Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I love hearing conservatives parade their friendship of small business. I love how they pretend that they are such great friends of small business. It always reminds me of that great quote from George W Bush when he lambasted the French for not having a word for 'entrepreneur'. They always make out they are the best mate of small business, but whenever they are called upon to make a decision in favour of small business, to do something when they are positioned between big business and small business, guess where they go—always for the big interest, never for the small.

Let us go through a litany of key decisions where the opposition when in government was asked to support small business but was nowhere to be seen—MIA. When the GST came in, these people who lecture us about cutting red tape, cutting bureaucracy, consigned all these small businesses to business activity statements—the thing that drives small business nuts. Small businesses still complain about it when I talk with them in the electorate of Chifley.

The member for Hughes went on with his celebrated term 'ACCC storm-troopers'. He talked about how the ACCC was being given powers to clamp down on prices and gouging that might occur with the introduction of the carbon price. Guess what! Just take the time to review recent history. Go and look at the new tax system and see what happened at the time the GST was introduced. The ACCC was given powers to clamp down on businesses that were attempting to rip off the public and to ensure that the GST was passed through fairly. Your side of politics started it, my friend. Your side of politics did it. It was the right thing to do then just as it is the right thing to do now.

Peter Costello, the former member for Higgins, was given recommendation after recommendation on what he should do to improve the Trade Practices Act, on what should be done to protect small business from things like predatory pricing and things like creeping acquisition.

Mr Craig Kelly interjecting—

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