I rise to speak against this motion, but I thank the member for Monash for giving us the opportunity to debate our supports for small businesses as well as discuss the impacts of the credit card surcharge ban. I know she's a hardworking member of her community and a welcome member of the class of 2025. Small businesses are such an important part of the communities that we serve and are an important part of my community in Menzies. From cafes and restaurants in Blackburn to independent retailers, pharmacists, tradies and family owned businesses across places like Doncaster and Surrey Hills, they create local jobs, they provide essential services, they drive economic activity and they serve as a really important place for community connection.

Recently, I've had the opportunity to enjoy some of the services of our local businesses. The Tunstall Square bakery has some of the best cinnamon doughnuts in Australia in my humble opinion. We've got Una Una, a great new bar that's opened in Box Hill. I grabbed a banh mi from a Bao Mi Vietnamese restaurant in Macedon Square. I've consulted regularly with our local traders around the Mont Albert traders, the Kerrimuir shops, the Whitehorse business network and the Manningham Business Network. They provide, as I said, really essential services and fantastic jobs for our local community. We know that every member of this side of the House and the members of the other side of the House engage with their local businesses to better understand the needs that they have.

We know that it's a tough time for local businesses, as well. Cost-of-living pressures mean that people do have less money to spend. The inflationary impacts of the war in the Middle East flow throughout the supply chain and increase the pressures on businesses. And we want to make sure that we're providing them with real and practical support. The member for Monash has raised our reforms to credit card surcharges and the way that small businesses and businesses deal with those. As I said, I thank her for the opportunity to provide the House with more information about that. We know that some businesses have raised issues with the impacts of that credit card surcharge ban, including ones that I've met with in my office. I think it's worth noting that 85 per cent of small-business owners did not surcharge. It's not accurate to say that every single business is affected by these things; 85 per cent of businesses did not apply a separate surcharge fee. It's particularly high in hospitality, which is why we might see it more in restaurants and in cafes. But, of course, when people are paying a tradie, a pharmacist or their GP, they probably haven't seen that surcharge applied. That's not to dismiss or minimise the impact on those that will no longer be able to apply that surcharge, but it is to put it in context and in perspective.

That 15-odd per cent of businesses may need to incorporate those fees into their costs, but I think it's worth considering the reasons for the reforms by the RBA and the ATO. Essentially, one of the main reasons is to make prices clearer for consumers by removing a separate card surcharge. We've all been at a cafe where we go up to the counter, expect to pay a certain amount for a coffee and pay a higher amount because of that surcharge fee. Often there's a little plastic or a paper sign beside the EFTPOS machine indicating that a surcharge fee will be applied, but that's not the price that we've seen on the menu. And so this just ensures there's greater transparency for consumers. The RBA did conduct surveys prior to applying this and found the overwhelming majority of consumers didn't agree with having to pay a different price than what's on the menu or the price tag. Seventy-six per cent said it's unnecessary and that it should stop, and 60 per cent said prices should be all inclusive—that we should just have the price that's on the menu or the price tag be what the customer is actually going to pay.

It's really important to note as well that we've reduced interchange fees. We've reduced the cost of accepting card payments for businesses. That means a lot of businesses are going to benefit. Their overheads will be less as a result of these changes. That's one practical way that we're making sure we're helping the small businesses in our community. Our reforms will also improve competition and transparency in the payment system. If businesses find that they are paying too much for those merchant fees from the bank, they should have a look around and find a lower provider.