---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 14:51:46 +1100 From: Mark Glazebrook <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [corp-ethics] Re: PM push for philanthropy Hi All - for several months John Howard has approached corporate responsibility along the following lines. Here in Australia, our unit along is attempting to focus national attention on the 'corporate backyard' rather than the cap in hand approach. Mark Glazebrook <bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color><param>9999,0000,0000</param><bigger>It's payback time, PM tells business </bigger></color>Sunday Telegraph, p2 By PETER REES </fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param>31jan99 PRIME Minister John Howard plans to step up pressure on business to give profits back to the community. He will tell business leaders society expects them "to play their part" in helping those who are less well off. Mr Howard believes the same principle under which jobless young people are now expected to work for the dole also applies to the business sector. Government sources say Mr Howard plans to tell business it has an obligation to provide funding for community projects and to help the unemployed. This could involve funds for projects such as building community facilities - a move that would also create jobs. It is estimated that Australian business contributes less than 5 per cent of the total funds available to non-profit community groups. Mr Howard signalled his determination in a speech last week outlining his goals for the year ahead. He promised to build a stronger coalition among government, business, social-welfare groups and individual Australians. Mr Howard said he would renew his call to businesses, large and small, to play their part. "To give back to the community from which they profit, to follow the example of many genuine Australian philanthropists, to advise, to donate in cash or kind, to mentor," he said. Government sources say Mr Howard strongly believes business has a mutual obligation to give back to the community. They say he believes businesses have a duty to acknowledge the benefits they draw from society. When he flagged the move last November, Mr Howard said business had a strong stake in ensuring communities remained dynamic and prosperous. Business depended on the community for its employees and markets, and enterprises could only be as strong as the communities in which they operated. One of Mr Howard's goals is to cultivate a greater philanthropic tradition in Australia. He plans to hammer the point that the education system, which depends heavily on federal funding, provides the graduates and workers whose efforts contribute to corporate profits. Mr Howard will use meetings of the Business Round Table this year to deliver his message to business leaders. The Australian Council of Social Service backs Mr Howard's push for business to play a greater role. ACOSS says large Australian companies need to work harder to convince their shareholders of the importance of ensuring the gap between rich and poor is narrowed and that unemployment is reduced. According to Anglican Archbishop Peter Hollingworth, the culture of philanthropy in Australia pales in comparison with North America's. In 1996, Americans gave an average of $US2455 ($3890) per person to charity. In Australia, the figure was less than $30. </fontfamily> ----------------------------------- Mark Glazebrook Corporate Citizenship Research Unit Centre for Communication Deakin University Burwood Victoria 3125 Australia Office Phone (61)(03)-9244 3935 Fax (61)(03)-9244 6755 Home Phone (61)(03)-9808 3645 ----------------------------------- To find out how you can access the proceedings and information about the exciting First National Conference on Corporate Citizenship on 19-20 November, recently hosted by the Corporate Citizenship Research Unit, Centre for Communication, Faculty of Arts, Deakin University. Check the website: http://arts.deakin.edu.au/slcs/conference Also:check out the School website at http://arts.deakin.edu.au/slcs/new_site -----------------------------------
