STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr HOGAN (Page—Deputy Manager of Opposition Business) (13:53): There's been a lot of talk this week about small business—about how small businesses need to be supported, small businesses need to be encouraged and small businesses need to flourish in this country for our country to do well, for tax receipts to be healthy and for us to have a good standard of living.

But I want to remind those opposite too that our big exporting industries need a lot of support. Our big exporting industries need to survive because they are huge taxpayers and they make huge contributions to our economy's bottom line. The four biggest export industries in this country—Deputy Speaker Claydon, I'm sure you know; I hope all those opposite know—are coal, iron ore, gas and food/ag.

I know that. A lot of us on this side know that. I'm sure the regional MPs on the other side know that because—as you know, Deputy Speaker—all those industries are from regional Australia.

Those industries need help and need support because the world is competitive. All I hear from those industries is that they feel as though life is becoming increasingly difficult under this government, with increased regulation, higher taxes and a whole lot of other legislative effects. The government needs to be very conscious of those four industries.

To go back to where I started: small business. The Prime Minister got heckled at the National Bush Summit. When they started talking about regulation, he said, 'That's not good, if small businesses feel they're overregulated,' and they laughed because it's his government that is increasing the regulation on small business.

We need small business and big business to do well to fund this country.