Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Small business is the lifeblood of the northern Gold Coast, from Coombabah to Coomera, from Pacific Pines to Pimpama. These are the suburbs where Australians are taking risks, building futures and driving our local economy with hard work and pride. But, under this Labor government, they've been forgotten. While the recent roundtable focused on big business, big unions and big government, our small-business owners are burdened with rising costs, worker shortages and red tape that makes it harder to grow, harder to hire and, quite frankly, harder to stay afloat. Power bills are up, insurance is out of control and Labor's industrial relations changes have made life even more difficult for those trying to employ locally. Every extra cost, every form and every delay chips away at confidence and adds to the pressure. Labor promised to back small business, but what have they delivered? No meaningful tax relief and no clear plan to address skill shortages—just more paperwork, more complexity and more spin.

Our small businesses want government to get out of the way and let them succeed. They don't want handouts; they just want a fair go. It's time for a government that understands small business isn't just part of the economy; it is the economy. The small-business owners in my electorate of Fadden at the northern end of the Gold Coast deserve better than neglect from this Labor government.

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