Barry Wakelin (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Small Business and Tourism. Will the minister update the House on how the government is making it easier for small business to do business?

Fran Bailey (McEwen, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Grey for his question and for his strong support for small business in his electorate. I am very pleased to advise the House that Australia is the second easiest country in the OECD in which to start up a business, to obtain credit and to hire workers. This information has come about through a recent report by the World Bank called Doing business in 2007. For someone wanting to start up a business in Australia it only takes two steps and two days. That compares with the average in the OECD of six steps over 16 days. That is very good for Australian small businesses. This has not happened by accident. This has happened because the Howard government has made it much easier for people to do business in Australia. We have done that by maintaining a very strong economy, by cutting taxes, by cutting red tape and by increasing the flexibility in the workplace. Since Work Choices has been introduced, 175,000 new jobs have been created.

The member for Grey asked me if there are any threats to this business environment. Sadly, I do have to advise the House that there are real threats to this environment. The Leader of the Opposition is proudly going around the country telling people how he will reintroduce unfair dismissal, the scourge of small business across this country. He intends to force small businesses to go back to that system of having to pay go-away money. He is going to rip up the AWAs. Let me remind the House that it is no accident that the Leader of the Opposition reaffirms that for as long as he sits in that chair the ALP, as he has very proudly proclaimed on a number of occasions, is not the party of small business. Every day he reaffirms that.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.