Archive for Australia
March 7, 2010 at 11:35 am · Filed under Issues Management, Australia
Today I received your bank statement. It was addressed to me, and it had my private, family company name on the top. After that, it had all your personal information.
I know you receive benefits from Centrelink, and that you shop on iTunes. Your medical coverage is with Medibank - there’s even your account number. You’re self-employed because I see the deposits of the client invoices, and the project descriptions. I know you live near Leichhardt because that’s where you buy petrol. When you were on holiday in Perth I know where you stayed and that you even got a traffic fine, which you paid on 23 February. I know where you grocery shop (Woolworths Leichhardt).
What do you know about me?
Last month St George Bank mailed the wrong personal banking information to the wrong customers. I got your statement. You have mine. See story here:
But the bank cares. In their letter they said they’re investigating and will be certain this doesn’t happen again. They have a 24-7 dedicated telephone line. I called on Sunday at 12:00 noon - and was put on hold for 10 minutes (”Because your call is important”). When I asked who received my statement, the female operator started lecturing me that no one could tell who I was by my banking information.
Yet I know your wife is named Leanne - because when you made an Internet Withdrawal you wrote the memo that it was for Leanne’s hair products.
So tell me St George. I know this other person. I have their detailed financial history. You’ve made no effort to reclaim these statements and your bossy operator told me I needn’t worry. You’re taking this seriously. You’re conducting an investigation. Yet the front page of your web site gives none of that away - there’s no mention.
Great job St George. At least I know this statement isn’t for Westpac-St George CEO Gail Kelly. I don’t believe she received Centrelink payments. Nor would she like her personal information in another person’s hands. Just like me.
March 6, 2010 at 9:34 pm · Filed under America, Australia
I need to hire good people and I need to hire them now. Australia is approaching technical full employment. That’s when anyone who wants a job is able to find one. There are always that cannot work or choose to lay low for awhile. The skills demand is even tougher in some technical areas of public relations (technology, healthcare, finance, digital). See the role we’re recruiting for now on Linked In.
Yet across the Pacific it’s bad news in America. Not only is unemployment static at just under 10%, the length of unemployment exceeds anything seen in recent history. NPR reports the average length is six months - with some reporting of a year or more without work.
The fall-out in America of long-term unemployment is going to be felt at the polls. Any government in power when the economy is down fares badly. In Australia we may be unhappy with elements of government, but since the economy is doing so well we’ll just leave the incumbents in power. Obama’s mid-term elections occur in November.
Will this be the “Change” he spoke so passionately about?
March 5, 2010 at 7:02 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Media Industry, Public Relations, Australia
Poor Jothy Hughes. This “publicist” couldn’t get his client on national television. The firm bought gold, so Jothy arranged for actresses to pose as divorcees. At a staged event they would sell their wedding jewels and act excited by the value. Hooray for divorce!
But Jothy’s emails trying to tempt gold-diggersgold sellers were published. Now Jothy’s dodging camera crews in car parks and his employer refuses to acknowledge his existence. The story received national airplay in AUstralia on “Today Tonight” and “A Current Affair”.
A PR man’s worst nightmare? Maybe not.
One conspiracy theorist notes the responses and car park interviews are too polished. Was this guy caught out or stage managed? The crisis has forced gold buying parties into prominence never-before seen.
Now I know I’m supposed to be creative in my job. But it never occurred to me to fake a crisis in order to propel further media.
Is that what those Exxon Valdez guys were thinking?
February 25, 2010 at 8:14 am · Filed under Australia, Social Media
I realised I was old when an invitation to a funeral via Facebook surprised me. I recognise the site’s appeal as I have friends and family in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia. Facebook allows me to connect with these far-flung people. But never had I been alerted to a death and told of the funeral arrangements on-line. Welcome to 2010.
Notification of a death by Facebook isn’t uncommon. Teens build RIP and Memorial sites as soon as they learn of a friend’s death. This month in Sydney one family learned their son died via such a site. The police were challenged identifying the remains and couldn’t make a positive identification until five or six hours after the accident. In an SMS world, that’s equivalent to a week. By then RIP notices were popping up on the pages kept by the victim’s sisters.
The memorial site on Facebook is a perfect place for mourners to connect and share memories of the decedent. It is a safe and open site for all to gather - and memories to be shared.
Until recently.
Now Facebook memorial pages have become the targets of malice. In February 12 year old Elliot Fletcher was stabbed in the chest and killed during a schoolyard brawl. His assailant is incarcerated. That boy is 13.
If this tragedy weren’t sufficient, “opportunistic vandals” have degraded the memorial site for Elliot with notes of insult, hate and rage. Melbourne University’s Dr Lauren Rosewarne explains the attraction of international media and a high profile death attract people wanting attention. Hence they shock us all with their notes of hate on a site dedicated to a young victim.
The vast displays of mourning seemed to start after the death of Lady Diana. Stunned members of the public began leaving flowers at the gates of Buckingham Palace. Soon that delivery of flowers and stuffed animals and notes became the norm after a death. The short-lived tribute sites were usually at a victim’s home - or at the site where their body was discovered. It would be unthinkable to see these locations defaced.
Today police in the Queensland city of Bundaberg are monitoring Facebook sites devoted to eight year old murder victim Trinity Bates. While 3,900 people have joined one page, others have posted child pornography or messages in support of the apprehended murder suspect.
Perhaps technology is taking us too far. Perhaps there are some areas best left to face-to-face communication. After a death the natural place to gather is the victim’s home or funeral parlor. It allows a personal connection and sharing that on-line will never replicate. And if Drive Through Funeral Parlours open Down Under - like in America - you’ll be able to do so from the comfort of your car.
February 16, 2010 at 9:51 am · Filed under Issues Management, Australia
As part of the kick to the economy last year when the Global Financial Crisis was at its most deadly, the Australian government introduced a series of spending programs. One was to offer free insulation to every Australian household, up to the value of $1,200. Overnight a cottage industry was born. Tradesmen raced to have their businesses certified so they could install insulation for free to households - then charge the Federal Government $1,200 per household.
Once again, the devil is in the details.
With the rush to get insulation and construction industry funds flowing, the program was introduced rapidly. There appears to have been insufficient training and little oversight. One tradesman suggested I factor the government’s $1,200 into the cost of our remodelled kitchen. He would get the grant for the full amount of the insulation even if we only were going to use one batt. No harm no foul? We didn’t go ahead with that tradesman!
Other than overcharging, the lack of training led to faulty installation. Pink batts were laid over halogen light fixtures - putting that house at risk of fire. Some houses got inferior quality insulation so the benefit is lost. Others had foil insulation stapled into place with metal staples. And as the young installers were not trained, some pierced electrical wires. Four people were killed. More were severely burned. An unknown number of houses have “live” attics or worse, especially if that “live” foil insulation comes into contact with water pipes. In that case the bathtub spigot could be an electrocution hazard.
Now that all these issues have come to light, there are calls in Parliament for the sacking of the Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett.
Today Garrett is featured in a front page photo in The Australian. Is he in the crawl space of a home accompanying an inspector? Is he bedside with a burned installer? Is he in a cramped conference room working with industry leaders to solve the problems? Nope. Minister Garrett is alongside a stream looking at a small snake, as yesterday he launched an effort to monitor reptiles, snakes and maybe even bugs.
Yes, I am familiar with the excuse that it was a pre-booked event. And yes, somehow I understand that snakes are critical to the environment. And of course “business as usual” does need to proceed. But I am not the public.
What the public see is a Minister out in the bush - and out of touch. People have died and homes may be unsafe. And in comparison to that, the snakes don’t matter. Sorry. The Minister needs to demonstrate control of this “burning” issue or else we’ll demand government put someone in charge who will.
PS: The comments of the author are in no way meant to disrespect reptiles or snakes or any other “creepy crawlies,” as the Minister’s office described them.
January 25, 2010 at 8:33 am · Filed under Australia
Tomorrow is a public holiday in Australia. It’s our summer and the last week before school starts. Tomorrow is the “last gasp” of a wet, Claytons summer Down Under.
Tomorrow is Australia Day.
And in anticipation radio programs and politicians are talking about…immigration. Why is it patriotism can so easily be tipped over into xenophobia? Since when does flying the flag equate to borderline racism? One article in Queensland’s The Courier Mail recently centred on how the Australian flag was being commandeered by hooligans sporting Southern Cross tattoos.
Hooligan?
Yet one of the great cricket sports stars recently revealed his full back tattoo of the Southern Cross. And his inspiration was patriotism. Peter Siddle’s tattoo is impressive. I grew up with World War II veterans in my family. None of them had tattoos however it would never have been considered unpatriotic for sporting the US flag on their arm.
Patriot?
The concerns centre on people using their patriotism as rationale for disallowing change. Yet Australia was built by migrants. Other than the Aboriginal people, everyone else arrived by ship or plane. I am a new Australian and took up citizenship in 1995. I call Australia home and would never live elsewhere. Yet I believe it’s too good a country not to share. As we prosper we’ll need immigration to expand. And while I say this I’ll happily wave the flag.
As the film “Between the Flags” shows - it’s easy to get along, even if we have differences. The film answers the questions, “What if we threw a riot and no one came?”
January 19, 2010 at 8:01 am · Filed under Globalisation, Australia
Today the export of financial services from Australia accounts for merely 3% of that sector’s overall contribution to the economy. Perhaps that strong reliance on domestic business helped shelter Australia’s finance sector from the worst of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). In the world’s list of ten safest banks, four of them are in Australia. (Bizarrely enough we have a “four pillars” banking strategy and today have only four major banks.)
Yet compare us to London – one of the world’s leading finance centres. There the global rump of business contributes 50% of the sector’s contribution to the economy. Clearly Australia has room for growth.
Prior to the full impact of the GFC, the Ministry of Finance commissioned a report to examine Australia’s potential as a global financial centre. Also included was an examination of the regulatory framework that would be required. Are we headed the way of Lehman Brothers by unravelling our rules and regulations? Apparently not, according to Mark Johnson, former Macquarie Bank deputy chairman and architect of the report, “Australia As A Financial Centre.”
“We are not trying to build a financial system on steroids with artificial inducements,” Johnson said in today’s The Australian.
What we could expect was more banking competitiveness, an increase in financial products, and a boost to financial services jobs growth.
While it is some time before Sydney overtakes Hong Kong or Singapore as a financial centre the drive to boost our country’s importance can’t be a bad thing.
January 18, 2010 at 4:15 pm · Filed under Australia
Good luck Prime Minister Rudd. He’s required to call an election this year and timing couldn’t be worse.
Jobs growth in the last quarter was higher than expected. And for the first time, seasonal workers weren’t the cause – December saw unusually high ad placements for permanent roles. The Reserve Bank already raised interest rates three times last year. They meet again in early February and everyone sees a rate rise as an eventuality.
Then today reports were printed of our exports. Hold on to your seat – nationally they rose 23% last year over the previous year. In minerals-rich Western Australia the growth was highest. Even Queensland racked up a 48.3% increase. The only decline was in South Australia which suffered due to a slump in automotive sales and wine consumption. (Beware in Adelaide of car salesmen out commiserating on cheap wine.)
At the same time the drop in new house starts over the last year means rental units are all but gone. Some suburbs report vacancy rates of 1.2%. Ask an out-of-home renter how easy it is to secure lodgings.
Amidst all this froth and bubble the government goes up for re-election.
But wait – don’t people normally vote with their wallets? If we’re doing good we figure keep the power in place, right? But what if we’re doing too good? What if mortgage rates are rising – and fuel, grocery, utility and other bills are also on the rise? What then?
It will be a tough campaign year for both parties. Each has to show they can strategically apply the brakes – while keeping the good news coming. We’re all for good news. Just don’t give us too much, okay?
January 5, 2010 at 4:06 pm · Filed under Australia
I never talk to my Mother about sharks. She’s highly sensitive to news flashes from Australia. If a surfer in Maroochydore gets bitten, I get a call. When anyone is “taken” (that’s Australian for killed by a shark), she’s got all the details. Last month I responded to her “surfer boy bitten” update by telling her I was more concerned about the giant shark somewhere near Sydney. Seems they pulled up a four metre (12 foot) Great White only to find a giant bite taken out of his side. Tourists were warned to stay out of the water for fear of a six metre (20 foot) beast. Now that’s a shark!
Peter Benchley once said he regretted writing “Jaws” because of the impact the film had on shark numbers. Man eats shark a lot more often than shark eats man. It’s the white fish inside many fish & chips servings. In Asia only the fins are culled for soup, whereas the shark is sent spiralling to the ocean floor to drown. Shark numbers are decreasing globally.
Here in Sydney our fresh waters still attract a fair number. In today’s The Sydney Morning Herald surfer Glenn Orgias describes how he mustered the strength to swim to shore – minus a hand. He recounts how fortunate he was to be attacked by a Great White (fussy eaters, they’ll spit out what they can’t swallow right away). A Bull Shark just attacks and attacks and attacks again. The Bull and the Tiger are the two species I fear (Tigers are deep water sharks hence their ferocity towards boat and plane wreck survivors).
When I first arrived in Australia I was so freaked out by my 1975 experience watching “Jaws” that I feared entering the water. SCUBA diving and marine life courses largely cured me. Even the advanced course on “Shark Behaviour” filled me with facts (”Why are they worried,” I say watching TV shows. “It’s just a white tipped reef shark and it’s not even displaying aggressive behaviour!”).
Today I have a great time at our beautiful beaches here in Sydney. (Surfer Orgias and his wife named their daughter after my favourite beach, Bronte.)
But when I go there, I never tell my Mother. There are too many sharks – it would freak her out!
January 5, 2010 at 7:52 am · Filed under Public Relations, Australia
Australian employers are coming back from holidays to find the return of high employment. In December job advertisements spiked – in a trend unseen before. Traditionally job ads over Christmas are dominated by casual and seasonal roles (gift wrapping at the mall, anyone?). Yet this past December recruitment advertisements increased 2.5% with an 18.5% increase in advertising and media. (See The Sydney Morning Herald.)
Dial back three years and you’ll recall the pre-crisis period. At that stage I was in a similar role at another firm (they who shall not be mentioned). I received a CV from a recruiter who enthusiastically recommended this bright candidate. She was unique and very qualified. And with 18 months experience she wanted a base salary of $75,000.
Now recruiters are human so I called and suggested the 4 key is right below the 7 key on the numeric keypad. Wasn’t this a typo?
Turns out the young candidate wasn’t the only enthusiastic one. No, the recruiter assured me, that was the salary expectation and once I met the young woman I would understand. On principle I refused the meeting.
In public relations we walk a razor-thin line. We have an obligation to provide a fair and equitable salary to our professionals. Yet clients are demanding the best services for the most reasonable fees. And after the horror year of 2008-09, we need to re-build and re-invest in technology, training and more.
Australia is also a talent pool where Asian companies love to swim. Singapore for three years? Seoul for a posting? Hong Kong for a change? With the growth in Mandarin classes even an in-land China posting is attractive to new professionals.
2010 will be a competitive year as the economic growth of Australia is compounded by the increased demand for talented people. I plan to play and play hard – but it’s never going to be a place where I’ll over-pay for 18 months experience!
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