Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I love being lectured by the other side about what the Labor Party is and is not! Perhaps, if people are so well versed in what the Labor Party is, they might consider joining the Labor Party! I can tell you right now that the Labor Party is a party that stands for small business.

I, like many in this House, grew up in a small business family. I can remember: on the weekends, I was in the shop. It is how I learnt to count; I was helping with the cash register. CJ Discount Furniture was my family business. We sold second-hand furniture, and we had one employee. So it was a small business that employed one person who helped out and was paid award wages. But largely it was my mum and dad who did the work.

I was reflecting on how my parents, as owners of this business, would have engaged with this debate and whether they would have had the confidence now, because of these measures, to go out and buy new assets for that business, whether that be a truck, or a new cash register—one of the electronic ones. And I thought to myself, 'Probably not, because this government just can't be trusted.'

This particular policy is a fabulous example of this government's ability to backflip. There have been so many backflips from this government in a short period of time that they could almost qualify for the Australian Olympic team—seriously. When these measures were put forward by the former Labor government, those people, who are now claiming to be the best friends of small business, voted against it. They voted against increasing the instant asset write-off and they sided with the Greens in the Senate to block cutting the company tax rate for small businesses, but now we see them in this bill, the Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No. 1) Bill 2015. One of the very first things they did when they got elected into government was to scrap Labor's instant asset write-off of $6,500. How could you do so many backflips in such a short period of time, when your record states your position on these measures, and think that small businesses are going to trust you this time and have confidence in you? What is going to happen next month? What is going to happen next year? In a three-year term of government, the first year you repeal it; in the second year you bring it back; what is happening in the third year? I understand why small businesses in our communities might be a bit sceptical about this government and their measures, because their talk is quite cheap, because of their track record. They are backflipping over and over again on policy, particularly in this space.

In Labor, we have said consistently, since before budget night, in our contributions after the last budget and after this budget, that we will support the company tax cut of 1.5 per cent. We said that in our contributions because we believed it was a good idea when we were in government; we believe it is a good idea today.

When this government came to power, one of the first things they did was to cut assistance to small and micro businesses by $5 billion. That is what they did in their last budget. They also slashed the instant asset write-off for small businesses—the very measure that this government is trying to bring back in this bill. These cuts have hurt small businesses, particularly in my own area of Bendigo.

Yes, in Bendigo and in regional areas, we have a very strong network of small businesses. The Bendigo small business network meets every Friday morning. They reviewed the measures that were in the budget and when it was put forward that the instant asset write-off was back they went, 'Then why did they get rid of it in the first place?' They were the words at the breakfast the Friday after the budget night. They were scratching their heads going, 'So now it's a good idea? They're bringing it back.' They have lost and broken the trust of so many small businesses out there. These cuts, as I have said, have hurt small business cash flow, they have hurt consumer confidence and they have also hurt the confidence of small businesses to get out there and invest. Now, in an effort to save their own jobs, their own backbenchers, their own marginal seats and their own ministry jobs, they are proposing to bring it back. Their track record, though, means that they cannot be trusted.

Labor believes in small business. In government we had a good record on supporting small business with a number of the tax incentives that we introduced. Labor increased the instant asset-write-off threshold for small businesses from $1,000 to $6,500. The number of assets that this could apply to was unlimited. Labor also introduced the accelerated deductions for motor vehicles and increased the tax-free threshold, something that had not happened in this country for a very long time. Labor tripled it, not only helping low-income earners but a number of our sole traders. The sole traders that I have met in small country towns like Maldon and Elmore have said that that measure, that particular introduction by Labor, helped out their small business.

This is in contrast to what we have seen from this government, and their appalling record since they came to power—the backflips that we have seen. We have members of the government who voted against these measures when they were in opposition, who then voted to repeal them after last year's budget, and who are now going to vote for them. Can you imagine the score card that is going to go out in their electorates? We talk about trust and credibility in this place. On this issue, which they are championing so loudly, you would think that they would be a little bit embarrassed. You would think that they would be a little bit humble about it. Instead, they have gone and made this big song and dance about the fact that they have backflipped, and about the fact that they are now supporting Labor reforms that we put forward when we were last in government. I am quite surprised that people are quite openly going out there and promoting the fact that they have backflipped on these policy measures, because it is not going to take long for the score cards to be developed and distributed.

As I said, in the Bendigo small-business network, in my own electorate, the day after the budget, the question was asked: if they support it, then why did they scrap it? It is not just the backflips, and that they are now agreeing to really good Labor policy. They have also tried to overreach by suggesting that this policy will create thousands and thousands of new jobs. Sure, there might be some jobs that it creates in retail, but they will not create jobs in small business. Sure, they will help the productivity of some of these businesses. But when I have asked small businesses if they will hire an extra person they have said no. They might by a coffee machine for the workplace. They might be a TV. They may or may not by an asset that they do need, but it is not enough for them to hire a new person.

I really think they have overreached on how many jobs they believe this measure will create. This policy is not about creating jobs. It may create some retail jobs, but it is not the silver bullet to solving Australia's unemployment problem. It is not the silver bullet to reducing our unemployment rate, which is now at the highest level we have had since the Prime Minister was the employment minister in the Howard years.

There are other examples about how this government is failing small business—in government procurement and in cleaning. Cleaning companies by and large are small to medium businesses. They work on margins. This government scrapped the Clean Start Guidelines, meaning that contract prices are going to fall. Contract prices will fall as a result of this government. This government has failed cleaning companies that are competing for contracts. They are now undercutting each other and going to a lower rate and smaller contracts as a result of this government. That hurts those businesses.

Defence manufacturing is another area where this government is hurting small business. Some people may think it is all large businesses that are involved in Defence contracting; it is not. In Bendigo we have Thales, which built the Bushmaster, but 120 companies are part of that supply chain. The mufflers on the Bushmaster are made at a small business up the road in Long Gully. At that business, they are worried about future work at the site, because this government is dragging its feet on signing the Hawkei contract, which is the next vehicle that we want to build out of Bendigo.

This government is hurting small businesses in other ways. I think it is important that in this debate we highlight the other attacks this government is making on small businesses. Consider petrol prices and the fact that this government is increasing the fuel excise, and that it will be passed on to motorists, including small businesses. Petrol prices are going up for our courier drivers—not the ones who use diesel—but for the simple car for small businesses. In regions like mine, people drive further. To get from A to B means that you spend more on petrol. It is a hidden cost that is going to hit our small businesses. Now consider farmers. We all know that our farmers are small businesses, yet what this government failed to do when they were first elected was to support the farmers who supply SPC. They refused to support SPC, and left it up to the state government to help SPC modernise and survive. They hurt the small businesses—the farmers—around Shepparton, by not supporting SPC.

GPs, too, are small businesses. We have heard time and time again that they are small businesses. What does this government do to our GPs, which are small businesses? They tried to hit them with the GP tax. They tried to introduce a GP tax and make them be a collector of tax to pass on the government. What is this government now doing in this budget to our doctors? They are freezing the Medicare rebate—another hidden attack on small business. I could go on and on about the hidden attacks in this budget by this government on small business—whether it be procurement; whether it be their ridiculous red tap repeal days that involved abolishing minimum pay rates and standards in the Clean Start Guidelines; whether it be their budget; whether it be their failure to invest and support industry development and growth; or whether it be the backflipping they are doing on important, key, core legislation like this. This government is failing our small businesses. They are creating uncertainty. We have seen more backflips in this area of public policy, more backflips here than elsewhere.

As I said, these are good ideas that Labor introduced when they were in government. It is great to see the government change their mind and join us and vote with us. Let us hope that it is for longer than 12 months. Let us hope that in next year's budget we do not see another backflip and that it does not go from 20,000 back to 1,000. Let us hope that these measures are genuine and real and that they have finally caught up and are on the same page as Labor when it comes to small business.

Let us also hope they get on with supporting industries and the small business industries that we have, like Defence manufacturing, like contract cleaning, like government procurement. Let us hope that this government realises that the support for small business also includes supporting industry, the industries that we have.

Let us also hope that they get behind trades, get behind our skills and ensure that we have the skilled young people ready to work for these small businesses. When I talk to small businesses—when I am out there in Kyneton talking to the shopkeepers, when I am talking to the Bendigo Small Business Network, when I am talking to the Bendigo Business Council—they talk about a couple of key areas, and one them is trades.

One of them is the fact that another thing this government they scrapped was Tools for Your Trade. Small businesses want to talk about how this government withdrew so much money from the apprenticeship scheme. They want to employ young people; they want to find skilled young people, but this government has made it harder for them. This government walked away from ensuring that we have skilled young people ready to go into their business.

They also talk about the need for this government to buy what we make; to have genuine, decent procurement policies for local goods and services. Again, all we see is stalling from this government. These measures are welcomed. We on this side have said that we support them. It is great to see the government backflip the right way and support these measures.

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