THE COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS AUSTRALIA WELCOMES ANNOUNCEMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS MINISTER

The Council of Small Business Australia has hailed the announcement from Michael McCormack MP, stating that there will be a the new dedicated Small Business Minister. The council hovwver announced their concerns over the small business portfolio.

Peter Strong, CEO of The Council of Small Business Australia, spoke highly of the work of Minister Kelly O’Dwyer and hopes Mr. McCormack can 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 well-being.” He said.

“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.” he continued.

The Council has also highlighted that some of the key issues for small business are  the following:

• 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.”