Conference Programme
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The Co-operative Progress conference was held on November 27/28 at the Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport, Cnr Robey and O'Riordan Streets, Mascot, with a welcoming cocktail party for early registrants on Wednesday evening November 26.
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CONFERENCE
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| The conference aimed to provide an update on any changes affecting the sector, technical information that isn’t readily available, governance training, workshops and talks that encourage new thoughts and innovative approaches and last but definitely not least – networking opportunities. |
The programme for the two days was as follows:
Wednesday November 26
| 6:00pm - 7:30pm | Early registration and welcoming cocktail party sponsored by Abacus Australian Mutuals. |
Thursday November 27 - Let's Get Technical
| 8:00-8:30 | Registration | |
| 8:30-8:45 | Welcome Opening by Lyn Baker, Commissioner for Fair Trading |
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| 8:45-9:35 | Keynote Speaker |
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| 9:35-10:00 | Four co-operators present on the day will be introduced and asked to tell us a little about themselves - we hope this will help to fuel the networking aspect of the conference. | |
| 10:00-10:40 | Using the co-operative to get the best outcomes for members. Murray Goulburn continues to be a successful co-operative, but it operates under different legislation. We will see that the real secret to running a co-operative has nothing to do with the legislative framework. Ian MacAulay, Chair, Murray Goulburn Co-operative Company Ltd. |
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| 10:40-11:00 | Morning tea | |
| 11:00-11:45 | S1 The Trade Practices Act - an update. Are you aware of where co-operatives stand in relation to this pesky Act? Kathryn Edghill, Addisons Lawyers |
S2 Accidents Do Happen - An Injury Management Model. Are you paying sufficient attention to your workplace safety? Jennifer Cameron & Michael Thompson, Mutual Solutions Australia |
| 11:45-12:30 | S3 Salary packaging for CEOs and senior management. What has changed lately and what is still possible? GS Choong, BDO |
S4 Affordable & effective web-based co-operative education - a demonstration. Are you aware of the revolution in information dissemination on the web and how it could relate to your member and staff education? Graeme Charles, Co-operative Federation of Victoria |
| 12:30-1:40 | Lunch | |
| 1:40-2:25 | S5 Getting market value for your members' co-operative shares. Have you solved the problem of market value for your members' shares? Jim Howard, Co-operative Federation of Qld |
S6 Board meeting processes - from agendas to minutes. A good practical run-down from a very experienced team. Robert Whitton, Chairman and Ron Corby, Secretary, The Wine Society |
| 2:25-3:10 | S7 Distribution options for co-operatives. The different options we have, with pros and cons - have you really considered them? Tony Addison, Addisons Lawyers |
S8 The Petersham Model - an Australian Housing Co-operative solution. Learn about a new model being proposed for Australia - it may be just what you are looking for. Peter Gates, Mercury Centre |
| 3:10-3:40 | Afternoon tea | |
| 3:40-4:10 | Round-up of activities and issues from all the States. | |
| 4:10-5:40 | Workshop: Director nomination committees & raising professional competencies. Terry will give you some great pointers, but really it'll be you who will be exploring new ideas and measuring them for appropriateness for your co-operative - have you considered the advantages and different models of nomination committees? Facilitator: Terry Kilmister, BoardWorks International |
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| 5:45-6:00 | Co-operative Federation Annual General Meeting - visitors welcome. | |
| 6:30 | Pre-dinner drinks | |
| 7:00 | Addisons Gala Dinner - speaker: James McCall, CEO Motor Traders' Association of NSW. Why has the co-operative movement in Australia failed to fulfil its potential? Where to from now? Join us for an enjoyable social evening, courtesy of Addisons - good food, excellent wine from the Wine Society, and a stimulating talk from someone who can apply a long-term perspective to our current issues. |
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Friday November 28 - Reaching Out, Forming Partnerships
| 7:00-8:00 | Networking breakfasts If you're a Chair, CEO or Treasurer/Financial Officer of your co-operative, you're invited to a networking breakfast with your peers. Make some contacts and discuss common issues. |
| 8:30-9:20 | Keynote Speaker Co-operatives and the vitality of regional economies - the European experience. What can we learn about using co-ops to revitalise our regional areas, from what is happening in Europe? Rainer Schluter, CEO, Coops, Europe |
| 9:20-10:05 | A different solution to our health issues - demonstrating the versatility of the co-operative model. This is a new co-operative, adopting a successful model from Victoria, where they've been doing health differently. Why aren't we seeing this in NSW? Roger Nicoll, Chair, West Belconnen Health Co-operative Ltd. |
| 10:05-10:30 | Morning tea |
| 10:30-11:35 | Workshop - What is a co-op? How do we educate those outside the sector? How often do you really think about what it is to be a co-operative? How can we take the message to the public, professional advisers and others we need to reach, to make the environment a little less unfriendly? We're looking for your ideas; Richard will be just teasing you with suggestions, then getting you to use your experience and imagination to come up with some answers. Facilitator: Richard O'Leary, Macleay Regional Co-operative |
| 11:35-12:20 | Telecommunications - our future options and what input we must give to get what we will need. Are you aware of what is planned for our telecommunications future? Listen and learn. Lynda Summers, Chair, NSW Regional Communities Consultative Council. |
| 12:30-1:30 | Lunch |
| 1:30-2:40 | The How and What of Mutually beneficial partnerships. An open discussion to explore possibilities for partnerships between co-ops and everyone else. Why don't we see more co-operatives exploring common needs and mutual solutions with prospective partners? What can be done with local government, to advantage members and their community? Another opportunity, during the conference, to get involved. With examples & suggestions from: Lynda Summers, Di Batterham, Trevor Sargeant. |
| 2:40-3:50 | Workshop - Co-operative social responsiblity to community vs responsibilities to shareholders - where do we draw the line? The closing workshop will consider the ethical and legal area that we are all aware of but that most ignore. However, a balance must be achieved and can be done so to the advantage of all stakeholders. Facilitator: Rainer Schluter, CEO, Co-ops Europe |
| 3:50 | Closure |
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