Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges 2.5 million small businesses have been abandoned by the Government;

(2) notes the Government has:

(a) achieved a record number of small business insolvencies this financial year;

(b) done nothing to create an environment for small businesses to thrive; and

(c) made it more difficult than ever to do business in Australia; and

(3) calls on the Government to prioritise the problems facing small businesses by:

(a) removing excessive regulation it insists on applying to small business;

(b) scrapping its plans to impose a family savings tax on unrealised capital gains; and

(c) backing small business to make it easier to employ Australians.

Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, firstly, congratulations on your elevation to office. When I think about the challenges small businesses face around Australia today, I think about how they start their day—people getting up with initiative and backing themselves; driving themselves to work, watching the petrol meter and wondering whether they're going to get themselves through and whether they're going to top up their fuel today or tomorrow because of the challenges of meeting the costs they confront; and getting into their shop, to their home family office or into some sort of warehouse they've converted to be the base for their stock and whether they're going to be able to pay for their wages and for the salaries for the people they employ. Every day in this country, small businesses face real and significant challenges to meet the stresses and to be able to back themselves and get ahead. They don't ask much of government; all they ask is that the government backs them to be able to get ahead and do the work that they need to do.

The challenge, since the election of the Albanese government, since 2022, is we have seen a consistent decline in the number of small businesses in this country. More disturbingly, we have seen record small-business insolvencies in this nation right now, and we are facing a crisis for small businesses where nothing is going their way as a conscious decision of this government, whether it is the realities of rising energy prices that fall on deaf ears directly because of the consequences of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, whether it is the reality of the rising taxes at both a state and federal level or, of course, whether it is the realities that people are experiencing because of the complicated nature of industrial relations laws. When industry does simple things, like try to look at pathways to actually pay their workers more or to get simplicity in the system so that they don't have to build out a HR department for a local milk bar or a small business that has two employees, the government's only solution is to slap them down and to make it clear that there is no pathway to simplicity in industrial relations laws without the backing of a union official to come and bully them in their workplace.

This is the lived reality of so many small businesses in this nation today, and that is why we need serious change—because we have a problem, when I go and talk to small businesses, where there is a lack of aggregate demand and confidence amongst consumers to go in and spend with confidence. When they don't do that, consumers go and, of course, focus directly on the major supermarket chains where they need the bare necessities rather than on discretionary spending. As a consequence, small businesses suffer real and challenging realities around their cash flow, and they're just struggling to make ends meet. In addition to the financial pressure of how they're going to meet their expenditure today, so often—Deputy Speaker, as I hope you know—it is backed by the security of the mortgage often of their own home.

But, even worse than that, so many small businesses in this country are not just the source of an income for small businesses today; they are also the basis of retirement security for tomorrow. When this Labor government puts forward a new tax that Australians simply did not vote—a family savings tax on unrealised capital gains that will directly attack and assault the assets that small businesses have put in their superannuation not just for security but as the basis for their confidence for their retirement in the long run, just as farmers have done and just as families have done—it means we now face a crisis where Australians no longer know where to turn or how to plan for their future. This family savings tax on unrealised capital gains is not just an attack on the well heeled, as the Labor Party would like to make it out to be; it is a direct assault on small businesses and those who are backing themselves to get ahead. More than anything now, we need confidence for the small businesses of this nation, and it comes from Canberra saying, 'We understand and will either get out of your way or back you every step of the way, because you are the employers of this country and the foundation of our economic success.'

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

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

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's been three years, but, in some ways, it seems less than a day—welcome back, Member for Goldstein. It reminds me of the great Arthur Mailey, pre-World-War-II spin bowler, then journalist, then owner of a butchery, who put up a sign on the counter of his store that read: 'I bowled tripe, I wrote tripe and now I sell tripe.' It's been three years, but the same tired, old tripe or tropes are again being placed on the table—anti worker and anti fairness in super. We've heard this before.

Nonetheless, I rise to speak to the motion brought forward by the member for Goldstein. I want to thank the member for bringing this motion forward because, despite its manifest shortfalls and negative tone, it gives all of us on this side of the House an opportunity to set the record straight about the great work that the Albanese government is doing to support Australian small businesses to grow and thrive.

Let's talk about what the government has actually been doing to support small businesses. Over the last three years, our government has provided $2 billion in targeted support for Australian small businesses. This targeted support is there for small business in the good times and the not-so-good times. These supports have been developed through engaging with and listening to small businesses and working with them to deliver what they need.

Let's talk about some of those supports. Let's talk about our efforts to tackle energy costs for small businesses. We continue to deliver targeted energy bill relief and energy efficiency grants. One million small businesses have been able to access up to $800 in bill relief and up to $25,000 in grants to fund energy upgrades. The grant program, in particular, is worth more than $56 million in total. Let's talk about the $33.4 million we've spent to improve payment times for small business, including the overhauled Payment Times Reporting Scheme. Let's talk about the $60 million that's been invested in the digital assistance program, the Cyber Wardens program, the Small Business Cyber Resilience Service and the cyber health check. Let's also talk about the $400 million the government has put forward through the Industry Growth Program to help small businesses to develop, innovate and grow.

When times are tough, we are providing targeted and specific support to small businesses and the Australians who work so hard to keep them going. Let's talk about the $25.9 million in funding for supports for the mental health and financial wellbeing of small-business owners through the NewAccess for Small Business Owners program and the Small Business Debt Helpline. This government has the backs of small businesses and small-business owners.

All this is underpinned by our National Small Business Strategy. For the first time, our government has brought together the governments of Australia to find efficiencies and cut red tape for small businesses.

You can cut red tape without cutting entitlements for workers or working families. We have elevated the interests of small businesses to the very heart of government decision-making. Last week, Minister Aly convened a small-business roundtable to ensure that the diversity of views of small businesses are heard and that their views are part of the national conversation around economic reform and productivity. These are some of the things we're doing to support small businesses.

While we're doing all that, what do those opposite do? When we brought forward a tax cut that benefited 1½ million sole traders across Australia, they opposed it. But the most important point is this: when I engage with small businesses in my electorate of Bean, as I do on a regular basis, owners tell me that they really appreciate the support they are receiving, that they know this government has got their back. Forget motions and debates in this place; it's that direct feedback that really matters.

The reality is this: we understand small business on this side of the House. We understand the challenges, the struggles and the stress. We have small-business owners across our Labor caucus. Those opposite don't understand. They don't care. This motion is emblematic of much of what we hear from those opposite these days—pointless, tired and missing the point entirely, selling tripe and tropes. They are lost in the wilderness, and motions such as these suggest they have still some way to go to come out the other side.

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

I rise today in strong support of this motion that's been moved by the shadow minister for small business, because it speaks to a simple truth, that small businesses across Australia are under siege and that it's this Labor government that is front and centre of that attack, and I'll join with my friend the member for Bean in welcoming back the shadow minister, the member for Goldstein, who is a strong advocate for small businesses across our nation.

I know those opposite love a good talking point but here's a fact that cuts through all. Under Labor, Australia has recorded the highest number of small business insolvencies in history—real people, real businesses, real livelihoods—and they're being failed by a government that's too busy managing headlines to manage the economy. We on this side of the House understand what's at stake. Small businesses aren't just part of the economy, they are the economy. They create jobs, they train apprentices, they sponsor our local footy clubs and they're at the school fetes and Saturday morning markets.

In my electorate, from Coomera to Coombabah, from Labrador to Ormeau, small businesses are the glue that holds our community together, and let me proudly remind the House that the Gold Coast is the small-business capital of Australia. More than any other region, we know what it takes to take a risk, back yourself and build something from the ground up, and I know that personally because I've been a business owner. I know what it's like to worry about making payroll, to wear every single hat that's required, to back your reputation with every job that you do.

Labor just doesn't get it. Let's look at their record: record insolvencies, flatlining confidence, cost of business rising, regulation strangling business to death—and somehow, according to the Treasurer, this is all just going fine. This is the same Treasurer who wants to impose a family savings tax on unrealised capital gains, a tax on wealth that hasn't even been earned yet. I've heard of taxing success, as a concept, but taxing potential success? That's next level tax creativity. If you're a small-business owner thinking about investing in equipment or property, this is the kind of policy that makes you think twice or just throw in the towel, because Labor could move the goalposts at any time.

They talk a big game on productivity, innovation and inclusion, but what's inclusive about a system that punishes family businesses simply trying to get ahead? What's innovative about drowning people in red tape? What's productive about energy policy that drives up bills and drives out jobs? What kind of government thinks it's a win when fewer Australians have the confidence to go and start a small business? These are salt-of-the-earth Australians doing their best, every day, in spite of the barriers that this government continues to put in their way. What are these businesses telling me? They're sick of being ignored. They're sick of being taxed more, regulated more and appreciated less. They're sick of this Labor government that views them as political collateral instead of economic partners. And they're absolutely right.

On this side, we stand for small business because we know that every job starts with a risk taken. Every apprenticeship begins with a business that's willing to invest, and every strong community is built on local enterprise, not bureaucratic interference. So let me be clear: the coalition will always back small business. We believe in lower, simpler and fairer taxes; we will cut red tape, not add to it; we will make it easier to employ Australians, not more expensive; we will empower local business owners, not bury them in compliance; and, most of all, we will restore confidence—because, when small business thrives, Australia thrives.

To every small business across the country: we hear you and we back you, and we're fighting for you every single day, because you deserve better than this high tax, low trust, anti-enterprise Labor government. I commend this motion to the House and urge the government to stop the spin, scrap the socialist economics and start backing the Australians who build, employ and serve our community with pride.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Small business is the engine room of our economy. It's a driver of growth and tourism and a source of jobs for millions of people right across our nation. Small business offers opportunity to people to thrive, succeed and live a fulfilling life.

As a small-business owner, I back in small business and so does the Albanese Labor government. We recognise small business right across the nation, with Commonwealth subsidies to provide energy bill relief and an extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off. These policies build on our grant programs that are delivering targeted supports to small businesses right across the nation.

In my electorate of Corangamite in Victoria, two amazing local businesses have received energy efficiency grants to bring down operating costs. Adelia Fine Foods in Ocean Grove received funding of more than $24,000 to upgrade their food processing machinery. One of the business owners, Amelia, said the business is investing in a new energy efficient automation process for the temporary finishing of chocolate for its rocky road range of gluten-free treats—and they are good. It's an upgrade that will reduce power consumption by 50 per cent. Amelia said, 'With the support of this grant, we're excited to take this next important step towards greater energy efficiency in our operations.'

This is just one example of our work to support local small business. In Torquay, Bells Beach Brewing received an energy efficiency grant of more than $23,000 to replace inefficient hot water systems with modern heat pump technology, swap energy draining lights for new LEDs and upgrade commercial refrigeration. This will help bring down costs for one of my region's favourite breweries—it's a winner—and I'm proud to be part of a government that is backing in small business.

We're also backing in small business by building a more skilled workforce through free TAFE. Free TAFE is changing lives. New data from the states and territories showed free TAFE is being embraced and, of course, completions are delivering new employment prospects for countless Australians. More than 170,000 Australians have now completed a free TAFE course, whilst more than 650,000 have taken up the offer of free TAFE, since it began in early 2023. Many of these students are still studying at TAFE right now, with many more students soon to enter the workforce.

For small business, this is a gamechanger. It will mean more opportunities for small businesses to expand their horizons and take on the workers of the future. This is a win-win-win: a win for workers, a win for small business and a win for Australia.

I'm also proud that we have so many small businesses being created. Our Treasurer said recently that 25,000 firms were being created each month, despite the headwinds that have been facing our economy. We know there is great uncertainty in the global economy, and our government is responding to this by engaging with our regional trading partners and creating certainty for businesses to invest in their assets, technology, energy and workers. But we know there's much more to do, and I'm confident that our August productivity roundtable will go some way towards addressing the challenges we are facing together as a nation.

In closing: the Albanese government is working together with sectors across the nation to ensure that small business can thrive. I know that many small business representatives will soon join with our Treasurer at the upcoming productivity roundtable. And I know our new Minister for Small Business is absolutely focused on continuing the important work of delivering for the amazing small businesses we have across our nation and across our regions. What is good for small business is good for Australians.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to rise and speak on the motion from the shadow minister for small business. As for so many in our community, small business plays a key role in Casey. I'm proud to represent the electorate that has the highest number of trades as a percentage of workforce, and many of those are small businesses, running their own business, working hard every day. Small businesses is at the core of community. I am fortunate to visit many sporting grounds, footy clubs and cricket clubs in my electorate, and all around the boundary you see those small businesses giving back to sporting clubs and the community infrastructure in Casey. That is why it is so important that we have strong and growing small businesses.

A strong small business is a family business. It's good for the individual, it's good for the family, it's great for the community and it's great for our nation. Unfortunately, in this cost-of-business crisis that small business is under, with every cost going up, small businesses have been completely abandoned by the Albanese Labor government. We now have a new Minister for Small Business, and it's no wonder that there's a new one coming through, because in the last term the Minister for Small Business was completely absent. I asked the Parliamentary Library to do a bit of research to see how many bills were introduced to support and help small business in the last term—and there was one: one bill in three years from this government, from the Minister for Small Business, to support small business. They were completely abandoned by the Albanese Labor government.

An honourable member: What was it called?

I've just been asked what it was called. It was called the Payment Times Reporting Amendment Bill 2024. It was actually a good bill. It was a good bill to make sure that big businesses were paying small businesses. And I'm not arguing with the quality of one bill; I'm arguing with the quantity: one bill for a whole term. We know those opposite are a little bit sensitive about that.

We also know they have laid on regulation after regulation. The Prime Minister has finally woken up to it. The Treasurer is so devoid of economic ideas that he relies on two journalists from the United States for his inspiration, so it's all about deregulation now from this government. The Prime Minister has said, 'It's about government doing less, clearing away unnecessary or outdated regulation.' This is the new modus operandi now: that abundance is what we're all reading on the government side. The problem with that is that the government's rhetoric does not align with its actions. In the last term, this government added 5,000 new regulations: 153 new regulations in employment and workplace relations; 199 in agriculture; and 82 in industry, science and resources. They talk about deregulation, but they've made it harder and harder for small business.

They said, when they brought in all these new regulations around industrial relations, that they would have an independent review, that they would get an independent body of experts to look at the regulation. But we now know, through FOIs, that it was not independent. The workplace relations minister appointed the government's own people to mark their own homework—ignored the departmental advice. In a Senate hearing in February a workplace relations department first assistant secretary, Jody Anderson, said, 'They were chosen by the minister.' So, despite wanting to have an independent review of their IR laws, the government got their own people to mark their own homework. It's because they know—they've finally woken up—that the more regulation you add the more cost you add to business. And small business is not in a good place to manage that paperwork and regulation. Big businesses have huge departments that thrive on extra regulation. It makes it a lot harder for a small business to compete if you add regulation on. This government knows that. That is why they have their friends marking their own homework.

I'm proud to have spent 15 years working in and with small businesses. I've seen the innovation. I've seen the growth. I've seen the jobs that are created by small businesses in Casey. I'll make sure I take every opportunity in this House to hold the government to account for their failures when it comes to supporting small business. I will make sure we as a coalition put forward positive policies to make sure we can solve the challenges that small businesses face. They just want us to get out of the way and let them keep more of their own— (Time expired)

Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I became a member in this place, I ran a small family owned business, the one my dad started out the back of the van in 1987. He employed me, my mum and dozens of locals. It paid for my education and it put my food on our table. My whole life has been shaped by small business. I understand the pressures that comes with keeping the doors open, and I know the hours, the risks and, of course, the rewards. So when small businesses say they need support I understand them, and so does this government. We know that there's no single fix, but we also know what makes a difference—practical support, clear policy and economy-wide reform.

The member for Casey said there that was only one bill to help small business in the last term. I challenge that, because fee-free TAFE helped small businesses find skilled staff, accessible and affordable child care helped small businesses retain staff, and our tax cuts, which the Liberals and the member for Casey voted against, will help 1.5 million sole traders. That tax cut will help small businesses across the country.

Small businesses employ over five million Australians and contribute $600 billion to our economy. They give our town centres life. They sponsor our local sports teams. They back themselves again and again, in good times and bad. In Bennelong, they're the beating heart of our community, from Ryde to Lane Cove, from Gladesville to Eastwood. In my time as councillor, mayor and, now, MP, I've spent countless hours in our town centres talking to small-business owners about what's working, what 's not and what needs to change. I have listened and I have brought their voices back here.

I'm not the only one. This government has taken that feedback seriously. We are showing up to small businesses with real, practical support. There's been $2 billion in targeted support since coming to office in 2022. We've helped with energy rebates, which, of course, were opposed by the member for Casey and all those opposite. We have supported small businesses to reduce their emissions and power costs with grants of up to $25,000 for energy upgrades. We are now supporting small businesses by making them eligible for our Cheaper Home Batteries Program. We have extended that great Labor policy, the instant asset write-off, started under Kevin Rudd, by another year. That's up to $20,000 for instant asset write-off. We are also investing in digital and cyber support for small businesses, something we know they need to be across to remain competitive in a modern economy. We are strengthening the franchising code, cracking down on unfair trading practices and extending protections to small businesses dealing with the big players. It's not just about dollars and grants; it's about how the government engage with small businesses and how we expect others to do the same.

That's why we had our first National Small Business Strategy, bringing all levels of government together to reduce duplication and make support simpler to access. Small business retains its seat in cabinet, and regular small business ministerial meetings give owners a direct line to government decision-making. I know so many MPs on this side of the House who regularly engage with their small-business community and bring their ideas and their feedback straight back to this place.

It's what I did when we ran a really successful digital payments campaign to reduce the cost of surcharges on small businesses. They were telling me—and I knew this myself—surcharges were hitting small businesses hard. The government took that feedback seriously. We are now in the middle of decade-overdue reform.

We look forward to receiving that final advice from the RBA and industry as the government responds to it. This is how we do things on this side of the House. We listen, act and stay engaged. We're working every day to make it easier to run a business, to hire skilled staff and to invest in businesses with confidence by reducing red tape, including through planning and zoning reforms, backed by our $900 million national productivity fund. We're backing apprenticeships. We're backing industry growth and mental health support for small businesses, because we understand that resilience isn't just financial. And of course there are those tax cuts, which the members opposite voted against, helping 1.5 million sole traders from 1 July next year. The difference is this: we don't just say we support small business; we actually show it.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you want to understand the state of the economy right now, to grasp the pressures Australians are facing, you don't need to get a Treasury briefing or to wait for the CPI data. You just need to walk through our local streets. You'll see the 'vacant' or 'for lease' signs on properties or the words 'going out of business sale'. Across my community, from Berowra to Cherrybrook and from Hornsby to Epping—and, indeed, across Australia—small businesses are hurting.

I think of the local nursery owner who wrote to me outlining how inflation has hit their family-run nursery, a business that's operated successfully in my community for 33 years. They asked, 'Why is the government stifling us?' Theirs costs—fuel, electricity, machinery—have all continued to climb, rising faster than the business can adjust for. Compliance and employment red tape is chewing up more time and more money. Despite continued demand for their products, staff have had to be cut, equipment sold and payment plans negotiated with the ATO just so they can stay afloat. Unfortunately, their story's not an isolated situation. It's a pattern being repeated across the Berowra electorate and right across the country.

This is the legacy of the Albanese government. It's turning once proud, thriving small businesses into case studies on how a government's poor economic management and policy indifference break confidence and punish success. The 2½ million small businesses across Australia aren't just numbers. They're our butchers, our bakers, our family-run mechanics, our after-school tutoring centres and our local tradies. They employ our neighbours and sponsor our local sporting clubs. They give young people their first jobs. Under Labor they've been left behind. Last year we saw a record number of small-business insolvencies, and this year has been no better. Since coming to government, Labor have made it harder to run a small business. They've created uncertainty through their industrial relations laws, and they've done nothing to shield small businesses from skyrocketing energy prices. Now they're floating a tax on unrealised capital gains, a policy which will hit mum-and-dad investors and small-business owners alike.

A misguided tax on unrealised gains in superannuation isn't just bad policy. It's fundamentally unfair and unprincipled. The small-business owners with self-managed superannuation funds will be caught in the crossfire. This fails every good test of tax policy. It isn't simple, it isn't fair and it certainly isn't low. It's a tax on ambition and aspiration. It's an attack on the idea that people shouldn't be punished for saving for their future.

This, sadly, is part of a broader pattern. We hear talk of reform from this government, but what we get is more taxes and more regulation. In its first term, Labor added over 5,000 new regulations. Productivity flatlined and business investment fell. Australian households are going backwards. The economy grew by just 0.2 per cent in the March quarter, and our real GDP growth per capita has plunged Australia from being 20th to being 60th in just one year. These aren't abstract numbers. They reflect the real worsening pressures on small businesses and families.

The Treasurer's Press Club speech was an admission of how much damage this government has done to the economy in its first term and how much work is now needed to get it growing again. The coalition supports efforts to hold an economic roundtable, and we genuinely hope good ideas emerge from that. We want our small businesses to thrive once again. We want to see life brought back to our town centres and local villages.

But let's be very clear. This won't be achieved by more meetings. We need reform, and that means the removal of the excessive regulation that is strangling our small businesses. While the Treasurer says he's not ruling anything out, he's already taken industry relations off the table. The Prime Minister's also ruled out revisiting the GST. If Labor isn't willing to have an honest conversation about productivity and efficiency, this process risks being nothing more than a talkfest. A serious conversation about tax reform and productivity means that nothing should be ruled out for discussion. We're deeply concerned that what Labor is actually doing is laying the groundwork for more tax and more union control over Australian workplaces.

Let's be clear. This roundtable cannot be used as an attempt for higher taxes. That's the last thing small businesses need in the middle of a productivity crisis. We on this side of the House will always back small businesses, and we'll hold those opposite accountable for turning their back on them. This is why the shadow Treasurer is going to the government's roundtable, and it's why the shadow minister for productivity, Andrew Bragg, is seeking to establish a bipartisan Senate inquiry into Australia's lagging productivity. If the government is serious about growth, it should welcome the accountability and ambition such an inquiry would bring.

In the meantime, we will keep doing what the coalition have always done best, which is standing up for the 2½ million small businesses—the people who take risks, the people who create jobs and the people who give back and build the local communities that I am lucky to represent. I know the small-business owners of the Berowra electorate. They are resilient. What they need now is for the government to back them in, not to hold them back.

Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a bit unusual to hear the Liberal Party talking about small business these days. They've taken a big break from talking about things like small business. They're very focused on culture wars, on which flags they'll stand in front of and on welcomes to country. Those were the dominant topics of the WA Liberal Party conference on the weekend—which culture war they can wage to undermine their leader. That's been the Liberal Party's focus this weekend. They're not talking about small businesses but what sort of culture war they can wage on behalf of the good backbench of the Liberal Party.

The other thing that the Liberal Party are absolutely focused on, which affects businesses, is their obsession with net zero. They are completely and utterly obsessed with scrapping net zero. The Liberal Party and the National Party, it seems, aren't willing to listen to businesses and aren't willing to listen to the economic truth of the fact that there is huge opportunity in transitioning towards renewables and transitioning towards net zero. Instead, the Liberal Party are only interested in transitioning their leaders around and around, like some sort of revolving door. That appears to be their main interest.

But we on this side of the House actually support the small businesses of Australia. We support the small businesses who make our communities wonderful. In my electorate of Macnamara, we have some of the finest small businesses in our country. You only have to walk through the bustling south Melbourne market to experience the hardworking and amazing culture and flavours of Australia. We have small-business owners who provide such an amazing experience for locals and for people who come and visit our community, walking down all of the high streets, and the hospitality and restaurants of the inner south of Melbourne make it such a wonderful place to go.

But they are not the only small businesses that we have. We have huge numbers of small and medium businesses that work in manufacturing and in a whole range of different supply chains. We are so proud of all of the businesses, including some of the high-tech small businesses that I have that are working on engineering projects as well as defence projects and some of the digital and creative arts projects. Some of the best postproduction small businesses in the world are in my electorate. We support each and every one of them.

It's why we work to make sure that the payment systems happen faster. It's why we work to make sure that big businesses are actually paying small businesses—because we know that cash flow can often be such a big issue. It's why we extended the instant asset write-off program, a great Labor program that continues right through from the Rudd era.

And it is of course why we have been giving businesses energy grants to try and improve their energy efficiency. I went to a number of the businesses in my electorate that got grants of up to $25,000 to improve their energy efficiency, saving them literally thousands of dollars in the ongoing costs of running their businesses—like Rococo in St Kilda, who got new fridges and a few other things. So many other businesses were able to improve the way in which they were functioning and reduce their costs, thanks to the energy efficiency grants.

But one of the big things that we have done to try and assist the small businesses of Australia is bring down inflation. The inflation we inherited from those opposite, when they were finally kicked out of government, had a six in front of it, and it's now back down in the target ranges of the Reserve Bank. What we know is that, as a result of inflation coming down, the Reserve Bank adjusts monetary policy to ensure there are more opportunities for growth and disposable income in the economy, which benefits small businesses—because we know that high inflation hurts lower and middle-income owners the hardest. It means there is less disposable income for families, and it means less money is going into the small businesses of Australia. That's why we work so hard to try to be responsible but also to support people to get through those difficult economic times.

There was one common thing that happened along the way. The Liberal Party opposed each and every measure that we put in to try to ease the cost of living and the cost of doing business and to try to give energy bill relief to businesses. They opposed that. They even opposed capping the price of coal and gas in the last term of parliament—something that we knew would be critical for small businesses and medium businesses across the country. Those opposite, in their absolute obsession with saying no, opposed each and every measure.

We won't be taking lectures from the Liberal Party, who now, all of a sudden, pretend to care about small business, when they spend all their free time waging culture wars and wars against each other and wars against the leaders of both the Nationals and the Liberal Party. We on this side of the House will continue with sound economic management, by bringing down inflation, supporting businesses and reducing the cost of doing business so that our amazing businesses can be successful in Australia.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and a resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.