THE Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) has announced Vodafone as its major sponsor for the National Small Business Summit, an annual premier event focusing on the policies and processes that impact small enterprises.

The Vodafone National Small Business Summit (NSBS) will be held on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 July 2015, at Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney. This year’s agenda is set to discuss competition policy review, workplace relations and small business influence on national security.

CEO of COSBOA Peter Strong said Vodafone was a natural fit for this year’s Summit, with both organisations knowing that telecommunications is fundamental to the success of every small business.

“As we all know, speed and cost of communication are key issues for small businesses in Australia. In the context of the current competition review, Vodafone and COSBOA look forward to challenging the status quo in the telecommunications space to ensure the voice of small businesses is heard,” said Mr Strong.

“One of the topics we’re going to address at the Vodafone NSBS is the importance of companies being mobile and using the cloud, something typically only fully utilised by large organisations. Mobile technology feeds into everything we do, with many businesses highlighting this as a high priority for their future growth.”

Vodafone’s General Manager of Business, Andrew Chanmugam, said the company is excited by the partnership with COSBOA for the Vodafone National Small Business Summit.

“We believe it is the perfect platform to discuss the challenges facing Australian small businesses today,” he said.

Mr Chanmugam said that while the convergence of mobile and cloud presents unprecedented opportunities for Australian small businesses, many are not ready for the change.

“Our research shows 82% of small businesses believe exploiting mobile technology will help optimise the way people work, but only 22% believe their current systems deliver the flexibility and responsiveness they need,” he said.

“We are committed to supporting Australian small businesses to become ‘Ready Businesses’ - able to harness the opportunity to deliver better operational agility, better connected employees and better customer engagement.”

The 2015 Summit is once again expected to draw a high profile line-up of guest speakers and attendees, including Vodafone Chief Executive Officer, Inaki Berroeta.  

“Small businesses form a significant part of the Australian economy - employing more than 4.5 million people. The Vodafone National Small Business Summit and COSBOA are committed to ensuring small businesses have the support they need to grow, and are recognised for their contribution and success,” said Mr Strong.

Registrations for Vodafone NSBS open on 15 May.

For more information visit www.nationalsmallbusinesssummit.com.au

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THE The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has welcomed The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to an historic low of 2.0 percent today. 

Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said today’s decision will help to provide Australian businesses with much needed relief and is a step toward building higher levels of business and consumer confidence.

“While a reduction in rates is always welcomed, this alone is not enough to stimulate business and jobs growth. Retailers are now looking ahead to the Federal Budget to ensure small business tax cuts are being delivered in order to boost their bottom lines.

“Low interest rates are acting to support borrowing and spending and today’s rate cut is certainly a positive step, however, business growth must still be supported with a solid plan in the upcoming Federal Budget,” Mr Zimmerman said. 

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $265 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) welcomes some strong commitments to grow the Victorian visitor economy in today’s state budget.

A highlight is the provision of $190 - $210 million for the Stage 2 development of MCEC which VTIC has long supported.

“VTIC is a long-standing advocate for the MCEC expansion,” said VTIC Chief Executive Dianne Smith.

“This announcement paves the way for the expansion which will allow Melbourne to continue hosting large scale international conventions and events that contribute significantly to Victoria’s economy and help drive visitation to regional destinations.

“We look forward to full details of the expansion’s design and timeframe for completion.”

Chair of the Victoria Events Industry Council Peter Jones was also pleased with today’s announcement.

“Together with the announcement of additional funding for major events, the MCEC expansion will further cement Victoria’s reputation as the events capital of Australia. It is important we continue to support the high-yield business events sector with essential infrastructure investment,” said Mr Jones.

The budget also includes a wide range of projects for regional Victoria, delivered through the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, many of which will support visitation to regional destinations.

These include:

- Grampians Peak Trail ($19 million)
- Geelong Performing Arts Centre  ($30 million)
- Sovereign Hill by Night program ($8 million)
- Eureka Stadium (and other Ballarat sporting infrastructure) ($31.5 million)
- Victorian Wine Tourism Strategy ($1 million)
 
Business throughout Victoria will welcome the $20 million in funding to support regional arts and culture, including a regional touring strategy for major exhibitions, performances and programs.

In addition, the Victorian visitor economy as a whole will benefit from the substantial funding allocated to improving public transport infrastructure and services, including significant road and rail investment and the trial of all-night public transport on weekends, commencing 1 January 2016.

VTIC notes that there is an absence of detail in the budget regarding tourism marketing and development.

 “We look forward to working closely with the Minister and Treasurer to ensure that these government-funded areas are appropriately resourced to take advantage of the growth opportunities available to our state,” said Ms Smith.

“Overall this budget delivers many positives for the tourism and events industry and we look forward to the outcomes of the Visitor Economy Review to further boost Victoria's competitiveness.”

The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is the peak body for Victoria’s tourism and events industry, providing one united industry voice.

Tourism and events are growth industries for Victoria and contribute $19.6 billion to the state economy each year and employ more than 200,000 people.

vtic.com.au

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PRODUCTIVITY measurement, definition of key terms, and data sources are some of the themes highlighted in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Statistics Review Discussion Paper, released today.

The ICT Statistics Review is a joint project between the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Department of Communications, Bureau of Communications Research (BCR).

The Review is designed to assess the priority information areas for ICT statistics, as well as ways to improve the quality of digital economy data available for Australia’s decision-makers.

Public submissions were sought early this year and the paper includes a summary of topics emerging from these submissions and outlines the next steps as part of the ICT Statistics Review.

Diane Braskic from the ABS said the submissions showed strong support for a review of ICT statistics and provided a good base from which the Review can progress.

“The public submission process saw 28 submissions received addressing various aspects of the ICT Review’s terms of reference,” said Ms Braskic.

“The paper provides a summary of the information needs that have been identified and gives further opportunity to provide input to prioritise these for the final report.

“Consultations will continue and we strongly encourage further input to identify and prioritise information requirements relevant to stakeholders.”

Head of the BCR, Dr Paul Paterson echoed the sentiments of Ms Braskic.

“We’re delighted with the response." said Dr Paterson. "This input provides a sound basis to build a robust platform for data collection and analysis in a fast-moving and dynamic sector of the Australian economy.”

Feedback on the information requirements can be provided to the Review Secretariat atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5.00pm AEST, 22 May, 2015.

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