Qld businesses urged to invest

 PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has encouraged businesses in North Queensland and Townsville to invest in PNG. 

O’Neill, who addressed the Townsville chamber of commerce on Saturday, said great opportunities exist for Townsville business and industry to participate in Papua New Guinea’s economic development, and to grow the small business sector in the country.

“Our economy is experiencing strong GDP growth, thanks principally to the construction phase of our first LNG project that will begin exporting gas in 2015. In that year, our GDP will be more than 20%,” he said.

He said LNG and mining would deliver strong revenue inflows to the national government but those sectors could not alone provide the jobs and small business growth we are 100% committed to achieving. 

“But we are only going to be able to genuinely and fully share the benefits of strong economic growth if we grow our small business sector, if we commit to downstream processing of our resources, if we grow tourism and service industries, and if we rebuild and grow agriculture.

“Our small to medium business sector needs partners, it needs mentors,” the prime minister said.