Little-Known Resource Provides Lifeline for Small Businesses

Words Anthony Maguire Photo John Appleyard

During the COVID pandemic, small businesses were able to stay afloat through a loan guarantee scheme and other support measures put in place by the Federal Government. These are no longer available, and countless small businesses, still impacted by the financial ravages of COVID and the more recent increases to living costs, are struggling, faced with a mountain of debt.

But as Bondi businesswoman Jane Turner recently discovered, there is another relief measure, put in place by Canberra in 2021, which is available. Small Business Restructuring (SBR) is a government initiative to help businesses struggling to pay debts to the Australian Taxation Office and other creditors. It is designed to enable them to stay open, reduce the debt and structure a manageable payment plan. And it has turned out to be a lifeline that helped keep Jane in business.

Jane is the owner of Gertrude and Alice Café Bookstore on Hall Street, Bondi. The pandemic restrictions meant that it had to shut its doors and just serve takeaway customers from a window. Debts mounted up and once the support payments ran out Jane was faced with going into liquidation - until someone suggested that she investigate the opportunities presented to ailing businesses under the SBR regime.

Small Business Restructuring Practitioner Thomas

Dawson, also a Bondi resident, turned out to be Jane’s saviour, restructuring Jane’s debts into a 24 month reduced and manageable payment plan.

Today the much-loved café bookstore is trading in the black again and Jane says she is having no problems keeping up the payments.

“It’s been a huge relief, like being able to breathe again,” Jane told The Beast.

“We wouldn’t have been able to survive without this option.”

Mr Dawson, a business owner himself, has been helping small enterprises for decades.

“SBR is a scheme that, first and foremost, prevents liquidation for 99 per cent of our clients. The process is designed to be straightforward, taking just seven weeks from start to finish, allowing the business owner to maintain control, continue to trade and focus on running the business,” he explained.

To be eligible for restructuring, a business must meet a number of criteria outlined by the government.

“While the scheme’s eligibility is quite broad - this is so that it has the ability to help as many businesses as possible - there are obligations that businesses need to have met in order to qualify,” Mr Dawson told The Beast.

“We’ve created a quick questionnaire for business owners online where they can easily check whether or not it’s an option available to them.”

To learn more about business restructuring, visit asic.gov.au and search ‘Restructuring and the restructuring plan’.

If you’d like to speak to Thomas or one of his team about whether SBR might be suitable for your business, email consult@smallbusiness restructuring.com.au or phone 1300 947 465.

Key events in Term 3:

Madagascar – 31 July and 1 August

Open Morning – 29 August

Back to St Cath’s Day – 2 September

Music Showcase - 16 September

To contact the school or join our email list, please email stcaths@stcaths.nsw.edu.au or call 02 8305 6200.

Our Community Consultative Committee is looking for new members. If you are interested in joining our CCC, which typically meets four times per year, please contact our Independent Chair, Ms. Roberta Ryan at roberta@forward-thinking.net au.

Exploring Your Family History

Words Anthony Maguire Photo Stephen Lightfoot

Interested in finding out if you’re descended from a famous historical figure? Maybe you’d like to confirm your worst fears and verify whether you’re really descended from a notorious murderer, as your uncle tells everyone over Christmas dinner.

Waverley Genealogical Group may be able to help out. Formed in 2019, the group is an offshoot of Waverley Historical Society, with the two organisations having reciprocal membership. Since its inception, it has helped scores of people discover their family histories - and to lift the veil on stories previously hidden in the past.

Greg Ross, the group’s convener, told The Beast how research recently revealed that a Bondi woman was descended from a white Fijian ‘princess’.

“Back in the late 1800s, her great grandmother had the title conferred on her because she was the only white child in a remote Fijian village,” Mr Ross explained.

The Waverley Genealogical Group meets every second month at Waverley Library and helps local people create family trees and write family histories.

“It’s all about uncovering stories,” said Mr Ross.

“What we’ve found is that if the stories of your family are not told within three generations, they will be lost. There should always be someone in a family who is the keeper of stories.”

The group also digs up (not literally) a lot of information in cemeteries.

“They’re a good starting place for family histories.”

Other vital information can come from sources like the Australian Dictionary of Biography, online research portal Trove, or just clever use of Google.

“DNA is another significant area of research,” Mr Ross said.

For more information about the group, please flick Greg an email at gregoryrossgenealogy @gmail.com.

Savour More, Spend Less

The Organic Buyers Group system offers a wonderful opportunity to connect with a community of individuals passionate about organic and sustainable food. Every Monday in Randwick and every Thursday in South Coogee, like-minded people gather to collectively purchase high-quality produce. Members enjoy the benefits of wholesale prices and savings, as well as supporting local farmers and fostering a sense of camaraderie and togetherness. Come and be a part of this vibrant community, nourishing yourself and the environment, one purchase at a time. Please visit www.organicbuyers.group.

A Healing Palette

Bronte Artist Anna van der Gardner has been selected to exhibit alongside 50 prominent botanical artists from Australia and beyond in the upcoming Botanica de Materia Medica exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. The free exhibition, which will run from July 29 to August 13 at Lion Gate Lodge, focuses on medicinal plants used for treatment and healing. Anna’s intricately detailed botanical watercolour paintings capture the beauty and therapeutic qualities of various plant species and highlight the role of plants on our well-being.

Cossie Call-Out

Bronte local Colette Reynolds is currently researching and planning a vintage swimwear exhibition to be held in the Eastern Beaches. The exhibition will span at least eight decades, beginning in the early 1900s when there were some huge changes taking place. If anyone has any fabulous pieces of vintage swimwear in very good condition that they can loan her, please call 0414 671 184.

All Aspects Of Tree Work

 Fully qualified

 Fully insured

 Free quotes

 Reliable service

 Local business

 Competitive pricing

Member of the NAAA

Born in Bondi

Experts in helping SMEs

Practical and straight-talking

100+ 5* Reviews on Google Services

Trade marks

IP and Commercial Law

Dispute Resolution / Debt Recovery

Employment Law

Structure / Corporate Law

Privacy Law p 1800 820 083 e admin@progressivelegal.com.au w progressivelegal.com.au

National Tree Day: Native Plant Give Away

Grab free native seedlings for your garden or balcony and help create habitat for our local wildlife.

When

Sunday 30 July, 9am–12pm

Where

Waverley Park, Bondi Rd

Scan for more info

Mixed Feelings Towards Clovelly Pocket Parks

Community opinion towards Randwick City Council’s imminent creation of a ‘pocket park’ at the corner of Carrington and Clovelly Roads appears to be divided.

On the one hand there are people like Dan McCartin, who works in the framing shop on the corner. He is concerned about the loss of eight parking spaces next to the shops on that side of the intersection.

“It won’t be fun carrying a big mirror in or out of the shop if you have to park across the road,” Mr McCartin told The Beast. “There’s going to be a loading zone on the Carrington Road side of the shop, but there’ll be a lot of competition for it.”

Randwick Council received extensive community feedback during the obligatory community consultation process. The Pocket Park Project’s page on Council’s website summarises the sentiment:

“You told us it was important that we create a pedestrian-friendly experience while minimising impacts on traffic flows, bus routes, and on-street parking,” the page explains.

Council’s website also states that, although the existing slip lane road will be reclaimed to create a public space for the community, “the parking spaces will be relocated, ensuring there is no net loss in parking at the intersection.”

Leaving aside parking, there are concerns about the loss of the left-turning lane from Clovelly Road. Mr McCartin fears it could make the intersection more dangerous.

“My car was written off here in February and there have been heaps of other accidents,” he said. “When I’m working I’m always worried a car will come crashing through the shop window.”

Also firmly in the ‘park off’ corner are John and Reeva Lloyd, who live in the house opposite the bushy traffic island destined to be expanded into the pocket park.

“I’m not sure who the pocket park will be catering to,” mused Mr Lloyd, a retired management studies lecturer. “It’s not as though you’re going to get kids playing in a small area like that next to an intersection.”

A different view came from Ferdinando Fernandez, man- ager of the popular local café, A Man and His Monkey, just across Clovelly Road opposite the Lloyds’ place.

“I like the idea of a pocket park,” Mr Fernandez told The Beast. “It would be a great frontage for a café or restaurant and would give this area a bit of atmosphere at night - a European feel.”

Randwick City Council is looking at a number of other potential pocket park locations in the Clovelly area, including a ‘mini pocket park’ at the corner of Clovelly Road and Burnie Street. The results of community consultation over that site have just been reported to Council and again there are divisions.

Some residents welcomed the idea of an oasis for people walking up the hill from the beach, while others expressed safety concerns about loss of the slip road at the busy intersection, parking and other issues.

The Pocket Park Project is being delivered in partnership with the NSW Government’s Public Spaces Legacy Program. For more information, please visit www.randwick.nsw.gov.au.

Col and His Trusty Red Tracksuit

Clovelly fun runner Col Blake will compete in his 50th City2Surf on August 13, and the same red tracksuit will accompany him to the start line yet again.

The Waverley College old boy won the tracksuit as a prize just before his first City2Surf in 1973. He was galivanting around Europe in 1971 and ‛72, but has finished every race since.

The tracksuit is older than his two boys, with whom he won the Father and Two Sons category back in 1991, and the classic three-stripe design is so retro it’s back in fashion.

“They don’t make things like they used to,” Col told The Beast.

The same could be said of him and his generation, who felt no shame in prancing around William Street in garbage bags once they’d thrown off their warm clothes, as well as his trusty red tracksuit, which has been shoved into a bag and thrown onto the back of a truck headed to Bondi each year before Col slipped his arms through his own bin liner.

Back in his prime, Col could reach Bondi in an impressive 53 minutes, but these days he’s happy to take his time and enjoy a scenic stroll with his wife, Shirley.

Col hopes to mark this year’s milestone with family and friends, so if you see a contingent of walkers dragging him up Heartbreak Hill, be sure to give them a wave.

Col will also be lending his support to Sophie Smith and her local charity, Running for Premature Babies.

A Guide to Ageing Well

81-year-old Coogee author Dr Anne Ring’s new book, Engaging with Ageing: What matters as we grow older, challenges the stigma of old age, with a fresh and positive approach that acts as a reader’s travel guide to navigating how they choose to age. With real world stories and cutting edge research, its topics range from staying healthy and alert to retirement, sex, looks, lifestyle and planning for a good death. It empowers its readers to explore how they will be old, rather than how old they are. Grab a copy at annering.au.

Bondi Family’s Bamboo Adventure

It’s no secret Aussies love Bali, but did you know there’s a bamboo school located in the heart of Bali’s jungle? When Bondi local Sandra Radice heard about Green School, she and her husband took their daughter out of Bondi Beach Public to test-drive one of the most unique and sustainable learning environments on the planet. The result is Our Green Change: A Journey to Green School, Bali & Beyond, an insider’s guide capturing the trials and tribulations that came with uprooting their lives. To get your hands on a copy please visit www.ourgreenchange.com.au.

Coastal Poetry

Local writers Libby Hathorn and Elizabeth Cummings’ new book, Coastal Poetry - From Yarra Bay to Watsons Bay, is a tribute to our local beaches and coastal pathways, offering readers fresh perspectives on familiar landscapes. The poetry, accompanied by Elizabeth’s photography, captures the people and the ever-changing skylines and tides of our local area. It’s a beautiful book to keep and share, an ideal companion for the coastal walk or a timeless gift. You can grab a copy from all good bookstores.

Crime News

Underworld Identity Shot Dead in Bondi Junction

Police are hunting two men who murdered crime figure Alen Moradian in the basement carpark of a Bondi Junction unit complex.

Moradian, 48, was ambushed at around 8.15am on Tuesday, June 27, just after getting into his car at the Whitton Lane apartments in Spring Street. Seven bullets were fired through the driver’s side window of the hired Audi.

Two men were seen fleeing the carpark. A partially burntout Porsche SUV was found in nearby James Street and police are forensically examining a gun that was left inside the vehicle. Another car, completely gutted by fire, was found in the inner-city suburb of Zetland.

The head of the NSW Police Homicide Squad, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, told reporters that Moradian was a “high-level criminal identity” who had served a prison sentence for importing cocaine.

Bikies Fired Rifle at Unit Block - Police

A pair of Hells Angels bikies fired several shots from a high-powered rifle into a unit block in Gregory Street, South Coogee, according to police. The bullets hit the outside of the building and no one was injured.

One week after the attack, police swooped on a flat in Wauchope Crescent, South Coogee, where they arrested Meyez Elkerdi, 31. Around the same time, James Scicluna, 41, was arrested in Campbelltown. They have been charged with a string of serious offences and refused bail.

Warrant Issued for Upskirting Perve

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a man who filmed up the skirt of a young mother in an Eastgardens store.

The warrant was issued after Kaiwen Thompson, 25, was a noshow for his sentencing at Waverley Court. An earlier hearing had been told how the UNSW psychology student sidled up to his victim in the craft section at Target and filmed up her skirt with his phone. After the woman’s daughter saw what was happening and raised the alarm, he fled the store, but was found cowering in the men’s toilets by a security guard. Police were called and a cache of upskirting material was discovered on his phone.

Gay Hate Killer Convicted

Three and a half decades after Raymond Keam was found bashed to death in a Randwick park, his killer has finally faced justice.

Stanley Early, 77, was found guilty of the 1987 murder of Mr Keam in Alison Park - which at the time was a gay beat. The Supreme Court heard that Early lived in a boarding house in The Avenue, on the eastern side of the park. He and fellow members of the ‘Alison Park Gang’ would attack men they believed were in the park at night for homosexual liaisons. Early will be sentenced in September.

Mr Keam’s death is one of a number of 1980s gay hate killings currently being revisited. A man was recently jailed for manslaughter over the fatal cliff plunge of Scott Johnson at North

Head in 1988. And the Special Commission of Enquiry into LGBTQ+ Hate Crimes is looking at the deaths of three other men believed to have been hurled off a cliff at Marks Park, South Bondi in the 1980s.

Do you have any information about past LGBTQ+ murders or assaults? Get in touch with the commission on 9228 4855 or contact@specialcommission. nsw.gov.au.

Floor Cleaning Machines

Held Dirty Secret

Australian Federal Police arrested a Randwick man over the importation of 137 kgs of methamphetamine hidden in commercial floor scrubbing machines. The 38-year-old has been charged with importing a marketable quantity of border controlled drugs.

Pitch Invader Faces Court

A 19-year-old from Maroubra who ran onto the pitch at Allianz Stadium during an NRL game has been let off lightly by a magistrate.

Scaffolder Kurtis Quealey was given a 12-month good behaviour bond when he appeared in Downing Centre Local Court and re-lived the moments when his alcohol-charged brain told him it was a good idea to become part of the on-field action at the Dragons v Roosters game on Anzac Day.

Match footage was shown of Quealey vaulting the fence, tearing off his shirt and running to the centre of the pitch, where he hugged Dragons centre Zac Lomax.

He was found guilty of assaulting Lomax and was given a dressing-down by magistrate Michael Barko, who said his actions had been idiotic and dangerous. Meanwhile, Quealey won’t be running onto any NRL pitches, or even watching from the stands, any time soon - he has been slapped with a twoyear ban from Allianz and other stadiums.

are meetings of residents who get together regularly to discuss local matters or issues of concern in their neighbourhood Waverley is split into 13 Precincts and meetings are open to any person living within the

Photographer Emerson Adcock @_untitledfilm

Photographer Graeme Bogan