The federal government delivered a budget clearly aimed at broadly supporting economic demand and getting the COVID recovery on track by strengthening business conditions and supporting businesses to invest and hire new staff.
Business and the community have made immense sacrifices through the COVID crisis.
The budget recognises business can lead the nation's recovery from the pandemic. The government has adopted an unashamedly business-centric budget that provides incentives to stimulate business investment in both products and people.
The welcome subsidisation of pay for new apprentices and trainees responds to a continued call over recent months from the Hunter Business Chamber and Business NSW to address not only astronomical levels of youth unemployment, especially in our region, but ensure that the skills pipeline so vital to our nation's manufacturing and industry capability is not interrupted.
The new Jobmaker hiring credit, a $100-$200 subsidy to employers who hire a worker between the age of 18 and 35 who had previously been on unemployment benefit seeks to support the young and stem the tide of potential long-term unemployment that we have been witnessing.
We also welcome the extension of the instant asset write-off scheme, which will now allow business to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets purchased through to 30 June 2022.
This will provide a strong incentive for businesses in our region to invest in innovation and new and existing equipment.
It will, for example, be particularly important for those looking to convert plant and equipment to energy-efficient technologies as a way to reduce energy costs, emissions and demand on the grid, while creating local jobs.
The budget delivered a significant - and to some extent unexpected - infrastructure boost for the region with the funding of two important road projects, $560 million for the Singleton Bypass, and $360 million for the Newcastle Inner City Bypass, which as a state road, would normally be funded through NSW coffers rather than from the federal budget.
Both projects are critical to improving connectivity and productivity through enhancing the movement of both freight and commuter traffic in our region. The funding eliminates the risk of both projects stalling noting the time imperative to finish the inner city bypass concurrently with the state funded redevelopment of the John Hunter Hospital campus.
The construction jobs across both projects will also be welcome and the Chamber will maintain pressure on the government to ensure local procurement is a priority.
Of course, there are other important infrastructure projects in the region that missed funding.
Perhaps most disappointing is the lack of commitment to the runway upgrade of Newcastle Airport. Facilitating this project now would have allowed the airport to take advantage of imminent expenditure by Defence on runway maintenance and provide an important stimulus to our ailing tourism industry as we emerge from the COVID crisis.
The provision of additional funding for the feasibility study of faster rail between Newcastle and Sydney is an acknowledgment of the importance of this link.
There was, unfortunately, no money for the M1 extension from Black Hill to Raymond Terrace, however the government has previously committed to fully funding the project and it is the Chamber's understanding that it is planning requirements rather than a lack of cash flow that is preventing the project moving forward at a faster pace.
The government's plans to spend a record $270 billion for Defence over the next decade, reinforced in the budget papers as a fundamental driver of economic growth and development will also benefit the Hunter.
Using the Hunter Defence banner, the Chamber has been working hard, along with HunterNet, Newcastle Airport, RDA Hunter and industry interests in the region, to showcase our capacity and capability in this sector. We are confident this will bear fruit for Defence industries in the short to medium term.
The $250 million Regional Tourism Recovery Package is also welcome and regional businesses in the visitor economy will be able to bid for a share of these funds.
Announcements around export assistance for businesses investigating new markets also bode well for the Hunter region. This is an area where the region boasts natural and competitive advantages and we have enormous scope to grow the economy on the strengths of the global gateways of the airport and the port, both of which have bold ambitions beyond the COIVID recession.
The government's focus on a business-led recovery is encouraging but let's not think this is going to be easy or fully inclusive.
There are hazards in the road ahead and we must be mindful of the businesses that have suffered or closed and people who have lost jobs.
Providing employment support and incentives for business, as well as reducing the costs of being in business, is the right response as we seek to overcome the most severe global economic crisis since the Great Depression.
