Sun is Rising in the West for Small Business

Australia’s peak body for small business advice says the decision by the West Australian government to boost funding for its Small Business Centres with a $500,000 increase in this year’s budget, shows leadership worthy of the national stage, according to Business Enterprise Centres Australia chairman, Jack Hughes.

“Western Australia is currently the envy of many other states over its resources boom, but a string of decisions by Premier Barnett show WA is strengthening its economic foundations for the future by creating a new dawn of hope for its small businesses,” says Mr Hughes.

“The decision to appoint Simon O’Brien as a dedicated Small Business minister and now this extra funding to support the state’s 25 Small Business Centres puts WA in its own league when it comes to finetuning the economic engine room which is the small business sectors.

Judge, Jury, or Dispute Resolution Service for Small Business?

BEC Managers and clients, you have the opportunity to contribute towards the development of a very important policy decision being considered by the Gillard Government.

Small Business Minister, Senator Nick Sherry, has released an options paper designed to generate comment on ways to help small businesses resolve disputes. We know this is a topic very dear to the hearts of the small business operators we talk to all the time.

The paper is the result of 2010 research by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) which found around 20 per cent of surveyed small businesses had experienced a dispute with another business in the previous five years.

Senator Sherry has put four options up for discussion: