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Productivity and the impact of Red Tape
Sen. Arthur Sinodinos | September 26, 2012Productivity in Australia is often inhibited by red tape. Sentator Arthur Sinodines made the following address at National Economic Review 2012 Global Access Partners Annual Growth Summit.
Australia is facing a number of economic challenges. Two of these challenges are red tape and productivity.
Politicians and public servants need to meet these challenges by owning an agenda that promotes regulatory reform and productivity growth. Our living standards depend on it.
Australia has been experiencing multiple years of declining multifactor productivity levels. The cost of doing business in Australia relative to other countries in Australia is between 30% – 50% higher. This is important because relative productivity levels between trade and investment flows.
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Challenges for the retail entrepreneur
Russell Zimmerman | September 25, 2012The retail sector in Australia is facing a number of challenges, and not all of them are related to lax consumer spending. Russell Zimmerman spoke at the GAP Economic Summit about the Australian Retailers Association's concerns.
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A deficit of stability and predictability
Robert Carling | September 24, 2012The Federal Government has been forced to re-write the Budget it released just months ago due to a slump in Australian mineral prices. Robert Carling says a stable tax regime is more important than whether the budget is a few billion in surplus or deficit.
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The IT experience – Is industry serious about the costs of doing business?
The Honourable Ed Husic MP | September 24, 2012This year the Federal Government held an inquiry into IT pricing in Australia. Ed Husic spoke at the GAP Productivity Summit about the importance of access to new technology for consumers and businesses.
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Is Australia finally recognising that good agricultural land is a finite resource?
Mick Keogh | September 21, 2012As Australian city suburbs grow to eat up valuable agricultural land planning policies are being reconsidered around the country. Mick Keogh believes there is growing awareness of the impact urban sprawl has on agriculture.
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Building a sustainable future
Tom Quinn | September 19, 2012Nations around the world will look at the role green buildings and communities play during this World Green Building Week. Tom Quinn says Australia is recognised as a global leader in the green building space.
This week is World Green Building Week, the annual celebration of how green buildings are driving sustainability improvements in our society and are helping combat climate change. Australia is at the forefront of this effort and is recognised a global leader in the green building space.
Historically buildings had a reputation as voracious consumers of resources that gave little back. As we constructed our cities, factories and homes, we also built significant environmental problems. The issues still emanating from the industry are huge: The building sector generates forty per cent of all waste sent to landfill while buildings consume 40 per cent of all electricity and 12 per cent of potable water.
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New organisation to redefine measurements of progress and wellbeing
Andrew Gale | September 19, 2012Traditional measurements of wellbeing and progress are losing their relevance in today's world. Following a taskforce on progress in society, Global Access Partners (GAP) has established the Australian Society for Progress and Wellbeing. Andrew Gale launched the Society on 13 September.
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In the shadow of the elephant and the dragon
Adaire Fox-Martin | September 18, 2012Doing business in Asia has always been important to Australian businesses with seemingly endless opportunity awaiting those who get it right. Adaire Fox-Martin addressed the GAP Productivity Summit about succeeding in the region.
From the start of the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain required 150 years to double its economic output. The United States took 50 years. A century later China and India did the same in just 12 and 16 years respectively.
The purchasing power of Asia has increased along with GDP, heralding prosperity locally and opportunity globally. In the past 20 years, emerging markets have swelled the ranks of the world’s consumer class from a little over 1 billion to 2.4 billion. By 2025 this figure will stand at more than 4 billion. In the same timeframe, annual consumption from emerging markets will grow from USD 12 trillion dollars to 30 trillion.
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UncategorisedAlcohol Awareness campaign reveals alarming results
editor | September 17, 2012
New research from The Salvation Army reveals 4.2 million Australians say they know families where they think children are not being properly cared for because of someone’s alcohol abuse.The Salvation Army says the research – released as part of its Alcohol Awareness Week – paints a deeply disturbing picture of what is happening in some Australian families.
Salvos Clinical Director of Recovery Services, Gerard Byrne, says the findings from the research are alarming and need to be addressed immediately.
“It is very clear there are large numbers of people out there who know families where children aren’t being cared for properly, according to them, because of alcohol,” he said.
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New government discussion paper outlines options for NSW strata
The Hon Anthony Roberts | September 16, 2012It is estimated that more than half of Sydney-siders will live in strata developments by 2030. Anthony Roberts says that statistic makes it essential that the State has an effective strata framework.
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The disruptive power of niche social networks
Darren Moffatt | September 14, 2012When social media was first created few people saw it as a marketing tool – that was until it was embraced by almost everyone with an internet connection. Darren Moffatt says niche social networks are the way of the future, even for traditional businesses.
Social media has changed the world, literally.
Every month billions of people now log in to various social media platforms to consume and post new content. This is a massive change in human activity, of global magnitude, with profound implications for business, government and academia. Like any rapid change in mass behaviour, it’s been driven by powerful viral feedback loops which have delivered exponential growth in user communities. Network memberships now dwarf those of even just five short years ago. One in every nine people on earth are now members of Facebook – a truly mind-blowing statistic.
