By: Ed Cocks MLA
The Canberra Liberals will move to protect Canberra employers and workers from ACT Labor’s hospitality and services tax, which would make it even more expensive for businesses in the hospitality and other services sectors to employ people and pay them well.
The Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Amendment Bill 2026 would prevent the expansion of Labor’s so-called ‘portable long service leave’ scheme before 1 July 2027, and require an independent evaluation demonstrating that the expansion is unlikely to harm business viability or employment before proceeding.
“The Labor Party, at both a local and federal level, has driven too many businesses and employers to breaking point. They’re exhausted and they’re tired of being treated as nothing but a source of revenue,” Mr Cocks said.
Canberra’s hospitality sector remains under significant pressure. Nationally, more than one in eight cafés, restaurants and takeaway businesses closed in the 12 months to July 2026, average restaurant and café profit margins have fallen to just 2.5 per cent, and ABS figures show spending in the ACT’s hotels, cafés and restaurants continuing to fall.
The latest inflation figures add further pressure, with inflation climbing to 4.3 per cent and the prospect of further interest rate rises.
“Businesses are being squeezed from every direction. Customers are watching every dollar, operating costs keep rising, and the economic outlook is getting worse,” Mr Cocks said.
“It would be entirely irresponsible for Labor’s to add even more to the cost of employing people, alongside even more paperwork and compliance obligations on employers, and it’s workers who will end up paying the price.
“Good jobs depend on viable businesses. Every café, restaurant or salon that closes means lost livelihoods, fewer opportunities for workers and another loss for our local communities.
“Canberra needs a government that makes it easier to employ people, invest here and succeed here, rather than one that keeps making it harder.”