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

I thank the member for Bass for her question, which is the third question that she has asked me in this parliament on small business issues. I would contrast that with the time that has elapsed since the shadow small business minister last asked me a question. Not 100 days, not 200 days, not 300 days, not 400 days but 439 days—439 days since I last had a question from the shadow minister for small business. Such is his disinterest in the fortunes of small business in this country.

The fact is that recent surveys are showing some positive signs, and those signs are emerging in our economy for business in general but for small business especially. I draw the attention of the House to three surveys; one has been mentioned by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer today—the Dun and Bradstreet survey. Christine Christian, the CEO of Dun and Bradstreet, says:

The improvement in key indices such as employment and sales expectations is a sign that the economic stimulus has been successful in encouraging household spending.

What she is referring to are the sales and profits expectations, which have recorded their greatest increase in the survey’s 21-year history. So that is good news—good news for business confidence, good news for small business.

There is another survey out today also: the National Australia Bank’s Monthly Business Survey and Economic Outlook for July. It says, in part, that business confidence jumped to what is actually the best since August 2007 and is now approaching long-run average levels. So that is good news too—that is very good news.

Another survey on small business particularly was released on 6 August, just a few days ago, and was headed ‘Small business profitability outlook moves into positive territory for the first time since September 2008’. It says that SMEs are faring better than their larger counterparts, and goes on to say:

It’s clear that the recent improvement in consumer confidence and actions taken by Federal and State governments has aided the economy and in turn had a flow on benefit to SMEs.

That is all good news and, as the Treasurer has indicated, the International Monetary Fund has endorsed the nation-building stimulus package of this government, 70 per cent of which is investment in nation-building infrastructure.

As I have said before, confidence is absolutely paramount to our economic recovery. Yet, time and time again, the opposition continues to talk down the economy; indeed, going so far as to claim falsely 154,000 job losses. But since the government was elected total employment has grown by 146,000. So that, too, is good news.

We know that there are challenges. We know that the unemployment rate is likely to rise; but the fact is that small businesses are doing a great job in Australia in this respect. They are saying to their staff: ‘We want to hold on to you as staff members because you are being loyal to us. You have been loyal to us in the past and we are being loyal to you. When the recovery comes we think that loyalty will be repaid.’ That is a great social achievement—and a great economic achievement—for the four million Australians who work in small businesses.

We know that the road to recovery will be long and bumpy, but the journey is not helped by the opposition constantly talking down the economy. The government will continue to support small business on the road to recovery and into the building decade. We are all in this together: small business, larger businesses, everyday Australians and the Rudd government. That is everyone—well, almost everyone; the coalition is not in it. The coalition talks the economy down, day in and day out. Get on side, join the Australian people: everyday Australians, large business, small businesses and the Rudd government, and stop the whinging, carping negativity that has characterised every day in opposition by this miserable mob.

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