Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to record my appreciation for the small businesses involved in the 2008 Hills Excellence in Business Awards within my electorate. The Hills Excellence in Business Awards were first held in 1997 as an initiative of the Orange Blossom Board of Management, and they are run each year as part of the Orange Blossom Festival, the flagship local festival in my region. They were held this year as a joint event with the Excellence in Youth Awards, and I want to congratulate the youths who received those awards.

Small business is certainly the engine room of the economy, and it is no different for the local economy in Mitchell. Home based businesses in Mitchell have increased in number and size, and the retail sector has been growing strongly for many years. There are now large expansions through the Rouse Hill town centre development, and the Rouse Hill Regional Centre is one of the landmark developments within Australia and is set to become one of the largest town centre developments in the Southern Hemisphere, along with the Castle Hill Trading Zone and the Norwest Business Park.

This year there were 14 categories, which encompassed all facets of business within the hills. The purpose of the awards is to recognise, promote and reward the excellence in business that exists in my community. Businesses self-nominate and there is a high integrity to the process. I want to record my thanks to the judges, the sponsors, the committee members and all the industry leaders who volunteered their time and expertise in determining winners in each of the categories. It is certainly the case that in the midst of a global financial crisis small business is innovative. Certainly in my area the businesses I speak to are working hard to ensure that they remain competitive in these more difficult times when cash is tighter, and they are doing a good job of that.

I also want to praise the shadow minister for small business for the coalition’s policy that has been put forward to provide some relief for Australia’s 2.4 million small businesses to help manage cash flow and maintain employment levels in this current economic environment. I think it is eminently sensible that we allow small business to revise their pay-as-you-go instalments without fear of a tax penalty at the end of this financial year. Under this coalition initiative, the ATO would double the allowed margin for error during the 2008-09 financial year. Under the current rules, as we know, if a small business is out by 15 per cent, they face a small penalty. I do want to record my thanks to the shadow minister for this great initiative. I think it would be good if the Rudd government took up this idea.

I do just want to mention a couple of small businesses within my electorate that have achieved awards this year—in particular, Gremmo Homes, for excellence in construction and development; they are a fantastic charity provider in my area and sponsor a lot of worthy causes. The Norwest Child Care Centre won an award for excellence in child care. Awards were also won by JetBlack Products and the Urban Graze Cooking School, and Eurolounge won an award for excellence in marketing and promotions. Cumberland Industries, which does an outstanding job, also won an award. (Time expired)

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