PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr CHAFFEY (Parkes) (18:19): Every day all of us depend on small business in some way, whether it's for our accounting or for our morning coffee, to fix our plumbing or to get a medical check— Mr CHAFFEY: Yes, I stand up for the plumbers, unlike the member for Moore, who has just left the chamber. Small businesses are absolutely critical not only in keeping our economy running but in keeping all of us running in this country.
There are 2.7 million small businesses in Australia. More than 28,000 of them are in the Parkes electorate. They make up more than 97 per cent of all businesses in this country and employ more than five million people.
These employees are ordinary Australians, workers who are trying to get by—trying to make a quid, save a quid, buy a home, send their kids to school and have somewhere to live when they get older. These are basic needs that are getting harder and harder under this Albanese Labor government. Twenty-eight thousand small businesses have become insolvent in the past two years, leaving, at the very least, tens of thousands of Australians without a job.
That figure of 28,000 might be familiar. That is because, as I've just said, that is exactly equal to the entire number of small businesses in my electorate of Parkes: 28,000. Picture that in one place.
In my electorate of Parkes, say, which is 51 per cent of New South Wales, that is every small builder, every hairdresser, every cafe and just about every dentist, physio and GP gone in the past two years. That is more than three times the rate when the coalition was last in government. We need to protect our workers, but we also need to give our small businesses a fighting chance, or those workers will also lose their jobs.
That is why we need to achieve a balance that works for everyone and still supports a strong economy. We will need to take a very close look at the treasury laws amendment bill when the details are introduced because it's apparent that the business community has serious concerns. Small businesses are already groaning under the weight of this government's bad decisions: the credit card surcharge ban, the rushed rollout of payday super, the new taxes on discretionary trusts and capital gains, just to name a few.
These decisions have been made without looking ahead at the consequences, and they've been made when our whole economy is already under enormous pressure. It seems to be a surprise to this government, every morning when they wake up, to find their policies have slashed yet another tyre of the small businesses that keep this country on the road. Today's front page of the Daily Telegraph says it all: 'We're not your ATM, Jim', 'Furious small businesses in fresh blitz on Labor taxes'.
We have always been the country of great ideas that start with small business. Now, getting that small business off the ground is something any ingenious Australian would have to think twice about before even starting. Our small businesses cannot afford any more hits.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has already warned about this draft legislation. It has warned that it has the potential to impact all small businesses, who need to protect their own workforce and the goodwill, customer relations and value of their business that they have spent years building. It has warned that high penalties and legal uncertainty could follow the impacts of this legislation.
The Australian Industry Group has warned that these changes could threaten confidentiality, commercial relationships and workforce stability. It could also discourage employers from investing in training and development. Even everyday business transactions could become more difficult, according to the Business Council of Australia.
These are the business experts. Those opposite are not; that much is apparent. We have already seen more than enough economic mismanagement from the government, which has put our country $1 trillion in debt.
How about we leave this one to the experts?