The NSW Business Chamber is calling on the NSW government to look at leasing more assets like electricity to help fund infrastructure programs across the state.
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NSW Business Chamber director of policy and advocacy, Paul Orton, said the long-term leasing would bring a cash injection that could speed up the building of road, rail, education and health projects.
Mr Orton made five key points to Dubbo's business owners as the guest speaker at the Dubbo Chamber of Commerce breakfast yesterday.
With time ticking down to the next state election in March, the NSW chamber has come up with the campaign Unfinished Business: Towards 2015 and Beyond, which lays out for businesses what the state government needs to do. It also looks at the tasks for whichever party forms government after the election.
"The purpose of the visit is to talk to the Dubbo chamber about the NSW pre-election campaign. We have a list of priorities that we are taking to the current government and whoever is in power after the election," Mr Orton said.
The highest priorities, according to Mr Orton, include the leasing of assets, the reformation of local councils, improving senior schooling to improve outcomes for young people, improving the state's energy security and pricing and putting NSW on the front foot with a more competitive tax system.
Mr Orton confirmed the chamber was in support of Premier Mike Baird's electricity lease.
"We were in favour when Barry O'Farrell proposed it when he was still Premier and nothing has changed. We believe it's a great way for the government to release cash from an asset which doesn't need to be government controlled," he said.
"The money made from the lease can be put into infrastructure around the state."
Mr Orton said the lease would not clash with their other goal of lower electricity costs.
"We believe with the regulations in place, electricity prices won't go up and what we have seen in other states who have sold the poles and wires is that costs have actually gone down," he said.
When it comes to local governments, there are too many in Sydney and reducing that number would streamline the function, according to the NSW chamber, while the biggest challenge facing regional councils is the lack of infrastructure funding.
He said the other big issue is the increasing youth unemployment rate in the country and he is calling on the government to make changes to schooling to better prepare students for jobs.