❓ WA Minister for Small Business criticises the federal government's drought relief funding for being inaccessible to WA small businesses, highlighting the low amount of funding received and the complexity of the application process. The WA government has allocated additional funds for financial advice and planning.
AnsweredQoN 526Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES FUNDING
Will the minister advise the house if the Howard government’s recently announced changes to exceptional circumstances funding will be of any benefit to Western Australian small businesses impacted on by the drought? Ms M.M. QUIRK
Will the minister advise the house if the Howard government’s recently announced changes to exceptional circumstances funding will be of any benefit to Western Australian small businesses impacted on by the drought? Ms M.M. QUIRK
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question and for his strong advocacy for small business in the mid-west. As members are acutely aware, many rural communities in the north east and eastern wheatbelt are doing it very tough. The drought is now in its fourth year and is taking a very heavy economic and social toll on rural communities. Earlier this month the federal government announced $430 million in drought funding for farmers across Australia, and of course we welcome this. However, the state government remains extremely concerned that small businessmen in these exceptional circumstances areas have fallen off the radar. I raised this issue in the house on 28 August, and also personally with the federal Minister for Small Business, Hon Fran Bailey, MP, in July. The federal government’s exceptional circumstances relief payment for small business remains too difficult to access. To claim this payment, small businesses have to demonstrate that 70 per cent of their income and turnover has come from the provision of goods and services to farms that are in areas suffering from exceptional circumstances. Applying for the payments is incredibly complex and very onerous and the challenge for small businesses to calculate what proportion of their sales was to farm businesses is overly complex and bureaucratic. It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
Ms M.M. QUIRK replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question and for his strong advocacy for small business in the mid-west. As members are acutely aware, many rural communities in the north east and eastern wheatbelt are doing it very tough. The drought is now in its fourth year and is taking a very heavy economic and social toll on rural communities. Earlier this month the federal government announced $430 million in drought funding for farmers across Australia, and of course we welcome this. However, the state government remains extremely concerned that small businessmen in these exceptional circumstances areas have fallen off the radar. I raised this issue in the house on 28 August, and also personally with the federal Minister for Small Business, Hon Fran Bailey, MP, in July. The federal government’s exceptional circumstances relief payment for small business remains too difficult to access. To claim this payment, small businesses have to demonstrate that 70 per cent of their income and turnover has come from the provision of goods and services to farms that are in areas suffering from exceptional circumstances. Applying for the payments is incredibly complex and very onerous and the challenge for small businesses to calculate what proportion of their sales was to farm businesses is overly complex and bureaucratic. It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
I thank the member for some notice of this question and for his strong advocacy for small business in the mid-west. As members are acutely aware, many rural communities in the north east and eastern wheatbelt are doing it very tough. The drought is now in its fourth year and is taking a very heavy economic and social toll on rural communities. Earlier this month the federal government announced $430 million in drought funding for farmers across Australia, and of course we welcome this. However, the state government remains extremely concerned that small businessmen in these exceptional circumstances areas have fallen off the radar. I raised this issue in the house on 28 August, and also personally with the federal Minister for Small Business, Hon Fran Bailey, MP, in July. The federal government’s exceptional circumstances relief payment for small business remains too difficult to access. To claim this payment, small businesses have to demonstrate that 70 per cent of their income and turnover has come from the provision of goods and services to farms that are in areas suffering from exceptional circumstances. Applying for the payments is incredibly complex and very onerous and the challenge for small businesses to calculate what proportion of their sales was to farm businesses is overly complex and bureaucratic. It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
Ms M.M. QUIRK replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question and for his strong advocacy for small business in the mid-west. As members are acutely aware, many rural communities in the north east and eastern wheatbelt are doing it very tough. The drought is now in its fourth year and is taking a very heavy economic and social toll on rural communities. Earlier this month the federal government announced $430 million in drought funding for farmers across Australia, and of course we welcome this. However, the state government remains extremely concerned that small businessmen in these exceptional circumstances areas have fallen off the radar. I raised this issue in the house on 28 August, and also personally with the federal Minister for Small Business, Hon Fran Bailey, MP, in July. The federal government’s exceptional circumstances relief payment for small business remains too difficult to access. To claim this payment, small businesses have to demonstrate that 70 per cent of their income and turnover has come from the provision of goods and services to farms that are in areas suffering from exceptional circumstances. Applying for the payments is incredibly complex and very onerous and the challenge for small businesses to calculate what proportion of their sales was to farm businesses is overly complex and bureaucratic. It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
I thank the member for some notice of this question and for his strong advocacy for small business in the mid-west. As members are acutely aware, many rural communities in the north east and eastern wheatbelt are doing it very tough. The drought is now in its fourth year and is taking a very heavy economic and social toll on rural communities. Earlier this month the federal government announced $430 million in drought funding for farmers across Australia, and of course we welcome this. However, the state government remains extremely concerned that small businessmen in these exceptional circumstances areas have fallen off the radar. I raised this issue in the house on 28 August, and also personally with the federal Minister for Small Business, Hon Fran Bailey, MP, in July. The federal government’s exceptional circumstances relief payment for small business remains too difficult to access. To claim this payment, small businesses have to demonstrate that 70 per cent of their income and turnover has come from the provision of goods and services to farms that are in areas suffering from exceptional circumstances. Applying for the payments is incredibly complex and very onerous and the challenge for small businesses to calculate what proportion of their sales was to farm businesses is overly complex and bureaucratic. It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
It is no surprise that about 500 small businesses in Western Australian rural communities need help. They are within drought-affected areas. However, to date, the federal government’s funding to those small businesses has totalled $2 000. I repeat: $2 000 in total is the amount that the federal government has provided to WA small businesses affected by drought. For that reason - the Premier announced this earlier today - when we announced our drought relief package, it included a portion for small business of $200 000. That meant that small businesses could at least access the money to get some financial advice and do some planning so their businesses could remain viable. The federal government’s announcement and new package has nothing in it for small business, not even anything that would streamline the existing very complex process. Canberra needs to acknowledge that droughts affect whole communities, including our rural small communities.
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