Small business voters turning on Coalition, Julie Collins says, as May budget nears

Small Business Minister Julie Collins has swung against Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s claim the government treats small business owners with “suspicion”, drawing links between the Liberal Party’s recent by-election defeat and its recent record on small business issues.

Speaking at the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) National Small Business Summit on Tuesday morning, Dutton questioned the Albanese government’s small business credentials, and criticised its rollout of “draconian” industrial relations reforms.

Closing out the conference’s first day, Collins highlighted a suite of policies brought forward since Labor took power in May last year as evidence Labor is “saying ‘yes'” to the SME community.

Those measures included $18.6 million for the latest round of Digital Solutions grants to boost the technical proficiency and cyber resilience of small business, the federal government’s $62.6 million energy efficiency grant program, and funding for mental health support rank among the Labor government’s achievements to date, she said.

Conversely, Collins said the Liberal Party’s remarkable by-election loss in the Division of Aston, traditionally a solid blue stronghold, was evidence that voters are turning against the Coalition’s approach to small business policymaking.

“After the historic result here in Melbourne over the weekend it is worth reflecting on who is saying ‘no’ to small business,” she said on Tuesday.

“On so many of the practical measures our government has proposed that will support small business, the Opposition Leader and the Liberal party have said ‘no’.”

“The Opposition Leader has pointed to small business as a key constituency for his party in the aftermath of the Aston by-election,” she added.

“But small businesses are smart.

“They know when it matters the Opposition Leader and his party have said ‘no’ to them.”

While Collins took the opportunity to question the Coalition’s standing among the SME community, her address revealed little in the way of wholly new funding ahead of the May federal budget.

As lawmakers put the final tweaks on their overarching economic plan, the Minister was reticent to unveil any major spending commitments before the small business decision-makers in attendance.

Instead, power relief will form a linchpin of the upcoming budget, she said, referring to the bill relief contained in the Albanese government’s broader $3 billion energy package, which was revealed in December.

Existing efforts to remove “roadblocks”, like the Payments Time Review, also form part of the federal government’s plan.

When COSBOA chair and director Matthew Addison joked that the federal government would enact every point in its 29-point budget wishlist, Collins issued a similarly light-hearted response.

“Not quite, Matthew,” she said.

“What I am doing is championing the needs of small businesses and making sure that your voice is heard,” she continued.

“We want to work with you in a collaborative way.

“We do acknowledge that [in] the discussions I have with small businesses, there are things that are raised that are not raised in my speech, particularly that skills shortages and supply chains and inflation continue to be raised.”