Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just when you think that this Labor government couldn't get any more incompetent or hurt our economy any more than they have in these 2½ years, something else comes out to demonstrate just how incompetent they are. I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance (Senator Gallagher) to a question without notice asked by Senator Kovacic today relating to company insolvencies.

Despite the fact of this being the biggest issue today in the news, in her portfolio and in the Treasurer's portfolio, the minister said: 'Oh! I can't answer that. What story? What question?' It was just extraordinary, so let me share the facts. Five million Australians are employed in small to medium enterprises in this country, and this government—I can't even find words for it—has now got the record of being the worst government in the history of this nation for small to medium enterprises. No wonder the Minister for Finance hadn't seen it in the papers and hadn't read what COSBOA had put out! She hadn't even had a briefing, supposedly, on this issue.

What did this report find? It found that the Albanese Labor government has the worst business insolvencies in this nation's history. And as they shot to No. 1, guess who the second and third worst were. The Rudd-Gillard government in the 42nd parliament had an average of 2,341 business insolvencies per quarter—that is only per quarter. That was followed, in the 43rd parliament, by the Gillard-Rudd government. They had 2,336 insolvencies in one quarter.

Not to be outdone by those incompetent Labor governments who were so bad for Australian businesses and the five million Australians employed in small business, the Albanese government has shot to No. 1, and shame on you, because in one quarter you've now had 2,481 business insolvencies. In Western Australia, for the last quarter alone, that represents 377 small to medium businesses and thousands of Western Australian jobs, so you are definitely on track to be the worst government for business in modern Australian history.

Let's have a little bit more of a look at these numbers and what they actually mean. Senator Brockman and I note that in our own state of Western Australia, 71 per cent of businesses identified rising costs as a barrier to their growth, with agriculture, real estate and hospitality recording the highest concerns. What have other experts said about these figures? The COSBOA deputy chair, Wes Lambert, said:

… it's hard to find a way forward … keeping the business going and paying staff keeps small business owners in our industry up at night …

Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said:

It's been a perfect storm—

created by this government—

high inflation, rising interest rates, chronic labour shortages, industrial relations changes and high material costs …

All of those factors have come about through this Labor government's deliberate strategies. This hasn't just happened. Inflation hasn't just got so high. Interest rates haven't just happened. It has happened because of the deliberate policies of those opposite in less than two years. I very much agree with the deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, who said that this data confirms Anthony Albanese is on track to be the worst PM for business insolvencies this century.

This isn't just data. It is real businesses going bust, real jobs disappearing and real Australians hurting. Access to capital will remain a critical hurdle, with many female small-business owners finding it difficult to secure funding for growth and development. As I said, over five million Australians are now employed in small to medium enterprises. But let's have a look at some more of the data— (Time expired)

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Seriously, I'm not sure what I have been listening to this afternoon from Senator Reynolds. Being here next to the finance minister, I know she's one of the finest finance ministers that we have had in a generation, working alongside one of the best treasurers this country has ever had. I say that because, when I look at the financial position of this country, I see that this government, since coming to office back in 2022, has delivered not one but two budget surpluses and looks to be on track for another. I say that because our budget position has been sound.

We've delivered budget surpluses, but guess how many budget surpluses the previous government delivered. I'll tell you a little secret: it doesn't have a number, because it's a big fat zero. In the decade they were in government they racked up an enormous amount of debt—over $1 trillion worth—which the Commonwealth now has to service. That's right: $1 trillion of debt was accumulated under a Liberal-National government, the so-called economic managers on that side of the chamber.

But Labor is currently in government. When we were last in government and had one of the world's best treasurers—remember Wayne Swan?—the IMF and others applauded how Australia conducted itself as one of the most fiscally responsible governments around the world. He was awarded the title of best treasurer of the world. I say that with a very good colleague of mine, Senator Gallagher, here today. She has the world and the country on her shoulders when it comes to ensuring that the economy of this country remains stable, is able to function and does not go into recession.

That's unlike those opposite, who, every single week, come into this place and advocate for this country to go into recession. They absolutely want to smash small businesses and want to make sure that the wages of the working class, the workers of this country, go backwards. Not once when they were in government did they advocate to increase the basic wages of working men and women of this country. But the very first action that the Albanese Labor government took when it first came to government was to put a submission to the Fair Work Commission advocating for an increase to the wages of those who were on the minimum wages, the awards, of this country. Guess what? The commission agreed. We have seen time and time again in the last couple of years increases to wages, which are now filtering through our economy and supporting many men and women and their families who are on some of the lowest and middle incomes of this economy around the country.

I also want to acknowledge the report by COSBOA. It's important to look at what this government has been able to do. I say this from the outset: we have over 5½ million small businesses, and they are the engine room of our economy. They are the heart of many economies and many local communities around the country, including those in regional Australia that I visit on multiple occasions when I'm not here in Canberra. They employ millions of very hardworking Australians. But there are some things that I want to run through.

The government has been supporting and providing assistance to these 5½ million small businesses. In our most recent budget we provided over $640 million in practical and targeted support. We gave small businesses a tax cut in the last financial year, through the $20,000 instant asset write-off. We've also extended it for a further year, with legislation before this place right now, to provide small businesses with confidence and certainty to invest. This is equivalent to an estimated $290 million of support each year. We are abolishing 457 tariffs in the largest unilateral tariff reform in two decades. We've updated the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and small businesses are getting a big slice of the $70 billion in contracts the Australian government spends each and every year, with a target of 25 per cent. Our government is investing more than $60 million to help small businesses lift their cybersecurity and digital capabilities.

The very fact is this government, federal Labor, is on the side of workers. It's on the side of small businesses, unlike those opposite, who are always against the working class. (Time expired)

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've set the clocks for three minutes, Senator Brockman.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Only three minutes, Deputy President—that's very sad! We've just heard from Senator Ciccone, and I only need three minutes to tear apart this government's record on small business. Senator Ciccone, you tried absolutely valiantly to defend the indefensible there. If small businesses in Australia weren't suffering as badly as they are, they would've been rolling around on the floor laughing at the idea that Labor's the best friend of small business. No small business believes that. The 57 per cent of small businesses that are under severe financial pressure certainly don't believe that. The one-third of small businesses with owners who can't draw an income at the moment don't think you're their best friend.

I can tell you this because I meet with these small businesses. I've had, at a cost-of-living forum in the seat of Swan, a small-business hairdresser in tears due to the financial pressure they are under thanks to the high interest rates and high inflation of this Labor government. He and his wife sat down with their accountant, and their accountant said, 'The best thing you could do is sack your four employees and go back on the tools.' This is a man who is 63 years of age, and that was his accountant's advice—sack your employees and go back on the tools yourselves. Are these the people that are having it so good at the moment, Senator Ciccone?

It's absolutely ridiculous that this government is trying to defend its record in the face of soaring costs, soaring interest rates and a shortage of labour and in the face of small businesses being unable to not pass on cost increases from the supply side through to their customers due to the cost-of-living pressures that are also affecting families and their budgets. These are real people, millions of Australians, who are under real pressure, struggling to make a living and to survive. The idea that a Labor senator stood up and said, 'Labor is the party of small business,' is a joke. It is an insult; it is an absolute disgrace.

We're now seeing the insolvency rate skyrocket at the highest level over a six-month period. We're seeing another trend towards this being the worst period of government, certainly in this century, in terms of small-business insolvency, possibly for a very long time indeed. This government is a disgrace.

Question agreed to.