Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I became a member of this place, I ran a small, family owned business: the one my father started in 1987 out of the back of a van. He worked hard to build it up. It paid for my education and my upbringing and it has employed scores of people over the years. My entire life has been one living in and around a small business. I get small business owners and I get small business. I know the sacrifices they make and the reward that sacrifice can bring. Small-business people are my people, and I'm their person in this government. I know the challenges small businesses face and I know how important they are to our local communities.

Small businesses employ locals. They give our town centres vibrancy and they help grow our local and national economy. I'm constantly meeting with small businesses across Bennelong, listening to their stories of innovation, hard work and resilience. Connecting with local businesses is something I've been doing for quite some time. As a councillor, then mayor, through the good times and bad, I've been working with and alongside businesses and business chambers in Bennelong. I helped support them during COVID when I was mayor; I worked with them to make our town centres more vibrant, with more events and infrastructure; and I engaged with them nearly every day in my new role as their federal MP. I'm close to local small business and I know that small businesses are doing it tough.

The post-COVID boom is over, inflation is stubbornly high and interest rates are biting. But we are a government that's offering help. Our government's policies are targeted and designed to improve the long-term resilience of small businesses. This year's budget provides more than $640 million in practical and targeted support for small businesses. The Small Business Debt Helpline is a free, government supported phone line with experienced small-business financial counsellors who can provide advice at a difficult time. Our government is also finding an expansion of the National Tax Clinic program, with an additional five clinics across the country to provide small businesses and individuals with better tax advice and help. Small businesses can also access the tax concierge service through the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, funded to provide support where there may be disputes.

Further, $62.6 million was delivered by this government in energy efficiency grants to eligible small and medium businesses to help them save money on their energy bills and help them lower their emissions. There was also $18.6 million delivered to help small businesses adapt and build resilience through digital technology. There was a 20 per cent bonus tax deduction for employers who incurred costs to train and upskill their employees and a 20 per cent bonus tax deduction for small businesses that wanted to invest in technology and digital operations.

We've changed the rules to make it easier for small businesses to have more access to Commonwealth procurement and for small businesses to be paid on time, and we've delivered energy relief to one million eligible small businesses across the country. We've had to. Small businesses collectively employ more than five million Australians and contribute more than $500 billion to our nation's economy every year. Our job in government—every government's job—is to back our 2½ million small businesses to ensure that they have the confidence and certainty going forward.

We know that the number of corporate insolvencies has risen recently, and this is a concern for us all. With the unwinding of COVID-era relief, the number of corporate insolvencies is exceeding previous peaks. But, despite that recent increase, ASIC data indicates that, as a proportion of total companies, the level of corporate insolvencies was 0.33 per cent in 2023-24, which is lower than the long-term historical average of 0.42 per cent.

This government will continue to work alongside small businesses to monitor the economy and developments in this space and to provide support to small businesses as they navigate through these difficult times. Small businesses can have confidence that our government is committed to supporting them. As I said, I understand the challenges they face. I've grown up in a small business my entire life. I'm part of a government that is taking action to support them. We're providing practical support, targeted investment and sustainable policy to ensure that small businesses remain a major part of our economic growth, and that they transition from small businesses to bigger ones.

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