2 million self-employed
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Debate: Suck it up?

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There's lots happening for new dispute resolution services for small business people. The Small Business Commissioner (SBC) model is being rolled out across Australia. Explanation of developments.
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Ken Phillips (ICA) and Peter Strong (COSBOA) debate "The Future (or Death) of Employment". Vids are here.
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National Independent Contractors Summit 2009
Building relationships with the self-employed

Held in Melbourne, Thursday 12 November 2009

Notes on the Speakers

Anne Zelvys is the Manager of Junction Road Dog Kennels, a business that she basically runs by herself. A self-employed contractor, she also assists her husband with their Security Fencing Company.

Daniel Bolger is Director, BYTEXT Media Management.

Dr Tui McKeown is Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University.

Vlad Dugandzic is Assistant Director, Micro Enterprises and Individuals at the Australian Taxation Office.

Michele Levine is Chief Executive Officer, Roy Morgan Research. With over 20 years of experience in the field of research, Michele has designed and implemented hundreds of surveys and research programmes. For the last 12 years as CEO of Roy Morgan Research, Michele has directed and been responsible for the quality of the research conducted at Roy Morgan Research.

Pedro Fric is Director - Customer Relationships at Entity Solutions; Jonathan Knowles is Director - Customer Care at Entity Solutions. Entity Solutions is a company supplying payroll, accounting and other services to self-employed professionals.

Fay Styman is Assistant Commissioner, Marketing Communications, Australian Taxation Office.

Symon Brewis-Weston is Executive General Manager, Local Business Banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Symon has headed the CBA's division servicing the self-employed, micro business sector since March 2008. Prior to that he was the President Director of the CBA's Indonesian subsidiary. While in Indonesia he developed the CBA so that it became the top bank in Indonesia for customer service. Symon also worked in China for the CBA. He holds a degree in Economics (Hons) and a Master of Applied Finance.

Steven Ciobo was first elected as the Federal Member for Moncrieff at the general election in November 2001. In December 2007, he was appointed the Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts.

Prof. Patricia Leighton is an UK/EU academic and researcher on the self-employed sector. She has worked in legal education, both in the UK and overseas, for over thirty years. She was Jean Monnet Chair in European Law at the University of Glamorgan, Wales, and Visiting Professor and several universities, including the College of Europe, Brugues. Belgium. She has served on a variety of policy-making bodies on legal education, is currently Associate Editor of The Law Teacher and serves on the Strategy Group of the UK Centre for Legal Education (UKCLE) She is a researcher and writer on Employment Law, has written a number of books---most recently Out of the Shadows: Managing Self-employed, agency and outsourced workers (2007).

Nigel Ridgway is Group General Manager of the Compliance, Research, Outreach, Product Safety Group within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. With qualifications in both law and public administration, Nigel joined the ACCC in 1998. In that time, Nigel's work has included a range of trade practices compliance and enforcement matters. His current responsibilities include operation of the ACCC's consumer, outreach and small business programs as well as the delivery of its compliance, product safety, and industry codes programs. These roles provide regular opportunities to work with both consumer and business organisations in identifying and responding to trade practices concerns in the Australian market place.

Mark Brennan is the Victorian Small Business Commissioner.

Barry Jones is Head of Division, Industry and Small Business Division, Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. He is responsible for Independent Contractors policy in the Department of Innovation. He oversees advice on the Independent Contractors Act, procurement, workplace relations, unfair contracts and dispute resolution.

Robert Gottliebsenis one of Australia's foremost business columnists, currently writing for Business Spectator. In his extensive career he has acquired unique connections with, and insight into, Australian business operations