Of course, it will take months for major international cruise lines to be ready to set sail out of Sydney Harbour again, but at least the many keen cruise passengers and myriad of businesses who support and rely on cruising, now have a clear pathway. The cruise industry warmly welcomed the news, which will support 18,000 jobs and end the economic losses due to the ban, estimated at over $10 billion.
We are still waiting for an announcement from Canberra on how to help fill the dire staff shortages plaguing many sectors and industries across the country and being especially felt in Sydney. I had been pushing the government to do something about it in the budget - including in this op ed in the Daily Telegraph - but as yet the government hasn’t announced any new policy or tax reform to assist businesses fill the ongoing labour shortage.
On the local front I have been pushing Transport Minister, David Elliott, to introduce free public transport on Fridays to encourage people back into the CBD and to get people back onto public transport, instead we had to settle for 12 fare free days over Easter.
We have held several extremely popular, informative and thought-provoking events in recent weeks. Please review our 'Recent Events' section below for more information. There are too many highlights to be singled out here. Business Sydney would sincerely like to thank our event partners, VIPs and panel speakers for making these events so successful. |
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