Small Business Grants

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:35): Supplementary: what does the Treasurer say to business owners who said that they found the application process and the requirements around acquittals and so on so complicated that they were deterred from applying for the grants? I say this on behalf of a business owner who I spoke to at the end of last week in the Clare Valley.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:36): What I would say to those is that if they had those particular concerns we would have invited them to speak to a very friendly local member of parliament or indeed to the very friendly staff in RevenueSA or the just as friendly staff in the Treasurer's office, and we would have been only too happy to have assisted those particular applicants.

I hope the Hon. Ms Scriven would have given similar advice to the businesses she spoke to, because that would have been prior to the closure of applications on the Sunday evening, and assured those small businesses in the Clare region, I think she was talking about, or wherever it was, that there were very friendly staff in the Treasurer's office. You've always found the Treasurer yourself, personally, very accommodating in terms of handing out taxpayers money, and you would have assured them they would have got a fair hearing.

So I would be very disappointed if we have not had advice from the honourable member's office or perhaps those businesses who perhaps were expressing some concern. I cannot assist any further, because the applications have now closed. The time for assistance was prior to midnight on Sunday evening.