PRIME Minister-designate Malcolm Turnbull will be a much better leader than his predecessor Tony Abbott, who he rolled last night, according to the Bendigo business community.
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Bendigo Business Council chief executive officer Leah Sertori said the council welcomed the change in the Liberal leadership.
“His consummate communication skills, understanding of the economy and ability to explain complex issues to both business and the community will make him a better leader than Abbott,” she said.
"Bendigo Business Council would also say there are a number of difficult conversations Australia needs to have around structural change in relation to taxation and other issues that impact on business and Turnbull has much stronger skills in those areas to facilitate those conversations.”
However Ms Sertori expressed concern about the apparent increasing volatility of the Australian political landscape.
“It’s concerning that we’ve had five prime ministers in five years, however we can understand the impetus for change,” she said.
Ms Sertori said the slight bounce experienced by the Australian currency market and the ASX 300 was evidence of increased business confidence as a result of the coup.
The Australian dollar rose to an overnight peak of US71.52c, its highest in more than two weeks, after the Liberal Party spill late on Monday. On Tuesday the Aussie further rose, fetching US71.65c in mid-morning trade.
Ms Sertori said she believed Mr Turnbull had a better grasp on issues affecting Bendigo businesspeople.
“I think Turnbull has a much stronger understanding of small and medium enterprises and their place in the economy overall, in particular in relation to import/export and taxation,” Ms Sertori said.
“In his first press conference he noted both of those as issues that needed to be addressed and addressed with a different style of leadership.”
Since Mr Abbott become prime minister in 2013, unemployment has risen from 5.8 per cent to 6.3 per cent and growth stalled from 2.5 per cent to 2 per cent. The budget deficit grew from $30 billion to $48 billion.
Ms Sertori said she looked forward to hearing former prime minister Julia Gillard’s take on the saga when she comes to Bendigo to deliver the keynote address at BBC’s leadership lunch in late October.
Ms Gillard was ousted in similar circumstances to Tony Abbott in 2013.
