Page 5052 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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territory that account for 95 per cent of all businesses and clearly a very significant proportion of the territory’s private sector employment. ACT small businesses deal with government agencies, supply labour and expertise to the construction sector, and provide a range of accommodation, food and retail services. Small business obviously can be started at a very low cost and can typically respond quickly to changes in the marketplace.
The ACT small business sector clearly benefits from the government’s sound economic and financial management, the territory’s strong demographic base and our very strong economic fundamentals. The government’s prudent management of the territory’s economy and finances through the global financial crisis, our longstanding AAA credit rating, and the fact that the city is growing and, outside of the minerals boom in Western Australia, is the strongest economy in the country, I think are all important indicators of our credentials.
The government is committed to delivering a range of programs aimed at supporting the growth of business in the territory. We have talked about this in this place before, but just to reiterate, Canberra BusinessPoint, the innovation grants, the Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre and the Exporters Network are but a few that I will mention this morning. In spite of the disparaging comments at the end of his speech by the shadow treasurer, I think it is clear that the small business sector in the ACT has benefited from the fiscal stimulus measures that were put in place. They certainly played an important part in keeping the territory economy strong through the global financial crisis.
I think the government locally—and there is the odd acknowledgement of this from the opposition—certainly needs to be cognisant of the effect on the private sector and particularly small business of the stated policy of the federal opposition in relation to 12,000 public sector job cuts in the territory. It is interesting to note that when a federal Liberal government last did this—
Mr Smyth: No, no. There are no job cuts. You cannot mislead.
MR BARR: No, I am not.
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Hargreaves): Order, members! Conversations across the chamber will cease.
MR BARR: Your leader is in fact on the record as acknowledging—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Minister, through the chair, please.
MR BARR: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition is on the record as acknowledging that he is not supportive of the stated policy position of the federal opposition. One need only look back to the 1996-97 period when a similar policy agenda was pursued by the federal government. We saw a 5.2 per cent reduction in private sector employment in the territory. There was certainly a significant impact on small business from that policy agenda. I fear a return to those days.
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