Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Small Business. Minister, under Labor's extreme industrial relations changes, small and medium businesses will need to pay between $14,000 and $75,000 when dragged into compulsory multi-employer bargaining. Given that small and family businesses are already facing higher interest repayments and rising energy prices, can the minister inform the House of what financial assistance the government will provide to these Australian businesses to help them meet these new costs?

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for her question. There's no doubt, and I've said in this place, that small businesses have been doing it tough. They are dealing with increased prices and they are doing it tough in terms of increased mortgages and increased energy prices. But what we're doing with the better pay, secure jobs legislation is that we're trying to actually support small businesses and give them what they want. What we're doing here is giving them access to enterprise bargaining—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Nationals will cease interjecting.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

that will improve productivity and give businesses the benefit of negotiating with their employees. Indeed, when you go to the regulatory impact statement and you keep reading, it says:

The significant benefits of being covered by an enterprise agreement and the costs that may be associated with remaining covered by a Modern Award outweigh the additional cost for businesses to engage with the new multi-enterprise bargaining streams—

not to mention that most small businesses will go into the cooperative stream—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

where they'll be able to get off-the-shelf type products, and it will cost them very little, and that's where we think most small businesses will go.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moncrieff will cease interjecting. There is far too much noise. I want to be very clear with the House. There must be silence when questions are being asked. Ministers are entitled to answer questions in silence as well. I'm not mucking around today.