TCAM

Senator Stephen Conroy
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Level 4, 4 Treasury Place
Melbourne Vic 3002

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Dear Minister Conroy,

I have never written to a government minister before, but I have serious concerns about the Rudd Government’s mandatory Internet filtering plan. Given the importance your Government has attached to modernising Australia’s broadband network, pursuing a policy that can only slow down and increase the costs of home and business internet access seems misguided at best, and pandering to right-wing Christian minorities at worst.

Australian governments have never been very good at communications policy. Examples include: pay TV infrastructure, the privitisation of Telecom, digital television implementation, and the development of a national broadband network that doesn’t include the nation’s biggest carrier.

Now we have another ill-conceived and expensive communications policy debacle with the clean-feed mandate.

Australian households are diverse, and most do not have young children, so mandating a one-size-fits-all clean feed approach will not serve the public or business well. I don’t think it is the Government’s role to decide what’s appropriate for me or my children, and neither do most Australians.

Like China, Australia, will become a laughing stock and seen as a technically clumsy and naive cyber-nanny-state. Don’t be naïve Minister, seek counsel from people outside of Canberra who know what they are talking about. Ask yourself why no other western democratic country has a similar scheme.

Given the amount of Internet content available, the Government will never be able to classify it all and filters will always result in an unacceptable level of over-blocking. Did you know that for $3 per month it’s possible to use an overseas proxy server that completely bypasses all local ISP filtering? The introduction of a clean-fee will just educate people as to what’s available and encourage the use of such technology by many people, including terrorists and pedophiles. Ask the national security agencies what they think of such technology.

I feel that the time and money could be spent in better ways both to protect children and improve Australia’s digital infrastructure. Australian parents need better education about the risks their children face online. Trying to rid the Internet of adult content is futile, and can only distract from that mission. Stupid promises can be broken … break this one.

I can’t wait until the next election,

Name and address supplied

Many small businesses spend far too much time on debt collection rather than their core business. Over the last 2-3 months I’ve noticed an increasing lag in payment cycles.

If you are in any sort of operation that uses small businesses as service providers or product suppliers it’s well worth your while to pay your bills on time and completely ignore to some “clever” accountants mantra of not paying until the second reminder. Guess what? People are human and they will pay back and pay forward. One way or the other you will pay in the end for screwing around your suppliers.

Here’s why:

1. If you pay on time you will get much better service. I know with my clients, the one’s who pay on time or early get the best service, day or night 365 days per year. These are A-Class clients. They pay on time or early, don’t bitch about the price, and as a result get excellent service and great value for money. They respect me, and I respect them. We both win.

2. If you don’t pay on time you reputation is on the line. Small business owners love to gossip. They slag off any customers who pay late. And with the Internet so freely available, your reputation can become crap overnight with one blog post. This leads into …

3. If you don’t pay on time, you can end up paying a premium. The current cost of money is about 1.5% per month. If your payment reputation is shite, than expect to pay at least 10-15 % more than if it were good or unknown. In some cases bad payers can be locked out of they supply chain completely and have to spend enormous amounts of time to find a new supplier.

With existing suppliers, if you screw them around, they will either add 10% to their next quote, or refer you to a lower-class competitor - hoping to send them broke because you don’t pay when due.

4. If you pay on time your staff don’t get harassed by debt collectors from your supplier’s accounts departments. This is a big source of staff burn-out. If you pay on time your staff won’t have to make up excuses for late payment and may actually start to enjoy their jobs.

In summary, if you want good service, good products, happier staff and ongoing loyalty, pay on time or before time and ignore your accountant’s advice.

What do you think? Why do you like early payment or not?

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The turmoil in the international stock markets is having a tragic impact on the retirement plans of many retired Australians.

For example, during September 2008, it was estimated by Super Ratings, a company that tracks the performance of super funds, that Australian super funds lost as much as 6% of their value. During the past year they lost 12% of their value.

The reason for the massive decline is the current superannuation rules which effectively place the Australian superannuation system in a virtual stock market strait jacket.

Over the years, The Investors Club has argued strongly that Australians should have greater flexibility in using their superannuation to invest directly in property and also to help pay off their mortgages.

This stock market strait jacket has been highlighted by a recent report from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) that tracked the performance of superannuation funds in Australia during the period 1997 to 2006.

Super woes highlighted

The report showed that the ten-year average annual return for super funds with assets more than $100 million was around 6.7% before they imposed fees and charges.

During the same period, figures produced by the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) show that the annual average returns (taking into account capital growth and weekly rents), for a three-bedroom residential home in the major capital cities varied from 11.2% to 16.8%.

The heavy investment in the stock market by super funds is underlined by the APRA report which showed that during 2006 nearly 60% of investments were in Australian or international shares.

The current superannuation rules virtually prohibit the use of superannuation for residential real estate and goes against the basic investment tenant of not putting all of your eggs in one basket.

By allowing Australians to use their super contributions to pay off their mortgage, this would encourage additional super contributions. For example, someone has to earn $150 and pay $50 tax before paying $100 off their mortgage.

It would also allow more first home buyers to enter the housing market at a time when Australia is recognised as having among the most expensive real estate in the developed world and the worst housing shortage.

Interestingly, financial advisers and stockbrokers are the prime beneficiaries of this share market splurge and it is no coincidence that they are major contributors to both political party’s election funds.

It is now time that ordinary Australians were given a greater say in where their superannuation is invested and this should include the option of investing in residential real estate which is a proven long-term investment to create wealth.

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Further information available from :

Kevin Young - The Investors Club Kevin Young - The Investors Club Kevin Young - The Investors Club Kevin Young - The Investors Club Kevin Young - The Investors Club