News and Events

Call for big picture port plan

Professor Tull is keen to see strategic port planning.

Western Australia’s policymakers and transport planners are being urged to develop a big picture port development plan to protect the interests of the state’s trading community.

Addressing a ports conference at Murdoch University, acting Dean of the Business School, Associate Professor Malcolm Tull said there was a need for an overall port development plan for the whole of WA, including North-West ports, to ensure any deficiencies in the transport chain were identified.

Professor Tull said such a plan would assist WA to avoid the congestion problems that had occurred on the east coast. He told the conference, Facing North, Public and Private Ports in Western Australia and Asia, that ports served a vital economic role and detailed long term planning to accommodate pressures such as rising population, urban, residential and industrial encroachment was critical.

Professor Tull said he was keen to see greater port planning, but did not believe a national form of centralised port planning would work in a vast country like Australia. He said overseas experience had proven centralised national planning was fraught with difficulty and many countries which had adopted it, such as China and South Korea, were now moving back to a decentralised system.

He added that while the micro-economic reforms of the early 90s contributed to major improvements in Australia’s supply chain, he still saw a need to push for ongoing efficiency to close the productivity gap between our ports and those of market leaders in places like Hong Kong and Singapore.

Professor Tull also called for firm decisions on the future of Fremantle’s inner harbour and said a clear timetable should be established to indicate if and when some of the Government’s proposed changes would occur. He said the debate about phasing cargo activities out of the inner harbour created uncertainty for port users and those who invested in port facilities.

In referring to Transport Minister Simon O’Brien’s Vision for the Port of Fremantle, Professor Tull said some proposals, such as relocating livestock operations to Kwinana and developing bulk cargo handling facilities at James
Point, would be relatively easy to implement. However, relocating container operations, which would inevitably occur as trade growth surpassed port capacity and competing demand for land around North Quay increased, would demand long term planning and an agreed timetable.

“This is not something that can be done overnight,” Professor Tull said. “Government really needs to make up its mind on this issue and provide a clear timetable if it intends to phase container operations out of the inner harbour.

“A timetable, possibly one with a 20 to 30-year horizon, is needed so that all port stakeholders, particularly those who are required to make ongoing investments at Fremantle, have some certainty.”

Professor Tull is an internationally recognised authority on port reform and has published considerable works on the subject – his latest co-edited book, Port Privatisation: The Asia Pacific Experience, was released in April.

The Edward Elgar 2008 Economics Catalogue Entry, which was co-edited with James Reveley of the University of Wollongong, examines the transformation of public ports throughout the Asia-Pacific region into commercially focused and profitable entities.

The book features the work of 11 academic specialists in port economics and management, focusing on port reform and privatisation in China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Maxus internship benefits marketing students

Students Caitlin Riley and Janine Gustavino are benefiting from an internship organised by George Graham at media agency Maxus Perth

Final-year marketing students are getting the chance to experience the advertising industry firsthand thanks to an internship program offered by media agency Maxus Perth. The internship allows final-year marketing students from the Murdoch Business School to experience the internal workings of an media agency.

George Graham, Associate Dean, Industry Partnerships, welcomed the initiative. “This arrangement between the School and Maxus Perth presents our final-year marketing students with a comprehensive practical training opportunity that will introduce them to the real world of business,” Mr Graham said. Maxus Managing Director, Glenn Hodgkin, said the internship offered valuable onsite training not available anywhere else in Australia.

“We are delighted to have forged a partnership with Murdoch University and to be able to provide this program to potential members of the advertising industry,” Mr Hodgkin said.

The first intern to go through the program in July, Janine Gustavino, excelled in her internship and was offered a fulltime position at Maxus as Media Assistant. “It was a wonderful experience, not only was the team extremely friendly, they were also extremely passionate about media,” Ms Gustavino said.

“Completing the internship was a privilege and it’s something I would recommend to any student who has a love for media.” Internships run for four-week intensive bursts during University non-study periods. Students are required to complete a project that involves creating a channel strategy, media plan and media schedule which they present to Maxus management and Murdoch academic staff.

The next student to commence an internship over the summer holiday period will be Caitlin Riley.

“Mission Australia is hopeful the research will show that the new model gets people to a better place.” If the research demonstrates that the Michael Project is successful, knowledge gained from the project will be used as a basis for advocacy to government on improved policy and program models.

Supporting the Homeless

A Mission Australia-funded research project, led by a Murdoch lecturer, will assess a major new initiative providing homeless men with access to services improving their health, social and economic participation and long-term independence.

The Michael Project is funded by the largest-ever private donation received in Mission Australia’s 149-year history, with the private donor specifically including a major research assessment as part of the project. Senior Economics Lecturer Dr Paul Flatau will lead this assessment over three years. Dr Flatau will work with a team of researchers from Sydney, including a group from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW, to track over 150 homeless men in Sydney. Dr Flatau said homeless men commonly struggle to follow through on referrals to needed health and community services for a range of reasons including lack of knowledge and awareness, and anxiety and trepidation about negotiating the system.

Access to relevant services may also be denied outright because of client histories, and homeless clients in need of assistance may face long waiting queues to get the support they need. “Mission Australia is operating a new service model, giving clients timely access to a range of integrated services, like podiatry, dentistry, drug and alcohol counselling, psychological services and employmentrelated training, ensuring faster access and the ability to address multiple issues at once,” Dr Flatau said. “Preliminary evidence suggests this leads to better client outcomes and clearer pathways out of homelessness. “But we need more robust evidence from a well-designed research study.” The project will gather evidence of the impact the new service support model has, and test the theory that it will lead to improved outcomes for the homeless in terms of health, wellbeing and social and economic participation. “We will develop a client survey which homeless men will complete on their entry into the Michael Project, at the three-month point and then again after one year,” Dr Flatau said.

“Mission Australia is hopeful the research will show that the new model gets people to a better place.” If the research demonstrates that the Michael Project is successful, knowledge gained from the project will be used as a basis for advocacy to government on improved policy and program models.

Rio Tinto supports business students

Three Murdoch undergraduates are making their way to China in September for a six-month experience of Chinese language and culture, supported by Rio Tinto.
Christine Gladki, Simon Yeak and Lian Law-Bo-Kang are studying business and are enrolled in the Chinese Business major and International Business with a focus on China.
The Chinese Business Major enables students to study in China for a semester with an intense focus on learning Mandarin.
Dr. Yingchi Chu, founder and coordinator of the program, said it was wonderful to be able to offer such a program to students.
“It’s important for students to get firsthand experience of China and Chinese culture,” she said. “They will be learning things beyond their imagination.”
Dr. Chu said Chinese Business Major was the first of it kind to be offered in Australia.
The Major is being offered for the next three years and is supported by Rio Tinto, which is contributing scholarships worth $24,000 in total.
Chris McMahen from Rio Tinto urged students to make the most of opportunity.
“Travel widely and immerse yourselves in the culture,” he advised.
During their time abroad, students will study and live at Zhejiang Normal University. They will also complete two weeks’ work experience at Rio Tinto in Shanghai, giving them an insight into a global organization.
Murdoch Business Faculty Dean Chris Doepel said the Scholarships offered a great opportunity for promising students.
“The emphasis on China is very important, especially in the business sector,” he said.
“This experience will give students an understanding of the real world, helping not only with their studies, but with all they undertake in life.”
Simon Yeak, one of the scholarship recipients, said he felt privileged.
"This is just the next step in our education,” he said.

Grocery price scrutiny will work

A Murdoch Senior Lecturer believes the new national grocery price scheme will lead to lower prices in the same way that fuelwatch has in WA.
Dr Steve Ward, Senior Lecturer in Marketing believes that GROCERYchoice – introduced by the Federal Government in July to show the cheapest supermarket chains – will assist consumers.
“Economic modeling by the ACCC confirms that FuelWatch has had an effective impart on lowering prices,” Dr. Ward said.
“In order for there to be downward pressures on prices, consumers need to be better informed.
“Consumers can now make an informed choice about where to shop to buy the cheapest groceries.”
Dr. Ward said the introduction of new legislation requiring retailers to provide unit-based pricing information made it easier for consumers to only purchase what they needed, and to make price comparisons across store.
He said the fuel and grocery schemes would provide government with information to determine the real cost of inflation in regional areas such as the North-West where high prices in grocery items made living a healthy lifestyle much more expensive than in the city.
“Local and state governments may want to encourage the greater use of producer markets as a way of encouraging competition with the major retailers,” he added.
“Consumers should also be provided with greater choice by purchasing direct from farmers through local markets, especially in regional areas where produce is ironically grown locally and then shipped back at greater expense to the local rural community where it was grown.”
“Finally, barriers of entry into the retail sector should be reduced by government policy along with current ACCC policy of collective bargaining (selling) for producers.”

Business Minds make Asian Links

Nollamara resident Christine Gladki and Bayswater resident Lian Law-Bo-Kang will travel to Kuala Lumpur this Thursday to attend Harvard University’s annual business conference.
The Murdoch University students are two of only 400 delegates selected worldwide to attend the conference.
They will join top university students and rising young workers.
The pair are in the third year of an International Business degree at Murdoch.
Ms. Gladki said she was keen to learn more about business in Asia.
“Learning about the current economic trends in Asia and analyzing future development within the region is the perfect opportunity for an upcoming graduate to thoroughly understand the networks and issues affecting business today,” she said.
“I have keen interest and deep awareness of the impact Asian societies have on business and growth here in Australia and am eager to learn more and share my experiences with other students.”
The pair will spend second semester at Jinhua University in hangzhaou as part of the Semester in China unit.
Ms Law-Bo-Kang said she was excited about studying at a Chinese University.
“I look forward to enhancing my language skills and business conversation knowledge at Jinhua,” she said.