Individual, it is much worse than that mate.

I worked for the operating company that ran the properties, mostly hospitality industry. Many of the properties were struggling to show enough profit to return anything like the 20% needed, but capital appreciation of the asset was supposed to make the money.

In that downturn this stopped, just as some large resorts, & up market capital city pubs started loosing money.

When the trusts started using this weeks investments to pay earlier investor returns you would think it would be found. It took 5 years & a number of whistle blowers to finally stop the mess, & send a few people to the clink.

The boats were legitimate, as the trust owned a resort island & a destination island in the area, which required servicing.

However running boats can be hard. Most people think they are selling a boat, an island or a reef, when, just like a cinema, you are selling seats. Fill the same seat twice a day, & you are more likely to profit.

Then you have to realise that the tourist in that seat is not your customer, merely the go between. Your customer is the agent who sold your ticket. The caravan park girl, the holiday flats, motel, or resort person is your customer.

Sure you have to send the tourist back happy, but that's easy. They want to be happy on holidays, you only have to help a little, & they'll love you.

If you can't run because it's too rough, or you have boat problems, change those who want, to another day, but otherwise give the people back their money. Never send them back for a refund, that agent worked for their commission, then take them free to a resort for the day.

The tourist again loves you for saving their day, The island sells them food & drink all day, the agent gets their commission, & you are the preferred cruise supplier.

It's not hard, you just have to understand how it works.

Now, if you can just keep the boats running

HB, $9 million turnover just to pay ones bills is hardly what I would consider to be a small business.

Unfortunately, governments also think this is a small business, meanwhile, the real small business gets left behind.

This sound like a Whitsunday saga and, I can only imagine how many real small businesses lost all due to this operation going bust.

I own a unit in the airlie beach area and I can tell you, that place is a basket case, with no fewer than 70 closed shops at present.

The puzzling part of your thread is how on earth a trust, with some 16 investments, can get into this shape without being picked up by auditors.

Individual how is it, that you make this connection between internet shopping and the Govt ?. Obviously the internet is the internet, and placing restraint's upon that, opens a whole other can of worms.

It is probably accurate to say, that the Govt hasn't done a lot to restraint free trade on the internet, or change that situation up till now, but it is clearly not accurate to say that the Govt is responsible or in some way the cause of the fact that internet shopping creates further opportunity for competition, the actual cause of its popularity.

It just does Indivdual and progress marches on. That is not to say that new jobs and new businesses wont be created from this because they will be.

Businesses will have to adapt just as they will have too, to a cleaner energy future

Dear csteele,

Of course you were right and did the right thing.
But then you did some lateral thinking and
looked at other alternatives, weighing up the
best options rather then doing what was
done under John Howard - and is still being pratised
by many businesses today to their detriment.

Bravo!

Yes Whitsundays rehctub, when Telford owned South Mole & Hook. I established the Corral Sub operation at Hardy Reef over 25 years ago. Are Reef & Capricorn still running? Those alloy hulls were cracking up so badly when new, I doubted they'd get to 10 years.

My situation was a little different csteele. I had no reserves.

The operating company had handled all accounts payable from head office, Sydney. When their payments had drifted out to 90 days all the local people refused to do business with us.

Now a tourist boat, with a failed radio can not run. When it takes a week to send a radio back to the manufacturers to be fixed, that just cost $30,000 in overheads, & upset all your bookings. Just not possible to work that way, when the local bloke will fix it overnight, provided you pay him.

To overcome this I was given my own cheque book & bank account, just the account was empty. I had to fund all expenses, & wages week by week. This was at a time I could only run 9 viable cruises, against the usual 14 a week.

The main cruise required 146 adult fares to break even. I could not run it 7 days, when I was struggling to find 800 passengers a week, not if I was to pay wages. It cost less to leave the boat on the mooring, than put a crew on it, & fuel in it.

There was no prospect of increased productivity when the town & resorts were half empty.

I sent the game boat to Cairns. We hunted everywhere for work for the cargo/fuel barge, as in the down turn we really only had 3 days work for it, & both it's crew had big mortgages.

I must have been leading a good life, because January which can generate huge losses, with an early cyclone, was a fantastic month, & got us back on our feet. By the end of June, we had done so well, we covered the resorts losses.

Hasbeen as you know our gardening interests unite us .
Just about every thing else we squabble over.
Bought 10 more day Lilly's in two March's on market stalls Sat and Sunday.
This is the most interesting subject/thread I have seen from you.
You and I, my past work mates and friends still.
Have done the job, from opposite sides.
Yet at such times, the blood on our hands, for we are the slaughter men or the saviors, we are wrong for some.
Csteele knows we are fire and water, I remain PROUD of that.
Lexi I forgive, her heart is for the under dog.
I have stood out side those closed gates,with no warning closed job and wages owed too.
Seen fear pain horror on my mates face, watched the only woman employee left.
One of 35,who had 23 years there, know she had no income.
CRY.
Ideologues can cry justice! workers first!
My task your task was to craft a life boat, and save all.
one eyed views haves no place in such.
And no support.
I have seen big hairy chested men offer to work with out pay to save a firm.
Never was much good at maths but if one cake exists and many mouths.
I think we would have got on well in the workplace.
Last, SOCIALISM a word heaved at me like a brick aimed at my head.
Then some ask for it every time a small business fails and blame?
Apparently some need a mirror.