By TONY ABBOTT, Prime Minister of Australia
GEELONG is a terrific city. It has an impressive past and an exciting future.
I am working with your committed local member, Sarah Henderson, to listen to you and deliver for Geelong.
The coalition understands that you cannot have strong and cohesive communities without strong economies to sustain them.
Small business is at the heart of our economy and, with more than 20,000 small businesses, it’s at the heart of the wider Geelong region.
Small business tax cuts started on 1 July and they now have the lowest tax rates in almost fifty years and the instant asset write-off is already giving businesses the confidence they need to invest more, grow more and employ more.
The Government’s priorities are: creating more jobs; easing the pressure on families; building roads; and promoting more opportunity, particularly for Geelong.
Earlier this year I visited Geelong to launch jobactive – our $5 billion program to get people into work because we know that the best preparation for work is work.
Geelong is a resilient city, full of creative people.
Geelong has some of Australia’s best manufacturers and a highly-skilled workforce and this will be vital as Geelong transitions from a city of manufacturing into a city of innovation and services.
The new Australian Bureau of Statistics Centre of Excellence will be established in Geelong in 2016, generating around 250 jobs. Its association with Deakin University will strengthen Geelong’s growing reputation as a ‘knowledge economy’.
Geelong is the national leader for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the NDIS headquarters has already brought new jobs and expertise to the area.
Geelong is a great city with a great future and I am confident that the people and the businesses of Geelong will be at the forefront of growth and innovation for many years to come.
