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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-11-28 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

Small Business Statement

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) (14:16): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: This morning, around 400 innovative small business people attended the launch of the 2017 Small Business Statement at the Adelaide Convention Centre. The mood in the room reflected the growing confidence in the small business sector, especially among younger entrepreneurs and innovators.

As minister in a state government that is a proud supporter of small business, I announced the latest initiative to help build the underlying strength in our economy. The Excellence in Business Fund will provide capability building programs to small and medium-sized enterprises. The three-year funding program will consider proposals of between $5,000 and $50,000 on a matched funding basis for initiatives, programs or services that build capability within business. Successful proposals will be those that demonstrate the greatest potential impact on the participating businesses and on the broader state economy.

I thank the honourable member for Mitchell for attending today's breakfast and hope that he took note of observations made by economist and analyst Peter Switzer. As Mr Switzer noted, South Australia is batting above its average in jobs growth, economic growth and primary industries exports. I liked the message he delivered about the need to innovate and to lead, and I am sure that the member for Mitchell would have agreed with Mr Switzer's quote, which was this: 'One thing I like about Jay Weatherill—he's a great innovator; it's the type of leadership we need.' He talked about the battery and various other things that we are doing. It is interesting hearing that backing from third parties. I am sure that will be celebrated by those opposite.

I mentioned that the mood in the room was very positive. These are people who have been investing, innovating and taking a financial risk, and it is paying dividends. The 140,000 small businesses in South Australia should be applauded for their efforts. It is why the ANZ Stateometer rates the South Australian economy as 'growing above trend and accelerating'. It is why employment has grown for 23 successive months. It is why the Sensis Business Index for September shows the highest levels of confidence since 2013.

I congratulate the staff of the Department of State Development on their efforts in engaging with small business associations over the past year. In fact, we have done the work of going around to meet with every small business association in the state. We have asked them what their issues are, what their problems are, and we are attempting to address every one of those problems. It is the first, I think, that has been done by a state government, ever.

Today, we released a set of tailored action plans for each of those associations and they can be viewed on the new small business website business.sa.gov.au. Today is another example of the gap between the pessimists and the optimists. If you set yourself a task, define who you are and commit to a course of action, you will get results. Life is not about being liked: it is about being effective. We do not talk about being strong in advertisements; we are actually out there as a state being strong rather than waffling about it.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: Stick with the strength.

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Agriculture is called to order, though one would not disagree with his sentiment.

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