STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr WILLCOX (Dawson) (13:51): Labor has invented a new form of small business assistance: create the problem, delay the damage, then try to claim the credit for the backflip. Take the ATO credit card debacle. Businesses rely on credit cards to manage tax payments and cashflow.

Labor announced that it would remove that option. Businesses protested, and then Labor pushed the deadline back to June 2027. That problem hasn't been solved; it's just been rescheduled.

Then there's a proposed 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts—another assault on family businesses, who are already doing it tough. While Labor adds to the uncertainty, the national economic outlook is deteriorating. I've met cafe owners, tourism operators, butchers, small business retailers and manufacturers right across Dawson.

They know what happens when expenses rise faster than revenue. They go broke. That results in an apprentice not being hired, equipment not being replaced or expansion being shelved.

These are the decisions that determine whether regional communities grow or die. Labor is the party of high taxes, higher power bills and a botched credit card ban. You cannot build a stronger economy by weakening the businesses that keep it running.

Australia needs a government that listens before it legislates. Australia needs a Liberal-National government.