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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-23 Daily Xml
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SMALL BUSINESS

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Small Business. As many of us on this side have a background in the private sector and small business, can the minister advise what mechanisms the government has in place to effectively monitor issues facing small business, and are there any new initiatives to assist the small business sector?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Gambling) (14:57): As I have said previously, the government recognises the important role that small business plays in contributing to the overall health of the South Australian economy. Most small business operators—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I think it is a bit rich for the one political party that went to the election promising 24-hour deregulated trading hours to somehow talk about their support for small business. I wonder how—

Mr PENGILLY: I have a point of order, Madam Speaker: the minister is debating the question.

The SPEAKER: He has only just started his answer. I will give him a little bit of time.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Most small business operators do not want to be told how to run their businesses and, indeed, it is not the government's job to provide direct advice. However, through the Department of Trade and Economic Development, the government does play a strong, support-based role for small businesses by providing a wide variety of information, assistance and workshops. These range from the introductory Starting Your Own Business workshops through the 45 topics offered in the half-day better business series to the full day, in-depth business management skills development workshops. These workshops are offered throughout the state involving—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I can't hear the minister speaking.

An honourable member: You're lucky.

The SPEAKER: I enjoy listening to the minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you for your protection. These workshops are offered throughout the state, involving the metropolitan Business Enterprise Centres and the offices of Regional Development Australia in regional South Australia. In the last full financial year over 3,900 small businesses participated in various workshops, and it is expected that this figure will be exceeded in the current financial year. A variety of issues facing small businesses are constantly monitored by business development officers within the BEC and RDA network. These offices have daily contact with small businesses and are constantly being made aware of the issues within the small business sector.

A recent example of this saw the need to develop a series of new special focus workshops which have been prepared and are being presented from this month onwards. The Office of Small Business and Regional Development within DTED has located appropriate presenters and arranged for the presentation of the following areas: franchising; the new industrial relations legislation; and preparing your business for sale. Franchising can be an excellent way to run a business but it still takes hard work and effort to gain rewards. Tony Lisacek, solicitor, will be presenting the workshop on the promises and pitfalls of franchising.

The workshop outlining the new industrial relations legislation will enable small businesses to gain a thorough understanding of the rights and obligations imposed on business owners by the new legislation. The workshop is to be presented by Karen Prevost, proprietor of Key HR Solutions. The 'Preparing your business for sale' workshop, member for Unley, explains how to maximise the sales potential of your businesses—whether the sale is voluntary or forced, member for Unley. It will be presented by Bevan Roberts, CEO of Dale Wood Business Consultants. These workshops have been made available to all BECs and RDAs—

Mr Marshall: Are you running through the whole program of workshops?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Ah, the member for Norwood. I love the member for Norwood. I was listening to radio recently—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and I heard the member for Norwood.

An honourable member: What did he say?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The member for Norwood, apparently—

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order, Madam Speaker: the minister is starting to debate rather than answering the question.

The SPEAKER: I uphold that point of order. Minister, could you finish your reply, please?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I was listening to the Amanda Blair show and I heard the member for Norwood talking about his role as a member of parliament and the work he does in his electorate.

Mr PISONI: Point of order: this is not relevant to the question.

The SPEAKER: I uphold that point of order. Minister, could you respond to the question, please?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, I will, Madam Speaker. I heard the member for Norwood talking about his role as a member of parliament (his electoral officer was with him) and about his involvement—

Mr PISONI: I have a point of order about relevance and debate.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: On a point of order: it would be interesting to find out if was relevant so that he could tell us what it was.

The SPEAKER: It would be interesting to be able to hear what he is saying. Minister, could you return to the question and give us your response? We really have a limited time left in question time.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Well, I will. The member for Norwood was talking about his involvement on the program with small businesses and of course he had his staffer with him and he wanted to talk about who he is and that he was interested in getting a date.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order. Madam Speaker: the minister has the answers to his Dorothy Dixers written out for good reason. I suggest you direct him to continue reading from his sheet.

The SPEAKER: No point of order there but, minister, we have 15 minutes and we still need to have another three questions.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Apparently, he is an Aquarian-Capricorn cusp. He likes to cook, he likes to walk and he has a house in Kensington. So, ladies, watch out—and he wants to know why they are not calling.

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order, Madam Speaker: there is no relevance to the question whatsoever. The minister apparently cannot even read the answer to his own Dorothy Dixer.

The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. I think he is going for a record for the number of points of order in one answer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Read about it on Facebook later.

The SPEAKER: Minister, could you please get back to your question?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: These workshops are to be made available to all BECs and RDAs who will organise and promote them to small businesses in their region. I am advised that the June workshops have been in high demand and eight workshops alone this month are in metro areas. The Rann government will continue to proactively monitor and respond to the current issues facing small business and provide a range of services including new special workshops which are presented by experts in their fields. Instead of joining parliament, he should join Perfect Match.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, minister, and I hope we do not ask you any more questions today. The member for Norwood.

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