Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Small Business. Will the minister advise the House on actions the government is taking to put downward pressure on electricity prices for families and small businesses, including those in my electorate of Murray? What obstacles stand in the way of growing jobs and increasing productivity for small businesses?

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Murray for his question. The member stands proudly in the corner of the more than 18,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in his electorate. Like all of us in this government, he is fighting for them each and every day. The member grew up on a dairy farm and he had his own steel-manufacturing business in country Victoria before being elected, so he knows the challenges small businesses and farmers face with the rising cost of energy. He knows there are locals, such as Rob Priestly of Gouge Linen and Garment Services in Mooroopna, who are struggling to stay afloat as a result of energy prices rising significantly. Rob told the Shepparton News:

Everybody in our industry is in the same boat.

I'm more worried about the impact on the broader community and on food manufacturing.

The member for Murray and this government are determined to back small businesses, we are determined to back families and we are determined to back hardworking Australians to make ends meet. That's why we're taking real action with energy bosses to get a better deal for all Australians. That's why we will reserve Australian gas for Australians, if necessary, to make it more reliable. That's why we've asked the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, to investigate the National Electricity Market and retailer behaviour to ensure families and small businesses come first. And that's why we're forging ahead with Snowy Hydro 2.0, a long-term vision which will deliver reliable and renewable energy for half a million homes. The member for Eden-Monaro might be interested in this: Lorraine Wysman, who is from the Tumut Regional Chamber of Commerce, told The Canberra Times of the high demand for housing in Talbingo and Tumut as a result of the Prime minister's Snowy Hydro announcement. That's great news for the local economy.

Each of these are actions on energy to put Australians first, but I'm asked about obstacles, and there are quite a few. In fact, I'm looking at them. Just as the data released today from the National Australia Bank shows our plans are working, 84 per cent of small businesses believe the government should provide better tax breaks for small businesses—something Labor opposed. Just as businesses look with confidence, those opposite launch a reckless and ideological approach to energy, pushing up bills and putting families under the bill bus. Just as job numbers are up, Labor has small business in its sights, ratcheting up taxes, with fewer businesses able to access the instant asset write off. Just as those businesses and families rely on a trust to make ends meet in a season or a year which is not as good as others, Labor launches a crackdown. How typical.

Backing small businesses, backing jobs, creating more jobs and backing hardworking families is about making choices. But, time and again, Labor chooses union bosses, even when that means selling Australian workers up the river if that pays for union bosses' excesses and certain members' election campaigns. Shame on Labor. Start getting behind small businesses instead of hurting them each and every day. (Time expired)