WINNER of the Small and Medium Enterprises category in the 2015 Premier's Sustainability Awards - Yarra Valley Estate - is now encouraging other sustainable businesses to enter the 2016 Premier's Sustainability Awards to celebrate their work.

Yarra Valley Estate is a conference, wedding and accommodation centre, located at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. Formerly a deer park stripped bare of all its trees and shrubs, this 120 acre property has been nurtured and rehabilitated so that today it is surrounded by lush forest with organic vegetable gardens and a private wildlife rehabilitation centre, Babbajin Park. 

To ensure continual improvement, Yarra Valley Estate has measured its footprint and benchmarked operations locally and globally. The business has formalised policies and procedures to offset the business to carbon neutral and to remain in line with the purpose that the business perform public good through nurturing people’s wellbeing and helping reconnect them back to nature.

Louise Ward, owner of Yarra Valley Estate, encourages business owners all over Victoria to enter the awards this year.

"Winning the Award shows you don't have to be a big corporation or have a lot of budget to run a sustainable business," she says. "For our staff, our customers and our community, entering has been probably one of the best things we've ever done."

Sustainability Victoria CEO, Stan Krpan, congratulated the Yarra Valley Estate team for their sustainable project, and for their commitment to improving Victoria’s environment.

“Delivering these awards each year means we continue to discover the talent and passion Victorians have for protecting their natural environment and minimising the impacts of climate change.

“We encourage participation across all sectors, focussing on delivering a triple bottom line – environmental, economic, and social benefits for Victoria,” Mr Krpan said.

Now in their 14^th year, the Premier's Sustainability Awards continue to promote leadership and innovation in sustainability, and encourage a broader adoption of these practices by all Victorians.

There are 10 categories in this year’s awards program - Built Environment, Community, Education, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, Government, Health, Innovative Products or Services, Large Business, and Small and Medium Enterprises.

See Louise Ward's video story and more information at

http://www.sustainabilityawards.vic.gov.au/small-and-medium-enterprises

Register now to attend an information session for guidance on preparing a compelling entry, to ask questions relating to category eligibility and hear about benefits of entering. 

To register email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Session dates are Wednesday 18 May (2-4pm) and Thursday 9 June (10am-12pm).

For more information, go to www.sustainabilityawards.vic.gov.au

Entries close 5 pm Monday 27 June 2016.  

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NOMINATIONS are now open for the 2016 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards.

"Brisbane is Australia’s New World City and our innovative, entrepreneurial business community leads the way in creating a dynamic economic environment and setting a benchmark for other cities in the Asia Pacific region," Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said.

"Now in their 11th year, the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards reward Brisbane’s most inspiring and innovative businesses and individuals."

To nominate yourself or another inspirational Brisbane business, or to view past winners and finalists, visit: lmba.com.au

Nominations close on Friday, 22 July 2016.

Winners of each of the business categories will be in the running for the Optus Business Platinum Award - celebrating outstanding business achievement.

Nominations are now open in the following categories:

• Australia TradeCoast Award for Small Business Growth
• Brisbane Times Award for Business Innovation
• ISPT Award for Digital Strategy
• Clayton Utz Award for Corporate Citizenship
• ANZ Made in Brisbane Award for High-growth Business Start-Up
• Energex Award for Sustainability in Business
• HSBC Award for Doing Business in Asia
• Port of Brisbane Award for New Investment
• Singapore Airlines Young Business Person of the Year Award
• Channel 7 Business Person of the Year Award

Look at what some of our past winners have to say here.

www.lmba.com.au

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OWNER truck drivers together with representatives from associated industry groups have met in Canberra today at a roundtable convened by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell, to gather feedback ahead of the ASBFEO’s inquiry into the effect the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal’s (RSRT) Payments Order has had on small businesses.

“Today’s roundtable is part of our initial scoping work as we begin the formal inquiry process exploring the impact the RSRT’s Payments Order has had on small business owner-drivers around the country,” Ms Carnell said. 

“The discussion was productive and wide-ranging and was an important step in gathering feedback on the issues now facing those affected by the Payments Order, as well as determining the best ways to engage with stakeholders throughout the inquiry,” she said.

Ms Carnell said it’s becoming clear there are owner-operators who continue to face significant financial hardship within an industry still plagued by uncertainty, and that the inquiry would seek to gather testimonials from as many owner-drivers as possible.

“There are some owner-drivers who are struggling to recover from the upheaval created by the Payments Order.  It’s also evident there’s a level of trepidation out there about what the future holds for the sector,” Ms Carnell said.

“We want to consult as broadly as possible to make sure we get an accurate picture of exactly what’s going on.  To do that, we need to hear from as many owner-drivers as we can, to learn directly from them about their experiences.

“Owner-drivers are telling us the best way to engage with the sector is through social media, so we’ll be conducting driver surveys via Facebook, while also utilising our existing consultation mechanisms – our interactive web-platform and 1300 number – to continue compiling testimonials from owner-drivers.

“We’re also in the process of scheduling a series of regional meetings around the country, which will provide owner-drivers and their families with a forum to tell their stories first-hand,” she said.

Ms Carnell said the inquiry will also bring together and evaluate the testimonials of those who had direct dealings with the RSRT.

“The Minister’s request to conduct the inquiry explicitly stipulates we also explore the most effective ways that tribunals and similar bodies can constructively and collaboratively engage with the small business sector in the future, so we certainly want to hear from owner-drivers about their experiences dealing with the RSRT, to help establish best practice guidelines going forward,” Ms Carnell said.

Groups represented at the roundtable: Australian Trucking Association, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, National Farmers’ Federation, the Council of Small Business of Australia, National Road Transporters Association, Australian Logistics Council, Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia, Trucking Support Agency of Australia, National Road Freighters Association, National Owner Drivers Association and Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.

Other bodies including the Australian Industry Group and the Transport Workers Union were also invited, but were unable to attend.

Further details on the ASBFEO inquiry, including regional forum dates, will be made available shortly.

In the interim, small businesses can contact the ASBFEO on 1300 650 460 or by visiting the website: www.asbfeo.gov.au

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A LONG-RUNNING quarterly Queensland Resources Council survey of resource company CEOs has found that confidence in the regulatory environment in Queensland is at a near-five year low.

QRC Chief Executive Michael Roche said compared to a year ago, the latest findings revealed a stark change in the confidence of the CEOs confidence about regulation and doing business in Queensland.

"This time a year ago after a change of government in Queensland our sector deemed it business as usual for the resources sector, but in the space of 12 months a lot has changed," Mr Roche said.

"While the Labor Government's commitment to royalty stability for its first term of government is welcome there has been anything but stability elsewhere in the regulation of the sector.

"Our sector has been the target of a raft of regulatory changes – some enacted – and many more proposed – therefore it’s little wonder the resource leaders’ sentiment has substantially changed."

The survey also reveals that 44 percent of CEOs said that costs such as infrastructure charges, royalties and other taxes and charges were somewhat of significantly more expensive in Queensland than in other jurisdictions.

"One of the biggest issues facing our sector is that in recent years the sector has been loaded up with significant increases in local government rates and this came to the fore in the comments from the sector bosses," Mr Roche said.

as one company CEO put it: “See how long a mayor would last if they proposed a 500 percent increase on all ratepayers.”

Mr Roche said the majority of respondents to the survey did reveal that if the state government were able to reduce industry costs such as royalties this would improve the business outlook.

"While the QRC is getting a good hearing from Treasurer Curtis Pitt and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham, elsewhere our government continues to deliver nasty surprises and poor policy," Mr Roche said.

"I have written to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in the wake of the results from our latest survey in the hope that the government will recognise the damage being done to industry confidence due to the uncertainty."

Mr Roche said that the so-called Chain of Responsibility law enacted just over three weeks ago is causing enormous angst and uncertainty in the business community.

"QRC had no disagreement with the government's intent with that new law but, as we feared, it has gone too far and is doing serious damage to investor confidence."

One CEO put it this way in responding to the QRC survey: “Recent state government proposals and regulatory changes appear reactionary and populist.”

"The QRC is working with companies and the government to make this a great state to do business in, but if the government’s approach towards policy and regulatory stability does not change then investor confidence could keep spiralling down further, leaving taxpayers out of pocket.

"The resources sector contributes directly and indirectly one in every $5 of the State's economy and is responsible for one in six jobs, while also contributing $2.1 billion in royalties to the government in the last financial year.

"That $2.1 billion was the equivalent of funding the salaries of 35,000 teachers, 30,000 nurses or about 32,000 police officers.

"The state collects zero royalties from mines that close and from projects that are cancelled."

WWW.QRC.ORG.AU

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