In an earlier interview with NSBA editor Michael Walls, Mr Zimmerman outlined his agenda for business in the region.
Michael Walls: What are your views of working with business? How important is that to Trent Zimmerman the MP?
Trent Zimmerman: Well I think it’s very important. I’ve been a Local Government Councillor for eight years on North Sydney Council. And one of the things that I did, I think very successfully, was work with our local small business community, particularly in Crows Nest which was part of my ward. But I see that the role of an MP is not just representing local residents, but also listening to and working for local businesses because that’s part of the mix of creating prosperity and jobs in your own local area. And you can’t divorce the two.
Michael Walls: Is there anything we should be doing in North Sydney to assist business?
Trent Zimmerman: We’re keeping its accessibility. But it’s also about making sure that we have strong and active Chambers of Commerce. So in North Sydney, we’ve just seen the reformation of the North Sydney Chamber of Commerce and I know they’ve got a new team which is very exciting. So, it’s working with those Chambers. But at the end of the day, it’s about me being accessible to anyone that wants to come through my door. And obviously, my job is to demonstrate to them that I’m not only accessible, but can help deliver on their behalf. And, for me, standing is a continuation of my involvement in the local community. And as I mentioned, that’s involved being a Councillor but also involved in a number of local community organisations. And so, I sort of understand that for many local and smaller organisations it can be hard raking through the morass of government.
Michael Walls: So in terms of challenges of business in your electorate face, do you want to give us a sense of what you see this as being?
Trent Zimmerman: Well, I think the first thing is that I think the North Sydney electorate has a phenomenal opportunity moving forward. And it’s part of Malcolm Turnbull’s new agenda, particularly focussing on innovation. I think that we’re very much a service based economy in North Sydney. And the opportunities arising in our region are phenomenal, particularly with the Free Trade Agreements now in place with China, Korea and Japan. So, I want to be a connection point between a lot of those small businesses and the opportunities they have. 70% of our GDP is driven by the service sector, but only around 17% of our exports are in the service sector. So, there is a big job that we can do to take advantage of what I see as a very wide open window in our own region. And, if you look at North Sydney, there are some specialties. And I’ve been talking to the Prime Minister about this. And he thinks that North Sydney is the microcosm of the type of opportunities he sees for Australia, particularly in areas like IT and Health. So there are some phenomenal opportunities there that we can take advantage of.
Michael Walls: So when you say “innovation”, what are you seeing?
Trent Zimmerman: I think we’re already something of an IT hub. And the fact that the NBN is located in North Sydney is one of those anchor big operations which is spawning a lot of smaller operations. But the case that I love – which I think is a fantastic North Sydney story – is a company called 3P Learning. And it’s one of those great Aussie success stories. It’s grown to be a company employing 250 people in North Sydney and does educational projects like Mathletics which is now used by 4,500,000 students around the world – and of world renown. And it’s here in North Sydney. But the other thing which I’m really excited about is our potential, particularly in the St Leonards precinct, to become a national hub for health innovation and research.
