Collins: “Fairness” front and centre in Labor’s 2024 small business strategy

A fairer competitive landscape will help small businesses cope with persistent inflation and economic volatility, Small Business Minister Julie Collins says, outlining the federal government’s approach to small business support in 2024.

In a fresh statement acknowledging the significant challenges facing small businesses, Collins said new competition measures, not blank-cheque spending, will be central to Labor’s policy framework for the year.

“We’re levelling the playing field for small business owners, and ensuring fairness is front and centre for 2024,” she said.

The statement comes one day after Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced esteemed economist and former small business minister Craig Emerson will helm a review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, a voluntary system that underpins the behaviour of supermarket giants like Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi.

Beyond consumer complaints of price hikes at the checkout, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) fears small fresh produce businesses supplying the national chains may be disadvantaged by current dispute resolution pathways prescribed by the Code.

Collins’ statement also references $8 million in funding to implement changes recommended by a separate review of the Payment Times Reporting Act — which itself was helmed by Emerson — to improve payment times between big businesses and their smaller suppliers.

Separately, unfair contract terms locking small businesses into lopsided deals have been outlawed under legislation led by Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh, who was also instrumental in Labor’s new rolling competition law review.

Focus on fairness as inflation curtails loose government spending

The federal government is helping small businesses “bounce back from challenges and improve their long-term resilience” by implementing hundreds of millions of dollars in “targeted” support, Collins continued.

The emphasis on “targeted” support comes as Labor shies away from excess spending that it says could contribute to inflation.

Previously, Collins said re-shaping the instant asset write-off scheme to cover assets worth $20,000 — instead of allowing coverage of more expensive assets, as existed in earlier iterations of the scheme — was intended to support businesses without stoking inflationary pressures.

Her statement arrives one day after a somewhat surprising update in Australia’s battle against inflation.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.3% in the 12 months to November 2023, down from 4.9% in October.

That slowdown was lauded by Chalmers, who welcomed the “encouraging progress in this inflation challenge”.

However, “the fight is far from over,” he continued, confirming the inflationary slowdown will not give a green light to renewed big-ticket spending.

“We understand many Australians are under pressure and there is still more to do – and global volatility and uncertainty is another reminder that we cannot be complacent,” he said.