Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased that the member for Parramatta, Julie Owens, has moved this motion, because it is an important motion which talks about what each of us—not only as members of parliament but also as members of the community, citizens of Australia—can do to help small business. I was very pleased to attend the launch of the Shop Small campaign for 2014 in the Senate alcove on 28 October, along with my parliamentary colleagues the honourable Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, Julie Owens and Gay Brodtmann, the member for Canberra. It is the second year of this great campaign, and it is strongly supported by members of both sides of the House. It should be something that we all support, regardless of our politics—because, in the end, we all do support small business. There is no question about that.

Shop Small is a bipartisan national movement that is committed to supporting the thousands of small businesses throughout Australia. The movement celebrates the efforts of hundreds of thousands of Australian men and women who establish, own and work in the small business sector and recognises the positive role they play within our communities. The Shop Small campaign encourages customers to shop in local small businesses in the crucial lead-up period to Christmas. We all know how important that it is not only for families but also for small business proprietors, owners and those who work in their own shops and stores. While the rest of us are having holidays or some time off, they are the ones who are serving us at the counter, and it is important that we recognise them in this place.

The Shop Small campaign toolkit is a great idea and it serves to encourage all of us to take a bit more initiative and participate and go and talk to, shop at and spend money in our local small business enterprises. I am one of those people who always loves to shop at a small business. I have always believed that you start big campaigns by doing something really small. If you think that there is too much market power focused on the majors then shop at your local butcher, baker or fruit and vegetable shop. Do the walking with your own wallet and your own feet. Follow the talk by doing the walking and go and support your local businesses. You might find that they are actually your neighbours—people who live on the same street that you do; people in your own community. They are the small business people who actually sponsor the local footy team and soccer team. They are the people who get out there on Clean Up Australia days and take time off, as we do, to go and clean up their own environment and the local creek and park.

Small business plays an important role in the Australian community. It plays a vital role, and we should do everything we can individually and personally to support small business and also, as MPs, use the role that we have in the community to encourage others to support local small business. I have many friends who own, operate and run small businesses from their own little microbusinesses through to franchises and more established companies, and it is important to acknowledge the work they do and the contribution that they make. The Shop Small campaign is one way to do that. It is a good way to bring to the front of mind that perhaps, instead of clicking the button on the screen to buy something, see if you can find it just down the road, somewhere local, whether it be a bit of fashion or something else. I know the member for Parramatta proudly says that she tries to buy as many Australian bits of clothing as she can—and that can be a real effort. I think I will occasionally make a fashion statement and try to do the same thing myself.

I want to congratulate the people involved in making this happen, particularly American Express, who have really gotten behind this campaign and have put their weight and power behind, it in partnership with a range of organisations, such as little tiny organisations like Google, Qantas, Energy Australia and MYOB, just to name a few. Industry groups such as ACCI, AHA and Restaurant and Catering Australia were also involved. They all came to the table on this to be able to demonstrate that, if you want small business to succeed, you need to support them. If you want the country to succeed, you need to support small business. If you want people to have more jobs and grow the economy, then you can start by supporting your local small businesses. I would encourage everyone listening to do exactly the same thing in their own small way.

I also wish the campaign well into the future, and I trust next year will be even bigger; it is getting bigger every single year. I will make note, though, in the last few seconds I have to say that Labor did a lot for small business in government—around $4 billion worth of direct assistance. If there is one common theme right across all business groups and representatives it is to bring back the tax loss carry-back, because that had more to do with supporting cashflow than just about anything else. I commend the motion to the House.

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