ABOUT US
Our Journey
The Centre was founded in 1990 to provide education and training for co-operatives. Over time, we have evolved in response to emerging need and opportunities, influenced by our growing knowledgebase and by the skills and interests of our people.
The theme that connects now our work is ownership.
The Meaning of Ownership
We believe that ownership consists of four connected parts:
- rewards - the dividends of ownership;
- rights - the ability to have a say in what happens;
- responsibilities - the duties and obligations that go with ownership; and
- risks - the possibility of incurring a loss.
Many definitions focus on rights and rewards; that is, creating wealth through the accumulation of assets together with empowerment and participation. We believe it is important to give equal weight to the other parts. With rights come responsibilities and with rewards come risks.
Ownership also has an ethical dimension. For example, the mental health system is owned by those it serves, the people with mental illness; a local council is owned by the people who live within its boundaries; and a not-for-profit community service is owned by the community it serves.
Our Changing World
The world has changed dramatically over the past fifty years.
The average Australian no longer depends solely on income from wages. The increasingly flexible workforce and the prevalence of part-time work has changed the ability of many in society to accumulate assets.
Australians are getting older, the retirement age is increasing and because of medical advances, so is the average lifespan. Government resources will be under increasing pressure to provide sufficient universal benefits.
Many people are now not only concerned about a secure retirement but a viable livelihood.
Local decisions about production, trade, competition, innovation, technology and capital are evaporating.
The closure of local businesses has reduced the capacity to provide essential goods and services, as well as employment across the community. The impact is greater as the distance from major centres increases.
The Response to Change
The Mercury Centre’s history and ethos has given us a strong international perspective. As we search for solutions and approaches using today’s technology, we are reminded that Australia is part of a wide and diverse world. We have seen how communities in other countries have responded to these similar problems.
We believe that assisting people and communities to build their own locally owned and run businesses will strengthen those communities. Leadership must come from within the community rather than be imposed from outside.
We understand that there are risks involved when communities take action to build an enterprise. We are aware that there is little history in Australia of taking these kinds of risks. But there are ways to manage risks through structures and processes to achieve the optimal balance of risk and reward; controlled risk for maximum rewards.
Not everyone has the will, desire or skills to own and run their own business even if the capital is available. Communities working with the common goal of enriching their lives through the provision of goods and services to themselves or to others can achieve much. Sweat equity is an age old means of creating capital.
The Benefits of Ownership
Local economic development that creates ownership of assets by individuals, groups of individuals and by the community as a whole, provides a range of benefits. There is clear evidence that ownership of assets is linked to positive outcomes.
Local ownership creates the flexibility to use local solutions and responses to community needs. For example, communities can use people rather than machines in their enterprises. In doing so, they can accept lower rates of return for capital invested because the community is investing in itself.
Striving for self-sufficiency and using local resources to create and maintain community assets leads to financial freedom building community capacity and social capital; as the community builds a stake in their future. Additional flow through benefits such as improved physical and mental health and a buffer in times of economic stress follow.