watch this space.

CALL SWEDEN’S NATIONAL NUMBER AND TALK TO A RANDOM SWEDE NOW

TEXTALYSER proposed New York law would make it near-impossible to avoid detection if that distraction leads to a crash. A new state Senate bill would let police submit you to a “textalyzer” (basically, a device that scans for recent phone activity) after an accident - you’d actually lose your license if you refused. Just as the Breathalyzer impacted drunk driving, the device would ideally help identify the cause of a crash and hold people accountable for dangerous behavior behind the wheel.

Privacy, as you might guess, is a concern. The Cellebrite-made technology involved in the law can’t access the actual contents of your phone - it can only tell whether or not you’ve been busy.

Sweden - the country, has got its very own telephone number and you can call it anytime you like to chat with a random Swede about, well, anything really. The quirky announcement is the work of the Swedish Tourist Association, which has created the number as a 250th anniversary tribute to the country’s abolishing of censorship.

It’s an initiative designed to highlight the country’s commitment to freedom of expression in a time when, according to the tourism board’s CEO Magnus Ling, “many countries try to limit communication between people.” But, before you pick up your handset, be aware that the call is not toll-free and you will be charged local and international rates.

TEXT AND DRIVE A billboard with the unusual message of encouraging texting while driving was showcased along the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, Ontario. The ad, which says it’s for the Wathan Funeral Home, isn’t a way to drum up business for a mortuary service. It’s actually a public service announcement about the dangers of texting and driving.

The website for the Wathan Funeral Home lets visitors know it is not actually looking for recently deceased customers. The billboard is from the Montreal agency John St and Cieslok Media, according to AdWeek. They’re trying to prevent bereavement

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TECHNOLOGY

SMART MATTRESS

LED ON YOUR SKIN

Spanish company Durmet has upped the ante on their WiFi-enabled Smarttress that has a “Lover Detection System” that will buzz your phone every time it detects suspicious activity.

You may remember a Justin Timberlake movie from 2011 world, everyone had an LED timer impregnated on the inner arm and so, now, life imitates art.

With 24 ultrasonic sensors embedded in the springs, the mattress can detect action across multiple contact zones and “sends an alert to your mobile phone whenever someone is using your bed in a questionable way.” But the questionably smart mattress offers more than just simple alarms. According to the dramatically soundtracked promotional “Speedometer” and “Intensity and impact per minute” metrics. Ignoring your partner’s horizontal habits, there’s still the possibility that your bed could run out of batteries at an inopportune time, leaving you with what appears to be a generic, $2,500 spring-based mattress.

And, let’s be honest, if you’ve secretly swapped out your mattress for one that periodically needs a little juice from a USB port, maybe your relationship could stand a little more open communication and a little less spying-via-app?

Wearable displays are becoming so thin that they effectively blend into your skin. University of Tokyo researchers have developed an optoelectronic skin with polymer LEDs and organic photodetectors so thin (3 micrometers) that they practically blend

several days at a time, and it’s durable enough that it won’t break hardware is a bit crude. The prototype you see above doesn’t do more than tell you your blood oxygen concentration levels.

However, the scientists are dreaming big. They see a day where put diagrams on their wrists. In that sense, smartwatches could just be stepping stones toward truly seamless wearable tech.

TRUCKING LIKE TESLA A new entrant to the electric vehicle industry called Nikola Motor Company is unabashedly riding the wave of the future in Tesla’s wake, Nikola is taking a slightly different course with their two planned electric vehicles: a 2,000-horsepower semi-truck and a four-seater, openframe 4x4.

The former is creatively named the Nikola One and while it can get up to 15,000 kilometres of range from a 320 kWh battery that never has to be plugged in. That feat of

engineering comes courtesy of a “sophisticated, hi-tech natural gas turbine” that charges the battery while the truck is on the road. To support all these electric-CNG hybrid trucks, Nikola plans to build their own network of 50 CNG stations. On the smaller side, the Nikola Zero is a 520-horsepower off-roader that the company says will get 300 kilometres of range from a 50 kWh battery.

The company will handle back orders and gladly take your money for a surprisingly reasonable pre-order price of $425,000 for the semi-truck and $50,000 for the 4x4.

t .

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the

ELEVATOR

Admin & Co. has been created to provide exceptional administration freelance support provided ‘offline’ without the expense of hiring experienced administration staff.

Lee Doherty, Director, is a senior administration professional with over 25 years substantial experience in various administrative roles across Geelong and Melbourne including Crowe Horwath, Geelong Chamber of Commerce, Austin Group Ltd and First National Real Estate. Admin & Co. will provide administrative support, advice and assistance to enable people to do what they need to do best; leave Admin & Co. to manage the rest! It can be a once off project or regularly ongoing work.

Specialising in but not limited to Executive Administrative Support, Corporate Identity Administration, Board Secretariat Management, Office Policies, Procedures & Systems, Human Resources Projects, Template & Document Design, Tender Documentation Proposals and Website and Social Media. Anything else you need help with just ask!

With business and human resources management administration tertiary studies completed this has enhanced Lee¹s practical knowledge and work experience over this time. Please contact Lee on 0430 369 600 or lee.doherty@bigpond.com

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

For more details email abbey@adcellgroup.com.au

Gone are the days when just having a website was considered ‘online marketing’. Mobile devices have taken over from the desktop computer, and social media is the new search engine. To market your business effectively online you need a digital strategy that encompasses these areas.

Pixeld is a digital marketing agency that develops coordinated and effective digital marketing strategies.

They build websites that attract and convert users into customers. They offer search engine optimisation so that you can be found on the front page of Google.

They align with your goals to effectively market your business online.

Digital Strategist Nathan George has extensive experience building high revenue, and high traffic e-commerce, online course and content based websites. Being a business owner himself for over 12 years has attuned Nathan to building projects for his clients that deliver tangible results.

Pixeld are passionate about online business. No marketing clichés, just straight talking. Their results are driven by technical capability and pure hustle.

Their mantra is for their clients to achieve substantial and long term success online.

Founded in 2006, Great Ocean Stays is a holiday accommodation booking service and tourism portal for Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula. Guests can research and book their favourite holiday home online using our up-to-date live booking service. Whether it be a superior home with all the trappings including a pool, a townhouse for a month while renovating or working, a corporate stay with free Wi-Fi and a connoisseur service, or a budget cottage – we connect you with the home of your choice. Our range of pet and child friendly holiday homes are extremely popular, with some featuring private commercial playgrounds, full size cots, and arcade game machines – some are also directly opposite the surf beach so that making the trek doesn’t mean a sandy wet car at the end of the day! As part of our commitment to providing a fully inclusive service, we have purpose built a complex of mobility accessible holiday and corporate rental townhouses in the heart of Ocean Grove which are a welcomed addition to the region and a step forward in providing a focus on The Bellarine Peninsula as being “accessible for all”.

In February this year Pixeld opened a new office in Ryrie Street Geelong, a creative studio that sits well in the arts district of Geelong.

Christine Smith Manager

Mob: 0403 515 605 www.facebook.com/wheelchairstays www.facebook.com/greatoceanstays www.instagram/greatoceanstays

Ph: 1300 853 983

www.youtube.com/greatoceanstays au.pinterest.com/oceangrovestays

#inclusivetravel #greatoceanstays #greatoceanair

Ph: 0430 369 600

www.pixeld.com.au BUSINESS NEWS | 34

www.greatoceanstays.com.au

THE ELEVATOR

In 2004 Registered Building Practitioner Mark Little and his wife Leesa established boutique construction company Little Constructions, in Geelong. Together with their highly experienced team of local professional trades, consultants and designers, they custom build unique, superior quality homes across Geelong the Surfcoast, Bellarine Peninsula and Golden Plains Shire.

Little Constructions work closely with each client, providing unparalleled personal service throughout the build process. From the preliminary concept drawings, the planning process, complex site work, to internal fitout and selection of colours, materials and even Building Permits, Little Constructions take care of everything.

Little Constructions project portfolio is diverse, ranging from stunning contemporary home designs, to sprawling, classic homestead rural properties and bold renovation projects. Mark says, “Little Constructions is committed to building custom designed homes that incorporate superior quality construction, attention to detail, visually stunning designs and a practical, efficient floorplan that reflect todays lifestyle, and equally importantly, excellent value for money.”

Rebecca Winkler is a qualified Naturopath with over 11 years of clinical experience and 14 years in the health care industry. Bec consults from the Jan Juc Chiropractic under her business ‘Tree Of Life Natural Health and Fertility’.

Bec has a passion for treating families starting right from preconception care and fertility, to pregnancy, paediatric care, women’s health and her specialty, gut health.

Bec has post graduate GAPS and Mindd foundation training in gut health, exploring the link between our gut and our brain.

Food is medicine in Bec’s book, thus, diet and nutrition is a huge clinical focus.

Bec is a mum of 2 young boys and lives with her family in Bells Beach. When she is not with patients you will find her elbows deep creating in the kitchen or hands deep in the garden! She loves nothing more than sharing her passion and knowledge for health care and helping people understand the ‘whys’ of what is happening in their bodies and takes a no stone unturned approach.

She combines blood, stool and saliva testing through a medical laboratory with her clinical nouse to find the best way forward in managing your health.

Her approach is very caring and compassionate and she puts her heart and soul into every single patient.

DISPLAY HOME OPEN SAT, SUN & MON 12noon-4pm

The Geelong Ballroom Dance Club Inc or “The Ballroom” holds ballroom dances every Saturday night in our large comfortable temperature controlled venue with a 360sq mt floor. The group is very welcoming and generally has about 80 – 100 people attend. There is a variety of music each week, sometimes it is live music, other weeks a DJ puts together a great cross section of music .

The night is great fun, provides an opportunity to meet new people and of course dancing keeps you fit! Everyone is encourages to bring a plate that is then shared so there is time to have a chat, catch up with existing friends and even make some new ones. The Club is also holding a Charity Ball on the 18th of June and all proceeds will go towards the Geelong Hospitals Children’s Ward.

The Ballroom invites you to come and enjoy a nights dancing with us, the Saturday night dances are held at “The Ballroom, Carey Street Hamilyn Heights and the cost is $10.00 For more information contact Jose on 0401 673 221 or Gwenda on 0418 584 051 where you can also get some information about dance lessons.

Little Constructions display home at Bannockburn showcases the superior workmanship that is their hallmark, and visitors are consistently impressed with the spacious “homestead” style floor plan, stunning quality finishes, and the light and welcoming feel of this elegant home, set on a generous one acre property at 43 Kelly Road.

Rebecca Winkler Naturopath

Tree of Life Natural Health and Fertility Jan Juc Chiropractic Clinic

LITTLE Constructions

1 Stuart Avenue, Jan Juc VIC 3228, Australia

Contact: Jose: 0401 673 221 Gwenda: 0418 584 051

PH: 03 5264 7477

Ph: 0478 686 985 www.littleconstructions.com.au

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/GeelongBallroomDanceClubInc

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FOOD

SERVICE IS KING The 2016 Harwood Andrews Golden Plate Awards are again underway. This is Year 13 for the highly regarded hospitality awards, which were developed in Geelong by Maxim PR team Pamela Jewson and Digby Hughes. Headed up by industry legend and former editor of the Age Good Food Guide, Rita Erlich, the awards have expanded to take in most of regional Victoria.

We take a look at what judges are saying about the 2015 State Award Winner for Best Café...

King of the Castle in Pakington St The large space is divided well to create corners and privacy for As a customer you feel a part of the action. All tables were kept clean and ordered with chairs tucked in and salt and peppers centered, which can be over-looked at busy casual eateries. It is, again, this eye for detail that elevates King of the Castle.

Padre is the coffee of choice at King Long Black: temperature was perfect and it was ready to drink cooled the palette opened to reveal juicy peach notes. The acidity was mild and the strength was excellent - a very good black coffee.

Flat white: The temperature was perfect. Milk texture was great, the milk hadn’t separated to foam and milk, it remained thin but

options for all tastes and dietary requirements. The local suppliers are the heroes of the well-executed menu.

The service was excellent. Upon arrival, the staff members were friendly and quick to seat us. We ordered coffee and it arrived promptly. The waiter was knowledgeable on suppliers and up-sold the bacon. Throughout the meal our waiter was attentive and checked in to ensure we were happy.

The account came to under $50 for two, including coffees and a dessert, which was very good value for our experience. The serving sizes were generous and the excellent coffee was a specialty brew made with love.

All staff stayed engaged and occupied by cleaning, restocking and being attentive to the customers there. This expressed their hospitality prowess.

We were offered more coffees or even a ‘cheeky’ milkshake, which was appreciated. When choosing dessert, the counter staff pointed out all options and were able to answer questions on dietary requirements - I was very impressed with all service staff.

The team also appeared to have a great relationship with one another.

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ARTS

JI CHEN PAINTS GEELONG UNTIL 30 JUNE Acclaimed landscape artist Ji Chen’s recent paintings of Geelong feature in an exhibition at Metropolis Gallery this month.

Originally from China, Ji Chen arrived in Australia with his family in 1989 and found the vivid colours and brilliant light of the Australian landscape provided him with an artistic subject like no other.

‘In Australia, the weather, and therefore the landscape, is the best teacher. I look and I learn,” he says.

An exceptional painter of landscape and seascape, capturing the essence of his subjects with expressive brushstrokes combined with an almost ethereal softness and warmth, Ji Chen has been the recipient of some of Australia’s most prestigious art awards, the most recent being the 2016 26th Tattersall’s invite only ‘Landscape Art Prize People’s Choice Award’. www.metropolisgallery.com.au

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ARTS BALLARAT IN PICTURES: BIRTH OF A CITY

EXTINCTION

UNTIL SUNDAY 31 JULY

13-16 JULY

In this exhibition of works from the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s Collection, visitors can see Ballarat grow before your eyes, from the city as the first generation of white settlers knew it - the apparently idyllic bushland of the Wadawurrung, which was occupied by pastoral settlement in the 1830s and then transformed and turned upside down by the flood of goldhungry diggers in the 1850s.

Extinction, a new play by award winning Australian playwright Hannie Rayson and directed by Nadia Tass, is a regional- first collaboration between GPAC and Red Stich Actors Theatre and a rare production of new Australian work.

A generation later, the chaos of the Ballarat diggings was transformed into a sophisticated and vibrant urban centre with an art gallery and other trappings of civilisation.

The exhibition includes some recently acquired and never before seen pencil sketches of the Eureka diggings in 1858. www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au

CHARLIE’S COUNTRY – BETHANY ARTHOUSE FILM FESTIVAL 12 JULY

Opening as part of the 2016 Deakin University Theatre season, Extinction is set in the Otways at the Conservation Ecology Centre and draws attention to the plight of the endangered tiger quoll - the largest marsupial predator on the Australian mainland.

It also delves deep into the heart of our own morals, choices and tightly-held convictions, wrapping an important conservation message around a unique and personal human story.

Production of Extinction is being funded by support from environmental partners, philanthropic trusts and individuals, and a GPAC fundraising appeal to achieve its goal of developing the Australian theatre repertoire. Donations can be made through the Box Office or at gpac.org.au/weneedyou The play will travel to Canberra after its GPAC performances and return to Victoria for a season at the Arts Centre Melbourne. gpac.org.au

The third film in the 2016 Bethany Arthouse Film Festival, Charlie’s Country stars the acclaimed actor David Gulpilil as Charlie who, displeased with the intervention of whitefella laws in his remote Arnhem Land community, takes off to live the old way.

In doing so, he sets off a chain reaction of events that have him return to his community chastened, and somewhat the wiser.

Written by director Rolf de Heer and Gulpilil as a collaborative project, Charlie’s Country won Gulpilil the Best Actor award in the Uncertain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

WINTER DREAMING: A WEEKEND OF LITERARY DELIGHT AT BARWON PARK 18-19 JUNE Discover poems and songs of love from across the ages as an ensemble of actors from the Theatre of the Winged Unicorn presents readings of works by Shakespeare, Browning, CJ Dennis, Shelley and Byron at Barwon Park Mansion.

Surrounded by the beautiful interiors of the mansion’s sitting and drawing rooms, the readings will be interspersed with song, providing a unique and memorable experience.

Bookings are essential.

BRINGING ART TO THE REGIONS 2016-2018 And finally, some much needed good news for the creative industries with the announcement last month of more than $1.6 million in state government funding to support a range of regional arts tours over the next three years, including major new shows from some of Victoria’s leading companies.

The grants will see dynamic artists and flagship companies – including Melbourne Theatre Company, Circus Oz and Malthouse Theatre – hit the road, bringing a range of theatre, literature events, children’s shows, exhibitions, opera and music events to regional destinations, including Geelong.

Highlights include Melbourne Theatre Company’s What Rhymes with Cars and Girls, shows by leading contemporary dance company Chunky Move, Opera Australia’s tour of Madame Butterfly, and Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine, care of HIT Productions.

Many of the tours incorporate workshops, education programs and community events that will see community members learning new skills and, in some cases, performing alongside professional artists.

A full list of supported tours for 2016-2018 is available at

weekend-of-literary-delight-at-barwon-park/

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AFFORDABLE SOCIAL HOUSING A LOOMING ISSUE

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21 has called on all levels of government to better support the challenge of supplying adequate and accessible social housing across the region.

The G21 Addressing Disadvantage Through Affordable Housing position paper, released last month, highlights a looming crisis in the supply of affordable social housing across the G21 region.

“G21 and a group of existing social housing providers in the region are ringing the alarm bells about a problem that is growing rapidly,” G21 CEO Elaine Carbines says. “There is an urgent need for reliable co-investment funding, and direct government support, to boost the stock of new affordable housing in the G21 region.”

Across the G21 region about 86,000 people earn a weekly gross income of less than $400 per week and more than 67,000 people in the region rely on “This is at a time when rent and mortgage payments in the G21 region are skyrocketing, with the availability of private dwellings for public housing decreasing,” Ms Carbines says. “Low income earners and genuine welfare recipients are being squeezed out of the housing rental market.” list for public housing, while the total housing stock was only around 3800.

In parts of the G21 region, affordable rental was as low as 11 per cent while in the City of Greater Geelong it was just under 26 per cent. social housing accommodation crisis in the making within our region,” Ms Carbines says. “There needs to be more government grants directed to community groups to support the costs of construction and acquisition of land for social housing.

“Successful government-private new housing schemes, such as that in Norlane, must also be replicated across the region. Underutilised local, state and federal government property must be considered for development as social housing to meet our rapidly growing community need.”

Addressing Disadvantage Through Affordable Housing makes eight recommendations, including that the role of social housing be recognised and promoted by all levels of government and that the role of local government in social housing provision be better recognised in future planning; that urgent bi-partisan support be given to identifying reliable ‘co-investment’ in social housing; that the Commonwealth Rent Assistance Scheme be recognised as vital for delivering future growth of social and affordable housing and; that all levels of government urgently examine funding opportunities to develop new social housing in the G21 region.

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COMMUNITY CELEBRATING THE COURAGE OF REFUGEES The Refugee Council of Australia has chosen “With courage let us all combine” as the theme for Refugee Week in Australia for 2015 to 2017.

Refugee Week is an annual week-long celebration of the positive contributions of refugees to Australian society and is held this year from 19-25 June.

Taken from the second verse of the national anthem, the theme of Refugee Week celebrates the courage of refugees and of people who speak out against persecution and injustice.

According to www.refugeeweek.org.au, it “serves as a call for unity and for positive action, encouraging Australians to improve our nation’s welcome for refugees and to acknowledge the skills and energy refugees bring to their new home.”

In Geelong, celebrate Refugee Week with Diversitat’s cultural programs, including “Walking the path of refugees and asylum seekers” on 15 June and “Culture and Cultural Competency” on 16 June.

“Walking the path of refugees and asylum seekers” explores what it’s like to live in a world of persecution, fear and uncertainty and why people seek asylum while examining the world’s crises and giving context to the Australian humanitarian program.

It also discovers the joys and challenges of being settled in a new country, as attendees meet local people from both asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds who now call Geelong home and share their courageous stories of making the decision to risk everything for a safer life.

“Culture and Cultural Competency” is a workshop looking at culture and values and exploring why we are all different examines the issues of settlement for new and emerging communities in the South West region.

The sessions also include working with interpreters and communicating with people with low levels of English.

More information at www.diversitat.org.au

SHARE SOME WARMTH THIS WINTER Winter’s cold is inconvenient for those of us with homes and warm beds.

However, for those of our community who can’t escape the frost, rain and freezing wind, it just makes life even harder.

That’s why the St Vincent de Paul Society (or Vinnie’s, as we know it), is calling on all who can to donate just one piece of warm winter clothing this season - be it a coat, a jumper, a scarf or beanie, in all sizes for all ages.

Because after all, “a single winter woolly can make the world of difference.” www.vinnies.org.au/ shops

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY FOR LOANED EXECUTIVES Introduced in 1966, the Give Where You Live Loaned Executive Program is this year celebrating 50 years of visiting workplaces, raising awareness of the Give Where You Live Foundation’s work and raising valuable funds through the promotion of the Workplace Giving Program.

In the past 50 years, over 1,800 people have volunteered their time and become Loaned Executives. Now it’s your turn. Give Where You Live invites you to nominate yourself and ask all the region’s organisations to nominate someone to join the 2016 Loaned Executive team.

For further information or to nominate a Loaned Executive please email or call 5229 4364.

LION CUB CLIMB A young Geelong local is embarking on an 11km walk/ climb to raise important funds for the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation (ALCCRF) in the September school holidays.

Hector Gleeson is 7 years old and has grown up among the Lions Clubs family and he is taking on this elevating fundraiser with the support of Geelong Breakfast Lions Club. Every year more than 800 children in Australia are diagnosed with cancer. Among childhood illnesses cancer is the most common cause of death in Australia. ALCCRF works to achieve the goal of a 100% survival for kids with cancer. For more information or to support Hector’s climb, please contact: Raechel on 0409 437 189 or email glgbreakfastlions@gmail.com To support: www.mycause.com.au/ page/127034/lion-cub-climb

Join the 2016 Give Where You Live Loaned Executive Program

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COMMUNITY

KARNIVART

The 2016 winners with Karingal Board Chair Rod Payne

2016 winner Amanda Morphy with her artwork ‘Japanese Tent’

L

aunched at a packed house in May, the 2016 KarnivART exhibition featured the artwork of 89 artists from the Geelong, Surf Coast, Melbourne and Warrnambool regions who have a disability or history of mental illness.

The exhibition, now in its eighth year, offers important recognition for artists with a disability or mental illness from around the region. It is designed to encourage and inspire the artists involved to continue with their passion such as increased community involvement, new ways to communicate and

After a very tough judging process, Amanda Morphy was announced as the winner with her artwork entitled ‘Japanese tent’. We would also like to congratulate the following prize winners: 2nd – Adrian Segan, artwork ‘Untitled’ 3rd – Marcus Lovell artwork ‘Bird in a tree’ Natalee Anderson, artwork ‘Pelicans’ Damien O’Shae, artwork ‘Route 66’ David Fielding, artwork ‘Freebie King’s Party’ The number of entries in this event continues to grow each year and has again in 2016.

WORK…MY WAY

WHAT WE DO DAY

The ‘Work…My Way’ program saw Karingal BacLinks partner with ladies from the Geelong Cats to work with 14 young women with a disability, to build their self-esteem and

Karingal BacLinks business members spent a morning exploring different Karingal sites hearing about the fantastic work done at Karingal and learning about the many ways in which Karingal can add value to their businesses via the services that we offer.

prepare to enter the workforce or undertake training.

students at the Centre of Excellence

The women that took part in the initiative have a desire to secure work, training or volunteering within the community and were participating in employment-focused Karingal-based programs, such as employment pathways or work related training.

Participants were supported through a series of workshops including a makeover by the students at ‘The Centre Of Excellence’ they also took home this, the ladies spent time learning about personal presentation, employer expectations and resume preparation.

The Mercure hosted us for this wonderful girl’s day out that increased the participants’ self-esteem, helped them to learn new skills and empowered young women with a disability to be the best that they can be.

Karingal BacLinks members spent time canoeing and playing bocce during What We Do Day.

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Upcoming

BUSINESS EVENTS

June 2016 Please join us for fabulous night of fashion and fun as we raise much needed funds for our BPW Geelong Mentees.

AFTER 5

TIME: 5.30pm – 9.00pm

In this session presenter Mark Edmonds will explain how to provide GREAT service, share tips and tricks on growing your business through service and lend advice on how good service can lead to additional sales.

WHERE: Mercure Function Centre

HOST: Small Business Smart Business

COST: $70 Members $80 Non-members

DATE: Thursday 16th June, 2016

EMAIL: bpwgeelong@gmail.com

TIME: 9:30am till 11:30am

BOOKING: www.trybooking.com/LGMF

WHERE: Point Lonsdale Surf Lifesaving

DATE: Tuesday 14th of June 2016

Includes 2 course-meal, cocktail on arrival & goodie bag.

For more information please head to our Facebook page /BPWGeelong

In this session presenter James Crook will outline how you can break through using your Facebook Business Page to make a real impact on your followers, and where alternative opportunities lie in Groups, Advertising and other social media channels.

HOST: Small Business Smart Business DATE: Wednesday 15 June TIME: 9:30am to 11:30am WHERE: Bisinella Community Centre, Grand Lakes Estate, 73 Buckingham St, Lara, Vic 3212

COST: Tickets are only $20.

BOOKING: Book now at w

Club, 54 Ocean Road (Corner Buckley’s Road) Point Lonsdale

DATE: Wednesday, 15th June, 2016 TIME: 5:30pm to 7:30pm WHERE: Epworth Geelong COST: FREE (for Chamber members only) PHONE: 03 5222 2234 BOOKING:

DATE: Wednesday 6th July, 2016 TIME: 5:30 to 7:30pm WHERE: TAC Geelong COST: FREE (for Chamber members only) PHONE: 03 5222 2234 BOOKING:

COST: Tickets are only $20.

BOOKING: Book now at com/LNEO

Les Watson has worked extensively throughout Australia and South East Asia running dynamic training programs that have produced measurable results. Les’ depth of knowledge and skill come from over 25 years’ experience as a trainer, speaker and facilitator in self-management, motivation and communication techniques.

HOST: Small Business Smart Business DATE: Tuesday 22nd June, 2016

WINE DINNER Take part in a Regional Australian Wine Experience presented by Treasury Wine Estates who have prepared a themed Australian wine list to a matching 3 course meal & cheeses provided by the RK Group.

DATE: Wednesday 13th of July TIME: 6.30 pm for 7pm start WHERE: RGYC Eastern Beach Rd Geelong COST: $85pp RGYC & GRC members.

Guests $95pp For bookings and more information please

TIME: 9:30am to 11:30am WHERE: Driftwood Café, 64d The Terrace, Ocean Grove

COST: Tickets are only $20.

BOOKING: Book now at com/LNEX

com/LMWD

After 5 Events allow Geelong Chamber members the opportunity of networking with other business owners to promote themselves and their business.

After 5 Events allow Geelong Chamber members the opportunity of networking with other business owners to promote themselves and their business.

Guest speaker: Peter Alexander – Entrepreneur and founder of Peter Alexander Sleepwear.

More Time, More Focus, More Dollars In this ground breaking workshop you will leverage from the synergy of three experts in technology, business design and peak performance mindset, to multiply your business productivity.

DATE: Thursday 14th July, 2016

MC: Ian Cover / AUCTIONEER: Tim Darcy

TIME: 5:30pm - 7:30pm

DATE: Friday 1st July 2016

WHERE: Alex Popescu Function Room -

WHERE: The Pier, 10 Western Beach

Skilled Stadium

Foreshore, Geelong

COST: $45.00 per person

TIME: 11:45am – 4:00pm

HOSTS: Jonathan Harris - JNH Software /

TICKETS: $140 each or $1,400 table of 10

Hugh Bowman - ActionCoach Business Coaching / Jem Switajewski - Leaders in Life

For a booking form and further information

EMAIL: Samantha.J.Rasmussen@nab.com.au

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EMAIL: jon@jnhsoftware.com.au BOOKING:

ADVERTISING FEATURE

BACK TO NATURE. BAMBOO KITCHENS & CABINETRY.

F

rom traditional to sleek contemporary and from rustic to sophisticated, the variety of materials to use for wardrobes & other cabinetry these days is endless. But, if you’re looking for a cabinet choice that offers style and individuality, bamboo may be your answer.

“Bamboo is a fashion trend that’s here to stay. A versatile, natural choice, bamboo can be used for bedroom furniture and looks fantastic in the kitchen,” says Nigel Robinson, owner Cabinetmakers Choice.

“Grain orientation can provide different looks offering a visual appeal that’s uniquely different from cabinetry that’s made with more traditional materials.”

Bamboo is actually a grass and not a wood. However, it’s one of the hardiest materials around making it perfect for cabinetry. Using you will have some stunning individual features in your home, it also means you are supporting an environmentally-sustainable industry that is helping some of the world’s most vulnerable communities to pay for secure housing, food and education.

Knowing where and how bamboo products are sourced, and how they have been manufactured is important. Cabinetmakers Choice source LETO bamboo furniture board and veneers which are FSC accredited and LETO’s bamboo factory is ISO 9001: Incredibly versatile, the boards and veneers range in thickness from 0.3mm to 50mm thick and come in a variety of styles and colours meaning bamboo can be used in so many different ways. Think laser-cut timber decorative panels, glowing natural interior timber cladding, feature shelving and storage, furniture and decorator pieces.

Going green is the one interior design trend that won’t come and go.

If you’re curious about how bamboo cabinetry looks, head to the Cabinetmakers Choice Grovedale showroom and see the new bamboo display.

CAB I N E T D O O RS H ARDWARE D E CO R AT I VE BOARD S L A M I N AT E S CU S TOM WARD RO B E S PRE FAB R I CAT E D WARD RO B E S T I M B E R VE N E E RS BA M BOO PLY WOO D BOARD S & TO PS B E N CH TO PS

Shop and Showroom Unit 1, 124 Grove Road, Grovedale 3216

(0 3) 52 4 4 3 631 www.cabinetmakerschoice.com.au/bamboo BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 45

AFTER HOURS

ONE FOR THE THEATRE LOVERS With music and lyrics by the legendary Stephen Sondheim, the 2016 Deakin University Theatre Season presentation of Company at GPAC brought a smile to the city’s theatregoers.

Supporters and friends of GPAC and show partner Fagg’s Mitre 10 gathered in the Green Room before and after this hilarious and complex tale unfolded on stage. Joining guests after the show were the cast of

Photos by Ferne Millen Photography

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AFTER HOURS

CORPORATE TRAINING Our team of Accredited Exercise Scientists are the best in the game.

• Professionally run group sessions • Ergonomic assessments • Workplace health checks

For a free consultation on how to maximise your teams productivity and take the next step in shaping your employees the right way, call or email today:

(03) 52 487 079 geelongrehabilitationcentre@gmail.com www.geelongrehabilitationcentre.com.au EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY | REMEDIAL MASSAGE | YOGA DIETETICS | CORPORATE TRAINING | WORK HEALTH CHECKS

BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 47

AFTER HOURS

Beth Davis and Keith Roderick

AND THEY’RE OFF‌ It was a little bit of spring on an otherwise cool weather Friday afternoon when the Geelong Racing Club celebrated the 2016 Geelong Cup Corporate Hospitality launch. Racing identity and sports presenter Anthony Mithen hosted the event and guests heard from jockey Michael Walker, who is start thinking about the big day in October.

Photos by Thoughtbox Photography

Christine Sanders and Janet Edwards

Finlay Massey, Jamie Edwards and Kevin Purcell

Anthony Mithen, Dean Harvey and Simon Jarman

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Penny Stathopoulos and Bill Votsaris

AFTER HOURS

Roxie Bennett, Tony Featherstone, Luke Outerbridge and Tara Miller

Kristie Robertson, Cindy Caldicott, Wayne Buttner and Rachel Patterson

Escape to Oakdene for your next business function Indoor and outdoor spaces | Simple to sophisticated menus | Modern AV equipment | Colourful and relaxing surrounds

• Conferences • Meetings • Workshops • Client lunches and dinners • Team building days

03 5255 1255 | events@oakdene.com.au BIZNEWSMAG.COM.AU | 49

www.oakdene.com.au

AFTER HOURS

A MORNING OF DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION The May Geelong Business Network Breakfast held at Little Creatures Brewery explored Prime Minister Turnbull’s favourite topic – Innovation.

Dr. Leonie Walsh, Victoria’s Lead Scientist and Chair of the State Government’s Diverse Expert Panel on Innovation, reviewed the way innovation is changing the way business operates and which industry and market sectors are most exposed to “Disruptive Innovation”.

Guests heard from event host Dan Simmonds, Managing Principal of Harwood Andrews that many advanced manufacturing, education, health and agriculture.

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AFTER BOOKS HOURS

THE TWISTED KNOT J.M. Peace will keep you turning the page long after you should have switched off the light.

It hasn’t been an easy time for Constable Samantha Willis and she is still recovering from a recent abduction and near death. While on desk duty, Sammi hears that someone in Angel’s Crossing has been hurting little girls, and a mob is gathering to deliver the small town version of rough justice. guilt. That is, until Sammi delves further into the death and uncovers a dark family secret, an unsolved crime and a town desperate for vengeance.

There is an undeniable authenticity, a rawness of detail, that sets Peace’s writing apart in the Australian crime thriller scene.

INDIAN MADE EASY Amandip Uppal to those cold winter days, and when it’s too cold to head out, Amandip Uppal can step you through making it at home. vegetarian dishes, as well as Lamb Kofta with Saffron Creme Fraiche and slowly simmered Beef and Potato Curry. Complete your meal with homemade chutneys, pickles

menu planner and information on pantry staples, must-have spices and alternative ingredients. Indian Made Easy has what you need to create everything from a simple,

THE KILLING OF OSAMA BIN LADEN Seymour Hersh The stories that our political leaders tell – what we believe, and why – these are markers in our understanding of the world. The uncomfortable truths revealed by Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, challenge that understanding, telling the stories that great political powers would prefer remain untold.

In 2011, a group of Navy SEALS stormed an enclosure in the Pakistani city of Abbotabad and killed Osama Bin Laden, the man the United States had been chasing since before the devastating attacks of the following year. Except the story of that night that was presented to the world was a lie, and the evidence of what actually went on has been covered up.

At the same time, the true story of the US’s involvement in the Syrian civil wars has been conducted behind a Meanwhile, open brutality and ruthless subterfuge-such as the Sarin gas attack on Damascus-has been allowed to go on unpunished. As master investigative journalist Seymour Hersh shows in this explosive book, this was just one of many lies that the world’s leaders now tell us with seeming impunity. How far do these lies go? And what are their purpose?

NOT RIGHT IN THE HEAD Michelle Wyatt Michelle Wyatt’s mum always joked with the family that if she ever developed Alzheimer’s like her own mother-Michelle’s grandmother-they should put her in a home and throw away the key. When she did ultimately succumb to the disease, the choice to put her in a nursing home became the only option.

During the next six years, Michelle visited her mum often while her dad kept a daily vigil in the nursing home.

What Michelle and her family discovered throughout these challenging times was that allowing themselves to see the funny side of the weird and wonderful things they witnessed while visiting her This memoir is a light-hearted but moving account of Michelle’s experience with her mum’s dementia-giving us an insight in how to cope compassionately, effectively and lastingly with a disease that affects almost 400,000 people in Australia alone.

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