At first glance the rise of Julia Gillard to the top job looks like a great opportunity. Firstly she said I am inclusive, collaborative and consultative. She also told us the election will be held this year. I would like to think there will be policy changes and that Ms Gillard, her cabinet and their advisors will seek input from the relevant Associations and small business people in Australia.

Unfortunately Ms Gillard was an architect in the policies and legislation that arose during the past 2.5 years under Kevin Rudd so I am fairly confident that we will see a continuing neglect of small business and a legislative and regulatory environment that does not consider the impact of such proposals on small bsuiness and particularly the Convenience Sector.

Consumer confidence has fallen sharply in June, with concerns about budget and tax issues dominating responses to the monthly survey. This is the largest decline since March 2009 and means that at 101.9 the optimists only narrowly outweigh pessimists. The Westpac – Melbourne Institute index fell 5.7 per cent in June, after sliding 7 per cent in May. Most of the continuing slide can be attributed to the Reserve Bank’s string of six interest rate rises in eight months and to concerns around the impact of the Government’s mining tax. This sentiment demonstrates the further deterioration of disposable income that can be spent in Convenience Stores and there is no doubt that retailers (and by follow on – suppliers) are doing it tough.

See http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/research/macro/csi.html 

A worldwide food phenomenon is the rise of the sustainable food movement. In the US, the initiative has been spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama’s garden on the White House lawn, underlining a national campaign to educate Americans about how to eat healthily and become sustainable. In Australia, the “paddock to plate” movement has engendered an emphasis on quality and sustainability, as high-end restaurants offer fruit and vegetables from their own gardens and cooking schools adopt a more farm-based, hands-on approach.

“Going green has become mainstream,” says Kay Logsdon, editor of The Food Channel, a Web site devoted to food. “Before 2009, many people didn’t even know what the word ‘sustainable’ meant; now it has become a priority.” People expect seasonal, locally sourced or organic produce, grass-fed meats and free-range chickens that are free of hormones and pesticides.

With this move will come a more authentic attempt by people and companies to assimilate sustainability into their work ethos. Biodegradable packaging like bamboo will soon replace Styrofoam as packaging, while eco-labelling, carbon footprints, water footprints, food miles, fair trade, and “nude food” – food that is more transparent – will slowly become part of packaging labels. By having a positive environmental impact sustainability will likely become the way we eat in 2010 and beyond.

Workplace health and safety hazards can be costly (to lives and the bottom line), but the good news is that they are largely preventable if you take the right precautions.

You don’t need to work surrounded by combustible materials to face serious health and safety risks, but the recent issues at petrol stations have prompted a call for increased training for employees to ensure they understand what to do at that extreme end of the workplace hazard spectrum.

AACS is working with NSW WorkCover to design, develop and deliver a short training program based on simulation technology. Learning will be more like game playing than old fashioned text online and is guaranteed to increase retention of the information by the employee.

I was shocked on Sunday to learn that the Sun Herald has a different approach to selling papers between Convenience Stores and Newsagents. The Sun Herald on Sunday – Mothers day – offered a free copy of Norah Jones’s new CD. However there was a catch – you ahd to buy the paper from a newsagent. I live in Kent St in Millers Point. There is a Convenience Store in my apartment building and another one about 50metres away on the opposite side of the road. Both sell the newspapers on a daily basis, every day. There is a newsagent in the street however he doesn’t open on Sunday. So off I went to the C-Store who sell the paper to buy it and I would probably have purchased other items – maybe a coffee. I was told by both C-Stores that the Fairfax group does not allow them to carry the extras offered with the paper. Needless to say I walked out and trudged down to Wynyard to find a newsagent and did not purchase any other items. This seems highly unfair and again hits small business when it can least afford to be hit and have foot traffic diverted from its doors. .

Federal Tax Policy Statement

The Federal Government today released a “10 year agenda” to reform the tax system and will make the following policy announcements:

• A phased cut in the company tax rate from the current 30% to 29% (2013-2014 income year) then to 28% (from 2014-2015 income year) with small business getting a cut in their company tax to 28% applying from 2012-13
• A new instant write-off for assets worth up to $5,000 for small businesses
• A gradual increase in the superannuation guarantee to 12%. This will be done in small increments from 1 July 2013 to 1 July 2019, with increments of 0.25 percentage points on both 1 July 2013 and 2014 and subsequent annual increments of 0.5 percentage points per annum.
• From 1 July 2012 Government will provide a new superannuation contribution of $500 for workers with an income of up to $37,000
• The introduction of a Resource Super Profits tax at 40% effective 1 July 2012
• Establishing a Resource State infrastructure Fund

The Federal Government have also ruled out increasing the rate or broadening the base of the GST and will say they intend to announce plans to simplify tax returns for everyday Australian in the lead up to the next federal election.

The Company tax reductions announced today by the Federal government will be offset by increases in the Employer Superannuation contributions that will force up employee costs in the Convenience Sector.

There was no announcement of increases in Fuel Excise taxes which is certainly a relief for AACS members. Further the report specifically rules out pegging fuel excise to CPI. Again this is good news for operators with fuel forecourts along with C-Stores.

The Henry tax Review has mooted a congestion tax for large cities in Australia. This is a potential issue for the C-Store sector as deliveries to stores could attract charges depending on what time of the day these deliveries happen.

After a week which saw the largest category in Convenience Stores hit hard by increased excise taxes and plain packaging few small businesses in our sector will believe the Federal Government’s announcements this afternoon will help them as the PM and Treasurer have promised. Leaks already in the news tell us that increased superannuation will increase the costs to our members at the same time that increased excise taxes on tobacco will drive the smoking demographic from our stores seeking cheaper tobacco products on the black market.

AACS will be live this afternoon commenting on the impact of the Henry Review on our members.

Police are appealing for public assistance following the robbery of a service station at Airds in Sydney’s south-west last night.

About 6:55pm, two men working inside the service station on Riverside Drive, Airds were in the process of re-stocking the fridges when a man entered the store.

It will be alleged the man attended the counter area and produced a large machete from under his jumper before making demands for cash.

The 23-year-old employee handed over a sum of cash and the man left the store on foot where he was last seen walking on Riverside Drive.

Police were called to the service station and a crime scene was established and examined by specialist forensic offices. No one was injured during the robbery.

Detectives from Campbelltown Local Area Command are conducting investigations into the matter and wish to speak to a man who they believe may be able to assist with their inquiries.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his mid-twenties, approximately 180 to 185cm tall with a medium build and was wearing a grey and white hooded jumper and long pants.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the identity and whereabouts of the man is urged to contact Campbelltown Police on (02) 4620 1199 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

This blog formed part of the commentary by Crikey on the changes to cigarettes this week http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/04/30/on-ciggies-australia-the-world-leader-in-public-health-reform/ though I admit to being bemused by lack of understanding of small business and the impact 12 hours notice to change price tickets in a store and at the same time serve customers in a rush to buy packs of cigarette at the old price has on stores with one or two employees. It was a long and busy night for C-Store retailers across Australia. Small business is the backbone of the Australian economy and deserve better treatment by governments.

The last 24 hours or so have seen a lot of Government activity in the Tobacco related legislation. The Federal government in Australia mandated Plain packaging of Tobacco products to take effect in 2012, and the increase in Excise Tax by 25% effective from midnight 29 April 2010. The move to Plain Packaging was a surprise given the Senate Inquiry was underway with a report expected in August. The Inquiry had extended the consultation period in February.  The issues are compounded with plain packaging, pa rticularly given the employee base in the C-Store and the reliance on visual cues by servers and customers. You will find a list of media activities on the website at both the AACS Media Page and also Latest News.

It’s possible that moves in New Zealand on Wednesday morning prompted the PM in Australia to act on excise taxes. New Zealand tobacco companies and retailers were caught by surprise on Wednesday by legislation pushing up the average cost of a packet of 25s by $1.10 and by plans to continue the increases by nearly $5 a packet – or 30 per cent – by 2012. A packet of 20 will then cost more than $14 and 25s more than $17. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3635577/Smokers-whacked-in-wallet

The Queensland Government announced the introduction of Retail Display Bans http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/mms/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=69544 to take effect in mid 2011.