Matt Gregg (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We can all agree that small business needs all the support that we can provide, and I'm so proud to be part of a government that is dedicated to improving the operating environment for small business. I hope, taking the coalition at its word, that it's about supporting small business—that it will take a break from self-destruction and self-congratulation and be banging on the door of the minister for the environment in the hope of securing an EPBC Act reform that fulfils all of the needs of small business. And I hope that all of the benefits to small business are realised by the proper negotiation of that legislation. We've seen a lot of political theatre and a lot of performance, but, if you really meant what you said about helping small business, you would be doing everything you could to ensure the passage of that bill in the interests of small businesses around Australia.

Getting rid of red tape is certainly part of the mission in assisting small business, and that's why we're looking at about 400 different regulatory reforms proposed by regulators after the economic roundtable. We've got exciting innovations that will be coming in to support small business over the next few years. This is all part of the National Small Business Strategy that was released by the minister earlier this year. We have the momentum in government and in our agencies, and in working with other levels of government, to ensure that compliance is no more complicated than it has to be, that regulations are simplified, that we're not having duplication in processes and that we are being as fair, effective and efficient as possible when it comes to the regulation of businesses, because we know that regulation and red tape are holding back both small and large businesses. The focus of this government is on ensuring that we're dealing with regulatory reform in a way that makes things easier, that the reform is facilitative and that we are able to untap the potential of our economy—and that focus is going to be a defining feature of the next three years of work by this government.

In relation to tax, we've seen a tax cut for 1.5 million businesses acting as sole traders, which was opposed by the opposition. They talk about the lack of tax cuts, but they opposed a big tax cut to a whole lot of businesses not very long ago. We've also got small, discrete initiatives such as extending the instant asset write-off into the future, to ensure that tradies who need to update their tools or a cafe that needs to get a new barista machine are able to write them off straightaway to incentivise those investments within business. To have that program continue is going to be incredibly important for those small businesses to be able to invest in their future with confidence. We've also got a $400 million industry growth program to help entrepreneurs to commercialise their ideas and get the skills and support they need to have successful businesses, to ensure that their potential can be unlocked into the future.

We've got a government that is incredibly focused on easing the pathway for small businesses in the way we pay at a government level, the way we open up procurement and all of those things. To the extent that we have influence, we are doing everything possible to support small business. We have ideas that go beyond the coalition's standard 'Oh, let's just cut the working conditions of working people—that's what small business needs.' No: we need an economy that is supporting small businesses to succeed, to innovate, to increase their productivity and to thrive.

There are many aspects to this problem, and energy is one of them. I was kind of surprised that the member for Goldstein wasn't emphasising energy policy—well, not surprised, given what his own party has done since that motion was drafted. If you wanted to design a policy that would create uncertainty and a lack of investment, and fail to drive down power prices in the long term, you would have the coalition's 23rd consecutive pamphlet on energy policy—another one that says, 'Kick the can down the road and let's hope for the best.' That's been their policy since about 2009. It's achieved nothing over the last decade, and it's not going to achieve anything in the future. It's an embarrassing indictment on the coalition's inability to grapple with wicked problems that are affecting small businesses like the small businesses that might install solar panels on the roofs of people's houses or install batteries. Those small businesses matter too. Small businesses are working to be part of the energy transition. I've got a business in my own area that is using hydrogen generators—a fantastic opportunity for lower emissions power generation on islands and in small communities. There's a lot of good work being done by small businesses, and that's going to be undermined by policy uncertainty.

I would say if you want to reflect a commitment to small businesses this week, the best thing you could do is stop congratulating yourself for a minute and go to Senator Watt's office to make sure that the EPBC bill is passed and that all of the pro business aspects of it are safeguarded. That is what a serious opposition would do. That is what a serious party that cares about small businesses would be doing today.

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