Exclusive: Small Business Minister Julie Collins on Labor’s SME track record and IR “fear-mongering”

The Albanese government is proving its support for the small business community while combating “fear-mongering” over its significant reform agenda, says Minister for Small Business Julie Collins.

SmartCompany sat down with Minister Collins in Sydney on Wednesday, 18 months since Labor’s federal election victory.

In an exclusive and wide-ranging discussion, Collins said the Albanese government is challenging the idea of the Coalition as natural champions for small business issues.

“We’ve shown that we’re about listening to small business, about hearing their concerns and responding,” she said.

“Plus, I think the fact that we’ve delivered on so many of our election commitments for small business shows small businesses that we will deliver for them.

“They can have confidence that when we say something, that means they’ve been heard, and we will deliver.”

Labor-led measures benefitting small business include new funding for SME cyber resiliency, efforts to boost government procurement from SMEs, and the expansion of debt counselling and financial counselling hotlines, she said.

Noting small business concerns spread beyond her portfolio, Collins also reflected on competition reforms, the outlawing of unfair contract terms, consultations to protect small businesses facing an overhauled Privacy Act, and the expansion of free TAFE placements to bolster Australia’s skilled workforce.

“Right across government, I think what we’re showing is we do understand small business, and we’re listening,” she said.

Crossbench advocacy welcome, says Minister Collins

During Collins’ time in the small business portfolio, the Senate crossbench — most notably independent Senator David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie Network’s eponymous head, Senator Jacqui Lambie — has also shown it will not rubber-stamp every Labor initiative related to the SME sector.

Last month, the two parliamentarians successfully split off four non-contentious measures from Labor’s Closing Loopholes industrial relations package, which faces broad opposition from small business representatives.

That effort ultimately withered in the lower house but showed the Senate crossbench is willing and capable of championing viewpoints put forward by members of the SME community.

When asked about the growing influence of politicians like Senators Pocock and Lambie, Minister Collins said she welcomes any parliamentary efforts to advocate for the sector.

“Certainly my door is always open to any member of parliament that wants to talk small business with me, and I have had many discussions right across the Parliament with lots of crossbenchers in, both houses, about small business,” she said.

“I really think it’s a terrific thing. I think the more members of Parliament that understand small business and chat to small business, the more of a representative democracy we have.”

Closing Loopholes bill subject to “fear-mongering”

On the Closing Loopholes bill itself, Minister Collins hewed close to the view of her government colleagues — and said a degree of sensationalism has entered the debate.

“I think, frankly, a lot of people need to stop the fear-mongering, and they need to actually look at the detail,” she said.

“And we need to have grown-up conversations about how this really impacts people or doesn’t.”

But that doesn’t mean the IR reform Bill is set in stone, either.

Minister Collins pointed to recent amendments, including concessions on the penalties levelled on employers that misrepresent casual work as permanent, as proof Labor is listening to concerns from the business sector.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke is “obviously continuing those consultations”, Minister Collins said.

The Senate committee review of the Bill is due early next year.

“I think we need to give that process time,” Collins added.

“And we’ll have a look at that Senate committee report when that happens early next year.”

Coalition challenging tax measures

Other small business-centric initiatives championed by the Albanese government are still being debated in Parliament.

Up to $20,000 in bonus tax deductions will become available for small businesses that undertake eligible energy efficiency upgrades, as per a Labor-led initiative currently before the House of Representatives.

Also contained in that bill is Labor’s plan to amend the instant asset write-off scheme to cover assets worth up to $20,000.

The plan will replace the previous temporary full expensing system and is intended to stop the instant asset write-off threshold from reverting to $1,000.

This month, the Coalition proposed an amendment that would bring the limit to $30,000, while expanding the number of businesses that can access the system by lifting annual turnover limits.

At the time, Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business Sussan Ley said the upgrade would give a “shot in the arm” to businesses facing cashflow challenges.

Minister Collins said Labor’s figure — like other measures announced under the Albanese government — is designed not to worsen inflation.

The office of Shadow Minister Ley has not consulted with her office over the proposal, Minister Collins added.

“We announced it in the budget nearly six months ago, this measure, [and] they haven’t come to me as Small Business Minister, the Coalition to raise this, or their concerns.”

In a statement provided to SmartCompany, Shadow Minister Ley said she will “always seek to engage constructively with my Ministerial counterparts” on small business issues.

However, Labor is yet to deliver “a proper plan” addressing the cost of living crunch affecting small businesses, Ley added.

Ingenuity and resilience core to Australian small business experience, says Minister Collins

Since coming stepping into the role of Small Business Minister, Collins has also navigated the dual portfolios of Housing and Homelessness, and the bruising, months-long effort to pass Labor’s landmark housing package.

While those efforts may have dominated mainstream headlines, Collins said her commitment to the issues of housing and homelessness dovetail with the needs of the small business sector.

“Obviously, skilled workers need somewhere to live, and in regional places, in some parts of Australia, that is very difficult in terms of availability and affordability,” she said.

Despite the challenges facing Australian small businesses, be they finding a place for staff to live or managing cashflow, Minister Collins said Australian small businesses are capable of extraordinary feats.

“The thing about small business that I absolutely love, is the ingenuity and the innovation of small business owners and operators, about how adaptive they are, about how resilient they are, and how passionate they are,” she said.