Small and Family Business

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:11): My question is to the Minister for Small and Family Business. Can the minister provide an update on the government's achievements relevant to her portfolio of small and family business.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (15:11): I am pleased to be able to answer the last question of the year—potentially. I want to thank the member for Light for his question and thank him for his support for his local business community. It was a pleasure to be out there earlier this year in Gawler speaking to businesses in the area, listening to what they want from the Labor Malinauskas government.

From the feedback I have received not only then but in various other conversations, what I am hearing is that the business community is pleased that we are actually taking action in this space. I contrast the actions of the past government, who have clearly ignored the needs of small business. What we learnt through COVID, the bushfire and now—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister there is a point of order from the member for Morialta, which I will hear under 134.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The minister is out of order on standing order 98.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: What we have learnt through COVID, the bushfires and now what we are seeing in the Riverland is that government does play an important role in supporting small businesses when times are tough. That's why the Premier committed to creating a small and family business portfolio. I think it was genuinely a portfolio that was sorely missed in the last government. It's not my intention to put government in the way of small business but for government to walk side by side and provide a hand to assist smoothing the way forward.

We came into government with small business struggling, particularly in certain sectors, and we have done a lot to help improve those areas. We have not only established the portfolio, but we also took this further by establishing the Office for Small and Family Business, which has been well received by small business owners. As I have previously said in this place, it's a one-stop shop for South Australian businesses to find easy access to information and support from across government.

The Office for Small and Family Business is collaborating with service providers to create an ever-evolving suite of resources and programs that are accessible and relevant to small and family business owners across all industries and, of course, across the regions. The effectiveness of that new office is on full display at the moment, with residents and business owners along the River Murray at risk of rising water levels. There are Office for Small and Family Business representatives at the relief centres assisting local business owners as we speak.

The Malinauskas government was quick to respond to the needs of small business in the Riverland. The Premier and the rest of cabinet have been on the ground, and I will be heading out there tomorrow. We quickly put a package together to assist small businesses. Many of those small businesses have already been affected and there are many that will be affected in the coming weeks. The Business Early Closure Grants have already opened, and there are a number of businesses that have had their applications already approved.

The Business Early Closure Grants provide up to $20,000 for employing businesses and $10,000 for non-employing businesses. As of last night, I know that the Office for Small and Family Business spoke to at least eight businesses to let them know that their grants had been processed and approved. My heart goes out to these businesses, and I am looking forward to doing everything we can to help them rebound from the hardship that they are going to face over the coming weeks and months.

The businesses that have had their Business Early Closure grants approved are also being spoken to about a number of other measures, including the generator grant, which is another key part of our assistance package, subsidising the purchase of generators for businesses for up to $4,000. They are just two of the grants available. A financial counselling support package is also being implemented at the moment as quickly as we possibly can. At each step, the Office for Small and Family Business, which we established earlier this year, has provided and will continue to provide support and advice to impacted businesses.