Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Saturday in wonderful Port Lincoln, on a beautiful day, we held a small business fair attended by about 50 local business people and also by Senator Anne Ruston and local member Peter Treloar. Businesses there were generally happy with what the government has been doing, particularly around reductions in the corporate tax rates and the extension of the accelerated or instant tax write-off to $25,000. What caused consternation on the day was when I informed them of the article that was in last week's Australian that told us that Labor Senator Doug Cameron has foreshadowed a move to overturn a regulation in the Senate to head off the union-backed move to allow casual workers who have been paid special holiday loadings to also claim annual leave entitlements going back six years—double dipping. So Senator Cameron is going to move a disallowance motion on this on 2 April. Now, that will be considered within 15 sitting days so, that's a little way away quite probably but it is a very clear indication of what those on the other side will do if they come to government. They intend to go after small business for $8 billion—that is, $8 billion of holiday pay that workers have already been paid for. And I tell you what, if you want to go out and hold your own small business forum, have a listen to what they have got to say.