Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I would otherwise be delighted to rise on this occasion for a discussion on the topic of small business as a driver of innovation and productivity in our economy, but unfortunately in the context of this MPI that is not the case. It is not the case in the context of the destructive policies of the Abbott-Turnbull government. This matter of public importance highlights the damaging cuts made to innovation programs, science and research, and the failure, when it comes this government, of getting these settings right for Australian small businesses.

The starting point is this: this government talks a big game when it comes to innovation and small business and investment in the sector—a big game with a lot of buzzwords; a big game with a lot of adjectives. But here is the rub: all that talk and enthusiasm will only get you so far, and, let's face it, the previous minister for small business cannot be matched by the current one when it comes to enthusiasm. You only had to see his impassioned 90 second statement on Shop Small, which I fully endorse, to understand his level of enthusiasm. It actually makes you wonder: 'Why did they get rid of him?' On that note, this side of the House would like to pay tribute to the former minister for small business and congratulate him on the enthusiasm that he brought to the portfolio. But on that note, it is tangible results that matter.

We can look at the track record of this government when it comes to the damaging impact on economic growth, on innovation and on productivity, hurting Australia's small businesses as a result of its short-sighted cuts over the past two years. It is a sad state of affairs. First you have the horror show of the 2014 budget, backed in unequivocally by the now Prime Minister. It will long be remembered for its unfairness and its damage to the Australian economy.

But let us not forget the truly backward decisions that were made when it comes to innovation and the impact this has had on our entrepreneurs and the impact it continues to have on the small business community. Let us look at some of the specific damage that was done: reductions in the value of the R&D Tax Incentive, estimated to be at around $1.7 billion in lost incentives for business to invest in R? abolition of Commercialisation Australia; abolition of the Innovation Investment Fund; abolition of Enterprise Connect; abolition of Industry Innovation Precincts—the word 'abolition' will appear a lot here; abolition of Enterprise Solutions and Researchers in Business; and replacing a number of these programs, including by the ill-conceived Entrepreneurs Infrastructure Program—now just the Entrepreneurs' Program—which tries to deliver similar programs to Enterprise Connect and Commercialisation Australia but with around half the funding. What short-sightedness. What lack of ambition for our entrepreneurs and our small businesses in Australia from this government.

Those opposite will have you believe that they are delivering on an action plan on these very issues, and it gives me an opportunity to note a significant anniversary. It is a significant anniversary today. I am sure everyone on the opposite side of the House is aware of it, because I would like to say, 'Happy first birthday to the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda.' Who even knew it existed? What has been done? A year in, what has been done? Do you know the word that is used in here most of all? It is a series of 'ambitions'. Well, an ambition is a thought that you have when you are not prepared to back it up with commitments. That is the story of these governments. I would like to go through just a few here. We have, for example, the Entrepreneurs' Infrastructure Program which I just mentioned, an ill-conceived idea supposed to deliver outcomes similar to Enterprise Connect and Commercialisation Australia—both abolished—with about half the funding. We have the Industry Growth Centres, a scaled-down version of the 12 innovation precincts, now cut down to five, established under Labor in our own jobs package, but now, under this government, with about half the funding.

Just as an aside, because I just cannot resist: we have in here under the heading of 'Boosting parents' participation in the workforce'—this is a special:

Actions to come:

Not only did they ditch that one, they put $1 billion in cuts for paid parental leave on the table. But the reality is: it is hardly surprising that you do not hear small business or the relevant sectors talking up this series of ambitions—it is all ambition, no commitment.

I want to mention the important issue of commercialisation, widely recognised as the key area in which government has a role to play in helping small business to transition the good idea to the market. Australians and Australian small businesses are innovative and creative, but, when it comes to commercialisation, small business is badly let down by this government. In government, Labor was providing support through Commercialisation Australia, helping companies, entrepreneurs and inventors take up opportunities and create exciting new products and services. That was until this government, in an act of sheer economic vandalism, ripped $260 million from it in their budget.

You do not have to take it from me; have a look at this ABC news report from 2 September 2014, which focuses on a very important company, Global Kinetics, which had developed a wristband having an impact on those living with Parkinson's. The report begins by quoting Andrew Maxwell, the Chief Executive of Global Kinetics, saying:

"A small Australian company that took a research project through to now being a product being marketed in more than 12 countries around the world, I think that's a great measure of success …

The report goes on:

However, he says it might not have happened without $1.3 million in Federal Government funding from Commercialisation Australia.

This was under Labor. The report continues:

The grants program was scrapped it the latest budget, along with the Innovation Investment Fund, which co-invested in venture capital funds.

Mr Maxwell says it is disappointing.

"It gives a turbo boost—

I have heard that before—

if you like, to the amount of money that you've got in the business and it enables you to manage your programs and get into the market much quicker …

The report goes on to quote an expert here, Kevin Cullen, from the University of New South Wales's New South Innovations, who says the cuts by this government:

… seemed like a very strange thing to do, given that all of the other developed countries in the world are investing in innovation …

When we talk about innovation and when we talk about this so-called agenda, let us remember an area that was sadly missing from this government's document. This is something I wrote on a year ago, to the day—the absolute neglect of the role of ICT in all of this. As I wrote, the evidence consistently shows that the ICT sector is one of the biggest drivers of growth and innovation in an economy. It is considered to be a gateway growth sector, not only a growth sector in its own right but one which facilitates other, often entirely unrelated sectors to innovate and expand.

The other interesting thing that I liked in this Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda's set of ambitions is how they describe ICT. It is probably the only time ICT, or something close to it, is mentioned. It is in the context of the National Broadband Network. It says that they have:

Recalibrated the National Broadband Network to use the most cost effective technology to allow a faster and more affordable rollout.

Faster! It has doubled the cost. Where is this rollout under this Prime Minister?

What needs to be remembered is the importance that small businesses place on having accessible and affordable access to broadband. It needs to be remembered that something like two-thirds of small businesses are sole traders, many of whom work from home, as we on this side who work from home and rely on accessible and affordable broadband know. We now have the Prime Minister who promised—he went to the last election saying—we were going to get it faster, sooner and more affordably. Fail! Fail! Fail! Not only that, he promised to prioritise areas of need, including geographical areas, including small businesses, including those regions that were chronically underserved. Fail! Fail! Fail on every count!

What we have from this government is all talk when it comes to supporting innovation and small business. All the buzzwords that they like will not cover up having a government which has absolutely no commitment in ensuring the long-term future—not only the sustainability but the growth—of our small business sector. You do not have to take it from me. We know how important this is from speaking to our own constituents. If we want to harness the future prosperity of this nation, if we want our small business men and women—those innovators in our electorates—to be able to grow and thrive and have their businesses grow from small businesses to even larger ones, we need to ensure that they are supported by a government which does not just cut in the most short-sighted manner, which does not just take all the opportunities that Labor put forward, in terms of technology and being able to have the highest quality broadband, and lay that to waste. We have had exactly that under this government, and it is a disgrace.

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