Learning Lunch

On Thursday 6th May 2021 Ausfine Foods was pleased to host our inaugural, bi-annual “Learning Lunch” at the one of Melbourne’s great restaurants, Chin Chin.

 We had 80 people attend, and a huge thankyou to all our suppliers, customers, service provider partners who came along.  Obviously COVID travel restrictions meant it was mainly our Australian based friends who were able to come, we hope we can see some international guests at the next event.  Everyone was able to leave with a “learning nugget” (or two), enjoy some amazing food, and break bread with new and old friends.

 We had some wonderful and insightful questions from our guests which added to everyone’s learning, a huge thankyou to Professor Hugh White for sharing his insights on the Australia and China relationship with us.

 We are already planning our next Learning Lunch for later this year, and will have an exciting topic and guest speaker and an awesome venue! We are looking forward to seeing everyone again, and some new faces once travel restrictions are lifted.

 For more detail on what the Ausfine Learning Lunch is all about, and what we were able to learn about the China and Australia relationship, please see below.

 Thankyou to everyone who came along, great to see so many friends in person after such a long time!

Chris Scarlett

WHAT IS A LEARNING LUNCH?

 The recipe is pretty simple:

  • Awesome food

  • Keynote speaker we can learn from on the most relevant topic at the time

  • Some free time to enjoy one another’s company in person

  • Fast and efficient (an Ausfine core value!) – 2hrs max.

WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT?

 CHINA & AUSTRALIA’S RELATIONSHIP

  • Where are we now and how did we get here?

  • Where are we headed?

  • Opportunities & Threats to our world of Dairy and Meat

WHO SPOKE?

PROFESSOR HUGH WHITE

https://researchprofiles.anu.edu.au/en/persons/hugh-white

THE KEY TAKEAWAYS WERE:

  •  As China and US compete for global influence, Asia Pacific region is a key geography for both, the competition between China and USA will continue for some time without either government backing down.

  • Australia needs to understand this power transition and competing interests, which is not unlike similar power transitions historically, and have a clear set of desired objectives and strategies.

  • Once the strategy and objectives are defined, Australia can be selective and on each issue, on case by case decision, to drive outcomes per our objectives and strategy.

  • Individual organizations and companies need to be aware of the potential time frame, identify the risks, and plan accordingly.

  • If you are interested in learning more, Professor White’s most recent book, How To Defend Australia unpacks this transition and is a worthwhile read for anyone considering how to navigate through.