Page 311 - Week 01 - Thursday, 15 December 2016
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My brother Bryan is here today as well. Going through the loss of our mum has, in effect, brought us even closer together, and I am grateful for that, not to mention the support I received from my loving wife and our son, Blake, who is here today.
Often it is not until you experience something that you truly get an understanding of it. Seeing what mum went through brought home the importance of a fully functioning healthcare system. It would be fair to say that when we need care we want to have access to the best healthcare services and facilities available. The community expects to see government investment in their healthcare system and that there is adequate support not only for the patients but also the family members affected.
Most people’s decisions on what career paths they take are mostly influenced by personal experiences and what they value. Your job reflects your passions and talents, your commitment to the community and your own drive to achieve success. Some of us choose to enter into business, and it is no secret that business is the driving force behind our economy. We want a safe, stable economy to encourage and stimulate investment, to create jobs and growth in our region.
My upbringing was instrumental in inspiring me to go into business. I wrote a series of educational books targeted at early childhood learning and decided to establish my own publishing house to publish these books and market them to all schools across Australia. It is these values of hard work, initiative, dedication and wanting to lead my life the way I want to which led me to start my own business. For me, this means being prepared to have a go, take measured risks and always doing my best. Anyone going into business puts it all on the line, devoting countless hours and enduring sleepless nights, remortgaging their family home and going without a regular income and, once started, having difficulty maintaining cash flow—all with the hope of being successful.
Healthy businesses are essential to our community. Making a profit is crucial to the lifeblood and long-term sustainability of the economy, which in turn creates new jobs and supports the growth of families. Today there seem to be many barriers that hold businesses back, such as the recent commercial rate hikes here in the ACT and the never-ending additions to red tape. The government should not be in a position to force businesses away from their core business, which damages profit and hinders potential economic benefit to the territory. In 2014, the ABS identified 25,400 businesses operating in the ACT. Of those, 96.9 per cent were small businesses, three per cent were medium businesses and just 0.2 per cent were large businesses.
I believe Canberra can be Australia’s leading small to medium business hub. We need to create opportunities to attract more businesses to move to or establish in the ACT and to provide an environment that promotes inspiration and opportunity and brings benefits to those who are brave enough to have a go. Funding for start-ups can be sourced from public and private investment. The creation of clear pathways for investors to identify opportunities is key to success. For example, the Turnbull government’s creation of greater incentives to invest in start-ups so that small business can survive and thrive is very welcome, although long overdue. Innovation is
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