Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Would the Deputy Prime Minister outline to the House the importance of public and political support for small businesses struggling with the worst drought on record?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hume for his question and recognise his very strong representation not just of those struggling farming families in his electorate of Hume who have sought assistance from the government during this severe drought but all farming families across Australia. It is timely that we remember that the drought still exists and there are still many people, both from farming families on the land and working families in our regional communities, who are suffering from the worst drought that this country has ever seen.

Since 2002-03, we have been very open-handed with our assistance on behalf of the taxpayers of Australia. With the prosperity that this country is enjoying we have been able to ensure that we have given rural communities across Australia the sort of assistance they have needed during the severity of this drought. There has been about $1.6 billion worth of assistance since 2002-03. Despite some recent welcome rains in some parts of Australia, which certainly lifted spirits and lifted opportunities, we need to recognise that this drought still exists and is still having a profound impact on communities across many parts of regional Australia.

We should recognise that as a government we have helped not only the farming families and operations in those rural areas but also the businesses that operate in those rural communities. We took a decision in November of last year to extend support to small businesses which could demonstrate that they depend on the farm sector for their existence. We saw it as being a very important measure to assist those businesses that were almost entirely reliant on the farm sector for their business.

We should also remember other businesses in regional communities that rely very heavily on the economic strength of their local communities in terms of their viability and their ability to ensure the sustainability of the jobs that they provide in their community. It is very important that politicians, as part of their leadership positions, understand just how hard some of these people in small businesses across regional Australia are battling in drought affected local economies to continue to provide those jobs. The member for Hume, who represents the regional centre of Goulburn, would well recognise how hard those businesses are battling away in the face of a very severe drought and the circumstances of a lack of water in the city of Goulburn, and how hard that plays on the minds of those people in that community.

When thinking about businesses battling in communities suffering from drought, I was drawn to an article in the Australian newspaper last week. It was headed ‘Hotelier’s hell after Gillard’s attack’ and, of course, it is about the Doolans, who run a motel in Goulburn and are trying to sustain jobs in that small business in the community. They were very unfairly attacked by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and have been severely vilified in trying to manage their business and trying to grow the level of employment in their small business in a community that is severely affected by drought. That was very evident from the comments in that article from Nerida Corby, who works for the Doolans. She said:

“I am happy to be working here, they are great, they are very nice people. They are just a young family trying to run a business.”

They are just a young family trying to run a business and employ people and maintain job opportunities for young people in that community. Ms Corby also said—and this is her most important comment:

“If they don’t get the business we don’t get the jobs.”

And they need those jobs, because jobs are scarce in regional communities that are suffering from drought. Whilst the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party are in the mood to forgive and forget, first off they should apologise to the small businesses they have unfairly vilified in this debate, who are just trying to generate and provide jobs for young people in those regional communities that are suffering from drought.