Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I am already on the record as saying that, of all the measures contained in the stimulus response of around December last year, it is the 30 per cent small-business tax break through to June of this year that I consider the best and most appropriate stimulus response of all. It was a pleasant surprise for me, and I can confirm for my small business community on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, to see it geared up another level, up to 50 per cent through to December of this year. In light of that, of measures announced in the budget last night, and from what I have read and seen, I would consider this to be the best aspect of the budget last night, including as it does a stimulus response but also recognising the role to be played in the engine room of business in Australia, and that is the small-business community.

On the mid-North Coast of New South Wales, 95 per cent of the business community is small business. We are very much a ‘five employees or less’ community. The businesses are family based. A lot of them are home based microbusinesses. Therefore, this is a nugget of gold from the federal government in directly assisting business activity and business growth in a difficult 12 to 18 months. My message for government while I am on my feet tonight is this. As I as a local member talk to business communities—businesses that are connected to chambers of commerce and the various other business organisations, such as the BECs and the Australian business networks—I notice there are a lot of small businesses that for one reason or another still are not aware of this. Therefore, I hope that advisers in the boxes, government members and the executive can consider how this message can be got out to the small business community. In most cases they are head down and bum up doing the job of making a living and are not tuned in as clearly as we might like to think they are to messages that are coming out of this place. Selling this program is incredibly important, because it should be considered by every single small business. It should be deeply discussed with accountants. The fine detail and the future planning for potential capital purchases should be weighed up over the next seven months, because there will be no better offer from government.

Probably the best budget one-liner last night was from a colleague upstairs, Senator Xenophon. He described it as the ‘Harvey Norman budget—the buy now and pay later budget’. This aspect of the budget has bargain basement, Crazy John elements to it. I say that in a positive, not a negative, way. We will see no better offer by government than a 50 per cent tax concession on capital purchases. Therefore, over the next seven months I would really encourage the small business community to look at this and to consider how it fits in with strategies within their businesses. If there are capital purchases to be made within the next couple of years—and I am sure there will be—why not make them in the next seven months while this offer is on the table? A substantial tax break has been put on the table by government. It is, in my view, the best aspect of the fiscal stimulus and the federal budget. I could not be hotter on this and I could not endorse it more. It fits in well with several programs that we are trying to get up and running on the mid-North Coast both with government and separate from government.

I note the comments that have already been made about some of the small business aspects of last night’s budget, such as the new support line and the online programs. I sincerely hope we see the delivery of the National Broadband Network both on time and to the home. To the extent that we are hearing it discussed, it will change the nature of small business in regional communities. In fact, it will change life in regional communities such as ours. In my community we are still reliant on dial-up. That might make people in this chamber laugh. We are not only reliant on dial-up but also frustrated by dropouts when we are trying to access what in a building such as this is considered a basic service. This is creating the haves and the have nots in the knowledge economy. The National Broadband Network and fibre to the home are absolutely crucial. Hopefully, over the next couple of years, we will see that not drop off the agenda but in fact be delivered in an even shorter time frame than proposed.

I also note the doubling of the R&D tax credit in last night’s budget. Among the small business community and former governments as well as the current government I would hope there was and is general consensus that the R&D tax credit program is excellent. It probably does not get the attention that it deserves within political circles. I have noticed in my first eight months as a federal member the number of businesses that could and should apply but which are not aware of the programs offered and available from the government through AusIndustry, Enterprise Connect or other means. I was very pleased to see the Cutler review turned into a doubling of the R&D tax credit last night. Also, there were various aspects of the stimulus package for the local trades community through schools, home insulation, solar hot water or various other things. Those will and are making a difference on the ground. I would encourage government to stay committed to those programs through the next six to 12 months in particular.

As well, regardless of the role of government, at the mid-North Coast level we are getting organised with the small business community. For the first time the mid-North Coast is participating in the Innovation Festival, which nationwide has been running since 2002. We are underway with the Innovation Festival in May. Hopefully that will engage small business in the creativity through to commercialisation aspects of their business that sometimes do not get the attention they deserve as people push hard just to make a living. Also, we now have up and running what I consider a very important step for our region—that is, a couple of education and skills forums within our local community. They are engaging councils, TAFE, the education sector generally and the business sector. The forums are just about getting everyone around the one table on a semiregular basis to try to sniff out the opportunities from government and other areas and seeing how we can improve our situation.

Frankly, our situation on the mid-North Coast is not good. We have over 10 per cent unemployment, as of the last figures. That should not be lost on the government as we make our way through a difficult 18 months. The mid-North Coast has pretty beaches and a lovely hinterland and there is the perception that we are the land of luxury, but we are in the top 10 poverty areas in Australia. Unemployment floats between two and five per cent above the national averages. For youth unemployment, you can double that again and, for Indigenous unemployment, you can probably add another five per cent. Our income and education levels are some of the lowest in Australia.

We have some significant structural disadvantage issues that we have to deal with if we are going to have equity of advantage and equity of services with the rest of Australia. Programs like this do talk to my region; they do talk to the mid-North Coast. They are incredibly important in addressing some of those fundamental structural issues that make life there somewhat different from life in other communities, such as this one that I have now started to visit. I sincerely hope that the government promotes this package to every small business operator in Australia. I sincerely hope that every small business operator does their bit and takes half an hour to read this, digest it, think about it and, if they can sniff out an opportunity, jump on the phone to the accountant and actually do it in the next seven months.

This is a great window of opportunity for Australia at the most local level and at the small business level to kick some real goals. If we can do that, with the thinking that small business is the engine room of business and is the engine room of life in Australia, I think we will be no longer talking about recessions and sooner rather than later we will be talking about recovery, and strong recovery. I strongly support this legislation.

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