An Albanese Labor Government will deliver a better deal for small business, providing certainty to the small business across the Macquarie community, ensuring they have certainty in times of crisis, they are paid on time, cutting unnecessary red tape and removing superfluous bank fees.

Small business is the backbone of the Australian economy and provide important services to the more than 12,000 small businesses across the Macquarie electorate and should no longer be taken for granted.

The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to serious bushfires and now floods across large parts of Australia, and in particular, to this community have had a significant impact on small businesses across the country.

A lack of federal leadership has compounded the anxiety felt by small business owners, eroding confidence and certainty about the future.

Over the past six months, the New South Wales State Government, alongside small business, pleaded with Scott Morrison to provide additional support whilst facing ongoing crisis.

That is why if elected, Labor will deliver a targeted plan to give small business the confidence they need coming out of the pandemic, recovering from bushfires and floods. It will also ensure they are no longer left in the lurch, in times of crisis.

Labor will not let small business suffer in the same way Scott Morrison and the Liberals have throughout the last six months and will make sure they never have to go it alone.

Labor’s better deal for small business will:

• Guarantee that a Labor Government will consider the specific needs of small businesses in times of crisis giving the confidence and certainty to grow and plan for the future.
• Ensure small businesses are paid on time to sustain growth across the economy with a mechanism to ensure payment within 30-days.
• Drive a genuine collaboration with small businesses and government to reduce the time small businesses spend doing taxes.
• Draw on Labor’s history of working with unions, workers and industry to deliver better outcomes with settings that are simpler, more accessible, and fair.
• Reduce small business transaction costs at the point of payment with a clear timeline for implementing least cost routing. This could save businesses up to $804 million a year in merchant fees.

Labor’s better deal for small business is our commitment to the more than 12,000 small businesses across Macquarie and the 2.4 million small business across Australia and the millions working in them across Australia. Labor is the party of small business and has a plan for securing their economic growth and supporting aspiration.

Richard Marles, Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party:

“We know this region has been severely impacted by bushfires, and more recently floods and small businesses deserve to know that a federal government will be there to support them.

“Under federal Labor’s better deal for small businesses, the more than 12,000 small businesses across the Macquarie electorate can know that we will have their back, unlike what we have seen from Scott Morrison and the Liberals in the last three years.”

Susan Templeman, Member for Macquarie:

“Local businesses have been doing it tough since the bushfires, and every bit of bushfire support has been hard fought-for by the community. It’s very disappointing that the $10,000 granst for businesses affected indirectly by floods and storms are not being made available by Scott Morrison to this region.

“Labor’s better deal for small business will make sure that no small business across Macquarie is left behind, we are going to cut unnecessary red tape and reduce transactions costs with the banks.