Page 2346 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 12 August 2014
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to the supporting of existing businesses and trying to also encourage investment, I am going to refer to an issue that I have raised here in the Assembly before, relating to a jeweller who operates out of Braddon who purchased their own business premise but also on top of that had the foresight to purchase an additional car parking space. They as a business owner made the additional investment to buy a car parking space in Braddon because they understand the challenges of car parking in the Braddon area and realise that, as a service, to provide convenience to their customers, there would be a benefit to having an additional car parking space available through the day during business hours.
The cost of a car parking space on its own in the city area is about $20,000. When you look at the fees on top of that that this business owner is facing just in government charges and also sewerage charges, you see that investment in this city simply is not stacking up. With this example, you have got $1,900 a year in rates; about $608 in water charges which are now being levied because it is separately titled and united; and, in addition, if you borrow the money to buy the car parking space, $1,000. To put that on a per week basis, you are looking at $67.50 per week, just in fees, charges and interest, to own a car parking space in the ACT. It is almost comparable to the cost of paid parking. Where, Treasurer, is the incentive to invest in the ACT when these are the kinds of charges and levies that a business faces on a regular basis?
Another story that I will draw on as an example for this debate is the power kart complex that has just opened up in Fyshwick. This is a conglomeration of several business owners in the ACT putting their money where their mouth is, investing in the Canberra economy, trying to attract a new business market through tourism and offering an entertainment service that is currently not available in the ACT. These individuals went through it, did their due diligence, located a site and did all their business planning as a responsible operator would. They figured that six to eight months to set up, do the fit-out and be operational was a reasonable expectation.
As it turns out, failure in government policy, particularly in the planning area, where a certificate of occupancy failed to be issued some years ago on an addition to the premises that they have leased, led to delays of almost 18 months before they were able to open their doors and become operational—still with much of the fit-out internally to be completed simply because of the exorbitant rectification work that needed to be done because of an oversight in issuing a certificate of occupancy, causing the need for the building to be updated and brought up to current standards.
When I spoke to the people that are responsible for making this investment and opening this business, they simply said that if they were not residents of the ACT and did not believe in the economy because they lived here, they would have taken their money elsewhere and invested interstate. If that is the attitude of locals trying to improve investment, trying to grow and develop our economy, what hope do we have of attracting national or international investment into this city?
This budget has failed to address the ongoing concern in the business community. It has failed to foster the right business environment. There are increasing costs to operate here and there is increasing red tape. For every piece that is repealed, several pieces replace it. It is simply prohibitive for new businesses to establish, to open their doors and to employ Canberrans.
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