Friends from the Philippines visit Australia

Philippine co-operative directors had an opportunity to experience a fresh perspective on co-operative business when they visited Australian co-operative businesses in March this year.

The delegates spent several days touring various parts of NSW and Queensland visiting co-operative enterprises, including Dairy Farmers in Sydney. The main objective of the visit was to gather information about how Australian co-operatives conduct business, and to see if they could adapt any of these strategies for the Philippines. They were interested in Australian innovations and developing networks for future collaboration.

Representatives included: Wilfredo C. Saturno, Chairman of the Co-Op Bank of Aurorg, Cristina M. Salvador also of the Co-Op Bank, and Shelia Sorozo from the Ladies Livelihood Co-op.

At a seminar organized and hosted by Business Advisory Services Inc (BASI) on March 10, Suzanne Henderson of ACCORD spoke to the delegation about co-operatives in Australia and ACCORDís research role. Bernadette Denholm from the Registry of Co-operatives and Associations, Department of Fair Trading, gave a presentation on registration requirements for NSW co-operatives.

Delegates were interested in hearing about the logistical characteristics of co-ops as opposed to a party or company limited, the associated fees and auditing procedures.