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Reforms to favour self managed super
PROPOSED changes to Australia’s superannuation framework could be the catalyst to give self managed super funds (SMSF) a boost.
It is expected that the increased contributions and renewed focus on super will help balances to increase at a faster rate and push investors closer to the critical mass needed to justify a SMSF quicker.
According to Quill Group director Peter Kirk, a common...
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Succession strategy essential for success
ONE of Queensland’s top financial planners says Australian SMEs are potentially risking their retirement assets by failing to establish a proper business succession plan.
Wealthfarm Financial Planners founding director Nicholas Sinclair says as an essential strategy to maximise businesses value, it’s never too early to think about a business succession plan.
“For business...
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THE CEO
Gold Coast City Council will host the first round of economic development meetings for 2010 this month. CEO Dale Dickson will hold the top civic job for another four years under the glare of public scrutiny. With 3300 full-time staff under him, 47-year-old Dickson discusses the challenges that await him and those that he has conquered while in the hot seat.
What is the GCCC business modus...
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DOWNLOAD: Guvera CEO Claes Loberg
Labels have seen many of these type of supposed ‘game changers’ over the years and they have been wise enough to take the cheque from the VCs before the funds
dry up.
While signing two of the big 4 (Universal and EMI) is a major coup, doesn’t it just mean that Guvera has signed over substantial advance payments?
I have heard this comment before - but in reality the big 4...
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HABITAT MATT’S KEY TO SUCCESS
WHATEVER you do don’t call Matt Keys a ‘greenie’.
The managing director of Habitat Environmental Management may be a passionate conservationist at heart, but his success is built on the mind of a businessman.
“For environmental sustainability to be achieved, it must first be economically sustainable,” says Keys.
“My staff’s approach when they get out...
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EDITOR'S MESSAGE
BRING it on.
That's the positive attitude the Gold Coast’s resilient business community will adopt as it forges ahead in 2010.
While economists are predicting a sluggish recovery, it’s a recovery nonetheless.
2010 is already shaping up as one of anticipated optimism, but what does it really mean for the Coast, Australia’s sixth largest city and the arguably the SME...
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IS THIS THE CHEAPEST NEW HOUSE AND LAND PACKAGE ON THE COAST?
WITH the housing affordability debate raging, gcbn.com.au has discovered the cheapest new house and land package on the Gold Coast.
Just don’t expect a lot of room.
Residential cut and paste kings Devine has emerged as the thriftiest with its Arcadia Pimpama estate starting at $384,900 for 347 sq m.
It could be argued that Stockland’s package at Pacific Pines represents better...
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CREATING PLACES
Alison Quinn creates tangible spaces — a challenge given that she’s the recently appointed executive general manager at the security-gated Sanctuary Cove. Quinn will steward the SC ship into a new era and execute a no-nonsense approach to increase the value of the asset for its Malaysian owner Mulpha with a range of new residential developments, a fresh raft of tenants and the...
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SME'S TO LEAD RECOVERY
According to international business author and IT entrepreneur Mathew Dickerson, the Gold Coast’s large number of SMEs will see its economy recover much faster than capital cities.
Dickerson says cities with many small operators that collectively turn over big revenues will benefit from fast reactions to the changing economy and diversified risk.
“Lots of SMEs can make a very large...
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ALLIED BRANDS TO FUND FRANCHISING WITH US CAPITAL
REBRANDING capital obtained from the US will assist the publicly listed franchisor Allied Brands to expand its profit margin on new franchises.
New York asset management firm SpringTree Global Investors, is crediting up to $4.9 million of its special operations fund to Allied Brands and its recently established franchising services division.
The Broadbeach company, whose brands include Baskin...
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MORE BRUMBY'S FOR RFG
RETAIL food brand manager and franchisor Retail Food Group Limited has added Western Australia and the Northern Territory Brumby’s franchises to its national acquisition coup in a scrip and cash deal.
There are 50 outlets within the Brumby’s WA territory and a further eight outlets in the Northern Territory.
Last November the ASX-listed company acquired the north Queensland and New...
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Aqualuma lights up Maritimo
UNDERWATER lighting company Aqualuma has secured the contract to supply its products to Coomera luxury motor yacht builder Maritimo.
Maritimo plans to build around 50 luxury cruisers this year with each boat using around $5000 of OEM lighting. The contract is worth $300,000 in revenue for the Helensvale company.
Aqualuma director Grant Amor, describes the JV as a reunion of two high-quality...
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Merger laws could stifle business growth
New merger laws to be examined via the introduction of the Trade Practices Amendment could result in significant changes in the way that competition aspects of mergers are assessed.
The Trade Practices Act will be amended to ban any acquisition or merger that could have a noticeably negative affect on competition in a market.
According to Brett Bolton, a specialist in competition and trade...
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Cutting a profit
A Nerang-based manufacturer has expanded interstate on the back of innovative water jet cutting technology.
After initially investing in laser cutting machinery with unsatisfactory results, Abrasive Jet Machining Services founder Mark Piacun, seized an opportunity in water jet cutters and has since expanded to now own the largest number of metal cutting machines in...
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SUPER SLASHED
SUPERANNUATION assets were slashed by $66.4 billion last year, according to a report released today by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The Annual Superannuation Bulletin reports the nation’s total superannuation assets fell by 5.8 per cent last financial year, with the average rate of return (ROR) falling 11.7 per cent for industry funds.
For the last 10 years the...
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FAIR WORK ACT: CUTTING THROUGH THE SPIN
THE Federal Government’s second phase IR restructure has polarised the business community. Nationally, almost 4000 awards and industrial instruments have been reduced to what the Rudd Government calls 122 ‘modern, simple awards’.
FOR smaller enterprises, the Fair Work Act and the bureaucracy surrounding it essentially means that:
• The chances of being caught if...
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ATO to claw back funds
A TAXATION lawyer warns the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will be more vigilant than ever in 2010 as it seeks to claw back funds drained by the global financial crisis.
David Hughes, a partner in Southport law firm Small Myers Hughes, says the ATO’s capability to monitor tax avoidance is greater than ever and that ‘aggressive revenue collection was a certainty’ this...
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Slow growth for the Sunshine State
QUEENSLAND will have slower than expected growth this year and is the second worst performing state in the country.
According to a CommSec State of the States report, Queensland ranked fifth ahead of only NSW, which was considered the worst-performing state in the nation.
The report compared recent trend measures of growth with each jurisdiction’s average over the past decade.
Housing...
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JAZZ RADIO HAS GOT THE BLUES
RADIO station Jazz 94.1 may soon be silenced if the board cannot secure around $150,000 in funding this year.
One of the region’s most popular community stations devoted to jazz, blues and Latin, it broadcasts to South East Queensland from studios in Marina Village, Surfers Paradise and the transmitter on Tamborine Mountain.
Jazz Radio chairman Ian Paxton, is positive that the station...
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Test trial dock for boat show
AUSTRALIA’S premier international marine lifestyle event is preparing for further growth following the announcement of a dedicated sea trial area in this year’s exhibition in May.
In a national first, exhibitors at the 2010 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show can book a berth on the sea trial dock within the marina display area.
Event general manager Barry Jenkins, says the...
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Slush Puppie engages in ‘extreme’ marketing
NERANG-based frozen beverage giant Slush Puppie is undertaking a complete rebranding to attract an older demographic of ‘slushie’ consumers.
The major marketing project of the rebranding, ‘Fuel the Underdog’ aims to grab hold of 12-25 year old consumers through sponsoring up-and-coming extreme sports stars.
Slush Puppie general manager Paul Mockerman will not disclose...
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CHINA IN THE HOUSE
MINING magnate Clive Palmer has assured all stakeholders and a nervous State Government that Australia’s biggest export deal is still on.
Palmer says the deal is worth$US60 billion for its proposed China First coal mine and infrastructure project in Central Queensland.
Palmer has bulked up his cash reserves after Metallurgical Corp of China bought a $US200 million stake in his...
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Top finance tips 2010
2010 is already shaping up as one of anticipated optimism, but what does it really mean for the Gold Coast, Australia’s sixth largest city and the arguably the SME capital of the nation?
The real question is whether 2010 will really deliver the swing in the economy that so many business owners are praying for.
With the big banks’ interests set in retaining capital and safe...
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Business tourism captial
Conference and events venues all over the coast are preparing for a largely prosperous year as an influx of business people nation-wide flock to the ‘business tourism’ capital of Australia.
Meetings and Events Queensland chairman Liz Rivers says after experiencing a major downturn in 2009, industry professionals are ‘expecting a really good year’.
“Big business...
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Back to the drawing board for business owners
We’re still the ‘smart state’.
According to Bond University Vice Chancellor Robert Stable, Queensland has still got it upstairs, despite a big question mark looming over the ability of our universities to handle the influx of education-seekers.
“I’m very comfortable with the vision of Queensland being the smart state. There are many things happening in Queensland...
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Commercial office conundrum. To retrofit or not and can the Green Building Fund really assist?
Alastair Walker has joined the Gold Coast Business News team. The managing director of Napier & Blakeley property consultants will offer monthly commentary on the latest trends and issues facing the property industry.
For owners of commercial property around the country, the current market is a struggle with increasing vacancy rates, decreasing rental levels and tenants demands.
With...
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Crunching the numbers at TAFE
When it comes to quality tertiary education, university is not the only option.
Just ask Julia Laczko, owner-operator of bookkeeping company Freeform Business Services, who says, Gold Coast TAFE gave her the skills needed to further develop her business.
“Having previously been to university, but not finishing, I was surprised with how much practical work was involved and how little...
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Goal kickers
RETURNING to university study while juggling the pressures of a high-profile sporting career may seem daunting, but Southern Cross University is developing a reputation for up-skilling the sporting elite.
Don Knapp, CEO of Australian University Sport and a proud Gold Coast resident, is up-skilling himself with a doctor of business administration (DBA).
As a high flier in the Australian...
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Strive for success with a Cranfield scholarship
ONE of the world’s most prestigious management schools is seeking the perfect applicant for its Australian MBA scholarship.
The Cranfield Australian Alumni Scholarship is the highest value scholarship available in Australia and, unlike many others, is open to applicants who may not have completed an undergraduate degree.
The scholarship to the UK’s Cranfield University School of...
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Key sector employers seeking talent
The employment market will return to a skilled candidate shortage this year as the uncertainty fuelled by the global downturn is gradually lifted, according to a Southport recruitment agency.
People First Solutions co-founder and director Alina Oldfield, is surprised by those sectors that are recovering the fastest.
“Much of our workload has come from industries believed to be most...
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Retailers react to new IR laws
IN THE wake of the newly introduced federal industrial relations laws, a recent poll by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) shows that more than 32 per cent of retailers will give employees less hours and almost 36 per cent of retailers will limit hiring new staff.
While those planning on terminating staff are encouragingly low, more alarming is that 83 per cent of retailers are not...
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Legal eagle reserves judgement on daughter’s defence
MIGRATION lawyer John Lingham knew that his daughter Michelle was never going to be an ‘ordinary’ employee.
It wasn’t until Lingham joined 16 other employers to travel to the Solomon Islands as part of the Defence Department’s Exercise Boss Lift initiative that he truly understood how different her role as an Army Reserve medic is to working in the Miami-based law firm...
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Green Army to invade Gold Coast
A GROUP of 30 Gold Coast jobseekers will join Queensland’s Green Army to work on three environmental projects in Southport, Burleigh and Nerang worth around $500,000.
Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development Andrew Fraser, says the Gold Coast City Council will facilitate the projects.
“The Gold Coast City Council has received a grant of $487,750 from the State...
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Everyone’s a winner
Organisational psychologist Steve Bagi specialises in helping individuals and staff teams to understand and use their strengths and work more effectively.
Bagi conducted a meeting with business owners that showed their biggest cause of stress was their staff.
“One by one, as we went around the table, the answer was the same,” says Bagi.
“Although the issues varied, the common...
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Bula Bula Matanivusi
We are walking along a winding track toward a soon to be discovered majestic waterfall fringing the village of Votua on Fiji’s picturesque Coral Coast.
Without trepidation we trundle into the jungle and across streams that snake their way down the mountain. Occasionally villagers on horse back trot past, smiling broadly as they negotiate the muddy incline.
The adventure provides a...
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Agents see green over new legislation
FORMER deputy mayor and head of property consultancy firm Power Strategic, David Power, believes every new home built in Queensland in the next five years will require a 6 Star green rating by law.
“The auditors of the future will become like the work place health and safety officers of the 1980s,” predicts Power.
His comments follow State Government’s decision to enforce...
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Major infrastructure projects to create supply opportunities
SUPPLIERS and contractors on the Gold Coast are preparing to capitalise on State Government infrastructure projects totalling almost $12.5 billion.
Work is well underway on stage one of the University Hospital site at Parklands, with stage two approaching and a number of other major projects including the Gold Coast Stadium and the Gold Coast rapid transit system are scheduled to commence in...
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A shift in retirement living inevitable
A GOLD Coast real estate agent has called for developers to dedicate 10 per cent of construction to retirement living, with a shift in focus towards high rise freehold arrangements.
Ray White Surfers Paradise head Andrew Bell, expects new high rises to be built within a few kilometres from the centre of town, similar to the Victoria Towers project in Southport.
“It’s a new concept,...
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Preparing for a resource IPO
Recent market movements suggest that the equities market is being sold down. While there are multiple factors at play, this is due in part to proposed changes to the banking industry in the US. When the market comes to the conclusion that this proposal is unlikely to make it through the US Congress it is expected that confidence will return to the market and we will IPO activity reach...
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