Small Business

As 2011 fast comes to an end it’s timely to reflect on the significant policy reforms that gave small businesses a helping hand during the year. Central to these reforms has been the move towards Small Business Commissioners around the country.

The year started off with the South Australian Small Business Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, launching a period of wide ranging consultation with small businesses in that State.

With South Australia’s draft small business commissioner reforms unveiled in February and explained during information briefing sessions across Adelaide and regional South Australia, there was considerable excitement amongst small business and farmers that they would finally have an independent person to turn to in the event of a dispute with a larger business.

Continue reading "Zumbo’s wrap: What 2011 meant for small business" »

Finally, we have a government willing to stand up for small business in the face of hysterical opposition from the big end of town and their legal advisers.

Last week the South Australian Labor Government successfully got its small business commissioner reforms through the Parliament. Those reforms had been subject to a frenzied attack by elements of the big end of town and their legal advisers. Despite such a self-interested and panic-stricken campaign the reforms secured the numbers in the South Australian Upper House.

Like most Upper Houses in Australia, the SA Legislative Council is a place where the Government lacks the numbers and, accordingly, needs to convince the minor parties and independents of the merits of all government initiatives.

Continue reading "WANTED: A tough cop on the small business beat" »

We always hear about how important small business is to the economy, but we don’t often hear about governments standing up for small businesses when it comes to effective competition and consumer laws. Why? Quite simply because small businesses are all too often the ignored members of our society.

The small business sector is a big employer and small business people put in some of the longest working hours operating their businesses. They can be super efficient because it’s their money on the line. There are no corporate overheads or bloated performance bonuses because the money they make is generally put back into the business.

Small businesses survive on their excellent customer service and help drive innovation and product choice in their chosen areas of the economy. While they keep the big players honest, they can be victims of abuses of market or contractual power by those big players.

Continue reading "Small businesses aren’t muppets. They’re a BIG deal." »

The Federal budget highlights one great need for small business, and that is a rational coherent national strategy.

This budget and indeed the last 20 federal budgets have included a whole range of good and bad measures for small business people. But there has never been a strategy to underpin those measures.

There has never been a real statement of aims and objectives that we want to achieve. There has never been a documented comprehensive vision for the families who earn their living from their own business and who employ almost five million other people, and underpin our economic health.

Continue reading "Hey Feds, make small business your business" »

With the fate of the proposed flood levy hanging in the balance as we await the outcome of negotiations between Senator Nick Xenophon and the Federal Government, it‘s timely to have a close look at the whole issue of disaster insurance and the insurance industry generally.

A sad reality emerging from this summer’s national disasters is that not only have we been as a nation generally under-insured for natural disasters, but more significantly for consumers the insurance companies are basically a law unto themselves when it comes to paying out on insurance contracts.

As anyone who has tried to take on an insurance company knows all too well, the legal cards are stacked in the company’s favour.

Continue reading "Let’s get medieval on insurance company’s arses" »

Have you ever wondered what impact our competition regulator, the ACCC, is really having? Well just ask around small business circles and you will hear the word “useless” more often than not. Perhaps small businesses are a bunch of “whingers” or perhaps they are sick and tired of feeling second rate with the ACCC not understanding how small businesses are being driven out of business as a result of anti-competitive practices by the big end of town.

And, don’t stop at small businesses. Ask motorists what they think of the ACCC and its Petrol Commissioner. Ask them if they know who the Petrol Commissioner is and what he does. Ask borrowers what they think of the ACCC decisions to allow the majors to take over St George and BankWest. Again, the words “toothless tiger” are not uncommon.

Now that’s really sad as the ACCC should command respect, and fear in potential wrongdoers. Clearly, the ACCC should be a world class competitition regulator. It’s staff members are professional and many have been there a long time.

Continue reading "Our toothless consumer watchdog" »

As we patiently await the formation of the next federal government we should pause to reflect on what a hung Parliament may actually mean for consumers, small businesses and farmers.

While clearly a very important issue, it’s one that hasn’t received the attention it deserves. For starters one would have to say that it wouldn’t take very much for consumers, small businesses and farmers to get a better deal. All too often both major parties have failed to deliver real and meaningful reforms. 

There have been obvious exceptions. We had the small business reforms in 1997 from Peter Reith and we had Peter Costello deliver the Birdsville Amendment against predatory pricing. We also have some exciting possible developments in South Australia where Labor State Backbencher, Tony Piccolo, has been pushing franchising law reforms. Western Australia is also fast becoming a battleground for possible small business reforms.

Continue reading "Three cheers for a hung parliament" »

Federal Small Business Minister, Craig Emerson has taken the Federal Government’s spin and smear approach to policy issues to new depths. With a debate raging about the Federal Government’s failure to respond to the needs of small businesses and consumers, Craig Emerson took time out to reflect on the contribution being made to the small business and competition law debate by this author.

It’s extraordinary that a Federal Minister has the time to reflect on the contribution being made by a particular individual. Surely there are better things the Minister could be doing such as explaining why the Federal Government wasted millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on a failed GroceryChoice website.

Perhaps the Minister’s time could be better spent explaining why Australia consistently has some of the highest levels of food inflation in the developed world which is pushing up grocery prices for Aussie families.

Continue reading "Craig, let’s discuss your shortcomings over coffee" »

Well, well, you know that there is an election coming when politicians get a bit more sensitive. That’s the thing about your average politician.

They all want to be praised for their good work and want us to overlook their failures. The problem is that sometimes there is little or no good work, and plenty of failures.

Continue reading "So who really is campaigning for small business?" »

I keep hearing how we have dodged a bullet.  How the stewardship and steely nerve of our Prime Minister and the gang of four averted a recession (the GFC, so called, if you like acronyms), and how the RSPT (another acronym) is going to fix all our ills and bring the nasty billionaire miners to heel and “make them pay their fair share”. 

He’s got cred after all, he wrote an essay on the evils of unbridled markets and the greedy speculators in the monthly, and how the age of the neo-con was over and the social democrats would restore balance to public policy.

The problem is that from where I am situated as the owner of a modestly small electrical contracting firm that is responsible for the livelihoods of 5 people, things aren’t that great.

Continue reading "A postcard to the PM from the real world" »

While small businesses and franchisees are the engine room of the economy, it’s disappointing that only lip service is currently being paid federally to their concerns regarding anti-competitive and unconscionable conduct by larger businesses.

Sadly, the Federal Government, through its small business Minister Craig Emerson, is failing to fix the growing gaps in our laws dealing with anti-competitive mergers and unconscionable conduct. These gaps and the Federal Government’s ongoing failure to address them are costing small businesses and consumers dearly.

Instead, we are seeing window dressing federally in the lead up to the election. We have been seeing a flurry of proposed “amendments” that merely give the impression of doing “something” without actually fixing the problems.

Continue reading "Somebody needs to stand up and protect small business" »

While politicians are always quick to say “feel good” things about small businesses being the “engine room” of the economy, few MPs from either side of politics are ready to act to ensure that we have a vibrant small business sector.

Why? Simply because the big end of town is very quick to shoot down any proposal that puts the spotlight on attempts by the big players to drive small businesses out of business in any way they can. Similarly, any MP that dares suggest such proposals is dismissed by the big end of town as some sort of heretic or “maverick.”

Clearly, big business and their hired guns always want their way and they will whinge loudly when they don’t get it. Sadly, they are also very good at making self interested and, even personal, attacks on those proposing stronger competition laws.

Continue reading "Is anyone really standing up for small business?" »

Since the release of the Government’s response to the Henry review on Sunday, Tony Abbott and other reform opponents have repeatedly and falsely claimed that only small businesses that are companies would benefit from the proposals. Mr Abbott said it again yesterday, and it’s an out-and-out lie.

Here’s the truth – every one of Australia’s 2.4 million small businesses will get a tax break under the Rudd Government.

Sole traders, partnerships and incorporated small businesses will all be able to deduct instantly the cost of assets valued at up to $5000.  And these 2.4 million small businesses will be able to pool assets costing more than $5000 (other than long-lived assets) and write them off at a single rate of 30 per cent a year.

Continue reading "Abbott has upended Liberal support for small business" »

My first offering to The Punch for 2010 – and it’s a puff piece!  Gena Karpf makes great, sweet puffy marshmallows. Fruity flavoured marshmallows, chocolate flavoured marshmallows, pretty much any sort of marshmallow you could imagine really.

Anyone who sees the swooning effect that Meryl Streep’s goodies have on Steve Martin in this summer’s hit movie It’s Complicated will get my drift.

Gena’s shop SWEETNESS: The Patisserie is two doors down from my new Electorate Office in Epping.

Continue reading "A sweet deal for small business" »

So how do companies like Coles and Woolworths protect themselves from competition?

Well it’s simple really. All they need to do is keep out new competitors through a variety of practices designed to lock out any potential new rivals.

For starters, Coles and Woolworths have been entering into leases with shopping centre landlords preventing the landlords from allowing other supermarkets into the shopping centre.

Continue reading "Coles and Woolies are still getting away with it" »