Small Business Roundtable

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (14:51): My question is to the Minister for Small Business. Minister, could you update the house on the Small Business Roundtable initiative?

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Minister for Investment and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Health Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:51): I thank the member for Elder for her question. There are a lot of small businesses and associations in her electorate. The round table is a joint initiative of the Treasurer and myself. We wanted to make sure that the CEs of associations right across the small business sector had an open door to government and access to ministers at all times.

The most recent meeting this week saw over 30 business and industry association CEOs come to Parliament House for the latest round table. These businesses employ—and there are around 140,000 of them—thousands and thousands and thousands of South Australians. They are the biggest employers in the state, all of them with between one and 19 people working in their businesses. Small businesses contribute an estimated $35 billion each year to the state's economy and account for around one third of the state's growing labour force.

We hear a lot about big business. When a big business closes and perhaps puts off 150 people, it seems to be on the front page of the paper every day for a week, but when a cluster of small businesses hire three or four times that number of people it doesn't get quite the same airplay. We are very aware of that, and that's why we are so supportive of small business.

Yesterday, a record number of associations were represented at the 11^th round table, including representatives from Whyalla. Manufacturing and innovation minister, Mr Kyam Maher, came and briefed the group on a wide range of targeted business and industry assistance programs that he runs within his portfolio, and there was a lot of interest in that. These programs have been key factors in shifting the impact of the Holden closure, where around three-quarters of the 74 automotive component suppliers to the car industry had said they would close in 2017. But the good news is that now only around 25 per cent have closed, saving between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs.

On previous occasions, the Treasurer has been to speak to the round table, as has the Minister for Planning—in fact, an array of ministers, including the Minister for Local Government and Regional Development and the transport minister. In fact, there is a cluster of ministers here who have all been to speak to this group. There is a robust question and answer session at the end of the presentations, and everyone gets a go at having their say.

This week, international students were a focus because the hiring of international students and migrants is an important thing for small businesses. We had a video presented by Wines by Geoff Hardy, who employed a Chinese graduate and built their exports from around 5 per cent being sold to China to nearly 41 per cent being sold as exports. Apprenticeships came up, and I am going to ask the minister for TAFE to come and speak to the next meeting. There was quite a bit of interest in that and a host of other issues.

One of the issues that came up prominently yesterday was the tax cuts for small business proposed by the Treasurer in his budget. I was queried at length about payroll tax exemptions, the grant programs that are being offered—

Mr GARDNER: Point of order.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: —the stamp duty exemptions and all of those benefits that they are—

Mr GARDNER: The minister is now doing exactly as the Treasurer did earlier and referencing a bill that is before the house, and he knows it, which is why he is continuing.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: —hoping will flow to them as—

The SPEAKER: I don't think the Treasurer actually did it. I will listen carefully.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: —a consequence of the decisions the government has made, because small business feel like the forgotten businesses. They are mum-and-dad teams. They have often mortgaged the house and they need help. The only thing stopping them from getting that help is their opposition of the bank tax because they want the benefit taken from the big end of town to the little guys and they are the ones that the government is trying to help, who have been abandoned by those opposite.

The SPEAKER: I think the member for Morialta is adopting an altogether too strict interpretation of my previous ruling.