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Speaker 1: Now you've just heard from the COLP about their proposal

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Speaker 1: as we lead into the Northern Territory election to raise

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Speaker 1: the payroll tax free threshold for small businesses from one

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Speaker 1: point five million dollars to two point five million. It

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Speaker 1: is set to save well thirteen hundred operators. Although those

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Speaker 1: numbers I might get a bit further clarification from our

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Speaker 1: next guest, because I know Maray Clarence said a slightly

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Speaker 1: different number. But joining us on the line to shed

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Speaker 1: a bit more light about what this means for local

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Speaker 1: business is the NT Chamber of Commerce their CEO, Greg Island.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Greg.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you today?

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Speaker 1: Not too bad? Greg? It seems like a good announcement

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Speaker 1: on the face of it if if elected, the COLP

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Speaker 1: saying that they'll promise to raise the payroll tax free

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Speaker 1: threshold for those small businesses from one point five million

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Speaker 1: to two point five million. From from you know the

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Speaker 1: info that you've got, how many businesses could this impact.

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Speaker 2: If that number is approximately correct, about thirteen hundred businesses

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Speaker 2: contributing payroll tax in that bracket section. If those businesses

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Speaker 2: were paying the maximum amount of payroll tax, that would

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Speaker 2: equal fifty five thousand dollars each that they would save,

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Speaker 2: but we know that that's not the case to average

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Speaker 2: that out, and that's where that sort of forty to

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Speaker 2: forty three million dollar comes from. But it'd also need

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Speaker 2: to factor in some apprentice and trainee wages for all

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Speaker 2: businesses that would become exempt, which I think is a

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Speaker 2: great addition to that particular announcement.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, firstly, tell me what your thoughts are on

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Speaker 1: raising the tax free threshold and how that may positively

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Speaker 1: impact businesses From the feedback you've received so far, would

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Speaker 1: it be a good move.

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Speaker 2: Without trying to blow our own trumpet. A few weeks ago,

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Speaker 2: the Chamber released out wish lists for the election, and

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Speaker 2: firmly on that list was an increase of this threshold

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Speaker 2: five million. And that's exactly what the cop have gone

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Speaker 2: and done. So we won't say that it was all

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Speaker 2: our idea, but we're certainly very supportive. We've been banging

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Speaker 2: on about payroll tax being a tax on doing business

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Speaker 2: and the incentivizing employment in the territory for many, many years,

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Speaker 2: and it's great to see this announcement. We certainly welcome

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Speaker 2: that exclusion of apprentice and training wages as well, and

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Speaker 2: why should business impose a tax cost for training young Territorians.

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Speaker 1: Was that something that was also on the wish list

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Speaker 1: and what impact will it have?

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Speaker 2: Not specifically on the wish list, but the training and

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Speaker 2: apprenticeship incentives were, and that was very much that being

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Speaker 2: combined together to come up with that particular outcome. So

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Speaker 2: we think that that is a great incentive for territory

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Speaker 2: business to employ kids and train more people locally. And

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Speaker 2: I know from past experience. I started my career as

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Speaker 2: an apprentice. I've employed many of them in my time.

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Speaker 2: It's the way to breed people do things the way

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Speaker 2: you want it done, and it breeds loyalty as well.

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Speaker 2: So I think that that's a fantastic outcome.

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Speaker 1: And if we can grow our own and keep them here,

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Speaker 1: that's the ideal scenario, right.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not going to be everything, Katie. We certainly

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Speaker 2: need migration to assist us with that as well. But

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Speaker 2: on our wish list again is for the territory incoming government,

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Speaker 2: whoever it may be, to firmly engage with the federal

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Speaker 2: government to make sure those settings are right. We get

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Speaker 2: our regional advantages, we get some access to skilled labor

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Speaker 2: and we grow our economy along those lines. We know

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Speaker 2: these projects are coming. There's people talking about the loss

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Speaker 2: of revenue for the territory, but the projects are going

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Speaker 2: to more than supplement that, so I think payer all

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Speaker 2: tax will ultimately see a positive gain. But it's a

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Speaker 2: burden removed from small to medium business that allows them

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Speaker 2: to reinvest and grow their businesses.

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Speaker 1: I mean, right now, as a result of this announcement,

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Speaker 1: you've sort of got you know, you've got the government's

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Speaker 1: saying it's going to cost a lot of money, and

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Speaker 1: then you've got the COLP saying, well, that investment is

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Speaker 1: worth it because when small business is going well, the

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Speaker 1: territory is going well in terms of getting the economy

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Speaker 1: moving and keeping things ticking over how big a difference

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Speaker 1: will this make.

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Speaker 2: What it's going to do, I think KITI is free

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Speaker 2: up the small to medium businesses to be the support

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Speaker 2: crew for those larger projects, and by taking that additional

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Speaker 2: cost burden away from them, it allows them to be

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Speaker 2: more competitive, investment back into their business, train more staff,

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Speaker 2: recruit more staff. Those are all contributing factors to our

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Speaker 2: ability to support these incoming projects. I've just come from

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Speaker 2: a defense breakfast down at the Casino hosted by Master Builders,

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Speaker 2: and the defense strategic growth in the territory is just

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Speaker 2: going to be insane, I think, and we need to

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Speaker 2: have resourcing to build that infrastructure that they're going to need.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we caught up with one of the ministers yesterday

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Speaker 1: and spoke a little bit more about that investment coming

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Speaker 1: into the NT. When it comes to defense, it does

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Speaker 1: seem as though there's going to be a lot of

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Speaker 1: money invested into the NT. Greg you spoke a moment

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Speaker 1: ago about that wish list ahead of the election. What

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Speaker 1: else is the Chamber hoping to see in terms of

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Speaker 1: commitments from both of those major parties or any independence

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Speaker 1: as we lead into the election.

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Speaker 2: We've sent that list through to everybody competing for the

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Speaker 2: election this year, and we're certainly very keen to publicize it.

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Speaker 2: It's over on our website and I'm also happy to

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Speaker 2: come on the show and talk about it. But we

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Speaker 2: really do want to see effective and efficient bureaucracy within

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Speaker 2: the government. We want to really look at insurance costs

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Speaker 2: for business. Clearly we've got to have crime and any

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Speaker 2: social behavior on that list, but cost of living, workforce shortages, housing,

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Speaker 2: all of those things that we've been hearing about for

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Speaker 2: months or on that list, but we also really do

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Speaker 2: want to see things like the federal gouvern and supporting

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Speaker 2: a change to the zone tax, offset migration conditions, supporting

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Speaker 2: education and training and upskilling of existing workforce. So there's

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Speaker 2: a whole heap on that list. Happy to go through

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Speaker 2: it in more detail at another time if you like, Yeah, no,

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Speaker 2: I'd be keen.

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Speaker 1: I think it's important for us all to sort of

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Speaker 1: get a good understanding of, you know, some of what

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Speaker 1: may be needed to really get things moving, you know,

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Speaker 1: whether it's now or whether it's post elections. So I

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Speaker 1: will be keen to talk more about that. But hey,

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Speaker 1: before I let you go this morning or just having

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Speaker 1: a bit of a closer look at an announcement this

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Speaker 1: morning from the federal government. So they have come out

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Speaker 1: and given a bit more detail in relation to their

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Speaker 1: gas strategy. So basically what the Australian newspaper is this

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Speaker 1: morning reporting is that gas is going to be a

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Speaker 1: key energy source through to twenty fifty and beyond and

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Speaker 1: play a critical role in helping Australia meet its net

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Speaker 1: zero target while providing cheap and reliable power. That's according

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Speaker 1: to this new reform blueprint which is aimed at cementing

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Speaker 1: its role in future energy mix. So this future gas

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Speaker 1: strategy it's being released today by Madeline King. It's urging well,

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Speaker 1: you know, urging the government, I guess, to take a

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Speaker 1: series of steps insuring supply over the next three decades.

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Speaker 1: But so basically the Minister for Resources in Northern Australia,

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Speaker 1: Madeline King, she's released this blueprint. She has said that

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Speaker 1: gas must remain affordable for Australian users throughout the transition

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Speaker 1: to net zero and has said you know that that

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Speaker 1: obviously gas is a huge part of our you know,

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Speaker 1: meeting our energy demand over the coming years. How important

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Speaker 1: do you think this is now for the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: When you talk about the b to lou.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think it's a sign that the federal government's

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Speaker 2: finally coming to their senses with respect to this issue.

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Speaker 2: Gas has to be part of that transition. Thinking going

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Speaker 2: one hundred percent renewables or even fifty renewables by the

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Speaker 2: current targets is going to be such a challenge given

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Speaker 2: the territories access to potential gas and the fantastic results

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Speaker 2: that we're seeing out of the tambor and drilling activities

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Speaker 2: in the Beterloo. We factor into that throw the carbon

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Speaker 2: sequestering that major proponents are putting forward up here, and

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Speaker 2: we can almost be delivering that zero results from gas

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Speaker 2: almost instantaneously if that carbon is captured and stored. So

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Speaker 2: that transition is super critical for Australia's energy sustainability in future,

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Speaker 2: and I think the territory has got a huge role

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Speaker 2: to play, and that factor is fantastically for those major

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Speaker 2: projects that we're just talking about. It provides royalties for

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Speaker 2: the territory government and allows us to develop our fantastic

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Speaker 2: community and get on top of some of these issues

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Speaker 2: that we're having.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it does sound like they're getting a bit stronger

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Speaker 1: with their language, the federal government. I mean they sort

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Speaker 1: of say in this ensuring Australia continues to have adequate

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Speaker 1: access to reasonably priced gas is going to be key

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Speaker 1: to delivering their eighty two percent renewable energy grid by

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Speaker 1: twenty thirty. But you know, really talking about gas playing

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Speaker 1: a crucial role, they're not really the words that I've

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Speaker 1: heard around gas before. I think we've even had a

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Speaker 1: situation in recent years, Greg where it's kind of felt

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Speaker 1: like sometimes people don't even want to utter the word gas.

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Speaker 2: Yes, it's certainly been the case, Katie, and I think

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Speaker 2: the realization that some of the lights are going to

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Speaker 2: start to switch off on the Eastern Seaboard in twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty seven is really starting to hit home at a

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Speaker 2: political level. Elections coming up for them as well, so

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Speaker 2: it's a key decision that they have to make, and

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Speaker 2: it's good to hear that rhetoric.

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Speaker 1: Well, Greg Island. Always good to catch up with you, mate.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning, and we will

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Speaker 1: talk to you again soon. Okay, thank you,