PEAK business organisation the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) says there are clear lessons for Tasmania in last night’s the federal election result.
The TCCI congratulated incoming Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Liberal National Coalition on the election victory and says business and the community looked forward to the new government’s honouring its promises and bringing a more business-orientated approach to national administration.
TCCI Chief Executive Michael Bailey said the big lessons from the result were that the electorate had rejected division and self-interest within the Labor Government, and had also rejected the Greens’ and other minority influence on the Government.
“The community wants stable, decisive government and they don’t want minority, sectional and radical environmental interests dictating national policy,” Mr Bailey said.
“The Tasmanian result was particularly telling and the State Government should note this.
“The swing against Labor and the Greens was higher in Tasmania than elsewhere. It could be argued that Tasmanians have stated how they feel about minority government.”
Mr Bailey said Tasmanians have had enough and the decisive support for majority government was clear evidence of this.
“People want government to manage the big issues and undoubtedly a healthy and growing economy and increasing employment opportunities will be the major priorities for the Abbott Government.
“If we get this right, then everything else can flow on – funds for education, health services, public safety, infrastructure and the protection of our environment.
“That is the challenge facing Mr Abbott and his incoming administration. The TCCI, with the national business community, looks forward to working with the Government to get the very best outcomes for Tasmanian and Australia.
“We particularly look forward to the implementations of the recommendations of our Small Business Too Big to Ignore campaign that was the central plank of the national chamber movement’s election advocacy effort.
“Tasmania will now have a strong team in the new Government to push for the early implementation of the Liberals’ election promises for the State. We want these implemented immediately and not wait for the next budget.”
Mr Bailey said the TCCI was particularly keen to put forward Tasmania’s special needs and interests to the new Government, and would continue to press to ensure that it delivered for the State.
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