Sunny skies return for tourism
Could Australia’s beleaguered tourism sector finally see some light at the end of tunnel? That’s the clear message from this week’s big travel sector profit results and a new report from Access...
View ArticleSexual harassment takes its Toll
It was just another typical day at the office for the senior executives at Toll Holdings. A typical day at the office which involved asking their female colleagues to leave the room before donning...
View ArticleSMEs aren’t getting a fair go from the FWO
Almost on a daily basis I get an email from the Fair Work Ombudsman trumpeting the Ombudsman’s latest prosecution of a small business.Even in the midst of the deluge of emails my inbox receives each...
View ArticleThe myth of a lack of consumer confidence
There’s a lot of talk about a lack of consumer confidence in the retail sector but in a week of disappointing profit announcements there were two retailers defying the downturn, New Zealand retailer...
View ArticleDoes anyone care about the carbon tax anymore?
Over the past couple of weeks both the Small Business Minister, Brendan O’Connor, and his opposition counterpart, Bruce Billson, have popped by the SmartCompany offices for a chat. One issue both...
View ArticleRed tape riddle
It’s the case of the mysterious red tape.As soon as there are moves to cut red tape for business it seems equal amounts of onerous regulations arrive to replace it.Back in April this year at the...
View ArticleAction needed on bungled Business Names Register
The Federal Government cites the creation of a national Business Names Register in May as one of the ways it has cut red tape for businesses. Unfortunately the reality is far different, with businesses...
View ArticleFranchises need carrots as well as sticks
This week the great and the good of franchising were all in Canberra for the National Franchise Convention which finished up yesterday with the presentation of SmartCompany’s Franchise Innovation...
View ArticlePayroll tax should be scrapped, not increased
“It’s a penalty for employing people”, “it’s a scourge” these were the reactions I got on the topic of payroll tax when I spoke to a group of SME owners and founders this week at a meeting of the...
View ArticleThe need for social media guidelines
Businesses are stuck. Everyone has read about the benefits of using social media but at the same time it seems that every week brings a new social media fail.There was the livestock business with the...
View ArticleThe great company tax cut swindle
This week has been all about company tax, starting off with the Federal Government’s announcement that it will collect company tax payments on a monthly basis and ending with the Business Tax Working...
View ArticleDoes Tinkler have any friends left?
Nathan Tinkler lost his bid for control of Whitehaven Resources yesterday after he fell short of the votes needed to oust the miner’s board and there’s no signs the coal magnate will be able to get...
View ArticleIf there’s a discrimination claim: Who you gonna call?
If a discrimination claim by an employee is not stressful enough for a small business to deal with, there are now a range of different laws and agencies businesses have to deal with.The duplication...
View ArticleExporters as rare as hen’s teeth
“I've never found the government support for export assistance to be particularly useful.”That’s what Pat Boland, the co-owner of industrial tool manufacturer ANCA, told me when I interviewed him just...
View ArticleThe problem with Abbott’s small business promise
Tony Abbott was preaching to the converted at the Menzies Research Centre Small Business Round Table hosted by CPA Australia yesterday morning.He entered the room to a spontaneous round of applause and...
View ArticleIs being a mum relevant to business?
Carolyn Cresswell has only just been awarded the Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year award but already the debate has started over whether it is relevant that Cresswell is also the mother of...
View ArticleBanking lobby should back SME banking code of conduct
Yet another parliamentary inquiry into banking has recommended a voluntary code of conduct for small business lending to be developed by the Australian Bankers' Association. It was one of 20...
View ArticleResilient jobs data could delay more rate cuts
It wasn’t the news we were expecting to hear.The unemployment rate actually dropped yesterday, falling from 5.3% to 5.2% despite, or perhaps in spite of, analyst predictions that unemployment would...
View ArticleThe Christmas Grinch of retail
As Christmas approaches, those jingle bells are jingling and, once again, cash registers are ring, ring, ringing.It has been a tough retail environment this year, with the collapse of Retail Adventures...
View ArticleSMEs shouldn’t be unpaid tax collectors
Research released yesterday revealed the cost to small business of meeting its GST compliance obligations is roughly 50% higher in Australia than in comparable overseas jurisdictions.The research by...
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