A 'large share' of the Federal Government's new $20 billion Building Australia Infrastructure fund must be set aside for building in Western Australia, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia chief executive James Pearson said today.
A 'large share' of the Federal Government's new $20 billion Building Australia Infrastructure fund must be set aside for building in Western Australia, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia chief executive James Pearson said today.
Mr Pearson also called for genuine reform to both Federal and State tax systems, with a 'comprehensive review' of both business and personal taxes.
Full announcement below:
A large share of the Federal Government's new $20 billion Building Australia Infrastructure Fund must be set aside for vital economy building projects in Western Australia.
The state's peak business organisation, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, welcomes the Federal Government's focus on the provision of new infrastructure such as roads, ports, and telecommunications in its first budget delivered last night.
Overall CCI believes that the budget will be good for the Australian economy, and is pleased steps have been taken to curb spending and reduce the overall tax burden. CCI also welcomes the Federal Government's commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of business and personal taxes. It is important that the review lead to genuine reform of both Federal and State taxes.
In 2006-07 WA accounted for 13 per cent of the national economy and roughly a third of Australia's total exports. It is time that Western Australia, the powerhouse economy of the nation, receives its fair share of infrastructure funding from the Commonwealth.
The state's importance to Australia's economic development and prosperity must be reflected in the provision of essential infrastructure to build capacity in the local economy and encourage sustainable growth for many years to come.
The rapid expansion of the WA economy has placed considerable strain on the state's existing infrastructure to the point where bottlenecks have the potential to restrict further development and business expansion.
CCI raised this funding imbalance with the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as recently as last week when he addressed a CCI business leaders' breakfast in Perth.
CCI also calls on the State Government to work closely with business to identify the infrastructure projects of vital importance to Western Australia.
Business views the government's decision to inject an additional $11 billion into the nation's education system as a wise investment for the future.
With CCI research showing Western Australia will need an extra 400,000 workers over the next decade, the government is also to be congratulated for creating an additional 31,000 skilled migration places.
CCI has been a leader in calling for Australia to increase its skilled migrant intake to ease the labour market pressures faced by a majority of small, medium and large businesses.
