Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Commonwealth Registers Bill 2019 and the related bills. We are surrounded by Australians with new and innovative business ideas and ventures that they dream of starting from the ground up. Every day we drive past local businesses that are just looking for the confidence to invest. They want to help their business and the community they love grow and thrive. They just want to give back to our strong Australian economy. We see businesses that would love to employ more staff or even buy some new equipment so that they can provide a quicker service to their customers and a safer environment for their employees. We see businesses take on apprentices or trainees to give them a leg-up in their career in the industry by helping them to develop new skills, or we see businesses reskilling their current employees.

Every single one of these businesses provides us with a service we probably wouldn't be able to live without, even if we don't realise that right now. This is why the Morrison government has always stood behind and backed our Australian businesses every step of the way. The Morrison government remains committed to rewarding the aspiration of every Australian business, encouraging them to get out there and invest, giving them opportunities to grow our economy even further through their business. When Australian businesses gain the confidence they need and are encouraged to get out there and invest, the economy flows. This means that businesses can employ more staff, build a stronger and more assured workforce, provide even better goods and services to their customers, create much-needed jobs in the local community and help everyday Australians embark on their chosen career path.

As a business owner of 19 years I know only too well how important it is to have a thriving and confident business with a team of experienced and skilled employees and employers running them, and a coalition government that will back them all the way. Strong and confident businesses go hand in hand with a booming economy that's gathering more and more strength every day, which will create more jobs for employees and endless opportunities for businesses across Australia.

That is what these bills are about. They are about cutting the red tape for all Australian businesses so that it is simpler to do business in Australia. This, in turn, will help businesses across the country thrive, grow and feel much more confident as they invest in doing business. When you provide businesses with a simpler way of doing business and an easier way to guide them on their journey, to achieve their business goals, they don't get caught up in all that red tape. They are able to get out there, thrive, grow and achieve their goals. This is what we want for our Australian businesses. We want our businesses to grow, we want them to be more confident, we want them to achieve success, we want them to be able to provide employment, we want them to boast a strong workforce, to skill our employees and we want them to invest, because this is what makes our economy flow.

Making it simpler to do business will also create more and new innovative businesses that could benefit the everyday Australian and our economy. We have millions of Australians out there with unique and creative ideas who might be wondering if they'll be able to create a business out of their idea or go into business. But when you start a business, it can be hard to know what to do first or how to go about sharing your idea with the world. As a result, many business ideas get tossed aside because it's too hard to get started. They're being told that it's not the right time to start a business or it's too complicated to get the business set up. It would be a shame, if we don't simplify the way we do business, to miss out on a great business initiative in Australia or to have the idea taken overseas, where a business is easier to set up. Our economy would miss out on reaping the benefits of this brand new business, and so would we, which would be a real pity.

When we make it simpler to do business it will lead to an increase in profits, allowing a business to reinvest in their business by hiring new staff and purchasing new equipment. It will allow businesses to create more value and will support them in developing and reskilling employees. Creating an experienced and trained workforce allows them the opportunity to grow and make a difference, to give back to our strong economy, to get out there and help our community. It will inspire businesses to get updated with the latest technology and acquainted with the digital world. Simplifying the way an Australian does business will also allow employers to spend more time at front of house in their business, encouraging their employees and finding more innovative ways of growing, and bringing in business and connecting with customers, instead of spending hours and hours going through things like paying invoices and checking up on the back end of their business.

In short, embracing the act of making it simpler to do business in Australia will be a huge win for our businesses across the nation. Many businesses are unable to get off the ground, are in danger of closing—or have closed—or don't have the confidence to invest and take on more employees. One reason for this is all the rules and regulations surrounding business practices. These need to be trimmed and simplified if we want to continue to back and provide more opportunities for Australian businesses.

How will our businesses continue to expand and grow if they don't have the confidence to invest or take on new employees because of all these rules and regulations? So let's simplify some things and allow Australian businesses the breathing space to grow, expand and thrive. Australia is one of the most exciting places in the world to do business, start a new business or invest. Let's keep it that way. Let's reward Australian businesses and their aspirations by making it simpler, faster and smarter to do business. Our business community is truly the backbone of Australia's economy, and they deserve to be given the confidence to achieve their goals and continue to provide their customers with fantastic goods and services, and their employees with benefits, opportunities to develop their skills and great wages.

For example, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill 2019 will, one, provide the legislative flexibility for the government to fulfil its 2018-19 budget commitment to modernise the Australian Securities and Investments Commission business registers and the Australian Business Register, and will integrate the 32 existing business registers into one platform to be administered by the Australian Business Register. Two, modernising the business registers will address registry fragmentation, improve business user experience, reduce risks of ongoing operating, foster data driven innovation and enable better use of registry data. Three, the IT infrastructure underpinning Australia's business registry services needs to be addressed to meet demand for registry services now and into the future. Four, to facilitate the implementation of a new registry system a legislative package has been drafted that creates a new regime that is flexible, technology neutral and governance neutral. Five, the registrar will make data standards that determine what information will be collected, how the information will be collected and the manner in which information will be maintained. And, finally, the registrar can make a disclosure framework to provide the basis for disclosing protected information to the public. The disclosure framework is designed to replace a one-size-fits-all approach to publicly available data to one where information is disclosed using a risk based approach.

Australia currently has more than three million small and medium size businesses that employ around seven million Australians. The electorate of Longman has 13,146 small to medium businesses as of April 2019, all of whom are giving back to their community where and when they can and providing important economic significance.

The Morrison government has already reconfirmed its commitment to backing small businesses and its plan for a strong economy with this year's announcement of an agreement to establish the $540 million Australian Business Growth Fund with the four major banks, HSBC and the Macquarie Group. The fund will provide equity funding for small and medium size businesses, helping them to grow and fulfil their potential by accessing capital to create more jobs, a stronger workforce and to grow and expand.

The Morrison government has always invested in our small and medium businesses. This is evident by the fact that business confidence from traders across Australia increased after the result of last year's federal election. Not to mention that the Morrison government's achievements in reducing unemployment and creating jobs in the past few years have helped businesses as more people have disposable income.

The personal tax cuts for 2018-19 have assisted people to reduce credit card debt and discretionary spending. I have seen what the Morrison government has achieved for local businesses over the years. As a business owner I know how important it is to have governments who will always back our Australian enterprises; believe in their value; reward them for their aspirations; equip Australians with the skills that Australian businesses need to boost their success, deliver better wages and more jobs; and keep encouraging investment and keep our economy flowing. We must continue to support and inspire confidence in a sector that drives our economy by making it simpler for our Australian businesses to do business on a daily basis. I commend the bill to the House.

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