President’s report

For the third year in a row, the President’s Report starts with COVID-19, the Global Pandemic leading us to ask: Will this ever end? The answer is not yet, but we are learning to live with COVID-19.

The beginning of the year was horrendous for members and their communities. Massive lock downs in NSW and Victoria combined with flooding rains in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia made life difficult.

Members looked to MGA to get answers for the questions confronting them every day:

• What if I have staff who will not vaccinate?

• What if I have staff who get

COVID-19?

• How do I keep my business open when I have staff absenteeism?

• How do I keep my supply lines going?

Jos and the team continuously monitored every state and federal government advice and edict – every state acknowledged the health advice differently. A massive job every week to distil the information and communicate to members. COVID-19 matters and issues globally and locally have caused tumultuous times for the MGA and members alike.

• Labour Shortages

• COVID Absenteeism

• Migration Intake Stopped

• Temporary Visa Complexities • Increase Cost of doing Business- rent, wages,

• Pallet Shortages/ Container

Shortages

• Freight increases

• Delivery Drivers / Warehouse Labour

Shortage

What we achieved

» Strongly advocated and succeeded in labelling all members - food and grocery, liquor, timber, and hardware – as essential businesses to open during lock down. All members were able to trade.

Special thank you to our CEO Jos de Bruin. Jos’s job to keep the MGA TMA relevant, meant he needed to be available 24/7 for Government Ministers, Government Round Tables, Union Negotiations, Small Business Cohorts, members, and staff. It is a tribute to Jos’s leadership that members continue to support the MGA TMA. It is said that tough times breed resilience, MGA TMA managed COVID-19 – what’s next?

Floods

• Members’ businesses were inundated with flood water

• Supply Chains were cut off from East to West and North to South

War

MGA President Debbie Smith

Russia invaded Ukraine 24 February 2022 significantly impacting our TMA members supply chains.

While this malaise has a familiar feeling for our members, it represented an enormous workload for Jos and staff at MGA. Advocacy at all levels of state and federal government was heightened by regulatory reform forums.

What we achieved

» IR Reform with the ACTU

- A change to the General Retail Award to provide for Flexible Part Time Employment

For the MGA Board, the era of remoteness and video conference was frustrating and isolating. The Board has been navigating the MGA in times of massive change. It was sad to see Carmel Goldsmith retire at the last AGM and we acknowledged her service and commitment to the MGA, and welcomed Terry Slaughter from Queensland. Terry has significant experience on our MGAQ committee. The MGA Board provides the strategic direction for the MGA. We know retailing in Australia is changing, and are committed to facilitating security and advocacy for members.

Thank you to the Directors for their commitment and support during a challenging 2021/22. It was great to finally start face to face meetings, the first in South Australia in March 2022,

followed by the Sunshine Coast in Queensland in June 2022.

The MGA partners with members for advice and support through our committee structures. Thank you to members and partners who help and support us on the MGATMA Management Committee, National Liquor Committee, MGAQ and MGAWA Committees.

Thank you to our Corporate Partners who have stuck with us and members during the tough times. It is vital we work with you to springboard the MGA and members into our next ten-year growth plan.

The MGA has contained costs in 2021/22 and is financially stable. We have deliberately focused on trying to keep fees for our members below inflation to assist them into the future.

I announced in last year’s Annual Report a joint venture with ImFree to develop a digital consumer platform that rewards consumers for planet friendly choices while shopping at independent stores. I am pleased to announce we have now partnered with Sunshine Coast University and other industry partners to deliver MiPlanet to all members. It has been an inspiration working with Cris Dawes from ImFree towards this outcome.

In every Annual Report it is essential to analyse the past and plan for the future. The task has been complicated this year by the impending retirement of our CEO Jos De Bruin. Jos has led the MGA, steered the MGA, guided, and advocated for members for over 16 years. It is impossible to recognise his achievements fully in this report. Jos knows members by name, where their stores are, and always answers a member who calls him. His tireless work to create a national MGA beginning in 2006, contributed massively to independent supermarkets having a voice in Canberra. Jos took the MGA into the Fair Work Commission, The ACCC, The Small Business Ombudsman and into all state governments. It will be hard to visualise a Board meeting without Jos. I would like to thank Jude de Bruin and the whole de Bruin Family for supporting Jos and MGA over the past 16 years.

I would like to welcome our new CEO David Inall, former CEO of the National Dairy Farmers Association. David has enormous experience and will work with Jos in the coming weeks as part of his induction to the MGA. The Board believe David’s skills will make a significant contribution to our organisation and look forward to working with him.

In conclusion I wish to affirm your Board’s commitment to you, the members, and assure you that we will continue to represent you as we have always done, while exploring and developing new ideas and innovative solutions to promote our industry. The MGA Board belief in innovation through technology and analysis underscores the confidence we have in the future of independent retaining in Australia. Thank you for the trust you have placed in myself and fellow directors.

Debbie Smith | MGA Board President