Push to resuscitate economy

BUSINESS confidence has crashed to levels that eclipse the Global Financial Crisis, sparking calls for the Palaszczuk Government to cut red tape and bankroll infrastructure to resuscitate the Queensland economy.

The Bulletin can reveal the latest Suncorp Pulse Survey, to be released today, will detail how 70 per cent of the state’s businesses had suffered plunging profits during the coronavirus crisis.

Conducted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, the survey of more than 2400 owners and operators found almost half had sacked staff and reduced hours with the majority anticipating more cuts would come.

Business had reached a “crisis point”, CCIQ advocacy and policy manager Amanda Rohan warned, and reducing regulation, as well as fast-tracking infrastructure, was needed to prevent many collapsing.

“We cannot go back to governments hiding behind inefficient regulations and processes bogged down in bureaucracy,” Ms Rohan said.

She said a pipeline of road, rail, resources and waste infrastructure, prioritised by economic benefit rather than political convenience, was urgently needed. Investing in new industries was also essential.

The report, conducted throughout April, showed confidence was grim, with the outlook for the national economy over the next 12 months crashing by 28.4 points, while the outlook for the Queensland economy fell by 25.1 points.

Trading conditions plummeted below the record low chalked up in December, with 83 per cent of respondents expecting conditions to worsen over coming months.

CCIQ economist Jack Baxter said businesses in the south-east and the far-north were being hit hardest.