Three years ago, I wrote an article for this newsletter regarding the political environment and the volatility at the time. Today not much has changed at all, except it is the opposite parties involved. At the Federal level, we have conflict over who should be leader - nothing has changed here, except the argument is now with the LNP and not the Rudd/Gillard show. At the State level, the debate is over which party should lead and what sort of majority, if any, should they have. Politics is always a good starter if you want to conjure up feelings of emotions from friends or colleagues - best left alone I say!

If there is uncertainty with the leaders of our country or State, how can people expect business and consumer confidence to be high? Consumer confidence is actually measured as an index and reflects how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are with respect to the economy. The idea is that if consumers are optimistic, they will tend to purchase more goods and services, inevitably stimulating the economy.

According to the ANZ/Roy Morgan’s weekly consumer confidence index fell 1.7% (17th February 2015) to its lowest level since August. Now I am not saying that this is directly related to the uncertainty with our political leaders, but it does play on the minds of individuals.

This is no different to the work place or your individual businesses. It is therefore important to seek the support of others, to help plan through the uncertainty or challenges we may face in our businesses. Our business has prided itself on creating strong relationships, so that you can feel the confidence to engage us, if you need the support, in what is a challenging economic environment.