Page 983 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2012
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… calls on the ACT Government to … acknowledge the importance of family businesses in the ACT …
Mr Barr: No: (2)(b) and (c).
MR SMYTH: So you are deleting (2)(b) and (2)(c); you are leaving (2)(a) there?
Mr Barr: Yes.
MR SMYTH: Okay. I did not know whether it meant after (2)(a) or after the end of (2)(a). All right; that is great. I am glad that that remains. But that was the point of the motion.
I will go back to the statistics. It is 70 per cent of Australian businesses. The average turnover of a family business is $12 million per annum. That is from a broad range. Some might turn over less than $100,000; some will turn over billions of dollars. But it is not just small and medium. With the wealth of the sector at $4.3 trillion, it is a large chunk of Australian business. That is the point I would make.
I notice that Mr Corbell now has some amendments to Ms Le Couteur’s amendments. It is great that the government will now undertake a review of the operation of the small business impact assessment process in the ACT planning system. That is good—anything that we can do to relieve the burden on small business. But again, if that is just aimed at small business, it does miss the point that these are everything from microbusinesses to large businesses and international businesses. I hope we do not miss that point.
That said, it is very pleasing that people have taken the time to come up with amendments to, hopefully, improve the motion. We will read it when it finishes. In regard to the amendments, the opposition does not have any problem with the amendments going through.
Mr Barr’s amendments agreed to.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (10.59), by leave: I move:
(1) Insert new subparagraph (1)(f):
“(f) the important role of micro, home-based, small and medium businesses in the ACT economy;”.
(2) Insert new subparagraph (2)(c):
“(c) improve the small business impact assessment process in the ACT planning system by:
(i) establishing an independent assessment process;
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