{"id":177798,"date":"2017-05-10T23:07:56","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T13:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=177798"},"modified":"2020-09-17T13:33:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T03:33:45","slug":"co-ops-urge-government-rethink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/05\/10\/co-ops-urge-government-rethink\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-Ops Urge Government Rethink"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Senator Jenny McAllister, Italian Consul-General Artuto Arcano and BCCM CEO Melina Morrison at the launch of a new book exploring why the co-operative sector is stronger in Italy than in Australia (Photo: BCCM)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 10, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) has welcomed a number of initiatives in this year’s Budget, but urged the government to reconsider the role co-operatives and mutuals can play in delivering services more efficiently.<\/p>\n

The BCCM was formed in 2013 as the national peak body representing co-operative and mutual business models.<\/p>\n

It represents the estimated 2000 co-operative and mutual businesses operating in Australia with a total of 14.8 million members, and is led by the chief executives of some of Australia\u2019s largest co-operative and mutual businesses.<\/p>\n

It’s board members are drawn from the RACQ, RACWA, the Co-operative Bulk Handling Group, Bank Australia, the Capricorn Society, CareSuper, Australian Unity, Common Equity Housing Limited and HCF.<\/p>\n

“For the past 35 years, the co-operative business model has been sidelined by bureaucracies and policies designed to entrench the company business model as the ‘mature’ option,” BCCM CEO Melina Morrison said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Yet co-operatives and mutuals are still a fundamental part of the Australian economy and 79 per cent of the Australian population are member shareholders.<\/p>\n

“This compares with 36 per cent of Australians who own listed investments on the Australian Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n

“With some minor changes in Government thinking, the inherent stability and customer-focused nature of the co-operative\/mutual model can continue to deliver services cost effectively and with tremendous community benefits.”<\/p>\n

The BCCM said there were several measures in the Budget which should make it easier to register a co-operative or mutual in Australia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We\u2019re heartened by almost $400 million to simplify business registrations and remove regulatory restrictions on small businesses and competition,” Ms Morrison said.<\/p>\n

“But most Government business websites around Australia fail to even mention co-ops as a business model.<\/p>\n

“This is clearly unacceptable. and we look forward to working with the States and Commonwealth in improving the information available.”<\/p>\n

The BCCM said it is also looking forward to COAG agreements being measured for their efficiency, such as 2012\u2019s Co-operatives National Law which aimed to harmonise the various State-based regulatory frameworks for co-ops.<\/p>\n

The announcement of the Regional Growth Fund and the ongoing funding for a number of existing regional development policies would provide exciting opportunities for regionally-based co-operatives and community-owned infrastructure projects, Ms Morrison said.<\/p>\n

The BCCM believes the formation of the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation to facilitate community housing expansion presents a great opportunity for the development of co-operative housing.<\/p>\n

“In other countries, co-operative housing initiatives have seen many people move into home ownership who previously only had a hope of renting,” Ms Morrison said.<\/p>\n

The BCCM is also cautiously optimistic the announcement of tax incentives for Managed Investment Trusts which invest in affordable housing can also contribute to an expansion in co-operative housing stock.<\/p>\n

Finally, the BCCM praised Budget initiatives to assist small business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Many Australian small businesses are members of co-operatives – for example, the 17,000 mechanics and crash repairer members of the buying co-operative, Capricorn Group,” Ms Morrison said.<\/p>\n

“Any assistance which is given to small businesses, such as the continued $20,000 capital write-off, and small business company tax cuts, will be welcomed by BCCM members.”<\/p>\n

Last week BCCM helped launch a new book by the Co-operatives Research Group, which compares the co-operative movements in Australia and Italy and explores why the co-operative sector is stronger in Italy compared to Australia.<\/p>\n

“Cooperative Enterprises in Australia and Italy: Comparative analysis and theoretical insights” is the result of a three year partnership between the University of Sydney and University of Trento.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals has welcomed a number of initiatives in this year’s Budget, but urged the government to reconsider the role co-operatives and mutuals can play in delivering services more efficiently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":177801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,3,36],"tags":[1134],"yoast_head":"\nCo-Ops Urge Government Rethink<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals has welcomed a number of initiatives in this year's Budget, but urged the government to reconsider the role co-operatives and mutuals can play in delivering services more efficiently.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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