Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the matter of public importance raised by Senator Gallagher, on ensuring that small businesses affected by this summer's catastrophic bushfires get the assistance they need immediately.

On January 19 the government announced with great fanfare their package to assist the tourism sector, given the severe impact of the bushfires. The following day, 20 January, again with great fanfare, their assistance package for small business was announced. For a while there was an announcement a day released by the government. Unfortunately, that appears to be all there was—announcements. There was lots of spin but very little substance and actual help for struggling small businesses, particularly those regional tourism operators whose businesses face closure unless they get help. By January 23, small businesses on Kangaroo Island, small businesses on the South Coast of New South Wales and small businesses in Gippsland were letting us know that the government's assistance package wasn't all that it claimed to be. Many of these small businesses and regional tourism operators are located in regions that have been struggling to deal with the impacts of the fires since last October and November. Holiday-makers and visitors have been staying away from regional communities, many of which have not been directly affected by the fires. It is not just the fires that have kept people away. The safety warnings, road closures and smoke haze have also kept people away.

Small businesses in fire affected areas need financial assistance now. They don't need a complicated assessment process for concessional loans, loans for which very few businesses qualify, and, even if they do, they are piling debt upon debt, because these businesses have lost a substantial amount of their revenue. Many businesses face immediate closure unless the government acts. Regional communities rely on the cash flow from small businesses to generate and maintain local employment. When no-one comes to town that cash flow dries up. Tourism markets in the regions are closely intertwined. If one business suffers it can quickly have a knock-on effect and impact the entire region. The government doesn't seem to have been aware of this when it was developing its assistance package.