Job creators ignored

There are lots of letters of demand flying around Canberra at the moment, as the Greens and independents – Bob Katter, Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie – try their hardest to extract the best return for lending their support to Labor or the Coalition.

There are lots of noble issues being discussed, including climate change, parliamentary processes, healthcare and political donations.

But we’ve heard precious little – other than some sympathetic noises from the independents – about providing support for small business and jobs creation.

One issue that lies at the heart of this discussion is access to finance for small business.

With the exception of the Coalition, who made an election promise to try to talk to regulators about freeing up bank lending practices, this issue doesn’t seem to register with anyone in Canberra, and has been completely lost in the post-election discussions.

But it remains an issue, and a big one.

This was highlighted by a report in the Australian Financial Review, which looked at why grocery giant Woolworths has been forced to become a property developer, as well a retailer.

Put simply, the SME property developers who used to build Woolies’ new stores simply can’t get cash.

“They are still struggling to get finance, even with almost 80% equity they cannot borrow,” Woolworths chief Mike Luscombe said.

“So we have actually stepped in and done the vast majority of our developments ourselves.”

Woolworths is lucky it has the financial firepower to do its own developments, but there are some wider implications here.

How many new property developments have been stopped because access to finance has fallen? How many contractors and sub-contractors missed out on work? How many small retailers were prevented from opening? How many millions of dollars worth of construction materials weren’t purchased? How many jobs were not created?

This is a problem that simply isn’t going away, despite the fact the economy is recovering. It is an issue that needs real attention from Canberra.

So here is a message for Bob, Tony, Rob and Andrew – as your negotiations continue, don’t forget small business.