Last week I attended my last Business SA board meeting after 14 years as director and eight years as chairman.

It seems like an appropriate time for me to reflect upon an organisation of which I am incredibly proud.

Business SA does not act just for members but for the whole South Australian business community, because our mission and purpose is the economic growth and the success of this state - not just one group of businesses or one industry sector.

Indeed, every member of the Business SA board is a passionate volunteer and a supporter in the cause of achieving the economic success of our state.

Our Charter for a More Prosperous South Australia speaks to what South Australian businesses and employers most need the State Government to act upon.

Importantly, the charter isn’t limited to what is politically expedient or necessarily popular.

As the state’s peak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we take long-term policy positions that are independent of the political cycle at any given point in time.

We believe that the State Government’s role is to create the best possible macroeconomic environment allowing businesses and employers to thrive.

This is as distinct as picking individual winners through to direct financial assistance, unless there is real market failure.

Put simply, get the business environment right and then let businesses get on with the job of building the economy.

And good business environment and growing economy will attract new businesses into the state, creating new opportunities and new jobs.

Two leading examples of that approach immediately come to mind.

We consider that payroll tax is a handbrake on jobs and job creation. I am very pleased that — aligned with the issues we raised in our charter — the incoming Marshall Government is implementing a substantially higher exemption threshold in payroll tax which sends a strong signal to thousands of smaller employers to consider that extra employee, that new apprentice, that traineeship opportunity.

In an ideal world, it would be abolished completely, but this is a very good start.

One of the main reasons that I volunteered to get involved with the Business SA board many years ago was the inequity around the ridiculous over-regulation of shop trading hours in this state.

Leaving aside the loss of economic opportunities, and the effect on tourism and job opportunities, it is the arbitrary and unfair nature of the regulatory scheme that should never be acceptable.

An independent study by the University of South Australia, commissioned by Business SA, emphatically shows that the vast majority of South Australians want the freedom to shop when they want and need to. Protectionism has always ended badly — nowhere more clearly shown than in the Australian car industry — and it will end badly here.

Those are just two of the hundreds of policy positions a year that Business SA advocates to federal, state and local governments; regulators; and other key influencers on behalf of the South Australian business and employer community.

I leave Business SA in the great hands of our exceptional chief executive and management team who are committed to making a difference, our highly motivated staff, our great member base and a board which continues to give generously of its time to see this state achieve its full potential.

This article was originally published in the South Australian Business Journal in The Advertiser on Tuesday 3 July 2018.
Image: Outgoing Business SA chairman Vincent Tremaine by Calum Robertson for The Advertiser