PAUL RAFTERY

Unemployment associated with Covid 19 has given the anti-immigration lobby an opportunity to shout their disapproving message “migration steals jobs”. Australia needs be smart and create demand for locally made things like housing. In Australia we have business migration which creates new...... CONTINUE READING ....  

April 2020 saw many people round the world sent to work from home with great fears by management that their productivity would fall. Despite distraction from children and families, most workers have put in well beyond their eight hours a day. When you allow for zoom meetings and mobile phone calls our private lives of lost the slither of anonymity they once had.   Somehow, meetings are taking longer, I guess because people seek interaction and the systems clearly working slower. In this new world we need to manage the balance between being a good professional and personal well-being. Like so many I used to wake early and goes the local gym come home have breakfast and go to the office. I am feeling guilty about taking time out to go for a walk, read an article at night go to meditation (online of course) spend time just talking to my wife. I suspect as we work our way back to the new norm, we will need to develop some personal space. Over recent years I have accepted Saturday calls...

Most of us are working from home during Covid 19 and I guess many of us are working longer than harder than normal. Our clients’ concerns mean we need to spend more time with them but........ CONTINUE READING...

Covid 19, as we call it now, emerged from the city of Wuhan in China. It emerged in December 2019 and came to prominence around the time of Chinese New Year. It has spread globally and impacted on all developed and developing economies. We need deal with it and its business impacts in a clinical manner and without entering the blame game. In this article we focus on how business can deal with the fallout of the disease. New reality, new perspective. Now. For the first time my life I am working from home and dealing with a new reality. I am working long hours but I am not sure about my efficiency. We need all focus on getting ready for the post Covid-19 world and pit time aside to do this now. The team at Projects RH works with a strong and enthusiastic group of ...... Tap this link if you want to Continue reading Paul Raftery

Covid 19 has proved to be the seminal disruptor. Historically, when businesses undertake a dramatic change is normally instigated from the top and planned. Walking into the post Covid 19 world business will have changed and our most valuable asset, our people, will have new experiences.   Commentators are telling us we will emerge from hibernation, having missed the dramatic change that has occurred in how we do business. Our fears of not trusting staff, unless we can see them, have dissipated. Employees belief in most employers has gone as even the professional services firms cut salaries and conditions. The need for physical meetings will be for ever lessened the need for physical offices diminished. We are now doing business with people living in the same city whom we have not met face-to-face. It is now the new norm. The worrying thing is that we are now even more contactable and for most of us there for working longer hours.   We can expect to see the role of board...

Background The Liberal / National party coalition had been in power, in Australia, since 2013. Tony Abbott’s Views on energy policy cost him his job as Prime Minister in 2015 to Malcolm Turnbull and then caused Turnbull to lose the top job to Scott Morrison in August 2018. Abbott had a very clear vision of Australia remaining a low-cost energy country using the vast reserves of high-quality coal which the country has. Turnbull had almost the opposite view of the world wanting to transform Australia into a new low carbon high-tech economy. Scott Morrison emerged, almost like a character out of the BBC’s Yes Prime Minister, as the compromise candidate who sat in the middle and could heal a party after the philosophical wars between Abbott and Turnbull. The problem is, no decisions have been made since August 2018 despite Morrison receiving an unexpected healthy victory at a national election in May 2019. Yes, he and Minister Angus Taylor have held lots of consultations – but no...

AUSTRALIA: SINGED AND SOGGY; BUT NOT SCORCHED AND DROWNING Let´s talk resilience in the time of floods, bushfires, and virus Living in Australia you are not exempt from what happens in the environment. Australia is a vast land, exceeding 7.6 million km²; it is a land of droughts and floods, but also rich, diverse and strong. This year we had unprecedented bushfires and unprecedented floods. Yet we Australians pride ourselves on winning against the odds and adapting to extreme weather. That is who we are; that is what we do. Also, this year the world lives with CorVid-19. There is no need to go into the details of the ramifications and political, economic, social, and human effects this will have on all of us. Yet, we are fortunate because when it is winter in North Asia it is summer in Australia, and as such the life of the virus and a chance of infection is less. Also, we are lucky to have top-notch scientists working on a cure; it was an Institute at the University of M...

The Federal Government is spending $4 million to test the feasibility of a controversial proposal to build a new coal-fired power station in north Queensland. For the struggling coal town of Collinsville, it's seen as a welcome economic boost. But some industry experts are questioning the project's economic viability.

Australia is a leader in investment management, with the sixth largest group of funds under management in the world, so we have the expertise and strength to make these projects a reality. Today we will talk about Venture Capital Funds for investment and development, the Australian experience that everyone wants to participate in. Our guest: Strategic ally Graham Kinder from River Gold Capital.

Introduction My late mother would speak about “living life on life’s terms”. She has in her late 80’s when she discussed this over lunch with My wife and I, and 48 hours later, she was dead. Mum’s life was normal, but rich in what matters – she was content with her life and until 85 or so there was little that she really had had to worry about. She had been brought up with deep faith but was not sectarian. She believed that “Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage: it can be delightful'” (George Bernard Shaw).   Her code meant front up and deal with it. Keep life simple and keep moving. The Problem Today so many of us know we need to deal with things but we don’t have the skills – we expect someone else will solve our problems and set us back on the path to the happiness we deserve.   After attending Buddhist based meditation for a few years and having heard Buddhist and non-Buddhist speakers I had long ago accepted that happiness had to come ...

What mindfulness is is subject to some debate. The Mayo Clinic offers the following explanation: Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. Spending too much time planning, problem-solving, daydreaming, or thinking negative or random thoughts can be draining. It can also make you more likely to experience stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Practicing mindfulness exercises can help you direct your attention away from this kind of thinking and engage with the world around you. [1] I think of it as a step in the meditation process whilst other consider it to be a form of meditation. I think we can all agree it that does is calm the mind and when our mind is calm allow us to be patient and then see the wo...

For me empathy is the ability to see the world the way other sees it and understand that.   As my Buddhist meditation teachers say real love is to sense the joy in others and the feel happy that they are joyful. This leads to their inner peace and harmony. Empathy let’s us think others have reasons for being in a hurry, such as cutting us off in traffic. It can be simply talking to someone or giving to a worthy cause without asking too many questions. It really means we are listening to what is occurring around us and not just concerned about ourselves. Several years ago I was in Spanish speaking Bogota, Colombia, and I had had a meeting run an hour over time, it was dark, and I was feeling very lost – I got a call as I exited the lift – the white car on the corner is waiting for you. It was an Uber before we had Uber in Australia. Someone speaking English opened the door and said – Hi Paul, I am taking you to your hotel. We arrived and being Uber it had been paid. T...

Rather than preparing a toy list each day we are asked to look at what we have a record gratefulness or it. I am very lucky that Carmenza came into and decided to stay in my life.   We have food in the fridge and a roof over our heads. Carmenza often reminds me we are fortunate to have had parents who put us first.   We often talk about how fortunate we are. Many of us are driven by things outside ourselves – the new home, car and holiday. I do remember several new homes and quickly wanting one a little bigger, closer to transport or with xxx. That holiday never lived up to the rosy expectations and the car quickly was the wrong choice. I wanted the next thing – that will make me happy. I do remember my parents worked hard and were happy with what they had. A friend of mine recently lost his wife who had been his life partner for more than 45 years. Whilst her death was not unexpected his email focused on how lucky he had been that she had come into his life...

A combination of an Australian dollar at less than USD 0.70 and politicians from the red and blue corners agreeing that immigration numbers must go down until more infrastructure is build has seen a sudden uplift in new enquiries from investment visa applicants at Projects RH. Parties come to Projects RH because we see and identify venture capital opportunities and are able to work with clients to prepare and review investment cases. (see www.projectsrh.com.au ) Projects RH is not an migration lawyers or adviser s. We do work with migration lawyers and advisers in supplying the investment component of investment visa application and process management. Welcome to Australia For people seeking a new country to invest in it is hard to look past Australia. When asked why Australia I answer: 10 Reasons to Invest in Australia 1)                   Stable political environment...