Let’s face it. Shipping live animals in cramped pens for long distances across tropical seas is inherently cruel. And a good number of these beasts then face further suffering on arrival.
Around 50 percent of Australia’s sheep and seven percent of its cattle are exported live. This is a clear failure of our agriculture and industry policy, and it’s heartening to see the number of farmers now joining the swelling ranks of activists for export bans on live shipments.
You must have sympathy for Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig, who brought in a temporary export ban but was soon overruled because of the huge political storm it created. The reason, of course, is the fact that live exports have been the lifeline of the northern beef farmers and many sheep farmers through some very difficult times, and they simply will not countenance unions or anyone else threatening their commercial lifeline into Asia.
As a result, it’s one of the most political of all industries and very resistant to change – the key reason for our inability to turn beef and sheep commodities into high-value foods.
So we’ve been kicking around some ideas here in Canberra about an Action Plan to value-add beef and sheep through greater local processing. We figure it is both commonsense and totally consistent with the values of a Labor government. Accordingly, we are proposing to build a collaborative joint venture ‘model’ for Minister Ludwig’s consideration.
I can’t go into detail here, but the plan would basically apply this model to certain abattoirs in Australia. They would need to have progressive management that is amenable to working with unions, farmers and extension agencies to significantly lower costs at critical points along the supply chain.
We figure that co-investment with enlightened foreign investors would also be smart in order to address some of the overseas market constraints. This is not rocket science – a group of us here in Canberra worked on the Button industry plans for steel, passenger motor vehicles, building and construction, and textiles, footwear and clothing. The issues are not that different.
If your council is interested in being involved, please contact me ASAP.
NEIS – helping budding entrepreneurs
The official unemployment rate of 5.4 percent is a mystery given the grim stories we’re hearing about jobs disappearing out from under young adults. The official figure surely disguises a lot of part-time employment as well as creative accounting.
It therefore wasn’t surprising when I was approached by a group of out-of-work young professionals recently. They wanted a steer on setting up their own businesses because, although they were optimistic about eventually landing a job, they were not looking forward to being treated like mice on a treadmill. And they were complaining that a formal job would interfere with their overseas trips!
My initial advice was Malcolm Fraser-ish — life wasn’t meant to be easy. But after tossing around ideas with them, we agreed that if they are hell-bent on setting up their own business, they would need to find people who can guide and mentor them, without walking off with their ideas.
A faint bell began ringing. We’d remembered good things about the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS). So after some googling and a few phone calls we were reacquainted with the fact that NEIS is for job seekers interested in starting and running a small business.
Accredited small business training is provided as well as advice and mentoring. Ongoing income support for up to 52 weeks, plus rental allowance in certain circumstances, is also paid.
The income support is around $490/week, which is about double the unemployment benefit. And during the training, the budding entrepreneurs develop a business plan and the local NEIS provider then helps them put the business plan into practice.
So if you have an unemployed son, daughter, relation or friend wanting to have a go, just google ‘New Enterprise Incentive Scheme’ for details.
Australian Sports Foundation
The ASF is a non-profit organisation set up by the federal government to assist not-for-profit groups raise money for eligible sports projects.
The way the program works is that organisations apply for tax deductibility status for donations towards specific projects. These projects must: be sport related; increase opportunities for Australians to participate in or excel in sport; be financially viable.
Eligible organisations include sporting clubs, schools, government organisations and community groups.
The particular value of the ASF program is that it provides a good angle for attracting company sponsorship into local projects, which in turn improves your pitch for federal and state grants: i.e. proving that there is strong community support for the project. Contact us for further advice.
In support of ROCs
I sense that numerous local councils are forgetting about the importance of regional organisations of councils (ROCs). They are focusing their lobbying effort instead on an annual trip to Canberra for the ALGA Congress and an occasional meeting with their local federal MP.
This is a shame, because a strong ROC is invariably the best means of engaging federal agencies on key projects and issues. The rationale is that a ROC provides councils with a sharper, more deliberate vehicle for engagement than by going it alone or by filtering their agendas through bigger organisations. There are other benefits:
- Councils, individually and collectively, develop collaborative skills. This increases their ongoing ability to deal with federal and state ministers and officials;
- Councils get almost immediate feedback, thus reducing delays and confusion over who said what and why;
- Councils and the region develop a reputation as serious players. This opens doors in Canberra.
A great example of a strong ROC is the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council in Perth, which is an incorporated body under the WA Local Government Act. It has a healthy cash flow by virtue of its ownership of a waste management facility, a solid core of expertise not only in waste management but also in regional development, advocacy and environmental services. It also has credibility with both the WA and federal governments, and a host of infrastructure projects that it’s currently either managing or making inputs into.
Another example of a strong ROC is the South East Australia Transport Strategy Inc. (SEATS). It was formed in the mid 1990s as a lobby group of some 15 local councils between Dandenong and Wollongong — the main game was to get SpeedRail going via the eastern seaboard. But the agenda broadened out to numerous other projects that did happen such as the Bombala bridges and the Eden Wharf to name just two.
Rod Brown is a Canberra-based consultant specialising in
industry/regional development, investment attraction, clusters and
accessing Federal grants. He also runs the Cockatoo Network. He can be
contacted at apdcockatoo@iprimus.com.au or phone (02) 6231 7261. Go to the blog at www.investmentinnovation.wordpress.com for 550+ articles on issues relevant to Local Government.
