Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Small Business, Senator Lundy. Can the minister advise the Senate of what the government is doing to ensure that small business remains the engine room of a healthy Australian economy?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator McEwen, for the question. Small business is, of course, at the heart of the Australian economy and it is the efforts of Australia's 2.7 million small business owners—their long hours, their hard work—that keeps over 4.7 million Australians employed. Small business contributes around 35 per cent of private sector industry value-added or around a fifth of our GDP. The Gillard Labor government understands how important it is to support small business people and to this end we have introduced a number of programs and reforms to assist them. These are aimed at increasing cash flow, reducing red tape and providing information in a simple and easy-to-access way. For example, from 1 July this year all small businesses will be able to immediately write off each eligible business asset they buy that costs less than $6,500 per asset. This will be worth more than $1 billion to small business in 2013-14 alone. This change to the asset write-off provisions and the new simplified depreciation pooling arrangements for other assets will increase cash flow and save time, money and paperwork. In addition, from 1 July the government is providing new tax relief to help businesses return to profit. In 2012-13 companies will be able to carry back tax losses of up to $1 million so they can get a refund against tax previously paid. From 2013-14 companies will be able to carry back tax losses for two years, and this will provide a tax benefit of up to $300,000 per year. The government will also extend support services to small businesses, and I have spoken about these in the chamber previously. The Small Business Advisory Service will be made ongoing, with additional funding of $28 million over the next four years, and the very popular small business support line will be extended—(Time expired)

Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I thank the minister for her answer and ask a supplementary question. Can the minister inform the Senate of what the government is doing to reduce the burden of red tape on small business?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is committed to reducing red tape for small businesses and we have introduced a number of reforms, such as the ones I have mentioned, so they can concentrate on growth and job creation. The small business commissioner will act as a high-level advocate within government to represent the interests of small business, including identifying opportunities to reduce red tape. The impact of unnecessary regulation has been an ongoing area of focus through the Prime Minister's Taskforce on Manufacturing and in the recent economic forum. The Prime Minister emphasised the government's recommitment to deregulation and the competition agenda at the Business Advisory Forum which met with COAG in April. That initiative brought business leaders together for the first time at the Prime Minister and premiers meeting to talk directly about deregulation. We are working closely with states and territories to deliver a seamless national economy which includes 27 reforms to reduce the regulatory burden on business. Other measures to cut red tape include the new national business names— (Time expired)

Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise what the impact of the carbon price will be on small business?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Gillard government is committed to helping small business to be part of the move to a clean energy future. The carbon price mechanism is not a tax on households or on small business. It is a price that will be paid by around 500 of our largest polluters for each tonne of pollution they produce. Small business will not have to measure or monitor their carbon pollution or fill in a single form as part of the carbon price reform, which means no red tape.

The carbon price will create new opportunities for a whole range of small entrepreneurs and business owners across many industries. For example, opportunities will open up to develop services and products in new clean industries such as renewable energy generation, carbon farming and sustainable design, not to mention information and other technology that facilitates energy efficiency within businesses and households and transport logistics, just to name a few. (Time expired)