Welcome
Welcome to the second edition of Small Business Network News. There are 2,585,979 small and medium businesses in Australia. We employ 7.8m people - 66% of total employment. But we have no representation in Canberra.
We should be the biggest and most powerful economic and political voice in Australia. We have the numbers to elect small business owners and champions to Parliament, providing we get organised. We CAN hold the balance of power in the country and level the playing field.
But it requires organisation and leadership. Building leadership and organisation for this sector is our mission. This Newsletter is published by the Small Business Network of Democracy First.
Join us. Sign up today.
The costs for Australian businesses are unsustainable
Alexs Lajovic is Managing Director of Impact International Pty Ltd. a manufacturing firm in the packaging industry based in Smithfield in Sydney.
"The general consensus is that Australia needs and wants a strong manufacturing sector. All levels of government tell us inflation is getting under control and that they are committed to supporting local manufacturing.
As a proud Australian manufacturer, we appreciate the sentiment.
With annualised inflation apparently now running at less than 4% (it was 6.59% in 2022), we analysed some of our cost inputs that are directly controlled or heavily influenced by the NSW state and/or federal government. We compared what we paid in 2022 to what we are paying in 2024 and below is the percentage increase over the last two years.... its a sobering read:
Local council rates: up 26.6% in two years.
Total ISR insurance premium: up 46.7% in two years (our insured value was constant).
NSW land tax: up 74.5% in two years.
NSW Fire Services Levy paid as part of insurance coverage in NSW: up 26.6% in two years.
Energy cost per kWh: up 140% (disclosure: we did come off a long term contract this year).
Energy network charges set as part of our energy bill: up 25% in two years.
Environmental charges set as part of our electricity bill: up 65.1% in two years.
None of these cost inputs show any correlation to the inflation numbers. No manufacturing business can operate in Australia without paying for the above items (higher land tax translates to higher rents). These costs need to stabilise or reduce in 2025 otherwise local manufacturing will only get less competitive and weaker. We are already seeing this with our supplier base shrinking each year.
What We Want
1. A level playing field for small and medium enterprises, removing all legislative and regulatory advantages and tendering preferments enjoyed by big business.
2. Revenue from exports to be tax-free for small and medium businesses to encourage export-oriented growth.
3. Abolition of levies and surcharges for firms employing less than 20 people.
4. A Small Business Support Agency in every federal electorate to provide practical business support including:
a. access to local employment, investment, retail and housing data, collected and curated?for use by local businesses which employ less than 20 people;
b. information and advice on licencing, regulation and compliance issues;
c. shared training and workforce development;
d. shared access to a common pool of casual staff; and
e. shared purchasing arrangements.
领英推荐
5. An overhaul of federal and state industrial relations systems to allow greater flexibility for businesses which employ less than 20 people including exemption from penalty rates and unfair dismissal legislation, and additional flexibility for small and medium firms in which employees share in ownership and governance.
Profile | Mark Gardner for Aston
Mark Gardner is a musician, a singer/songwriter, a tech guy, an electronics technician, a volunteer community radio presenter, and a parent. He is our Democracy First candidate for Aston in outer eastern Melbourne.
Mark lives in Wantirna, works in Bayswater, and performs in Boronia and Scoresby. He has a child in primary school in Wantirna, an NDIS participant.
Mark has worked in small business for 30 years, as an electronics technician, services manager and independent musician. He is now as a TAFE teacher in electronics.
He is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (guitars, keyboards, trumpet and trombone). He performs in all genres. He has vast experience in music performance, composition and recording.
He is an Ambassador for Guitars for Vets along with Tommy Emmanuel and Jose Garcia, which assists veterans living with PTSD to play guitar and sing, using music for therapy and recovery. He performs in fundraisers for a wide variety of community organisations. He plays brass in the Croydon Concert Band and the Knox Wind Symphony Band.
He has been a volunteer community radio presenter on 3 radio stations, 3WBC 94.1FM , Southern FM 88.3 and 3MDR 97.1FM.
Mark is a working class man with traditional values and a creative spirit. He is not a politician. He is exactly the kind of person we need to send to Canberra. He is an independent music-maker and an independent thinker. He writes his own songs. Canberra needs a big burst of independent thinking.
Aston has traditionally been held by the Liberal Party. But the woeful state of Liberals saw Labor win the seat in a by-election in 2023.
Aston has a higher than average number of small businesses and manufacturing firms struggling with rising costs. Its families, communities and businesses have run out of reasons to vote for career politicians.
Are you a Small Business Champion?
We will stand a team of candidates from the SME sector in selected seats across the country in the next federal election.
We will mobilise small business owners, staff and customers in support of them. We have the numbers to do this on a big scale.
There are 2.5m small business owners employing 7.8m staff. Then there are their customers, often people with longstanding relationships with these businesses and their people. Then there are their suppliers, who usually have extensive economic and social networks themselves.
Then there are the families and friends of all these people. We plan to field a team of candidates in all states and territories:
We invite your EOI. Go to www.democracyfirst.org.au/smenetwork/
Join the Network
Sign up today. There is no cost. We want to get an initial 10,000 small and medium businesses on board to start the process of change.
Join up at www.democracyfirst.org.au/smenetwork/
Enquiries: Vern Hughes 0425 722 890 E: [email protected]
I am also of the opinion that there should be only one law to all companies in a country regardless of their respective sizes.
Great advice
Gomeroi Proud | Founder of RockSolid Design and Construction | Innovating Sustainable and Economically Viable Living Solutions | Quality Builder
1 个月Vern, you’ve hit the nail on the head! This plan is exactly what small businesses in Australia need. We’re the backbone of the economy, employing 66% of the workforce, yet we don’t have the voice or the representation in Canberra that we deserve. Imagine the power we could have if we all came together, got organised, and pushed for real change. We CAN level the playing field, we CAN build a fairer economic landscape, and all it takes is for every small business owner to get on board and make our voices loud and impossible to ignore. The benefits are clear: lower costs, fairer opportunities, and a boost to local manufacturing that could make us competitive on a global scale. All we need is unity, determination, and a commitment to stand up for what’s right for small businesses in this country. From my perspective, we’ve partnered with a top-tier manufacturing company in China—because, quite frankly, we don’t have the manufacturing capability or the cost structure here in Australia to make it viable. But if the conditions changed, if we had the right support and policies in place, we’d be the first to set up a manufacturing plant and drive the economy up it would be better for us and better for our country No doubt about it
Applied physics.(JOIN ME) the work presented here is entirely new
1 个月I used to be a small business owner. In America, multinationals rule the day. Today, they contribute to the erosion of our democracy,... feeding politicians and exercising a number of business practices to contract markets, to consolidate supply chains, including the use or private equity takeovers and mergers & acquisitions. Government shutdowns through medical malpractice and fear tactics, exercised by world economic forums and world health organizations, contribute to this consolidation of markets as well. It's alarming what is occurring. I ask many to simply JOIN ME... ..... in current discussion of work to transform societies. My goal is to remove this overt corrupt business practice and to outlaw the corporate form in America to allow for folks to reestablish the economy in small business and family run businesses. Kindest, MARK applied physics https://www.academia.edu/120841965/LETTER_OF_INVITATION
Helen Huang is the Author of 'Nuclear Power Nuclear Game', a political thriller??? Director & Home Builder at Jadekey Homes, Beautifully Designed Homes ?????
1 个月Alex Lajovic is one of the victims of failed Australian industry policy.? Like many other developed countries, we all face challenges adjusting to the industrial structure due to the spread of globalism. The impact of these challenges will vary depending on each government's policies. Unfortunately, Australia, one of the hardest-hit countries, has a broken industry network to support its economy after years of short-sighted industry policy. This has led Australia to become a codependent country regarding foreign products, from clothes to cars, only to rely heavily on selling raw materials to make a surplus from the sale. We urgently need to revive our industry!?