Today, mind the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) welcomed the announcement that Michael McCormack MP will be the new dedicated Small Business Minister. However, drugstore COSBOA stressed its concern that the small business portfolio has moved from cabinet.
Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, praised the work of Minister Kelly O’Dwyer and expects that Mr McCormack will continue her hard work.
“Kelly O’Dwyer has been doing an exceptional job, but we understand that being the Assistant Treasurer, which will now be known as Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, is time consuming and we certainly don’t want Kelly burnt out.
“As a community of small business people, we are certainly aware of the importance of health and wellbeing,” says Mr. Strong.
“Mr McCormack has the confidence of the sector, however we are disappointed the portfolio has moved from cabinet and we will be seeking answers to why this has happened. Small business is powerful, employing around five million Australians and driving the country’s economy, so why has the portfolio moved? What’s happened and what pressures have caused this, perhaps big businesses and unions, are in play? In our opinion this is a step backwards for small business,” states Mr. Strong.
COSBOA have highlighted some of the key issues for small business and for the future of the Australian economy, the key points are as follows:
Competition policy and the enacting the Effects Test
Creating a viable and effective vocational education and training system
Confronting the two tiered workplace relation system that see big businesses and big unions manipulating legislation for their benefit not the benefit of workers or of the economy
Inclusion of the self-employed in the health framework particularly for mental health
Confronting manipulation of policy by these big businesses and unions
Creation of a more efficient superannuation collection process
Peter Strong concluded, “We look forward to working with Mr McCormack and progressing good policy for small business. We also welcome the appointment of Senator Matthew Canavan into a cabinet role as he also strongly supports our sector.”
