Page 2214 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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forge a new federal city; migrants who came here with skills, who came here with experience and culture; or kids that grew up here and simply know it as home. This is a city of hard work and well-earned recreation.
Canberra is the national capital. But we must always remember that is our local businesses, particularly small businesses, that serve the everyday needs of Canberrans and provide jobs and opportunities. Be it the contractor who delivers the parcel, the barrister making the coffee, the GP treating the patients, the person behind the bar, the cook preparing the meal, the person cleaning the room or the tradie who is building the home, we need to support the businesses that support us.
We believe that businesses are good for our community and we want to make it easier for people to follow their dream and take on the hard work and personal risk of creating something special for our community.
Madam Speaker, an ACT government should want our local businesses to grow and employ more people. That is why, fundamentally, I do not support payroll tax. I think the idea of placing a barrier on employment is wrong. We should not be making it harder to employ Canberrans. Instead, we should be the most attractive place in the country to create jobs.
We should be making Canberra more attractive by encouraging more businesses in the ACT rather than pushing them over the border. To be the best jurisdiction in the country starts with being the best jurisdiction in the region. We must win back the businesses that have moved over the border to New South Wales. We should actively campaign to attract these businesses in Queanbeyan back to the ACT.
This means rather than focusing on gouging home owners and burdening businesses, we need a government that looks at how we can make it a better place for investment. An obvious way to do this is by developing a strategy for the abolition of payroll tax. Yes, it will take time. But the light at the end of that tunnel is very bright. Whilst we may not have economies of scale in Canberra, we do have economies of distance and economies in decision-making. We are a combined council and state government with a single city in a fruitful region.
I want Canberra to be the business capital. I want our city to be the best place in the country to do business, to take risks, to make investments and to employ Canberrans. I want Canberra to be the benchmark of our nation when it comes to doing business. I want the number of private sector jobs in Canberra to grow and grow and grow.
Madam Speaker, the ACT government should be a low tax government. The ACT should be a low tax jurisdiction. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. It is so disappointing when you hear of businesses and families leaving the ACT because they cannot keep up with these taxes, fees, rates and charges. We should be attracting people to Canberra, not repelling them.
If this government is serious about removing dependency on the commonwealth, rather than taxing Canberrans more, let us build the base. Let us encourage business in Canberra. Let us start to abolish payroll tax.
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