Nothing Will Make Coles Sell Growth Enhanced Beef

Coles has chosen not to sell beef enhanced by Hormone Growth Promotants (HGP). For making this stand it has been condemned by Animal Health Alliance (AHA). Note that AHA is financed by pharmaceutical companies. Elanco and Pfizer are members of this organization.

Saying that Coles ignores scientifically based findings that HGP beef is safe is unscientific in itself. No number of tests will ever prove it to be safe because it hasn't been in use long enough to ascertain its dangers.

CSIRO has found HGP beef to be of poor eating quality, and as Coles makes a quality related buying decision is will not be purchased by them. This is a free country and producers "jumping up and down" will not make consumers buy their product.

HGPs make cattle grow faster so it should be cheaper. Unfortunately, this saving is not passed on to the buyer. Indeed, consumers will pay more for non-HGP beef.

Sales of HGP meat is declining and it won't be around for much longer. How can Coles action be a "blow to Australia's beef industry" if this is the case? HGP makes beef tough and that's the end of it.

Woolworths sells HGP beef and consumers know it. Coles is getting a reputation for very tender beef and in the long run Woolworths will lose out. Woolworths fresh it may be but it is too tough to eat!

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~~~~~Food Retail~~~~~

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Tax on Internet Sales is Economically Irrational

Calls by big business in Australia for the Goods and Services Tax to be extended to cover Internet purchases less than a thousand dollars is just sour grapes on their part. Only 3 per cent of all Australian purchases are for Internet sales and many of these are local Australian purchases. The Government has said the cost of collection would be far more than the income gained.

Such a tax would be like re-implementing tariff barriers. It could certainly be interpreted that way. Big business is not calling for new trade barriers is it? It has taken half a century to reduce barriers in the car industry. Even now some obstacles to free trade remain in motor vehicle production.

Australian businesses have to lift their game. Go into a department store and try to find someone to give assistance. You can't find anybody! Staff has been cut to ridiculously low levels.

If you do find a lower price for a product on the Internet from a company overseas there is still the post and packaging cost to add on. When you do your sums you are only a few dollars better off. People shop online mainly for convenience. For example, in the US a Samsung fridge sells for $1,385. In Australia the same refrigerator goes for $2,099. People would not buy it online because of the cost and problems of getting it to Australia. Anyway, the US fridge will not run on 240V electricity supply.

The real issue is Australian business had it too good. Before the Internet, retailers had a closed market. Now trade is becoming global and they don't like it. It is well known that Woolworths and Coles keep their prices high where branches are located in "exclusive" parts of cities. It is about time this practice stopped.

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~~~~~Trade Business~~~~~

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New Payless Cards Makes It Easy for Thieves

As if bankcard fraud is not bad enough a new "easy to cheat" card is released. No pin number is necessary to use cash resources on the card. Just tap it on an Eftpos and a green light comes on to show goods are paid for. Businesses may like this new system because purchases are quick, impulsive and transaction costs are lower. But what if someone gets hold of the card from a burglary. The account can be emptied without a pin or signature. Surely banks will refuse to refund money to the card owner. It is a way for banks to opt-out of their responsibilities.

Retailers can also be hit, apparently, because the card can be used with nothing in the bank account. New technology is the culprit. Magnetic strip is now seen as old fashioned. Solid state chips are now the go. Competition is beginning with PayWave and Payless trying to dominate the new market. Thankfully, transactions are limited to $100 at the moment.

Takeaway chains and corner stores are adopting the new system for quick purchases. Notably, Bunnings will soon be installing the technology. It has really caught on at the Commonwealth Bank with a quarter of terminal transactions being done with touch cards. Oddly, Coles and Woolworths aren't even considering it. Ms Bayer Rosman said it is safer than cash. This is not true - it is virtual cash! It will be small transactions now, unlimited transactions very soon. Her claims that banks will reimburse purchases consumers claim they didn't make is on very weak ground. Cancelling a card as soon as it is lost will gain them nothing: the account will be empty.

Let's face it purchases on bankcard are made purely on trust. When a firm has your card details it can charge you over and again for the same item. PayPal is the exception because the seller is not given details. But we trust PayPal, don't we? Can we trust our neighbors though? Time will tell. Banks are looking for a way out of not reimbursing consumers for card loss.

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