Brad Gurrie, general manager of Travelzoo, said Rudd’s reported travel bill of about $1 million could have been halved if he’d used the online service.

“It’s quite astounding the amount of money he paid for airfares and hotels. I know it’s very possible to still fly business or first class and stay in exorbitant hotels, all around the globe and not amass $80,000 per trip,” said Gurrie.

Travelzoo compiled the following table to compare prices (click to enlarge)

“On the above tabled trips alone, not including food or beverages and other expenses, the total for flights and luxury accommodation would have been around $45,000 for three trips. This is significantly lower than the reports of $80,000 per trip,” Gurrie said.

Although Travelzoo does not sell flights or take hotel bookings, as an aggregator it sources various travel deals for Australia and abroad and publishes them online.

Gurrie did admit that taking advantage of travel deals was not always possible for businesses but said many commercial customers could still benefit from the service if the price was right.

“Although many of these deals are focused on leisure consumers there is a tendency for many businesses to take advantage of the deals to save significant costs. Businesses need to weigh up the value associated with flexibility and have it offset with savings that exceed 50 percent,” he said.

“At Travelzoo we publish many deals that are widely available with little or no restrictions that make them ideal for businesses. The travel prices for Kevin Rudd did, in many cases, allow flexibility.”

1. Indian student attacks

Two attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, seemingly racially motivated, threatened to curtail this multimillion-dollar industry in a significant source market. However, it was not just education, Australia’s third largest export and our highest value service export, at risk. Australia’s image in India was at least temporarily tarnished as this issue, unresolved since 2009, increased in profile.

Diplomacy was in full force as former acting Prime Minister and Minister for Education Julia Gillard, and acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Crean, met with their Indian counterparts to ease tension.

2. China versus Rio Tinto

In 2009, Chinese authorities arrested detained four Rio Tinto employees, including Australian executive Stern Hu, for five weeks before formally charging them with commercial bribery and trade secrets infringement. Hu attended a closed trial in March 2010 and accepted the Chinese court’s 10-year sentence.

The sentence came as a warning for exporters to avoid corrupt practices when doing business in China, particularly in the resources sector, which is Australia’s biggest earner in China.

3. Mining tax debacle

The resources sector came out in force against the Henry Tax Review suggestion that the sector pay 40 percent tax on its so-called ‘super profits’. The Federal Government decided to adopt the suggestion and the industry spent millions in a nationwide advertising campaign in protest. Economists believe the tax will curb some investments and affect mineral exports, which may have a trickle-down effect in the wider economy.

4. Rising Australian dollar

The Australian dollar reached parity with the US dollar in mid-October after months above US80c and US90c. The weakness of the US economy, in addition to flailing markets in the UK and eurozone (particularly Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain), boosted the Australian dollar in global markets, and threatened to chew at exporters’ margins. Competing on a lower dollar is no longer an option for exporters as near-parity is predicted to continue well into 2011.

5. Global travel woes

An ash cloud created by the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano most found difficult to say and spell, interrupted much of Europe’s airspace for five days in April. Airlines had to deal with thousands of stranded passengers and airfreight routes had to be re-routed or delayed.

Let’s not forget natural disasters in Haiti, China, and Pakistan, the Gulf oil spill, and the US Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration body-scanning controversy added to the mix. On a domestic front, Virgin Blue suffered a system crash that saw several planeloads of passengers stranded in September.

Things to celebrate

But it wasn’t all bad. Exporters started the year with a larger backyard market thanks to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA). Australia’s foray into China at the Shanghai World Expo and as country of honour at the China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair was also successful, and we also launched a nation brand, Australia Unlimited, as distinct from our tourism campaigns.

Not that we forgot about tourism, which received a lot of attention in December when US talk show host Oprah Winfrey decided to visit for her last show, Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure, bringing an entourage of 302 dedicated audience members and employing hundreds of US and Australian staff. Organised by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions in conjunction with Tourism Australia and local airline Qantas, the tour will be televised in January 2011.

What events rocked your exports in 2010?

Scott is the director of the Sanctions and Transnational Crime Section in DFAT’s International Legal Branch.

The event is part of the Australian Institute of Export’s Future Leaders in Export club for active importers and exporters.

When:
8-9am
Thursday November 4, 2010

Where:
Coface Australia
Level 10, 68 York Street
Sydney

RSVP: Lisa McAuley at lisamcauley@aiex.com.au

Doha, capital city of emerging emirate Qatar in the Middle East, was the site of the 2001 World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference, a meeting held biennially by the topmost body of the organisation.

The theme of the meeting focused on ensuring developing countries benefited from the multilateral trading system that the WTO provided, hence its alternative name ‘the Development Round’.

From the conference came the Ministerial Declaration that to tackle the global economic slowdown of the late 1990s/early 2000s, the WTO and its members would need to “maintain the process of reform and liberalisation of trade policies, thus ensuring that the system plays its full part in promoting recovery, growth and development” and to “reject the use of protectionism”.

The Doha Round in brief

In particular the Doha Development Round, or Doha Round as it is more popularly known, recognised the role that trade plays in the economic development of emerging countries and the alleviation of poverty.
In essence, the Doha Round is therefore a negotiating platform for a free trade agreement encompassing all the members of the WTO, but one especially mindful of the disadvantages in the trading system experienced by less developed countries that may not have the power, influence or leverage of their more affluent counterparts.

As a result, the work program developed at Doha reflected the special needs of struggling, underdeveloped economies participating in liberal trade.

The declaration set this out in no uncertain terms—”we recognise the need for all our peoples to benefit from the increased opportunities and welfare gains that the multilateral trading system generates”—and the ministers pledged to “continue to make positive efforts designed to ensure that developing countries, and especially the least developed among them, secure a share in the growth of world trade commensurate with the needs of their economic development”.

To meet these goals, they noted that “enhanced market access, balanced rules, and well targeted, sustainably financed technical assistance and capacity-building programs have important roles to play”.

The Doha Round also ties in with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to: end poverty and hunger, provide universal education, achieve gender equality, improve maternal and infant health, combat HIV/AIDS, achieve environmental sustainability and strengthen global partnerships.

In light of this, WTO director-general Pascal Lamy noted that “the strengthening of the multilateral trading system through the conclusion of the Doha Round and Aid for Trade are the contributions that the WTO has to make” to meet the goals.

Advance Australia

According to a conservative estimate by the WTO, a Doha Round deal would lift the global economy by $130 billion a year, a gain based on cutting proposed tariffs.

However, a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in the USA shows that a trade deal could boost the world economy by between $300–700 billion a year, spread equitably across developed and developing countries.

This figure includes the broader impact of a trade deal such as efficiency gains made by helping developing countries improve trade infrastructure and ease bureaucracy.

Australia has much to gain from a worldwide trade deal of this nature, as it would level the playing field in favour of more open trading terms. “This is the pinnacle in terms of trade policy negotiation, in terms of making a fairer environment for global trade,” says Cameron MacMillan, former trade commissioner and current executive director of International Business at global business advisory BDO in Queensland.”

For Australia, being a very open trading environment, this would just be marvellous to lock in.”

Hu was sentenced to 10 years in prison for accepting bribes and stealing commercial secrets in a closed court after a three-day trial in Shanghai. The Australian government labelled the sentence length “harsh” and questioned the secret nature of the trial.

“After prudent consideration, Stern Hu decided not to appeal. He made the decision after consulting his closest family and friends and us, his lawyers, as well,” said attorney Jin Chunqing.

Hu’s three Chinese co-defendants will, however, appeal their respective sentences, which ranged from seven- to 14-year prison terms.

The Department for Foreign Affairs indicated that it respected Hu’s decision not to appeal. “It has been a matter for Stern Hu and his lawyers. We will continue to provide Mr Hu with all consular assistance.”

In addition to the initial $10 million offered for emergency humanitarian assistance including food and medical services for displaced persons, and the $5 million given towards reconstruction, Australia will add $9 million towards the reconstruction effort bringing total funding to $24 million.

Funding is just the start of Australia’s contributions, Smith said, with partnerships formed with neighbouring countries in the Caribbean and Latin America to support Haiti.

“Australia will work with Brazil to help revive the agriculture sector, which accounts for more than 25 percent of Haiti’s economy, and with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to help improve their ability to respond to disasters in the region,” he added.

Smith released a statement that said he would “brief the Indian Government on the actions taken by authorities to create a safe and rewarding study environment for Indian students in Australia” when he meets with his counterpart S M Krishna to “discuss Australia’s and India’s close cooperation in trying to solve the recent problems faced by some Indians in Australia”.

The visit will also have a broader focus on advancing Australia and India’s bilateral, regional and international cooperation under the framework of the Australia-India Strategic Partnership, said Smith, adding that he will also review security arrangements ahead of the Commonwealth Games later this year.

Ministry spokesperson Yao Jian said his department had not yet received a formal indication of Google’s exit. He reiterated that all foreign companies were obliged to abide by Chinese laws.

“Foreign investors should have confidence in China’s market as China has the world’s biggest internet population,” said Yao, adding: “Any decision by Google to withdraw from China will not affect Sino-US trade relations.”

The US government is practising a ‘wait and see’ approach to the stand-off, although senior White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers remarked: “It seems to me that the principles that Google is trying to uphold are not just important in a moral or rights framework, but are also of very considerable economic importance.”

Minster for Trade Simon Crean, acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, said while China was due to set a date, it was possible for them to legally postpone the process.

“What is happening in this case is accordance with Chinese law. There is the potential for a further extension. We have been kept informed, we have had consular access, we have made vigorous and active representations on all occasions privately in our discussions with the Chinese,” he said in an interview on the ABC’s AM program.

Australia are anxious for this issue to proceed and have urged expediency, said Crean. “I think we just have to let this run its course. We’ve consistently said we would want it dealt with expeditiously and transparently and we continue to persist with that.”

“This funding will provide for the immediate distribution and replenishment of relief and sanitation supplies and to help conduct damage assessments,” he said in a statement.

The cyclone caused heavy rainfall, strong winds and some flooding.

Assistance will also be provided through UNICEF, the Fiji Red Cross Society and Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office.

Smith said the funding is a “further demonstration of Australia’s friendship and commitment to the people of Fiji.”