Support for small business

I wrote to both the Coalition and Opposition on behalf of the Chamber Alliance of Western Sydney to ascertain asking them to list how they would support small business should they form government in Saturdays NSW State election. I am pleased to share what I have received so far which is from the office of Mr Minns.

"Hello Trevor,

?And thank you for this opportunity for NSW Labor to share its small business policies with the members of the Greater Blacktown Business Chamber.?

?On behalf of Chris Minns, NSW Labor Leader and Steve Kamper, Shadow Minister for Small Business, please see our response below:

?NSW LABOR: BACKING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

?NSW Labor will back the state’s small businesses by ramping up local procurement as well as empowering small business by improving engagement with government.?

?Boosting local procurement

?A Minns Labor Government will ramp up local procurement from small business by:?

• Including a local supplier element to tender weightings which gives priority to small businesses in the area nearby the projects they are tendering for;
• Increasing the threshold for direct procurement with small business from $150,000 to $250,000;
• Increasing the proportion of government expenditure through procurement with small business from approximately 12 per cent at present, to 20 per cent by 2026 and 30 per cent by 2030;
• Only requiring small businesses to provide relevant insurance when a contract is awarded, and not when submitting a tender;?
• Pre-qualifying small businesses as suppliers through a single form; and?
• Simplifying contracts for whole of government schemes and key goods and services programs.?

?NSW Business Bureau?

?Labor will improve engagement between small business and government by establishing a NSW Business Bureau to navigate regulation and processes, as well as engage with overseas markets, by:?

• Assisting businesses in navigating government regulatory framework;
• Reducing red tape;?
• Providing support in tendering for government contracts;?
• Guidance in accessing government programs, grants and initiatives, and how to use them to help grow their businesses; and
• Supporting small businesses to sell their goods and services overseas.

?Charter for small business

?NSW Labor will create a Charter for Small Business to provide small business with a voice and seat at the government policy making table, including:

• codifying the NSW Government’s commitment to small business, and the framework for which the NSW Government will engage with and support small businesses;
• recognising the importance of small business to local economies; providing valuable employment; and the role of NSW Government procurement to help small businesses grow; and?
• consulting with the small business industry to develop new processes and performance metrics and allowing small business to be represented in policy development and decision making.

?Toll relief

• ?NSW Labor will slash tolls for tradies and truck drivers along the M5 East and the M8, immediately helping to ease the burden of increasing tolls crippling small businesses who need to move around Sydney.
• Currently, trucks and vehicles such as some oversize utes are tolled at three times the rate of cars. Labor will reduce the 3 times truck multiplier to 2 times for up to 10 truck trips per week.
• Labor’s toll relief plan is expected to cut the average truck toll by $8, saving a truck driver who does two trips a day, five days a week, a total of $3,800 a year. Cheaper tolls will also incentivise trucks off local suburban roads.
• Labor’s plan will be in place for two years, and will commence on 1, January 2024. This is short term relief while Labor looks at long term, structural reform to the toll network through the Professor Allan Fels AO led review.
• Each day, trucks make around 8,000 trips on the M5 East and M8, paying $23.95 per trip.

?Other toll relief measures:

• ?A $60 weekly toll cap for motorists for 2 years, on top of the existing toll rebate and M5 cashback schemes;
• Professor Allan Fels AO to take charge of the existing secret toll review and to establish a plan for longer term reform.
• Keeping the Sydney Harbour Tunnel toll concession in public hands and returning revenue from both the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the Sydney Harbour Bridge to drivers in the form of toll relief.

?Energy costs

• ?Labor’s will establish a $485 million for the Energy Relief Fund to provide energy cost crisis relief for families and small businesses
• $100 million expected to go towards small businesses.?
• Labor will offer a rebate of $315 for 320,000 small businesses, directly off of their electricity bills - another $315 when matched by the Commonwealth - for a total of $630.
• The rebate will be credited directly onto the bills of those who are eligible, and will be provided on top of other existing rebates in 2023-24.?

?‘Build it here’ – domestic manufacturing

• ?A target of 50 per cent minimum local content for future transport rolling stock contracts
• Increased tender weightings for local content, jobs creation, small business and ethical supply chains to 30 per cent
• A NSW Jobs First Commission – an independent, expert body – to oversee the implementation and growth of local industries. Its first job will be to audit our current domestic manufacturing capabilities.
• A guarantee of a minimum of 70 per cent of total skills funding goes to TAFE.
• A comprehensive review of the vocational education system.
• Working collaboratively with industry to make the state government’s own demand pipeline as easy as possible for local suppliers.
• Labor’s commitment to build the next Tangara fleet will create 1,000 good, long term jobs.

?Skills

• ?NSW Labor will commit $42.7 million towards establishing TAFE Domestic Manufacturing Centres of Excellence in Western Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra.
• This will help rebuild TAFE and our state’s domestic manufacturing capacity and capabilities, as well as boosting skills, apprentices, and creating thousands of new jobs.
• Labor will do this by upgrading and fitting-out three facilities to cater for 1,000 students a year.
• Labor will offer courses like mechanical engineering and electrical fitting – for free.
• The centres will be able to train, re-train and upskill apprentices and workers in traditional and advanced manufacturing techniques and technologies every year.
• NSW Labor will hire an additional 1000 apprentices and trainees across the NSW Government by 2026 – on top of existing hiring plans.
• A Labor Government will set targets across all agencies and departments to make sure 1,000 NSW learners have the opportunity to undertake on-the-job training as the State Government invests in skills for the future and revitalises domestic manufacturing.
• This will give young learners an opportunity to work within the NSW Government in places like Sydney Water, Essential Energy, Taronga Zoo, National Parks and Wildlife Services, Homes NSW and the NSW Energy Security Corporation.
• Half will be employed in the General Government sector and half will be employed through PNFCs and State-Owned Corporations.

?Matthew Shaw | Director - Strategy | Office of Chris Minns MP, NSW Opposition Leader

Parliament House, Room 1011, 6 Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia | 0451 152 602

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