WEALTH manager Atlas Advisors Australia has acquired a significant share in the Elanor Wildlife Park Fund.

The fund consists of two iconic wildlife park assets: Featherdale Wildlife Park, located in Western Sydney and managed by ENN since 2013, and Mogo Zoo located in Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast.

Executive chairman of Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley said the two wildlife parks were core attractions for domestic tourism with a mixture of property and longstanding and profitable business assets.

The Elanor Wildlife Park Fund is the first of its kind in Australia and is looking to capitalize on the growing nature-based tourism industry.

Mr Hedley said parties were looking to add other private zoo and wildlife park assets to the portfolio. He said nature-based tourism is the fastest growing sub-sector of the tourism industry in Australia and around the world.

“It is the perfect time to invest with nature-based tourism experiencing strong growth and much potential in the industry yet to be realised,” Mr Hedley said.

“As our environment comes increasingly under threat, wildlife parks and ecotourism offer residents and tourists the ability to experience, enjoy and learn about wildlife and nature in an animal-friendly and environmentally sustainable way.

“These organisations also contribute to building resilient regional economies which generate employment and innovative new experiences and products.”

Mr Hedley said there are around 86 private and 14 public zoos, wildlife parks and sanctuaries across Australia which present further acquisition and consolidation opportunities for the fund.

“These are a recession-proof assets that align with our strategy to ensure investment is put towards socially and environmentally responsible organisations,” Mr Hedley said.

“It also corresponds with investor calls for good corporate citizenship and increasing appetite for socially responsible investing.”

About Atlas Advisors Australia

Atlas Advisors Australia is a leading funds manager and investment advisory business, operating between China and Australia offering a wide range of financial services and wealth management solutions. With operations in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Shanghai in China, Atlas is able to support investors in all China and Australia locations.

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THE Queensland Government has committed to establishing domestic procurement targets focussed on enhancing opportunities for small and local businesses, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ).

CCIQ  has been calling for a procurement policy, including setting a small business target.

CCIQ’s general manager of advocacy and policy, Amanda Rohan, said the announcement would give businesses some confidence in securing government contracts.

“Queensland is rich with diverse and capable small businesses. However, there are barriers when competing for government contracts,” Ms Rohan said.

“Today’s announcement is a positive first step in removing some of those barriers, and shows the government is serious about doing business with SMEs.

“We welcome the reduced payment terms, however would like to see this lowered more significantly. Many businesses are restricted due to cashflow and tighter payment terms will alleviate that pressure.

“We have been calling for a procurement framework for some time, but it is now more essential than ever," Ms Rohan said.

“Putting policies in place to support and enable businesses to succeed is crucial and needed to see economic growth and job stability around the state,” she said.

In February, CCIQ wrote to all Queensland MPs outlining the need for a procurement framework and asked for their commitment to working with the business sector in creating one.

CCIQ’s procurement framework includes:

• Setting up an open procurement platform across all government agencies;
• Breaking up government tenders to smaller components so small businesses have more opportunities to supply goods and services;
• Simplifying government tender documents and assessments criteria;
• Implementing payment terms of 5 business days for small suppliers.

The Labor, LNP, Katter and Greens parties all responded with agreement and commitment on working towards this framework.

www.cciq.com.au

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hear from the General Insurance Code Governance Committee and the Insurance Council of Australia, as well as insurers at a public hearing via videoconference on June 3, 2020, as part of its ongoing Review of the Four Major Banks and other Financial Institutions.

The chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP, said, "These hearings are an important mechanism for the Parliament to publicly scrutinise and hold Australia’s insurance sector to account.

"Insurance is an essential way that Australians and Australian businesses manage risk and protect themselves from financial loss after disaster strikes. Australians must be able to rely on the insurance sector to provide high-quality policies and respond quickly when claims are made.

‘The General Insurance Code Governance Committee’s recent findings regarding the substantial increase in code breaches is concerning. It is important that insurers have strong code compliance and governance frameworks in place to ensure that consumers are receiving the protections afforded to them by the code," Mr Wilson said.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has also raised a number of relevant issues relating to policy coverage ranging from travel insurance to lenders mortgage insurance that also need to be explored."

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 3 June 2020
Time: 1pm to 4.30pm
Location: Videoconference

The hearings will be webcast at aph.gov.au/live.

THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said childcare was an essential service for women in small businesses, calling for ‘free childcare’ to continue beyond the June 30 expiry date.

“Women make up more than a third of Australia’s small business owners (35%) and more than 5 million women work in these businesses,” Ms Carnell said.

“The latest ABS labour force data shows women have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis, with the female workforce participation rate falling to 58.4 percent in April.

“Many of the women who are still working and running their businesses are relying on JobKeeper payments, which will not cover childcare fees if they are reinstated in full from July 1. This could force mothers out of their jobs, which is detrimental to working families and even worse for the economy.

“Now is the time for the government to be considering innovative ways to increase participation rates for women to ensure productivity gains and to benefit businesses," Ms Carnell said.

“There are a number of ways for government to do this, including making childcare tax-effective or by phasing in an expanded subsidy scheme as recommended by the Grattan Institute, estimated to deliver an $11 billlion boost to the economy.  

“Economists have often referred to the ‘double dividend’ of childcare increasing workforce participation rates and providing early education.  

“Equally, the government needs to look at supporting childcare centres, many of which are small businesses, which have suffered losses due to the structure of the current measures," she said.

“Despite the struggles some of these childcare centres have had with the current package, many are warning of dire consequences for their businesses if there is a sudden snap-back in a month’s time.

“Ultimately the government has a golden opportunity now to completely re-think the childcare system. Small business and the Australian economy depends on it.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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