July 2017 Presidents Report
I hope you all had a successful and smooth EOFY!
Thank you to those members who have renewed with us, we appreciate your support. Just reminder if you haven’t paid your membership please do so by 31st July. If you have misplaced your invoice by error, please contact us.
So how does your membership support help Griffith Business Chamber?
1: We are a strong voice for the business community.
2: We provide support and represent members by lobbying at a local, state and federal
government level about important issues affecting the business community that relate to
our 10 point plan. (which you can read further in the newsletter.
3: We also provide an avenue to inform, advocate and promote our members.
4: We know local businesses are a gem and back bone to any community and must continue to receive every opportunity to thrive.
5: We want Griffith to thrive and grow so it becomes magnetic for various industries to
invest, allowing the community and businesses to reap the rewards, but only if you have
committees like Griffith Business Chamber lobbying for growth and/or change.
When we have solid support, we are halfway there in achieving these goals for the business
community.
By now you would of seen our new local TV ad on air. It has a strong message of what Griffith Business Chamber want to achieve and see happen for our business community. In return we ask the community to support our members by shopping locally.
Recently i attended a meeting a Rail meeting in Narrandera with many local Councils and Industry from Griffith between Griffith & Shepparton. At this meeting was Sam Birrell from Greater Shepparton to gauge support for the re-activation of the Narrandera to Tocumwal rail line linking up with a new section to Shepparton.
There was overwhelming support to proceed to the next stage, which was a meeting that i attended in Sydney with Narrandera Council, Sam Burrell along with Freight industry leaders and Rothchild Bank. The focus of the meeting was to discuss the feasibility of the project and the consensus was it’s very achievable. Rail Industry leaders are convinced that where it’s takes 17 hours now for a container to reach Port of Melbourne, it would only be 7 hours via the reopened Narrandera to Tocumwal line. The cost to ship a 20 ft container to Melbourne from Griffith would be a least $100 less than present.
These savings would make our region even more competitive on the global stage and we need to follow these. It was suggested that the steering committee meet with Port of Melbourne to engage with them and show our united position.
On another front, Griffith City Council may be considering reinforcing the Section 94A contribution. The Griffith Business Chamber lobbied some years ago to have Griffith CityCouncil drop this to assist developers and make Griffith more competitive. With a moratorium of 94A soon to be reviewed, Griffith Business Chamber are urging Council to retain this until 2022. In light of the housing/land shortage and pressure on commercial property, development applications should be encouraged and stimulated with less conditions, cost and burden on potential developers.
2016 Census have been released and the results are quite interesting. Its seems as though population has increased from 2011 results. The medium rent has increased from $180 in 2011 to $220 in 2016 , private dwellings and medium weekly income have increased as well. The NSW State Government announced recently that First Home buyers will be assisted by the removal of stamp duty up to $650,000. This will have a significant impact in the housing market, but we need to act fast to stimulate further residential development to cater for this housing boom era. I sincerely hope Griffith City Council reconsider enforcing Section 94A whilst developers are struggling to justify investment here over other council areas.
A new NSW Retail Leases Act is being introduced from 1 July 2017. The NSW Government says the new Act will create more certainty, transparency and fairness for retail businesses and landlords. Note: Information sourced by REINSW. Please contact your local Real Estate Agent for further clarification.
What are the main changes?
• No minimum term. There is no requirement for a lease to have a minimum term of five years
• Copy and registration of lease. All leases must be signed and returned to the tenant within three months of the lease being signed. Leases exceeding three years must be registered • Liability for outgoings is limited to those disclosed in the lessor disclosure statement. Landlords must disclose all the outgoings in the disclosure statement if it wishes to recover such outgoings from a tenant
• Lessor disclosure statement. There will be a new prescribed form
• Retail Lease preparation fees. The landlord cannot recover mortgagee consent fees
• Non-retail premises. ATMs, internet booths, public telephones and vending machines are not retail premises and excluded from the Act
• Consent to assignment. A landlord may withhold consent to assignment if the retail shop lease was awarded by public tender and the proposed assignee fails to meet any criteria of the tender
• Bank guarantees must be returned within two months of the lessee complying with the obligations under the lease
• Demolition. A lessor may rely on a demolition clause if it can prove that demolition cannot be practically carried out without vacant possession of a retail shop
• Monetary limit on Tribunal’s jurisdiction. NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal will have the jurisdiction to hear claims up to$750,000.
This brings me to our upcoming members event on 17th August with guest speaker Senior Economist, Geordan Murray from HIA (Housing Industry Association)
Where will residential building activity head in 2018 and beyond?
Residential building activity in New South Wales has been running hot for the last couple of years. During the upswing of the cycle the detached house building market awoke from a decade long slumber, the lower density multi-unit market posted exceptional growth and the apartment market boomed. However, the sands are shifting as we progress towards a new phase of the cycle. Sydney has been the epicenter of residential building activity but regional areas of NSW have also contributed to the state’s stellar performance in recent years. HIA Senior Economist, Geordan Murray, will assess a range of factors influencing demand for new housing, renovations activity, existing property and more in considering the outlook for the housing industry in Griffith and the surrounding regions. More information will be sent out closer to the date.
Kind regards
Pat Pittavino | Acting President