http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/business/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/cash-mobs-arent-so-flash/ For a moment in the mid-naughties, they were the coolest of all cool social media-fuelled meme-thingos. I’m talking about flash mobs, the groups of strangers who gather in a public place to do something like dance a routine, freeze in a contorted pose or smack someone over the head with a pillow. At their best, flash mobs, which are typically organised through social media, are flickers of spontaneity, bursts of community in CBDs filled with busy suits. In recent years though, they’ve become a whole lot less cool. That’s because they’ve been gatecrashed by another crew: the cash mob. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/cash-mobs-arent-so-flash/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/cash-mobs-arent-so-flash/#item7718 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/zumbos-wrap-what-2011-meant-for-small-business/ As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/zumbos-wrap-what-2011-meant-for-small-business/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/zumbos-wrap-what-2011-meant-for-small-business/#item7416 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/leadership-liberty-and-the-crisis-of-authority/ Leadership has become one of the central questions of our time. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the demand for strong authoritative leadership has been palpable. I remember participating in a NATO sponsored workshop in 2002 on the psychological impact of terrorism. One of the challenges thrown at the participants was to imagine they were facing a major incident akin to 9/11 and to decide who could be trusted with the task of informing the public about what had happened and what needed to be done. In other words, who would provide communicative leadership at a time when society was facing an unprecedented catastrophe? The very posing of this question caught most of the participants unaware. It was evident that many of the elected leaders of European nations would prove unsuitable for this task. Could the Italian people trust the reassurances of a Berlusconi? How would the Greeks or the Belgians respond to the instructions of their prime ministers? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/leadership-liberty-and-the-crisis-of-authority/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/leadership-liberty-and-the-crisis-of-authority/#item7159 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kim-kardashian-things-to-admire-about-kim/ Think Kim Kardashian is nothing more than a walking, talking exercise in narcissism and lip gloss? After all, she’s a reality TV starlet famous for having thought it was a good idea to film herself having sex with a little known rapper - and for her eye-poppingly clingy dresses. But don’t be too quick to write Kim off. Because if you dig down beneath the trowelled-on layers of makeup you’ll find just the kind of modern woman who should get the tick of approval from the sisterhood. Don’t be confused by the drag queen eyes and slightly terrifying décolletage -  Kim Kardashian is a savvy entrepreneur, someone who speaks her mind and is vocally proud of her curvy figure. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kim-kardashian-things-to-admire-about-kim/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kim-kardashian-things-to-admire-about-kim/#item7072 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-qantas-dispute-is-not-about-alan-joyces-salary/ Much of the public commentary around the Qantas dispute has been so undergraduate that you would think it had been authored by the people at Occupy Wall Street. But it is Qantas itself which invited much of the negative coverage by not thinking through its tactics last week ahead of the dramatic events of the weekend. This dispute has at its centre a pretty simple question – does Qantas management have the right to manage Qantas? Or should Tony Sheldon from the Transport Workers Union have veto power over everything from how many staff the airline employs, when and where its aircraft hangars are built, who maintains its fleet, to whether it is allowed to expand into Asia? I am not an aviation writer but at a guess I would say that as a former senior executive at Aer Lingus and the successfully expansionist boss of the fledgling airline Jetstar, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce knows a bit more about running airlines than Tony Sheldon. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-qantas-dispute-is-not-about-alan-joyces-salary/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-qantas-dispute-is-not-about-alan-joyces-salary/#item7042 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/wanted-a-tough-cop-on-the-small-business-beat/ Finally, we have a government willing to stand up for small business in the face of hysterical opposition from the big end of town and their legal advisers. Last week the South Australian Labor Government successfully got its small business commissioner reforms through the Parliament. Those reforms had been subject to a frenzied attack by elements of the big end of town and their legal advisers. Despite such a self-interested and panic-stricken campaign the reforms secured the numbers in the South Australian Upper House. Like most Upper Houses in Australia, the SA Legislative Council is a place where the Government lacks the numbers and, accordingly, needs to convince the minor parties and independents of the merits of all government initiatives. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/wanted-a-tough-cop-on-the-small-business-beat/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/wanted-a-tough-cop-on-the-small-business-beat/#item6996 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-all-suckers-for-a-good-marketing-ploy/ In just a few short days, four giant demons astride winged, skeletal steeds are expected to swoop from the sky and hurl every man, woman and child into the dark chasm of the infinite. “Curse you, Apple!” the terrified masses will scream as CEO Tim Cook desperately points out the improved 8-megapixel camera and upgraded dual-core processor. But they won’t have it, those Apple customers. They wanted an iPhone 5. Instead, they got an iPhone 4S and now everybody has to watch as palm trees and baby lambs are cast into fiery oblivion. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-all-suckers-for-a-good-marketing-ploy/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-all-suckers-for-a-good-marketing-ploy/#item6855 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/an-apple-a-day-then-jobs-wants-you-to-chuck-it-away/ Another week, another Apple product feted as the Second Coming in gadget form. Wait, hang on a minute. . . Apple are pretty good at hype, but it seems like they’ve been a little too good at it this week. Apple fan-boys and -girls (and shareholders) were roundly disappointed this morning with the launch of a slightly improved iPhone 4, the 4S. They were let down after whipping themselves up into a frenzy of iPhone 5 speculation over the past week. But give it 9 days, when the smartphone is set to be released here, and you’re sure to see Apple-maniacs queueing from one end of your nearest capital city to the other to get their hands on the new smartphone. Their existing year-old iPhones will just get tossed. That’s a feature of Apple products. Your latest whizz-bang gizmo is always just a few short months away from being made obsolete by a product with only slightly more whizz and a pinch more bang. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/an-apple-a-day-then-jobs-wants-you-to-chuck-it-away/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/an-apple-a-day-then-jobs-wants-you-to-chuck-it-away/#item6852 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/small-businesses-arent-muppets-theyre-a-big-deal/ We always hear about how important small business is to the economy, but we don’t often hear about governments standing up for small businesses when it comes to effective competition and consumer laws. Why? Quite simply because small businesses are all too often the ignored members of our society. The small business sector is a big employer and small business people put in some of the longest working hours operating their businesses. They can be super efficient because it’s their money on the line. There are no corporate overheads or bloated performance bonuses because the money they make is generally put back into the business. Small businesses survive on their excellent customer service and help drive innovation and product choice in their chosen areas of the economy. While they keep the big players honest, they can be victims of abuses of market or contractual power by those big players. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/small-businesses-arent-muppets-theyre-a-big-deal/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/small-businesses-arent-muppets-theyre-a-big-deal/#item6804 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/norris-retirement-a-roundhouse-kick-in-the-guts/ Holy crap, Ralph Norris has resigned. Well, I guess if you were Ralph Norris with all that pressure and all that money, you’d be looking for some R & R too. Still. The world will never be the same. According to the legend of Ralph Norris, for a while there they called him ‘Chuck’, which is a sissy kind of name for a dude who grew a beard in utero and burns it off with a withering gaze each morning. And then every five minutes. The Commonwealth Bank chairman David Turner described him as “outstanding and fearless”. That doesn’t even scratch the surface of Ralph Norris. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/norris-retirement-a-roundhouse-kick-in-the-guts/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/norris-retirement-a-roundhouse-kick-in-the-guts/#item6351 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country. The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State. With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business.