Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

Like most of the members on this side of the House, we've come from small business.

A government member: Like us!

I'll take that interjection. Like you—for sure. Most of the people on this side of the House have come from small business: doctors, small-business people, carpenters or whatever. When I'm make my way around my electorate of Fisher and I talk to small businesses—because the Sunshine Coast is, according to Bernard Salt, the small-business capital of the country. In my now 33 years on the Sunshine Coast, I have never seen so many Sunshine Coast businesses under the pressure they are right now. Whilst the Labor Party comes in here cock-a-hoop and talks about how good things are, they have absolutely no understanding.

If you want to know how times are tough, come to my electorate and talk to people in the main street of Mooloolaba and see the shops that are closing down in the towns in my electorate. Why? Because small businesses are doing it incredibly tough. They're doing it incredibly tough for many reasons, but I'll just pick two for the time being and they are the cost of energy and the cost of borrowing money.

I'll pick another one: the cost of energy and also—I've forgotten what I was going to say, Deputy Speaker, but I'll come back to it in a minute.

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