Proceeds from Value.able will be donated to QLD flood victims

39 Comments

1. 

   Kim Jordan
   January 22, 2011 at 9:15 am:

   The Prems Appeal is over $184Million, now if the State Gov matched that, and the Fed Gov matched also, that is $20,000 for the 30,000 homes affected – let’s get the money out to them.

   And there must be plenty of ‘left field’ ways the govt. could entice trades from other states to come to Qld for some months to get over the inital huge amt of work.

   And I just read that an official report a few years ago costed raising the height/capacity of Wivenhoe 20% increase at $63Million – why wouldn’t you start those works, like yesterday!!!

2. 

   Ann
   January 19, 2011 at 11:51 am:

   Excellent iniative Roger

3. 

   Ann
   January 19, 2011 at 11:48 am:

   Great initiative Roger

4. 

   Robert L
   January 18, 2011 at 9:04 pm:

   I donated at Woolworth because until Thursday 20th January,2011
   they will match your donation dollar for dollar and all the money will go to The Salvation Army Flood Relief Appeal

5. 

   Steven
   January 18, 2011 at 5:40 pm:

   Roger,
   Do you have any plans on having this printed/supplied in the U.S? Or is there a supplier in the U.S. I could buy this from, I do not see the book on Amazon :(
   The 20 bux for shipping is a little much for a young college value investor like myself (Heck, that’s almost half the price of the book!). Thanks,

   Steven

   • 

     John M
     January 21, 2011 at 10:48 pm:

     Roger is away until roughly the end of the month. At this stage the book is for sale exclusively through his website. I have personally found that the returns from the book have outweighed the cost of the book significantly in the past several months. It is well worth the price in my opinion.

   • 

     Greg Mc
     January 25, 2011 at 7:40 pm:

     I concur. The value of the book is substantially above the price, including postage to the moon.

6. 

   taxpayer
   January 18, 2011 at 1:29 pm:

   How much commission is Red Cross taking out of the Premiers Flood Appeal. They have not advised this. They are bringing over Red Cross people from New Zealand. Will they be accommodated in evacuation centres or put up Hotels. Who is paying for their meals etc.
   It will be interesting to see if all the money in the fund is given to the people including all those that have insurance as they are just as much entitled to it as those who are not insured. Surely the people should all be in motels or hotels and not evacuation centres as there appears to be plenty of money but who gets it is another thing.

7. 

   Justin
   January 18, 2011 at 10:13 am:

   I had just over a metre of water through my house in Fairfield (Brisbane), but managed to salvage some stuff and am in a much better situation than those in the Lockyer Valley.

   I thought it was worth mentioning that Woolworths is matching all donations made through them, so that is a way to get extra money donated. I’m not sure if that is better than donating directly to the Lockyer Valley or not.

8. 

   Ash Little
   January 17, 2011 at 10:13 pm:

   Hi Guys,

   Things are a bit tough where we are but nothing like the Lockyer Valley.

   I have had lots of friend doing research for me on the best way to donate money to their devastated community.

   The consensus opionion at the moment is to go to the below web site which gives you the option if donating to the lockyer valley relief fund or directly into grantam…………Your choice.

   http://www.lockyervalley.qld.gov.au/news-events/news/1270-lockyer-valley-road-closures-271210

   The web page is full of all the problems that they have but please go down to the area that say “People wanting to donate money”

   I have been told to pass on a message from the area to anyone who donates…………Big big thanks……Big Hugs and Kisses…….Your money will be much appreciated and help our devastated community greatly.

   This is where my money is going

   • 

     John M
     January 21, 2011 at 11:25 pm:

     Today I finally got a chance to get to my local NAB branch and donate to the Lockyer Valley flood relief fund. Lucky you researched this, because without the details from the link they would have sent the money to the Premier’s general appeal, as they had no idea about the Lockyer fund. The last donation I made at Coles went to the Premier’s fund and it appears that most of the people that are collecting only know about that fund.

     Today my local radio station did a fundraiser for a family from Qld who lost all their worldly possessions – they had septic overflow all through their house so nothing was salvagable. The very unlucky family which includes six children have moved to my area in NSW to stay with their friends in a caravan (the only way the whole family could stay together). They did an interview with the mum and it really brought a tear to the eye listening to her story. Her husband was at work, so she had to bundle up all the kids and grabbed a couple of photo albums and did the bolt. One of her neighbours stayed a little bit longer and had to swim out. She hasn’t been able to bring herself to look at the any of the footage of the flooding because she is so shaken up.

     Hoping these donations help, but as with all disasters on this scale it is going to take many months and years to rebuild so I encourage everybody to donate as many times and as much as you can afford.

     Take care all you QLDers. We all have to stick together, us Aussies. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

9. 

   Andrew
   January 17, 2011 at 10:39 am:

   being someone born in 84 i have not really seen or remembered that many disasters on this scale. My thoughts go out to all the people in QLD and now Victoria, NSW and i think SA who are affected.

   Seeing the response though has made me proud to be an aussie. Seeing the amount of people helping eachother regardless of any other factor and doing it for no reward other than to help is something that they should all be proud of. I have seen some comments from people overseas who are impressed by the character shown by all the people involved and wish that people in their own countries had some of that in them.

   Hopefully the floods start receding and the weather allows the clean up to go forward at a good speed.

10. 

    Kent Bermingham
    January 17, 2011 at 12:23 am:

    Could someone please let me know where I can get a list of Australian Companies and when there Annual returns are lodged.
    If anyone has this info could they please send me a copy.
    My heart goes out to all the Australians who have been affected by the floods and it really has been an emotional time – best wishes to all those affected.

    • 

      Andrew
      January 17, 2011 at 10:35 am:

      Hi kent,

      I go directly to the investor relations link on the company websites they usually have all the reports for at least 10 years. I’d imagine their could be a list of listed companies on the ASX page.

      • 

        Kent Bermingham
        January 17, 2011 at 9:43 pm:

        Andrew thankyou, I have looked at this site and it does list all the companies but not the end of their financial year dates. I will keep digging as it has to be somewhere.
        Thanks

    • 

      Ash Little
      January 18, 2011 at 6:18 pm:

      Hi Kent,

      I may be wrong but by annual return I think you mean when they report.

      These are generally available from Brokers so if you are a like me and use a Discount broker you have to get it from a friend…….

      I can get the half yearly reporting season to you if you are having problems.

      • 

        Kent Bermingham
        January 18, 2011 at 10:00 pm:

        Ash,
        Great comments on the Qld catastophe

        Ash consider yourself my friend now

        I can get the half yearly reporting season to you if you are having problems.- yes please

        Thanks

        Kent

      • 

        Ash Little
        January 19, 2011 at 8:04 pm:

        No Problems Kent,

        I will get one and email it to Roger and ask him to pass it on

      • 

        Pat Fitzgerald
        January 22, 2011 at 7:34 pm:

        Hi

        Some discount brokers have the info. For Etrade it can be found under: ‘Quotes & Research’ / ‘Markets’ / ‘Market Calendar’. You can search by ‘Report (Interim)’ etc,
        Month, ASX code, Calendar or List etc.

11. 

    Mick
    January 16, 2011 at 9:26 pm:

    Very good of you, Roger – every bit helps. And, while the focus is on Queensland (particularly, given the devasting loss of life in SEQ), we can’t forget our mates in Victoria, Tassie, and Nth Coast NSW also suffering the effects of flooding as I write. We Queenslanders definitely don’t have the monopoly on that fighting spirit we hear so much of; but rather, it is an Australian national trait.
    And hats off to the men and women of our ADF, pitching in and making a real difference in the recovery.

    I agree with Keiron’s earlier post, I’d nominate the Salvos and Red Cross folks for their work.

    Cheers,
    Mick, of Rockhampton, Qld

12. 

    Brian Aitken
    January 16, 2011 at 5:31 pm:

    What devasatation! I haven’t seen anything like this in Australia before. Our prayers are with those affected by these floods and there are so many. It’s great to see Ausies backing those in need. My employer has a donation drive as does our church, so it’s great to see the community spirit. I needed to buy a gift for a friend, so I’ve ordered another book & now with your genorosity that will make it a double gift!
    Brian from Perth

13. 

    Rob
    January 16, 2011 at 11:42 am:

    Hi all, I live on Brisbane’s bayside and was not adversely affected by the flood. The way the community is coming together is inspiring. We were cleaning up in an industrial site yesterday and ladies pulled up and offered us food and drinks. The next site we went to we weren’t needed because they had more than enough volunteers.
    I’m also a member of Rotary and five clubs in our area are banding together to hold a garage sale to raise funds for the flood appeal. As has been said already on this thread cash is king. They don’t want anybody else’s furniture and as I heard on the radio a couple of days ago “please don’t send any more clothes”.
    If you want your donations to go directly to a specific area you could do that directly through Rotary or other community service groups in the area to which you wish to direct those funds. The local community groups have a very good idea of where the money is needed.
    Cheers Rob

14. 

    Keiron
    January 16, 2011 at 7:56 am:

    Hi,

    I live in Brisbane and I just ordered my copy of Value.able on the 10th (still waiting but given the massive disruptions patience is needed).
    I think Red Cross and Salvation Army do a look of good work in these and other situations.
    I’m only marginally affected but there are a lot of homes and businesses that are really suffering, so thank you Roger (and team) for your support at this time.

15. 

    Jim
    January 15, 2011 at 8:52 pm:

    Hi to all, especially our flood-affected friends

    I have already donated to the Premier’s appeal-inspired after her “We are Queenslanders” speech. I count as one of those “cockroaches” but our thoughts go out to all of you. Remember, when the going gets tough……….

    Best Wishes
    Jim Hasn

16. 

    Tony Reardon
    January 15, 2011 at 2:48 pm:

    The Victorian government, following the 2009 bushfires, set up a separate trust fund to administer all donations. The Victorians set this up in conjunction with the Red Cross. You can see the things the Victorians have been doing in their report http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/359967/Victorian-Bushfire-Fund-Six-Month-Report.pdf

    Because of the scale of this event, I would expect that the Queensland government would act in a similar way and, indeed, the Queensland’s Premiers Flood Appeal also has the Red Cross involved. .

    If this is the case, then 100% of donations to the Premier’s Appeal should make it to the intended recipients rather than being spent on any government ‘waste’

17. 

    Stephen Walker
    January 15, 2011 at 10:04 am:

    Roger,

    I would like to purchase a copy for my sister living in NZ. Is it possible to ship Value.able direct to NZ? I do not mind paying the shipping costs. It seems easier than sending Value.able to Perth, then me sending it on to NZ.

    Kind regards,

    Steve Walker

    • 

      Roger Montgomery
      January 17, 2011 at 8:04 am:

      Steve,

      Yes, you are more than welcome to purchase a copy for your sister and have it shipped to NZ. There is an additional postage charge for overseas deliveries. For NZ, I believe it is approx $10. If you would prefer, please email your daytime phone number to roger@rogermontgomery.com and one of my team in Sydney will give you a call to organise.

      Roger

18. 

    Sav
    January 15, 2011 at 9:49 am:

    My thoughts and prayers go out to all the banana benders out there.

    I almost cried listening to Anna Blighs “We are Queenslanders Speech.”

    I have donated to the Premiers appeal ( http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html )

    I believe cash is king. Donate money and they can spend it on whatever they need. The only other more valuable thing is human capital. But being downin Tassie it would be hard for me to get out there and start clearing roads.

    Chin up Queenslanders. You’ll pull through this.

19. 

    Michael Sheehy
    January 14, 2011 at 8:50 pm:

    Hey Queenslanders,

    I am a nsw-elshman and know you guys will all bounce back bigger and better than ever.
    Every year you crush us in State of Origin and when you look like there is no way to win, you still do.
    So I am sure you will muster some of that qld spirit, recover
    and in dedication to all those affected by the floods crush us again this year. As if you needed any more motivation.
    Never thought I would ever,ever,ever write the following but as Billy Moore once said QUEENSLANDERRRRRRRRR!!!!!

    • 

      Rob Walker
      January 17, 2011 at 10:37 pm:

      Thanks Michael

      Regards

20. 

    Ken G
    January 14, 2011 at 3:41 pm:

    Hi Roger
    Like to make a couple of comments as i live in Toowoomba and fortunately was not affected greatly and also have land west of Dalby which is cut off. have cattle only and not prone to flooding.Have a lot of friends in Goondiwindi who are holding their breath though.
    At the moment the McIntyre is 10.64mts but also the Weir River which is north of Goondiwindi is at near 10mts which is a major flood and these two peaks are not far apart, they join between Talwood & Mungindi.The McIntyre changes its name to the Barwon near this point.
    We all feel for the Lockyer Valley residents as we know what missing means after 4 days hope someone has stuffed up the bookwork.Showed body bags being transported into Toowoomba last night. Some may never be found which is a nightmare for family and friends.
    Everyone is doing a great job in the clean up.
    As Ashly and Tony would know the infrastructure is at breaking point the roads are falling apart and rail lines are bent and twisted and hanging in mid air in places.
    But like all communities we rally to help and move on as we have all done in the past and will in the future.
    On the financial side this will push up the prices of meat and groceries insurance and all manner of things which will indicate we have an inflation problem (remember when a cyclone wiped out the banana crop a few years ago the Reserve Bank said it contributed to inflation and raised interest rates which killed small business just before the GFC they completly misread the situation) so the last thing we need are higher interest rates, due to a surge of price increases which is equivilent to a interest rate increase they should immediately decrease interest rates to counteract it.
    People do not have any more money this week whan they had 2 weeks ago.
    The goverments will offer help and low interest loans which are a great help but businesses in a lot of cases can not handle any more debt.
    About time banks stopped penalising bussiness and offered loans at the Home Loan Rate to start with and took at broarder view of the positive effects this would have.
    At the moment we have a two speed economy 1is mining and associated bussiness and 2 is the rest, who are coping the rise in interest rates to slow number1 and are having less cash to live on.
    We are told the mining sector may have save us from the GFC but at what price are others paying for it now?
    This view may be over simplistic.

    As for the donations money is great as produce can be purchased as required and locally if possible,the freight costs can be quite high for some items.

    Keep up the good work Roger and others i enjoy all your coments.

    Just remember what Warren Bufffett said when asked a very detailed and complex question by a fund manager he said if the fund manager lost about 20 IQ points everything would be so much simpler

    Sorry i seemed to have got on my soapbox

    Hope all are well

21. 

    Tony ( Connellan )
    January 14, 2011 at 7:03 am:

    Hello Roger;
    I would like to reiterate Ash’s comments.
    Our farm must be upstream about 40 km from the town I guess Ash lives in .We have Myall creek crossing our front gate. Normally (for the last 25 years) it is a dry creek bed with a minor flow about once a year. Myall creek is the creek that has caused the flooding in the town of Dalby.This last flow Ash is refering to was over a 100 meters wide at our front gate and travelling at a horrific speed.Our valley was only one of many pouring water into the creek system, all of it rushing towards Dalby. Lucky for our small local community no major damage that can’t be replaced was inflicted. The Lockyer valley and to a lesser extent the city of Toowoomba had unbelievable destruction and deaths.
    Please direct any help to those communities along the devestated Lockyer Creek

    • 

      Ashley Little
      January 15, 2011 at 2:01 pm:

      Hey Tony,

      I hope nothing has happened to that superb Winery of yours just up the road.

      The thoughts of never being able to sip a cold glass of Rimfire Chardonay would be nearly as devasting as these floods

22. 

    Ash Little
    January 13, 2011 at 7:06 pm:

    Hello Roger,

    As someone in the middle of all this mess you’re very kind and generous actions bring a tear to my eye.

    This is the current situation where I live.

    1) 4 Floods in 3 Weeks
    2) Water is restricted to drinking and essentials only (Ironic in a flood)
    3) Water restrictions mean flooded houses can’t be cleaned up.
    4) Petrol purchases were banned yesterday unless you had a permit…..It is now limited to a $20 purchase
    5) There is still a wall of water headed our way from the rains in Toowoomba and Warwick so the water treatment plant will be taken out again and we may be on drinking water only because there is no way they can truck water in this time
    6) The Town has no bread and very limited supplies for meat and fruit and veg.
    7) The roads are so bad that nothing can be resupplied. In fact the roads and rail look like something out of a Second World War movie….Entire sections have been washed away or have huge craters.
    8) Our sewage treatment plant is leaking into the river and while not a problem for us it has put e coli in the water systems of downstream towns of Warra & Chinchilla who have all of the above problems as well.
    9) Entire sections of the whole district are still without power

    So with all this I would love the donations to go to our area but I know one fact and that is it is much much worse in the Lockyer Valley.

    I have a few friends down that way and they are going to let me know the best charity whereby the money will have the best effect…

    As soon as they do I will post it on this Blog……But in the meantime if you want to make a donation buy as many copies of Rogers’s book can you can afford….If you already have one buy another one as a spare. With the constant references you all make to it it is sure to fall apart soon. The book also makes the perfect gift so why not by a few for the coming Birthdays. This will help the people of the Lockyer Valley and the person you give the book to.

    Thanks again for your kind actions Roger

    • 

      John M
      January 14, 2011 at 8:46 am:

      I am really sorry for you and all the Qlders on this blog. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family and all the other people in your community. On the TV this morning it said that the flood is now affecting 75% of QLD – totally devastating.

      As soon as you post the donation details I will certainly be donating, we all need to help each other in times of crisis. Once again my sympathies go out to you all.

      Take care

    • 

      Pat Fitzgerald
      January 14, 2011 at 1:41 pm:

      Hi

      I have donated to the Red Cross but I agree with the suggestion to give to the charity that will help the people of the Lockyer Valley the most.

    • 

      Ken D
      January 19, 2011 at 1:05 am:

      Hi Ashley – glad we made contact. Thanks for keeping me informed on the situation at Dalby and your thoughts for us in Brissy. Our group will be posting a new Monthly Climate Statement in a couple of days – a bit delayed due to closures and other disruptions at work. Still a bit left in this La Nina pattern and the other longer term ocean wobbles at play. Working hard to keep the government as informed as possible on the climate situation. Thanks also for your advice on the Lockyer Valley and Grantham funds – I will look those up. My thoughts also with the primary producers in Qld and elsewhere – what a run of extremes we’ve had over the last decade and, just as a season brings such promise, now this on top. Thanks Roger and team for this latest blog and all fellow bloggers for your contributions. For those here directly impacted – our collective thoughts are with you. For those browsing who haven’t yet purchased Value.Able I strongly encourage you to do so at this time. It is the best investment book not on the shelves!

      Ken D

23. 

    Vanessa
    January 13, 2011 at 3:43 pm:

    I too send my personal thoughts and prayers to the flood victims, and the wonderful rescue workers and volunteers who are helping those in need.

    Have you thought about purchasing food items and shipping them directly to one of the disaster relief centres?

    The TV reports are requesting food donations – tinned food that doesn’t require a can opener, non perishables, etc.

24. 

    John M
    January 13, 2011 at 2:03 pm:

    I send my personal thoughts and prayers to the flood victims, and their families and friends also.

    The Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal is the charity I have donated to while doing the grocery shopping at Coles.

    The Australian Red Cross is always another good choice.

    It is good to see everyone is so generously donating their time and money to help out.