Small Business calls for stable leadership and focus on the economy

THE Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) is calling for all Members of Parliament to focus on the job of running the country, not on chasing votes through opinion polls as internal divisions and lack of confidence within the Liberal Party threatens to destroy the nation’s leadership.

Paul Nielsen, Chairman of COSBOA said today, “Our members are sick and tired of continued leadership uncertainty and policy stonewalling in the federal sphere. SME owners know that a business without leadership fails, a business where leadership is uncertain fails and businesses without a plan or a strategy and the capacity to execute it is going to fail. 

"Federal politicians, whether on the Government front bench, the back bench, or on the Opposition parties must put the wellbeing of the country before their personal agendas. All MP’s must work to fix these issues one way or the other and stop playing shallow politics.  Small business must have certainty to reboot our economy.”

Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA added, “In times of uncertainty it is those people who control organisations with money and power who often see the opportunity to push their personal agendas.

“In the last twelve months the small business community has had the best policy focus we have ever had due to the efforts of the likes of Bruce Billson, Josh Frydenberg and Ian MacFarlane. The focus has been on competition policy, contract law, the performance of regulators, the future appointment of a Small Business Ombudsman, the improved franchise code of conduct, the outing of Large Corporates as toxic corporate partners for small business as well as a focus on fixing the vocational training problems in our country, this has been extraordinary. 

“We do not want to lose the focus on these issues that are so important to the social fabric of Australia and to the economy. Those small number of big businesses and organisations, including a lot of big businesses that do not contribute an equitable share of tax dollars, may well use this  uncertainty to remove the focus on the economy and replace it with their vested needs. The extremes of left and right ideology may also use this to push their own agendas” Mr Strong concluded.

Paul Nielsen added that, “The country has had far too many years of policy and leadership uncertainty and that has to change. Next month our CEO will be outlining the threats to our nations continued prosperity generated by a minority of unelected people and organisations whose vested agendas can promote their own welfare not national wellbeing.

"In the meantime we do not want to see the current leadership issues in the Federal Parliament dominate the business of Government and we call upon all MP’s and Senators to resolve these issues once and for all.”

www.cosboa.org.au

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