Brexit – What now?
With Boris Johnston newly appointed as the UK’s Prime Minister, it seems more likely that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October 2019 without a deal, and even if there is a deal, they will not be part…
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Economics & Trade
Is the complexity of trade rules keeping FTA benefits out of your reach?
With all the noise about tariff wars, free trade agreements and WTO rules, it’s clear that many people don’t actually understand global supply chains and their interactions with the various rules that govern regional and global trade. As with many…
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The Three Ps of Economic Growth
Australia’s sluggish economic performance in late 2018 has continued into early 2019. In the first quarter of 2019, economic growth slowed to just 1.8% over the year. This is the slowest rate of economic growth since the height of the…
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B20 Tokyo 2019: Ai Group advocates for free and fair trade rules
With Trade Wars between our two largest trading partners, the indecision of Brexit and WTO paralysis, it can feel like Australian businesses are flotsam in a sea of trade uncertainty. Fortunately, Ai Group has a global voice though our membership…
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Are we in a recession? Technical recessions, ‘per capita’ recessions and other statistical dips
This week’s release of GDP data by the ABS has generated an unusually large amount of noisy and impatient commentary about the definition of a ‘recession’ and whether or not Australia is in one. This is despite the fact that…
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Postcard from the OECD World Forum, South Korea
This week I am attending the OECD World Forum on ‘the Future of Well-Being: Statistics, Knowledge and Policy’, as a guest of the OECD. This year was the sixth annual World Forum but the first Forum at which private sector…
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New rules for out-bound air cargo
The way that air cargo leaving Australia is being screened is changing and it will affect all members who use air freight or are part of the logistics chain. By 1 March 2019, all exports sent overseas by airfreight will…
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ConTech2018: It’s a wrap!
Themed Confectionery Unwrapped, ConTech2018 – the Ai Group Confectionery Sector’s annual event – did just that! The one-day conference, held last Tuesday (19 June) with the help of the Principal Sponsor, the Manildra Group, opened with a trade exhibition of suppliers’ products and…
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How workers really feel about their job security
Three myths about the Australian workforce seem to have become widely accepted in the public consciousness as if they were “facts”. One of these has been that “casualisation is increasing in the Australian workforce”, despite being proven incorrect in 2016…
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Gender pay gaps: What are they? And why must businesses eliminate them?
On 21 March 2018, Victoria’s Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Women, Natalie Hutchins, held a conference on gender pay gaps in the Australian workforce. Around 500 people attended. Ai Group’s Nicola Street and Julie Toth addressed the conference,…
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