BIG decisions.

The election of the Bligh government was one, but it is the business leaders of Brisbane who must also take steps to ensure their survival and help boost the resilience of the economy.

At the recent State of the Capital Conference there were a lot of ideas about how to turn Brisbane into a ‘global city’, but to put those ideas into practice takes a lot of hard work at the ground level. Sometimes decisions can appear risky when they are in fact conservative and vice versa. 

Nine years ago people thought Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey was ‘nuts’ when he sought to launch a low cost carrier to our shores. Now with V Australia taking off from Brisbane to Los Angeles, he tells Brisbane Business News about his belief in the idea to break down a duopoly that has held market share over Australians for too long.

This month’s cover story goes behind the scenes with Godfrey as he speaks candidly about taking on the big guns, his association with Virgin founder and Virgin Blue major shareholder Richard Branson and having the self belief to not give up on a dream.

Back when Godfrey was being told his ideas wouldn’t fly, young entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff was a teenager making a small wage from his animation and web design business. This year his e-billing company will be pulling in ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ alongside world-wide acquisition and expansion plans.

Now also with a slick nightclub in Fortitude Valley, Tzvetkoff is well on his way to creating a small fortune ­— defying the downturn and creating his own luck.

Commercial property this month features Property Council of Australia (PCA) Queensland executive director Steve Greenwood. Greenwood is calling for urgent action in property reform, with the message that the new State Government needs to act now if it wants to deliver for the state’s growing population.

Leigh Warner from Jones Lang LaSalle tells us why this downturn will be different to what was experienced in the early 90s and how it will affect the property market.

For a broader look at what the downturn will mean for the economy this year and onwards, BIS Shrapnel’s Frank Gelber says Australia’s slide is largely a result of precautionary spending, but the worst is yet to come and the most important thing now is to spend on infrastructure projects.

For our export section we have stories on a weapons developer and a pet food company – both who are finding big markets abroad.

And also in this edition of Brisbane Business News, we recognise three highly prestigious international achievements that were awarded to Brisbane business representatives.

To make the big decisions you need to find where the opportunities lie and finally we take you to Hong Kong, the gateway to China – the focus of travel in this issue.