Business people in the Southern Highlands want to support more local jobs and see better infrastructure – roads and telecommunications.   

After visiting local businesses in Bundanoon, Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor said these were among the common concerns, as well as bigger companies ramping up competition for smaller retailers.

“I’m hearing that people would like to see more local jobs. Once you get outside the CBDs of our capitals, and this applies to everyone in Hume, for people who have to travel a long way to get to work and services, those people want more local work.

“Anything we can do to encourage the growth of small business, because they’re the biggest employers in our regions, is always appreciated by the local community. And that’s what we’re firmly focused on. A re-elected Turnbull government has a strong plan for jobs and growth.

“Right now it’s pretty robust actually. We’ve seen a lot of investment, a lot of job creation, more building, more subdivisions, which is fantastic, right through this corridor from Sydney through the Highlands to Canberra, a lot of which is coming from the overflowing growth in southwest Sydney.”

Mr Taylor said another big issue for local businesses was better infrastructure.

“More investment in roads and telecommunications has been, and will continue to be, a real focus for me as the member for Hume. We’ve got massive infrastructure projects now happening further north in Hume, we have bigger companies moving in to the Highlands and this growth has to be managed.

“Infrastructure improvements are real priorities. We’ve got lots of professionals in the Wingecarribee district who work from home for a day or two a week and reliable telecommunications is critical, which is why it’s a big focus for me.”

Caption: Angus Taylor is listening to businesses in the Highlands who are saying they want more jobs closer to home and better infrastructure.