Chambers of commerce give Premier road map to recovery

Business leaders across Queensland are pleading with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to turn her attention to the economy, giving her a road map to get the state moving again.

A TAX freeze, apprentice wage subsidies and fast-tracking $4 billion worth of infrastructure are central planks of a detailed recovery road map developed by business to kick-start the Queensland economy.

In an open letter to Annastacia Palaszczuk, chamber of commerce leaders from across Queensland are pleading with the Premier to turn her attention towards the economy and adopt the coronavirus recovery blueprint before more businesses go broke.

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Calling for a “new normal” in how the Government engages with business, the chamber leaders have insisted a more cooperative approach is essential for restoring, reforming and growing the state’s economy.

“While the curve might be flattening, the economic and social impacts of coronavirus are only just starting to emerge,” the letter states.

“So many livelihoods have been ruined and so many Queensland families are suffering through the fallout.

“We understand community safety comes first but we need to start planning now to be ready for the next steps. It’s time to focus on recovery.”

The Courier-Mail can reveal analysis conducted by Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland found 17 per cent of businesses had been mothballed or permanently closed, 39 per cent of owners had reduced their activity to just essential operations, while 20 per cent had closed their shopfronts while continuing with back-office operations.

Over half the surveyed businesses reported that their revenue had been cut by over half, while two out of five operators had sacked or stood down staff.

The Premier said yesterday the Government was “working solidly” on a recovery plan, with a taskforce of health and economic experts to provide advice about opening up shuttered businesses in stages.

“We are putting all the plans in place, we have got a very clear path to recovery and I will be sharing that with Queenslanders once we have that final (medical) advice,” she said.

However CCIQ general manager Amanda Rohan said more businesses would be at risk and more jobs would be lost if the Government dallied on publicly detailing a plan.

“I don’t think they could risk not having a plan,” she said.

“Jobs will be at risk and business closures would be at risk.

“Recovery is the phase where we are also really vulnerable.”

The “revive” stage of the recovery road map includes a further six month freeze on all taxes and levies, while making the Federal Government’s JobKeeper payments exempt from payroll tax.

It also includes a new $500 concessional loan scheme for small business, wage subsidies and free training for apprentices and trainees and new procurement policies that give small business greater access to government tenders.

The “rebuild” phase includes front-loading $4 billion of infrastructure jointly funded with the Federal Government, and significant new investment in regional infrastructure.