Page 2213 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
oriented" I mean it had not been before we became involved in it, but we wanted to go that way. We wanted to ensure that people got an unusual service. Every time we looked at the possibility of putting someone else on, we would have to look at how much it actually cost us - not just the amount of money that you paid the person, and not just the amount of money that you paid the Government after taking taxes out, but at all the other taxes, hidden and otherwise, that it cost to hire someone. It was a daunting prospect indeed to put more people on, particularly when you believed that they were not going to produce for you an immediate economic profit. Unfortunately, that was what you had to look at. You had to ask, "Is this person that I am contemplating hiring going to be able to pay for himself immediately? If not, how on earth am I going to be able to pay extra money in this business?".
We need to understand that, if we do not find the money somewhere, more schools will be closed. We know the hospital will be closed; we know the dump is closed. There will be more and more restrictions, more and more savings in expenses. It will have to continue until we find money elsewhere. As I have said, there is only one logical place we can find that. One might suggest the creation of a tourist haven in Canberra. Well, that sounds good but, naturally enough, any tourist who visits the town will be serviced by small businesses. If we do not have a strong small business sector we will not have tourists; we will not get the name we would need to create to encourage tourists to come here.
Unfortunately, I feel that this is just another Bill in a long line of Bills that governments of whatever creed will impose on the golden goose - on small business. The view is: they have got some money there, let us grab it quickly so that we can save our skins and be able to pay for the various government services. Perhaps it would be advisable if we paid more attention to the top-heavy aspect of the Territory, the administrative side. Obviously in any area we need valid administration, valid organisation, but we need more productivity because that is the answer. It is the method we must use if we are to succeed.
It is not that I disagree with various parts of this Bill; I disagree with the lot. It has not been in all that long. Business people, business organisations and business associations that I have spoken to have said that it is not okay, that it is yet another nail in the coffin. I was at a business meeting recently - I was the only member present because I know other members had other meetings to attend - put on by the Housing Industry Association. People at that meeting came up to me and told me of their concerns about being in business and of the number of hours they put into their businesses. I thought I put a lot of hours in, but some of these people put an incredibly long time into trying to keep their heads above water. There are all too many business people who do not make a profit. They exist from week to week, month to month, year to year, because
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .