PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Mr McCORMACK (Riverina) (17:43): by leave—There's never been a more important time than right now to talk about small businesses because small businesses are facing the brunt of not just domestic shocks but, indeed, the reverberation of what is happening around the world. I spoke a little earlier about the Iranian situation, which will cause a spike in the price of energy, as in fuel—and fuel, like electricity, is the economy.

Certainly, we know this in regional Australia. It might be all well and good for the energy minister to spruik about the 34 days of available diesel and fuel in Australia. We need to, in fact, increase that—we do—and we could well do it.

I certainly know that, when we were in government, there were bids to have a fuel supply in Toowoomba, a fuel supply in Parkes—on the intersection of the east-west and north-south rail lines—and a fuel supply in Western Australia, to help not only the mining industry, which I know is so prevalent in Flynn and elsewhere in Queensland, but, indeed, agriculture.

Agriculture provides food and fibre not just for our domestic use but also internationally. We grow far more food than we could ever hope to feed to our own nation; that's why it's such a huge export. More than that: when we talk about small business in this place, it often gets forgotten that farmers are small-business owners and operators.

At the moment they are very much being cruelled by bad water policy. I know there will be a by-election in the electorate of Farrer, and I note the Prime Minister was in Albury a week or so ago. Interestingly, Albury was the birthplace of the modern Liberal Party in 1944, when Menzies talked about the forgotten people—and, indeed, they were being forgotten.

The Liberal Party will contest that by-election, as will the National Party. It will be a contest for the ages. But I'll tell you who may well not be there—the Labor Party.

Labor has already signalled it may not run a candidate. I think when you're the government of the day it's beholden upon you to run a candidate in a by-election, particularly a by-election in a seat such as Farrer, where the Labor Party—and I will say the true believers, because that particular seat, which was founded in 1949, has always been held by either the Liberals or the Nationals.

Dr Ryan: Not for long! Mr McCORMACK: Don't let hubris take you over, Member for Kooyong! We had Tim Fischer, who was a former deputy prime minister.

He loved small business, let me tell you. Tim Fischer understood, appreciated and valued small business, and whomever the Nationals put up will be of the same ilk as far as backing small business is concerned. National Party members always back small business—and you know why?

Because most of us have run one. I ran my own small business for eight years and it was hard work; it was absolutely hard yakka running a small business. Quite often you work late, you always start work early and often you take home less pay than the workers you employ.

But there's nothing more rewarding than knowing you are employing someone. There's no better feeling than knowing not only you are directly employing someone but also, through your perspiration and endeavours, you're often employing somebody indirectly. In my case, it was printing firms.

I well remember that Active Print put out a new four-colour press and hired more people to churn through the work we were providing. We were just a small business, with just three directors, and we were proud of those years. To every small-business person out there, I say—and I think I speak on behalf of the parliament—a very big thankyou.

They are doing the hard yards, and they're not getting the support they need. That's why so many businesses, sadly, are going to the wall as we speak, and that is such a shame. They deserve better policy because they are helping to grow the food.

They are helping to grow the fibre. They are helping in so many areas of endeavour. Whether they're farmers—the world's best environmentalists—whether they're on the high streets or the main streets of country towns right across Australia, whether they're in the central business districts of our capital cities, we owe them a debt of gratitude.

What we don't owe them is debt—and that's all they're getting from this Labor government.