Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The senator is right to talk about the importance of small business. They are the engine room of our economy and the hearts of so many local communities across the country and they certainly employ millions of Australians—more than five million people—and contribute more than $500 billion to the nation's economy. The advice I have is that the number of small businesses has actually increased by around 140,000 to a record 2.6 million. Obviously that is a good thing. But we are conscious of the pressures facing small business, which is why the government has helped to ease the pressure on Australia's 2.6 million small businesses by providing more than $640 million in practical and targeted support.

We know that the opposition voted against energy bill relief for small businesses. Can I also indicate that the government has updated the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and small businesses are now getting a larger slice of the $75 billion in contracts that the Australian government spends each year, with a 40 per cent target for contracts up to $20 million in value and a 25 per cent target for contracts up to $1 billion in value—so, using the power of Commonwealth procurement to ensure that small businesses get a reasonable share of what is a very large procurement budget. We're also improving payment times to small businesses, with a total investment of $33.4 million for a series of new reforms. In addition, we've supported small business with $60 million in cyber and digital support. I make the point that we recognise the importance of small business to the economy and have sought to provide assistance in the ways I have outlined and many more.