Poll drag on confidence
Coast businesses seek end to political limbo
FEDERAL politicking is frustrating business confidence on the Gold Coast, according to sector leaders.
A weakening property sector, offshore markets and federal election uncertainty have been listed as key factors in the Gold Coast’s subdued business sentiment in the latest state Suncorp-CCIQ Pulse Confidence survey of industry.
Overall business confidence improved just 1.6 points from the December quarter to a level of 42.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis – a drop of 3.3 points on the same period 12 months earlier. The state also sits 2.2 points behind the national outlook.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said consumers and businesses were remaining cautious.
“Respondents to the survey from the Gold Coast highlighted concerns around Federal Labor’s proposed industrial relations program, headwinds emanating from the global economy in terms of a weaker Australian dollar and ongoing frustrations with the general cost of doing business,” Mr Hall said.
“Markets, no matter where you are in the world, thrive in well-regulated environments with business certainty that encourages investment.
“It is important to recognise the Gold Coast is Australia’s sixth-largest city and as one of the country’s key gateways to international markets over the last decade has seen billions of dollars invested into the Queensland and national economy.”
Previous economic analysis of the Gold Coast has shown the region to be a leading economic zone, working outside of national patterns.
“The Gold Coast’s importance in the state economy is critical as the region employs 300,000 people and has a gross regional product approaching $40 billion,” Mr Hall said.
CCIQ head of industry Dan Petrie said while a marginal improvement in the overall confidence benchmark was welcome, policy makers needed to do more in dealing with the challenges facing many businesses, particularly in regional areas.
“The solutions to improving sentiment involve clearly articulated policy initiatives and the encouragement of private and public sector projects,” he said. “The government in Queensland, along with its federal counterparts, will need to move beyond election sloganeering and look at specific initiatives.
“The key thematic expressed by respondents is that the announcements of billiondollar projects need to be backed up by actions and for many in the small business community, participating in such projects or seeing any correlating activity is limited.”