Emerging Risks for Australian LGAs
Local Governments in Australia face an emerging risk space that many seem unaware of.
Brought on by rising costs, especially in business premises rentals, compliance needs and registration costs, research we’ve identified as part of work with a Local Government client is indicating a significant increase in businesses popping up in residential areas.
What seems innocuous is in fact a high risk issue. Planning permits often cross-over use, parking, hours of operation and health.
The rise of ‘dark kitchens’ a few years ago wherein high end restaurants opened kitchens in industrial areas to take advantage of the demand generated by the availability of delivery services is now being copied. With a significant difference: dark kitchens in domestic centres like home garages operating WITHOUT planning or health approvals
And it’s not just cookeries – health sector offerings from hair & nail salons to dental work and tattooists among others, fill the lists.
Aside from traffic problems of pick up drivers, safety plans etc, the lack of compliance to health requirements expose the business owner, residential landlords and customers.. And if a Council is aware of the business operating and done nothing…
Additionally, attempts to revitalise business and shopping precincts are impeded – if anyone can open ‘any business’ they like from home, (with an over-run or inattentive Council missing its emergence), and with Commercial Property rents staying high despite vacancies, the lower costs and easier start up process could soon see ‘ghost-towns’ of commercial districts greater than already exists.
This seemingly innocuous emergence/shift of businesses into residential areas is not small beans. The rate revenue being forgone could add up to Millions of dollars across an LGA. Think it’s time some councils paid a LOT more attention
#LocalGovernment #DarkKitchens #ResidentialBusinesses #Rates #Risk #Permits #PersonalServices
Potentially the biggest area of untapped competitive advantage (and arguably one of the biggest areas where costs could be reduced) is within supply chains. Most approaches to Supply Chain Management are linear and isolated with one player trying to squeeze the other with no regard to the overall effect of the full supply chain. It’s…
Read More >There’s a shift underway in the mining industry that will likely catch Australian airlines out if they aren’t paying attention – the shift toward ‘remote’ mining. Remote mining is being pushed by the automation ability across all aspects of current mining technology, which at the basic level, means that fewer humans are needed on site…
Read More >Simple question really. Or is it? In this quick article I provide an overview of the difference between strategy that is D.E.A.D and A.L.I.V.E Think of it as a potential ‘do this’ collection for your Organisation You can download the article for free here – ‘Is your Organisational Strategy D.E.A.D or A.L.I.V.E?’
Read More >Lots of thoughts for the year already underway, with some covering a range of ideas from ‘don’t cut corners on relative incidentals when the project is significant for you’ to ‘you can’t change your approach if you keep thinking inside the same box’. But for now a reminder about planning for your future: If you…
Read More >In thinking about the year ahead I’ve decided to call it the International Year of Resilience. With everything that appears to be going on in the world there’s unlikely to be any quick fixes and so I provide for you here below, my Top 10 Tips for building more resilience into your lives. If you…
Read More >The United Kingdom’s Committee on Climate Change has released a report that shows rising household energy costs are not caused by the apparent burden of environmental policies. Instead the core factor is increases in costs increases of Oil and Gas as the Energy resource sector taps into a ‘growth’ market. You can have a…
Read More >After a great although too brief trip to Islamabad in Pakistan, I joined Vicki Kerrigan on ABC Radio Darwin to discuss the idea of official reports for travelers and who you should believe. Sometimes we fear the unknown because we aren’t well enough informed. In the absence of any other information, the Official line is…
Read More >It’s taken me a while to get the Tourism Thinking piece together given the extensive travel this year that has enabled me to assess where Australia’s tourism is not getting things right. This update won’t paint the full picture (a couple of clients have first crack at this research) but it is important enough to…
Read More >I alert you from the outset that I’m about to make a massive leap of potentially an supportable scientific theory in discussing a potential Wildcard event. If you’re only interested in the concrete real stuff, head elsewhere after you get about half way. I’m going to make a massive leap first of all and then…
Read More >n this MP3 with Paul Dale on ABC Darwin radio we chat about the recent fly past of a large chunk of rock called Asteroid YU55, and what we might do as a species in managing a potential Asteroid impact. We also diverge into the concept of mining Asteroids for their mineral content as the…
Read More >