Narrabri businesspeople took the opportunity to meet Federal Shadow Minister for Small Business, Bruce Billson, when he dropped in to Narrabri on Tuesday.
Mr Billson, the Member for Dunkley, Victoria, was on a tour of the north west and western areas of the state with Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton.
Mr Coulton had contacted the Chamber of Commerce suggesting Mr Billson’s visit was an opportunity to meet the man who in all probability will be the next minister for small business after the September 14 election.
Mr Billson addressed the gathering at a lunch meeting, covering a range of topics.
He sought input on a local ‘wish list’ to be addressed by a new federal government.
Chamber members raised the need for better mechanisms, facilities and encouragement for the training of young people in regional areas. It was vital to provide the opportunity for training in local areas to stop the drain of young people to the cities.
Mr Billson was told that country people wanted to see more of the money generated in the country spent in the country.
At present only a fraction of the income generated is returned to its production origin.
The decline in defence spending was another source of concern. The view was expressed that the Labor government’s cuts in defence spending have reduced Australia’s expenditure on the armed forces to the same level it was before the Second World War. Mr Billson agreed, noting that the lead time to rebuild the technical and human resources base of the military was long. Purchases by Australian consumers of overseas products was a serious matter which needed to be addressed. Australia’s manufacturing and retail sectors could not compete with cheap imports bought via the internet.