Page 3039 - Week 10 - Friday, 8 October 2021
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their operations safely. The default answer to whether businesses can operate should be yes, unless it is clearly contrary to health advice. It should not be what we see now, which is a default no, unless the Chief Minister feels like saying yes.
We need consistency with how our COVID-safe restrictions are applied across different sectors, and we must have transparency as to why and how these restrictions are informed by the health advice. We must taper ACT government business support to ensure that we do not leave behind local businesses whilst restrictions are still in place and they are not able to trade in any meaningful way.
In the Chief Minister’s own words, we are out of lockdown on 15 October, yet we know that many restrictions will remain, which will have a huge impact on many businesses. It is the Chief Minister who has mandated continuing restrictions, despite saying that the lockdown is lifting. He has a responsibility to ensure that Canberra businesses—our businesses—are not forgotten and left behind.
We must reduce red tape for business. This should be a constant priority for government, but, in the immediate recovery period, we must red tape and inefficiencies on what businesses need to do to get the support that they are entitled to and to access the rebates and delays to repayment that have already been announced. Laws, regulations, procedures and protocols should exist for safety and probity. If there is a form to fill out just for the sake of filling out a form, or if it is a duplicate, let us get rid of it. Let us give time and freedom back to our businesses so they can get back to doing what they do best. We must create a local skills and jobs strategy with industry to outline the key targets for skills and jobs growth across the ACT economy.
We know that when state and international borders open in the coming months there will be a significant skills shortage across our economy, especially in the hospitality and retail sectors—sectors hit the hardest by lockdowns and restrictions. With a local jobs and skills strategy we can address skills and workforce demands and shortages in key growth industries, including in tourism, in defence, in clean energy and in cybersecurity, and in the trades as we emerge out of lockdown.
Canberra, as the nation’s capital, is and should be the home of the Australian Public Service. This does not mean that we cannot also diversify our jobs market to attract innovation, technology, skills and jobs that will make our city one where anyone can achieve anything. That future must start with a local skills and jobs strategy which should set out a clear plan to take us there.
We must review the tax agenda to remove barriers to innovation, investment and entrepreneurship. The impact of taxes on growth, innovation and creativity of business should be reviewed to give businesses the confidence and support that they need, to take risks and strengthen our economic recovery. The Canberra Liberals are ambitious for business. We value business, we trust business and we respect business. To all our local businesses that have felt forgotten, felt abandoned, felt left behind and felt unvalued, know that we have your back and we always will.
Let us get our children safely back to the classroom, with world-class facilities to deliver a world-class education. Many parents raised significant concerns about
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