commerce & industry vol 4 summer 2011

V O L U M E 4 - S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 - $ 9 . 5 0 P E R E D I T I O N - $ 3 6 A N N U A L S U B S C R I P T I O N

A U S T R A L I A N C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E A N D I N D U S T R Y

FIRST AUSTRALIANS BUSINESS AWARDS

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED MORE

JOBS AND BRIGHTER

FUTURES

AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS

SHARED VALUEBUILDING

CAN YOU TERMINATE AN EMPLOYEE FOR BREACHING SAFETY?

1 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S MESSAGE

2 NETWORK POWER ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS OF AUSTRALIA’S BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS

4 THE ECONOMY THE TIME HAS COME TO PEDAL FASTER

6 FEATURES SHARED VALUE

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED MORE JOBS AND BRIGHTER FUTURES

HELPING THE MENTALLY ILL GO BACK TO WORK A WIN FOR ALL

FIRST AUSTRALIANS BUSINESS AWARDS

16 THE WORKPLACE CAN YOU TERMINATE AN EMPLOYEE FOR BREACHING SAFETY?

20 GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT INVESTOR-STATE ARBITRATION POLICY & PRACTICE AFTER PHILLIP MORRIS V AUSTRALIA

24 MEMBER PROFILES

26 WHO’S WHO

28 ACCI NETWORKS

CONTENTS

COMMERCE & INDUSTRYPublished by the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI)

ISBN 9780646534091

EDITORIAL INQUIRIESDavid Turnbull Director of Communications P: 02 6273 2311 E: [email protected]

DESIGN3 Degrees Marketing 3dm.com.au

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner or form without written permission from ACCI.

The views expressed in Commerce & Industry are not necessarily those of the editors or the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

THE TIME HAS COME TO PEDAL FASTER

P.5

THEY GOTBEHIND THEM.

EFIC DID MOrE THaN FINaNCE MY ExpOrTs

When we won a contract to install advanced satellite tracking ground stations with the Polar Research Institute of China, it should have been a dream come true. The complication was that as a new client, they wanted reassurance that we could fulfil the contract. With our reputation gaining momentum in the region this was a contract integral to our growth.

We needed a solution that enabled us to support our ongoing business while pursuing overseas opportunities. EFIC provided more than just a financial solution, they took the time to get to know our business and considered

our performance risk as well as our experience in delivering on past projects.

EFIC supported us with an advance payment bond as well as a performance and warranty bond, enabling us to reassure our buyer and successfully fulfil the contract. EFIC were focused on helping us realise our export ambitions. This deal transformed our business, and we’ve gone on to win multiple contracts in the region.

Overcoming financial barriers for exportersVisit efic.gov.au/acci

Bob Wright, Chief Executive Officer, Environmental Systems & Services

EFICAds11_ESS_ACCI_201112.indd 1 15/11/2011 2:26:05 PM

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY SUMMER 2011 1

AUSTRALIA IS EXPERIENCING A BUMPY ECONOMIC RECOVERY. WE HAVE STAGNATE PRODUCTIVITY AND LOTS OF SMALL BUSINESSES EXPERIENCING FLAT CONDITIONS. THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IS RISING, ESPECIALLY FOR WAGES AND UTILITIES.

The high dollar is knocking exporters around. Profitability is light-on for hours worked and the business risk being taken. Unless you are in a resource industry supply chain, it’s hard going. News from overseas is not great, with markets again getting nervous as Greece’s debt buffets the euro. At home our Reserve Bank hinted at rate rises then pulled back and we have a minority government which proposes to implement new mining and carbon taxes.

In short, there’s economic uncertainty.

Our minority government is dependent on support from a collection of Independents and a minor party, the Greens who now hold the balance of power in the Senate. Whatever one’s view of politics, the Greens have a policy agenda big on wealth redistribution. No-one quite knows how this power-sharing will work out.

So there is also political uncertainty.

Combine economic and political uncertainty and you get an important and risky moment. Economic uncertainty feeds into reduced confidence. Political uncertainty feed into short-term thinking or poor decisions.

Signs over recent months suggest both risks are having an impact. Our latest economic surveys (the ACCI Westpac Survey on Industrial Trends and the ACCI Business Expectations Survey) report that confidence has fallen. We also know that consumer sentiment is weak, reflected in savings rather than spending. Also widely reported has been widespread criticism of the lack of a strong economic reform agenda by political leaders on both sides of politics.

My view is that the Gillard Government right now needs to lift business and community confidence by sending an unambiguous signal that it is on the side of wealth creation, not just wealth

redistribution. ACCI is in a position to show how. Our 10-point Jobs and Growth Reform Agenda sets the tone, as does our advocacy on individual tax, workplace, trade, employment and regulatory issues.

The recent debate about whether our workplace regulation is good enough is a start. ACCI and our National Member Network are strong in our advocacy for sensible and practical regulatory reform. It is clearly in our national interest to review and reform workplace structures, especially when productivity has flat-lined.

Employers and small businesses have been facing new workplace headaches since 1 July 2011.

Businesses, not Centrelink now have to administer government maternity or paternity leave payments. This is unnecessary red tape - Centrelink did the job for the preceding six months.

The Government’s Fair Work tribunal also increased all award wages by 3.4%, not just wages for the low paid. There’s no productivity offset and no incapacity to pay exemption. And from the same date a separate stream of pay rises and higher penalty rates hit small businesses in retail, tourism, café and restaurants, under the so-called modern awards. The Government had promised these new awards would not increase labour costs.

And small retail businesses, who have been trying for 18 months to change workplace laws that forced them to sack after-school students working short shifts, find themselves in a fifth round of national litigation with the shop union (SDA) which is trying to block these shifts.

So now is not an easy time for family businesses, especially if they want to keep loyal staff and avoid strangulation by red tape. When you’re next at the local shops, spare a thought for them.

ACCI AND OUR NATIONAL MEMBER NETWORK ARE

STRONG IN OUR ADVOCACY FOR SENSIBLE AND

PRACTICAL REGULATORY REFORM

A WORD FROM OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVEBy Peter Anderson

A message to the members

of ACCI

65% of shoppers prefer to buy locally made products and 89% prefer to buy locally grown

food*. So if you want to market to these shoppers, there’s no better way than by using the

most trusted and recognised symbol for Australian products and produce.

The Australian Made, Australian Grown Logo is used by Australia’s leading retailers and

some of our most innovative businesses – here and around the world. It can be found on

more than 10,000 products and the number is growing every day.

Register today to join the 1,700 businesses who are already using the logo to drive sales.

Registration is simple and affordable, and includes a free listing on australianmade.com.au

– the premier online site about local products and where to buy them.

Call 1800 350 520 or visit www.australianmade.com.au

*Roy Morgan Research, July 2009

Helping business, helping exports, helping consumers, helping Australia5174AM

2 COMMERCE & INDUSTRY SUMMER 2011 COMMERCE & INDUSTRY SUMMER 2011 3

NETWORK POWER

THE BUSINESS OF CHEMISTRY – PACIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2011The Plastics and Chemicals Industry Association (PACIA) National Conference was a highlight industry event in the Australian chemicals and plastics industry’s recognition of the international year of chemistry.

The event was addressed by the Prime Minister and a range of key players in the Australian economy and the chemicals and plastics industry including Hon Nick Sherry MP Minister for Small Business and Deregulation of the Private Sector, CSIRO Chairman and Australian of the Year Simon McKeon, National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union Paul Howes and Andrew N Liveris Chairman of Dow International and the International Council of Chemical Associations.

The conference was also attended by ACCI’s Director of Economics and Industry Policy Greg Evans who addressed the event on the Government’s proposed carbon tax.

www.pacia.org.au

SUNSHINE STATE BUSINESSES CONCERNED ABOUT CARBON TAXCCIQ (Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland) conducted comprehensive research on how a carbon tax will impact on Queensland business.

Analysis of over 850 businesses throughout metropolitan and regional Queensland highlighted a series of concerns about the impact of carbon tax – with over three quarters believing that the tax would have a negative impact on their bottom line.

Especially concerning was data showing that energy price hikes resulting from a carbon tax would negatively effect the ongoing viability of 21% of Queensland businesses.

The Queensland floods in early 2011 has poignantly highlighted the relatively high regional concentration of Queensland’s population relative and these communities reliance on heavy vehicle transport for delivery of essential and non essential goods. CCIQ’s research shows that an increase in the cost of this transport would undermine the well being of these communities.

www.cciq.com.au

SUPPORT FOR SMES TO GET ONLINEThe latest research shows that Australia’s largest private and public sector organisations continue to be challenged in getting their online presence rights. The challenge for small businesses is even greater and the New South Wales Business Chamber’s Online Growth Program has been recognised by the International Chamber of Commerce as 2011’s Best Small Business Project at the recent World Chambers Congress in Mexico City for its innovative approach to support SMEs to not only get an online profile but to maximise effectiveness.

www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au

IR FOR MODERN ENTERPRISESCCIWA (Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia) is a major influencer on private sector behaviour and government policy in the fast lane of the two speed economy.

In IR For Modern Enterprises, CCIWA puts forward an industrial relations model to support a responsive labour market in a globalised economy based on focussed engagement between employers and employees, free enterprise principles, economic sustainability and mutual responsibility.

www.cciwa.com

VECCI NEW IDEAS FORUMA collaboration between business, led by Victoria’s peak business organisation, and the Victorian community, the VECCI New Ideas Forum was staged to explore and develop innovative ideas to ensure Victoria’s competitiveness in the cut throat national and global economies.

The Forum concentrated on the structural challenges and opportunities facing Victorian business in the future, people and workforce issues facing employers as they address productivity challenges and embrace innovation, and how Victoria’s regions can continue to generate new business opportunities and contribute to Victoria’s growth and prosperity.

www.vecci.org.au

NATIONAL DENTAL INDUSTRY AWARDSThe ADIA Medfin Australian Dental Industry Awards were hosted by the national voice of the industry, the Australian Dental Industry Association (ADIA) in September 2011. The Awards recognise excellence of companies and individuals for professionalism and business acumen, building partnerships and shared value with allied oral health professionals and the community to produce positive dental health outcomes, and for corporate leadership which enhances the reputation of the dental industry.

www.adia.org.auCALL TO SCRAP MOTORCYCLE LEVYThe Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VACC) has called for the Victorian Motorcycle Safety Levy to be scrapped.

The VACC’s advocacy on behalf of the 5000 automotive businesses, including motorcycle retailers and repairers which it represents occurred before the Victorian Parliament’s Road Safety Committee’s Inquiry into Motorcycle Safety in Victoria and put the case that the Levy is an unfair impost on motorcycle and scooter riders. The VACC has also made submissions to the Victorian Minister for Roads and Public Transport, Hon Terry Mulder MP on the issue to the effect that if the Levy is not withdrawn, at the very least, it should be used to tackle specific issues faced by owners of powered two wheeled vehicles.

www.vacc.com.au

IS IT FAIR IS IT WORKING? The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) has boosted its workplace policy advocacy through a range of initiatives which builds and puts the case for practical reforms of the Fair Work Act.

In Fair For Who, The Reality Versus The Rhetoric Of The Fair Work Act, which AMMA produced for the second anniversary of the Fair Work Act highlights where the Fair Work system has failed to live up to the Government’s intention for the legislation and documented practical examples of where it has led to negative outcomes for employers and employees.

AMMA is an organisation at the IR coalface on a daily basis on behalf of Australia’s resource industry and has advanced its advocacy on behalf of its members through the launch of the AMMA IR Foundation Fund. The ‘fighting fund’ allows AMMA to intervene to protect employer interests in the growing number of Fair Work Australia determinations which are acting as a barrier to business’ response to Australia’s productivity challenge.

www.amma.org.au

HYGIENE FOR HEALTHThe voice of Australia’s consumer, cosmetic, hygiene and speciality products industry Accord Australasia recently launched the Hygiene for Health website www.hygieneforhealth.org.au

All about good health, Hygiene for Health is a free public resource which reflects the commitment of Accord’s members to good private, public and workplace hygiene.

www.accord.asn.au

THE AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (AMMA) HAS BOOSTED ITS WORKPLACE POLICY ADVOCACY THROUGH A RANGE OF INITIATIVES WHICH BUILDS AND PUTS THE CASE FOR PRACTICAL REFORMS OF THE FAIR WORK ACT.

THE PLASTICS AND CHEMICALS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (PACIA) NATIONAL CONFERENCE WAS A HIGHLIGHT INDUSTRY EVENT IN THE AUSTRALIAN CHEMICALS AND PLASTICS INDUSTRY’S RECOGNITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CHEMISTRY.

NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA’S BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS

THE ‘FIGHTING FUND’ ALLOWS AMMA TO INTERVENE TO PROTECT EMPLOYER INTERESTS IN THE GROWING NUMBER OF FAIR WORK AUSTRALIA DETERMINATIONS WHICH ARE ACTING AS A BARRIER TO BUSINESS’ RESPONSE TO AUSTRALIA’S PRODUCTIVITY CHALLENGE.


THE ECONOMY

THE TIME HAS COME TO PEDAL

FASTER

Be Prepared. Evans knew the going would get tough in the toughest major pro-tour event, so he undertook months of preparation. Global economic competition is not for the fainthearted and it requires preparation. Economic reforms to the financial, tax and labour markets in the 1980’s and 1990’s by Labor and Coalition Governments added competitiveness and productivity to our economy. These were down payments that we cashed in during the Asian economic crisis of 2000 and the global economic crisis of 2008.

The past decade has seen fewer economic reforms delivered, except the botched WorkChoices labour market reforms in 2005. Australia is not as well prepared for global competition as we were ten years ago. Productivity has flat-lined. High commodity prices have allowed complacency to creep in. A freak 2010 election result, where an almost draw resulted in a minority government, added political uncertainty and has led to adversarial politics and a tug to the left.

Evans could not turn up to the prologue

or first time trail and just turn it on. What was in his legs and the mind were months of training and an inner confidence borne of preparation. After his victory, he spoke of years of effort to get to that point.

Australia needs to kick-start a new economic reform effort if we are to be in good health in international competition. A good start would be to look independently at the size and cost of government, and whether we expect governments to do too much or spend too much. No clearer example exists of why government debt, deficits and excessive spending cause damage than recent events in Europe and the United States.

Economic fitness requires a lift in productivity. Without productivity we don’t pay our way. Reserve Bank Governor Glen Stevens has opined that ‘it all comes back to productivity’. When Glen Stevens speaks, we should take notice. His board sets interest rates.

Businesses and households which are not in the fast lane of economic recovery would suffer a double blow if rates went up.

Like climbing a mountain, lifting productivity is hard but worth it. It requires regulatory and policy changes to the tax system, more effort in vocational training and education, reduced regulation and red tape, and better workplace laws. If we get policy in these areas right, workforce participation will rise, and so will living standards.

An experienced cyclist sees the mountain, feels the tension but knows the climb. While sovereign debt unnerves markets and risks being what sub-prime was in 2008, the good news is that we can see the challenge ahead. We know what needs to be done.

Avoid Unnecessary Risk. Risk taking is a part of business, but successful entrepreneurs only take rational risks. The first week of the Tour de France saw elite riders like last year’s champion Contador suffer accidents in the peloton when too many riders took risks on narrow roads. Evans rode more conservatively, shielded by teammates until he had to go alone.

Risk minimisation in our economy means governments at least doing no damage. A carbon tax that embeds additional costs of doing business for little if any environmental gain breaches that principle. Failure to rectify problems with workplace laws – last week highlighted by the Productivity Commission as a spur in the saddle of the retail industry – is another own goal.

Play the Long Game. Cadel Evans knew the Tour de France was a marathon, not a sprint. Stage wins were sacrificed for the final day’s podium. Political leadership requires solutions to be implemented no matter how hard the medicine in terms of government popularity in Europe, the US or at home. It’s short term pain for long term gain. Long term economic strength is better than short term spending. Every dollar governments spend today has to be paid back tomorrow or the day after, with interest. Hard decisions can’t be put off forever. Whether it is Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott, workplace reform can’t be no-go zones just because it’s awkward in the political short term.

Cadel Evans victory was conjured by employing inspirational mix of strength, strategy and courage – we must be willing to do the same to achieve a productive and prosperous economy.

By Peter Anderson, ACCI Chief Executive

YEARS AGO, SUNDAY SCHOOL ALWAYS FINISHED WITH A ‘LESSON FOR US’ DRAWN FROM A BIBLICAL STORY. TODAY THE ‘LESSON FOR US’ FROM TWO RECENT BUT DISPARATE GLOBAL EVENTS – RENEWED UNCERTAINTY ON MARKETS AND CADEL EVANS WONDERFUL TOUR DE FRANCE VICTORY – HAVE INTERESTING PARALLELS.

ECONOMIC FITNESS REQUIRES A LIFT IN PRODUCTIVITY. WITHOUT PRODUCTIVITY WE DON’T PAY OUR WAY.


FEATURES

igh unemployment, rising poverty, and the public’s dismay over corporate greed continue to challenge the market system and the legitimacy of business itself.

Feeling the heat even amid talk of recovery, many large organizations are increasing their focus on corporate social responsibility. The problem is that their efforts have not made much of a dent in the challenges they were meant to address—or in the negative perception of big business.

Business must find a way to engage positively in society, but this will not happen as long as it sees its social agenda as separate from its core business agenda. Instead of pushing through further CSR initiatives, business leaders must create shared value at the local level. By this, I mean competing in ways that enhance competitiveness while simultaneously advancing economic and social conditions in the communities where companies operate. It’s time to take advantage of the intersecting needs of business and the community while minimizing the differences.

Opportunities to create shared value must be tied closely to a company’s core business operations, which can bring skills, resources, and new operating practices to improve productivity while simultaneously benefiting the community. We are seeing

more ways to create shared value, ranging from reducing pollution to improving the productivity (and wages) of low income workers. It is the transformation of core business operations, rather than charitable donations, that will restore the legitimacy of business.

Nowhere are the opportunities, and the urgency, to create shared value more apparent than in our nation’s disadvantaged urban communities, where U.S. poverty is concentrated. Economic inequality raises fundamental challenges to capitalism. Inequality will not be solved until we enable residents of disadvantaged communities to prosper in the market system. The only way that this can happen is through the efforts of business. Inner city residents need accessible jobs that offer paths to good incomes near their homes. These can be created only by business.

BIG BUSINESS IN INNER CITIES

More than jobs, however, inner city communities need small businesses. Enterprises with fewer than 100 employees created 60 percent of the jobs in the U.S. from 1998 to 2007 and the proportion is even higher in disadvantaged communities. Not only do small businesses create wealth for employees and owners, but those located in disadvantaged areas hire disproportionately from the local community. (For example, in the

cities with fastest growing inner cities, 40% of employees reside in those precincts.) Contrary to some perceptions, there are thousands of growth businesses in inner city areas. The capacity for entrepreneurship in the U.S. is thriving in inner cities. We need many more such businesses to not only hire residents but revitalize whole communities.

One of the most effective ways to do this is for major corporations and other large institutions that anchor inner city economies across the country to step up. Nearly 20 percent of the Standard & Poor’s 900 index of large and midcap companies is headquartered in disadvantaged urban areas, as are hundreds of major hospitals and universities. These organizations are huge employers. They purchase hundreds of billions of dollars in goods and services and impact inner city economies in numerous other ways.

Almost all such organizations have active charitable programs and

the trend has been for donors to sponsor studies documenting their economic impact as a way to improve their image. Despite the fact that the economic health of the surrounding community has a major impact on their own productivity, hiring, customer base, and reputation, too many big organizations lack a strategy to drive community revitalization as a tool to enhance their competitiveness.

Fortunately, some leading corporations are beginning to get it. AT&T (T), for example, has understood the benefits of growing and mentoring local suppliers to enhance the efficiency of its supply chain, leading to local benefits in terms of employment, career ladders, and community revitalization. The University of Pennsylvania has been a pioneer in sustained efforts to revitalize its West Philadelphia neighborhood, nurturing local vendors and using real estate development to spur growth of local business. Hospitals such as Henry Ford in Detroit and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland are pursuing local vendor development to improve efficiency, while transforming the inner city communities in which they are based. Efforts like these will spawn the Inner City 100 of the future and cause ripple effects to transform inner city economies.

Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable givers, are arguably the most powerful for addressing the pressing issues facing our society. These efforts by companies, if animated by the principle of shared value, are what I believe will drive the next wave of innovation and productivity in the US economy. Such efforts will also give purpose to capitalism and represent our best chance to legitimize business again.

IN JUNE 2011 THE INAUGURAL AUSTRALIAN CHAMBERS BUSINESS CONGRESS WAS STAGED BY THE AUSTRALIAN CHAMBERS ALLIANCE (ACA) FEATURING A PROGRAM

OF 40 INTERNATIONAL AND AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS EXPERTS.

AMONG THE PRINCIPAL KEY NOTE PRESENTERS WAS PROFESSOR MICHAEL E PORTER, INSTITUTE OF STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVENESS AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL. WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS THE FATHER OF MODERN STRATEGY AND THE FOREMOST EXPERT IN THE FIELD, HE IS ALSO REGARDED AS THE WORLD’S MOST

INFLUENTIAL THINKER ON MANAGEMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS.

DEDICATED TO ADDRESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPETITION AND IMPORTANT SOCIAL ISSUES, PROFESSOR PORTER INTRODUCED THE CONCEPT OF SHARED VALUE THROUGH HIS ADDRESS TRANSFORMING CAPITALISM: CREATING

SHARED VALUE.

H

NEARLY 20 PERCENT OF THE STANDARD & POOR’S 900 INDEX OF LARGE AND MIDCAP COMPANIES IS HEADQUARTERED IN DISADVANTAGED URBAN AREAS, AS ARE HUNDREDS OF MAJOR HOSPITALS AND UNIVERSITIES. THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE HUGE EMPLOYERS.

SHARED VALUEBy Professor Michael E Porter, Institute of Strategy & Competitiveness, Harvard Businesss School

HOW ACCI’S NATIONAL MEMBER NETWORK IS COMMITED TO BUILDING SHARED VALUE IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

BUILDING THE TIMOR-LESTE ECONOMY

VECCI and its President Peter McMullin have been instrumental in the establishment of the nacsent Chamber of Commerce and Industry Timor-Leste (CCITL) up and running, including the staging of CCILT’s Inaugural Congress in April 2010.

The CCILT’s mission is to promote business development and foster enterprise culture in the fledgling nation. VECCI is continuing to share it’s expertise and Peter McMullin recently participated in a business forum to facilitate discussion between the Timorese Government and private sector organisations on ways to strengthen the private sector through business associations.

VECCI continues to mentor and support the CCITL to be effective business advocates.

COMMUNITY PHARMACIES

Community pharmacies are retail enterprises which have been creating shared value in our community for generations. As providers of primary health care throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, community pharmacies play a crucial role in our wellbeing through the provision of a safe, accessible and equitable system of delivering medicines, medication management and health promotion services.

The Pharmacy Guild is the national voice of Australia’s 5000 community pharmacies dedicated to ensuring that these

community based retail enterprises can run profitable businesses and maintain their contribution to public health and community wellbeing.

A SUSTAINABLE CHEMICALS INDUSTRY

The Plastics and Chemical Industries Association’s (PACIA) is helping to lead Australia’s $32.5 billion plastics and chemicals industry steer toward a sustainable future through initiatives such as its Prepare 2030 Forum and also its 5 Minute Water Guides. Developed in partnership with the Department of Sustainability, Victoria’s Environmental Protection Authority and with the help of Arup, they provide industry with tools to evaluate their water usage and ensure they operate sustainably.

ACCORD Australasia has also developed a public information website WashWise which promotes the sustainable use of household laundry products.

LOOK GOOD...FEEL BETTER - HELPING CANCER PATIENTS COPE WITH THE SIDE EFFECTS OF TREATMENT

Through its national peak body Accord Australasia, the Australian cosmetics industry provides a free national community service to assist cancer patients to manage the appearance related side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Launched at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital 21 years ago, Look Good...Feel Better has helped more than 90,000 people (mainly women) through industry run community initiatives such as free workshops in more than 150 locations throughout metropolitan and regional Australia supported by the involvement of hundreds of volunteers from the cosmetics industry, providing more than $2 million worth of free products and raising money through the annual Dream Week Ball which year raised over $600,000.


FEATURES

RECENT RIOTING AND LOOTING ON THE STREETS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM (UK) STARKLY HIGHLIGHTED THE PRICE WHICH CAN BE PAID FOR THE FAILURE TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT NUMBERS OF YOUNGER PEOPLE WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK. THE UK UNREST WAS MERELY THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF DISILLUSIONED, OFTEN JOBLESS, YOUNG PEOPLE TAKING TO THE STREETS AND CHALLENGING SOCIAL ORDER.

Debate on the causes of the London riots will go on for some time, but surely one of the key failures of governments in many countries over many years has been an inability to provide many young people with the dignity, social engagement, income and opportunities that paid work provides.

More than 80 million young people are unemployed throughout the world, and there is a persistent pattern across economies of young people being nearly three times as likely to be unemployed as adults. Persistent high youth unemployment plagues the countries of the OECD, the G20, the EU - countries

with both ageing and younger population profiles.

On the best available information, things got worse for young people during the course of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), with youth unemployment rates experiencing their highest ever increases in 2009 and 2010.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE G20

Leaders from the world’s major G20 economies met in early November 2011 in Cannes, following a prior meeting of labour and employment ministers in Paris.

It is very welcome that key decision

makers from the world’s major economies and labour markets gathered at this time to consider the critical priority of employment policy.

ACCI, through its international representatives the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), urged the G20 to address the challenge of youth employment head on, as one of the foremost global policy priorities.

The youth jobs challenge is brought into even sharper relief by rapidly re-emerging economic uncertainty and

re-emergent risk in global financial markets, and through the national debt crises confronting major economies. One of the unfortunate lessons of previous downturns is that they can disproportionately impact on the employment of young people, and slow down or detract from advances in this already difficult policy area.

A RENEWED GLOBAL COMMITMENT

The global challenge of better extending job opportunities to younger people also demands wider global consideration and the engagement of countries well beyond the G20.

ACCI and its international partners in the IOE successfully moved to have the 2012

International Labour Conference address the employment of young people, and for more than 180 countries to come together and share policy lessons and good practices in youth employment.

A key priority will be urging all nations to properly recognise the role of business in employment job creation, and the importance of young people aspiring both to paid work, and for some, to become the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Governments have the primary responsibility for the education, skilling and job readiness of the next generation and need to work with national employer representatives in the planning and operation of skills and education systems. This will be a key message promoted at the global level in 2012, and Australian employers, through ACCI should be at the forefront of these discussions.

CONFIDENCE TO HIRE YOUNG PEOPLE

A key theme that ACCI’s international represntatives took to the G20 leaders was the importance of unlocking confidence for investors to risk their capital; for consumers to consume; and for employers to create job opportunities.

The IOE and BIAC will present leaders and labour ministers from the world’s leading economies with a framework for jobs growth centred on economic growth, sound economic management, regulatory reform, education and skills. Business will encourage the G20 leaders to respond to re-emergent risk perceptions in the global economy and labour market with measures directly targeted at business confidence and economic stability and growth.

Scott Barclamb was ACCI’s Director of Workplace Policy before becomming a Senior Advisor to the IOE in Geneva.

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED MORE JOBS AND BRIGHTER FUTURESBy Scott Barklamb, Senior Advisor, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

ACCI, THROUGH ITS INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION OF EMPLOYERS (IOE) AND THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD (BIAC), URGED THE G20 TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE OF YOUTH EMPLOYMENT HEAD ON, AS ONE OF THE FOREMOST GLOBAL POLICY PRIORITIES.


FEATURES

WHEN ASKED TO IMAGINE A DISABILITY PENSIONER, MOST OF US WOULD THINK OF SOMEONE IN A WHEELCHAIR OR A FORMER TRADESMAN WITH A BAD BACK. UNTIL NOW, THESE STEREOTYPES HAVE BEEN BASED FAIRLY FIRMLY IN TRUTH. IN THE FUTURE, THEY WILL BE MUCH LESS SO.

Proportionally fewer new grants are being made to people with bad backs, more are being made to those with mental illness.

Soon -- perhaps even this year -- psychological and psychiatric conditions will overtake musculoskeletal conditions as the primary reason that Australians are granted disability pensions.

Grants to people with musculoskeletal conditions fell from 30 per cent of the total to 28.5 per cent between 2006 and last year; in the same period grants to people with psychological or psychiatric conditions rose from 24 per cent to 27 per cent. For men, mental illness has already taken top spot.

These relatively minor shifts may not seem significant. But the overwhelmingly long-term nature of the disability support pension means small changes now can have a big cumulative effect in the future.

Another significant difference between disability pensioners with mental illness compared with those with musculoskeletal conditions is their

average age: 60 per cent of disability pensioners with musculoskeletal conditions are over 55, compared with 30 per cent of those with psychological or psychiatric conditions.

As the group of pensioners with mental illness grows, the overall age of disability support pensioners will fall.

Three-quarters of all DSP recipients have been on income support for 10 years or more, and few leave the disability pension for any reason other than a move to the aged pension or death.

If this trend continues, most of the people being granted disability pensions now will still be on the payment in decades to come.

If the present low exit rates continue (about 1 per cent leave for the workforce each year), in decades to come we can expect to see people -- who became pensioners in their 20s or 30s -- staying on the pension for even longer than the

present 12-year average.

Unless we find a better way to keep people with mental illness in the workforce, the number of disability pensioners will balloon.

There is a lock-in effect: once on a disability pension there is little incentive, and certainly no compulsion, to look for a job or undertake rehabilitation.

This design made sense when many recipients were blue-collar workers worn out by years of manual labour. But this model now makes much less sense. It will be even more ineffective in the future, as the profile of disability support pensioners shifts further towards people with psychological conditions.

Sufferers of mental illness can experience fluctuations in their capacity for work over several years. Many respond well to treatment and can later permanently rejoin the workforce.

There has been a fundamental shift in attitudes towards the disability pension in Australian policy circles in recent years.

Once taboo, the idea that some people with disabilities should be required to work -- and that they would in fact personally benefit from doing so -- is widely accepted.

This government and the previous one have made important changes to the way new disability pension applicants are assessed. Many are being diverted to other payments before they reach the disability pension, increasing the chance that they will return to the workforce.

Shifts in the composition of people on the disability pension suggest that more substantial reforms designed to get existing recipients back into work will soon be required. Increasingly, the model looks broken.

The Gillard Government has taken the first tentative steps in this direction. From next year, those recipients under 35 with some ability to work will be required to attend quarterly Centrelink interviews.

But as the number of people with psychological conditions on disability pensions increases, and the age profile of disability pensioners shifts, we will need to look at more fundamental ways to keep relatively young people with a disability off welfare and in the workforce.

For many people with mental illness, the disability pension as a one-way street with few requirements and little help to get back into the workforce is simply not good enough.

This article was first published in The Australian Newspaper in mid 2011.

hile the typical disability pensioner is an older person with a musculoskeletal

condition, new data from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs suggests in the future disability support pension recipients will be likelier to have a mental illness. Consequently, they will be much younger, too.

These changes will have profound implications for how disability pensions are designed.

About one-third of disability pensioners suffer musculoskeletal or connective tissue conditions, a figure that has remained steady during the past decade or so. This diverse group includes people whose movement is severely restricted and who need constant assistance, as well as people with much less serious complaints including the fabled bad backs.

They remain the largest group of disability support pensioners. But they won’t be for long.

The proportion of disability pensioners with psychological or psychiatric conditions is steadily rising. In 2001, this group made up less than 23 per cent of disability pensioners. By last year, it accounted for almost 29 per cent.

HELPING THE MENTALLY ILL GO BACK TO WORK A WIN FOR ALLBy Jessica Brown, Research Fellow, Social Foundations Program, The Centre For Independant Studies

ONCE TABOO, THE IDEA THAT SOME PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO WORK - AND THAT THEY WOULD IN FACT PERSONALLY BENEFIT FROM DOING SO - IS WIDELY ACCEPTED.

W

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM THE VIEW FROM BUSINESS, ACCI CHIEF EXECUTIVE PETER ANDERSON’S KEY NOTE ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES (NDS) NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT FORUM 2011.Employers should focus more on people’s abilities, not so much their disabilities. ACCI and our National Member Network encourage business not to underestimate the contribution people with disabilities can make to lifting productivity.

The Productivity Commission report recommending a National Disability Insurance Scheme has shone a spotlight on how Australia supports those in the community who have a disability.

We need to remind ourselves that, like everyone else in the workforce, people with disabilities can make a contribution to improving productivity.

Small improvements in productivity in a large number of enterprises can add up to a significant improvement in productivity overall.

In recent years, we have not given enough opportunity to people with a disability to demonstrate their abilities to contribute to the workforce.

Business should take a fresh look at disability employment viability in their enterprises.

Positive culture and attitudes can make a much bigger difference to labour market participation by disabled people than relying on governments or disability advocates to carve out a rights-based agenda.

Despite the fact that many people with disabilities are ready, willing and able to take a place in the workforce the take up rate for training and the placement rate once qualifications have been gained is significantly lower for Australians with a disability than others.

While it’s crucial to provide increased skills to people with a disability, it is also important to remember that even at the unskilled end of the spectrum we can make productivity improvements that are important.

Read the full version of The View From Business at: www.acci.asn.au

ABILITIES NOT DISABILITIES


FEATURES

One of the great untold stories in Indigenous affairs is the role that Australian business is playing in improving the lives of the First Australians. As our politicians grapple with what to do about the chronic disadvantage of Indigenous people, many in the business community have quietly embarked on a range of initiatives that are achieving not just positive results but a fundamental change in the circumstances, attitudes and outlook of thousands of Indigenous citizens.

As Chair of the AICC, I am constantly asked by business leaders about the best way for their company to make a lasting difference for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. My reply is always the same - that the focus on skills and jobs is having a great impact and we also need to develop and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in many Aboriginal Australians.

I passionately believe that the best way to break the cycle of disadvantage among

the First Australians is to ignite a spirit of enterprise that encourages them to start and successfully run their own businesses. Not ‘working for the man’ – though that’s infinitely better than welfare – but the notion of Indigenous people working for themselves and creating jobs in their own communities. This is the key to unlocking the potential I’m convinced exists in Indigenous Australia to develop a business culture and engender a permanent sense of self sufficiency and pride.

Yes, it’s easy to be cynical given the long history of failure in Indigenous affairs.

But the truth is many Indigenous people have an innate talent for business and examples abound of individuals and groups identifying opportunities and seizing them, creating wealth and jobs.

All over Australia, Indigenous people are participating in the wider economy, whether it’s as the local baker or a tourist operator - and sending a positive message to our kids that enterprise and hard work can pay off. It’s that spirit we want to celebrate, reward and promote with the inaugural FAB Awards that will bring winners from all over the country together at a prestige black-tie event in early 2012.

Those who have seen our promotional video on Qantas domestic flights will already know that the Awards have gained support from some of Australia’s biggest companies such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. We have also forged an unprecedented media partnership with

The Australian and the ABC to promote stories of Indigenous entrepreneurial achievement emerging from the Awards

ACCI is supporting us because of its long-standing commitment to policies and programs that support Indigenous employment and entrepreneurship. To Peter Anderson and the Chamber’s National Member Network I convey my sincere thanks.

Another, great untold story I’m fond of relating is the dramatically positive effect that the mining boom is having in Indigenous communities. Way beyond the benefits bestowed by mining royalties is the transformational impact of employment and skills acquisition as thousands of young Indigenous apprentices – electricians, plumbers and mechanics learn those trades that are the backbone of small, medium and large business everywhere.

Alongside education, this phenomenon is helping to drive a renaissance among Indigenous young people making the

Australian minerals and resources sector a powerhouse for Indigenous advancement as well as the Australian economy.

We badly need this kind of transformation elsewhere and I appeal to other parts of industry to join our quest.

Nothing is more at the core of our commitment to business than to encourage a spirit of enterprise throughout the Australian community. And nothing is more at the core of our responsibility as Australians than to help the First Australians help themselves.

Warren Mundine is Chair of the Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the First Australians Awards and is a former National President of the Australian Labor Party.

First Australians Business AwardsBy Warren Mundine, Chairman of the Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and the First Australians Business Awards

THE AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (ACCI) IS JOINING A STELLAR CORPORATE CAST – INCLUDING TWO OF OUR NATION’S MEDIA ICONS THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER AND THE AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (ABC) – TO PROMOTE THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS BUSINESS (FAB)AWARDS TO BE LAUNCHED BY THE AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (AICC) IN 2012.

ACCI IS SUPPORTING US BECAUSE OF ITS LONG-STANDING COMMITMENT TO POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

I PASSIONATELY BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF DISADVANTAGE AMONG THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS IS TO IGNITE A SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE THAT ENCOURAGES THEM TO START AND SUCCESSFULLY RUN THEIR OWN BUSINESSES.

Warren Mundine & Andrew Forrest

at the launch of the FAB awards

14 COMMERCE & INDUSTRY SUMMER 2011

FEATURES

WA BUSINESS LEADS IN RECONCILIATION

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia (CCIWA) recently launched its Reconciliation Action Plan to ensure that as the peak business organisation in the west, it promotes respect, builds relationships and offers opportunities to assist Indigenous Australians to close the gaps in areas that separate them from non-Indigenous Australians such as unemployment where, according to the 2006 Census, 48 percent of the Indigenous workforce-aged population was employed compared to seventy two percent for their fellow Australians who are non-Indigenous.

RESOURCES & ENERGY SECTOR LEADERS IN INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT

The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) provides leadership to Australia’s resources and energy sector which has been pioneering some of the most innovative and proactive indigenous employee engagement and retention strategies in Australia. The sector continues to develop and benefit from tailored training initiatives where resource and energy companies have been able to create an environment where individuals and local communities can see clear and positive outcomes. Given the geography of many of the sector’s operations, rural and remote communities are major beneficiaries.

In an industry particularly afflicted by the skills shortage, AMMA’s thought leadership on Indigenous employment for the resources and energy sector is especially valuable. AMMA’s recent Indigenous Education and Training and Best Practice Forum provided a platform for companies such as Rio Tinto, Downer EDI Mining, Sodexo, Compass, McMahon Contractors and Fortescue Metals to share their expertise.

KINAWAY - VICTORIAN ABORIGINAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

In the Aboriginal Gunnal language

Kinaway means exchange and this expresses the values goals of the Chamber of Commerce established with the support of VECCI and the Victorian Government to be the voice of Victoria’s Indigenous business and entrepreneurs. Kinaway’s interim board is one percent representative of Indigenous people and is chaired by Yorta Yorta business woman Karen Millward. VECCI provides strong ongoing support to Kinaway which is co-located at VECCI’s Industry House.

FIRST PEOPLE HR

The New South Wales Business Chamber is supporting the launch of First People HR, a majority Indigenous owned labour hire firm. The company’s leadership is enhanced by the Chamber’s CEO Stephen Cartwright’s presence on the board.

EAST ARNHEM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Chamber of Commerce Northern Territory’s (NT Chamber) East Arnhem office is located in Nhulunbuy and supports the vigorous small business sector and larger resource industry based enterprises which operate in the region encompassing Milingimbi in the Crocodile Islands Group in the North to Numbulwar in the South East of the region and including Groote Eylandt, with the regional office situated at Endeavour Square, Nhulunbuy. This is the eastern most extremity of the Northern Territory mainland.

The NT Chamber has become a strong voice for the community through its Regional Manager and elected Executive Committee and provides support for local member organisations which serve this vast tract of nearly 100,000 square kilometres of Aboriginal owned land in one of Australia’s last strongholds of traditional Aboriginal culture. East Arnhem Land is part of the Aboriginal Land Trust, and is held under inalienable freehold title by the Aboriginal traditional owners (with the exception of some mining leases). The township of Nhulunbuy is the largest town in the region with a population of around 4,000 people and is located on a special purpose lease area.

ACT INDIGENOUS BUSINESS CHAMBER

The ACT & Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry auspices the Indigenous Business Chamber which aims to provide a chamber of commerce resource for Indigenous business people and others with an interest in indigenous business and to support opportunities to create business relationships. The chamber’s primary role is to represent the Indigenous business community, interact with Government, and other business chambers and associations

ACCI AND ITS NATIONAL MEMBER NETWORK ARE COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING INCREASED WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION AND A CULTURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG FIRST AUSTRALIANS INCLUDING THROUGH THE FOLLOWING INITIATIVES.

Djarragun Workshop

3DM.COM.AU

SPONSORSHIP EVENTS

PR & COMMUNICATION GRAPHIC DESIGN


THE WORKPLACE

Employers are well aware of the stringent statutory obligations around safety – and the severe criminal sanctions that can arise for breaching these duties. It is for this reason for employers need to ensure their safety policies and procedures are implemented and enforced at the workplace. Employees who breach these requirements may be subject to disciplinary action – including termination of employment.

THE LEGAL OBLIGATIONS - MODEL WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT

The current state and territory safety law framework will be “harmonised” by the Model Work Health Safety Act which will commence nationally by 1 January 2012.

The Model Work Health Safety Act provides enhanced obligations on “persons conducting a business or undertaking” and “officers” in relation to health and safety.

“Officers” as defined under the Corporations Act 2001 now have a positive duty to exercise due diligence to ensure that obligations under the Model Work Health Safety Act are complied with. “Officers” may be found guilty or convicted of an offence regardless of whether the corporation conducting the business is found guilty or convicted.

Depending on the nature of the breach the Model Work Health Safety Act imposes penalties of up to $600,000 or

5 years imprisonment on individuals and officers, or fines of up to $3,000,000 for certain offences committed by a body corporate. While the “death penalty” has been abolished, fines of this magnitude constitute the equivalent of a “death penalty” for many corporations.

Employees also have duties under the Model Work Health Safety Act and can be subject to criminal charges and penalties for breach.

In light of these severe criminal consequences for breaching safety legislation it is not surprising that employees who work in an unsafe manner or breach employer safety policies are subject to disciplinary action –

CAN YOU TERMINATE AN EMPLOYEE FOR BREACHING SAFETY?By Dan Feldman Partner & Melissa Gaddie Senior Associate, HR Legal

THERE IS A PERCEIVED MISMATCH BETWEEN EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS UNDER SAFETY LEGISLATION AND SOME UNFAIR DISMISSAL DECISIONS. THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES SOME OF THE RECENT CONTROVERSIAL DECISIONS AND PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON WHAT ACTION EMPLOYERS CAN TAKE.


THE WORKPLACE

including termination of employment.

UNFAIR DISMISSAL DECISIONS

Some recent decisions by Fair Work Australia (FWA) and some State Industrial Relations Commissions that have found employees to have been unfairly dismissed despite breaching company safety policies appear at odds with the obligations in safety legislation.

The safety legislation compels companies and officers to prevent safety breaches, or act swiftly to deal with them or face potential criminal charges.

Broadly speaking to defend an unfair dismissal case there needs to be a valid reason for termination and procedural fairness. Some of the recent decisions seem to imply a serious safety breach is not a valid reason.

COAL & ALLIED MINING SERVICES PTY LTD V LAWLER

In the case of Coal & Allied Mining Services Pty Ltd v Lawler [2011] FCAFC 54 (19 April 2011), the Full Bench of the Federal Court dismissed the application of the employer and upheld a majority decision of the Full Bench of FWA to reinstate a mineworker who had breached a fundamental safety procedure, namely the mine’s isolation’s procedure which was put in place to ensure that plant and machinery did not unexpectedly start whilst being serviced. The mineworker had removed two personal isolation locks belonging to contractors from a piece of plant on which he was working. These locks should only have been removed by the contractors.

In the case evidence was accepted that the employer provided the mineworker with procedural fairness in this case. The Full Bench of FWA overturned the first instance decision of Commissioner Macdonald who held that the dismissal was fair. The Full Bench of FWA found that the dismissal was “manifestly harsh”. The reasons of the Full Bench of FWA were as follows:

• The employer’s policies did not prescribe dismissal for this kind of conduct

• The breach of the policy was not “at the most serious end of the scale”. The mineworker knew that the contractors had finished their repair and that there was no reason why the locks should not be removed

• In the particular circumstances, the safety risk posed by the mineworker in removing the contractors’ locks was non-existent

• The mineworker had 28 years of service and had not been subject to disciplinary action or found guilty of any safety breach prior

• The mineworker’s conduct was entirely out of character

• The mineworker admitted to the breach as soon as he became aware that the matter was being investigated

• The mineworker would find it difficult to secure alternative employment because of his age and because an employer in the coal industry would be concerned about hiring someone dismissed for a safety breach

• The financial hardship caused to the mineworker who was the breadwinner for his family.

This decision was considered in the case of Helmut Schuster v Australian Steel Mill Services Pty [2011] NSWIR Comm 1028 decided on 30 June 2011 where an employee was dismissed for failing to follow a safety isolation procedure. Similarly in this case, the Commission ordered reinstatement on the basis of the employee’s satisfactory employment record over 18 years; the difficulties in relation to finding suitable employment in the particular work region and due to the employee being a single parent.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD V COLIN MAKIN

The Full Bench of FWA in GlaxoSmithKline Australia Pty Ltd v Colin Makin [2010] FWAFB 5343 (23 July 2010) dismissed an appeal by the employer to overturn the first instance decision of Commissioner Bisset who found that although there was a valid reason for terminating a storeman’s employment, the dismissal was harsh, unjust and unreasonable. In this case, the storeman had deliberately entered the employer’s high-rise warehouse incorrectly and had breached the Departmental Procedure (DP) in order to fix a fault caused by a pallet not sitting correctly on a shuttle. Although the Full Bench of FWA found that it was unlikely that they would have come to the same conclusion, they determined that Commissioner Bisset did not err in the exercise of her discretion. They also said that despite the Commissioner finding

in the storeman’s favour, it “does not in [their] view, detract from or diminish the seriousness with which safety breaches are viewed by Fair Work Australia”.

Commissioner’s Bisset’s reasoning was as follows:

• The storeman had an unblemished record over 8 years;

• Other incidents in the high-rise warehouse had not led to dismissal despite one of these incidents directly relating to the health and safety of other employees;

• There had been a long period of time since the storeman had received training on the relevant policy;

• The safety training was inadequate in that the storeman would only have been offered practical training if he had requested it; and

• The storeman was ignorant in relation to the “correct way to rectify the fault”.

Commissioner Bisset was critical of the employer’s training and highlighted the following:

• The purpose of training is to improve the skills, knowledge and understanding of those being trained. This requires trainers and managers to take responsibility to ensure that those being trained understand the information being given to them.

• It is imperative that those delivering training have the technical skills and knowledge associated with delivering the training.

PARMALAT FOOD PRODUCTS PTY LTD V MR KASIAN WILILO

The Full Bench of FWA in Parmalat Food Products Pty Ltd v Mr Kasian Wililo FWAFB 1166 [2 March 2011] overturned the initial decision of Commissioner Cargill who had ordered the reinstatement of a forklift driver who had placed part of his body under an unstable and elevated load in breach of the employer’s safety policies. The Full Bench found that the dismissal was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable. Its reasons were as follows:

• Employers have important statutory obligations to maintain a safe place of work. Establishing and enforcing safety rules are an important obligation, a breach of which can lead to serious consequences.

• The employer established that the forklift driver “had breached its safety rules and his conduct amounted to serious misconduct. Clearly disciplinary action was necessary and appropriate because failure to do so sends a message to the workforce that safety breaches can occur with impunity”.

• Having found a valid reason for termination amounting to serious misconduct and compliance with the statutory requirement for procedural fairness it would only be if significant mitigating factors are present that a conclusion of harshness is open. The Full bench found that the forklift driver had adequate opportunity to respond to the allegations.

• In this circumstance, the forklift driver’s service was short and his disciplinary record was poor. The Full bench found that this was not a mitigating factor.

• Further it found that the failure to show the forklift driver CCTV footage of the incident during the investigation was “not a matter of significance”.

There was not a sufficient basis to find that the employer could not apply its safety standards because of alleged actions in relation to other safety breaches.

CONCLUSION

Employers should be aware that even where an employee has been terminated for a valid reason due to a safety breach and has been afforded procedural fairness, FWA may still find that the dismissal is harsh, unjust or unreasonable. Relevant considerations in determining whether the dismissal was harsh, unjust include:

• Whether the work health and safety policy stipulated that a breach would result in disciplinary action including dismissal;

• The adequacy of the training provided in relation to the work health and safety policies, including ensuring that the training is practical rather than classroom based and those delivering training have the technical skills to deliver it;

• Clarifying with employees that they understand the policies and training;

• The period of time since training on the relevant policy was conducted;

• The safety and other disciplinary record of the employee;

• The length of the employee’s employment;

• The age of the employee and whether it would be difficult for them to find an alternative job; and

• The conduct of the employee during the investigation includes the remorse of the employee.

Employers need to weigh up whether the serious consequences of injury and death and severe penalties for not complying with an employer’s obligations under the safety legislation outweigh the consequences of a successful unfair dismissal application (namely, reinstatement or maximum compensation of six month’s remuneration). Despite some of these decisions, in relation to serious and deliberate safety breaches, in our view employers should continue to send a strong message to their workforce that breaches of work health and safety policies will not be tolerated by taking decisive disciplinary action – including where appropriate termination.

EMPLOYERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO SEND A STRONG MESSAGE TO THEIR WORKFORCE THAT BREACHES OF WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICIES WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY TAKING DECISIVE DISCIPLINARY ACTION – INCLUDING WHERE APPROPRIATE TERMINATION.


GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

JUSTICE OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES FAMOUSLY REMARKED IN NORTHERN SECURITIES CO V UNITED STATES 193 US 197 (1904) THAT: “GREAT CASES LIKE

HARD CASES MAKE BAD LAW. FOR GREAT CASES ARE CALLED GREAT, NOT BY REASON OF THEIR IMPORTANCE... BUT BECAUSE OF SOME ACCIDENT OF

IMMEDIATE OVERWHELMING INTEREST WHICH APPEALS TO THE FEELINGS AND DISTORTS THE JUDGMENT”.

We might take this reasoning a step further: big cases make or entrench bad policy. A contemporary example is the request for arbitration (in Singapore) initiated on 27 June by tobacco giant Philip Morris Asia (PM) against Australia, pursuant to the 1993 “Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong for the Promotion and Protection of Investments”. PM seems to be alleging that proposed legislation mandating plain packaging of cigarettes amounts to “expropriation” of its trademarks (Art 6) and possibly a violation of “fair and equitable treatment” obligations (Art 2(2)).

For many, this treaty-based investor-state arbitration (ISA) claim will seem like a “big bad company” claiming against a government trying to pass a “good law” – aimed at addressing the serious public health problems and expenses still associated with cigarette sales. These persist despite the Australian government already having tried many other measures to curb consumption: graphic warnings on cigarette packaging and in TV or print advertisements, restrictions on displays and promotion, and increasingly high consumption taxes.

PM’s claim will also lead some to acclaim the April 2011 “Gillard Government Trade

Policy Statement”, which blew cold on ISA provisions. On one interpretation it means simply that Australia will no longer agree to ISA in any future treaty even with developing countries. This effectively means no more ISA in treaties with anyone, as Australian investors anyway are less concerned about ISA protections where the host state has a more developed legal system – offering a reliable court system applying domestic substantive law supportive of the rights of all investors.

However, read in the context of Productivity Commission recommendations finalized last December

Investor-State Arbitration Policy & Practice After Phillip Morris v Australia

By Dr Luke Nottage, Associate Professor, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney

2010, an alternative interpretation is that the Statement allows scope for the Gillard Government to include ISA in future treaties on certain conditions – in particular, provided that foreign investors are not accorded better rights than local investors. If the partner country’s domestic law protections are lower than Australia’s, then future treaties can therefore at least include substantive protections (aimed at Australian investors abroad) capped at the Australian domestic standard of protection. Yet even this policy stance generates complex implications, and the theory and evidence contained in the Productivity Commission analysis have significant weaknesses.

By contrast, ISA claims are often brought by smaller and/or “good” investors complaining about “bad laws” enacted by the host state. The larger investors often have political clout even in the host state, and/or their home state, to facilitate a negotiated settlement (including via an inter-state process typically also offered by treaties) without filing formal arbitration claims. Indeed, PM perhaps approached their home state to encourage it to launch a WTO claim alleging breaches of the TRIPS Agreement. But that legal avenue seems weak, as explained in this paper by Dr Andrew Mitchell, which could explain why we now see a direct ISA claim brought by PM against Australia. (Presumably PM also decided that the substantive rights under the treaty with Hong Kong provided greater protection than public law rights offered by Australian courts, including the constitutional prohibition on the government acquiring property without paying compensation.)

The problems with the Gillard Government’s recently announced policy stance on ISA would have received a fairer hearing if the first arbitration claim against the Australian government had been brought not by a tobacco company for this sort of legislation. Imagine for example if we’d had a Malaysian solar power panel manufacturer claiming breach of “fair of equitable treatment” due to NSW legislation retrospectively changing feed-in tariffs that the state government had promised to retain for at least five years, based on ISA protections contained in the 2009 ASEAN-Australia-NZ Free Trade Agreement. The government did back down and anyway the chances of success would not necessarily have been high. But if such a claim had been made then we would have had an example of a smaller “good” company complaining about a “bad law”.

Instead, Australians (and others) will now tend to remember the PM claim whenever ISA is mentioned. That will entrench the Gillard Government’s policy stance rather than creating opportunities to properly reconsider more targeted

ISA reform options, such as those outlined in Appendix A of my paper. After all, social psychologists and now behavioural economists have long warned about “availability bias” (we all usually give too much weight to high-profile or memorable events) and “confirmation bias” (we discount counter-examples and instead are disproportionately influenced by evidence that seems to support our existing preferred theories).

However, all is not lost. Even this arbitration claim by PM may leave scope for more rational debate about ISA’s problems – which are indeed significant – and the best ways to address those. This case may not even get to full-scale arbitration. PM seems to have initiated a 3-month “cooling off” period prior to being able to commence the arbitral proceedings against Australia (as provided by Art 10 of the Australia-Hong Kong treaty). At the same time, presumably, PM has requested in writing that Australia commence negotiations for up to 6 months. Although tribunals interpreting other treaties have differed in their interpretations of similar provisions, this may mean that no arbitration can commence for at least 6 months – by which time Australia’s plain packaging legislation will have been enacted. Hopefully the claim will be withdrawn or settled before then, and the broader hubbub over ISA will start to die down, so more rational debate can be resumed.

Even if arbitration proceeds, if PM and Australia cannot agree otherwise the procedure shall follow UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules “as then in force”. This means the 2010 version of those Rules (see Art 1), recently agreed by the United Nations. This version has been praised for many significant improvements compared to original 1976 Rules (eg by Justice Clyde Croft and Dr Chris Kee in chapter 7 of Nottage/Garnett, eds, International Arbitration in Australia, Federation Press, 2010). However, because Hong Kong is still not a member of the World Bank / ICSID family, treaties like this one with Australia do not provide for ICSID Arbitration Rules. The 2006 revisions of the ICSID Rules, in particular, offer greater transparency compared to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, including notifications about important steps in the proceedings

through the ICSID website.

Nonetheless, the Hong Kong treaty (Art 10) allows for PM and Australia to agree in writing to modify the UNCITRAL Rules. It may be in PM’s short-term interest to agree to greater transparency in the arbitral proceedings, if its strategy is really to seek a negotiated settlement about the scope or timing of the plain packaging legislation. Agreeing to greater transparency may also be in PM long-term interest, namely avoiding problems when seeking to enforce and execute any favourable arbitral award against the Australian government. This possibility arises because, for instance, social psychologists have also shown that a process perceived as fairer is more likely to generate one side’s compliance with an outcome, even if substantively adverse to that party.

If the parties can agree on such changes to UNCITRAL Rules, and perhaps others such as requiring arbitrators actively to facilitate settlement throughout proceedings (“Arb-Med”), this may point the way more generally towards alternative policy initiatives by Australia (and indeed other countries) regarding ISA. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water and omitting ISA provisions completely, states could encourage arbitral institutions and others to develop more tailored sets of Arbitration Rules for ISA, include them in future treaties, and then require or encourage their investors to invoke those Rules in any future disputes – appealing to those firms’ short- and long-term interests, including commitments to broader Corporate Social Responsibility.

This would not preclude other reforms to the ISA system, including adding to investment treaties broader express exemptions for regulation bona fide in the public interest (eg for public health purposes). These are already found in WTO Agreements, and indeed in some of Australia’s more recent FTAs and investment treaties.

Dr Luke Nottage specialises in comparative and transnational business law (especially arbitration and product safety law), with a particular interest in Japan and the Asia-Pacific. He is Associate Professor at Sydney Law School, founding Co-Director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law, Director of the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney, and Comparative and Global Law Program coordinator for the Sydney Centre for International Law


GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

INTERNATIONAL TRADE CAN OPEN YOUR BUSINESS TO NEW MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIESBUT TO BE SUCCESSFUL YOU NEED THE RIGHT INFORMATION, EXPERIENCE AND KNOW-HOW

As Australia’s national Chamber of Commerce, ACCI’s National Member Network has teams of experts in every state and territory who can help you to open up export and other commercial opportunities.

Our specialists can provide practical knowledge and advice about doing business in specific markets and help you ensure that your trade documentation is completed correctly.

Whether you are exporting for the first time or looking to grow your international presence, contact your state or territory Chamber of Commerce to get the best trade advice for your business.

NEW SOUTH WALES Australian Business Consulting Services P: 1800 505 529 E: nswbusinesschamber.com.au

VICTORIA VECCI Global P: 03 8662 5333 www.vecci.org.au

TASMANIA TCCI P: 03 6236 3600 ww.tcci.com.au

SOUTH AUSTRALIA Business SA International Business Unit P: 08 8300 0105 www.business-sa.com

WESTERN AUSTRALIACCI International Trade Services P:08 9365 7620 www.cciwa.com

NORTHERN TERRITORYChamber of Commerce NT - International Business Council P: 08 8982 8128 www.chambernt.com.au

QUEENSLANDCCIQ P: 1300 565 436 www.cciq.com.au


MEMBER PROFILES

BUSINESS SABUSINESS SA IS THE LARGEST AND MOST REPRESENTATIVE BUSINESS ORGANISATION IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.South Australia’s peak business organisation assists organisations of all sizes to manage people and tackle the issues faced in today’s competitive business environment. Its highly skilled professionals provide hands-on assistance to identify workplace challenges and drive growth at every stage of the business lifecycle.

Business SA assists businesses in all industry sectors and have a diverse membership base which includes professional services, manufacturing,

retail and emerging sectors.

As the voice of business in the state, Business SA is the principal advocate to the South Australian Government and regulators on public policy issues which affect the state’s business operating environment. As a member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce’s National Member Network, Business SA ensures that South Australian business is represented at a national level to the Australian Government and federal regulatory agencies.

Their focus is clear – to lead business into the future, helping South Australian enterprises to maximise their potential and expertise. Their service offering includes Human Resources to Occupational Health & Safety, Environment & Sustainability to Exporting & Importing. This is implemented through Training, Consulting, Publications the International Business unit, and an Australian Apprenticeship Centre.

THE AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCILTHE AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCIL (AFGC) IS THE LEADING NATIONAL ORGANISATION REPRESENTING AUSTRALIA’S $102 BILLION PACKAGED FOOD, DRINK AND GROCERY PRODUCTS MANUFACTURERS WHICH EMPLOYS 288,000 PEOPLE THROUGHOUT METROPOLITAN AND REGIONAL AUSTRALIA.The food and grocery product industry is Australia’s largest manufacturing sector and our members make a substantial contribution to the economic and social welfare of all Australians. Their products can be found in every Australian household.

The AFGC’s role is to help shape a business environment that encourages the food and grocery products industry to grow and remain profitable, ensure there is a cohesive and credible voice for the industry, advance policies and manage issues to help member companies to grow their businesses in a socially

responsible manner.

A national platform for food and grocery products manufacturers to voice their views on a range of issues - the AFGC’s national advocacy is boosted through its membership of the Australian Chamber of Commerce.

MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIAMASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA IS THE NATION’S MAJOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION.A nationally representative voice for the industry, MBA speaks on behalf of associations in every state and territory and over 31,000 member businesses.

Master Builders’ advocacy is enhanced through its participation in the Australian Chamber of Commerce of Industry’s (ACCI) National Member Network.

Master Builders promotes the viewpoints and interests of the building and construction industry and provides services to members in a broad range of

areas including training, legal services, industrial relations, building codes and standards, industry economics and international relations.

Master Builders’ membership consists of large national, international, residential and commercial builders and civil contractors through to smaller local subcontracting firms, as well as suppliers and professional industry advisers. Membership of the MBA movement represents 95% of all sectors of the building industry.

Master Builders has offices in all capital cities and major regional cities of Australia. It employs over 340 experienced staff with qualifications in a diverse range of disciplines including building, engineering, law, management, economics, marketing, accounting, industrial relations, safety, building surveying, international business and training.

Master Builders also represents Australian building and construction in international forums.

Trying to recover from crisis, fuel prices increase while Australian employers scrounge to finance: replacement delivery vehicles, rising insurance premiums and delivery staff. But daily deliveries don’t have to be so costly.

In every Australian city, companies who need products delivered every day are avoiding wasted management time, unplanned vehicle maintenance, and disruption to deliveries. That’s because the transportation management industry is shaking up traditional distribution methods—including how you staff drivers, get trucks, and use the roads.

When getting your product to market every day is critical to the profit margins of your business, you need the job done efficiently, without the added expense of your time. Michael Bacash, Managing Director of Hotel Agencies, one of Australia’s largest hotel and catering supply companies knows exactly how expensive running your own delivery fleet can be; “before we started using The Ontime Group, we’d been running our own fleet of vehicles and having to buy, maintain and hire drivers far more regularly than we wanted.”

Having fast access to more trucks, each carrying all the specialist equipment you

need, ensures your product is delivered on time. “We now have the flexibility of being able to run three-four trucks daily or even ten—with only 24 hours notice—in our peak times. Knowing we can get as many trucks as we need, and even larger

trucks when we want them, helps our business grow,” says Bacash.

Besides the truck purchase, there are expensive staffing issues like absenteeism. Each missed delivery or sick worker is a liability to your sales, and your brand. “Now I manage one company instead of 20 drivers,” says Neil Sturrock of Amcap (Western Australia). His transportation management company thinks ahead by training additional drivers on every delivery route and relevant company procedure.

Transportation management has been available in Australia for over 30 years, but not every company knows that having trucks and drivers managed by another company is not daunting—in fact, it often raises the bar. “Now I know the drivers are here every day, they do their set deliveries every day, and I don’t worry about stock failing to be delivered on time,” says Andy Crockett of Victoria’s Burson Automotive.

Even better, management companies partner with you through the transition of having your trucks and drivers outsourced. Detail reporting from route analysis to GPS driver tracking offers greater control and a new ability to react to wastage. Walter Scremin, General Manager of The Ontime Group, a transportation management company, explains you can “expect a 15-20% savings on your transportation budget.”

It’s never too late to simplify your distribution process and reduce your costs. If you need to save on your bottom line and think transportation and delivery costs could be eating away your profits, make sure you review the benefits of using a transportation management service.

Alysha Dominico is a freelance journalist and owner of Tangible Words Pty. Ltd.

NEW TRANSPORTATION & DISTRIBUTION METHODS: HOW AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES ARE SIMPLIFYING DELIVERIES AND PROTECTING CASHFLOWBy Alysha Dominico

hsa design design · advertising · publishing+61 3 9866 4500 [email protected]

“If nobody hears it, sees it, or believes it, does the message still have meaning?”


WHO’S WHO

MEGAN MOTTOCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CONSULT AUSTRALIAMegan Motto leads the national voice of businesses providing professional consulting services to the built and natural environment.

Megan’s leadership has witnessed Consult Australia’s successful transition from the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia, resulting in significant growth in membership, public profile and political influence.

Consult Australia now speaks on behalf of

more than 270 businesses, ranging from large multidisciplinary corporations to small niche practices that provide design, engineering, technology and management solutions to consumers, major private and public sector organisations and all tiers of Australian Government.

Building on insights, skills and knowledge acquired in previous roles heading the organisation’s operations and communications, Megan as Chief Executive has driven the establishment of an education unit within the business, consolidated Consult Australia’s national representative capacity by enhancing resources of state and territory divisions and led the advancement of Consult Australia as an influential public policy advocate, particularly in the areas of infrastructure and sustainability.

MARK STONECHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, VECCIMark Stone is the new Chief Executive of the Victorian Employer’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As CEO of VECCI, Mark is a key player in Victorian and Australian business and the ACCI National Member Network.

Before joining VECCI, Mark was the Chief Executive of Tourism Victoria. This followed a 12 year stint as Chief Executive at Parks Victoria, which manages one fifth of Victoria’s land area.

On the Board of Tourism Australia, Tourism Victoria, the Victorian Major Events Company, the Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau and ‘Healthy Parks, Healthy People’ Mark is a major player in the national and Victorian tourism industry.

Mark has specialised in public sector management as well as collaborative private sector and business engagement, with a strong record in and passion for tourism and nature-based activities.

Mark is also an Australia Day ambassador and Fellow of the Williamson Leadership program.

LEADERS FROM ACCI’S NATIONAL MEMBER NETWORK

JOHN NICOLAOUCHIEF ECONOMIST, CHIEF OFFICER MEMBERSHIP & ADVOCACY, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY WESTERN AUSTRALIA (CCIWA)In Western Australia’s business community John Nicolaou requires no introductions.

As the Chief Economist and Chief Officer, Membership and Advocacy for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia (CCI) he commands

an impressive profile, both as an independent economist and powerful business advocate.

Under CEO James Pearson’s leadership, John has spearheaded reform to WA’s antiquated retail trading hours as well as overseeing influential research on vital business issues, such as labour shortages and the Federal Government’s controversial Resource Super Profits Tax.

He has also been a key driver of the Chamber’s successful positioning as the dominant voice of business in the west driving membership to a 15 year high and overseeing significant organisational structural change.

John’s reputation as one of WA’s leading economic and business commentators enhances CCIWA’s position as a major influencer of government policy and the trusted adviser of the private sector in the fast lane of Australia’s two speed economy.

SAMANTHA REMMERSDIRECTOR - MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS & EVENTS, ACT & REGION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRYAs Director of Marketing, Communications and Events, Sam is

a key member of the ACT Chamber’s leadership group under CEO Chris Peters. Responsible for implementing the Chamber’s Marketing and Communication Strategy, Sam has driven key initiatives to further enhance the Chamber’s strong brand position and member services, including a new suite of corporate events for business women and young

entrepreneurs and executives.

Sam’s leadership and business acumen is recognised in new responsibility for the Chamber’s membership service and development and she continues to be a key player in the Chamber’s advocacy through her management of economic surveys and the ACT Retail Trader’s Association.

L to R: Sam Remmers & the owner Kundalini Hair a

member of the ACT & Region Chamber of

Commerce & Industry.

ACCI NETWORKS


ACCI GENERAL COUNCIL DINNER MARCH 2011HOSTED BY THE NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER

2


ACCI NETWORKS


ACCI NETWORKS

GENERAL COUNCIL DINNER - DARWIN JULY 2011HOSTED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NORTHERN TERRITORY

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY SUMMER 2011 35

ACCI NETWORKS

34 COMMERCE & INDUSTRY SUMMER 2011

ACCI NATIONAL MEMBER NETWORK: AUSTRALIA FEDERATION OF EMPLOYERS & INDUSTRIES BUSINESS

SA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY QUEENSLAND (CCIQ) CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NORTHERN

TERRITORY NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER TASMANIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ACT &

REGION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY VICTORIAN EMPLOYERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

& INDUSTRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY WESTERN AUSTRALIA ACCORD AGRIBUSINESS

EMPLOYERS FEDERATION AIRCONDITIONING & MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION AUSTRALIAN

BEVERAGES COUNCIL AUSTRALIAN DENTAL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES OPERATIONS GROUP AUSTRALIAN MADE, AUSTRALIAN GROWN

CAMPAIGN AUSTRALIAN MINES & METALS ASSOCIATION AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

BUS INDUSTRY CONFEDERATION CONSULT AUSTRALIA HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIVE

PERFORMANCE AUSTRALIA MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA MASTER PLUMBERS & MECHANICAL

SERVICES ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA NATIONAL BAKING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION NATIONAL

ELECTRICAL & COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL FIRE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION NATIONAL

RETAIL ASSOCIATION OIL INDUSTRY INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEE PHARMACY GUILD OF AUSTRALIA

PLASTICS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION PRINTING INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION OF

AUSTRALIA RESTAURANT & CATERING AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN FOOD & GROCERY COUNCIL

AUSTRALIAN PAINT MANUFACTURERS FEDERATION VICTORIAN AUTOMOBILE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

5 reasons for using the

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2 Your products are actually made here, by Australians and to Australian standards – so they’re good

3 The logo can’t be used on imported stuff, so it creates an important point of difference

4 94% of Australians recognise it and 65% say they want to buy Australian

5 It’s already used on 10,000 products sold here and around the world – it works

Register today to carry Australia’s most trusted and recognised product symbol. Visit

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commerce & industry vol 4 summer 2011

Documents

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