Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's not always about regulation, Minister for Small Business. It's about supporting them. It's about providing opportunities to help small business grow. The interjection from the Minister for Small Business is: 'You don't want to regulate small business.' That shows how out of touch this government is. Talk about a government that doesn't understand small business! It tries to defend the fact that, in two years, it has brought in no support and no legislation for small business. This is coming from the Parliamentary Library. If you want to dispute the Parliamentary Library, feel free to. But this is the first piece of legislation that the minister has brought to this House. I believe she is on her feet next. She can contradict me and contradict the Parliamentary Library if she likes, but it's not about what you say; it's about what you do. For two years, the Albanese Labor government have abandoned small business. They have abandoned small and family businesses in my community and across the country, and those businesses know it. They tell us every day. The member for Page knows. They tell us that every day when we are talking to them. They feel abandoned. The facts show that they have been abandoned by this government.

This piece of legislation—let's be clear—was enacted in 2020. This was a piece of legislation enacted by the coalition government. It commenced on 1 January 2021. The review was called for by the minister in December of 2022. The minister then got the review in September of 2023. It took until December of 2023 to get a response. We are now in June of 2024 and we've finally got the legislation in this House. It then needs to be enacted. It then actually needs to operate. When you are a small business and your cash flow is under so much pressure, days, weeks and months matter. They make a difference. But, for two years, we have had no legislation from the minister. They have sat on this report for months and years. They're finally bringing it to the House. The first piece of legislation to support small business that the minister brings to the House is actually a coalition piece of legislation. I don't think anything else can sum it up more than that.

It's heartbreaking, because so many families are doing it tough. I was talking to a hospitality venue in my community. The husband and wife who own that venue are now working over 80 hours a week each just to keep the business afloat because they cannot afford to pay the wages of their employees. They are sacrificing time with their family. Their children are having to pull out of sporting organisations and organised sport for two reasons. They don't have the money to pay the fees and for the uniforms and they don't have the time to take their children to the events. They have sacrificed everything for this business. They are sacrificing everything today. They are working so hard. The sad part is that they have been abandoned by this government. That's the reality. That's one story. I could share many more. It is disappointing to see.

As I said, two years in, we've finally got a piece of legislation and it is a coalition piece of legislation that has been worked up. I think that sums up the Albanese Labor government and the disrespect and disregard they have for small business across Casey and across the country.

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