THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, has welcomed United Nations recognition of small business as a driver of employment and economic development.

Ms Carnell said June 27 has been designated Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day.

A resolution was adopted unanimously at the UN General Assembly in April.

The assembly noted that more than 95 per cent of enterprises in the world are micro, small and medium-sized and they account for about 60 per cent of international private sector employment.

In Australia, Ms Carnell said small businesses employ almost half of all workers and create a substantial proportion of new jobs.

“Small business contribution to the Australian economy is higher than the OECD average,” she said.

“According to the OECD, small businesses account for 44 percent of employment in Australia and we rank eighth out of 32 OECD countries on this measure.

“The number of small businesses which are exporting continues to increase.

“The tax contribution of small and medium enterprises is also significant and growing faster than big business.”

Ms Carnell has urged everyone to reflect on the importance of small business and make a gesture to show their support for the sector.

“If you’re buying goods or services on Tuesday, June 27, think about small business and if you can support one with your purchase, please do,” she said.

“Just about everybody knows somebody in small business. A word of thanks or acknowledgement to your local hairdresser, coffee shop or pharmacist would be warmly welcomed.”

Ms Carnell said she hopes the international day will become more widely recognised.

“It’s the first year, and I sincerely hope that governments, business organisations and communities will get behind it,” she said.

AT A GLANCE:

•  2,116,708 small businesses at June 2016*
• employing more than 4.7 million people (44 per cent of total employment at June 2016)
• small business accounts for 35 per cent of Australia’s industry contribution to economic activity (as at 2015–16)
• in 2013-14 there were 19,965 small business exporters, representing 44% of all business exporters, up from 38% in 2008-09
•  in 2012-13, small and medium enterprises accounted for 35% of company tax revenue, up from 32% in 2010-11.

* (based on ABS definition of 0-19 employees).

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THE Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will hear from a range of key organisations and businesses at a public hearing on Friday 23 June 2017 for its inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia, launched in February 2017.

The Sub-Committee is investigating whether elements of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 could be introduced in Australia, particularly the UK requirement for businesses and organisations to report on how they ensure their global supply chains are free of slavery and human trafficking.

Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub‑Committee, Chris Crewther MP, said the sub-committee welcomed the opportunity to meet with a range of organisations involved in combatting modern slavery in Australia and around the world, including the Walk Free Foundation, Anti-Slavery Australia and the Salvation Army.

“The Sub-Committee looks forward to hearing about the important work undertaken by these organisations to combat modern slavery, and to investigate how Australian businesses are currently addressing the risks of slavery and trafficking in their global supply chains,” Mr Crewther said.

Public hearing details: 9:15 am to 5:00 pm, Friday 23 June, Jubilee Room, NSW Parliament House, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website.

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PALIAMENT’s Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia will return to North Queensland on Monday 3 July, Tuesday 4 July, Wednesday 5 July, and Thursday 6 July 2017 to hold public hearings at Port Douglas, Cairns, Townsville, and Brisbane as part of its inquiry into Opportunities and Methods for Stimulating the Tourism Industry in Northern Australia.

While the Great Barrier Reef is the most well-known tourist drawcard on the Queensland coast, the region offers a wealth of other tourist experiences. The Committee will receive evidence from a range of tourism operators, covering ecotourism, adventure tourism, scenic railways, and cableways in the North and Far North Queensland regions.

The Committee Chair, Warren Entsch said: “Broadening tourist experiences increases the strength of the local tourist market by encouraging visitors to stay longer in the area, and also attracts a broader range of tourists not just those wishing to visit the Great Barrier Reef.”

The Committee will also receive evidence from groups supporting major highway developments and other tourism gateways, including airport and seaport operators.

“Improved access through the tourism gateways of major roads, airports, and seaports is important to boost tourist numbers and improve ease of movement between tourist attractions,” Mr Entsch said.

The proceedings will be broadcast live (audio only) at aph.gov.au/live.  

The hearing program and further information about the Committee’s inquiry, including submissions and the terms of reference, is available on the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/jscna.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. 

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has tabled its report on Commonwealth Infrastructure Spending based on the Auditor-General’s reports No. 14 (2015–16) Approval and Administration of Commonwealth Funding for the East West Link Project and No. 38 (2016–17) Approval and Administration of Commonwealth Funding for the WestConnex Project.

The inquiry highlighted the important role Infrastructure Australia plays in assessing infrastructure projects and determined that departing from full assessments of the East West Link and WestConnex projects reduced the evidence bases for decision-making, including full business cases.

The Committee concluded this approach is best avoided given the scale of public funding and the risks involved in infrastructure projects.

The Commonwealth contributed $1.5 billion in payments to both the East West Link and WestConnex projects as well as providing a $2 billion concessional loan for WestConnex.

The Committee noted the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development provided advice to the Government on various matters in the lead-up to funding decisions but was concerned at the Department’s lack of consideration of some issues in designing and negotiating the WestConnex loan.

The Committee was also concerned about the Department’s project payments and management of milestones.

Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said the Department needed to give greater consideration to each of the concessions and risks involved in designing Commonwealth concessional loans and include this in its advice to decision-makers.

“The Department needs to better protect the Commonwealth’s interests when managing milestones to provide genuine incentives for funding recipients to progress projects and reduce the likelihood of payments being made too far in advance of need and delivery,” Senator Smith said.

The report makes five recommendations to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, including:

• providing clear advice to Ministers on whether the requirements of land transport legislation have been met;
• only making significant payments when they are required by a project and meet agreed milestones, and advising Ministers of any interest charges, other costs and risks arising from advance payment proposals;
• requiring loan proponents to identify alternative funding strategies and justify why a Commonwealth loan would be the best funding option;
• reviewing the Department’s approach to drafting project approval instruments to identify relevant risks and incorporate mitigations; and
• reviewing the Department’s infrastructure IT system to improve its recording of milestones, the quality of data it receives from project delivery agencies and capturing more specific expenditure data.

Two further recommendations made by the Committee include:

• the Auditor-General consider a follow-up audit of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development’s administration of a concessional loan to the Sunshine Coast Airport expansion project; and
• Treasury review the funding recovery provision in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 to consider the suitability of the current discretion applied to recover funding as well as the current inability to recover interest earned on unspent National Partnership payments.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website.

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