Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Riverina and I can agree on that point at least. There is a lot of support out there for small businesses, no matter who's in government. The department gets on with the job, the website exists, and there's a lot of advice available for small businesses. The fact is that in developing this private member's motion, the member for Casey went to great lengths to specify the precise number of insolvent businesses this year in various states across the country, but he failed to mention two very important points: one, what these figures mean as a percentage of total small businesses in each state; and (2) the policies behind those figures. The member for Casey conveniently ignored these points because he knows that the proportion of insolvencies out of the total number of small businesses is below the long-term historical average under the Albanese Labor government. Let me repeat that. Under the Albanese Labor government, the proportion of insolvencies out of the total number of small businesses is below the long-term historical average. I will leave it to those listening to speculate as to why the member for Casey would ignore two such important points.

According to the deputy Liberal leader, energy prices are pushing businesses into insolvency. We hear this from the member for Lindsay incessantly. Both members voted against energy bill relief. Apparently, energy hardship is hitting small businesses harder than COVID-19, according to the deputy Liberal leader. It was the deputy Liberal leader, in the same breath, who said that only the opposition leader has a plan to get Australia back on track. What is that grand plan? It's not caps on fuel costs. The opposition leader has a 100 per cent voting record against them. And it's not rebates on energy bills. We know that the opposition leader and deputy Liberal leader, and, in fact, every member of the coalition, voted no to energy bill belief. The opposition leader's grand plan to get the country back on track is hiking energy bills with nuclear power stations.

The CSIRO and every credible economist agree that nuclear power will take too long to deliver in Australia and will hike up energy bill prices if it ever gets off the ground. Power bills will go up under nuclear power; in fact, your power bill will go nuclear. It will cost double that of renewables. Renewables are taking off now. They're affordable. They are the choice of the market. Yet, the opposition leader is on this fantasy of nuclear power. Don't misunderstand me. I know and accept that small-business people are doing it tough right now, but the Albanese Labor government works alongside them to get the relief they need while the Liberal Party simply pushes them under. From 1 July this year, the Albanese Labor government eased energy hardship by delivering $325 of energy bill relief to nearly one million businesses nationwide—bill relief that the Liberal Party and the National Party, including the member for Casey, voted against.

Our government is extending $20,000 instant asset write-off. A small business—one that earns under $10 million—will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 until June next year. This is expected to save small businesses around $290 million. The instant asset write-off was a Labor initiative. When Tony Abbott became Prime Minister, he axed it. Then the Liberals brought it back. I'm pleased to say the instant asset write-off has bipartisan support from both Labor and the coalition, but we simply cannot accept when they say that Labor does not support it.

I go to this quote about this instant asset write-off scheme:

It allows businesses to invest in productivity. It allows them to invest in machinery that increases their performance which keeps prices down for consumers, and it allows them to continue to grow.

It's a great quote. If you want any evidence of what a great quote it is, just ask the member for Casey. It's his quote. Here he is with a private member's motion before the House talking about the Labor government's approach to small business, and here he is quoted saying he supports our plan for instant asset write-off.

There are nearly 2.5 million small businesses across Australia, and they employ nearly five million Australians. The Albanese Labor government supports every single one of them. (Time expired)

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