Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his first question to me. The Rudd Labor government is committed to supporting small business in this country. We took to the last election a range of policies that we will implement and implement in full. They include the provision of one-stop-shop advisory services to small businesses. They include revisions to the Trade Practices Act that will ensure that small businesses get a fair deal and can operate in an open, competitive environment with more powerful businesses. Our policies also extend to the area of industrial relations. In the industrial relations area we have witnessed, under the previous government, the accumulation of enormous amounts of red tape. For example, as at November last year, 150,000 agreements were awaiting approval from the Workplace Authority.

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