Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, I was honoured to host the Minister for Small Business, the Hon. Bruce Billson, in the electorate of Macquarie. Mr Billson and I addressed two round tables of small business owners, for the Hawkesbury and for the Blue Mountains. It was significant to see some key stakeholders come together, including the Hawkesbury City Chamber of Commerce, the Blaxland Chamber of Commerce, the Windsor Business Group and the Blue Mountains Accommodation and Tourism Association. These operators are key in the local economy, representing over 10,000 small businesses in my electorate. Macquarie, similar to the minister's electorate of Dunkley, is a product sector economy that is driven by small business and tourism.

Because of the recent bushfires, as many would know, small business has been hit hard and these round tables were an imperative opportunity for owners to have their concerns heard. I am committed to doing whatever I can to support small business. I have been in constant contact with the minister since the fires hit so he had a strong understanding of the concerns raised. One of the main frustrations raised by attendees at the forum is increasing red tape and compliance regulations. This is a legacy of Labor, with the former Labor government introducing 21,000 regulations.

We as a coalition are committed to removing the burden of red tape on small business and the minister spoke at length of the upcoming regulation repeal day on 26 March that will see 8,000 regulations repealed in this parliament. My thanks to all those who attended the round table and to the minister for his dedication and willingness to always listen. There is no substitute for being on the ground and seeing firsthand the day-to-day challenges for our small-business owners. We are getting on with the job of building a stronger economy so that everyone can get ahead.