50 Up – marketing to baby boomers

50 Up magazine and website www.50up.com.au has been launched to provide a platform for senior Australian’s, a vibrant and relevant force in Australian Society.

Currently there are 7 million people in Australia aged over 50, with 24,000 people turning 50 each month.

The over 50s market control 60% of all wealth, have more disposable income then any other age group, own their own homes, spend more on travel, entertainment, white goods, gardening, new cars, furniture, food and beverages, with over 78% now owning their own computer.

50 Up delivers rich editorial content relevant to the over 50s.

The website and print magazine offers interviews with celebrities, articles on health, investment, travel, technology, cooking, fashion, and much more.

If you want to target the market that holds more wealth than any other age group, you cannot afford to miss promoting your business, goods or services to the over 50’s then you need to advertise with 50 Up Australia.

50 Up will offer you as an advertiser a diverse audience, readership and market penetration in a lively glossy magazine.

We offer you a variety of print and digital advertising and we invite you to contact Robert Kearney on 0419-639-209 or email Robert.kearney@50up.com.au for a no obligation discussion.

50 Up Australia is part of Moose Media Pty Ltd

Life Begins Here

E: Robert.kearney@50up.com.au
W: 50up.com.au
F: www.facebook.com/50upAustralia   T: twitter.com/#!/50UPAustralia
M: 0419 639 209

Where has all the manufacturing gone?

Great Aussie invention: Hills Hoist

Australia is unquestionably a nation of innovative thinkers. Our isolation has meant that we have had to rely on our own resourcefulness and skills to develop solutions to many problems that were not just unique to our experience but had potential to meet market needs world wide.

Our greatest inventors and inventions often had very humble and unassuming beginnings. In fact some of the most unique and innovative ideas have originated, often literally from our own backyard; for example, the Victa Lawn Mower which was invented in 1952, in Concord a suburb of Sydney, Australia, by Mervyn Victor Richardson and the  Hills Hoist which was invented by Lance Hill in 1945. Hill also began to manufacture the height-adjustable rotary clothes hoist in Adelaide, South Australia. These two inventions are now such a familiar part of our culture that it is easy to forget in their day they revolutionised two very common household chores and changed the way we approach lawn mowing and laundry forever. In the medical sphere the Cochlear implant Ear Piece (Professor Graeme Clark A.C., then Foundation Professor of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne in 1970, led the team that developed the Australian prototype bionic ear, which was implanted into the first patient, Rod Saunders, in 1978) In fact the list of Aussie ingenuity is very extensive across many fields of endeavour and the most common thread amongst them seems to be the lack of home grown support for research and development as well as local manufacture.

Our engineering manufacturing arm has almost departed from our shores and in some instances forever. Manufacturing has been sent offshore where the labour is cheap. In some countries where the unskilled work force is paid just enough to survive with little else to improve their quality of life. It is an irony that we continue to export our ideas and intellectual property to countries that have little regard for occupational health and safety standards. Whilst OH&S is mandatory not only in this country but also other western nations, the implementation and enforcement of OH&S has meant that our local markets suffer with increased costs to our labour market which translates into high costs of our local manufactured products resulting in reduced dividends to the board members of our local companies. Is it any wonder that we prefer to export our manufacturing to countries with a cheaper labour force and reduced overheads ultimately resulting in the depletion of our local skills base and huge gaps in our workforce?

When our manufacturing was at its highest, there was an abundance of employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labourers, whether it was a foundry in Newcastle, the rail way yards at Redfern or workshop facilities dotted throughout the suburbs of all our major cities. These manufacturing facilities employed a skilled labour force of pattern makers and metal pourers in the foundries, fitters, boiler makers and tradesman’s assistants in the workshop facilities, rail car carriage builders, sheet metal fitters, boiler makers, electricians in the rail industry. These industries offered employment opportunities in their hundreds each year to apprentices. Many of these apprentices eventually established small businesses of their own becoming the local tradesmen that we call on when we require domestic help with our plumbing, electrical work, building maintenance and so on. The forgotten workers of our manufacturing industry are the unskilled workers. The unskilled labour force often comprised of people who had limited education opportunities or were marginalised through life circumstances but who nonetheless were absorbed by manufacturing into a working life that provided structure and valued their ability to complete basic tasks with minimal supervision. It is the unskilled labour force who have suffered most with the demise of manufacturing in this country. Not only have they lost employment opportunities but they have also lost a crucial support network that was so valuable in assisting those in the lower socio-economic strata of society in improving their own situation as well as the generations that followed them.

So as you can see the flow on affect of watering down our manufacturing industry has a direct impact on our domestic consumption of our daily household or commercial needs. We have chosen rightly or wrongly to import a variety of products that we could have made here in Australia and thereby reap the rewards of maintaining our local skills for future generations to come. We have essentially traded our very core values and the values of our children in exchange for a “quick buck”.

Certainly our resource industries have benefited from the bonanza of offshore manufacture, however if our greatest mining trading partner in Asia becomes a causality in this “global financial crisis” Australia will have nothing to fall back on because we have neglected to nurture a manufacturing industry over the past 30 years. One wonders if such neglect will be the undoing of the very foundation that this country was established on that is a decent day’s pay for a decent hard day’s work.

We can be optimistic that as a nation we will replenish the skill shortage which faces us, re-establish a workable apprentice system and learn from our experiences. It rests with our political leaders to realize that every country needs a manufacturing industry which will allow us to become competitive in a world market. After all we all live in an extraordinarily blessed country that has experienced enormous growth in the past and there is no reason why we shouldn’t experience the same or better again.

 

Written by Adage jobseeker Michael Coco

Keep your super close

Economic reports from around the globe are forecasting volatile times ahead and the most at risk in times of economic uncertainty? Seniors and those entering retirement. But understanding your super fund and keeping an eye on the future can help safeguard your nest egg, no matter what stage of life you are in, writes Rachel Davis.

Once the preserve of finance professionals, stocks and shares are now common place discussions around the dinner table. The superannuation guarantee in Australia, soon to rise to 12%, has given our citizens an enviable nest egg but with most of it invested in the share market through super funds, it is open to the dramatic highs and lows of the markets.

A couple looking to achieve a comfortable retirement will need to spend $55,316 a year, while those seeking a ‘modest’ retirement lifestyle need to spend $31,767 a year, according to new figures released by the Association of Super Funds Australia.

To achieve this kind of income in retirement requires careful planning, some luck but also knowledge. Do you know where your super is? It sounds simple but the average Australian has multiple super funds, each charging fees and taking money straight out of their retirement income. Most super funds now offer free services – if you switch to them – that will track your lost super and then roll it over into one account.

Protecting your retirement income begins with your super fund. They are more accessible than ever before with many offering free advice and calculators on their websites. Question them and make sure you understand what kind of fund you are in and how much they are charging you.

If you are with one of the top three super funds, it is unlikely that you are getting the best deal so, do what you would in any other situation – shop around for the best deal. There are a number of independent super ratings houses that track the funds over three, five and 10 year periods.

Go ahead, I dare you to compare.

www.50up.com.au

Employers left to foot the bill

Another reason for organisations to consider local talent pools such as mature workers!

Recruitment agencies and employers reliant on overseas talent are facing tough times ahead after the announcement yesterday that the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) will be phased out for overseas workers on a 457 business visa.

The Government said yesterday that the tax perk had been abused over the last five years, particularly highly-paid executives and foreign workers, and a severe crackdown was needed to return an estimated $613m to the treasury over the next four years.

So-called rorting of this tax exemption was discussed at the October Tax Forum – indeed the total amount of tax-free LAFHA  reported by employers to the ATO increased from $162m in 2004-05 to $740m in 2010-11.

So-called rorting of this tax exemption was discussed at the October Tax Forum – indeed the total amount of tax-free LAFHA  reported by employers to the ATO increased from $162m in 2004-05 to $740m in 2010-11.

However, employer groups are outraged over the blanket cut of the tax incentive which they say has been instrumental in luring foreign talent to Australia.

The LAFHA currently allows overseas workers on a 457 business visa to claim their accommodation and living costs as a tax deduction.

Additionally, employers will need to pay between 5% and 15% more for foreign worker visas, and full superannuation contributions on affected staff members’ entire pay, rather than only on the part not claimed back against the LAFHA.

In a statement released by Treasurer Wayne Swan, he said the key aspects of the new reforms, which will be formally introduced on 1 July 2012 are:

• Access to the tax exemption for temporary residents will be limited to those who maintain a residence for their own use in Australia, which they are living away from for work purposes, such as ‘fly-in fly-out’ workers; and
• Individuals will be required to substantiate their actual expenditure on accommodation and food beyond a statutory amount.
• No permanent resident legitimately using this tax exemption for accommodation and food expenses will lose any entitlements.

Notably, these reforms will not affect other tax concessions, such as those that apply to travel and meal allowances, and remote area fringe benefits.

In his statement, Swan said, “These changes will ensure that a level playing field exists between temporary residents and permanent residents, and that Australian taxpayers are not funding the unfair exploitation of concessions.”

KPMG’s tax partner Andy Hutt said that the majority of employers were not rorting the system, and were providing the benefits in a manner consistent with the legislation and with the tax office’s public rulings.

Hutt said the changes may see companies come under pressure to give staff pay rises to make up for the shortfall, or risk losing them.

“This is a move which will significantly increase the cost for Australian businesses of attracting highly skilled foreign workers,” he added.

Source: HC Online