Annual General Meeting

Good evening members and guests to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and to our First Mondays Networking Event for September.

On this AGM I table the following report.

The year it was

This past year, 2009-2010 has been a very productive year for our Chamber. Your Executive Committee has worked hard in building membership value and for positioning our Chamber to be continually relevant in the world of commerce and business, both in Australia and in the Philippines. Our Executive Team along with our members continue to operate successfully within the following framework: Teamwork; Collaboration and Engagement.

Our hard work in the past few years is paying dividends, benefiting our Chamber in general and our members in particular.

Our 2008-2010 program of work (which is attached to this report) gave us focus and guidance to achieve our strategic objectives. These objectives remained our road map to achieve our vision and continue to fulfil our mission.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to report that 2009-2010, the year it was, was full of activities of engagement and collaboration, which were possible due to our teamwork.

Here are some highlights.

2009-10 First Mondays Networking Event

This year’s networking event delivered information sessions on key topic areas that mattered most to our members. These included:

Cultural awareness, business etiquettes and protocols in doing business in the Philippines;

The transformation program within Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (presented by Mr Greg Kelly, DIAC’s Global Manager Visas (Skilled and Family) and Queensland State Director, Queensland), that covered –

• The recent changes to Australia’s Skilled Migration Program;
• The outcomes of a review of the Migration Occupations Demand List (MODL) and its future impact to Australia’s productivity;
• New DAIC’s priority processing arrangements; and,
• Employer Nomination Scheme/Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme;

The AANZFTA (Asean Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement), what it is and its long term benefits to the ASEAN countries (presented by Mr John Michell, State Director, DFAT)

The operational certification procedures and practical requirements of AANZFTA, for businesses to access the FTA’s benefits (presented by Ms. Diana Gueorguieva, International Services Advisor, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland).

The 6o (Six Degrees: Creating leads for business success) was launched this year as a prominent feature of our networking event to give opportunities for our members and guests to make a short, sharp and focus presentation to assist them with business leads. Our Six Degrees have led to several success outcomes for the participants.

Several of our members have used the First Mondays Networking Event to launch their products such as the launch of Mhar Hair products in Australia and the demonstration of Kangen Water by Adna Living Water, to name a few.

CCIAP Philippine Business and Trade Mission 2010

The inaugural Philippine Business and Trade Mission by the Chamber held on 17-30 July 2010 in Manila and Cebu was a success in that it met the Mission’s stated objectives:

To assist CCIAP members to build sustainable competitive advantages through expanded contacts and network and increased understanding of the Philippine market and culture;

To encourage relationships between businesses and entrepreneurs of both Australia and the Philippines to pursue commercial opportunities and at the same time build cultural understanding for mutually beneficial outcomes, at business to business level.

The activities, including the arranged private business to business matching meetings held during the Mission, were consistent with the Mission’s theme: Promoting commerce, promoting culture at business to business level. Full briefings of the Mission will be provided as a separate presentation following this AGM.

In this report, I would like to commend the effort of Dr. Oscar Torralba, Vice Chair, ABCD Committee, Management Association of the Philippines and Mr. Geronimo Sta. Ana, Governor, Philippine Bureau of Investments, who have contributed their time and effort to the Mission. As the Head of the Mission, I am very thankful for their advice and assistance in making the Mission a success. I can say that the excellent feedback I received from all the Delegates is a testament of this success.

Brisbane Mabuhay Philippine Festival

Our Executive Team and the Organising Committee were kept busy in the planning and preparation launch the Brisbane Mabuhay Philippine Festival this year. The Festival is aim at promoting the Filipino culture and the Filipino people’s contribution to Australia. The Festival will be inaugurated in Queensland on 14 November 2010 and will be held at Southbank Suncorp Piazza. CCIAP believes that cultural awareness in the community about the Filipino people’s contribution to the prosperity of Australia and its multicultural diversity will play an important role in promoting the Philippines as a destination for business, investment and tourism. Australian businesses, in return will benefit by having access to Philippine market for example, businesses in the tourism industry could promote Australia as a destination for conferences and staff training being offered by multinational companies in the Philippines as part of their employee incentive programs.

As the Festival’s theme is “Celebrating all things Filipino”, Filipino cuisine, Filipino arts and crafts will be available for sale. The Festival is also a good opportunity to promote your products and

services to the Filipino community. Entry to the Festival is free for general audience. CCIAP is seeking sponsorship, exhibitors and stall holders to the Festival. Please see members of our organising committee. Mrs. Riza Clout, our Vice President is the Project Director of the Mabuhay Festival.

Conclusion

Once again I thank the Executive Team for their work, commitment and dedication in the day to day running of our Chamber. I also like to thank their families in supporting their contribution. I would like to thank my husband Jorge for supporting me to fulfil my duties and responsibilities as your President in the past 2 years. To our members I would like to thank you for your support and for your belief that we need to keep the “spirit” of the Chamber alive in order to achieve our vision and mission. And to our supporters, thank you for your on-going support.

This coming year, the Chamber will continue with its program of work with additional items from the outcome of our recent Mission. Because the Chamber exists because of its members, the new Executive Team’s key priority will remain: to add membership value. To assist us with this priority, we welcome your contribution and your active participation.

I move that this Annual Report be accepted.

Connie da Cunha
President (2009-10)