Page 2272 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 4 August 2015
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The medium business award was awarded to the Synergy group, which was established in 1999, specialising in accounting and consulting services for government agencies. The Synergy group is one of the fastest growing consultancy firms in Canberra, having grown from just two founding partners in 1999 to a team of over 70 staff in just 16 years. This business, according to the judges, has a very strong growth plan, is a trusted and solid company and has a great recruitment strategy, with continuity of work, strong management, a strong marketing plan, staff retention and a great cash flow.
The final award winner for the evening was Red Robot, who won the small business category and were also named the 2015 Telstra ACT business of the year. Red Robot has previously won design awards in both Sydney and Melbourne for innovative design and has become Australia’s largest commercial photo booth supplier, with products such as iSnap Social, which harnesses the power of social media and product branding, and other fully mobile devices, such as Atom. This company has attracted international attention for its innovative products and has supplied not just local but international organisations with its innovative and customisable products.
It is a credit to not just local businesses that won an award category but all those that were selected as finalists in the awards for this year. The application process to be nominated for a Telstra business award is in excess of 60 pages long; it looks at not just profit or cash flow but also management systems, the potential of the business, succession planning, staff support and advertising, to name just a few. The process highlights not just the quality of the winners but also the quality of the finalists in each category. I think it points to the fact that the ACT business sector is doing very well in some areas.
I would like to wish all the winning businesses good luck as they represent the ACT at the national awards to be held in Sydney on 20 August. Finally, I would also like to thank Telstra for their continued support of small and medium size local businesses, not just in the ACT but across Australia.
Sport—racism
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra) (5.30): I too rise tonight to talk about Adam Goodes and offer him my support. When the crowd harassment reached a crescendo in Perth a few weeks ago, Adam Goodes finally said he had had enough. He has brought this shameful booing to national attention. The range of reactions and comments has varied from the life affirming to the naive, the deliberately offensive and the outright racist.
The constant booing has had its intended depressing effect on the target and given us an insight on how far we still have to travel on the path to reconciliation in this country. It is even more depressing that in 2015, if Adam Goodes, under enormous pressure and with all the attention focused on him, does play this weekend, and the crowd do not boo him, we might celebrate it as a great victory.
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