Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to start by saying thank you to all the small business owners out there throughout the country. Thank you for being the backbone of this nation, for driving our economy, for employing people and for taking that risk of starting your own business or growing it or just taking that step outside your comfort zone. Without you, this economy would be crumbling. Without you, people wouldn't be getting employed. Without you, the backbone of this nation, we would come to a screeching halt. Small business, mum and dad businesses, those who have saved up, taken that risk to start whatever industry they want to be in, to take that step—you're what keeps the lights on in this country. Without you, this nation wouldn't be as strong and as good as it is. So I want to say thank you. Thank you for taking that risk.

These amendments to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Support for Small Business and Charities and Other Measures) Bill 2023 have come back to the House for a second time because the Senate has insisted on them. In procedural terms, this is a rare occurrence in the life of the parliament. Continued disagreement between the House and the Senate has, in the past, triggered a double dissolution. The continued disagreement—

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