19th March 2019

• Diversity Week Breakfast

• Shine for Kids Appeal

• Golf Event

• RC Rochester Pie and Port Night

• Very Generous Donation by Caprice

• RoCan Ride for a Cure - Final Update 

• Meeting Minutes 12th March

• Gallery

Important: This event replaces our normal Tuesday breakfast and is not being held at the RACV Club. Details of venue and booking details below.

During Cultural Diversity Week (16-24 March 2019) Rotary Club Central Melbourne (RCCM) will be celebrating the diversity of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious and political beliefs, or other ideologies within Rotary International.

On 19 March 2019, RCCM invites you to join us for a special breakfast at Angliss Restaurant to celebrate the diversity that exists within the Rotary International family in Australia and around the world.

GUEST SPEAKER: Emma Gee

WHERE: Angliss Restaurant, 550 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 3000

TIME: 7.15am for 7.30am

TICKETS: $50 per person, includes breakfast, tea and coffee

BOOKINGS: www.trybooking.com/BARQE

Emma Gee is an acclaimed International Inspirational Speaker & Author, offering her thoughts and solutions on person-centred care and resilience through her keynote presentations, workshops and consultancy. With a background in Occupational Therapy and as a Stroke Survivor, Emma is a renowned expert and a living example of what it takes to step in another’s shoes and truly bounce back in life. Through her inspiring presentations, Emma is able to both captivate and challenge her audiences to consider what IS possible in their own lives.

Learning to speak again post-stroke, and realising the importance of sharing her story to help others, were the catalysts for Emma taking on speaking professionally. Today, and thousands of presentations later, Emma as an Inspirational Speaker has incredibly broad client group: from healthcare (associations, hospitals and rehabilitation facilities); businesses & corporate events; community organisations; through to educational facilities. She has also just published her first book entitled Reinventing Emma.

Emma is passionate about enhancing person-centred service delivery and resilience in the lives of all she works with and promises to leave her audiences inspired to bounce back and step up. Emma Gee’s signature phrase is “that it’s not what happens to you that matters, it’s how you choose to deal with it!” will see her audiences moving past life’s hurdles to what’s possible.

Proceeds of this event will go towards supporting various humanitarian projects of Rotary Club Central Melbourne.

Sheryl Forrester from Shine for Kids have contacted me with an urgent appeal for toys and other items to engage kids aged 1-7 when they are visiting a parent at the Melbourne Remand Centre.

The existing toys, dolls etc are so worn, ripped or broken that they need to be replaced.

Specifically, Sheryl has asked for:

• Dolls - not too many moving parts so the little ones don't swallow any pieces.
• Toy cars, trucks etc (any type of transport)
• Building blocks
• Child's tea set
• Infant books
• Small doll's prams or pushers
• Dress ups
• Small easel or chalk boards

Items shouldn't be too intricate or expensive and second hand items in good condition would be very welcome.

Battery toys and any items that have parts that could be removed and used as a weapon are not permitted.

If you are able to help, please bring the items to one of our breakfast meetings on Tuesday 19th March for me to collect.

A three Rotary Clubs Golf Event is planned for Friday afternoon 29th March 2019.

Just a quick note to let you we arrived back in Melbourne to the Royal Yacht Club in Williamstown safe and sound on Friday afternoon.  After mechanical issues over the first couple of days, things settled down nicely thanks to Paul’s loan bike and I managed to knock over 990km in total, this technically is far enough to get from the Sydney Opera House to Melbourne Town Hall via the Hume Highway with a few metres to spare so mission accomplished.

In total, I raised $2,246 and the whole ride $100,000 – this will go to a great cause in fighting cancer which I know all of you have been affected in one way or another over the years. 

I can’t thank you enough for both your financial contribution as well as the messages of support I got along the way.  There were a couple of times in the last few days when I felt like waiting for the Sag Wagon (cycling terminology for throwing the bike on the bus at the back and getting a lift) but knowing I had the support of you all as well as the other riders & support crew made all the difference.

Finally a big thanks to my wife Julie who did everything at home while I was away which included me missing her Birthday!

Chair Rob Soros opened the meeting with a toast to Rotary International.

President Neville Taylor commenced with a warm welcomed to the guest speaker Geoff White from CoreLogic Australia.  He thanked Bernie and Marjorie for circulating the notice of the passing away of April Ackerley, wife of Honorary member Cec Ackerley.  Cec was a key member of our Rotary Club in the early years.  President Neville was pleased to announce that the raffle for the morning included produce from Thankyou and Bills Jams.  The weekly raffle enables the club to provide ongoing support to the important work of social enterprises.

Guest Speaker – Geoff White, Head of Real Estate for CoreLogic Australia

Chair Rob Soros introduced the guest speaker Geoff White, who is Head of Real Estate for CoreLogic Australia. CoreLogic is a large worldwide Independent Property Data and Analytics company, which also involved in mortgage and lending. 

Geoff gave a highly detailed and interesting presentation on State of the Real Estate Market with emphasis on the last year and what the property market has done, what has been the main contributing factors to the shift in the market and how the market may perform during 2019.  Some of the key points he made were:

• Residential Real Estate is worth $6.2 trillion and significantly underpins Australia’s Wealth.  It is worth more than either superannuation or stocks.  

• In the last 12 months the market has contracted, however there are other statistics that are still important to keep in mind.  For example, over the last 20 years dwelling values have increased 274%. 

• Dwelling values in Melbourne have fallen by 4.1% over the three months to February 2019 and they are 9.1% lower than the 12 months to February 2019.

• All of Melbourne sub regions have seen a material weakling in market conditions with the greatest change in Melbourne’s Inner East and Inner west.  Premium dwelling values continue to record much larger values falls than those of more affordable housing. 

• While previous housing cycles have generally been dictated by changes in interest rates, the current slow has been heavily influenced by changes in credit availability.  Geoff  also believes there is also a naturally quieting after a buoyant period. 

• Auctions only traditionally represent 20-25% of what is sold on the market.  However the clearance rate is still a really good indicator of what is happening in the market.  Clearance rates have just begun to increase from a multiyear low. 

• Geoff sees a light at the end of the tunnel with the current downturn, with there being signals of an increase in the number of buyers.  However one big factor that will affect the market this year is the upcoming Federal election.

• Geoff responded to some questions from members, and kindly invited members to contact him with any questions.  The presentation slide pack will be made available to members through the weekly bulletin, and includes Geoff’s contact details, and a disclaimer on the information provided.

Announcements 

Rob Hines advised that the club has been working with two other clubs, in India and America, to be able to raise a global grant of $62,000.  This has now been approved, and Central Melbourne will be contributing $8400.  More information on the project, which is based in India, will be distributed shortly, including details of an upcoming Indian themed fundraiser at Peter Duras’s house, on the evening of May 4^th.

Mary Voice encouraged members to register for the social golf afternoon, being held on the last evening of daylight saving for the year  – the Friday 29th March.  Registrations for the event are made using Trybooking. Family and friend are very welcome and there will also be fun golfing activities other than the main round of golf.  Three clubs are involved in the event (Central Melbourne, Fitzroy and Hawthorn) and the surplus will be donated to End Trachoma. 

Peter Duras accounted:

• There has been a terrific response to the request for toys to support the Remand Centre.  The drive will run for one more week, and people are also welcome to bring toys to the upcoming Peninsula Family BBQ on 17^th March. 

• The recent sausage sizzle achieved a great result of $1,502, which will be requested to support Rob Hines’ aforementioned global grant project in India. 

Rob Soros advised of an upcoming members event on 25^th March, a talk on ‘the future of work – people, purpose and the impact of purpose on purpose driven businesses’.  More details to come. 

Des Benjamin provided a verbal report to the meeting on a rotary peace seminar that he had attended in November.  The seminar was on peace, and examining whether peace could be Rotary International’s next main focus, given that PolioPlus is almost at the conclusion of meeting it’s objective.  Des raised the question for members to think about:  what does peace mean to our club and how would be want our club to respond to such a focus?  Des also provided an excellent quote to reflect on:  “The way to war is a well paved highway, the way to peace is a wilderness”,

President Neville’s Announcements:

• President Neville expressed appreciation and thanked Des for his involvement in the Peace seminar, and the always excellent and valuable reports he provides to club members after attending such events. 

• President Neville advised that he had recently attended Rotary’s International Women’s Day breakfast along with eight other members from the club.

• The Batman cluster President’s meeting was held recently.  Dale Hoy has been nominated as the District 9800 District Governor in 2021-2022.  .

• Next week's meeting is the special Diversity Week breakfast, with Emma Gee as the inspirational speaker.  This meeting is NOT at the RACV Club, but at the Angliss Restaurant, 550 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.  Jump on Try booking to register:  http://www.trybooking.com/BARQE

President Neville encouraged members to reflect on the many activities of Rotary and others, and find what can be an inspiration to yourself, and to others. 

Coffee and fellowship continued after the meeting in the downstairs foyer. 

Photos from our last meeting