Aussie PM Gillard calls on business sector for more help on govt rebuilding efforts
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard urged the country's corporate giants to go the extra mile in helping the federal government on its efforts to rehabilitate areas badly damaged by the recent flood disaster.
Meeting business leaders who gathered in Brisbane for the corporate taskforce the Ms Gillard has established to help deal with rebuilding programs after the flood, the prime minister said on Monday that an aid coming from the business sector is crucial for the government to speed up the county's recovery agenda.
Much of the damage caused by the worst flooding in Australia's history were concentrated in areas surrounding New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria and the enormity of the reconstructions that need to be undertaken could overwhelm both the state governments and the commonwealth.
The likelihood that government resources may not be enough to meet the demands of the recovery efforts also emerged as a prime concern as Ms Gillard conceded that she would not mind of corporate Australia would take an active role in rebuilding the damages left behind by the flood disaster.
Ms Gillard admitted that "we do need more money, we do need in-kind assistance, and we do need the benefits of the kind of expertise that leading business people have, going directly into communities that are rebuilding after all the devastation."
The federal government has also considered viable means of raising funds that would finance its planned recovery and implementing some forms of levy has cropped out as possible options but the idea elicited vehement opposition from the Coalition.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey dismissed the necessity of even considering the introduction of new taxes to deal with the problems spawned by the flooding as he pointed out that "if you want to keep the Australian economy strong, you cannot keep taking a baseball bat to Australian households with more taxes."
However, the federal government has argued that the levy could prove crucial in performing major repair works on infrastructures that were damaged by the disaster as Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese stressed that fixing roads and rail networks will definitely affect both the local and national economy.
Also, some business leaders are open to the idea of a levy considering the magnitude of the problems created by the flooding disaster as Australian Industry Group chief Heather Ridout explained that since the resources to finance the wide-ranging rehabilitation efforts have yet to be identified, then "all these issues are going to have to be considered."