Following the admission earlier this week that the Prime Minister has failed to meet the new Small Business Commissioner, the Senate Economics Committee has heard that other Ministers and their departments have also failed to consult with the Commissioner on key issues despite principally being appointed as a policy advocate for small business.

Questioned by Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Fair Competition Senator Scott Ryan, Commissioner Mark Brennan said he had not been asked for input into:

  • Recently announced changes to workplace laws
  • The Horticulture Code review
  • Inspector General of Taxations report into Australian Tax Office benchmarking technology
  • Discussions on the low-value threshold for customs duty and GST on imported goods
  • The impact of possible superannuation changes on the retirement plans of small business people
  • Planned extension of national consumer credit protections to small business

Shadow Small Business Minister Bruce Billson said all of these issues were currently under discussion at the Commonwealth level and all were relevant to Australian small businesses.

“Labor doesn’t listen to the Small Business Commissioner and it doesn’t listen to small business.  If it listened to small business it would not have introduced the world’s biggest carbon tax or introduced 21,000 new regulations,” Mr Billson said.

“A Coalition Government will end the window dressing and reshape the role into a Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman with real powers and legislative backing to be of real value and use to small business.”

Senator Ryan said Commissioner Brennan also confirmed that he has not been invited to meet the Prime Minister, Treasurer or Treasury officials or the Assistant Treasurer.

“The Gillard Government has given Commissioner Brennan no legislative powers and now we discover it doesn’t even want to talk to him,” Senator Ryan said.

“Commissioner Brennan is a respected and experienced small business expert. It is only because of gross neglect and incompetence that the Gillard Government has completely failed to consult with him to discover the affect its policy proposals will have on small businesses,” Senator Ryan said.