Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Herbert for his question. It was good to be with him in Townsville in the week after the budget and indeed to visit Juliette's café, one of the great small businesses in Townsville which always makes runners and cyclists very welcome indeed. Juliette's café is one of almost 10,000 small businesses in Herbert that will benefit from this year's budget. There are small businesses all around the country that will benefit from this year's budget. Today I was at the small business kiosk at Harvey Norman in Fyshwick with the member for Eden-Monaro and with Senator Seselja, again, one of the 22,000 small businesses in the ACT and 11,000 small businesses in Eden-Monaro that will benefit from this year's budget.

This budget is the best budget ever for the small businesses of Australia—the $5½ billion of small business tax cuts, the biggest tax cuts ever in this year's budget. There is a 1.5 per cent cut in the company tax rate for incorporated small business. There is a five per cent tax discount for unincorporated small businesses and, best of all, there is the instant asset write-off of $20,000 again and again for all small businesses. These are important because small business is the engine room of the economy. It is the locomotive of jobs growth. Small business people mortgage their homes to invest, to employ and to serve their communities. When small business does well, every single business does well.

Ninety-six per cent of all Australian businesses are small businesses. They employ some 4½ million people. They create almost 50 per cent of all new jobs and, as the Business Council of Australia said of our small business budget package, it is an absolute shot in the arm for small business. If it is a shot in the arm for small business, it is a shot in the arm for big business too because small business buys from big business.

With the economy in transition, it is important that these budget measures to help small business get through the parliament as quickly as possible, some small businesses are reluctant to invest until the measure has passed the parliament. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, let us not let politics get in the way of economics. Let us not let self-interest get in the way of national interest. Let us pass this bill straight away.

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