Small Business Facing Greens and Labour Headwinds

2 Oct 11

If the Greens genuinely want to do something to help small business, they would ditch the carbon tax that is so damaging to consumer confidence, small business viability and employment prospects.

Survey after survey point to the enormous dampening effect the proposed Labor-Greens carbon tax and a lack of confidence in the Gillard-Brown ‘alliance’ Government is having on small business profitability and future prospects.

It is important to note that Australia's advanced manufacturing sector, a significant employer of Australian workers and a significant contributor to Australia's Gross Domestic Product, is dominated by small and family run businesses.

Small businesses and family enterprises are facing difficult trading conditions and the Government and Greens seem intent on making a tough time even worse.

If Bob Brown and Julie Gillard were listening to small business and genuinely want to help ‘the engine room of the economy’ they would ditch their ill-conceived and ill-timed carbon tax, support the manufacturing sector and encourage investment in new technologies and innovation to ensure the ongoing viability and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

Where is the incentive to invest, where is a depreciation scheme that encourages investment, which has been adopted successfully overseas. These measures need to be addressed particularly at a time when small business confidence is shattered.

Higher energy costs, longer supply chains and limited market power to push back on input cost increases will make difficult business conditions even worse.

Despite a chorus of concern from small businesses and family enterprises, the Government has failed to do any small enterprise-level or sector analysis on the impact of the carbon tax. Instead, the Government attacks those industry associations that have done some practical research that shows that the Government’s claims of a modest impact simply don’t stack up.

Adapted from a Liberal Party Press Release.