Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's not very often in this place that I rise to support the honourable member, but I am on this occasion, because I know that the bulk of the small businesses in my electorate and throughout this country have absolutely no idea what is coming their way. But we do. We know what is coming. I am gravely concerned about the impact this is going to have on small businesses. They're already facing significant increases in interest rates and energy prices, and we know all of that. But this is going to drastically impact on the ability of mum-and-dad small businesses to do business. The government can't seriously suggest that cut-off. The cut-off cannot be 15; it just can't be. That headcount is so unrealistic. A small business, say a cafe, will be employing casuals, part-timers and full-timers. Even just a small cafe would be over the threshold and they'd be covered by this legislation, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. They are really going to be suffering from this. Small businesses don't have IR departments. They don't have legal departments. They're not accountants. I'm really very concerned about this, and I know most of my colleagues here are, too.

And I want to stand with the crossbench on these amendments. These are sensible amendments in relation to these threshold issues. I implore the Leader of the House: these guys, our small businesses, are really going to be doing it very, very tough, particularly after Christmas. More than likely we'll end up seeing a couple more interest rate rises. And I know already, from the businesses that are talking to me, about how tough they are finding it. These changes are going to significantly impact upon not just their ability to trade but also their mental health. Already small businesses feel like unpaid tax collectors and that they are doing so many jobs that government used to do. They are under the pump, and that is only going to get worse, and it's going to get significantly worse after Christmas. I implore the Leader of the House to re-examine this issue. It doesn't need to go back to the Senate. You've already made 150 amendments. You could bring another amendment today. We are literally building the plane as it's going down the runway. When I was a builder we used to have a saying and that is: measure twice, cut once. We're changing things—I know this is a complex area of law. We've got to get this right, and we are a long, long way from getting this right.

I would also encourage the Leader of the House—you've heard some really sensible submissions from the crossbench. One thing is very clear and that is that this bill is being rushed through. If you rush this you're going to make mistakes. To fundamentally change the way that we are doing business from an industrial relations perspective—it is too important to rush this, because when you rush things there are always unintended consequences. So my plea to you, the Leader of the House, is just hit pause. Let's consult a bit more broadly on this.

So many industry bodies are up in arms about this. What I'm concerned about are the mum and dad punters, the small businesses—quite frankly, I don't think most of them even know what's coming. They're not glued to the television and the papers like we are. They're too busy trying to make a living. If this bill gets passed then they are going to suffer very, very badly—(Time expired)

See this speech in context