In a move that will unleash opportunities for new investments in Australian business, the Federal Government has said it will adopt all 11 of the recommendations made in the Hammond Review on improving access to capital for co-operative and mutual enterprises (CMEs).

A recent KPMG report shows strong growth of Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks. The availability of a mutual capital instrument will help accelerate this trend.  

Read the Hammond Review report and Government Response, and watch BCCM CEO Melina Morrison speak at the press conference. BCCM has also produced a short explainer document.

The National Mutual Economy Report 2017 (NME 2017) reveals the enormous contribution co-op and mutual enterprises (CMEs) make to the national economy and the quality of life Australians enjoy.

It shows co-ops produce $140 billion in total value-add with 76 cents of every dollar reinvested in local communities, and they employ over 146,000 staff.

This is the first year BCCM has produced a video to accompany the report. Watch it online.

BCCM was a proud sponsor of this year's Platform Co-operativism conference in New York.

BCCM Education Officer, Duncan Wallace, attended the conference. Read a report on Duncan's experience. 

An excellent review of the conference can also be found in Trebor Scholtz's keynote speech at the subsequent platform co-op event in the Canary Islands. 

Videos of the talks, presentations and panel sessions from the conference are now available online.

In an international first, driverless cars will be trialled in Perth in partnership with RAC WA.

RAC WA's CEO Terry Agnew said it was hoped driverless technology could one day eliminate the 90 per cent of road crashes that were caused by human error.

This followed news Victoria’s first driverless shuttle bus will transport students around La Trobe University in Bundoora in a trial involving RACV. NRMA is already involved in a similar trial in Sydney.

A new report by US-based organisation, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), recommends communities should take broadband services into their own hands with fibre co-operatives.

Amid concerns the levels of internet access for rural communities, the report suggests co-operatives can provide faster connectivity at lower costs.

Co-operative internet infrastructure is gaining traction given the prospect of the repeal of net neutrality protections, with US electric co-operatives increasingly involved. The model is also taking off in rural South Africa. 

C4CE Community Energy webinars, every Tuesday evening from 5 September

Building the Cooperative Business Model: Entrepreneurship, Ecosystem and Community Impact, 6 December, Melbourne

Seminar - Top 5 Things We Need to Build a New Economy, 7 December, Melbourne

Innovative fair food models for the 21st century: International inspiration, 7 December, Melbourne

Growing Organic Farming, 8-9 December, Melbourne

Tasmanian Cooperatives Together, 13 December, Hobart

For all the latest news from the co-operative and mutual sector, please visit the BCCM website and for information on how to run and set up a co-operative, visit Get Mutual.