Bill Shorten got one thing right
25 August 2017
IN a speech to the small business summit in Melbourne today, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten got one thing right, Small Business Minister Michael McCormack says.
“I don’t come here today claiming to be an expert on small business…”
(Bill Shorten, COSBOA Summit, 25 August 2017[1])
“Bill Shorten’s speech today finally belled the cat – Labor just doesn’t get small business,” Mr McCormack said.
“Labor had a chance to back the Liberals and Nationals’ job-creating tax cuts. Labor had the chance to back our redefinition of small business and expanded access to the $20,000 instant asset write off, our changes to make competition law fairer and our incentives to cut more red tape.
“But Bill Shorten fell at every hurdle.”
Instead of listening to the small business sector, the Labor Leader’s speech lectured about the need to impose higher taxes and less support, Mr McCormack said.
“Small businesses have cheered the many measures the Liberals and Nationals have put in place to help the sector create more jobs and keep growing our economy, despite Labor’s opposition,” Mr McCormack said.
“Today was a chance to join the Government and work together to help small business succeed.
“Bill Shorten chose to lecture about his short-sighted decision to tax small business’ trusts.
“Bill Shorten chose to lecture about the politics of envy and why job-creators should be slugged with higher corporate taxes.
“Bill Shorten ignored the sector’s concerns about Labor’s plans to stifle investment and hike taxes.
“Bill Shorten and Labor owe it to those hard-working small business people to put aside the tax-and-spend ideology and actually listen to the people its short-sighted attack affects.”
Mr McCormack said his own address to the small business summit last night highlighted the lowest tax rate for small business in many decades and historic changes to competition law which makes it fairer for small businesses.
“Labor doesn’t understand that it’s not the Government which creates jobs or grows our economy,” Mr McCormack said.
“That’s why the Liberals and Nationals are proudly in the corner of Australia’s small businesses and family enterprises, because they are the ones who do.
“It’s the sort of understanding you can only get when you’ve actually run a small business yourself.
“And that’s why the Liberals and Nationals back small business each and every day.”
ENDS