Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Wright for his question. He is a good member. He understands the importance of small business because he ran one and continues to do so—CQX Transport with 10 trucks. It is a good small business in the electorate of Wright. The member understands, as do all members on this side of the House, the importance of small businesses and what they mean to our economy.

There are more than 13,000 small businesses in the electorate of Wright. It is great to hear, in Wright, of regional businesses opening, expanding and, perhaps most importantly, growing. Our Ten Year Enterprise Tax Plan will assist them to do just that. It will relieve compliance on Tom Plunkett of Paint Place in Beaudesert, so he can get on with what he does best—supporting local tradespeople and offering a high quality service to customers. For the local Beaudesert grocer, Antonio Bufalino of The Big Pumpkin fruit and vegetables, our plan will free up capital for him to reinvest and develop his business.

Just an hour ago I met with the Council of Small Business of Australia chairman, Paul Nielsen He spoke of how critical our enterprise tax plan is to enable small business to drive innovation and growth. They were his words. The Coalition understands just how important this plan is to create the right conditions for small business to grow and prosper.

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