Budget 09: Encore for Small Business

Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has sent a strong signal that the Coalition understands small business and is prepared to make changes to ease the burden on this vital sector of our nation’s economy, says the Business Enterprise Centres Australia, the county’s peak body on small business advice.

“Opposition proposals to reduce red tape, enable small business to take on and keep more apprentices, and roll out a tax-loss carryback policy, all touch important issues for small business people in Australia,” says BEC Australia chair, Peter Murray.

“Mr Turnbull’s budget reply suggests that both major parties are listening to small business in Australia and both have put forward proposals of considerable merit.

Budget 09: It’s Small Business Calling

As the dust begins to settle amid the hype of Federal Budget week, there is a particular gem that many commentators have overlooked and for which the Rudd Government needs congratulations, according to Australia’s Peak Body for Small Business Advice, BEC Australia.

Among a number of welcome measures for “the backbone of the Australian economy”, $10 million has been set aside for a Small Business Support Line that will link business people to their local support and advice network.

“In today’s fast-changing environment, a well-managed support line could be just the thing small business owners need to guide them through the turbulence,” says BEC Australia Chairperson, Peter Murray.

WA’s Small Business needs more assistance not less

Western Australia, once our nation’s great engine room of economic prosperity is teetering on the brink of implosion and the Barnett Government needs to provide additional support to small businesses especially those in the regions rather than playing the dangerous game of tinkering with vital small business support services by cutting funding from Belmont Business Enterprise Centre-Small Business Centre, says Business Enterprise Centres Australia.

“Any government worthy of managing a state’s economy should know that Australia’s two million plus small businesses keep this country alive and employ more than half the workforce,” says BEC Australia chairperson, Peter Murray.

“That’s a lot of jobs and the Barnett Government should be paying close attention to the health and vitality of the small business sector, especially when figures revealed this week show  WA job ads have plummeted almost 50 per cent in 12 months – the worst performance in Australia.

SBDC Decision: The Ultimate Kamikaze Blow To Small Business in WA

If Western Australia’s Small Business Development Corporation wanted to wreak havoc with hundreds of small businesses and thousands of families throughout the state, while also undermining its own future, it would be hard to surpass its recent decision to sever funding from the Belmont Business Enterprise Centre – Small Business Centre as of June 30, according to BEC Australia.

“This is a master move in mass destruction of WA’s small business advice network,” says BEC Australia chairman Peter Murray.

“If the SBDC was engaged in a war against the local small business sector, hitting the award-winning Belmont BEC – SBC would be a brilliant blow because the vibrant centre reaches out to WA enterprises far beyond its own neighbourhood.

“This short-sighted, eleventh-hour decision, to rob the Belmont BEC – SBC of the last year of its three-year funding agreement puts other WA-based business advisory services on notice that if you succeed and if you are innovative in finding new ways to fuel the economy, you will be punished,” he says.

“Mayday” for Small Business in WA

Western Australia’s Small Business Development Corporation has sent small business support in WA into a tail spin by slashing funding from the successful Belmont Business Enterprise Centre and doling out the funds in “pocket money“ portions to other centres across the state.

“I am not sure what is more staggering – the undermining of a successful small business support centre, or this wholesale redistribution of funds ‘out of the blue’,” says BEC Australia chairman Peter Murray.

“It beggars belief watching a practical grant of $93,000 being taken from a lean, efficient Business Enterprise Centre, and being redistributed in token handouts of less than $4,900 to 19 centres, 12 of which the Corporation’s managing director admits will likely struggle for survival anyway!

“WA taxpayers should be outraged by this misguided decision that will not only impact the Belmont BEC, but will impact thousands of families linked to the state’s small businesses which have been receiving  guidance, support and training through the centre to help them grow and continue contributing to the state’s economy,” he says.