Press Releases

No workers should have to put up with being attacked when doing their job. Police and governments need to take a far tougher stance against those who attack vulnerable workers who are working all hours to serve their communities. Store worker, 28, was badly injured while defending his parents’ businessHe bravely beat his attacker with a baseball bat before his arm was badly brokenOffender forced him to open till with broken arm before fleeing with moneyPolice have not yet made any arrests and have called for public assistance A convenience store worker who bravely defended his parents’ business has been rushed to hospital with a badly broken arm after a violent robbery on Saturday night.Shocking video footage shows the violence of the attack on the family-run store in the northeastern Brisbane suburb of Margate on Saturday night.The attacker casually entered the Oxley Avenue store just after 8.30pm armed with a tyre…

Former Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd dismissed Labor’s plan, saying the cost and energy requirements involved in making electric vehicles domestically were prohibitively high. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Bill Shorten’s plan to revive carmaking in Australia through electric vehicles has been attacked by captains of industry who say the nation’s high manufacturing and energy costs have made the industry unviable. Other elements of Labor’s plan to reduce carbon emissions came under fire as trade-exposed industries said the opposition was poised to hand rival metal producers in China and the Middle East a competitive advantage. As part of Labor’s revised policy, Mr Shorten this week unveiled a suite of measures to boost electric ­vehicle uptake from its current low base of 0.2 per cent of new car sales to 50 per cent by 2030, saying the country could sustain an electric car manufacturing industry. “It’s about time that this country…

The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has criticised the West Australian Government for secretly introducing new legal tobacco display regulations for retailers, which must be implemented at their own cost, under the cloak of darkness and with absolutely no consultation with industry.Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Roger Cook has repeatedly refused to engage with the AACS, the peak body for the convenience industry in Australia whose members are most affected, despite the signage changes apparently took effect on Monday.The changes, part of the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Regulations 2019, require all retail price boards to be reduced from 1 square metre to an A4 sheet size, while new graphic images have been prescribed for health warnings which must appear next to the price boards.Retailers, at their own cost, are being forced to make these changes in an incredibly short timeframe or risk non-compliance with legal tobacco retailing rules.AACS…

As NSW voters prepare to head to the polls, the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has urged Liberal and Labor to take heed of the potential vote influencing significance of giving small business a fairer go when it comes to competing with the major grocery chains. Recent independent research by SMR Global, and commissioned by the AACS, investigated the attitudes and opinions of consumers of voting age on a range of key issues affecting the convenience industry in NSW and Australia. The research covered areas including the legalisation of e-cigarettes, the illicit trade of tobacco and permitting convenience stores to sell packaged alcohol, and the findings are compelling – especially in terms of the potential for these issues to influence people’s votes. Some key take-outs from the research include: • 48% of all Australians (smokers and non-smokers) feel strongly enough about the legalisation of e-cigarettes for it to influence…

Cocaine-laced wine was once a popular “nerve tonic”. Now drug-infused drinks are making a comeback. Some marijuana-infused beverages promise to ease pain. Others advertise the buzz of alcohol without the calories or the hangover. Take Ontario-based Tilray. It bills its cocktails as a “healthy and delicious way to enjoy the benefits of smoke-free cannabis”. Investors should be prepared for lows, as well as highs. Tilray’s shares have more than halved since their September high. But big drinks companies are staying focused. The legal cannabis market could grow worldwide from $US12 billion in 2018 to $US166 billion by 2025. Last year, beer brewer AB InBev entered a $US100 million ($141 million) joint venture with Tilray, Constellation took a stake in Canopy Growth and Molson Coors signed a joint venture with cannabis producer Hexo. Lagunitas, owned by Heineken, launched Hi-Fi Hops — containing a “smidge of California sun-grown cannabis in every sip”.…

There’s already been a fair bit written about the legalisation of marijuana – namely in the US and increasingly around the globe – and the massive boost it will be for ad spends. According to a 2018 study by Arcview Market Research and its research partner BDS Analytics, global spending on legal cannabis – be it recreational or medicinal – will hit a staggering $US57 billion by 2027. Now a new study has shown the impact weed smoking has on the sales of junk food. In results that will probably surprise absolutely no one, a study by The University of Connecticut has proven the correlation between smoking marijuana and users who “go on an epic junk-food binge, consuming mass quantities of chips, cookies, and whatever other high-calorie, salt-or-sugar-laden snacks they can get”. In good news for Macca’s, Burger Kings and 7-Elevens everywhere, the study by Michelle Baggio, assistant professor of economics, has proven a link between the legalisation…