Howard Government bad for small business

14/10/07
Small Business Minister Margaret Quirk said today that the Howard Government was not a friend of small business.
The Minister hit back at Prime Minister John Howard's claim that Labor was bad for small business.
"Mr Howard's Government has been recalcitrant every time the States move to support small business," Ms Quirk said.
"The coalition is all talk and no action. Mr Howard is simply not serious about supporting small business."
The Minister said the Howard Government had resisted a push to strengthen the Trade Practices Act, particularly from the unconscionable conduct of big business. The Coalition Government had been reluctant to bolster the Act to protect small business from predatory pricing.
"Perhaps the Howard Government is afraid of upsetting its big business friends," she said.
The Howard Government also had made life more complex for small business operators.
"GST compliance, BAS and now WorkChoices have made life for small business operators so complex they are having to waste their precious time trying to make sense of it all," Ms Quirk said.
"In 11 years of Howard Government, can small businesses really say they are better off?"
Minister's office - 9213 7000