Category: General news

Okay. Alright already. Just ‘cos I correctly predicted the result of the Griffith by-election does not make me a seer.  DJ Greyboy’s French Bulldog would have predicted that result without putting her snout over the pink-ribboned lip of her bling-lined basket.

But. I know human behaviour and I can recognise a bunch of old ,white men having a bit of fun with the national budget at the expense of the media when I see it.

The talk about an increase in the petrol levy is a red herring, designed to keep everyone talking about anything except the real problem. And that is: the more the government cuts to balance the budget, the more the rest of us have to reach into our pocket.

The problem is that the government talks as if it is the equivalent of a very large household and that if the budget does not add up then then we will all suffer.

The analogy does not hold.

The government is one member of a very large household. Since it is a bunch of old white men, it is tempting to give it the role of the father but, in fact, it is more like this bunch of old, white men’s traditional view of the mother.

The father’s role we will give to international trade: The money that comes in and out of the country/family. In this analogy, the balance of trade is the amount of money that papa puts on the table. He pays the builder, buys the cars and the holidays.

Mama, the government, takes some of that money to feed the little kids who do not earn, to provide the services that this traditional family need and on the side she does a couple of things that bring in a bit of extra revenue. She makes up the difference in nanna flat rent, Air B and B on the spare room and the household allowance from Dad. That, if you like, is the mama tax.

The rest of us – the nation’s businesses, workers and consumers – are the kids, the boarders and nana in the flat out the back that was once a garage. We dip into the family resources pretty substantially but we also bring back a reasonable amount of loot from our wanderings. Since we put the Air B and B advertisement online, there has been enough money for us all to upgrade our phones and buy a couple of nice items of clothing. Well done Mum.

If you look at the overall budget, Dad generally brings in more than he spends, if he doesn’t the rest of us are going to have to work pretty hard to keep the boat afloat. On the other hand, Mama often spends more than she earns.

So those three sectors together form the household. Of course the household budget has to balance. That is the nature of things. If Dad stops earning and we have a trade deficit, then times will be tight. Nanna’s rent might go up, the kids might start paying board, the violin lessons might stop.

I once had an affair with an economist who called this the twin deficit theory of macro-economics. No-one could understand a word he said so I shifted my affections to a saxophone player and have kept on using this household analogy. Most people get it and if it annoys a certain sad duck well that suits me just fine. Not that I’m bitter, just vengeful.

What this government is doing, is pretending that Mama’s budget is the budget for the whole household. It is ignoring Dad’s contribution and the fact that there is actually a reasonable amount of money on the table from the various hangers on.

So, Mama has to balance her budget by feeding us less, stemming our bleeding wounds with rags from the bag on the back of the laundry door, and refusing to pay for our magazines, school books and phone cards. We have to fend for ourselves now, in the interests of a more ruthless, market-driven family.

Dad is rapt. Without the strain of all those brats on his weekly wage he can spend a bit more on his golf clubs, next car and whatever else takes his fancy. Nanna and the boarders don’t give a toss. If there is a better quality of toilet paper on the hanger and a maid does the cleaning instead of Mum then so be it. It is the kids who suffer.

In this government’s model of the economy, though, that does not matter. At least Mama’s budget balances.

A cynic might think that Mama has been plotting with Dad and no longer has the kid’s well being as her top priority.

For a relative newcomer to the West End, such as myself, the Kurilpa Peninsula Local Legends awards night held at Archive Beer Boutique on Saturday, May 10, could not have been a better introduction to the people and the spirit of the community.

This was the second of the Local Legends events hosted by the Gabba Ward’s Councillor Helen Abrahams. Councillor Abrahams said that the awards, presented in four categories for Creativity, Youth, Environment, and Business, are by the community, recognising people they know in the community.

The unique awards for the evening were designed by local artist and businessman, Mr Hiroaki Eba from Hanasho flower shop and art gallery and represent the river and the Kuripla Peninsula.

Federal Member for Griffith, Ms Terri Butler, and Local State member for South Brisbane, Ms Jacki Trad joined Councillor Abrahams in presenting awards.

Nominees for the Creativity Award were announced by Ms Butler. Reading from his nomination, Ms Butler said that first nominee Mr Chris Maver has “tenaciously and energetically promoted flamboyant entertainment in the genre of gay and allied gender in the arts.” Mr Maver has also authored and produced a documentary about local artists in the community which is available from the West End library.

The second creative nominee was Debaran Wright. Ms Wright is an art teacher and therapist who has volunteered at West End Community House for more than 12 years.

There were two group nominations for the creativity award which included the West End Making History Group the authors of the Streetwalker Guides of the West End. Ms Butler said the group members “are local heroes who exemplify the creative and sharing culture of our West End community”.

Fiona Stager from Avid Reader (and a member of the Making History Group) nominated West End’s Kurilpa library for the creativity award. The library was established in 1929 and was the first purpose-built municipal library in Queensland. In her nomination, Ms Stager wrote, “I cannot imagine West End without the Kurilpa Library”.

The winner’s award went to Ms Litsa Stilianos, Director of the Greek Orthodox Child-Care Centre in Browning Street, South Brisbane, a role she has held for 25 years. Her philosophy is that the child-care centre should be providing a service to the parents and the broader family as well as the children. Ms Stilianos has also been part of the organising committee for the Paniyiri Greek Festival for the last 10 years and presents and compares popular cooking demonstrations at the event.

The youth award announced by Ms Abrahams went to Brisbane State high school student Anikah (Ani) Shah. Ms Shah was nominated for being an outstanding student who consistently displays “a heart for social Justice and compassion within our community”. Ms Shah has worked with the local community through Micah projects and with the Brisbane Homelessness Service Centre. She has also been involved with World Vision and is a key member of her school’s Peer Helper team.

Young musician Louis Whelan was also nominated for the Youth Award. Louis plays in several West End bands, is the manager of the Mouldy Lovers and Rivermouth, as well as a volunteer for community radio 4ZZZ.

There were two nominees for the local environment award. Entomologist Tim Heard was nominated for his work over 30 years with the Australian native stingless bee. Mr Heard who has helped introduce over 300 hives to residences across metropolitan areas, was represented at the awards by his partner Katina because he was off giving a native bee workshop in Ipswich. Anyone interested in having a native beehive in their garden should visit Tim’s website www.sugarbag.net.

The winner of the Environment Award was the deserving Meg Kanowski, who is well-known for her work with the Jane Street Community Garden and more recently for establishing and maintaining the wonderful community garden at Paradise Street, Highgate Hill. Ms Kanowski, has been doing community garden work for the past 11 years, and Councillor Abrahams said she is a “much loved member of the local community often recognised for her razor sharp wit [who is] deeply caring and generous towards everyone she meets. Meg is the unsung hero that keeps the gardens as wonderful places to visit”.

I don’t know if Ms Kanowski is also known for her eloquence, but her acceptance speech was the highlight of the night for me. Acknowledging the traditional owners of Paradise Street, Ms Kanowski said of the garden that ”it is a greeting place, a meeting place, a place for argument, joy and despair ….we don’t only share food, we share stories, we share fire, we share beauty and sanctuary…”

South Brisbane MP, Ms Jacki Trad presented the Local Business award. The West End library was again a nominee along with Ms Brenda Fawdon of Mondo Organics. Ms Trad, said that Ms Fawdon has been a restaurateur and chef in Brisbane for 22 years. Inspired by a concern for the increasing use of pesticides, preservatives and genetically modified additives in everyday foods, Ms Fawdon opened Mondo Organics restaurant in 2000. People come to West End from all over Brisbane to eat at Mondo and to attend its cooking classes. Ms Fawdon’s cookbook, ‘Wholehearted Food’ was published in 2013.

The winner of the Local Business award was former president of the West End Traders’ Association, Mr Peter Marinelli. Ms Trad said that Mr Marinelli is a well-known West End business icon. He lives in the West End and with his wife Maria runs the local Swiss Deli famous for its Portuguese custard tarts among other wonderful delicacies. A sponsor said of him, and that Mr Marinelli is a “tireless community worker and benefactor who during the 2011 flood emergency delivered food and refreshments to residents and flood workers”.

The climax of the night was The Westender award (although Councillor Abrahams was at pains to point out that there was not a hierarchy of awards). Nominees included many of those previously nominated. Additional nominees were the Paniyiri Organising Committee, Mr Jeff Lam, Owner and Manager of the Health Works West End, and local window cleaner Mr Charley Lay and his little dog Tubsie.

Reading from his nomination, Ms Abrahams said that Mr Lam had been operating the Health Works in West End for almost five years and that he has an emphasis on fitness for everyone, no matter what age or social situation. She said that Mr Lam had consciously kept membership fees low to enable people to access a safe and friendly environment in which to exercise.

Ms Abrahams said that the first Paniyiri festival held 37 years ago had attracted a few thousand people and now it is a nationally recognised two-day extravaganza, attracting more than 60,000 people. This year the Paniyiri will be held in South Brisbane’s Musgrave Park on May 24 and 25.

The Westender award went to Mr Joe Hurley whom his sponsor said has been “a guiding light in the West End community for nearly 20 years as team leader, coordinator and now manager of the West End Family Care Services”. His nomination said that under Mr Hurley’s leadership, “the organisation has delivered free breakfasts drop-in advice information referrals housing support and provided a refuge of hope and opportunity for thousands of residents. Mr Hurley has recently been instrumental in expanding services Annerley and Yeronga under the banner of community plus”.

“Mr Hurley is a fiercely loyal and local legend who deserves our recognition”, Councillor Abrahams said.

Far too often lately we have seen protests and complaint, often for good reason, so it was wonderfully refreshing to spend an evening celebrating the ordinary and the extraordinary people who make a real and lasting difference in our community, I felt privileged to be there.

This post lifted from http://www.voiceforindi.com/_indishares

The eyes of the nation focused on the Indi electorate during the 2013 Federal election campaign, as this previously safe seat saw a nine per cent against the national trend and elected an Independent candidate backed by the Voices for Indi community movement.

Voices for Indi has since been contacted by many community groups, NGOs, advocacy and activist groups, unions and election candidates of varied political affiliations who wish to learn about the simple and effective process that gave voice to the people of Indi and created such extraordinary electoral change.

In response an IndiShares forum will be held at the Oxley Hall on 14th June.

Cathy McGowan MP and key people from her campaign team and Voices for Indi and will be there to share and discuss all aspects of building participatory democracy and how to conduct an innovative and successful election campaign.

IndiShares will take the form of round table conversations, hosted by a V4I member with a maximum of ten participants. These round table conversations will be for thirty minutes and there will be an opportunity to attend up to five different topic conversations throughout the day.

The forum will end with a plenary session for general questions and discussion.

To ensure quality conversation for participants IndiShares numbers will be limited, so please register early.

Session themes will be:

• Voices for Indi: how to build values based participatory democracy
• Kitchen Table Conversations: the process for giving people voice
• Social Media: new platforms for engagement and crowdfunding
• Website/Nation Builder: communications and managing the data
• Young People: inclusion and embracing new ideas
• Volunteers: signing up to values, belonging and training
• Branding/Marketing: creating identity
• Innovative Campaigning and Events : flashmobs, pop up events
• Electioneering: creativity, fun and logistics
• Being an Independent Candidate

---

Tickets cost $180pp and will be limited.  To request a registration package or to make further enquiries, please email voiceforindi@voiceforindi.com

For media comment: Alana Johnson, V4I President – 0427 624 214

Labor Member for South Brisbane and Shadow Arts Minister, Jackie Trad, is calling on the Newman Government to extend the public consultation period for the Cultural Precinct Master Plan after receiving concerns from local residents.

“The Newman Government’s 20 year Cultural Precinct Master Plan released on Monday represents significant change to the physicality of Queensland’s Cultural Precinct including the loss of open public space at South Bank and should be given more than 25 days for community feedback,” Ms Trad said.

“Given the millions already ripped out of the arts sector by the Newman Government, any commitment to the sector is welcomed and I know the cultural institutions are very keen for connectivity between venues.

“However, if this can only be achieved by flogging off public land at South Bank to build high-rises, then the community needs to know and needs to have a proper say.”

Ms Trad said on the issue of protecting public space at South Bank, Mr Newman has proven himself to be again, inconsistent and hypocritical.

She said at the time that the decision was made to relocate the ABC to South Bank, when he was Brisbane Lord Mayor, Mr Newman was reported as saying:

“This is public open space, it’s part of the parklands and it’s been flogged off to the ABC to enrich the South Bank Corporation and ultimately the State Government,” he said. “I think it’s a disgrace.”

“Now, Mr Newman is arrogantly rushing through his new plans for South Bank without giving residents and the community a genuine opportunity to have a say,” Ms Trad said.

“Mr Newman’s track record of managing projects of a public/private nature is appalling. Brisbane residents remember the failed Clem 7 tunnel, the budget blow out with Legacy Way and the ridiculous CityCycle scheme with thousands of bikes gathering rust and dust throughout our city.

“However, even more concerning is the Premier’s management of the 1 William Street project which the Queensland Auditor-General independently concluded would end up costing taxpayers $2.6 billion over the next 10-15 years, Ms Trad said.

“Given that this is a 20 year plan, the local community should be given more than 25 days to have their views canvassed.”

See other articles about the resident’s concerns over the City Plan and other planning announcements.

The Queensland Goverment’s Business portal promotes customer service as one of the keys to building your business effectively.

In February, Westender published a piece titled Customer Service is still King, singing the praises of the West End KwikKopy who had gone the extra mile and won our business loyalty.

Business.Qld.Gov.au provides a range of tips on their customer service site. The summary is provided below.

Customer service is about giving customers what they want, when they want it, in the best possible way. If your business provides good customer service, you have a greater chance of keeping and increasing your customer base.

Research indicates that it costs up to 10 times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing customer.

Good customer service can help your business grow by increasing:

• customer numbers through favourable word-of-mouth advertising
• the dollar amount spent per customer per transaction
• the frequency of customer visits.

You can establish a culture of excellent customer service in your business by planning, developing and sustaining a customer service program. Train your staff to give your customers the highest level of service.

I always recommend to other business owners that they go as far as using the ISO9001 approach, even if you are not required or planning to be certified as a quality assured business. The thing is that if you do not formalise your process for dealing with customer (and other stakeholder) complaints, you are unlikely to improve.

When the time is write, Westender will publish some of the horror stories that local businesses could have avoided by paying better attention to customer service. The best time will probably be after those companies have folded, because bad news always travels faster than good news and so anyone with a reputation for poor customer service is not going to last long.

One very important thing to remember, however, is that this does not mean that the customer is always right.

What it does mean is that you have to make sure that you are listening to your customers and responding to what they are actually saying rather than simply trying to avoid them and the challenges they can represent.

To find out more about the ISO9001 customer service standard have a look at the official website of the International Standards Organisation. There is nothing like getting it from the source.

There are also many local consultants specialising in the area, and the general advice available from services like Bsuiness Queensland or your local chamber of commerce or the CCIQ.

The Draft New City Plan increases the residential population of 4101 from around 10,000 to around 30,000 people.

Most businesses assume that they will automatically get a share of this increase. But the impact on your business warrants careful thought.

Have a good look at the plan here. (Click on it for a larger version)

Everything north of Vulture Street and west of Montague Rd is going to be high rise development. Most of that will be new. It is difficult to imagine that those developers will not be taking some advantage of the retail opportunities that offers.

That could mean that there is much much more competition for the retail dollar and while the existing residents go and explore the new retail opportunities those new residents rarely if ever head into the old village straddling Boundary Street. it is not likely to be that extreme, but it is equally unlikely that all those residents are going to come shopping in the existing village, so it warrants some careful thought.

Where are the Westfield and Woolies going to go? Among those new developments are probably going to be some significant retail developments. We have a major Aldi store under construction on Montague Rd (have you been down there to have a look recently?) what other retailers are going to nestle in around it? What is going to happen on the 2.6 hectare, that is 26,000 square metre, site on Mollison and Boundary. If that became a major shopping mall, how would that affect your business?

Parking, shoppers and transport hubs. While West End currently has the highest percentage of cyclists inBrisbane and a very large number of people who walk to work, what will the new residents be like? They will have parking in their new apartment blocks, will they drive to the shops. Where will they park. If the new retail outlets in the new buildings have parking, how will that affect your business?

Westender has been following the arguments about the New City Plan with some interest. Read our backlist of articles to catch up. What is surprising, though, is that there is no real discussion of the impact on small, local businesses.

The assumption has been that if developers are making money and more people are coming to live here, that is good for the rest of us. Retailers in the semi deserted strip shopping centres of Alice Springs and Albury (just to include two starting with the letter A) have a different experience to report. Some times new development can make a ghost town out of an existing shopping strip. Existing businesses need to engage with the planning process to ensure that the characteristics that full the streets of West End with shoppers daily do not disappear overnight with the rapid development of the peninsula.