Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Farmers are actually small business people, and this has been very strongly supported by the National Farmers Federation, so you might want to get on board. Small businesses are the first to feel the effects of an economic downturn. On 24 October, the Prime Minister held a small business summit in Brisbane which was attended by over 500 small business owners and representative organisations. The summit provided an opportunity for the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, and me to hear directly from small business owners and their representatives.

At the summit, the Prime Minister launched a package of initiatives to support small businesses. I am pleased to announce that today marks the commencement of the guarantee of on-time payment for new small business contracts with Commonwealth government departments. From today, for contracts of up to $1 million, Commonwealth government departments will pay small businesses within 30 days, otherwise small businesses will have the right to charge penalty interest. This will help small businesses maintain their cash flows, something which is critical any time but even more so in the difficult economic times we are facing now. And the government has called on bigger businesses to follow our lead.

The government has made a further commitment to develop standard procurement documents and standard approaches to make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to sell to the government. The government will also provide extra support and advice to small businesses during the financial crisis through a $4 million government investment over the calendar year of 2009. Applications for this funding do not close until 18 December but so far 245 inquiries have been made to the hotline and 194 application kits have been sent out.

There are other government initiatives to help small business. These initiatives build on those already underway. In this year’s budget we provided $42 million to support 36 one-stop business advisory shops for small business around Australia in providing assistance to small business debutantes as well as existing businesses.

The Rudd government’s first budget began the process of tax reform. Our tax package means that typically small business owners will receive tax relief of up to $50 a week this financial year followed by up to $91 a week next financial year. We are also looking at ways to simplify GST compliance for small business owners through our BAS Easy proposal. The Board of Taxation is reviewing the legal and administrative framework of the GST, including the BAS Easy proposal, and is expected to report to the government by the end of the year.

To ease some of the administrative burdens associated with superannuation, the government is creating a superannuation clearing house for small business. And the government will roll out a national high-speed broadband network across Australia, especially benefiting small businesses. The government is also delivering on its promise to reform the Trade Practices Act to crack down on anticompetitive behaviour by powerful businesses. And we have provided small business with a permanent voice on the ACCC through the appointment of Professor Michael Schaper as a Deputy Chair of the ACCC.

The best thing governments can do for small business is provide them with an operating environment in which they can grow and thrive. As the Prime Minister said last year:

Labor believes that Australia’s small businesses deserve support from a government that will help them make it easier to do business, to grow their business and as a result grow our future economy.

The government is committed to lifting productivity and creating jobs, while continuing to deal with the effects of the global financial crisis. The agreements reached over the weekend with the states and territories will help drive this agenda and help build a modern economy capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

I ask leave of the House to move a motion to enable the member for Moncrieff to speak for 17 minutes.

Leave granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Ciobo speaking for a period not exceeding 17 minutes.

Question agreed to.

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