Industry News

The High Court has voted unanimously to dismiss an appeal by Roadshow Films claiming that iiNet was responsible for its customers using file sharing services.

iiNet CEO, Michael Malone, said the judgement showed that the claims were unfounded.

"iiNet has never supported or encouraged unauthorised sharing or file downloading," Mr Malone said.

"Today's High Court five-nil ruling confirms that iiNet is not liable for 'authorising' the conduct of its customers who engaged in online copyright infringement.

"This marks the end of more than three years of legal argument and challenges.”

Mr Malone said that the ruling showed that the entertainment industry should focus on providing a cheaper, lawful avenue for customers to access content, rather than pursue legal challenges.

"Increasing the availability of licensed digital content is the best, most practical approach to meet consumer demand and protect copyright," Mr Malone said.

"We have consistently said we are eager to work with the studios to make their very desirable material legitimately available to a waiting customer base - and that offer remains the same today."

Two in five Australian businesses are finding it difficult to recruit despite national job vacancies dropping to 219,000 (from 237,000 in 2010), research from Bankwest has revealed.

The second Bankwest Skills Shortage Survey, the latest addition in the Bankwest Financial Indicator Series, reports that businesses are being dealt a double blow as highly skilled candidates are harder to come by which in turn has lengthened recruitment timeframes.

Bankwest Business Chief Executive Ian Corfield said, “Australian businesses are clearly feeling the pinch of the skills shortage, with 41% reporting that it takes more than three months longer to recruit staff than it did a year ago.

“Businesses are seeing this as a significant issue and are therefore doing what they can to attract skilled performers, whether it’s improving benefits packages or recruiting workers from interstate and overseas.”

Across the country businesses are increasingly using tactics to attract the best talent, with nearly half (47.8%) increasing basic pay rates and a quarter (25%) offering additional financial incentives and benefits. Resources-rich Western Australia and Queensland are leading this trend with 63.4% and 55.8% respectively offering more lucrative salaries compared with the other states.

Businesses on the East Coast in particular are feeling the sting of the skills shortage more sharply than the rest of the country. More than two thirds (70.4%) of respondents in the Eastern states said that they are currently looking to hire or have hired staff in the last 12 months, with almost half (45.6%) reporting that they have had difficulty filling job vacancies during this period.

This compares to 60% of businesses on the West Coast looking to hire, with just under a third (32.6%) struggling to find candidates with the right skills.

This lack of available talent is having a direct negative impact on businesses. Most often existing employees have to work longer hours to make up for the shortfall in manpower, with two thirds (66.7%) of businesses reporting an increase in overtime.

The Bankwest Skills Shortage Survey also found that close to a quarter of businesses admit to error rates increasing and 33.7% are delivering late on products and services, with 22.6% being forced to turn down new work altogether due to lack of capacity.

“Businesses are in the difficult position of having to turn new work away – a tough decision to make given the uncertain economic environment,” said Mr Corfield.

Whilst a third (33.8%) of businesses nationwide are attracting workers from interstate to plug the skills gap, 41.1% of businesses in the mining states of Western Australia and Queensland are recruiting interstate and overseas workers to relieve pressure on their workforce.

The Bankwest Skills Shortage Survey anonymously surveys approximately 800 individuals in key business roles nationwide, to assess their perspective of the current state of skills shortages in their workplace. The Survey assesses various aspects of skills supply in Australia including ease of finding suitably skilled workers, as well as impacts this has on the way businesses operate.

Mining unions from around the world have applauded the Australian government's decision to tax mining profits and urged other national governments to stand up to mining companies and follow suit.

Representatives of two major international union federations meeting in Sydney said the Australian Government's decision to impose a mineral resources rent tax was a brave political decision.

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy and Mine Unions (ICEM) and the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) represent mining and metal workers from every continent with a combined membership over 50 million workers.

Mining companies worldwide sought to pressure national governments into policies that generated exorbitant profits for shareholders at the expense of national prosperity, said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 

"If the mining companies are allowed to be successful with their attacks against government here in Australia it would send a negative signal to countries where similar measures need to be taken.

"As the mining industry grows it's critical that fair, appropriate policies are in place to manage that growth in the interests of all citizens - especially in the developing world."

A resolution passed at the Sydney conference last night noted that Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese had claimed credit for toppling Kevin Rudd over the proposed Resources Super Profits Tax. It said mining nations should not see the mining tax as a threat but an essential means of ensuring citizens benefited from the booming industry.

Profits and revenue from mining were growing rapidly all around the world, said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina.

"Nowhere in the world will mining companies give back to communities out of the goodness of their hearts," said Mr Raina.

"Australia's minerals tax is fair and reasonable, it's a good model for other countries trying to manage their resources in a manner that benefits all citizens."

The unions have called on all national governments to exercise their right to maximise the benefits of mining to their citizens.  

Australian unions have joined an international campaign to stop mining multinational Rio Tinto supplying the gold, silver and bronze for medals at the London Olympics in June.

In a strong field of anti-worker, anti-environment companies in the global mining industry, Rio Tinto is worst of all, unions say.

"If there was a gold medal for abuse of human rights, work rights and the environment, it would go to Rio Tinto," said CFMEU Mining and Energy Secretary Andrew Vickers.

"All Australians will be cheering our athletes on, but our winning athletes deserve medals that aren't tainted by Rio Tinto's brutal treatment of its own workers and communities."

The campaign (www.offthepodium.org)  has been developed in support of nearly 800 Canadian metal workers locked out of a profitable smelter by Rio Tinto because they refused a plan that put new starters on insecure work arrangements with half the pay.

The workers in Alma, Quebec, have been locked out of their jobs since December 30 as the smelter sits idle, said Joe Drexler, Strategic Campaigns Director of Canada's United Steelworkers Union.

"Rio Tinto's proposal would see Alma workers unable to support their families and devastate the community," said Mr Drexler, in Sydney for an international mining union conference.

Locking out these workers in Quebec is a violation of Rio Tinto's obligations to fair play under the Olympic charter, said Manfred Warda, General Secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Union (ICEM).

"Rio Tinto would like to bask in the reflected glory of the Olympic Games, but it has a black record on the treatment of its own people."

International mining unions declared Rio Tinto their number one target for global campaigning, due to the company’s legendary anti-union, anti-worker, unsustainable labour, community and environmental practices worldwide.

A resolution passed at the ICEM World Mining conference in Sydney noted that Rio Tinto, like many transnational miners, was recording strong profit growth while engaging in brutal and unethical practices. The global union body resolved to commit resources to drive a global campaign against Rio Tinto well beyond the London Olympics.

After months in limbo, workers at the company’s Altona plant were asked to leave their work and privately informed about their redundancy before being escorted by security guards off site. 

AMWU National Vehicle Division Secretary, Ian Jones, said the way workers were told of their redundancies was disrespectful and undignified.

“This could have been achieved in a much more respectful and sensitive way. We do not agree with the process.”

He said the AMWU would now investigate whether workers had been selected for redundancy on the basis of their union activity.

“We’ll be meeting with our shop stewards and our lawyers. We’re going to scrutinize Toyota’s methodology,” Mr Jones said.

“There’s been a disproportionate percentage of shop stewards and OHS reps made redundant. There’s been some selective criteria applied to our shop stewards and we’d like to know why.”

Assistant Vehicle Secretary, Dave Smith, said the union's perception of Toyota has been shattered.

“A part of the Toyota way, the Toyota philosophy; a central plank of that is respect, and they have shown no respect for their workforce today, none whatsoever.”

The Federal Workplace Relations Minister, Bill Shorten, said the Federal Government was already working with the AMWU to help the redundant employees find work.

“Those workers can turn around and face their families and say, 'well the Government's got an employment coordinator, they're going to provide special assistance so that we can find and re-enter the workforce as soon as possible.’ Because mum and dad didn't lose their job because they did anything wrong. Mum and dad have been affected by the high Australian dollar which is making it difficult for manufacturing."

The Australian Workers' Union will be sending their National OHS Director, Dr. Yossi Berger, to Port Macquarie to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the contaminated worksite at the Pacific Highway upgrade just south of Port Macquarie.

Following Wednesday's reports of 5 road workers receiving medical treatment for nausea - after being exposed to strange clay-like material at the site, the AWU welcomed the State Government's announcement of an independent inquiry into the incident.

Newcastle Branch Secretary Richard Downie said the AWU was extremely concerned for any workers who may have been or still could be exposed to potentially lethal or carcinogenic materials and many serious questions needed to be answered.

"Any worksite where our members may have been exposed to hazardous chemicals is of grave concern and raises serious questions," Richard Downie said.

"Why was the presence of this potentially lethal material not considered prior the upgrade of the highway and why was there not a stringent risk management plan in place?

"These are questions that will need to be answered by the State Government's independent inquiry and we welcome their announcement," Mr Downie said.

Further testing of the contaminated soil at the roadworks site is set to continue.

"Our union will be meeting with the company and WorkCover once the final results have been released to ensure that the results confirm there is no potential risk to road workers or the wider community," Richard Downie said.

All Australians will be given the opportunity to engage directly with ACTU President Ged Kearney through a ground breaking collaboration with social media start-up OurSay.org.

The ACTU-OurSay Secure Jobs for a Better Future forum allows anyone to pose a question to Ms Kearney on any work-related topic. Users can post their own question, or vote on other questions, and Ms Kearney and a panel will answer the three most popular questions at the ACTU Youth Congress: Building the Future in Sydney on 14 May.

Ms Kearney said the OurSay forum was an exciting experiment for Australian unions and an expansion of the commitment to engage with the 2 million union members and the entire community.

“I’m expecting some tough questions, but here at the ACTU we strongly believe in a transparent and accountable union movement that is willing to engage genuinely with all Australians,” she said.

“Unions belong to their members, and we are keen to open new channels to communicate with all workers, particularly young workers. We want to hear what working life is like for you today, what are your problems and issues, and what do you think unions should be doing to build a better future.

Ms Kearney said she was particularly interested in questions about insecure work.

“About 40% of Australians are in casual, labour hire and contract forms of work, with few of the protections and entitlements of permanent employees – like paid leave or superannuation.

“For young people entering the workforce, a casual job is a good option – but what happens then? How do you find a secure job as your life priorities change? How can the growth of insecure work be addressed, especially so that younger workers have the same options their parents did? Tell us what you think unions should be doing to meet the challenges of the modern labour market, particularly for young workers.”

OurSay.org was started by a team of young people passionate about harnessing the power of social media to revitalise critical participation in Australian democracy. It aims to create a culture of active media engagement and developing critical debate in the public sphere over a longer period of time than the 24-hour media cycle.

The federal and state health ministers have opened the new children’s cancer centre at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.


The new haematology and oncology centre is one element of a three-storey redevelopment on top of the existing Gilbert Building. This work has also created space for a new 20-bed medical ward, a lung disease centre and a gene therapy laboratory.


The extensive redevelopment has been funded in partnership between the Commonwealth and State Governments, with generous support from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Little Heroes Foundation.


The new haematology and oncology facilities are named after the respected paediatric oncologist, Dr Michael Rice, who has been associated with the hospital for more than 50 years.


Minister Plibersek said, “The Michael Rice Centre brings together a place where children and teenagers with blood disorders or cancer can be treated.”


Minister Hill said, “The facilities include a special lead-lined room for children undergoing radiotherapy with a video link to a parents’ room. This physically isolates them to reduce the risk of radiation exposure for other patients and staff while still keeping them in close contact with their families.


“There are also two ‘negative pressure’ areas which allow for infectious patients to be nursed in isolation.”


The new floors on the Gilbert building also house the Breathing Space service which will assess patients with respiratory and lung illnesses as well as the new Allan Scott laboratory where research will continue into an airway gene therapy to treat or even cure the lung diseases associated with cystic fybrosis.

The Gilbert Building Redevelopment Project has been made possible with $15 million Federal Government funding, $4.4m from the State Government, $2.6m from the WCH Foundation towards the Breathing Space and $2m from the Little Heroes Foundation towards the Michael Rice Centre.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler, announced a 10-year plan to reshape aged care, beginning 1 July 2012.

The Gillard Labor Government will deliver the $3.7 billion Living Longer Living Better plan to deliver more choice, easier access and better care for older Australians and their families.

To make it easier for older Australians to stay in their home while they receive care, the Government will:

• Increase the number of Home Care Packages- from 59,876 to 99,669.
• Provide tailored care packages to people receiving home care, and new funding for dementia care.
• Cap costs, so that full pensioners pay no more than the basic fee.

To make sure more people get to keep their family home, and to prevent anyone being forced to sell their home in an emergency fire sale, the Gillard Government will:

• Provide more choice about how to pay for care. Instead of a bond which can cost up to $2.6 million and bears no resemblance to the actual cost of accommodation, you will be able to pay through a lump sum or a periodic payment, or a combination of both.
• Give families time to make a decision about how to pay, by introducing a cooling-off period.
• Cap care costs, with nobody paying more than $25,000 a year and no more than $60,000 over a lifetime.

The amount older Australians pay for aged care services will be capped and underpinned by tightened means testing, meaning older Australians will not be forced into a fire sale of the family home in order to get access to aged care.

This will not affect the million people already in the system.

To ensure there are immediate improvements as well, the government will also:

• Increase residential aged care places from 191,522 to 221,103
• Fund $1.2 billion to improve the aged care workforce through a Workforce Compact.
• Provide more funding for dementia care in aged care, and more support for services.
• Establish a single gateway to all aged care services, to make them easier to access and navigate.
• Set stricter standards, with greater oversight of aged care.

New Australian research has found eating fish may have the edge over fish oil capsules when it comes to lowering blood pressure, a known risk factor for heart disease.

The study, published in the Dietitians Association of Australia’s journal Nutrition & Dietetics, compared the effect of 1g/day of healthy omega-3 fats from fresh salmon and fish oil capsules on an ‘omega-3 index’ and heart disease risk factors.

Both fish and fish oil capsules increased the ‘omega-3 index’ to the level thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease. And eating fish, but not fish oil capsules, was also linked with a marked reduction in blood pressure.

Eleven patients with heart disease, recruited from St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, took part in the study. Participants were mostly working-age males with no smoking history and a moderate alcohol intake.

They either took two fish oil capsules six days a week, or ate two 150g serves of fresh Atlantic salmon per week, over twelve weeks. They then had a ‘wash-out’ period where they went back to their usual diet and didn’t take supplements, before swapping across to the other treatment for a further 12 weeks.

Researcher Catherine Itsiopoulos said the study showed that fish intake may have additional heart health benefits over fish oil for people with heart disease.

“Fish is a whole food, so as well as omega-3 fats it has other beneficial nutrients such as taurine and selenium. And it may be that eating fish replaces other less healthy foods, meaning a better diet overall,” said Associate Professor Itsiopoulos, an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

Catherine Itsiopoulos’ tips for increasing omega-3 intake through diet:

• Eat two to three meals per week of oily fish (such as salmon, sardines, mackerel or tuna).
• Choose omega-3 enriched eggs
• Use canola oil for cooking, flaxseed oil for making dressings and mayonnaise, and extra virgin olive oil for dipping, sprinkling and tossing onto vegetables and salads
• Use canola margarine as a spread or in baking
• Switch to omega-3 enriched wholemeal bread
• Try ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal) as a topping on breakfast cereal
• Use lean cuts of meat (beef or lamb).

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO) has launched its new consumer bulletin, Health Insurance Insider, as part of its ongoing consumer awareness campaign.

Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, Samantha Gavel said Health Insurance Insider was another one of the consumer information tools provided by her office to demystify the complexity of private health insurance.

“Consumers can only make the best decisions about private health insurance through access to the best quality information.

“The whole purpose of Health Insurance Insider is to provide consumers with regular updates on private health insurance issues so they can make the best choices for themselves and their families. This first edition focuses on the importance of consumers regularly reviewing their policy and keeping it up-to-date.”

Ms Gavel said there were four things every Australian with private health insurance could do straight away to ensure they had right cover to meet their needs:

• keep their personal details up-to-date;
• review their policy;
• keep premium payments up-to-date; and
• be aware of fund rule changes and notifications.

“As with all things in life, circumstances may change from time to time, so it’s important that consumers are diligent on their own behalf and review their health insurance policy regularly to make sure it still meets their health needs.

“If consumers have any questions about changes to their policy or want to upgrade their policy, they should contact their fund as soon as possible.

Further information is available at  www.phio.org.au

Researchers from the University of Melbourne and Austin Health have come one step closer to understanding how our bodies regulate fat and weight gain.

Dr Barbara Fam from the University’s Molecular Obesity Laboratory group at Austin Health with Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos have discovered that the liver can directly talk to the brain to control the amount of food we eat. 

The results have demonstrated that the liver, which has never been classed as an important organ in controlling body weight before, is in fact a major player and should be considered a target for treatment of weight gain.

Test on mice showed that over-expression of a specific enzyme in the liver resulted in 50% less fat and the subjects ate less food than mice without the extra enzyme. Needed in the production of glucose, the enzyme called FBPase previously led to speculation that too much FBPase was bad for you. 

‘We actually thought that the mouse with the over-expressed enzyme would show signs of becoming diabetic since the enzyme is important in producing more glucose from the liver. However when we studied our mice in more depth, we were very surprised to see that this enzyme triggered a number of hormones that influence the control of appetite,” said Dr Fam.

“The really striking result was that the genes in the brain, important in making us increase our food intake were actually reduced.  

”The results suggest that consumption of a diet high in fat, causes an increase in liver FBPase that was likely put in place as a negative feedback mechanism to limit further weight gain. Importantly, FBPase does not function to control body weight under normal physiological circumstances but acts only when the system is exposed to excess nutrients such as fat. 

”When people eat diets loaded with fat and sugars particularly over the long term, it can have a number of different effects on the body but it appears that we actually have in place an innate system that protects us from any further weight gain that could happen while eating these type of diets.” 

More needs to be investigated to verify this in further trials, however this study has demonstrated that liver FBPase should be viewed not only as a mediator of glucose metabolism but also as an important regulator of appetite and fat. It also gives us great insight into why the liver is a very important organ.

Despite the fact that most of us give regularly to charity throughout our lives, when it comes to our wills, we give it all to family, according to a study conducted by researchers at Swinburne University of Technology.

The study provides the most detailed data available to date on how Australians bequeath their estates, with particular attention to charitable giving. It examined a random sample of Victorian probate records in 2006 and found about one in twenty people who leave a will, leave a charitable bequest.

"Most people tend to think that as Australians we are generous and respond well to people in times of flood, fire and other disasters, but only a small minority do so in their wills. When it comes to our estates, we make provision first for our families and then for charities," said researcher Dr Christopher Baker.

Dr Baker said an estimated 87 per cent of the adult population in Australia make gifts to charity each year, but only 5.4 per cent of Victorian estates made a post mortem charitable bequest in 2006.

"The records show that Australians overwhelmingly leave their estates to immediate family members - first spouses, then children. They also show that there is a significant discrepancy between what people do with their estates and intestacy laws that determine how estates are distributed in the absence of a will."

The study also found that two thirds of charitable bequests are left by people who do not have surviving children.

The study was conducted by Research Fellow in Swinburne's Faculty of Business and Enterprise Dr Christopher Baker and Swinburne Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Quality Professor Michael Gilding. The results have been published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues.

Swinburne University of Technology has been awarded the Open Universities Australia (OUA) Rising Star Nova Award 2012.

The bi-annual Nova Awards celebrate outstanding achievement by providers in using online technology in their nominated OUA unit to support and enhance learning.

Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Swinburne's Lilydale campus, Dr Lorraine Fleckhammer, received the Rising Star award for the OUA unit Introduction to Theories of Counselling (PSS270).

Swinburne has achieved significant growth in OUA, increasing enrolments by more than 30 per cent year-on-year.

Last year, Swinburne's OUA enrolments totalled about 22,500 students, with 200 enrolled in full programs.

The Nova Awards were presented at the Melbourne Convention Centre as part of the OUA conference in April.

An international research project led by Professor Sheryl Hemphill of Australian Catholic University (ACU) has found that the factors leading to incidents of cyber-bullying are different to those which result in traditional bullying.

Of the 927 students surveyed in Victoria, approximately 15 per cent had been engaged in cyber-bulling and 21 per cent in traditional bullying. Seven per cent had been involved in both.

Professor Hemphill found that academic failure, family conflict and past bullying behaviour were the main factors leading to episodes of traditional bullying.

Of these, only past behaviour, in the form of relational aggression, was a factor leading to incidents of cyber-bullying.

Relational aggression refers to covert forms of bullying such as exclusion and spreading rumours.

“Advances in technology can provide young people with positive ways to communicate but can also bring about new risks,” Professor Hemphill said.

Drawing on data from the International Youth Development Study – a longitudinal study of students in Australia and the United States which began in 2002 – the research examined individual, peer, family and school risk factors for both cyber and traditional bullying in adolescents.

“At this stage, the best advice we can give to schools is for them to use evidence-based bullying prevention programs and ensure that they target cyber-bullying within these. Further research on influential factors may suggest other approaches in the future.”

“For traditional bullying, addressing difficulties at home and providing academic support also helps improve the behaviour of perpetrators.

Cyber-bullying is still a relatively new concept, with very few longitudinal studies to fall back on. Professor Hemphill said much further research is needed before we can fully understand the influential factors as well as its impacts.

“Cyber-space is a relatively new environment. We need to take a similar approach to anywhere young people go – teach them the skills they need to keep themselves safe in that environment and know how to find assistance if they need it. We need to develop clear strategies young people can use in cyber-space so that they experience the benefits but avoid the risks of the cyber environment.”

“Further research into and knowledge of the factors which lead to cyber-bulling will help inform anti-bullying strategies and educational policies which will, in turn, reduce bullying incidents in schools.”

Professor Patrick Heaven, prominent psychology academic and expert, has been appointed Dean of Research at Australian Catholic University (ACU).

Professor Heaven comes to ACU from the University of Wollongong (UOW), where he was Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. Prior to that, he was Head of the School of Psychology at UOW from 2001 to 2010.

Patrick holds several qualifications including a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Orange Free State; a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Stellenbosch; a Master of Arts (Research) from the University of the Orange Free State; and a Doctorate of Literature and Philosophy from the University of South Africa. His publication record includes more than 150 research articles, six books, and major research funding of approximately $1 million.

Patrick was instrumental in establishing the Wollongong Youth Study, a significant longitudinal study of the social and emotional development of youth. He is similarly involved in the Australian Character Study, another longitudinal study which documents changes over time.  Both projects have received funding from the Australian Research Council.

Professor Heaven is a former Editor of the Australian Journal of Psychology and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Adolescence.

Vulnerable people would be left without a safety net and the longstanding Australian tradition of egalitarianism and a fair go would be ditched under a Coalition plan to help the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

ACTU President Ged Kearney said Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey’s proposal to cut support programs for Australia’s most vulnerable people shows the Liberal Party is completely out of touch and clueless when it comes to social and economic justice.

“The Liberal Party’s Dickensian 19th century approach to social justice is in complete contrast to community sentiment,” Ms Kearney said.

“Unlike Tony Abbott’s Liberal Party, most Australians recognise that many in our community need greater support in order to overcome unemployment and be able to contribute to the nation’s economy. Many welfare payments in Australia, including the Newstart allowance, are barely enough to survive on.”

Ms Kearney said Mr Hockey was either wilfully misleading or ignorant about the true state of Australian public social spending.

“At 16% of GDP, Australian public social spending is lower than the vast majority of OECD countries, including the United States,” Ms Kearney said.

“The biggest component of our social spending is on health, so if Joe Hockey wants to significantly reduce Australian social spending, this would have to involve large cuts to Medicare and pensions.

“We know the Liberal Party is champing at the bit to take away workers’ rights and now we have evidence it is also gearing up to take away the rights of those who are not fortunate enough to even be in the workforce.

“Smart leaders know that there are real and complex reasons why people are on welfare and that cutting the support and telling them to ‘go it alone’ is no solution.

“All that will do is further grow the divide and entrench generational poverty among those who are capable of turning their lives around, as long as they have support to do so.”

The CEO Institute, a national organisation whose members are the CEOs and leaders of large private and public companies and professional firms, has released a list of the top 5 issues currently keeping CEOs awake at night.

The CEO Institute spokesman, Mr Evan Davies, said these issues included some specific post-GFC issues as well as some perennial leadership issues:

Top 5 CEO concerns

Sourcing and retaining skilled staff (keeping “millennial gen” employees interested)
This perennial issue was top of mind 12 months ago and still is now, Mr Davies said. Despite a reasonably high unemployment rate, CEOs are having a hard time getting young talent on board – and keeping them.

“Our members are indicating the millennial generation just don’t stay at companies too long. This is really problematic in developing leadership and talent pipelines.”

Achieving top-line growth
Top-line growth is all about customers and sales - the concern is about activities to acquire new customers, increase customer loyalty and increase retention, Mr Davies said.

“It’s tough right now for CEOs dealing with changing customer needs and expectations. They are trying to develop strong sales and marketing strategies to grow sales and to sustain and develop steady top line growth. Many of our members are talking about developing new processes and products to stay ahead of the competition – to build and maintain their competitive advantage,” he said. And if you can’t get top-line growth and can’t increase new lines, you really have to maintain costs.

Reducing costs
Mr Davies says this is very big on members’ radar. While the Australian dollar is at levels good for importing, it’s not great if you are trying to export. He said the cost aspect – in particular wage and salary increases and the potential impact of the Carbon Tax - are a big concern to members.

Improving operational efficiency
If you can’t increase sales, to reduce costs you need to run a very efficient business.

“Our CEO members are concerned about making sure their strategies are appropriate for the business and managing risks effectively. This is an important one given businesses in tough industries (retail, manufacturing) may consider a move out of their normal area to take advantage of boom industries (mining, resources) – there are risks involved with diversification or taking on big projects,” he said.

Managing increasing competition
Competition is fierce – CEOs are constantly asking “how are we managing our customer service?” as their competition puts them under the pump. Business leaders need to know they are positioned to seize opportunities in the right place at the right time.

“CEOs’ focus is on getting their business models right and many are recognizing that the sources of growth may well be very much local. Changing customer demand is the biggest driver of change to corporate strategy. Success involves truly understanding customer segmentation and the dynamics driving it,” he said.

“At our monthly syndicate meetings, and across each of the Australian states, CEOs are raising these 5 issues continuously,” Mr Davies said.

“A constant dilemma for CEOs is who they can talk to, candidly, about their problems and challenges - because there can be a real sense of being lonely at the top. The CEO Institute provides leadership guidance and peer support for our members on these and other issues.”

The CEO Institute organises syndicates of about 16 CEOs, who meet monthly to work through issues and share knowledge. The membership of each syndicate is matched to members’ business profiles and size, ensuring a dynamic and active environment in a confidential setting.

South Australian Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond will unveil the first of the reforms a Redmond Government will undertake to restore South Australia’s flagging education system.

“The education of our children is paramount,” Ms Redmond said.

“We need to ensure our education system can function in a way that maximises the learning potential of its students, and in doing so gives our children the best chance at life.

“Run by a cumbersome bureaucracy and a "one size fits all" mentality, our system, schools, and students have suffered at the hands of the Weatherill Labor Government.”

The ‘Quality Teaching, Local School Management’ policy gives principals greater autonomy in five key areas:

• Managing their budget
• Supporting staff excellence
• Employing staff
• Managing staff
• Allocating resources

Ms Redmond said a Liberal Government would pilot these new local management measures in thirty schools in the first year.

Are your remuneration levels on the money?

McArthur has recently released the 2011/2012 edition of their National Remuneration Survey for Local Government.

Over recent years, salary and remuneration surveys have become increasingly important benchmarking and workforce planning tools for the local government sector.  Colin Britten, Marketing & Communications Manager at McArthur, points out, “With local government now competing aggressively for commercial and private sector talent, the need to ensure competitive remuneration and benefits strategies are in place is more critical than ever.” 

The new McArthur survey again represents their most comprehensive overview to date.  With 160 participating councils from around Australia providing feedback, the survey represents a wide cross section and gives a truly national overview. Reported data covers nearly 6000 specific positions across 4 key levels and 4 comprehensive job family groupings, including an in-depth CEO salary category.

Britten goes on to point out, “The aim of the survey is to provide the key insights and business critical information that CEO’s, Directors, Management, Councillors and HR departments need to make informed decisions. We have always viewed the survey as a continuous work in progress, and we are confident of reaching 200+ participating councils next year, bringing even more depth and accuracy of insight.”

A copy of the survey is free to participating councils and $500.00 per copy for non-participants.

For Further Details on the National Remuneration Survey for Local Government Contact:
Mark O’Brien, National Manager – Client Relations
(03) 9828 6502; 0411 748 023
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For Further Media Information Contact :

Colin Britten, Marketing & Communications Manager
(03) 9828 6565; 0437 255 103
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With over 40 years' experience, McArthur are one of Australia's largest and most respected privately-owned recruitment specialists.  Employing over 110 highly experienced professionals across a national network of offices located in 4 capital cities, McArthur delivers Best People Fit solutions across a wide range of vertical markets including 35+ years' focus on government.