Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to address the issue of small businesses and the challenges they face. They are doing it tough, and we all hear that from the small businesses we speak to. As we go around our electorates, the hospitality trade, the retailers and the family businesses are all struggling with higher costs and their lack of confidence in the economy. It is an issue we need to address.

The coalition has come up with a number of initiatives on a number of fronts, and we need to give due credit to the path we are taking. Those initiatives range from removing the carbon tax and so reducing input costs for electricity—hopefully those on the other side of the House will help us do that—to deregulation. The Minister for Small Business, Bruce Billson, has been supported by our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, in driving the Shop Small initiative, which I think is a great campaign for us to get behind. On the deregulation front, Josh Frydenberg is leading the charge. In addition to $1 billion a year in costs being reduced for businesses, we have two repeal days—every minister will be asked to set up an advisory committee to help them in the area of deregulation. There will be changes in the department that will help us as well. I got behind the Shop Small campaign recently when I returned to an old place of work during my university days—HMS Buffalo at Glenelg, a great icon in the Glenelg area. It is a family restaurant that is finding things challenging, as many in the hospitality area are.

In saying that, many businesses are using their capacity and using the strengths of family businesses to thrive. It is the balance we try to achieve, and we see it in small businesses like Caruso's at Glenelg, Estia at Henley Square, Manuele Engineers and Rossiters boots—they are succeeding in their own little way but they are finding conditions very tough and we need to give them all the support we can. The coalition's policy of removing taxes, lowering input costs and promoting campaigns like Shop Small should be encouraged in whatever way they can be. Some businesses are taking it upon themselves to encourage us to buy local. Drake Supermarkets, for example, is one of those businesses that are encouraging shoppers to buy Australian products. When consumers shop they need to look for South Australian products, in my state, and for Australian products.

We have a growing opportunity in Asia and we need to continue to look for opportunities to increase our food distribution and support our food companies. There is the opportunity to shop small but also think large in Asia. I encourage everyone, as consumers, to support the initiative of Mr Billson and the coalition. He came out a number of times in Hindmarsh; we had some great forums on small business. He was at two, and we had another small business campaign as well. Hindmarsh is a small business electorate, as many electorates are in the Australian economy, and we need to continue to support small businesses. The coalition is providing that support.

Werriwa Electorate: Education

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