Small business – the heart of our society under attack
Australia is despite many challenges a great place to live, play and work. We have an enviable lifestyle and a robust and healthy economy and political environment. Most importantly, we have many freedoms. We have freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of belief.
Critically, we also have traditionally had the freedom to have a go at running our own business, to work for whom we like and how we like, and to be innovative and create new products, services and technologies. This freedom most often manifests in the form of small business. It is well understood that small business activity is critical to creating jobs, growing the economy, supporting and boosting activity in communities, and also encouraging diversity and innovation.
In the history of every big business there is at the beginning a small business. In every community, and especially metropolitan, regional and rural communities, there are small businesses making a massive impact. Just look at the businesses in your local area, look at the signs around the local sports ground. Just look at who is present at community events and more importantly backs and runs these events. It is often the small business operators making things happen.
Yet it has been clear for some time that political support for small business is sorely lacking. HIA hears regularly from its small business members that the increasing costs and burdens imposed by government regulations are taking their toll. The satisfaction and pleasure of running a small business and making a critical contribution is being overwhelmed by time pressures, worry and even fear. The traditional resilience of small businesses seems to eroding under attack from misguided and excessive regulations and cruel indifference to these impacts by politicians.
HIA has recently completed a Small Business Conditions survey of its members. We expected it to not be happy reading. We expected it to include stories of hardship and concern. There were no surprises and the member comments are hard reading for anyone with compassion and care for others. Only those who favour taking on ideological issues and are indifferent to the impact of their “solutions” on real people could fail to be moved by these comments.
More about the survey and results can be found on the HIA website.
HIA understands that small businesses are the heart of our society. They understand that governments need to be told more than ever to back off and let home building business, and especially small business, get on with the important job of building the 1.2 millions they want built over five years.
Keith Ryan
Executive Director – Victoria
Housing Industry Association