Country pub prosecuted for RSA breach…….

A COUNTRY pub is being prosecuted for serving a seriously intoxicated man who later crashed into a tree and died with a blood-alcohol level almost six times the legal limit. In what is believed to be the first case of its kind involving an ensuing fatal crash, the Penneshaw Hotel, manager Trevor Roy Jaggard, duty […]

Geelong Targeting Education Boom…

  Education is Victoria’s number one export to the rest of the world. At an education seminar last year, the Committee for Geelong realised the importance of tapping into the Victorian education sector, which accounts for $4.3 billion exports annually. Presently there are over 500,000 international students studying with Australian tertiary education providers, with an […]

Is Wendys melting? Up to 116 stores collapsed or taken over by management in just eight years

A former franchisee of ice cream and hot dog chain Wendys claims a total of 116 franchisees nationwide have either collapsed or been taken over by management over the past eight years. The revelation comes after SmartCompany reported in September a number of Wendys Victorian franchisees had been listed for sale on online marketplaces. The […]

Online Learning: It’s Time To Pause And Think

The move by higher education institutions towards online learning is not the panacea many believe, writes Richard Hil. Techno-centrism, techno-imperialism/colonialism, digital chauvinism – call it what you will – today’s universities are in the grip of planners and administrators who insist that the old didactic order is fast giving way to a new era of […]

How Pie Face cooked its own goose

It’s an unenviable position: half a million dollars invested and working punishing hours as customers ask whether your store is set to close and landlords breathe down your neck. This is how one Pie Face franchisee explains his circumstances, following the spectacular collapse of the once high-flying fast-food chain. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/how-pie-face-cooked-its-own-goose-20141128-11vbpq.html#ixzz3KM78l1N3

Move over McDonald’s

  Homegrown burger chain is fired up over a decade’s worth of healthy growth. If Simon Crowe had decided differently, his customers might now be eating burgers at a “Bugger the Cow” outlet rather than the more palatable “Grill’d”. “Ten years ago when we were setting up I was tossing up between two alternatives for […]

Smart & Skilled is more like Dumb & Dumber!

PRIVATE and community colleges are reeling after being doled out unviably small contracts as part of the NSW government’s exercise in opening its training funds to competition. The government has said the new scheme, known as Smart and Skilled, was designed to make NSW vocational education more accessible, transparent and efficient. But critics said it […]

Unemployment in Melbourne – ‘social disaster’

UNEMPLOYMENT in some Melbourne suburbs is well over 20 per cent, leading a respected researcher to warn of a looming “social disaster”. New federal estimates ­reveal that Broadmeadows has the highest jobless rate in Victoria with 26.4 per cent of people out of work, compared to 19 per cent a year ago.Unemployment in nearby Meadow Heights, […]

UNEMPLOYMENT rates in Geelong are at a 15-year high and are the worst in Victoria, new data reveals.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found Geelong’s unemployment level stood at 10.5 per cent in July, towering above all Victorian regions as the state average reached 6.6 per cent. While the high-profile job losses have come in the traditionally male manufacturing sector, the ABS has identified a rising level of women being left jobless […]

Food businesses to build on reputations for safety & hygiene

  Local food businesses are invited to attend the NSW Food Regulation Partnership retail meeting in Merimbula on July 31 to learn how to best capitalise on their good reputation as safe and hygienic operators and understand the latest in food safety. NSW Food Authority CEO Polly Bennett said the Sapphire Coast region had an […]