Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last few weeks, I've been out doorknocking, standing on listening posts and visiting small businesses right around the country so that I can hear the concerns of businesses and ordinary Australians, and the truth is that Australian households and businesses have been doing it really tough over the last few years. Despite Labor's crowing about 'mission accomplished' on inflation, the cumulative effect of price rises and declining standards of living mean that people are still doing it tough.

In fact, last week, on the day that the CPI figures were released for December and we found out that, while there had been a drop, the trimmed mean inflation was still above band even though it's dropped below band in other countries, I was in Sydney and I was visiting a business with our candidate for Bradfield, Gisele Kapterian. It was a fantastic small business called Dynamic Office Supplies in the electorate of Bradfield. I was joined by Angus Taylor and the current but retiring member for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher, and we met with Cesar, the owner, to hear about these very tough economic conditions that have affected his business. He said: 'Chatting to staff, it certainly doesn't feel like anything is getting cheaper or making it easier to do business. People are hurting, and to do what you were doing last year you've got to work twice as hard.'

That's something I'm hearing everywhere I go, whether it be Sydney, Adelaide, inner-city Melbourne or regional Victoria. Our small businesses are being smashed. They're being pummelled by Labor's cost-of-living crisis. Under the Albanese government, more than 27,000 businesses have gone under, including around 1,300 businesses in the hospitality sector in the last six months alone, and the number and rate of business failures are accelerating. The December 2024 quarter was the worst quarter for business insolvencies on record, but Labor seems to have no plan to help.

The coalition understands that small business is the lifeblood of our economy and that small businesses need to be supported, which is why Peter Dutton has announced that the coalition government will provide small businesses with turnover up to $10 million with a tax deduction for up to $20,000 per year spent on food at local clubs, pubs or cafes and restaurants. This supports small businesses who want to invest in their staff and their clients, and it boosts our hospitality sector by increasing spending in local cafes, restaurants and other venues that have really been at the pointy end of Labor's cost-of-living crisis, where they have shrinking margins but are unable to raise their prices. It's about ensuring that businesses can recover and thrive, not just survive.

It's been so well received by a small business owner whom I have been discussing it with: a man named Joel Drysdale, an experienced publican and brewer and also the Liberal Party candidate for Scullin at the next election. Joel knows firsthand how tough it is for small-business owners in Victoria right now because he is one. He opened his first business back in 2015. He'll be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. I was out at Joel's business in Pascoe Vale and asked why he wanted to run for parliament. His answer was terrific. He said: 'As a small-business owner, I got sick of paying taxes and watching them being wasted by government. We spend so much time working and putting into the system, and then just to see it all disappear without any results. It's really tough.' He's absolutely right. It's incredibly tough watching the dollars of hardworking Australians go to waste, and there is so much waste coming out of Labor.

I then went to Campbellfield to meet Steve Antoniadis, who is a proud owner of the Australian owned and operated manufacturing business Dreamaster. He spoke to us about the challenges facing local manufacturers, including high energy and import costs as well as red tape. Businesses like Dreamaster are vitally important to their local communities. They support the economy and they create jobs. Business owners like Steve, Cesar and Joel himself work incredibly hard. We cannot understand why Labor is so hell-bent on implementing policies that create more harm than good for people like this. Why do they want to make small-business owners' lives harder rather than easier? It makes no sense.

The coalition is committed to practical solutions to support small businesses. We understand that businesses don't need more bureaucracy; they need real and tangible relief. Joel Drysdale is standing for Scullin because he believes in supporting small businesses, fixing local infrastructure and ensuring that families get ahead and get the services they deserve. He's a successful small-business owner himself. He's backed himself. He's worked incredibly hard. He'll make an extraordinary contribution to the party room and to the small-business policy development process. The people of Scullin deserve a representative that will stand up and deliver for them, and that's exactly what they're going to get in Joel Drysdale.