The CoSBA Broadcast Small Business News
The Week in Review
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WA continues slide down economic tree
In this issue: • • • • • • •
WA -‐ once the top of the national economic tree has slipped to fift and is now battling to keep ahead of financial minnows South Austmlia and Tasmania.
WA continues slide down economic tree Why Australia Day is a favourite for pulling sickies Compo for cash cow tax CLICK ON HELPING HANDS Deal once and for all with workplace corruption CEOs are the next IR corruption target The best performing super funds of 2015 revealed
The ConunSec quarterly comparison of the economic performance of the States and Territories shows WA at its lowest ever ranking. WA was the nation’s best performing area as recently as October 2014.
• International Business Council Activities/Information
But the collapse 'in key commodity prices coupled with the winding up of major mhiing construction projects has hit the State's economy hard.
Attachments:
Over the past three months it slipped one spot to the fifth best performed economy.
• SCC Events Newsletter.pdf • Interested In Hosting a Sundowner?.pdf
NSW is the best performed State, narrowly ahead of Victoria. Even the ACT, which has faced headwhids caused by cuts in the public service, is doing better than WA.
CommSec chief equities economist Craig James said the drag on WA by the end of the mhiing construction boom was clear. "Slower population growth and higher unemployment will constrain activity in the housing market," he said. WA’s weakening jobs market, slowing population growth and the sharp drop in investment spending are all dragging on the State's economic standing. Even in those areas doing well, particularly overall economic growth and retail spending, there are substantial risks of deterioration over the coming months. (SOURCE: The West Australian, 27.1.16)
NEXT MEETING: BOARD MEETING NECA Board Room, Unit 18, 199 Balcatta Road, BALCATTA
5.00pm Monday 1 February 2016 Combined Small Business Alliance of Western Australia Inc. (CoSBA) PO Box 2237, MIDLAND DC. WA 6936 President: Les Marshall, Vice President: Stephen Knight, Secretary/Treasurer: Terry Bright Chief Executive Officer: Oliver Moon. Phone: 9250 3549/0408 957 381 CoSBA website: www.cosba.com.au Email:
[email protected]
DISCLAIMER: The information appearing in The CoSBA BROADCAST is for affiliates of the Combined Small Business Alliance of WA (CoSBA). The information is sourced from various sources including public records. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the probity of the information, CoSBA accepts no liability for accuracy, errors or omissions, or for any injury to any user of the information.
Why Australia Day is a favourite for pulling sickies
Tumbull Government ministers have discussed offering s . tates a slice of taxes raised through personal taxes if over a period of time they reduce or dump some of the most hated and producfivity-‐sapping taxes.
A s urvey of 2024 Australians by Clipp found 16% of Aussies have chucked a sickie after Australia Day at least once, which makes it a more common occurrence than workers taking a day off after Anzac Day, Melbourne Cup and footy grand final weekends.
A spokesman for Treasurer Scott Morrison told The Sunday Times inefficient state taxes were on the agenda and "everything was on the table".
Business owners might be at risk of poor staff turnout if employees celebrate Australia Day a little too hard.
The culprits appear to be younger workers, with almost a quarter of those surveyed in their 20s and 22% of those under 20 admitting to pulling sickies.
Faking illness appears to decrease with age, with 16% of 30-‐ somethings, 12% of 40-‐somethings, 9% of 50-‐somethings and 4% of those aged 60 and above admitting to taking a the next day. sickie
Watts, director at human resources firm wattsnext, Ben told SmartCompany managing employees that take sickies be tough for SMEs. can “There’s a couple of different approaches; you could potentially give them that day off if you think it’s not going e a productive day… but that’s a big cost to small and to b medium businesses, especially with all the public holidays we’ve been having,” he says.
Alternatively Watts says business owners could take a harder line on sickies. “Have a policy that after a weekend or public holiday, you do need to get a medical certificate,” he says. “There definitely is a risk to culture [and] a lot of businesses already have that as a policy built into their enterprising bargain policy… If you’re just creating the rule a week before then it will create bad culture.”
“Sick days are there for the wellbeing of the individuals, if somebody gets ill, or their children get ill, or they break a leg that’s paid time there for them to use when needed,” Watt says.
says Australia Day this year is a little awkwardly Watts placed, particularly as some schools are going back Monday and some are back on Wednesday, making it difficult for working parents. However, he says the best thing for small and medium business owners is to speak to their teams and explain the potential cost of sickies to the business and ask anyone wanting the day off to put in an annual leave form.
“Often if it’s raised then it’s difficult for people to turn around and call in sick,” he says. “It’s very hard to not trade for that day and for small and medium business to pay out sick leave if they’re paying out for the public holiday the day before or the next day.” (SOURCE: SmartCompany, 21.1.16)
Compo for cash cow tax
could be offered Federal compensation if the State WA Govemment is willing to sacrifi ce cash cows" such as payroll tax.
And highly placed sources within the Turnbull Government have conceded they may have to act unflaterafly if they cannot get consensus with the states within,coming months.
Under Section 51 (ii) of the Constitution, the Commonwealth cannot discriminate between states on taxes but under other provisions it can offer a uniform, national'scheme that states can opt into, meaning Premiers wffling to undertake reform may be able to sign on even if others refuse.
One highly placed source said states had been given options on how to reform their own taxes.
Some Turnbull Government Ministers with an input on reform believe the Federal Govenment should take a hit to its own coffers by compensating states. They believe that in the long run, reduced or dumped stamp duties and payroll tax, will boost productivity, boost jobs and increase tax receipts for federal coffers. They believe the plan could work if there was a gradual reduction in stampduties and payroll tax. One Federal Government source doubted the states would ever give up payroll tax.
Mr Morrison's spokesman said the Government was "engaged in an open discussion on how our tax system can better boost growth and jobs". "We are not ruling anything in or out. We are focused on a better mix of taxes that can ensure we better assist Australians to work, save and invest." ." (SOURCE: The Sunday Times 24.1.16)
CLICK ON HELPING HANDS
TIME is money according to Lauren Trlin, who last year quit her commercial litigation career to launch an online marketplace for odd jobs and errands.
The 27-‐year-‐old's start-‐up, Buzzy Tas~s now has more than 500 us andisexpanding to the eagem states as the popularity of outsourcing grows.
The business, describd as the "premium" alternative to the Gumtree website, caters to time poor individuals and small businesses looking to outsource their to-‐do lists.
Ifs also used by skilled individuals looking to find eAm work -‐ such as makeup, photography, deaning, gardening or technical jobs. "We have to move to out-‐sourcing. We're getting busier and we're not using our time efficiently," Ms Trlin, said. "I'm a big believer of using time efficiently so you can do other fun things with yoiir life."
Ms Trlin was a lawyer at DLA Piper but quit her job in April
Page 3 of 5 to launch Buzzy Tasks. "Perth people are very
independent, we're still learning the power of getting someone to help you out you save time but you also save money, especially if it's not your skill area," she said.
Ms Trlin recently moved to Sydney and said the
restidents of Australia's biggest city "get it". "Perth is
starting to understand that, although launching it was
difficult," she said.
"It's great there's not a lot of outsourcing competitors,
but ifs a small market to launch a start-‐up." (SOURCE:
The Sunday Times 24.1.16)
Deal once and for all with workplace
the leg. This is a bit more serious, but only a job half done as the person will eventually recover and seek revenge. It is extremely foolish to antagonise someone by only kilim ded.
Kilim ded pinis means to “kill them dead, finish”. The person is “finished”, meaning the body disappears, hacked to pieces, fed to the wild dogs, whatever, but the person that once was simply no longer exists, there is no evidence they ever walked the earth. When dealing with an enemy that seeks to kilim ded
pinis on you, kilim ded pinis is the only response. Of course, there is always the risk the person’s relatives may find out and retaliate, and then the cycle begins
afresh with kilim ded pinis again the only hope of a permanent solution.
corruption S O U R C E : T H E A U S T R A L IA N , JA N U A R Y 2 3 , 2 0 1 6
Kilim ded pinis. This phrase, a personal favourite, is
corporatised corruption in our biggest industries
G ra c e C o llie r, C o lu m n ist M e lb o u rn e pidgin English for “kill them dead, finish”.
The Papua New Guineans are fearless warriors. It was a
privilege to spend the first decade of life among them in
corruption.
There is serious, ingrained, anti-‐competitive,
between some of the major businesses in our country
a remote village. My parents were missionaries until
and unions, and there is misconduct within unions themselves.
down their life to help another. However, existence in a
and wide-‐reaching than the latter. After all, the thuggish conduct, the demands for bribes, only occur
1980. Most PNG types are warm and generous, and might lay
primitive settlement means one must employ explosive violence in the blink of an eye. One minute someone
could be digging up sweet potatoes, the next they could
be hacking someone to death with a bush knife because
Australia now needs groundbreaking reform to deal
with, broadly speaking, two types of workplace
there is no other option.
As soon as the body is disposed of, perhaps tossed in the
In my opinion, the former is far more serious, harmful because at the top of the food chain a corporate is in
partnership with a union and allowing it veto over
which companies it will employ. Unfortunately, this is
long-‐term standard business practice in several of our key sectors. If every single corporate doing so abandoned its collusive deals with key unions
river, attention would turn back to the sweet potatoes
tomorrow, the serious problems we have would
are always hungry children to feed and no time for self-‐ indulgent dramatics.
with a focus on making up the lost time. After all, there
In our PNG village, survival of the fittest was the only
guiding conviction, or core belief, worth investing in. From dawn until dusk, necessity is the driver of all
activity.
There is no electricity, no communication, no healthcare, no concept of a thing called government, no police or any other formal authority.
When trouble strikes, there is nothing but your own will to survive, to run or fight, and if there is to be a fight then hopefully there is a weapon. Sentimentality is non-‐ existent and emotions are a rare luxury. Violence occurs regularly, has layers of magnitude and kilim ded pinis in our village was used to describe the three categories of assault.
Kilim means to “kill”, but in reality it means to knock
someone to the ground, clobber them over the head with a hard stick or something. It is not permanent, it is more for show. The other person will jump up and retaliate, so it is foolish to only kilim. Kilim ded means to “kill them dead”, meaning to really incapacitate for a while, perhaps with a spear through
mostly melt away and our cost of living would fall.
Our government has some industrial relations reforms it wants passed through the Senate. As far as these proposals go, they are worthy, but hail from last year before the royal commission into trade union governance made its excellent recommendations for policy change.
The language that has been used by the Prime Minister and others in cabinet when talking about these proposals has focused only on unions.
There isn’t candid discussion about the core of our problems and it has put key senators off-‐side.
Further, to categorise the proposals using the PNG measure, the reforms are of the kilim variety.
Sure, they will be a blow but the bad guys will bounce back, their mutually beneficial partnerships stronger
than ever. We need to get serious. In terms of dealing
with these issues, we don’t need kilim, or even kilim
ded. We need kilim ded pinis. The problems we have
affect every single person because they make living
here far more expensive and restrictive than it needs
to be, and give us the international reputation of being an expensive, corrupt backwater. Perhaps the reforms should be withdrawn and redesigned with the
Page 4 of 5 language recalibrated to focus on both parties to corruption and the package put up as a one-‐off, all or nothing, do or die measure.
CEOs are the next IR corruption target
S O U R C E : B U S IN E S S S P E C T A T O R , JA N U A R Y 2 2 , 2 0 1 6 R o b e rt G o ttlie b se n , M e lb o u rn e Australia is now set to have an unprecedented debate about industrial relations — a debate based on ‘industrial corruption’ rather than working conditions. For the first time in the nation’s history, the front line of the attack will be the chief executives and board members of some of Australia’s largest companies who, unless they change the way they do business, will face criminal prosecution. There will be limited corporate fines, just long jail sentences for those directors or executives who continue with their current practice of paying bribes to unions.
Last night, the news swept Canberra that the Minister for Employment, Senator Michaelia Cash, would prepare legislation to adopt the Heydon recommendations on employer bribery of unions. Directors and executives of companies paying money to unions will be charged with criminal offences (except in rare approved circumstances). No m ore training scheme rackets and other bribery methods that transferred tens of millions to building and other unions.
And also under the gun will be commissions and the side benefits unions might (and currently do) receive from employers.
If the government does this properly, then the thrust of the l egislation will be corruption in industrial relations with company directors and executives just as vulnerable officials — and possibly more so. as union When Malcolm Turnbull cherry picked Heydon’s recommendations and attacked unions, the crossbenchers, quite rightly, told him to jump in the lake.
That mistake by the Prime Minister will require the government to go out of its way to make sure the legislation is even handed. And if it is even handed — perhaps e ven tougher on companies than unions — then even Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will need to think how he should tackle it.
The w idespread current practice of companies paying bribes to unions to be on the union-‐approved tender list for large projects will be blackballed. And that simple process — nothing to do with conditions — will slash Australian commercial building costs.
While the Heydon Royal Commission detailed many very bad union practices, most were known. What was not as widely known were the appalling practices of large and small companies. Heydon proposed that both company and union officials should be given jail sentences. While the government will now claim that they always intended to attack rogue members of the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group, in fact, when the Heydon report came out, hardly a word was mentioned against employers — the government attacks were on unions. Malcolm Turnbull said he would take the fight against the unions to the next election and he did not rule out a double dissolution on the issue. No mention was made of Heydon’s revelations about companies — the traditional Coalition supporter base. Many coalition members are mates with people who could face jail under the Heydon recommendations.
is not easy for a Coalition government to pass It legislation that may jail members of the Business Council and Australian industry Group. Of course, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has the same problem on the union side.
a series of events have changed the mind of But many in the Coalition and, I suspect, my Business Spectator commentary earlier this week — which highlighted that the top management and boards of at least five large Australian companies face long jail sentences if the government follows the Heydon Royal Commission recommendations to stamp out corruption in the building industry — was the clincher (Stamping out corruption requires a firm but fair hand, Jan 20).
company and union officials regard fines as part of Many the cost of doing business. Losing their liberty is a very different matter. I emphasise that some of the union thuggery we have seen in recent years is among the worst in the world. And I no way suggesting that unions should be allowed to am in continue these practices. On the other hand union thuggery would not have been possible but for employer thuggery and both the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group turned a blind eye to it. The B oral and Grocon situations showed everyone what was going on. Suddenly the debate swings from shift allowances and penalty rates to some of the worst corruption we have seen in Australia. If the government does the right thing, I suspect the Senate crossbenchers will back them and we will be able to build a lot more hospitals, schools and roads for the same amount of money.
The best performing super funds of 2015 revealed
Australians with superannuation funds investing in international shares and Australian listed property have come o ut o n t op in 2015. SuperRatings has released its annual list of the top 10
Page 5 of 5 performing super funds, with major super funds delivering an average 5.6% calendar year return in 2015. Although this is well below the returns of 2013 (16.3%) 2014 ( 8.1%), the average return has been deemed and “solid” given the volatile market conditions.
Taking out top spot was MTAA Super with a strong 9.5% return, 1% higher than second placed BUSSQ, which returned 8.6% to investors. MTAA super chairman John Brumby said in a statement while the outcome is excellent, it is important to remember superannuation is a long-‐term investment. “While 2015 was an outstanding year it would be unrealistic to expect a repeat of these results every year, particularly when we are experiencing very challenging market conditions,’’ he said. “Perhaps more pleasing is that the My AutoSuper product is now ranked in the top quartile for performance over a three year period.” Every superannuation fund in the 2015 top 10 is a not-‐for-‐ profit fund. “MTAA has had a fantastic year they made a reasonable profit… I think the thing that stands out is the NFP industry fund sector which has been very strong in comparison to the retail sector,” Gee says. Gee says SMEs should take the long view on super returns. “Our view is very much we don’t pay a lot of attention to one-‐year returns, the preference is really to have a look at long -‐term returns – the seven, 10 year options,” he says. “Whilst the one-‐year numbers are interesting, we wouldn’t suggest members use those numbers to change the fund.”
Instead, Gee says individuals should undertake a broader assessment that incorporates long-‐term investment returns, fees, and insurance. Top 10 superannuation funds in 2015, according to SuperRatings are: 1. MTAA Super 9.5% 2. BUSSQ 8.6% 3. UniSuper 7.7% 4. AustralianSuper 7.7% 5. Cbus MySuper 7.5% 6. Sunsuper 7.3% 7. CareSuper 7.1% 8. AustSafe Super 7.0% 9. HOSTPLUS 7.0% 10. Intrust Super 7.0% (SOURCE/EXTRACT: SmartCompany, 17.1.16)
International Business Council Activities/Information For IBC activities/information go to the IBC web site at: http://www.ibcwa.org.au or contact them at: E-‐Mail:
[email protected] Fax: 9356 9437 Tel: 9451 9449 Mob: 0413 437 708 PO Box 691, BENTLEY WA 6982 To read more on the following recently added articles, go to http://www.ibcwa.org.au/
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