Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

If you're a small business in the Blue Mountains or the Hawkesbury, I know that for many of you things are tough. Supermarkets and retailers tell me they've seen changes in buying patterns as a result of the price rises on many products, although they also tell me that they are starting to see the increases stabilising. I ran a small business for 25 years and I know that the more than 12,000 small businesses in Macquarie are the lifeblood of our economy and our community. This budget is investing in the security and certainty that they need to thrive.

We know economic conditions have been challenging for Australia's small businesses, which is why the government has delivered targeted and responsible support, improved the overall business operating environment and helped business owners reduce energy price pressures. At the centre of this support is our energy price relief plan that will shield Australia households and small businesses from the worst impacts of rising energy prices. In partnership with the New South Wales government, we are providing $650 in electricity bill relief to eligible small businesses or those whose turnover is over $50 million a year. We're also introducing the small business energy incentive. This is a bonus tax deduction to help up to 3.8 million small and medium-sized businesses save energy by upgrading their facilities or finding a way to save on their energy bills.

We are temporarily increasing the instant asset write-off threshold to $20,000 for business with a turnover of up to $10 million for the next year. We are reducing the time small businesses spend doing taxes, saving them both time and money. Measures include allowing longer to amend your tax returns, trialling an independent review for small businesses in dispute with the ATO and expanding access to advice through the Tax Clinic program. We are also introducing really practical measures to guard small businesses against cyberthreats through the $23 million program to help them train in-house cyber wardens. There is nothing worse as a small business than finding you have been hacked, whether it is your social media or other IT. This will help.

The Albanese government knows just how vital small businesses are to our nation's economy and our local prosperity. That's why this budget's committed to helping them tackle immediate challenges, like energy costs, as well as helping set them up for long-term success with the investments in cybersecurity and cutting red tape.

We are also supporting businesses who work in the film industry. Over the past five years, 40 international productions have been secured for Australia. These productions, which usually come from the US, have created more than 22,000 employment opportunities and work for more than 23,500 individual Australian businesses. Between 2018 and 2021, these productions supported more than 9,000 regional jobs and 4,700 regional businesses. So it's big money coming into local economies.

Typically, 60 per cent of the spend by international producers is with businesses outside the screen sector. I am talking about transport and accommodation providers, catering, venue hire, legal services and financial services. But, in my electorate, it's things like animal trainers. Two productions in Macquarie have accessed the incredible talent we have in training. I got to go on set at the Ryan Gosling The Fall Guy movie to watch a local Hawkesbury trainer—

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