Businesses turn screw on NSW government with mass closure warning
One in four small businesses in New South Wales are teetering on the brink of collapse, the state's peak business body has warned, as it issued a series of demands on whoever wins power in the looming election.
Business NSW chief David Harding said the government had not been doing enough to help the scores of struggling businesses who had survived the pandemic but were still extremely vulnerable.
Harding blamed record inflation, soaring interest rates, high energy prices, insurance costs "and significant tax burdens" for the challenging conditions traders now faced.
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The coronavirus pandemic created some of the toughest trading conditions Australian businesses have ever faced. AFR / Natalie Boog
He accepted some issues were beyond the government's control, "but there is a lot that our state politicians can do".
The group is demanding the election winner in March does not increase taxes for business and doubles the number of visas for skilled migrants, from 15,000 to 30,000.
A recent Business NSW survey of 900 companies revealed 30 per cent of small businesses claim they will have to close if the next government does nothing to improve trading conditions.
Other issues the group want addressed include lowering the payroll tax rate, a review of the icare program and other industrial relations law, a boost in apprenticeships and more financial help for start-ups.
The state's rental crisis is seriously impeding business and economic growth, the body said.
Almost half of companies surveyed said the housing shortage was a barrier to them accessing skilled workers.
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Sydney business owner Joe Galasso said trying to hire workers at the moment is next to impossible, and the situation was directly threatening his company.
"It's been absolutely terrible," he said, speaking on Today earlier this month.
"I've had to knock back a lot of jobs and lose a lot of money because I can't get the staff to keep the business afloat."
Electricity costs were a massive burden, he said.
"It's really hard to keep going."
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