I rise to make a plea to the government to pause—stop and consider what these bills will mean for the small businesses in Fowler and right across this nation. In Fowler, there are more than 27 small businesses. Many of them are family run—the mum and dad who run the local laundromat, the family with a small real estate agency, the couple who've built up a few restaurants and the mechanic who opens the roller door at seven every morning and close long after dark. Many came to this country with nothing. They work long hours. They do not ask for handouts. They are building a safety net so their children and their children's children will never have to rely on government. These are not tax dodgers; they are the backbone of this country.

At our Fowler business forum last week, one owner, who runs Salon Online, asked me a simple question: who pays the government's taxes? Small businesses employ people. Those employees pay tax. Without those businesses, where will the government get the taxes that pay for this parliament, the bureaucracy and the services this nation relies on? She has a point. Small business is the engine of this economy. Changes of this scale to negative gearing, capital gains tax, trusts and R&D should have been taken to the people at the last election. They were not. The Prime Minister ruled out these changes again and again during the 2025 campaign. These are not technical tweaks. They go to the livelihoods of families who have spent decades building something.

I'm concerned about how the government is handling these bills. These are complex changes with significant consequences for businesses, families and investment. Yet they have been brought together in a cognate debate with very little time for us to review the detail. Members should have a proper opportunity to examine these bills. How can we assure business owners that the consequences have been carefully considered when we have had so little time to examine those consequences ourselves? These serious matters require serious scrutiny. The government controls the timetable. It should allow parliament time to do its job.

On 21 October I held the first Fowler Small Business Forum with local small-business owners. They came from cafes and restaurants, allied health, textiles, IT and other industries. Their message was consistent. They are already struggling, and they fear these changes will make things harder. Small businesses pay tax and collect GST without withholding employees' superannuation. Making it harder to run a business affects workers, families and revenue-supporting public services. Several owners at our forum operate through trusts. Some have arrangements involving what are commonly known as bucket companies. They now face difficult questions: Will they pay more tax? Will they need to restructure? What will professional advice cost? That is the perspective I bring to this debate, focusing on the trust and restructuring measures in the No. 3 bill and the R&D changes in the No. 4 bill.

My starting point is fairness. Everyone should pay their fair share of tax. I understand the government's argument about differences between the taxation of discretionary trust income and a worker's earnings, but fairness also means considering who is affected and whether the transition is reasonable.