June 2016 Issue 116

Developing and implementing effective public policy has become increasingly more difficult because of three reasons: 1. The obvious responses have been implemented - the most obvious policy responses that were readily achievable, did not require a lot of effort, and/or delivered substantial benefits, have largely been implemented; meaning that government must explore innovative policy responses to achieve further outcomes. 2....

Last week, I caught up with a successful Canberra-based sportswear retail entrepreneur. When sharing about the challenges we faced as business owners, I was glad that my counterpart had learned the importance of bookkeeping and understanding the numbers in his business. One of his biggest mistakes was to hire a low-cost bookkeeper and to outsource all finance-related matters to the...

Have you ever wanted to know what goes on behind the closed doors of Government agencies and a Minister's office? You might be surprised to realise that the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the Act) grants you a fundamental legal (and democratic) right to access that information, subject to certain exemptions such as confidentiality or national interest considerations. Equivalent...

With winter just around the corner, now is the time for businesses to consider how to save money on heating costs and improve the comfort of their workplace. The good news is that Actsmart can help. If you operate a business (outside the home), have fewer than 10 full-time equivalent staff or electricity bills under $20,000 (incl GST), you may...

We live in the Information Age, where access to previously unobtainable information is available at the stroke of a key. We look to the world wide web to answer every question and now with the rise of YouTube and video blogs, we can be experts in just about anything. A very common example of this, one I am sure we...

MARATHON. What is it? Well, it depends who you ask. It is an event? Yes, of course it is. Just ask the thousands of people who run 42.195km in events conducted through the streets of most major cities each year, or the athletes preparing to run the Olympic marathon. It is a brand? Yes. A search of the Australian trade...

All of us have been brought up with the goal and hope of buying our own home. We have this discussion in the office on a regular basis, when, where and how to go about it. Naturally opinions vary as personal bias comes out. The first part of the process is to look at your 5-10 year plan. This affects...

Business activity and permanent headcounts may be rising, but according to our 2016 Hays Salary Guide, released this month, they are not translating into salary increases. With employers for the most part unwilling to loosen the salary purse strings, be prepared for employees to take matters into their own hands. Our guide includes salary and recruiting trends for over 1,000...

Six months ago I began writing this column on strata management in B2B Magazine. I had just commenced as Managing Director of Vantage Strata and was six months into my role as President of Strata Community Australia (ACT). I said that my mission was to 'do nothing short of rewriting the book on strata and building management in Canberra'. We...

The recent CSIRO reporting of 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been making headlines across the world. It made headlines as it is a key indicator of global warming with the next major thresholds of 450 parts per million representing the mark for a 2.5 degree rise in global temperature. The threat of climate change...

Unless you are selling via your website, be it products or services, the most crucial function of your website is likely to be lead generation. Even if you are selling online, lead capturing is still the second most vital function of your website. If you are a business that is spending money on any kind of advertising or marketing, your...

In the 1990s the Liberals sacked thousands of Canberrans and the city went into recession. They've done the same again in recent years, but the damage has been contained. The city is still moving ahead. There are cranes on the skylines and customers in the shops. In fact, despite massive job cuts, we have the lowest unemployment of any jurisdiction...