Page 962 - Week 03 - Thursday, 7 April 2022
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I flagged, in one of my responses to Ms Clay, that I would table the listening report for the arts policy consultation, particularly with regard to what we have heard so far from artists regarding art support. I present that now and I draw members’ attention to theme 1:
Canberra: Australia’s Arts Capital—YourSay website report.
Business—alternative business models
MS CLAY (Ginninderra) (4.44): By leave, in the absence of the proposer, Mr Davis, and on his behalf, pursuant to notice I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes that:
(a) Canberra businesses have an important role in reducing unemployment, underemployment, and economic inequality, including through alternative business models such as micro and small business, member and worker-owned co-operatives, social enterprises, and not-for-profit corporations;
(b) co-operatives are values driven, community-based, democratic organisations that are owned and controlled by their workers and people who use their services;
(c) co-operatives can be more resilient in economic downturn, creating and supporting jobs and wealth that stays in the community;
(d) co-operatives can provide secure jobs and offer a viable and fairer alternative business model to gig-economy “job shares” which are driving greater rates of underemployment and casualisation nationally and internationally;
(e) in Australia, over 2 000 co-operatives are active in a diverse range of sectors, including agriculture, arts, childcare, health care, clubs, community services, education, energy, finance, hardware, housing, radio broadcasting, fishing, manufacturing, produce marketing, recycling, respite care, retail, superannuation funds, communications, transport, wholesale, and wine sales;
(f) the Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals estimates that as of 2020, eight in every 10 Australians are a member of a co-operative or mutually owned organisation; and
(g) the Canberra community has benefited from co-operatives in the ACT, such as the Canberra Food Co-op, Harmony Cleaning Co-operative, Canberra Seed Savers Co-op, and, while it was operational, the National Health Co-op;
(2) further notes that:
(a) co-operatives looking to set up often have trouble securing loans from banks and otherwise raising capital because they have a distributed ownership structure;
(b) a seed investment and interest-free loan funds would help co-operatives in their initial start-up phase, providing capital to get them off the ground.
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