Year 12 retention and a program for skills training are the latest tools to combat unemployment, with Minister for Education Julia Gillard targeting thousands of school-leavers and young adults to prevent them from becoming unemployable. According to government estimates, about 300,000 15–24 year olds are not engaged in work or study. “We don’t want a […]
Employees of liquidated companies stand to receive $150 million through the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) if the Federal Government manages to push extra funding through parliament. Initially budgeted at $80 million, the scheme will require almost double the amount to cope with the increase in redundancies. Minister for Workplace Relations Julia Gillard […]
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) will launch a shadow-shopping program in the 2009/10 financial year to review the methods of financial advisers. A shadow shop is an anonymous visit to an adviser to experience what an ordinary consumer would experience when seeking advice. David Whiteley, executive manager of Industry Super Network, says the […]
The Australian Industry Group has called for the Federal Government to delay the commencement of the 2010 carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) due to the current economic crisis. Supporters of the scheme, the group suggested the government pass legislation to ensure implementation, but has recommended the government postpone the scheme until 2012. “Businesses are strapped […]
The Federal Government’s stimulus package will not contribute to a revival of the retail sector, according to a recent forecast issued by consultancy Access Economics.
Nationals Leader Warren Truss has spoken out about the Federal Government’s proposed Fair Work Bill, claiming it does more than restore former industrial relations laws: “They’ve done deals clearly with the trade union movement and this legislation goes way beyond what they were given a mandate for from the Australian people,” he says. The proposed […]
Small businesses finding it difficult to attain finance can expect assistance from the Federal Government, says Minister for Small Business Craig Emerson following a roundtable discussion between banks and business groups late last week. If an SME has had an application for credit refused by a financial institution, they will have a second chance to […]
With some $200 billion wiped off superannuation books in the last 12 months, an average of $20,000 per working individual, the industry needs to bounce back from the financial crisis and shareholder empowerment is the key, says Colin Melvin, one of Britain’s leading pension experts. “As a result of this global crisis, pension funds are […]
Reports of the death of manufacturing have been greatly exaggerated, believes Ian Murray, executive director of the Australian Institute of Export (AIEx), citing advanced manufacturers Cochlear and Resmed as examples of companies that still produce in Australia, during yesterday’s panel session of the AIEx’s ‘Managing your export business in a turbulent global environment’ conference. Panellist […]
The Commonwealth Bank yesterday announced a funding package designed to support small business growth. The Small Business Investment Package will address small businesses’ short and long term needs, says Ian Narev, head of the bank’s Business and Private Banking division. “There’s a misconception out there that small businesses do not have access to the lending […]
