Northern Territory's Indigenous spending report

The figures on government spending on indigenous people in the Northern Territory have just been released.

Standing at AUD 4.7 billion for the period 2010-2011, it represented 54 per cent of total government expenditure.

The 2012 indigenous expenditure report's stated aim is to provide cost of services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the federal, state and territory governments. This is the second year it has been released.

Federal Government spending accounted for AUD 2.2 billion of the spending or 47 per cent of the AUD 4.7 billion.

The estimated spending per head of population was AUD 67,761 for indigenous people compared to AUD 24,822 for non-indigenous people.

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

Some tips when buying a franchise

Franchises are a popular way of starting a new business, but if you are thinking of buying one don't be fooled about potential earnings, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned.

The ACCC is currently looking into a number of  misleading claims concerning “guaranteed” earnings made by franchisors in the cleaning and home services industry

The watchdog says it has received a number of complaints from franchisees who say they have been promised a minimum income, but, in reality, have generated very little or no income from their franchise.

The ACCC is particularly concerned by franchisors who appear to target people from non-English speaking backgrounds -- people who may not fully understand the agreements they are entering into.

Franchisors must have a reasonable basis for making all income representations to potential franchisees. Those who give misleading information concerning the potential income of a franchise can be subject to litigation and court imposed penalties of up to $1.1 million per contravention.

Those fines are little compensation to those who have bought into a franchise that has turned sour. So we would like to pass on one or two tips from the ACCC when it comes to investing in a franchise.

For a start, beware of promises that you will earn a guaranteed income, as well as ‘get rich quick’ schemes that claim you can make large amounts of money with little effort.

If the franchisor makes verbal claims, ask for confirmation in writing.

Make it a point of speaking to existing and past franchisees of the business you are considering. Their contact details should be in the disclosure document that the franchisor is required to give you before you enter into your agreement.

Remember that you do have ‘cooling off’ rights. An agreement can be terminated within seven days of entering into it or making any payment under it, whichever occurs earlier.

Always get advice from a lawyer and accountant before entering into a franchising agreement or handing over any money.

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

More business opportunities from Japan

Officials from the Northern Territory government led by the Chief Minister, along with the Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturer’s Council have just visited Japan for important discussions concerning contracts to Territory businesses from the $34 billion Ichthys LNG Project. 

The delegation met with Japanese conterparts to discuss in more detail how contracts from the massive $34 billion project will flow to Territory businesses.

The first contract awarded by JKC went to locally based business Macmahon Contractors Pty Ltd in a 50:50 joint venture with John Holland. The milestone $340 million contract is the single largest contract awarded in the Territory’s history and will create 375 jobs.

As well as being the gateway into Asia, Darwin is fast becoming the oil and gas capital of Australia.

The Territory Government will continue to work with JKC to provide new opportunities for Territory businesses to grow and capitalise on the massive business opportunities brought about by the Ichthys project.

The Local Industry Participation Plan agreed in 2009 means that, as a preference, local goods and services will be used. This means where a service or a product can be sourced competitively from a Territory business, it will be.

Workshops have been held for more than 900 business owners and operators to learn how they can be best placed to bid for and benefit from work on major projects like Ichthys. More workshops are being planned for this year.

Meanwhile, the Territory is set to host the Japan-Australia Joint Business Conference for the first time in 2014, bringing the biggest investors from across Japan and Australia to Darwin.

The conference is the largest of its kind and attracts some of Japan and Australia’s biggest mining and business executives.

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

New massive national park for the Northern Territory

A huge tract of land and water in the Northern Territory has been converted into one of Australia's largest national parks.

The Northern Territory government has declared more than 10,000 square kilometres as the Limmen National Park, including an 880 square kilometre precinct known as Limmen Bight Marine Park.

Limmen National Park is located approximately 475 kilometres southeast of Katherine and 182 kilometres northwest of Borroloola. The new park includes a long stretch of coastline and Maria Island. It stretches from the Roper River south past the Cox River and east to the Gulf of Carpentaria

The new park is about seven times the size of the Territory’s Litchfield National Park and half the size of Kakadu. It includes beaches, forests, rock art and unusual geological formations.

It seems the Marra people, traditional owners of land, have had their calls to protect the environmentally and culturally sensitive Maria Island answered with the Limmen National Park annoucement.

Last year a delegation of Marra elders gave the Northern Territory parliament a petition calling for Western Desert Resources not to pipe slurry to the island for processing. The island will be included in the new national park and surrounded by the marine park.

Mining is allowed in Territory national parks, but the NT government has said that no mining holes will be dug in Limmen without having to get the highest approval – and there would be a very high environmental bar.

Limmen National Park will protect turtle, dugong and dolphin habitats and large sea grass beds. The coast will be opened up for permit-free recreational fishing.

The region is no longer the Northern Territory's best-kept secret.

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

New laws for overseas workers

The Northern Territory is facing a labour shortage due to the resources boom. According to Treasurer Delia Lawrie, the multi-billion dollar Ichthys gas plant alone will require nearly 20,000 extra workers over the next four years. The Territory would still be short of workers even after training locals and recruiting people from interstate, she said.

As a result of this, the Northern Territory is now allowed to welcome overseas workers following a government migration agreement with Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and the Federal government. It is considered a positive step to help fill the Territory's skill shortage.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen agreed to negotiate a migration agreement for skilled workers with the Northern Territory before other states. It is envisaged that the new regional migration agreement will help the Territory fill its skill shortage using workers from overseas.

That agreement will be especially helpful for smaller Australian businesses that lose workers over the next five years to the resources boom, says the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce.

According to Chamber Chief Executive Officer Chris Young, the new system should be faster and easier than the 457 visa application process for temporary overseas workers. The new scheme would speed up the application process and shorten the process to no more than three months.

Smaller employers, who can demonstrate that they have genuinely tried to find local employees, will be able to very quickly get an approval to bring in foreign staff, Mr Young says.

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

Commemorating the attack on Darwin

February 19th marks 70 years since the first attack on Australian soil in 1942. It took place in Darwin and was the beginning of a 21-month raid on Australia's north. It is a day to commemorate, not to celebrate.

The official government death toll was more than 240 with hundreds more casualties. Many others died and were injured in subsequent attacks on Northern Australia over those following 21 months. It was a defining moment in Australia’s history: it highlighted the fortitude of those living in Darwin and the Australian spirit.

The events of 19 February 1942 were calculated  by the enemy, and was as shocking as the attack on Pearl Harbour just weeks before. It brought the war home to a country previously untouched by foreign conflict.

A new World War Two Heritage Park, thirty kilometre south of Darwin will help us remember that dark period of Darwin’s history It is located on land where the US Army 147th Artillery established a base at that time and includes an educational facility.

The Defence of Darwin Experience is an audio visual installation that introduces the war in the north and attack on Darwin. It will become the new entry point to the Military Museum. Let us hope that it helps future generations to understand the horrors and  the futility of war.

This year will be one of the last opportunities to hear first-hand accounts from surviving veterans and civilians who fought for the defence of our country.

To all our friends, family and colleagues who lost loved ones in that terrible period, we send our sincerest and fondest best wishes. Let it never happen again.

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

Housing loans update for the Northern Territory

Australia’s Housing Industry Association reports the number of loans for new homes increased by 19 per cent for first-time homebuyers and 2.9 per cent for those trading up  when comparing the three months leading to November 2010 and 2011.

The Northern Territory has seen the biggest changes. Experts say the end-of-year increase is driven by interest in investing in an established market; but it is pointed out that these gains are likely to decline without the help of a long-term policy reform, a short-term government stimulus plan and  a cut in interest rates.

Over the three months to November 2011 the total number of first home buyer loans was 19 per cent higher when compared to the same period in 2010, while loans for trade up buyers rose by 2.4 per cent.

When seasonally adjusted, the number of loans for new housing (construction and purchase of new homes), increased by 20.9 per cent in the Northern Territory, ahead of 17.5 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory and 13.4 per cent in South Australia, The comparable figures for Queensland and New South Wales were 8.4 per cent and  5.6 per cent respectively.

The number of loans for new housing fell by 8.9 per cent in Tasmania, 8.5 per cent in Victoria and 3.3 per cent in Western Australia.

The continuing recovery in the aggregate number of loans for first time buyers, and to a lesser extent trade up buyers, is encouraging and is being driven by the established market. Keep an eye on the Northern Territory, where the economy will take a boost from the new AUD32 billion Ichthys gas project deal.

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

Multi-billion dollar gas project goes ahead

The deal has been done. The future looks bright. The largest investment in the Northen Territory's history is under way with the long-awaited final decision for the AUD32 billion Ichthys gas project being given the green light.  It signals the start of one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas plants.

The Ichthys gas field is located off Western Australia, 820 kilometres southwest of Darwin. An 890 kilometre gas pipeline will be constructed to transport the LNG to an onshore processing plant at Blaydin Point, at Middle Arm.

The project will produce an estimated 8.4 million tonnes of gas a year with the first 15 years of annual production already sold. This not only secures a vital long-term energy supply to Japan, but will also deliver sustainable economic and social benefits across Australia.

Work at the Blaydin Point site will start within weeks and first production is expected at the end of 2016.

Meanwhile, construction of a 2,700-bed workers' village at Howard Springs is on the way and is expected to be completed by mid-2013. An agreement with the Northern Territory government has ensured many of the contracts being awarded to local companies.

The Northern Territory government had been chasing the project for four years –and it has been hailed to benefit the Territory for more than 40 years. It is expected to add almost 18 per cent to the Northern Territory's gross state product each year.

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

International Indigenous tourism conference for Darwin

The Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference is being held at the Darwin Convention Centre.from March 28 to 30. It’s the first ever International conference devoted to expanding the profile, perception and scope of Indigenous tourism, particularly in the Pacific Asia Region. Around 300-400 delegates are expected to attend from around the region.

The Organising Committee is working closely with the local Larrakia people who will welcome delegates and especially representatives of Indigenous peoples from around the world.

This conference is not only for Indigenous tourism operators, but also organisations representing Indigenous peoples, governments and government agencies, tourism organisations and operators, sustainable tourism bodies, multi-lateral agencies and NGOs, universities and research bodies as well as the international media.

The Pacific Asia  region has the greatest concentration and variety of Indigenous peoples and cultures in the world.and tourism provides the strongest driver to restore, protect and promote Indigenous cultures.

Most issues affecting the development of Indigenous tourism in individual countries are common throughout the region. For it to be increasingly successful, Indigenous tourism needs to develop beyond its stereotypical and marginal role and to be brought to the mainstream of tourism.

PAITC’s programme will feature several top international speakers, and will be a great an opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge 

The main purpose of the conference will be to establish the role of tourism in Indigenous advancement and cultural preservation and define the role of Indigenous tourism experiences as a vehicle for cultural understanding, tolerance and sustainability.

Find out more at http://www.paitc.com/

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.

http://www.woodwards.co/

The past year predicts the future

With the holidays over, maybe it’s time to take a look back the year 2011 and what it meant for Darwin. When many people outside of the Northern Territory think of Darwi, they conjure up visions of crocodiles, wetlands and cyclones and a transit centre for low-budget adventure tourists.

But in 2011 that image began to change: it was a year when Darwin’s position got the the recognition it deserves – as a truly thriving business centre.

Darwin's proximity to Asia, its relatively good infrastructure and the Northern Territory's enormous natural wealth were just part of it. The Northern Territory has also enjoyed Australia's lowest unemployment rate for two years.

Developments worth billions of dollars are on the agenda for Darwin and house prices, briefly the highest in the nation in 2009, are still holding their own, which is more than can be said about most other major Australian cities.

On the economic front,  the Japanese company Inpex and its French joint venture partner, Total, is expected to give the $29.41 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project the thumbs-up very soon.  Long-term deals to sell gas, potentially worth more than $50 billion, have already been signed from that project alone.

Darwin is growing in geo-political importance too. When US President Barack Obama visited Australia in November last year, Darwin was the only city outside of Canberra he visited – the very first time an American president had set foot in the city. While here, he announced plans for thousands of American troops to be based in Darwin by 2017. Some Territorians are all for this, others not so happy – but for sure it will be a boost for the local economy.

People already talk about Darwin as the capital of ‘Northern Australia’ and say statehood for the Northern Territory may not be far away. The NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson says that, despite strong growth, Darwin will remain a "vibrant, multicultural paradise"

You can still drive only half an hour out of Darwin and catch a metre-long barramundi or throw in a crab pot and take home half a dozen mud crabs for dinner. We hope that remains the case – not just in 2012, but for many more years to come.

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/