MGI Australasia key witness before Australian Parliamentary Committee
As a result of MGI Australasia’s role as an advocate for the family business sector Des Caulfield, former Chairman of MGI World and a current Director of MGI Adelaide and Sue Prestney, Executive Chairman, MGI Australasia and a Principal of MGI Melbourne were invited to appear before the Australian Joint Parliamentary Committee into family business.
MGI has been a supporter of family business research through its ten-year association with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) survey series into Australian family and privately owned businesses. The survey series which is the longest running study of its type in Australia provides a snapshot into the concerns and motivations of family business owners.
The findings of Joint Parliamentary Committee Report has now been released under the working title of Family Business in Australia – different and significant and why they shouldn’t be over looked. The report makes extensive reference to the MGI family business survey series; acknowledging it as a valuable source of data about a business sector which is currently under researched.
There are 21 recommendations contained in the report with many of them supporting the concept that family businesses are a little understood and researched sector of the economy. The recommendations supported gaining a better statistical understanding about family businesses, their contribution to the Australian economy and the financial impact of the retirement of the baby boomer family business owners.
“As family business practitioners MGI welcomes the report’s recommendation that the Government needs to form a standard definition about what constitutes a family business, said Sue Prestney.
“We also totally agree with the implications of the report that policy makers need to have access to more accurate and reliable information about family businesses on which to base government decisions. Ultimately family businesses represent about seventy per cent of Australian businesses so policy based on little or no accurate information could have unintended consequences", continued Ms Prestney.
2010 saw the release of the seventh in the joint RMIT/MGI survey series entitled From the dining room to the board room – Family business in focus.
The 2013 survey findings are soon to be released by RMIT and MGI.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee’s Report Family Business in Australia – different and significant and why they shouldn’t be over looked can be viewed at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=corporations_ctte/completed_inquiries/2010-13/fam_bus/report/index.htm
For the full MGI Family and Private Business Survey series visit www.mgiaust-survey.com or contact MGI Australasia if you wish to receive copies of the 2013 report.
Further information from: Christine Greiser at [email protected].