Providing medical research funds not good look for Swisse

Corporate sponsorships and conflict of interest

Corporate sponsorships are a fundamental marketing and PR tool but this is not to say they are easy to navigate or manage.

Vitamin supplement company Swisse recently experienced negative publicity because of a sponsorship arrangement with La Trobe University that was perceived by the public and media to be a clear case of overreach. The story was picked up by radio and ran for the better part of a week.

Had Swisse sponsored a new sports talent development program, it would have been an uncontroversial fit and a natural compliment to their celebrity endorsements.

Instead Swisse sought validation by throwing large amounts of money at research in ‘Complimentary Medicine’, an area where the fit is awkward and conflict of interest is easy to allege. It only took one voice to create negative coverage but I’m sure plenty of other heads were shaking.

Finding the right corporate sponsorship arrangement is not as easy as it appears. External advice should have alerted Swisse to the possible hooks in their plan to sponsor health research. They either had bad or no advice, or chose to ignore whatever advice was offered.

It is certain the outcome was far from what they would have wished.

JK

Parliament of Victoria

Victorian parliament – Napthine’s year or not!

When the Victorian parliament resumes on February 4 the Victorian Premier will face the toughest year in his 25-year parliamentary career.

Denis Napthine will have to lead his minority government into an election on November 29 with current polling showing he will lose.

If the polls prove correct, he will become one of the few Premiers not to secure a second term of office.

Already Labor has all but completed its pre-selections. With 12 members announcing they will retire, Opposition leader Daniel Andrews has the opportunity to introduce a fresh image and policies to the people.

The Liberals only started their first round of pre-selections in January and the final round nominations won’t close until February 14.

This puts the momentum solidly in Labor’s camp until at least March, especially with the Liberals facing a number of emerging pre-selection battles and the need for a cabinet reshuffle.

The Premier came into office declaring the State was now ‘open for business’ after many industry groups and political observers believed that the former Premier Ted Baillieu was not getting on with the job.

But Napthine’s business sign is rattling in the wind at the moment.

Food processing and automotive plant closures, job losses, long hospital waiting lists, teacher and school funding issues, emergency service personnel revolts over pay and community unrest on his big transport initiative the East West link tunnel have all led to a negative poll.

There is no doubt that he has been very pro-active in trying to address the State’s issues.

He has strongly promoted trade missions to the Middle East and to Asia to drive exports and he has been highlighting the need for the State to get infrastructure projects underway. Unfortunately, they are not resonating with the public, nor are they carrying the ‘endorsement’ of industries.

The legacies the Liberals inherited from Labor are also becoming nooses for themselves.

They have not been able to clean up the dysfunctional public transport ticketing system Myki, the overcrowding on trains and trams, the traffic chaos faced by motorists each morning and night, pay disputes with ambulance drivers, the lack of funding for public school students, the discontent with the long delayed relocation of the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market, the failure to address energy issues, especially coal seam gas; all these add up to the need for the State to have a vision for the future. It is not there at the moment and the public is showing that in the polls.

Napthine faces a year where he has to be at his strategic best.

He has to become the statesman with the vision and with the pipeline of projects he expects to be realised over the next 10 years for the people to endorse and get behind.

His summer of discontent with the polls cannot be left to linger.

His new Treasurer Michael O’Brien must bring down a budget in May that must show not only sound economic management, but also pave the way for the future vision to be realised.

People no longer want patchwork and poll-based policies. They want to know where the State is going and with what industries and policies; they want Victoria to be the leadership state as it used to be.

Everyone knows that governments no longer have levers of control over the economy other than vision and leadership.

RM

ICG Auto - Advocate

Government lobbying: when to stand out?

As with most major industries, the automotive industry has numerous peak bodies representing the various major players and most often handling government lobbying.

Be it the manufacturers, the dealers, the suppliers or the workers, each has a national body ostensibly representing the group’s interests with policy makers at both Federal and Statel level.

However, when a policy decision impacts directly and specifically on your business or even when you feel that the group response needs reinforcing, direct engagement with government lobbying becomes a strong option.

Lobbying any policy maker is not a case of simply presenting an argument that seems obvious to you, nor is it a case of sending off a multi-page technical submission from your legal advisors.

Effective government lobbying requires an understanding of the political motivations and administrative mechanics that create and enact new policy.

It requires a thorough knowledge of the roles of each of the key players and the contacts to get to the right people, armed with succinct and precisely targeted arguments.

For broader industry matters, it may well be that an ‘industry body only’ approach will suffice; however, if your business stands to be directly and negatively impacted by a policy decision or proposal do you really want to sit on the sidelines?

ICG Auto Advocate is here to help you achieve results – talk to us 03 9036 6300 about your government lobbying needs.

New Chinese Policies Point to More Than Just Family Size

The third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party considered and announced a number of important social and economic reforms, with the relaxation of China’s one child policy garnering much media coverage.

However, almost hidden from view was an equally important policy reform, a reform that suggests the course for China’s ongoing growth and consequently has an impact on our future prosperity.

That policy change was the relaxation of the enforcement of China’s household registration system, known as ‘hukou’, a system that had barred rural residents from equal access to benefits such as healthcare and education when they move to cities.

This clearly signals that, consistent with previous statements made by Chinese Permier Li Keqiang and his predecessor Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Government has it in mind to continue growing the economy through increased urbanization.

It is also entirely consistent with the comments reported on in a previous ICG Insight, from Executive Vice Chairman of the China Mining Association, Wang Jiahua, when recently speaking at the Melbourne Mining Club.

According to Mr Wang, “By 2030 a further 200 million agrarian Chinese are expected to move to the cities.”

The relaxation of Hukou, when added to by the inevitable population growth increase resulting from the relaxing of the one child policy, is clear evidence that the Chinese authorities are not planning to slow growth any time soon.

The continuing benefit to the Australian economy of that growth is obvious ­– Australia’s economic lucky streak could go on for some time, despite the wails of the doomsayers.

Now all our policy makers have to do is make sure they don’t drop the ball on the opportunity.

Here’s hoping.