18
INDUSTRY NEWS
NATIONAL
National Small Business Summit Perspectives. Policy. Purpose. Recently MGA TMA attended the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA) National Small Business Summit in Darling Harbour, Sydney on 5 and 6 April.
Small Business. 3. The Hon Richard Marles MP, now
MGA TMA representatives were Debbie Smith (President), Grant Hinchcliffe (Vice President), Ripple Parekh (Director), and Mark Paladino (Business Development).
The Regulators
Key matters arising were: 1. Matthew Addison, Chair of COSBOA, spoke about how COSBOA was able to have a strong seat at the table with key State and Federal bodies regarding the pathways out of COVID-19, as well as the recent floods and impact on small businesses recovery. 2. The Hon. Matt Kean, NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy officially opened the Summit and acknowledged small business’s driving force to the economy. He addressed “both the gender pay gap and the gender investment gap which sees less early-stage capital flowing towards women business owners.” COSBOA has a female entrepreneurial project underway to drive the initiative for Women in
The Hon Richard Marles MP, now Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and the Minister for Employment.
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and the Minister for Employment, examined small business as the backbone of the Australian economy which he stated has been taken for granted by the former Morrison government with a “failure in national leadership”. “Small Business has community at the center of its being” and Labour would address administrative burdens, need for cash flow and predictability, and deliver a better deal for small business. Solutions include payment terms and Least Cost Routing to ensure small business receives fair share of Government procurement. 4. The Regulators session
The Regulators
The Hon. Matt Kean NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy.
mga.asn.au | June 2022 | Edition 3
Facilitated by Alexi Boyd, CEO COSBOA, who welcomed Anna Longley, Assistant Commissioner - General Counsel of Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits; Danielle Press, ASIC Commissioner;
Sandra Parker, Fair Work Ombudsman; Jeremy Hirschhorn, Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Chair of ACCC. 5. The former Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, spoke via video message about the importance of small business to the Australian economy, including support and JobKeeper payment of “$314 billion in total economic support measures.” 6. An honest chat with the Australian Council of Trade Unions Peter Strong, former CEO of COSBOA led this session with Sally McManus, Secretary, Australian Council of Trade Unions, to talk about unions in the lead up to the election. “For the union movement the most important thing is fairness. For the last 10 years we have stalled, working people, haven’t moved ahead like big business has. We would essentially like to see more sharing in the wealth of the nation.” Ms McManus outlined two main goals: Better job security - in relation to the shifting workforce and rise of casual roles and less permanent job placements. “We aren’t saying we need to get rid of casual workers, nor are we looking to take away the choice from