THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has expressed dismay that politicians continue to argue over energy policy while small businesses suffer.

Ombudsman Kate Carnell said the latest East & Partners SME survey* of 1280 businesses showed 70 percent would reduce investment in capital expenditure because of higher energy prices.

The survey shows that:

• 39.5 percent of SMEs would scale back in the short term (long-term capex unchanged);
• 20.8 percent would scale back in the long term (short-term capex unchanged); and
• 9.9 percent would scale back capital expenditure in the short and long term.

Ms Carnell said that despite evidence of spiralling energy costs and reduced business confidence, politicians had not provided investment certainty.

In particular, she criticised State Governments for failing to agree with a national approach.

“The ACCC has revealed the impact of gas exploration bans on supply and distribution in Victoria and New South Wales, but these governments continue to shift the blame elsewhere,” she said.

“The Labor states talk about going alone on a clean energy target, which is putting politics ahead of the national interest.

“Meanwhile, businesses in South Australia may have to use dirty diesel generators to keep the lights on over summer.

“The Finkel Report provided a roadmap to repair the long-term damage of failed policies.

“All parties and all governments should endorse the report, remove bans on gas exploration and adopt a bipartisan approach to provide investment certainty.

“The danger with continued political bickering is that businesses will go to the wall, jobs will move offshore and be lost and consumers will feel even greater pain.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

* The energy question was asked as part of the East & Partners SME Transaction Banking survey, which examines and forecasts demand for transaction banking product lines and service offerings within Australia’s Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) segment (A$1-20 million turnover per annum).

Ends

COULD Australia’s solar expertise be key to helping tropical countries that have little or no access to energy?

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will hold a public hearing on Monday to discuss Australia’s membership of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The alliance aims to strengthen cooperation on solar research and development and encourage the diffusion of solar technology amongst countries in the tropics. The ISA is seen as an opportunity to promote Australia’s expertise in the solar and energy sectors.  

Committee Chair, Stuart Robert MP, said  joining the ISA could provide opportunities for Australian businesses and research institutions.

“Large sections of the population in many of these tropical countries have little or no access to energy, including many of our neighbours in the Indo-Pacific region. Membership of the ISA will support Australia’s engagement in the region,” the Chair said.

The committee will also discuss three air service agreements that Australia has with Israel, Hungary and Mauritius at the public hearing. These model agreements ensure international safety regulations and security measures are adhered to.

Public hearing details: 

11.30am – 1.00pm, Monday 16 October
Committee Room, 1R2, Parliament House, Canberra.

11.30am: Department of Energy and the Environment
                  Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

12.15pm: Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development

1.00pm: Close

The proceedings will be broadcast live (audio only) at aph.gov.au/live. 

ENDS

AUSTRALIANS throw out between $8-$10 billion of food every year[1]. This is an exorbitant amount, considering an estimated 1.9 million Australians go without food because they can’t afford it[2] and nearly 3 million people are living in poverty, one quarter being children[3].

With World Food Day approaching on Monday, Managing Director of online office catering leader Order-In, Jonathan Rowley explains how offices can put more thought in how they can reduce their food wastage.

Mr Rowley said, “As an organisation, we are very aware of this issue, which is why we are long-term supporters of OzHarvest. We have looked at the reduction habits of hundreds of our customers and found that the best practices to prevent food wastage at work, many of which can also translate to the home, are very easily implemented.” 

At work:

• Donate, don’t discard: There are many charities or organisations that will happily collect your unused produce and reallocate to places or people in need. This is perfect for when you’ve ordered too much food or if a meeting has been cancelled at the last minute. This will not only benefit those in need but it will also reduce the increasing amount of food that ends up in landfill, as currently 4 million tonnes of food ends up in landfill every year[4].
• Purchase in-season food: In order to make educated decisions, you should familiarise yourself with current in-season produce. Seasonal food will most likely be locally produced, meaning you will be supporting our farmers and growers. The produce will also be fresher, taste better and won’t perish as fast.
• Care for the environment: At your next corporate event or working lunch, you should look to use reusable or disposal plates, serve ware, utensils and glasses. When choosing these items, ensure they are bio-degradable or can be composted and recycled.

At home:

• Plan before you shop: The saying is true for grocery shopping, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. At the beginning of the week, plan each meal so you don’t buy unnecessary items, check what you already have at home and construct a list to save time and money. And lastly, don’t get sucked into the world of impulse buying! Stick to the plan. 
• First in, first out (FIFO): No we aren’t referring to the accounting method but a helpful way to unpack your groceries. You should move the older products to the front of your fridge or pantry and then put the newer products towards the back. Australians waste up to 20% of the food they purchase, which is equivalent to 1 out of 5 bags of groceries purchased[5], so this method will dramatically decrease your food wastage as you utilise the older stuff before it expires.
• Maximise it: Several foods will have more than one use. Vegetables, bones and meat scraps can be used to make stocks as the base of many meals. Overripe fruit will also make tasty smoothies, muffins or even cakes. Although wilted vegetables may seem unappetising, they can be used in soups or health juices. If you have a surplus of perfectly fine fruit, why not freeze them, make jam or marmalade, or even pickle them. Get creative!

“We all have to do our bit and at Order-In, we actively encourage all of our corporate catering clients to notify OzHarvest when they have a surplus of food that is perfectly edible.  We urge all households and offices to do the same." Mr Rowley said.

“We also offer our clients the option to make a $1 donation each time they place an order, which goes directly to OzHarvest. It might seem like a small contribution but over the length of our partnership, we have matched this dollar for dollar and have raised close to $8,000, which has provided more than 16,000 meals to disadvantaged and vulnerable men, women and children over that time frame. World Food Day is a good reminder of how fortunate we are and how we can all do our little bit to make it count.”

https://www.orderin.com.au

THE INTRODUCTION of Single Touch Payroll (STP) is in line with the Government’s digitisation agenda and should be supported, but there are still small businesses out there that will feel the compliance burden that it entails, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

By July 1, 2019, businesses with less than 19 employees are expected to have implemented STP.

"While initially STP delivers little benefit to small business, we acknowledge that other benefits exist such as transparency over superannuation guarantee payments,” IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway said.

“Employees will be able to log on and make sure they are being paid the correct amount for their superannuation contributions so this level of transparency is most welcome.

“Our concern is for the 70,000 small businesses that have been identified that will struggle to implement STP without help and support. Many of these businesses are not digitised and will require adoption of technology and education.

“For small and micro businesses employing less than five people to implement STP before July 1 2019, will take considerable incentive and support.

“We support the notion of a phased and targeted incentive approach as proposed by the government.

“Hence, we are pleased to note that the government is considering a partial offset of costs and other incentives. However, we would like much more detail to ensure small businesses are not adversely impacted by the implementation of STP.

“There is also a reliance on strong internet connections which would disadvantage many working in more remote areas of Australia,” Mr Conway said.

publicaccountants.org.au

ends