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ISSUE 67, Thurs 17 December, 2009

www.portchamber.com.au

Coles Hayward St Development Approved

The Northern Region Joint Regional Planning Panel held its first meeting in Port Macquarie last week and approved the development application for a new (Coles) retail complex in Hayward St.

The proposal came to the panel as it has a capital investment value greater than $10m. All development applications presented to JRPPs are assessed by local councils, typically following a public exhibition period. The panels consist of members appointed by the NSW Government and local councils and provide independent, merit-based decision-making and advice to the Minister for Planning.

Northern Region JRPP Chair Garry West said "The panel agreed with Council's assessment that the new facility would deliver social and economic benefits to the local area and play a positive role in retaining an important retail presence in the Port Macquarie town centre …Improvements will be required as a condition of consent to improve the Horton & Gordon Street roundabout, as well as improvements along Gordon and Hayward Streets themselves."

Chamber President Rob Turner said “Following consultation with members, Chamber put a submission to Council supporting the proposed development in general, but flagging a number of areas of concern. It’s very pleasing to see the Council took note of the issues raised by Chamber and worked with Coles on some modifications in this regard.”

More information about JRPPs is available at www.jrpp.nsw.gov.au.

Are you ready for the 1 Jan 2010 IR changes?

The second phase of the Federal Government’s IR changes comes into force on 1 January, with the introduction of the new National Employment Standards (NES) and commencement of ‘Modern’ Industrial Awards. With the NSW parliament passing the Industrial Relations (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2009 (NSW) on Tuesday 1 December 2009, from January 2010, the Commonwealth’s Fair Work Act will cover all NSW sole traders and partnerships.

The following small business checklist and links can help you identify what other information you may need to know for your move into the national system.

Can you answer YES to all of the following questions?

Have you found out which NSW award your business is currently covered by and which modern award you will be covered by?

Are arrangements in place so that your business will comply with the ten National Employment Standards when they come into force?

Have you got a Fair Work Information Statement ready to give to your employees?

Are you keeping the required records and giving employees pay slips?

Are you aware of your options for making an enterprise agreement with employees?

Do you understand how to bargain in good faith if you want to make an enterprise agreement with employee?

Do you understand and are you able to comply with the Fair Dismissal Code if terminating an employee's employment?

If you have answered NO to any of these questions, you will need to find out more - use the links above to assist you.

Planning ahead? NSW public holidays ...

The 2010 and 2011 NSW public holidays (including local holidays) are now available on the NSW Industrial Relations website.

Work for the Dole equipment – going, going, gone!

All equipment on offer at the Chamber’s graysonline.com auction was sold last week. Chamber Executive Officer, Liesa Davies said “The auction went very well and we are pleased with the prices received. The proceeds will be reinvested in Chamber operations to ensure we continue to offer value to our members as the peak representative of business interests in Port Macquarie”.

Thank-you to all who jumped on-line and put in a bid or two and congratulations to those members who were successful bidders!

Combined Xmas Party

It was great to see almost 200 party-goers at Tuesday’s Combined Xmas Party at Spinnakers Restaurant, Quality Resort Sails. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Port Macquarie Base Hospital emergency department.

Chamber signing off for 2009

This will be the final Chamber newsletter for 2009. The Chamber office will close its doors for three weeks from this Friday over the festive season, re-opening on Monday 11th January. However, phone messages and e-mails will be checked and actioned over this period. Thank you to all our members for your engagement in 2009. We look forward to working with you in 2010.

12 tips for a cash happy Christmas

(by Rob Lamers. Source: www.dynamicbusiness.com.au.)

On the first day of Christmas: review your invoicing procedures and ensure that your invoices are issued immediately goods are shipped.
On the second day of Christmas: update your cash flow projections to anticipate any Christmas shortfalls. Sales activity usually leaps 30 per cent.
On the third day of Christmas: review your stocks and supply chain, looking for ways to tighten ship or for old inventory you can quickly move on.
On the fourth day of Christmas: consider shortening your payment terms or offer incentives to your debtors for settlement by new year.
On the fifth day of Christmas: consider taking deposits when orders are made.
On the sixth day of Christmas: monitor your increasing wage and supply costs – make sure you have a plan to stay cash flow positive.
On the seventh day of Christmas: maintain your cash reserves by taking full advantage of the payment terms offered by your suppliers and paying on the last day, or ask for discounts for earlier payment.
On the eighth day of Christmas: quickly chase up customers you know to be slow-paying, or consider asking them for up-front payment during the Christmas period.
On the ninth day of Christmas: watch out for January – follow up outstanding invoices before your customers and their accounts departments go on holiday.
On the tenth day of Christmas: sign-up for debtor finance for the option of receiving 80 per cent of invoice values within 24 hours of issue, instead of offering debtors discounts for early settlement.
On the eleventh day of Christmas: : consider getting credit checks on any new customers to ensure that they can pay.
On the twelfth day of Christmas: Sit back, relax, say farewell to the crisis and welcome the new year!
- Rob Lamers is the CEO of cash flow finance specialist, Oxford Funding (a subsidiary of Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank).

Chamber Board

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Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce
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