CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr McCORMACK (Riverina) (10:06): The Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register shows that there are about a total of 20,000 businesses located within the Riverina federal electorate. The vast majority of those—97 per cent, in fact—are small businesses. The Liberals and Nationals will always stick up for and defend small businesses, which are under attack like never before.

In an official state government snapshot tracking the electorate's business structure, 13,762 businesses classified as non-employing businesses such as sole traders, and 6,000 were small businesses employing fewer than 20 people. Combined, as I say, they make up nearly 97 per cent of small businesses. I want to thank all of those businesses within the Riverina—the likes of Ron Finemore, in transport, and Geof Harrison, in construction and joinery.

They do an amazing job. Those two sectors I just mentioned, transport and construction, are under pressure like never before. As a national situation, they are two sectors which are losing businesses, particularly small businesses, in record numbers.

Insolvencies are at a record level, and this is just so, so sad. The local business economy is being driven by some of the investments that the coalition made, in fact, including the nearly $1.5 billion that we're spending on both the Royal Australian Air Force base at Forest Hill and, indeed, the 1st Recruit Training Battalion, 'Home of the Soldier', Kapooka Army Base at just south-west of the city.

What we want to make sure of is that those businesses have the people, the labour and the investment that they need. But, at the moment, as I say, small business is under attack. It's under attack from policies brought about since the budget, since the election—policies that the Labor Party never actually enunciated or flagged before either the budget or the election, and they are having such an effect on our small businesses.

But we've just announced a stop to the water buybacks. We are going to push that through the Senate. What we've also just announced is a dams taskforce which will make sure that we build the infrastructure to help our regional communities and to help our farmers.

All too often, when it comes to mentioning small businesses, farmers aren't considered as part of that group, but they are. They are the best farmers in all of the world, and the Liberals and Nationals will always stand up and defend their rights.