Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Some witnesses to the inquiry on this legislation noted that a blunt maximum 30-day payment term may incentivise large firms that currently pay well below 30 days to increase their payment times. The fail-safe mechanism addresses both of these concerns. To avoid the fail-safe being triggered, all businesses have an incentive to lower their payment times in general or to maintain existing rapid payment times. If the fail-safe is triggered, rare exemptions can be made for industries or business relationships where payment times above 30 days are still reasonable.

The government will likely argue that changes like the fail-safe mechanism can wait, though, until after the review. But a statutory review is another excuse for the government to delay real action on payment times and for big businesses to stymie reforms that will help our small businesses. Small businesses need the certainty that this scheme will improve payment times and, if it doesn't, that the worst offenders are brought into line. Getting large businesses to pay small business on time will aid small business survival and growth while increasing money flow through the economy, benefiting all Australians.

Let's get this right the first time. I urge the government to support these amendments and the fail-safe mechanism they'll introduce to help reduce payment times to small business to less than 30 days, particularly if this government wants its budget week to actually deliver real improvements to business cash flow. I commend the amendments to the House.

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