The Business Council of Australia has welcomed the announcement of the NSW Government’s Jobs Plus program.

“NSW has firmly positioned itself as the best place to do business in Australia and every premier and chief minister in the country should be taking note,” Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“There is a reason NSW has singlehandedly kept the east coast economy on track - the state has never lost sight of the need to emerge from the pandemic with a stronger economy and the capacity to create thousands of new jobs and a sense of hope and optimism.

“NSW has not only led the way on managing COVID, but is now also leading the way on economic reforms that will help create 25,000 new jobs.

“Just as it has throughout the COVID crisis, NSW is making the decisions needed to save jobs, keep people safe and set the state up for a strong economic recovery.

“Today’s announcement will give the people of NSW confidence that the state can come back stronger from the pandemic, with more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future. Critically, today’s package recognises that businesses will have to create the majority of the jobs we need to recover.

“Combined with the state’s world leading management of the virus, this package puts NSW at the front of the pack when it comes to attracting the new investment we need to create new jobs.

“Payroll tax is a tax on jobs, so payroll tax relief and removing investment stifling red tape makes sense. We also welcome critical investment in programs to give workers in NSW access to the new skills they’ll need to get jobs in new industries.

“We congratulate the NSW government for setting the example and showing that major economic reform is achievable.”