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HOME PAGE
NOVEMBER UPDATE
SEPTEMBER UPDATE
JULY NATIONAL UPDATE
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We bring people
together in each federal electorate (150 electorates around
Australia) to work locally in engaging our communities and our
representatives in a non-party, neither-left-nor-right
agenda of empowerment of ordinary people.
CLICK HERE to join us. |
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SELF-DIRECTED
SERVICES AND PERSONAL BUDGETS
You can take charge of your social support, education and health
care through a personal budget.
CLICK HERE
for further information. |
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AGM SEASON
Making a difference in our not-for-profits.
CLICK HERE
for further information. |
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STREET BY STREET
Linking
up people who live in the same
street or nearby to build community through practical helping
tasks - on a national scale.
CLICK HERE
for further information. |
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COMMUNITY BUILDING
NATIONAL NETWORK
CLICK HERE
to participate in the
Network. |
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LEFT AND RIGHT?
"The Left and Right have been as bad as each other. The Left has
allowed its distrust of markets and endless faith in government
to obscure the importance of civil society. The Right has been
so focused on replacing the state with markets that it has
forgotten how to cultivate a trusting society.
This is the politics of the absurd. The Left identifies with the
good society but rarely talks about the mutualism and trust
between people. The Right recognises the importance of moral
obligation but gives the impression of trusting market
transactions more than civil society.
Few things seem to happen anymore
without a government law or market transaction to guide
them. This is how record levels of GDP in Australia now sit
alongside record levels of crime, social stress and family
breakdown. The political balance needs to swing back towards
civil society.
This task, in fact, requires a new type of politics."
Mark Latham, Mutualism: A Third Way for Australia," 1999.
CLICK HERE
to read more. |
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SURVEYS |
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If you are the proprietor of
a small business, please send us your thoughts on how we can support
small businesses through our |
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SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY |
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If you
are caring for an ill or disabled family member at home, please click
here to participate in our |
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Family CarERS SURVEY |
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Small business MANIFESTO
There
are 1.1 million small businesses in
Australia
employing 3.3 million people. These businesses are critically important to the
health of our economy and the well-being of local communities.
However,
small businesses are trapped in an economic and political no-man’s land,
caught between the anti-competitive culture of big business and the
anti-enterprise culture of trade unions. Being diverse and fragmented, small
firms lack a strong, unified voice. Politically, they lack the direct
sponsorship of the two major parties whose prior allegiance is to big business
and trade unions respectively.
Socially, small
businesses are vitally important to local communities. Their social contribution
has long been ignored by social policy makers.
The Centre for Civil Society has developed this draft Small Business Manifesto as a call to action and
a campaign tool for the small business sector in the lead up to this year's
federal election.
The
draft will be
discussed at a Small Business Forum on 28 March in Melbourne.
DRAFT SMALL BUSINESS MANIFESTO
This Small Business
Manifesto is a call to action and a campaign tool for the small business sector.
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1.
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Remove
all federal and state restrictions on the right of small businesses to
collectively negotiate with suppliers, acquirers and franchisors.
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2.
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Increase
the land tax threshold to $1,000,000.
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3.
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Strengthen
the Trade Practices Act to require a forced divestiture of assets in any
firm controlling more than 50% of market share in any domestic market.
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4.
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Exempt family members working in
family businesses from employment laws, and remove the requirement for
police checks on young family members.
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5.
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Restrict
licensing fees for all business activities to cost-recovery rates so as to
prevent licensing fees from being used as revenue-raising instruments for
governments.
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6.
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Strengthen
the Trade Practices Act provisions dealing with anti-competitive
behaviour, predatory pricing, price fixing and collusive behaviour.
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7.
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Consolidate
all employment on-costs for businesses employing less than 20 people into
an (optional) single monthly payment made to one entity – a Small Business
Employment Agency (a state-based
office) to be subsequently distributed to
appropriate federal and state agencies.
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8.
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Abolish
all commercial stamp duties and all other business taxes (except for land
and payroll tax).
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9.
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Reduce
fees for use of card payment systems by small businesses employing less
than 20 people by requiring this reduction be written into the terms of
bank licenses.
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10.
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Strengthen the Franchising Code of
Conduct to provide additional protections for franchisees including
acceptance of ‘class-type’ actions against franchisors.
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11.
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Ensure long-term workforce flexibility for small businesses
employing less than 20 people by establishing community-based labour
supply social enterprises which take responsibility for and meet the
compliance obligations of employment in small firms, while developing the
skills, career planning and social aspirations of employees.
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12.
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Establish
a Small Business Advocate as an independent public statutory office to
improve the regulatory environment for small business and reduce
compliance costs.
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Comments
on the draft Manifesto are welcome and should be sent to Vern Hughes by
email
or on 0425 722 890.
HOW
TO BECOME INVOLVED
We will use the Manifesto in developing a major campaign in support
of small business in the lead up to this year's federal election. Fill in the online form
below if you wish to be involved..
We will aim to get every MP around the country to push
for implementation of the points in this Manifesto, and we will monitor their efforts in
doing so (as well as their parties).
CLICK
HERE to fill in our small business survey.
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Comments
on the Manifesto and the campaign are welcome and should be sent to Vern Hughes by
email
or on 0425 722 890.
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©
Centre for Civil Society 2007 |
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TRANSFORMING OUR
SCHOOLS
CLICK HERE for
details of our campaign for a Real Education Revolution.
CLICK HERE
for
info on the National
Federation of Parents, Families and Carers. |
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STREET BY STREET SUBURB BY SUBURB
Community Building and Social Inclusion
National Development Conference
21/22 April 2010
CLICK HERE for details. |
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CORPORATE
WELFARE WATCH
Latest Handout Tally
$6.4b Car manufacturers subsidies
$2b Commercial property construction industry
$3.9b Free emission permits to coal-fired electricity generators
$2b Car dealer finance guarantee
$149m GMH 4 cylinder car
CLICK HERE
for further information. |
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THIRD WAY FORUM
Communitarianism,
Mutualism, Third Way Thinking
CLICK HERE
to find out more. |
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MAKING IT PERSONAL
Charlie Leadbeater, Jamie
Bartlett and Niamh Gallagher have authored this highly
influential Demos Report on Self-Directed Services
and Personal Budgets.
CLICK HERE
to read
Making It Personal. |
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RESPECT
EMPOWER
INCLUDE |
Participate in our five-point
non-party-political campaign to empower ordinary people.
CLICK HERE
to join us and to express an interest in Convening in your
electorate. |
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SUBSCRIBE |
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Family Carers
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There are 2.7million
family carers of people with a disability, a chronic or mental
illness, or aged frailty in Australia. They are invisible to
politicians and policy makers.
Read more... |
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Standing Up to Telstra and
the Big Four Banks |
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Help us create a
voice for consumers. Read more... |
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How to Use this Website
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If you are visiting
this website for the first time, please note that there are two
sets of links - one at the top of each page; and a second on the
left hand side.
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Click on the links
on the top of the page for information on the Centre for Civil
Society - including an overview of our current
CAMPAIGNS
and
POLICIES
we would like you to comment on
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Click on the links
on the left to
JOIN,
VOLUNTEER
or make a
DONATION; or to participate in one of our
DISCUSSION forums.
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Use the
SEARCH
button to find items of interest; or the
WRITE
button to send us your comments and suggestions.
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If you are having
problems navigating, there are additional links at the
bottom of each page. Or click here for our
PLAIN TEXT version (ideal for printing).
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For those with
reading difficulties, this website has been designed so you can
click on 'Text Size' in your 'View' menu to enlarge the font.
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If you need more
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WEBMASTER.
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And don't forget to
visit again soon to see our website - and our ideas, campaigns
and policies - evolve. We value your contribution.
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