Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

If there's one thing everybody in parliament can agree on, it's that the Jacqui Lambie Network is truly the party of small business. Sure, Liberals claim they are, and now Labor say they are the real ones. I've even heard the Greens say they're the best party for small business. You all say it publicly, but when push comes to shove you'd have to agree that the Jacqui Lambie Network is the spiritual home of small business owners and you're all just saying, for the cameras, that you are but you don't really mean it.

I'm bringing this up because no party claiming to be a party for small business would design a bill like this one. The Liberal Party can't claim to be the party of small business and maintain a straight face. Surely, you'd give it up. The Labor Party says the problem with this bill is that there is not enough to protect small businesses. Hey! At least you're turning up to the party. Welcome to the main game. But you are still moving too slowly. I can tell you that people are getting pretty sick and tired of the major parties talking big and doing nothing about the problems facing small businesses. They’ve had enough of the government talking big and doing nothing about the problems facing Australian small businesses. Once again, the government is asking the Senate to consider 'do nothing' bills that won't help fix the problems that small business owners are actually facing. It's the same thing every time with these guys: more reporting, more reviews, more talk and no action. It is time to wake up.

While we stand up here debating these bills, small business owners are going to the wall because their invoices are not getting paid on time. They can't pay their rents, their suppliers or their workers. They're getting squeezed while big businesses make money off cash that doesn't belong to them. It's not right. Sadly, those small business owners aren't going to see anything change because of this proposal from the government. All they're getting is another marketing exercise—and they're not even good at them. I'm willing to bet my very last dollar that it won't do a damn thing. The only difference this proposal makes is to force big companies to admit that they're refusing to pay their invoices on time. This should have been done years ago.

It will set up a regulator to tell the public and the parliament how many businesses are waiting for more than 30 days to pay their invoices. Whoopee! How about you make them pay it within 30 days? My goodness! I'm sorry, but what a joke! What's the point of more reporting? What's the point of more talk? We already know what the problems are. We already know how big the problem is. The fact that we need to do something now should be bleeding obvious to everyone at this point. Instead of requiring more reporting, we should be forcing those big businesses to cough up what they owe. Stop worrying about your political donations from them.

We should stop letting those wealthy corporations make billions of dollars off the backs of our small businesses and send them down the gurgler, because that's what they're doing. You should stop letting those fat cats have all the power. You should stop standing by while small businesses are being run into the ground by much bigger players. Until we do something, not just about reporting, not just about watching, those small businesses are at the mercy of big businesses, and they will continue to be at the mercy of big businesses who can simply decide to do the wrong thing. And you guys do nothing. There are no penalties. It doesn't make sense that this is the system we are working with.

No-one else in the country gets to choose to ignore their bills. When I don't pay my electricity bill on time, my energy company doesn't wag their finger at me and give me a little tap on the knuckles, does it? No. They don't just put me on a naughty list that gathers dust and has no impact. They charge me a late fee. They make me pay extra to compensate them for not getting their money on time. They try to teach me a lesson. They try to discipline me. They will send debt collectors if I push them too far, and other businesses can choose not to do business with me if it affects my credit rating. That's the way things are for the rest of us.

Ordinary people have to do the right thing and pay what they owe. Why should big businesses be any different? That's right. I keep forgetting. It's because they are giving their political donations. What do you know! If they don’t pay the money that they owe on time, they should be chased for it. They should be hounded. You should put them in a damn corner and discipline them. They should cop a fine, and a bloody big one at that. Otherwise, you are not using anything as a deterrent, except, 'Oh, hello, you are being naughty.' Jesus! Late payment should hurt them financially, not benefit them. But that's not the situation. The only reason big businesses don't pay on time is because they simply don't want to. They have no incentive to, because you're not making them. They know they can get away with pushing out payment times, because the government isn't going to force them to behave better. What's new?

They know they can ignore their bills, hold on to their money, earn interest on it and squeeze their little suppliers out there, and make them go under. And do they give a stuff? No, they don't give a stuff. Why would they?

And the government knows that you guys over on that side will turn a blind eye, just like you have done for years. This is how it is in this country. This is where we're at. That's why nearly $80 billion gets paid late to small businesses each year. That's why more than a third of small-business invoices are paid after 30 days and why late invoices take an average of 63 days to be paid. Shocking. Some of those fat cats even charge small businesses a fee if they want to get their payment in a reasonable amount of time. Isn't that absolutely bloody disgusting! That's where we're at—because you, Labor, have allowed the government to walk all over you for so long. Where is your spine for small business? Where is it?

The government's weak response to this problem doesn't reflect how deep the problem runs. A naughty list is not a punishment for those big businesses, it's the softest rap on the knuckles you can imagine—that's because, as we know, those big companies don't have any shame. They have no shame at all. They don't care about getting a bit of bad press. Why would they? They know that a bad media day will blow over. Today's news is tomorrow's fish and chips, as far as they're concerned. They know the journos will move on. The truth of the matter is that all those big businesses care about is their bottom line, nothing else—not their personnel, not their small businesses or anything else below them. They don't give a stuff. Let's be honest about that. It's in their financial interests to stuff over their suppliers, and they'll do it every single time. They won't think twice about it. And if they get caught they'll stand up, hand on heart, and say: 'Oh, we're truly story.' Jeez, give me a break. They'll go to the government, cap in hand, and they'll beg for forgiveness—which the government will give them because they're its donors. The government will roll over every time like a dog. Because that's how it works. This is how it works these days: you give us cash, and we'll leave you alone. The little guys who are trying to do the right thing will continue to get messed over and ignored. They're fighting a losing battle. I can't believe the National Party is doing it for them—oh, that's right, they get those big donations, too, from the miners and all the rest; whatever suits them. That's fine!

The little guys need the government to come out swinging and stand up for what it says about helping out small business. That's what businesses want to see. They don't want to see lip service. They actually want to see you doing something. Lip service seems to be the story of your lives these days, you Libs. Honestly, it's all lip service and no action. That could be your new motto: 'The Liberals: lip service, no action'. Small businesses need a minister to back them up, and you're not doing that. There's no way you are. You're a long way from it, because at the moment they're getting squashed under the weight of those wealthy corporations—and you know it, Minister. With everything that's going on this year, many of them won't survive, or they're not surviving now. And you're still not helping them. This government is doing nothing to stop late payments from happening. This proposal does nothing to stop late payments. Frankly, this proposal from the government is completely meaningless. It's just another line—more lip service.

Tasmanian small-business operators have had an absolute gutful. They already know that we have a problem here. It's about time the government did something about it. It's about time the government grew a spine. Tassie small-business owners need the government to back them up. They need an enforcement bill. They want to hit those big corporations where it hurts most: their bottom line. They want some payback. They want someone to stand beside them and deliver that payback so they can keep their doors open. That's why I want mandatory payment times for big businesses. I'm sick of the fact that we're letting them get away with this stuff.

Originally I wanted to force big businesses to pay up within 21 days or risk a fine. Since I've circulated my amendments, I've had conversations with the crossbench and the ALP, and I want to compromise to get this done. That's why I'll be moving an amendment to the ALP's fail-safe mechanism to make it kick within 18 months rather than three years. I'm giving big businesses a full year and a half—only because I've had to compromise, I can tell you—to get their affairs in order. And you don't think that big businesses, with all that cash, can get their affairs in order in that amount of time? You want to give them three years? I ask, what is wrong with you people? We're in a crisis. Small business can't keep their doors open, and you're not punishing big business for what they're dishing out to small businesses. What is wrong with you people? God, no wonder we're in an economic mess. You'll have more people unemployed—what is wrong with you?

The only reason they aren't doing it already is because they aren't being forced to. My amendments are an opportunity to make sure that big businesses can't get away walking over little guys any more. I won't stand back and watch this minister kick the can down the road. No-one who cares about small business should be comfortable with that. So to you in the Liberal Party over there, and to you in the Nationals: now is your opportunity to do the right thing by the small-business owners that you supposedly look out for. Support the fail-safe mechanism, and support my amendments that go along with it—because it's about time we forced big business to put their money where their mouth is. And it's the same with you, Minister: it's about time you put it up them. Start helping small business. Quite frankly, I'm calling you out today: it's not good enough for a minister.