11 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 3H 180x100 Mar23 Newest Finalest Final For s 4.pdf 1 21/8/2023 11:18 am THE LEADER OF the Opposition, The Hon. Peter Dutton attended a special meeting of members of the Gosford Erina Business Chamber on Monday 20th January at Gosford RSL Club meeting with individual businesspeople. It wasn’t a flying visit, he stayed for two hours and got to speaking with most of the 150 business people who attended. In welcoming Mr Dutton GEBC President Peter Lawley said that “As the Capital of the Central Coast, Gosford is undergoing a transformation, with close to $2billion of private sector investment with residential apartment development.” “With almost 3,000 new residents projected over the next 2-5 years, major roads and transport upgrades are required. Support from all levels of Government is sought to address these infrastructure upgrades, along with development of lifestyle facilities, such as the Gosford Waterfront. GEBC seeks the establishment of a Central Coast Development corporation to assist in the short and long term progression of these and other projects, and the opportunity today for the Mr Dutton to hear first-hand this is greatly appreciated,” he said. Acknowledging issues that relate to the housing crisis in particular the Central Coast, Mr Dutton said, “there needs to be a path forward for the Central Coast as the region grapples with lengthy development applications.” He said that the Coalition has announced a $5 billion plan to work with councils and developers to get through the logjam of endless delays. Mr Dutton said, “Small business on the Central Coast are vital to both the local and national economy and the Coalition is proud to support them.” However, he said that with rising costs as the result of the Albanese Government’s focus on renewable energy at the cost of baseload power from coal and gas has caused energy costs to skyrocket compared to three years ago. This has had a flow-on effect of increasing the cost of doing business from rising input costs such as production costs such as insurance, interest rates and wages. Businesses simply cannot pass these costs on because consumers are finding it hard to cope with the rising cost of living. He took aim at the Government’s industrial relations policy and said a key promise of the Opposition is to revert to a simpler Australia’s next Prime Minister meets Gosford Chamber members definition of a casual worker. He said that this will reduce complexity for employers while ensuring they can hire workers more flexibly without additional bureaucratic burdens. “And we will curtail union militancy in workplaces.” “Businesses are failing at a faster rate than ever before,” he said and highlighted the plight of businesses in the hospitality industry that have been hardest hit. He reiterated his announcement of a few days earlier that the Coalition would give small business a tax deduction if they take staff or customers out for a meal or entertainment. A tax deduction of up to $20,000 would be made available to businesses with turnover below $10 million. “It is a win-win … It will help retention and provide a reward to employees,” Mr Dutton said. BUSINESS NEWS (l to r) Liberal Candidate for Dobell Brendan Small, Leader of the Opposition The Hon. Peter Dutton, Gosford Erina Business Chamber Directors Nic Coffill, Greg Brownlow, Peggoty Koszek, Peter Lawley (President, former Director Edgar Adams and Liberal Candidate for Robertson Lucy Wicks CENTRAL COAST BUSINESS REVIEW FEBRUARY 2025
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