Purchase Back Issue for $6 plus postage and packaging

Click on the links below to read the the following articles:

Her Inspiration

A trip down Candy Lane
Candy Lane
Dancer, choreographer and mega-motivated owner of the Candy Lane Dance Company.

Her Insight

The Italian Job
Debbie Learmonth
After working as an international model, Debbie returns home to produce and important authentic Italian foods.

Her Inform

Porn in the Workplace
Protect your business from employee abuse with an effective Internet and Email Policy cover.

Her Inspiration

A trip down Candy Lane
Candy Lane

She can Merengue and do the Cha Cha but forget the Copacabana. Candy Lane is a dancer, choreographer and mega-motivated owner of her own business, the Candy Lane Dance Company.

The urge to dance and entertain is an integral part of Candy Lane's life and has been from the get go. “I knew what I wanted to be at an early age. I had dance lessons almost every day after school in many styles including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Ballroom and Latin American to name a few. Weekends were spent at competitions and sport, the two things I enjoyed most.”

This early insight into her future sashayed Candy Lane towards a glittering career full of the things all budding superstars dream of. Winning numerous dance awards, making television appearances and dancing for Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, it would seem that life for Candy is pretty sweet.

However, the busy Candy Lane is no one-trick pony. Not only can she commandeer a dance-floor but she now captains and performs in her own dance company, Candy Lane Dance Company. Candy believes she learnt all she needed to know about business from her parents, who owned two fashion shoe stores in Auckland, when she worked holidays for them as a child.

At the tender age of 15, Candy had literally ‘tapped’ out the NZ dance scene, performing in and winning all of the competitions available to her. It was time to move onwards and upwards, the bright lights of London were calling. Candy’s dance teacher encouraged her parents to send her to London where she could further her training and compete on the world circuit.

After competing as an amateur in London, Candy turned professional and set her sights on Australia where she went on to be the youngest, at 18, to win the Professional Australasian and South Pacific Championship. She continued to win the same title again, and again, and again - in fact, 5 times in total.

Although competing on such a large scale was undoubtedly hard work both physically and mentally, Candy never let the psychology of the dance world get to her. “I have spent most of my life as a competitor and of course there is pressure, but I guess I was so used to it that luckily it didn’t really affect me,” Candy comments.

Following her Australian successes, Candy returned to London to a ranking of third in the world for dance and was shortly after handpicked to play the lead role of Anita in the original Leonard Bernstein production of West Side Story, singing and dancing at her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. She also took part in a special performance for the Royal Family.

Going from Auckland schoolgirl to performing in front of the Royal Family is an enviable position for any aspiring dancer, but Candy has always set her sights high in order to get to where she is today. “I have always been motivated by my passion for what I do. Being proactive is the key,” advises Candy. “Don’t sit around waiting for things to come to you. Go out and get them.”

Upon her return to New Zealand, Candy found that many opportunities that had existed for her while overseas were now being withdrawn. “When I was representing NZ overseas we would be invited back to judge and demonstrate at the NZ championships and tour NZ teaching, but when I returned for good all the doors closed in my face,” she recalls. “Studios who were hungry for me to teach before all of a sudden felt threatened and didn’t want me to teach for them.”

Candy aimed to keep her momentum by opening her own dance company in 1990, aptly named The Candy Lane Dancers. Virginia Davies was the only one who wasn’t afraid to enlist Candy’s teaching skills, asking her to drive to Hamilton every weekend and teach her competition dancers. When her dancers won most of the titles at the Nationals that year the Auckland dancers took note.

Candy opened her own school on Dominion Road, Mt Eden and never looked back; that year also winning teacher of the year. Initially the dance company was created to fulfill Candy’s need to perform. However, she soon found she loved the business side of her venture. “It’s important to me that Candy Lane - the brand - stands for quality. My father always said, ‘You’re only as good as your last show’ and I have never forgotten that,” adds Candy.

Candy Lane, the brand, stands for quality, but Candy points out that it is also her real name. “I was actually named after an American friend of my mothers. I always joke that with a name like mine I was either going to be a prostitute or a dancer. Either way I’d have a bad back,” laughs Candy.

Having a good sense of humor in this industry is most likely an imperative to staying sane, but Candy also has those dancing feet planted firmly on the ground - even if she spends a lot of time in the stars. Last year Candy choreographed the celebrity singers on So You Wannabe A Popstar and co-hosted two series of Dancing with the Stars.

“Rewards that have come with Dancing with the Stars? I guess getting recognition for what I have been quietly doing for so long; also seeing how proud my Mum is and knowing my Dad would be too. I am very fortunate to have great support at home from my partner Chris.” Always the consummate performer, Candy’s parting comment for her future says it all. “I have learnt you never know what’s around the corner, or as we say in show biz, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”

By Kelly Alexander

Her Insight

The Italian Job
Debbie Learmonth

Top kiwi model, Debbie Learmonth has returned to New Zealand for good – bringing more than a little bit of Italy home with her.

After working as a top international model, Debbie Learmonth is no stranger to finding her feet in a new country. Based in Milan, Debbie often jetted off to work in exciting cities such as London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Munich. At the height of her career, she appeared on magazine covers, worked on major advertising campaigns and, for five years, was a favourite model of iconic Italian designer Giorgio Armani. “The first time I modelled at one of his shows was a huge highlight of my life.”

It’s a long way from the catwalks of Europe to the tiny village of Pines Beach, just north of Christchurch. But after almost two decades away from New Zealand, that’s where Debbie, her Italian husband Paolo Morielli and their six year old daughter, Savannah, have settled, establishing the New Zealand arm of Antico Casato Morielli, their company producing and importing authentic Italian foods.

For the three years prior to their return to New Zealand, the family shifted from Milan (where Paolo also worked in the fashion industry as a hair stylist) to live on Paolo’s family land in Molise, south central Italy, where the olives and tomatoes are grown for Antico Casato Morielli products. The decision to move to New Zealand was prompted by a desire to give Savannah a traditional kiwi upbringing. “We wanted Savannah to be schooled here, and to live in a house with a garden – as we spent so much time living in apartments in Italy.”

After years spent overseas, Debbie now finds herself becoming reacquainted with her home country. “It’s been more challenging than I thought, as I have had to learn how to live here and be a kiwi all over again, before I could even start thinking about setting up an importing and distribution business.”

With Paolo’s English still reasonably limited, Debbie says the most difficult transformation has been becoming the front person of the business. Despite a modelling career which placed her firmly in the limelight, Debbie is a self-confessed “shy girl”, who prefers to be in the background. “In Italy, I was the logistical, behind the scenes person. Paolo is a great front man, as he has brilliant communication and social skills. Here in New Zealand though, the roles have been reversed.”

Debbie admits it has been challenging, but she is enjoying the resulting confidence she has gained. “Paolo has really helped me to lead the business, encouraging me and complimenting me when he thinks I’ve done a good job – even if he doesn’t understand one hundred percent what I’ve said,” she laughs.

Debbie has also had to master food importer’s requirements. “I don’t enjoy the learning process and I wish I could know everything just like that, so it has been a steep curve. The internet is such a great resource and, as a first time importer, I have learned a lot from people on help desks of organisations such as Customs and the Food Safety Authority. I didn’t do any courses, but have gleaned a lot of information from people who were willing to help me out in their field of expertise.”

She says language has proved one of the biggest barriers. “Documents and compliance forms from Italy have to be translated into English, which is a bit of a nuisance.” Debbie speaks fluent Italian herself. “It took me five years to learn. I studied a lot and listened to the Italians very carefully - that is the key. One day it all just clicked.”

Antico Casato Morielli’s first product - a pasta kit containing a bottle of Italian Extra Virgin olive oil, traditional tomato puree, a packet of 100% Durum wheat pasta and a recipe booklet providing six delicious ways to use the ingredients - is now available in New Zealand. “The kit contains all the staple foods of the Mediterranean kitchen – providing an authentic Italian meal for four adults.”

There are plans to introduce other fresh seasonal vegetables, such as artichokes, eggplant, asparagus, sun-dried tomato, stuffed red hot chili peppers and zucchini - all preserved in the company’s extra virgin olive oil - as well as olive pate and tomato pate to tempt kiwi palates. “As we sell direct from the field to the table, we are able to offer top quality products that are affordable,” says Debbie.

While building a retail chain for the products through top-end delicatessens and gourmet food stores is taking most of her time, Debbie, who once graced the Armani catwalk with supermodels such as Claudia Scheiffer and Naomi Campbell, still models from time to time through Christchurch agency, Renaissance.

Once the business becomes established and Paolo’s English improves, Debbie says she will be happy to return to more of a behind-the-scenes role in the company. “I’ve already booked Paolo in for English lessons,” she laughs.

By Jo Bailey

Her Inform

Porn in the Workplace

Protect your business from employee abuse with an effective Internet and Email Policy cover.

Increasingly, businesses are becoming more and more dependent on access to the internet and email in their day-to-day transactions. There’s much to be said for the simplicity and speed that access to the internet can bring to your business communications – as well as those amusing emails that we all enjoy.

However, it is important to realise that abuses of this technology can occur more frequently than you think. Recent Employment Law cases would suggest that increasing numbers of employees are utilising internet access to visit ‘inappropriate’ sites.

In fact, you may even recall a recent article in the Dominion Post entitled: ‘Kiwis tap into Rugby, Sheep and Porn’. This article pointed out that according to the Internet Search Engine Google, New Zealanders are second only to South Africans in the number of Internet searches carried out under the search term, ‘porn’ (which, by the way, yields a possible 24.1 million hits (per day? Or is author referring to sites?)!)

What is even more disturbing is that employers often do not realise that they can be liable for an employee’s abuse of technology. Under legislation such as the Film, Videos and Publications Classification Act 1993, the Human Rights Act 1993, the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and the Employment Relations Act 2005, employers face potential liability for employees' actions in accessing pornography or other inappropriate material in the workplace. This makes an Internet/Email Policy a critical risk management document for all employers to consider.

An employer is entitled to issue policies relating to the use of its equipment – and this includes computers. So, what should an effective Internet/Email Policy cover?

1. The Policy should state whether employees are entitled to use the Internet for personal use.
Whilst a blanket prohibition on personal use may appear to be the solution, employers should seriously consider the consequences before implementing such a policy. If personal use is to be prohibited, the employer must be vigilant in monitoring and consistent in enforcement of the Policy, as any disparity in treatment of offending employees could give rise to subsequent enforcement issues.

By far, the majority of employers opt for policies which allow ‘reasonable’ personal use of Internet and email in the workplace.

2. The Policy should clearly state the boundaries of personal use as permitted.
It should contain a clear statement of the inappropriate, objectionable or offensive materials that must not be accessed. For example, it may state that employees should not download, send or store any material that the employer might deem offensive, or which would be considered inappropriate in the workplace. The employer might consider providing examples of the materials which are considered inappropriate.

3. The Policy should state why the downloading or viewing of inappropriate material is prohibited.
As indicated, the employer may face potential liability from a number of sources, including the Human Rights Commission or the Film and Video Commission.
Therefore, your Internet/Email Policy should identify processes the employees are to follow if they receive material which may breach the Policy. This will include a further statement that such material is not to be stored or forwarded to any other individual.

4. The Policy should advise employees that compliance will be monitored by the employer and identify the potential consequences of any non-compliance.
A breach of the Policy may constitute a matter of misconduct - the consequences of which may range from a warning through to a right to terminate the employment. The severity of the breach will need to be determined in each individual incidence; however, if a breach is considered to be a matter of serious misconduct, the employee should be advised that such breaches can give rise to termination.

Once a suitable policy is in place, a proactive employer will provide all employees with a copy of the Policy and ensure that employees sign an acknowledgement to the effect that they have read and understood it.

It also is important that the document is not then consigned to the bottom drawer. Employers should review the Policy regularly and employees should receive appropriate reminders.

Most importantly, the employer must be consistent in the application of the Policy. Policing the Policy is essential and employers' software systems will enable the retrieval of information in relation to employees’ computers. There are obviously different levels of sophistication of such systems, and if your in-house IT advisors don’t have the appropriate expertise, there are numerous consultants who will provide such services.

In conclusion, a clear and coherent Internet/Email Policy, which is effectively communicated and enforced, will protect you and your business from potential liability from employee abuse.

By Claire Byrne

Claire Byrne is a Partner at Wellington Law Firm, Gibson Sheat. For further information you can contact her on 04 916 7483 or email: claire.byrne@gibsonsheat.com.