Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mallee for moving this very timely motion in support of small business. Unlike so many members opposite, the member for Mallee understands small business because he has actually lived the experience of a small-business owner. Having run my own convention and event-management company for many years, prior to being elected to this place, I can also attest to the level of innovation, endeavour and resilience it takes to run a successful small business.

A strong small-business sector benefits all Australians. Indeed, if only half the small businesses in Australia hired just one extra worker our country would have zero unemployment. Yet small business is a tough world. Margins can be tight, markets can be crowded and competitive, and larger players do not always play fair. Building a business takes you away from quality time spent with family and friends. Cashflows and credit lines are a constant source of concern and many small businesses just do not stand the test of time.

Success requires resilience. It requires hard work and determination. It requires a government that understands that small businesses do not need handouts but they could certainly benefit from a tax system that provides the right incentives to invest and grow. This government listens when small business speaks but, better than that, it takes action. The 2015 budget confirms that the coalition government is the best friend small business has ever had. It is a budget framed around creating the right conditions for small businesses to grow, for small businesses to prosper and for small businesses to employ more Australians.

This budget was good for small business on many levels, not only the tax cut from 30 per cent to 28.5 per cent. The measure that has garnered the biggest positive reaction amongst small businesses in my electorate was, as the member for Mallee has outlined in his motion, the accelerated depreciation of assets purchased under $20,000 in value. Following the budget, I invited the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, to visit my electorate to speak to an owner of one of more than 13,000 registered small businesses in Ryan which stand to benefit from the budget. We visited Savas Ermides at his family run Briki Espresso and Gelati Bar in the suburb of Ironside. The Treasurer himself remarked that Mr Ermides's business was exactly the sort of business he was speaking about in his budget speech. The budget will make a real difference to that business. Mr Ermides wants to expand his cafe and buy a new oven so that he can serve more customers and grow his business. As a result of the accelerated depreciation changes in the budget, he will now be able to invest in the equipment required and receive an immediate tax deduction. This means more money back into the business sooner and a flow-on effect for other local businesses.

This budget is one of the most small business friendly budgets ever delivered. It is very good news for the thousands—indeed, tens of thousands—of small businesses across Australia, and it is a budget that could only ever have been delivered by a coalition government because we are the only side of politics that has the breadth of real-life experience to truly understand the needs of small business owners. When we say we support small business, we actually mean it. We stand on our record of doing the right thing by small business. Whether it is removing unnecessary red tape, creating access to new markets in North Asia through trade agreements or, now, by ensuring the tax system better rewards investment, the coalition government always has the needs of small business front and centre of our thinking. The coalition stands for small business. It is in our DNA. I commend the motion to the House.

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