Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

Five hundred and nineteen thousand: that is the number of jobs, in the latest figures, lost under the Labor government from the small business community of Australia—519,000. Now, that might not interest those opposite. They might not be union jobs, they might not be important to the opposition leader's job, but they are crucial to the livelihoods of so many Australians. Five hundred and nineteen thousand livelihoods have been lost from what is the engine room of our economy because of the indifference, the neglect and the harsh measures introduced by Labor when in government. When we are faced with having to deal with the consequences of six horrendous years of Labor, all we get is complaint and obstruction. We need to fix the budget, a task that now nobody contests. Even the former Treasurer recognises the need. The Parliamentary Budget Office said this week it is time to start this repair job, saying:

… otherwise the longer you leave it the more exposed you become and the harder it is to wind it back …

What we have seen in this parliament all of this week is example after example of how the Abbott government's economic recovery strategy, our plan to repair the budget and get our finances on track, will make a material difference to the lives of Australians and the opportunities for the future, and all we run into is obstruction from those opposite. We heard the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It said:

The budget goes a long way to restoring all important business confidence that will drive investment and job creation, particularly for Australia's two million small businesses …

Now, if we are to start the task of restoring that jobs vitality in small businesses and family enterprises, we have to get the economic conditions right. To get those economic conditions right, we have to stop the runaway debt and deficit that we have inherited from the former government. We have to implement our economic action strategy, those many measures that are there to support small business to recruit and retain—

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