With the COVID restrictions gradually easing across Australia, New South Wales is pushing to further open up the state by implementing measures designed to bring back people and businesses to work in the Sydney CBD.
As part of these efforts, the NSW government has organised the Sydney Summit, with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Treasurer Matt Kean at the helm, which aims to bring policymakers and other stakeholders to share ideas for immediate and longer-term policy proposals to encourage the regeneration of Sydney’s economic centre.
The summit has been welcomed by the Business Council of Australia (BCA), who believes it is one way for the state to facilitate the recovery of the businesses there.
“We thank the NSW Premier and Treasurer for their ongoing work and collaboration with the business community on ways to restore Sydney to an iconic and attractive destination for people to work, visit and invest in,” the BCA said in a statement. “We need a sustained, united and implementable approach to bringing people back into our cities safely, which will drive jobs, encourage visitors and students and kickstart our economic recovery.”
In addition, the state government has also put in place an extension of changes to planning some key rules that will make it easier to do business across the state and help reinvigorate NSW’s CBDs. This extension, in particular, will allow 24-hour deliveries in industrial and business zones so businesses will have access to critical supplies.
There is also NSW Government’s $1 billion small business support package which is to support businesses impacted by the Omicron wave.
“It is clear the NSW government is focused on working collaboratively with business, listening to their ideas and removing unnecessary and job-killing red tape that was making it harder to do business before the pandemic,” the BCA statement concluded.
