THE Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is concerned about regional businesses being hit by the costs of the government’s new public holidays.

Half of the tourism industry is based in regional Victoria and the majority of these businesses are small businesses with significant cost pressure already.

On grand final Friday, the cost to pay Victoria’s almost 2 million full time employees not to come to work could reach $543 million for the day.

Additional wages for the retail, accommodation, food services and recreation industries are estimated to cost small business owners $105 million for the two holidays as wages can be 50 percent higher on Easter Sunday and 150 per cent higher on grand final eve.

“Many businesses won’t be able to afford to operate on these public holidays due to increased wages costs and anticipated financial loss, which will be bad for tourism particularly in regional areas,” said VTIC Chief Executive Dianne Smith.

“We regularly meet with the relevant government ministers and reinforce that this decision is the wrong one and must be retracted.

“Ultimately these public holidays will take money away from the businesses that should be supported to increase employment and create jobs.”

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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VODAFONE, Google and Virgin are set to discuss the importance and implications of technology, mobility and the cloud for small business, at COSBOA’S National Summit this week.

On Friday 17th July, Andrew Chanmugam, Business GM of Vodafone Australia, Richard Flanagan, Head of Business Marketing at Google Australia, and Mark Rizzuto, General Manager Distribution and e-Commerce at Virgin Australia will discuss ‘Small Business Mobility Across The Planet’.

Small businesses and their employees increasingly operate on the move, and as such they are using mobility tools, such as smartphones, tablets and apps in the cloud, to improve profitability, flexibility, communications, and collaboration.

Richard Flanagan, Head of Small Business Marketing at Google Australia, added: “Australians are increasingly researching and buying via their mobile phones, so it's vital that small businesses have a strong mobile presence. And business owners can also benefit from the move to mobile, saving time and money by managing their business on the go"

The increasing use of mobile by Australian consumers makes it even more critical for small businesses to ensure their websites are mobile responsive.

The use of mobility tools across small businesses continues to increase at a voracious rate, with mobile app development spending expected by IT organisations to increase by 36% in the next year. 

Google’s new mobile friendly algorithm makes it even more critical for small businesses to ensure their websites are mobile responsive to maximise SEO opportunities.

Cloud computing has, at last, shed its mysterious persona and is being embraced worldwide by small businesses for its opportunities. Better Cloud’s survey of 1,500 IT professionals, representing organisations in 53 countries for its “Trends in Cloud IT”, revealed rapid cloud adoption is expected.

The survey found that 12 percent of companies currently run all of their IT in the cloud. By 2020, 62 percent are expected to run cloud-only IT.

Andrew Chanmugam, General Manager of Business at Vodafone said: “We know many small businesses have moved to the cloud or are considering it. There’s no question that if you’re looking at high IT costs, need more computing power now and in the future, or if you want to truly mobilise your business operations, the benefit of a cloud based environment cannot be denied. The cloud is one of the greatest advances that small business can take advantage of in 2015.”

Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, concluded: “Small business owners often have to be highly involved in all aspects of running their business from accounting, sales, marketing right through to operations and being able to conduct their business while being mobile is vital to their success.

“By streamlining their technology to work harder for them   getting help with the books, admin and legal matters they create time, which is a valuable resource for a small outfit.”

Registrations are open for the Vodafone National Small Business Summit and the Small Business Mobility Across the Planet session takes place on Friday 17th July at 09.45 – 10.30 in the North Pier at Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf.

For more information please visit www.nationalsmallbusinesssummit.com.au

BOOSTING the ability of small business to employ will be top of the agenda when a range of small business representatives, an employee group and two employment services organisations brief the Education and Employment Committee at a public hearing in Melbourne on Monday.

Small business represents over 95 percent of the overall business community and plays a significant role in the Australian economy, accounting for almost half of employment in the private non-financial sector and over a third of production.

Committee Chair, Ewen Jones MP, said that seeking solutions to the barriers small business faces will be the committee’s objective for this hearing.

“We know there are problems but what we are really looking for are solutions,” he said. 

“This Committee is dedicated to seeing national job growth and supporting small businesses is an integral part of that. We want to know how small businesses can create jobs, but also how to keep people happily employed in those jobs, especially those that have a tough time finding work.”

Details of the hearing are as follows:

Date: Monday 13 July 2015
Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Venue: Committee Room G1, Victorian Parliament, 55 St Andrews Place, Melbourne

Submissions to this inquiry have now closed. For further information about this inquiry please visit the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/SmallBusinessEmployment or contact the secretariat on (02) 6277 4573.

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THE deadline has been extended for submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration inquiry into the Seasonal Worker Programme.

The committee is particularly interested to hear from individuals and organisations who have participated in the Programme and would like to encourage all stakeholders who either administer or participate in the employment scheme to share their experiences.

Submissions will now be accepted until Friday 31 July 2015.

As part of the inquiry, the committee will be focusing on the role of seasonal workers in the horticulture industry and investigate whether the program should be expanded to include other countries and sectors.

Further details about the inquiry, including the full terms of reference and how to make a submission, can be obtained from the committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/mig or by contacting the committee secretariat on (02) 6277 4560 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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ON grand final Friday, the cost to pay Victoria’s almost 2 million full time employees not to come to work could reach $543 million for the day.

Additional wages for the retail, accommodation, food services and recreation industries are estimated to cost small business owners $105 million for the two holidays as wages can be 50 per cent higher on Easter Sunday and 150 per cent higher on grand final eve.

The two new holidays widen the disparity between public holiday arrangements across Australia and will result in Victoria having a nationwide high of 13 days, compared to states like New South Wales with 11 and Queensland and Western Australia with 10.

Excerpts from Chief Executive Mark Stone’s press conference:

"It is a terrible decision that the government is continuing to go ahead with this plan," Mr Stone said.

"The government must do the right thing by Victorian businesses, do the right thing by people who are trying to employ more people and trying to create more jobs; and not take money away from them.

"I regularly meet with the relevant ministers, the Premier, the Treasurer, and I keep reinforcing that the view of business in Victoria is that this is the wrong call. They need to retract it. They’ll win a lot of support and business interest if they come back from this decision.

"What Victoria needs is more jobs and this plan is only going to set that back."

 The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

vecci.org.au

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SOUTH KOREAN city, Daejeon, has received the honour of hosting the next Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum in 2017 (2017APCS), following the record-breaking success of this year’s summit, which attracted 95 city leaders and more than 1,000 delegates over four days.

City of Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said Daejeon was selected ahead of five finalist bidding cities – Busan, Kuching, Panama, Ahmedabad, and Penang Island.

“The 2017APCS attracted the most competitive and diverse range of bidding cities that we’ve ever seen in our 10-year history, highlighting the growing importance of this forum in bringing city leaders together to discuss, share, and help respond to city urbanisation challenges across the Asia Pacific,” Cr Quirk said.

“As a sister city since 2002, Daejeon’s growing reputation as a leader in innovation and technology strongly aligned with our aspiration of becoming Australia’s new world city.

“Being the fifth largest city in Korea and Australia’s third largest export market, Daejeon has fast become the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Korea, with many of its large global businesses now based in Brisbane and south-east Queensland including Samsung, POSCO, CJ Nutracon, and KOGAS.

“In addition, we’ve further strengthened our partnership through a new Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier today with the Daejeon Metropolitan City Government.

“We are proud to announce it will launch an exciting internship program that will enable 20 Daejeon students to study English at International House in Brisbane.

“Congratulations to Mayor Kwon Sun-taik and his Government on their hard work in delivering such an outstanding bid and we look forward to 2017 for what will be an even bigger and better summit in Daejeon.”

On the final day of 2015APCS, delegates also heard from New York best-selling author, former Facebook Director of Marketing, and Zuckerberg Media Founder and CEO Randi Zuckerberg.

“Randi’s unique style thoroughly entertained our delegates, presenting her favourite 10 trends businesses could use to inject more creativity into their branding and marketing, encourage a ‘hacker’ or entrepreneurial spirit within their employees, and generally overcome a fear of failure,” Cr Quirk said.

Following her keynote, four young professionals took to the stage on behalf of more than 100 participants in the Young Professionals Program. Together they presented their cost-neutral solutions for cities on a range of urban challenges including transportation, sanitation, and energy efficiency.

“The calibre of young delegates from across the region engaged in the Young Professionals Forum continues to grow every year. This time they got the unique opportunity to present in front of over 90 city leaders, who collectively impact the lives of more than 130 million citizens around the world. Congratulations to this group of emerging young talent and we look forward to seeing how our leaders empower their ideas in the future,” Cr Quirk said.

The Mayors’ Accord was also officially announced and signed by all participating mayors today.

“Cities in the Asia Pacific will work together, with global partners, to advance common urban solutions in order to accelerate their global orientation, integration into the knowledge economy, technology uptake, governance, and liveability,” Cr Quirk said.

www.apcsummit.org

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Speaking at APCS in Brisbane, Tencent’s SY Lau predicts Internet Plus will enable and encourage the rise of smart cities

(Brisbane, Australia, July 7, 2015) SY Lau, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent and President of its Online Media Group, spoke about the future of cities powered by Internet Plus today at the 2015 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) and Mayors' Forum.

Championed by Tencent, Internet Plus in a new concept in China describing the relationship between the Internet and society.

nternet Plus provides the backbone for administrations to create innovative way to develop smart cities. The ecosystem created through Internet Plus with online and offline activities can efficiently allocate resources, better connect people to private and public sectors, encourage entrepreneurship and improve lives.

“Internet Plus will create a new infrastructure, one that cleverly and efficiently allocates resources to meet the challenges today and in the future,” said Mr Lau. “Electricity is an essential utility – it’s an invisible force that’s easy to access. The Internet is emerging as a utility that is just as essential as electricity. It is up to us to utilize the Internet fully to enhance people’s lives and power sustainable cities.”

Internet Plus is not just a way to improve lives in urban areas. With technology, rural communities and towns are advancing down a new and different path.

Villagers communicate with WeChat (known as Weixin in China) and organize activities with Moments; they make purchases online, sell their products through an online retail platform and they spend leisure time playing QQ Games. Innovators of Internet Plus in urban areas can learn from the way villagers apply technology and the Internet to improve their lives and communities. Examples include:

• Chongqing, a western Chinese mega-city of almost 30 million people, became the first city to implement the Smart City concept powered by the technology of Tencent. Within 5 years, Chongqing will equip all traffic entry points with nearly 1,000 smart traffic monitors, linking the city’s transportation platform. Real-time monitoring and analysis will provide more efficient management of transportation.
• Didi Dache, a mobile taxi hailing app, informs taxi drivers of their potential customer’s destinations and of other customers nearby. Drivers can decide whether or not to accept the order and, if so, plan routes in advance, saving themselves and their customer’s time and resources.  

Tencent will be a facilitator and connector in the age of Internet Plus. There are already 40,000 Official Accounts in Tencent’s WeChat platform providing easy access to a wide selection of public services.

Connecting people, businesses and governments to each other and to technology is the first step. By the end of this year, Tencent will have 25 Innovation Centers across China, offering over 500,000 square meters of space for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Mr Lau concluded, “Brisbane is the second city in the world after New York to have a position of Chief Digital Officer. This beautiful city is at the forefront of leveraging technology to better serve the people here. We feel the energy and passion the city had and it is a truly valuable time to share our development experience with Brisbane.” 

To watch how technology is changing the people’s lives in rural areas in China, please watch https://youtu.be/aocsQkkNmFg 

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ON the agenda at the upcoming Vodafone National Small Business Summit on 16 and 17 July is a debate about the fairness and effectiveness of the government’s Competitive Policy Review, chaired by Professor Ian Harper, which sought to improve the Australian economy by ensuring a fair playing field in the interest of consumers.

Matthew Lobb, General Manager of Public Policy at Vodafone Australia; Jos de Bruin, Master Grocers Australia CEO; Simon Pryor, Executive Director Infrastructure and Regulation at Business Council Australia, and Danny Gilbert from Gilbert + Tobin, an independent corporate law firm, will go head-to-head with Su McCluskey, a member of the Competitive Policy Review Panel, to discuss whether the review helped or hindered small business and the consumer.

Master Grocers, the leading industry employer association for the independent grocery and liquor sector, takes a strong stance on the supermarket giant price war, which so far has seen Woolworths and Coles retain market share.

Jos de Bruin, CEO of Master Grocers said that for the last ten years his organisation has been advocating for changes to competition laws, to ensure a fair playing field.

“For the last ten years we’ve been advocating for changes to competition laws, to ensure a fair playing field and we welcome the Harper Competition Policy Review. The introduction of an effects test to section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act would strengthen existing laws for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and allow for necessary action to be taken.

“We have the public’s support on this matter, on wanting fair competition to build and maintain a vibrant economy. Our recent survey revealed that 90% of people want stronger laws and proper resources, so that the ACCC can stop anti competitive behaviour and protect the interests of consumers. Furthermore, many small businesses have their lives invested into their companies, and are responsible not only for their own mortgages and families, but their employees too. They haven’t got shareholders and billions of dollars to come to their aid, so it’s important that there’s fairness to enable success,” said Jos de Bruin.

Likewise, in the business of telecommunications, Vodafone goes up against heavyweight, Telstra.

Matthew Lobb, General Manager of Public Policy at Vodafone Australia, said that he welcomed the renewed public policy focus on overcoming the roadblocks to effective competition.

“A regulatory framework that is constantly working to deliver a level competitive playing field is crucial for Australia’s future. For example, greater focus on overcoming the roadblocks to effective competition in the telecommunications sector will help Vodafone and other challenger telco’s deliver substantial benefits to small business and the Australian economy,” said Mr Lobb.

The Summit, spearheaded by Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA), the peak body and the leading voice of small businesses, is the annual event where key leaders, policy influencers and government meet to exchange knowledge on how to influence and make change that will contribute to the growth of small businesses in Australia.

Peter Strong, CEO of Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) said small businesses are the lifeblood of Australian culture; it represents the essence of our entrepreneurial spirit to allow everyone a ‘fair go’.

“Small businesses are essential to the stabilisation of the Australian economy. COSBOA stands beside small businesses to bolster them against the inequalities in the marketplace, which occur across all sectors. These inequalities ultimately have a knock on effect on employment, culture and our communities,” said Mr Strong.

Registrations are open for the Vodafone National Small Business Summit. For more information please visit www.nationalsmallbusinesssummit.com.au

http://www.cosboa.org.au/

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