Global food markets on international display

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Celebrity British chef Ainsley Harriott is doing his part to showcase our city’s diverse produce and markets with the screening of Ainsley’s Market Menu featuring our Logan Central Global Food Markets.

The popular TV series, which is screened in 130 countries will be broadcast throughout Australia on SBS on 24 October.

When the episode was shot earlier this year, Ainsley visited stalls collecting locally-grown ingredients and tasted many of the largely ethnic cuisines on offer while deciding which dishes to prepare.

He bought Halal lamb, kundru, cassava, turmeric, ginger and plenty of Asian greens provided by local vendors and then used the ingredients to cook three gourmet dishes on site at his stall as hundreds of market-goers and vendors looked on.

The first dishes he made were a global green shot and coconut smoothie and Asian lamb patties on char-grilled cassava. As a main course he created Ram’s kundru pumpkin vegetable curry, which  he made for stallholder Ram Harakh Maharaj, of Shailer Park, who was celebrating his 85th birthday.

During filming Ainsley said the markets were among the most diverse he had visited—with the range of local produce rivalling some of the huge street markets in London.

“The food here (in Logan) was fantastic, fresh and vibrant and I just wanted to cook it,” he said.

“Everyone was so friendly. It was just a brilliant day.”

Ainsley’s visit to the City of Logan’s Global Food Markets follows the hugely successful guest appearance at the markets in 2017 by MasterChef runnerup Poh Ling Yeow.

The Sunday morning Global Food Markets, based in Croydon Rd, Logan Central, are a weekly event run by Ethnic Communities Council of Logan Inc. with support from Logan City Council.

The majority of the produce on sale is sourced from backyard gardens and community vegetable plots across the city and includes ingredients suited to Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Indian and Pacific Island cuisines.

For more information on the weekly Global Food Markets go to globalfoodmarkets.com.au

Black Sky Aerospace rockets towards manufacturing solid rocket boosters

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Black Sky Aerospace has just been given the green light by regulators to begin the process towards the manufacture of Solid Rocket Motors (SRM).

The South East Queensland space company, based in the City of Logan, will be the first manufacturer of its kind in Australia and will be able to provide access to solid fuels for orbital and sub-orbital launch vehicles.

SRMs are the fuel (propellant) that boosts rockets in to space, such as the boosters on the space shuttle and is the preferred fuel to use by many space launch companies due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

Solid Rocket Motors are particularly useful too, in the ever – emerging market that requires responsive access to space. This is because SRMs have a long shelf life and can be stockpiled with little upkeep, yet still be ready to use many months or years later.

Black Sky Aerospace has spent several years planning to step its operation over from the U.S.A to New Zealand, to its now permanent home in Logan, Queensland; opening both domestic and international markets for the product.

Director of Black Sky, Blake Nikolic said “our propulsion arm is integral to the bigger picture for us; without fuel, the industry stalls. Our SRM manufacturing provides industry with accessible rocket boosters, made right here in Queensland.”

Nikolic continued with “this also allows us to continue with our testing and launch capabilities that we carry out at our facility in Goondiwindi.”

The one stop – shop for SRM, testing and launch will make the logistics of space work and research far less challenging for companies looking to send their payloads in to lower earth orbit.

Logan City Council Director of Strategy and Sustainability, David Hansen, applauded Black Sky’s latest achievement and said Logan is positioning itself as a world-class innovation city.

“City of Logan continues to punch above its weight when it comes to tech and innovation companies launching big ideas – and rockets,” he said.

“Council is a proud supporter of Black Sky Aerospace and seeing its trajectory from start-up to become a scaled-up manufacturer and leading exporter is exciting for the city.

“Council sponsored Black Sky’s maiden commercial rocket launch last year and has worked closely with the business to assist in managing growth and to help accommodate the company’s expanding operations.

“The direct economic impact means more jobs for Logan, but it also puts the city on the international map as a reputable base for the future of the aerospace industry.”

The first batch of solid rocket motors is expected to be ready for delivery before the end of 2019.

Business nbn™ solution finder update

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NBN Co has launched the business nbn™ solution finder

This online tool is helping businesses understand the type of solution to discuss with their retail service provider in order to get the most appropriate service to meet their business needs; and order it.

For businesses of all sizes, it’s important they select the appropriate business nbn™ solution to meet their needs, including the right speeds, committed bandwidth and service level assurance.

The business nbn™ solution finder steps businesses through a series of simple questions about their application and data usage, and the level of service support they require, to help identify a wholesale discount business nbn™ bundle that best suits their needs.

Extensive research of Australian businesses and internet providers found that many businesses may not be connected to the right broadband plan to meet their needs.

Around two thirds of micro businesses (1-4 employees) operate from a residential premises and more than three quarters of those are currently using a residential plan rather than a plan designed for business purposes such as video conferencing, video surveillance, access to remote back-ups and cloud application software.

Try out the Solution Finder here.

Understanding severe weather business risks

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Severe weather can occur at any time of the year. Taking the time to identify and understand the possible risks to your business can help to minimise any potential damage to your business that could occur during a disaster.

Logan’s PD Hub is an online interactive planning tool which allows businesses to view hazard mapping and identify areas which may be at risk from flooding or bushfire. The mapping can help to identify how your business and the neighbourhood may be affected by a particular hazard, and can assist you in making arrangements ahead of time, such as identifying alternative routes should local roads be cut off by flooding.

A Flood Level Report for the property can also be downloaded from the Logan PD Hub. The report provides the most up-to-date flood information that Council has for that property, and summarises the relevant information for the Flood Hazard overlay code.

Identifying and understanding the hazards that may affect your business can help you to actively prepare your business ahead of a disaster so your business can continue to operate and recover quickly.

Visit Logan’s PD Hub at loganhub.com.au to view Council’s hazard mapping and identify the potential risks that may affect your business.

New tender portal for Logan contracts

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Logan City Council has announced an important change to its tender process.

From Saturday, August 3, expressions of interest and tenders for Council contracts in excess of $220,000 will be invited through a new e-tendering portal, TenderLink.

Contracts under $220,000 will continue to be managed through VendorPanel Marketplace.

All expressions of interest or tenders through Council’s previous portal LG Tenderbox will be finalised within LG Tenderbox.

Logan City Council’s Director, Organisational Services Robert Strachan said the new portal would help streamline tendering with Council.

“TenderLink is a reliable and easy-to-use platform that will help to increase the transparency of our tendering process,” he said.

Contractors who have previously done business worth more than $220,000 with Council will receive an email from TenderLink inviting them to set-up a new password and profile within the new process.

Council will contact other contractors inviting them to register with TenderLink.

Once registered, contractors and businesses will be notified of relevant upcoming requests for tenders or expressions of interest.

To tender for Logan City Council contracts through TenderLink from August 3, go to tenderlink.com/lcc/

For contracts lower than $220,000 businesses are encouraged to register on VendorPanel Marketplace.

For assistance in registering on either platform, or more information, email contractsrequests@logan.qld.gov.au.

Payroll tax changes make QLD a more appealing place to do business

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Changes to payroll tax from this year’s State Budget came into effect on 1 July 2019, with an estimated 13,000 Queensland businesses to benefit from these changes.

Payroll tax changes will help more businesses grow and create more jobs.

Under this year’s State Budget $885 million has been committed to target payroll tax initiatives to support businesses to drive the economy and create more jobs.

“This includes increasing the exemption threshold for payroll tax for all Queensland businesses from $1.1 million to $1.3 million – this will mean 1,500 additional businesses will no longer pay any payroll tax.” Said Minister for Employment and Small Business Shannon Fentiman.

“We have also extended our 50 per cent payroll tax rebate for businesses taking on an apprentice or trainee and where Queensland employers have increased their number of full-time employees, they will be eligible for a payroll tax rebate for these additional employees from today.”

Starting 1 July, Queensland will have one of the highest payroll tax thresholds and lowest tax rates in the country. This makes Queensland one of the most competitive states to start and grow a small business.

Around 2800 businesses will be better off in the Greater Brisbane region as a result of the combined payroll tax changes under this year’s State budget.

The Queensland Government offers a range of information, support and programs to assist new businesses to start and existing businesses to grow.

“In addition to the payroll tax package, in this year’s State Budget we have committed a further $4 million to continue our successful small business grants, we will develop an online one-stop-shop for businesses and an online tool to make employing an apprentice or trainee easier for small business,” Ms Fentiman said.

“We have also recently released the Queensland Small Business Procurement Commitment, which is working to make it easier for small businesses to work with Government and reduce payment times from 30 days to 20 days.”

For further information visit www.business.qld.gov.au or call 1300 369 935.

View the full press release.

Local jobs portal popular with jobseekers

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Jobs in aged and disability care, warehousing, early childhood education and administration/ reception continue to be among the most popular listings on the loganlobs.com.au online platform, which now has more than 8,400 registered users.

Traineeships and apprenticeships also consistently attract high interest, reflecting the desire by Logan’s youth to find work in their own community.

loganjobs.com.au is an online hub created and managed by Logan City Council that makes it easier for local people to find local jobs. Local employers list their jobs direct and the site also finds and shares other Logan-based opportunities. The platform has been live since May 2017 and is supported by a popular Facebook page.

Job listings on the Council-funded initiative reflect trends in local employment opportunities. This includes more jobs in sectors like aged and disability support, warehousing and logistics, and early childhood development, and it’s encouraging to see local jobseekers are also interested in these opportunities.

Every week, more local people are registering on the site and following the loganjobs.com.au page on Facebook.

In February this year alone, more than 10,400 people engaged with posts on the Facebook site.

Around 160 Logan-based businesses have registered to list their local vacancies at no charge, and Logan businesses are encouraged to use loganjobs.com.au to connect with the local workforce.

loganjobs.com.au also offers a Resource Hub for employers and jobseekers.

Loganjobs logo

GO1.com raises over $30 million in Series B round led by M12 & SEEK

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GO1.com, the world’s largest onboarding, compliance and professional development platform, has raised more than $30 million in a Series B funding round led by M12, Microsoft’s venture fund.

It includes participation from existing investors including SEEK (ASX:SEK) and Y Combinator. Larsen Ventures joins M12 as new investors in GO1.com.

Larsen Ventures is the investment arm of Peter Larsen, co-founder of Navitas, one of Australia’s largest education providers.

As part of its investment M12 will have a seat on the board.

“The investment aligns well with Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more,” M12 Principal Priya Saiprasad said.

Ms Saiprasad described GO1.com as “one of those rare companies that brings a consumer-led experience to an inherently enterprise product”.

“GO1 is redefining how enterprises procure training content and how employees in turn consume it via a modern user-experience and a single subscription. And while it was clear to us that customer love was responsible for GO1’s rapid growth, the incredible passion of the founding team to create an easier way to learn is what truly sealed the deal with the M12 team.

“We are excited to partner with existing investors SEEK, YC and individuals like Steve Baxter, who have helped the company from inception in 2015.

“Our goal is to leverage Microsoft’s broad reach, including our portfolio development team and co-sell programs, to be the accelerant in the next part of GO1’s journey as they transform the way people learn across the world,” Ms Saiprasad said.

According to SEEK chief executive Andrew Bassat, the company was pleased to support GO1.com’s Series B funding round.

“We have been working closely with the GO1 team for some time and are really pleased with the terrific progress in that time. GO1 have a very strong team and do a great job of offering access to content and courses to allow people to up-skill and re-skill themselves for work.

“Our increased investment reflects our ongoing commitment to scale-up innovative businesses across the human-capital market that are helping people to remain relevant in the workforce and reach their career aspirations. We look forward to leveraging our experience, technology and relationships with millions of people and organisations across the globe to help GO1 achieve its potential,” Mr Bassat said.

Larsen Ventures investment director Andrew Larsen said he was excited to be a part of GO1.com’s growth journey.

“I’ve seen GO1 grow from strength to strength and have wanted to be involved with the company for a while now,” Mr Larsen said.

“We’re really pleased to be involved in this funding round and are excited with where the company is headed. They’ve proved their ability to execute every step of the way, and their vision and continued results are a great fit with Larsen Ventures.

GO1.com CEO and co-founder Andrew Barnes said: “we’re excited to have the support of M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, and we’re looking forward to what we can achieve with this new investment”.

“We see many opportunities on the horizon given our mission to improve workforce productivity is a view shared by GO1.com, SEEK and Microsoft,” Mr Barnes said.

“Professional development is critical to any organisation and GO1.com helps some of the largest brands and government agencies fulfil workforce training needs.

“We continue to attract leading content partners from around the world aimed at boosting the depth and breadth of our courses,” Mr Barnes said.

GO1.com has more than 500,000 courses and learning resources in total from a variety of content partners. More than 22 million users have access to GO1.com’s content through its platform and integrated partner network.

Customers include ANZ Bank, Delta, Hasbro, NBC Universal, St John Ambulance, Suzuki and Thrifty.

Last year, GO1.com was named in the Top 25 most sought-after startups in Australia by LinkedIn.