Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. The honourable member grew up in a small business in Rockhampton with her parents. I think she worked for 21 years in the Lucky Daniel News & Casket Agency—if I remember correctly.

It is the experience of so many on this side of the House—that is, they come from small business. I can see the member for Cowper who was involved with caravan parks. I can see the member for Flynn who had a fuel distributing business. Below him I can see a man who was involved in the hotel business. Another one was an electrical trader. In essence, what drives people on this side of the House is a belief that you can start from any position in life, from any sense of education, from any sense of wealth or without, and make your way through the economic and social stratification by reason of small business to obtain your highest level of freedom, to be master of your own ship. That is what we believe on this side. Therefore, we stand behind laws and changes to laws that allow a person that sense of freedom.

It does provide a sense of ingenuity, a sense of in nimbleness to an economy because it makes sure that access to the marketplace and to the economy remains open for all. We know that with more participants in a marketplace we have a greater sense of competition and, over the longer run, obviously, a better price and also a greater sense of being able to develop products and processes.

There are over two million small businesses in Australia employing well over four million people. It is such a large section of our economy.

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