Melbourne’s high street ghost town, live exporters on notice, and more trending news

The news Australian professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation in the comments below.

There are 44 empty stores on Melbourne’s once-premier shopping district Chapel St amid tough retail conditions. Beller Commercial figures showed nearby Prahran high street vacancies almost tripled in two years from 9 empty shops in 2016 to 24 today. One retailer told The AFR in-store sales were down 60% on a year ago as shops shut and people stopped coming. Nationally retail conditions are tight as low wage growth hampers spending and brands Metalicus and Esprit have recently closed stores.

Live exporters flouting animal protection rules could face 10 years in jail under new guidelines being considered. A Federal Government review released today recommended limiting numbers of sheep being sent in the hottest months of the year and investigating live exporters with a sheep mortality rate of 1%. The review was ordered after shocking whistleblower footage showed 2,500 sheep dying amid heat stress enroute to the Middle East this year.

AMP's former chairman Catherine Brenner will quit The Coca-Cola Company board next year. Brenner was one of four AMP board members to stand down amid scandals revealed in the Banking Royal Commission. She has already stood down from Art Gallery of NSW board but remains a board member at Boral. Brenner will leave Coca-Cola at a time of immense change, with a spokeswoman confirming the Australian arm is changing soft drink recipes to reduce sugar.

An oversupply of Brisbane apartments are being snapped up by the State Government to turn into public housing. The Australian (paywall) reports Queensland’s Department of Housing and Public Works spent $12.36 million on 30 new units for public housing -tenants. The Brisbane apartment glut became apparent last year, with government figures showing 8800 new units were under construction and 69% pre-sold. The oversupply has led one seller to this week ask 40% below a unit’s 2010 purchase price.

Millennials care more about workplace culture than wages. The annual Deloitte Millennial Survey of 10,000 people born between 1983 and 1994 found 67% of Australians rated a positive work environment as the most important consideration when choosing a new employer compared to 52% globally. The survey also showed 45% of global millennials believed business had a positive impact on society, down from 72% in 2017 while 63% believed political leaders were having a negative impact on society.

Idea of the Day: It took Mike Massimino 10 years to become an astronaut. How did he stay committed to his dream? He worked on his skills and enjoyed as much as he could along the way, explains author James Altucher.

“Enjoy the journey because you don’t know what the outcome is going to be.”

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