CCIWA has a proven track record of championing policy that will grow and diversify the economy.
At any one time, we are working on new policy papers, submissions to government reports and inquiries or responding to issues raised by CCIWA Members. Here’s a snapshot of our policy work over September and October 2024.
Policy highlight
(L-R) Premier Roder Cook and CCIWA Chief Economist Roger Cook.
In September this year, we hosted the Premier Roger Cook at a breakfast event where he announced a WA Venture Capital Initiative. This fund, initially worth $30 million, would focus on attracting funding for eight key areas of investment: energy, tourism, education, defence, mining, space industries, health sciences, and agriculture.
This was a significant policy win for CCIWA.
Back in December last year, we called on the State Government to establish a Venture Capital Fund to support innovators in WA. We identified a lack of venture capital funding was impacting our State’s ability to attract global entrepreneurs.
The State Government’s WA Venture Capital Fund announcement can be found here and CCIWA’s policy work in this space can be found here.
This announcement is the latest in a series of policy wins, delivering positive outcomes for businesses in WA. Other examples this year alone include the Ability Link project and State Government’s approvals reform.
Focal point:
Henderson shipyard. Image: Australian Defence Force
Defence industry remains a key focus for CCIWA’s advocacy, as we see significant opportunities for local manufacturing and supply chain development for WA businesses. With some $33 billion expected to be spent in WA on defence infrastructure, there are some significant opportunities for businesses across all industry sectors.
The Federal Government recently announced $127m for design studies for a new Defence Precinct near the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson. This funding comes after several government reviews and strategies, such as the Defence Strategic Review, Continuous Shipbuilding Pilot, and more recently the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordinance (GWEO) Strategy.
CCIWA publicly welcomed the funding, but called for a clear line of sight on long-term funding commitments. This follows feedback from CCIWA’s Defence Forum, held in September this year. The forum brought together 20 businesses engaged in the defence sector, from manufacturing through to local government, contractors and tertiary education representatives. This policy engagement with the CCIWA Members supports our advocacy efforts with key decision makers, including State and Federal ministers, and the State Government’s WA Defence Advisory Forum.
In other Federal policy areas:
- CCIWA met with key decision makers related to nature positive and industrial relations.
- We also hosted a roundtable discussion with Senator Anne Ruston for our aged care Members.
- We also held our Workplace Relations Forum, which supports our advocacy efforts against the Federal Government’s complex and ill-conceived industrial relations reforms.
In other State policy areas:
- In September, CCIWA hosted Premier Cook for a breakfast event.
- We also delivered our Special Manufacturing Forum on site at CCIWA Member, Coogee Chemicals’ facilities in Kwinana. This forum ensures we remain connected with key issues and challenges facing local manufacturers in WA.
- We also delivered CCIWA’s Small Business Summit on October 26, which provides small businesses an avenue to voice their key concerns and shape our advocacy efforts.
Quote of the month:
“Small businesses play a crucial role in driving innovation, job creation and economic growth. Many small businesses are under pressure from the cost of rents, interest rates, utilities, insurance and wages [and] many businesses classified as ‘small’ are having to pay payroll tax, depending on their labour costs.”
CCIWA CEO Chris Rodwell statement on October 28, 2024
To find out more about what we stand for, visit our Policy and Advocacy page.
