Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I became a member in this place, I ran a small family owned business, the one my dad started out the back of the van in 1987. He employed me, my mum and dozens of locals. It paid for my education and it put my food on our table. My whole life has been shaped by small business. I understand the pressures that comes with keeping the doors open, and I know the hours, the risks and, of course, the rewards. So when small businesses say they need support I understand them, and so does this government. We know that there's no single fix, but we also know what makes a difference—practical support, clear policy and economy-wide reform.

The member for Casey said there that was only one bill to help small business in the last term. I challenge that, because fee-free TAFE helped small businesses find skilled staff, accessible and affordable child care helped small businesses retain staff, and our tax cuts, which the Liberals and the member for Casey voted against, will help 1.5 million sole traders. That tax cut will help small businesses across the country.

Small businesses employ over five million Australians and contribute $600 billion to our economy. They give our town centres life. They sponsor our local sports teams. They back themselves again and again, in good times and bad. In Bennelong, they're the beating heart of our community, from Ryde to Lane Cove, from Gladesville to Eastwood. In my time as councillor, mayor and, now, MP, I've spent countless hours in our town centres talking to small-business owners about what's working, what 's not and what needs to change. I have listened and I have brought their voices back here.

I'm not the only one. This government has taken that feedback seriously. We are showing up to small businesses with real, practical support. There's been $2 billion in targeted support since coming to office in 2022. We've helped with energy rebates, which, of course, were opposed by the member for Casey and all those opposite. We have supported small businesses to reduce their emissions and power costs with grants of up to $25,000 for energy upgrades. We are now supporting small businesses by making them eligible for our Cheaper Home Batteries Program. We have extended that great Labor policy, the instant asset write-off, started under Kevin Rudd, by another year. That's up to $20,000 for instant asset write-off. We are also investing in digital and cyber support for small businesses, something we know they need to be across to remain competitive in a modern economy. We are strengthening the franchising code, cracking down on unfair trading practices and extending protections to small businesses dealing with the big players. It's not just about dollars and grants; it's about how the government engage with small businesses and how we expect others to do the same.

That's why we had our first National Small Business Strategy, bringing all levels of government together to reduce duplication and make support simpler to access. Small business retains its seat in cabinet, and regular small business ministerial meetings give owners a direct line to government decision-making. I know so many MPs on this side of the House who regularly engage with their small-business community and bring their ideas and their feedback straight back to this place.

It's what I did when we ran a really successful digital payments campaign to reduce the cost of surcharges on small businesses. They were telling me—and I knew this myself—surcharges were hitting small businesses hard. The government took that feedback seriously. We are now in the middle of decade-overdue reform.

We look forward to receiving that final advice from the RBA and industry as the government responds to it. This is how we do things on this side of the House. We listen, act and stay engaged. We're working every day to make it easier to run a business, to hire skilled staff and to invest in businesses with confidence by reducing red tape, including through planning and zoning reforms, backed by our $900 million national productivity fund. We're backing apprenticeships. We're backing industry growth and mental health support for small businesses, because we understand that resilience isn't just financial. And of course there are those tax cuts, which the members opposite voted against, helping 1.5 million sole traders from 1 July next year. The difference is this: we don't just say we support small business; we actually show it.

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