Support for the federal government’s policies from small and medium enterprises has collapsed to its lowest level in nearly 10 years according to the latest Sensis Business Index – Small and Medium Enterprises survey.
The proportion of SMEs that believe that the federal government’s policies are supportive of small business crashed from 46% in November 2007, to 10% in November 2010. The proportion of SMEs that believe that the Federal Government’s policies work against small business has skyrocketed from 17% to 40% over the same period.
The there has been a remarkable collapse in support for federal government’s policies from +29% in November 2007 to -30% in November 2010, a net collapse of -59 percentage points. See for yourself:
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Small Business Survey for November found that “small business trading conditions and confidence deteriorated in the September quarter amidst the prospect of rising interest rates…”.
Australian retailers are also suffering in the lead up to Christmas. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that retail trade was down 1.1% in October, with restaurants and takeaway shops suffering the biggest hit (-4.8%).
These results are damning. Labor’s proposed Carbon Tax and flawed superannuation policy show that times are getting even tougher for small business under Labor.
Labor’s Paid Parental Leave scheme is also going to dump an increased red tape burden on the shoulders of small business – Labor blocked the Coalition’s legislation that would prevent small business becoming the pay clerks for the federal government.
Fortunately, with the election of the Baillieu Liberal Government, the future is brighter for small business in Victoria.
Ted has appointed a small business focused cabinet that will re-write the Workcover legislation to make it easier to understand, scrap Labor’s changes to clearway times within a 10 kilometre radius of the CBD, and a $1 billion Regional Growth Fund that will help small businesses in rural and regional Victoria.
Small business is hurting nationwide. A Liberal Government in Victoria will help mitigate the damage that the Gillard Labor Government is doing elsewhere, however it will not be able stop Federal Labor’s attacks on small business through the Carbon Tax, superannuation policy and the Paid Parental Leave scheme.