Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me pleasure to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Accelerated Depreciation For Small Business Entities) Bill 2017 today because, quite simply, it is the government supporting Labor policy that was first introduced by the member for Lilley, and, unlike the government, the Labor Party has been consistent in backing Australian small businesses, rather than flip-flopping around with this policy. We have heard speaker after speaker lecture everyone about their credentials around small business. When it comes to this policy, they have not been consistent; they have been inconsistent with small businesses in Australia.

I am proud to be someone who grew up in a family deeply invested in small business—someone who learnt from an early age the importance of running a payroll and of looking after workers in my father's small business. When he came out of the war, my father traded as a butcher and ran a number of butcher shops with his brother, Milton Dick Sr, and Dick Brothers Meats was an institution across Brisbane.

So I am very proud to say that I am from a family of small business—because far too often we hear, from that side of the chamber, untruths about where Labor sides as to business. Today I am going to put very clearly on the record, on behalf of the businesses in my electorate, that I back them 100 per cent. Small businesses need our support and they need policies which back them, because we know that, when Labor was in government, originally we recognised the value of an increased immediate deductibility threshold for small businesses and increased the threshold from $1,000 to $6,500, as part of a broad package of tax reforms contained in the Tax Laws Amendment (Stronger, Fairer, Simpler and Other Measures) Bill 2011.

This broad package was introduced and, as I said, lifted the threshold. I may add, for the record: it was opposed by those opposite. That bill was actually opposed. And I am going to place on the record today the name of the person who introduced this measure, which somehow the government wants to be patted on the back for, and somehow wants somehow to be congratulated on, despite the flip-flopping that we have seen. It was introduced by the member for Maribyrnong—who, at the time, was the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation—Bill Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition. In the speech, the leader said:

These changes improve cash flow for businesses and makes investing in and growing their business more achievable—

which is precisely what they did. The increased asset threshold was embraced by the small-business community across Australia, who saw tremendous value in this policy. But, despite the support shown at the time, and despite all the lectures that we have heard today, what did the government do when they came to power? They scrapped it. That is right—the government scrapped this measure. We know it was unfortunately part of the 2014 budget—that toxic 2014 budget that seems to live on and on throughout Australia and keeps coming back to haunt the government. I believe that the inconsistency we have seen from the government has continued on from that moment.

So rather than supporting small businesses with the competence those opposite like to talk about, the Liberal-National government tore up the increased threshold and scrapped it. I may add that members on this side of the House opposed them every step of the way. Then, like they always do, the government performed a U-turn when the Abbott government reversed its position the following year and proposed a temporary two-year increase in the deductibility threshold to $20,000 in the 2015-16 budget. Of course, this side of the House was happy to support that. But so much for providing the confidence and business confidence we hear about in lectures from members of the government today.

It is a little galling to hear the government wanting to be congratulated for this measure when for the last four or five years they have not been consistent. In fact, we know business investment looks set to slide for a fifth consecutive year under this government, with total business investing falling to 2.1 per cent in the December quarter alone. That is more than double what was forecasted by economists. This includes plans for mining investment down 20 per cent and plans for manufacturing investment down 1.2 per cent over the past year. But we should not be surprised when we have an incompetent government like this, flip-flopping around on small business policy and trying to introduce measures which are simply supported by the Australian community.

Labor, on the other hand, recognise the importance of consistency for businesses, which is why we will support the bill today to extend by 12 months to June 2018 the period in which small businesses and small business entities can temporarily access expanded, accelerated depreciation rules. This extension is also supported by small business groups across Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, said, 'a healthy small business sector is a prerequisite for a growing economy with high employment opportunities'. Of course, there are also a number of other key groups.

Labor recognises the importance of supporting the two million genuine Australian small businesses that represent 83 per cent of Australian companies. In my electorate there are 8,748 small businesses who provide thousands of jobs to local residents and inject millions of dollars into our local economy in the south-west of Brisbane. Quite simply, small business is the backbone of our local economy in the south-west of Brisbane. In my local area small businesses are supported strongly by some terrific chambers of commerce. The Centenary and Districts Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce are two I am proud to work closely with. Led by presidents Steve Pollard and Neil Coupland, the chambers provide advocacy, support and particularly support for new members who join our growing local economy.

From the centenary suburbs of Jindalee and Mount Ommaney all the way to Australia's fastest-growing region, the Greater Springfield area, small businesses make a huge contribution by employing local young people, giving people their first job and also giving opportunities to people getting back into the workforce. Just a few short weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Little Tokyo Two, a hub for local start-ups in the Springfield area with the shadow minister for trade and investment, Jason Clare, where we saw firsthand the spirit of small businesses and the boundless opportunities that are finding their way through the Springfield corridor.

Small businesses contribute so much to our national prosperity, including providing a livelihood for millions of Australians. Whether they be sole traders, partnerships, trusts or small employers, they have helped underpin more than 25 years of Australian economic growth. Labor's commitment to supporting these small businesses is unwavering. Labor is proud to have led the debate in this policy area in recent years by offering practical policies to support Australia's industrious small-business sector. In 2016 Labor took a comprehensive suite of small-business policies to the federal election, including a responsible plan to cut company tax for small businesses with turnovers of less than $2 million, a plan to level the playing field for small businesses by ensuring that multinationals pay their fair share of tax, and a plan to help small businesses incorporate without additional red tape, along with a range of innovative policies to assist small businesses better access finance and help entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

Labor has continued to fight for small businesses in the 45th Parliament. We continue to develop and advocate for policies that will benefit Australian small businesses, helping them grow and prosper. In February of this year, Labor introduced into the Senate the Competition and Consumer Legislation Amendment (Small Business Access to Justice) Bill 2017. These access to justice reforms would help small businesses take cases of anticompetitive behaviour to court. Currently, small businesses are less likely to take up private litigation against anticompetitive behaviour. This is because big businesses have deep pockets, as we know, and armies of lawyers, which means the risk of small businesses being overwhelmed and having to pay the big businesses legal fees is a significant obstacle. Despite this, the government has refused to address this inequity in the face of the Productivity Commission and the government's own competition review saying that small businesses are disadvantaged in the court process. I am proud to see that Labor's bill will restore the balance by letting a small business request a no adverse cost order early in a court case. This will help level the playing field and encourage more small businesses to take on anticompetitive behaviour.

Labor has also announced a package of reforms to tackle illegal company phoenixing, as my friend and colleague the member for Macquarie was talking about in her contribution earlier today. As we know, this is a practice that often leaves a small businesses on the hook for unpaid debt that they are never able to recover. Labor will crack down on dodgy directors who engage in phoenix activity where they deliberately burn companies in an attempt to avoid their obligation to employees, government and honest businesses. The package will see employees and business owners benefit from new enforcement tools for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, tightened laws protecting employee entitlements, and harsher penalties to deter and punish insidious phoenix activity. Currently in Australia, it is easier to be a company director than to open a bank account, yet the government has barely raised a peep about phoenix activity. Rather, the coalition has chosen to continue its narrow, ideological agenda. We know their priority is not looking after the little guy, not looking after the battler, and not even looking after the small-business operator. We know their agenda is—front and centre, first, second and third—delivering large multinational companies tax cuts. We know that is their agenda.

On this side of the chamber, we have a different view. Labor's new plan will require all company directors to obtain a unique director identification number with a 100 point identification check, increase penalties associated with phoenix activity, introduce an objective test for transactions depriving employees of their entitlements, clarify the availability of compensation orders against accessories, and consult on target integrity measures based on the recommendations of the Melbourne Law School and Monash Business School phoenix research team's recommendations. I acknowledge the good work and the hard work of our shadow minister, Andrew Leigh, in this area. Estimated in 2012 to cost up to $3.2 billion annually, fraudulent phoenix activity hurts employees, small businesses, subcontractors and, most importantly, families—families and small businesses right across Australia.

With respect to the instant write-off, it was the Labor Party that first identified the value for Australian businesses in increasing the immediate deductible threshold. We know, on this side of the chamber, it was Labor who increased that threshold for small businesses from $1,000 to $6,500. We know it was one of the poorest decisions under the Abbott-Turnbull government to junk this. So, whilst we hear a lot of platitudes from those opposite saying, 'We're the champions of small business,' look at what they have done, not what they say. Let's remember that one of the first actions they took on coming into government was to reduce that from $6½ thousand down to $1,000. We hear a lot from those opposite saying, 'Look, we support small business', but, when it comes to the record, in this particular policy area they are found to be wanting. I understand that the government then realised that this was a huge mistake, that they got it wrong. But the consistency is important, as I said in my opening remarks.

While we welcome the decision to extend the small business instant asset write-off, we note that this measure will cost the budget around $1 billion in 2018-19. We want to make sure that, with a large expense on the budget, the predicted economic benefits are being delivered, and we are going to call on the government to evaluate it and release the evaluation in full prior to any further extension. That is a measured response. That is a sensible response that the Australian community understands.

So there is no doubt of the enormous contribution that small business makes to Australia. Accounting for 33 per cent of Australia's GDP and employing 50 per cent of the workforce, small businesses really drive our economy. Labor, including me, as the local federal member for Oxley and Brisbane's south-west, will continue to support small businesses. We support this bill to extend the instant asset write-off to encourage small businesses to grow and prosper, to see those jobs of the future, particularly in the corridors that I represent—the high-growth corridors—to make sure that our young kids get jobs and that they continue in the future.

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