MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Mr VIOLI (Casey) (15:45): That was a solid audition from my friend the Assistant Treasurer. I'll give him credit: at least he did stick to policy. We do know that the current treasurer, when under pressure, resorts to attacking personally, so I'll give the Assistant Treasurer credit for that.
But I will talk about policy and I'll talk about alternatives. The minister mentioned the instant asset write-off. What he didn't talk about was that the Labor government voted against increasing the instant asset write-off to $50,000 per year for small business.
They talk about how important the instant asset write-off is, but they refuse to increase it to $50,000 to help every business across the community. The assistant minister talked about freezing the construction code and what a great policy that was. What the assistant minister forgot to mention was that was the coalition policy at the 2025 election that this government was happy to steal and rebadge because they had no ideas of their own.
He was also happy to talk about banning surcharges. Clearly, the assistant minister hasn't been talking to small business about their thoughts on banning surcharges. I've been out talking to my community.
A small-business owner sent this text to me recently: 'Why would you bother running a business in Oz, mate? Small business is expected to absorb credit card surcharges. ATO says no to credit cards.
I just got a business credit card to pay the ATO. It's hard to cop along with everything else.' That's how small-business owners in my community—and, I have no doubt, small-business owners on the Labor backbench—are feeling. While we're here in Canberra, it's 3.47 back in Victoria, and I know that, right now, there are tradies and business owners who have been up since 4.30 or 5 o'clock this morning.
They've driven to the job site, they've finished up for the day and they'll be stuck, probably, in traffic on the Eastern Freeway, trying to get back home. But, as they're in that car, they'll be thinking. They'll be thinking, 'How do I pay my staff, how do I pay my apprentice, how do I pay my suppliers and how do I make it all add up so I can put some food on the table for my family and pay my bills?' Then, when they get home this afternoon, they'll spend some time with their families, but, as they're playing with their kids, they'll be thinking: 'How do I make it all add up?
How do I make this work? I've got everything on the line.' Then, when they put their head down on the pillow tonight, after they've kissed their kids goodnight, they'll be thinking, 'How do I make this work? How do I keep my staff employed?
How do I pay the bills? How do I keep going?' That is the reality of running a small business across this country and in my community of Casey today. They will have just a sliver of comfort in the background, particularly if they're a tradie.
They'll go: 'Well, the only silver lining, if I have to lose it all—because all my costs have gone up, subcontractors are more expensive, I'm not getting paid, the builder might have gone broke and I can't make it work—is that at least my house is okay. At least my house is okay because it's in a trust.' Not anymore. This treasurer and this government are coming after you to make sure that you can't put your house and your personal assets in a trust anymore to keep them safe.
You will have to pay more and more. If you want to restructure, you will be caught by this government. The reality is that this treasurer hasn't spent a day in business.
He hasn't understood the pain that you face and the challenges that you face. He cannot comprehend a world where trusts are for small-business owners and for tradies just looking to get ahead, looking to protect their family. As a small-business owner, you're going to have to now go to your accountant.
You're going to have to go to your financial adviser and potentially pay tens of thousands of dollars to look to restructure. That is the world that we are living in under this government. Mr VIOLI: I will take the interjections from those opposite, because they know it's an uncomfortable topic, but the reality is that they have to deal with this treasurer.
They don't support him, but they've got to sit there quietly and continue to background to other journalists.