It’s a difficult balancing act to appeal to the voter on the street and big business but those around new NSW leader Chris Minns are convinced he can pull it off.
It was Monday morning and just over half the NSW election vote had been counted when the phone calls started.
Minns’ message throughout the election campaign was consistent: the size of the infrastructure program and the landmark projects wouldn’t change. Existing contracts would be honoured. But he would be choosier about the projects the government would back in future and would likely take a razor to some of the smaller election commitments the Coalition made in the run-up to the campaign under its WestInvest program.
“He’s clearly been elected on an agenda of driving investment in the state and he knows that for a whole range of issues NSW has been a place where it’s difficult to get decisions and that we’ve been losing out ... and he understands that,” former premier and Minns’ mentor Morris Iemma told“It’s a difficult investment environment, it’s hard to navigate approvals and there has absolutely been duplication and triplication in authorities which is causing delays ...
“And our poor productivity performance is a federal issue. However, the states should each focus on what they can do through such things as deregulation, speeding up planning, training and education and industry policy to lift our productivity and global competitiveness.”Minns himself is tight-lipped about his first approaches to business during the week.
“Chris is a smart guy, he has learnt something that is lost on most politicians ... a willingness to listen,” they said, adding Minns is “very pro-business. He understands that to create jobs you need to create an environment where business wants to invest.” A fundraiser badged as a full-day “business engagement program” on October 14 last year giving corporates the chance to meet Minns and his entire frontbench signalled the scope of Labor’s ambition for the election. In front of a room filled with business heads, bank bosses, chairmen and chairwomen and powerful industry groups, the event is now recognised as a pivotal point in the campaign.
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