A major tourism event for Darwin

Three hundred qualified Aussie Specialists converge on Darwin this week to take part in Corroboree 2011, a trade event organised by Tourism Australia and Tourism NT to train international travel agents who are dedicated to selling holidays in Australia.

It is the largest  travel trade event ever to have been staged in the Territory. The NT government has invested A$274,000 in Corroboree 2011 with Tourism Australia putting in A$568,000.

This important travel gathering takes place from June 2 to 5.

The participants will be coming from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland; the UK and South Africa, and while in Darwin they will be taking part in a series of training worshops – one of the best opportunities the Territory has to promote itself as a vibrant, exciting destination to a key industry audience.

Each of the agents has undergone a lengthy training programme, devised by Tourism Australia and State and Territory tourism organisations, to give them expertise in promoting Australia to their local markets.

Apart from the Darwin workshops, agents will also experience other regions of the Territory while in the Top End, with visits Litchfield, Kakadu and Nitmiluk national parks.

Other activities will include an Aboriginal welcoming ceremory at Cullen Bay and the chance to get to know the locals at the Mindil Beach Markets - where agents will be issued with ‘Mindil Beach Money’ to spend. 

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin; The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

Why not an Australian to head the IMF?

It's a pity that the top IMF job seems such a closed shop. As Australia has one of the  wrorld’s most successful economies, and with one of the safest banking systems, I would have thought our most successful former Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, was an excellent choice for the job.

Costello has years more experience than the front-running French candidate and would, in my opinion, give the IMF a fresh new face from outside Europe.

For those who may not know Costello’s background, he is a 54-year old Melbourne-born lawyer and former member of the Australian House of Representatives. He served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1994 to 2007, and was Federal Treasurer of Australia from 1996 to 2007, making him the longest serving treasurer in Australian history.

In 2008, Costello was appointed to the World Bank’s new Independent Advisory Board (IAB), set up to provide advice on anti-corruption measures.

He resigned from parliament in late 2009 .

Costello is a director of the Australian Government Future Fund’s Board of Guardians,  a role he commenced shortly after leaving parliament.  He is also a managing partner of BKK Partners, a corporate advisory firm run by former Goldman Sachs JBWere managers.

Surely such a track record makes him a serious contender.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin; The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

Darwin property market takes a dip

The latest statistics show that house prices in Darwin and Palmerston fell in the first three months of this year.

A total of 199 houses were sold in the period for a median price of A$550,00, a decreasel of 1.7 per cent on the previous quarter and a drop of 0.5 per cent over the year.

The only other drops in the median houses prices during the ten years were in June and September 2000, June 2003 and December 2006.

The number of houses sold in the first three months this year was down 15.7 per cent on the previous quarter and 26 per cent on the same time last year.

There was a 24.7 per cent drop in the number of sales for the first quarter in Palmerston with 73 sold at a median price of A$465,000, representing an 8.8 per cent drop.

The prospect of further interest rate rises over the next 12 months will not help

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin; The Northern Territory, Australia

The sky's the limit for SkyCity

Darwin’s SkyCity hotel-casino is to spend close to A$100 million to create a five-star resort with A$2000-a-night villas. The company has said it will also invest in a A$15 million jet to fly high-rollers from Hong Kong and Singapore to the Northern Territory.

The move comes as a result of the success of the company's thriving casino property across the Tasman Sea in Auckland.

Four elegant villas and 32 luxury rooms, built around a lagoon at at an estimated cost of A$36 million, is the next stage in the SkyCity development.

The work has been contracted and will start in July. The resort is expected to open in the middle of the next dry season and will be geared at competing with Singapore and Macau.

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The construction process will likely create some 200 jobs, while about 100 additional workers would be needed when the resort is fully operational, the management have said.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia.
http://www.woodwards.co/

Resort re-opens on the Coburg Peninsula

For anybody looking for a great place to relax, Seven Spirit Bay Eco-Wilderness Resort has just re-opened with a choice of motel-style rooms and luxury 'habitats'.

The resort, which was formerly known as Peppers Seven Spirit Bay, has undergone a top-to-bottom facelift over the past year and a half. The introduction of motel-style rooms means that the resort can now offer a less expensive get-away.

Guests can enjoy the remote surroundings of the Cobourg Peninsula, and the resort is just a short walk from the shores of the Arafura Sea.

Outdoor activities on offer at Seven Spirit Bay include turtle tracking, quad biking, night croc-spotting billabong cruises, stargazing and bird watching.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

Cattle station changes hands

One of Australia's best-known pastoral companies has sold part of a Northern Territory cattle station to an Indigenous group.

S. Kidman & Co subdivided Banka Banka Station, 100 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, and has sold a 1,400 square kilometre pastoral lease to the Indigenous Land Corporation.

The ILC has said that the land contains several significant Aboriginal cultural and burial sites.

The property will continue to operate a small scale pastoral operation as well as keep up its involvement in tourism, in order to provide employment opportunities and training opportunities for Indigenous people.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

Changes to payroll tax

Payroll tax has been cut in the latest Northern Territory Budget. Treasurer Delia Lawrie says lowering the rate from 5.9 per cent to 5.5 will save Territory business A$6.6 million a year.

The tax-free threshold was also put up from A$1.25 million to A$1.5 million and the tax threshold altered to an annual deduction reducing by $1 for every $4 in wages paid over the limit.

Also in the new Budget, stamp duty for property transfers over A$3 million has been increased from 4.95 per cent to 5.45 per cent.

Meanwhile it has been announced also that A$9.8 million is to be set aside for the expansion of the Darwin Business Park.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/