WITH ONLY A WEEK until Easter, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) believe the Easter Bunny won’t be the only one preparing his Easter basket, with retailers across the country stocking their shelves with all sorts of Easter treats.

Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA, said although many retailers release their Easter products just after the new year, the bulk of Easter sales do not occur until the week before Good Friday.

“As this Easter is earlier than last year, Australians will be heading in-store sooner rather than later to buy their seafood as the Sydney Fish Market is expecting to trade more than 650 tonnes of seafood before the big day,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Fresh food markets and supermarkets aren’t the only ones who will receive crowds of shoppers over the next week as many chocolatiers and bakeries will be also making delicious treats to add to the Easter table.”

Steve Plarre, CEO of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, said over 55 percent of last year’s hot cross bun sales came from new flavours and is expecting these sales to grow even higher this year.

“As Easter will arrive two weeks earlier than last year, I believe there will be a slight headwind for sales this year, but these purchases will be outweighed by the solid growth from exciting new hot cross bun flavours”.

With Australians loving their hot cross buns for the past 35 years, Elise Gillespie, joint CEO of Bakers Delight, predicts more than 20 million hot cross buns to be pulled from their ovens this year.

“Easter is one of the highlights of our year, and we are proud that we have been able to play a role in helping Australian families create their own Easter traditions for nearly four decades,” Ms Gillespie said.

As a big chocolate fan, Mr Zimmerman said he will be sure to purchase an Easter Bilby this year to honor the first Haigh’s Chocolate Easter Bilby 25 years ago and support the important work they do to save the Bilby.

“It’s great to see retailers taking initiatives in their corporate social responsibility and listening to consumer concerns, not only generating repeat customers but also increasing consumer loyalty – a crucial element in today’s uncertain trading environment,” Mr Zimmerman said.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak body industry, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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PACER Plus, the Pacific Island free trade agreement,  will be examined at a public hearing on Monday by the Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.

The Australian Government expects PACER Plus to encourage economic growth and social stability in the Pacific region by freeing up trade and investment opportunities.

However, the two largest Pacific Island economies, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, have not signed the agreement.

Committee Chair Stuart Robert MP said while PACER Plus offered many advantages for Pacific Island nations, some issues remain, including why PNG and Fiji decided not to take part.

“PACER Plus presents an opportunity for Pacific Island economies to grow beyond the need for development assistance, but the absence of countries that make up over 80 per cent of the region’s economic capacity is a concern for the Committee,” Mr Robert said.

The Committee will also examine PACER Plus’ impact on Pacific Island government revenues, public health, and business capacity.

Public hearing details: 11.00am – 12.50pm, Monday 26 March 2018, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

11.00am:     Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)
11.30am:     Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET)
12.00pm:     Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
12.50pm:     Close

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) is calling for nominations for its annual Indigenous Awards to celebrate excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the State’s resources sector.

QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the Queensland resources sector was providing more jobs and opportunities for Indigenous Australians, as acknowledged in the Closing the Gap report last month.

“The Closing the Gap 2018 update reported 6599 Indigenous Australians were employed by the mining industry and increased by 250 percent since 2006.  The number of non-Indigenous Australians employed in mining had increased by 150 percent over the same period. 

The Closing the Gap report also stated that: “The mining industry itself is employing significantly more Indigenous Australians than previously.  These mining jobs are providing crucial opportunities for employment in regional areas.”

Mr Macfarlane said the 5th annual awards, to be presented during Reconciliation Week in May, provided the opportunity to showcase Indigenous role models and ambassadors for the Queensland resources sector.

QRC is now accepting nominations across six award categories:

•    Indigenous Advocacy Award  |  recognises Indigenous or non-Indigenous individuals that have demonstrated outstanding effort to encourage, promote and advocate for increasing Indigenous participation within the resources sector
•    Exceptional Indigenous Person in Queensland Resources Award  |  recognises exceptional achievement by an Indigenous person working with the Queensland resources sector in any occupation or profession
•    Exceptional Indigenous Business in Queensland Resources Award  |  recognises exceptional achievement by an Indigenous business supplying the Queensland resources sector
•    Best Company Indigenous Procurement Initiative Award  |  recognises companies that have developed and maintained strategies that enhance supplier diversity and support increased Indigenous business participation within resources sector supply chains
•    Best Company Indigenous Employment and Training Initiative Award  |  recognises companies that have developed and maintained strategies that enhance the attraction and retention of Indigenous people in the Queensland resources sector
•    Exceptional Indigenous Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy Student Award  |  recognises exceptional achievement by an Indigenous student at a QMEA school who has shown significant promise and passion for a career in the Queensland resources sector.

For more information and to access the nomination forms, click here. 

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, covers the significant achievements of the ASBFEO office as this week marks its second birthday.

“This week is our 2nd birthday. Over that period of time a lot of things have been achieved due to the great work of my wonderful staff and the input of small businesses from around Australia.

“You told us that one of the things upsetting you was big business and governments paying slower and slower. We did a major piece of work and we found that you were right; they are paying slower. The outcome of that has been that the Business Council of Australia has set up a new Code of Practice to encourage big business to pay in 30 days or less, and the Australia Government has announced that they will move to 15 business day payments by the middle of next year.

“We’ve been working with the fintechs, the online lenders, and released a major paper that will make fintech lending more transparent, and by the middle of the year a capacity for small businesses able to compare different fintech offerings so that they can make good decisions if they think fintech lending is the solution for their businesses.

“Please get in touch with our office if you have anything you’d like us to investigate or you’ve got a problem you’d like us to help you solve on your behalf.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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