Queensland’s Liberal National Party (LNP) has claimed victory in the latest state election, ending nine consecutive years of Labor governments while promising benefits to local entrepreneurs and startups.
In particular, the LNP used the election campaign to outline its Small Business First policy, along with a smorgasbord of other business-focused initiatives.
Here’s what SMEs and startups need to know.
In a major pre-election pledge, the LNP declared it will establish a pilot program to subsidise apprentice wages paid by SMEs.
Over four-week blocks, the pilot will subsidise 50% of the wages paid to first- and second-year apprentices, and 25% paid to third- and fourth-year apprentices.
At the outset, the program will focus on apprentices in the construction sector, addressing what the LNP calls a persistent shortage of qualified tradespeople.
Some 2,000 apprentices will be supported by the initiative.
The LNP said the policy would cost $19 million.
The LNP promises to establish a small business concierge service, which Premier-elect David Crisafulli says will help local ventures when dealing with the state government.
It will “take the questions out of where to get answers from government, streamlining the process for everything from payroll to approvals and fast-tracking enquiries,” Crisafulli said in September.
The plan appears to mirror the small business concierge service on offer in NSW.
The incoming government has also outlined a plan for its first 100 days, which includes “re-focus[ing] the Small Business Commissioner on red tape reduction and dispute management for small business”.
The LNP put government contracts at the centre of its pitch to small businesses, claiming that tenders would be easier in a Crisafulli government.
It plans to simplify and streamline procurement processes, offer smaller tenders, and standardise contracts, in an attempt to connect more SMEs to government contract funding.
In doing so, it will echo the NSW Labor party, which made expanded access to government contracts part of its winning 2023 campaign.
Additionally, the LNP pledged to establish a ‘Small and Family Business Innovation Pathway’ program in Queensland.
Party materials suggest this pathway will engage innovative SMEs for short-term projects, focused on specific areas of government service delivery.
Those short-term initiatives will carry funding of up to $1 million, the LNP said.
The LNP is yet to outline what kind of initiatives will be handled by the Innovation Pathway program.
As of July 1, 2020, the Queensland government has pledged to pay small business suppliers within 20 calendar days, with penalty interest applied to any overdue invoices.
The LNP plans to slash that timeframe to just five days, ensuring SMEs are paid even faster.
It says invoices valued under $10,000 will be paid immediately, in an attempt to boost cash flow for the state’s smallest government suppliers.
Premier-elect Crisafulli has made tackling crime a major focus of his policy platform and that extends to crime against small businesses.
In early October, the LNP revealed details of a $40 million grants program to help prevent crime against SMEs, to be delivered in partnership with local councils and chambers of commerce.
The two-year Secure Communities Partnership Program will be comprised of four rounds of grants, each worth $10 million.
The grants will be put towards paying for CCTV, safety lighting and alarm systems to help deter would-be criminals from causing damage in shopping precincts and commercial zones.
According to the LNP, shop break-ins are a growing concern across the state, with small and family businesses being hit with rising repair and insurance costs as a result.
“The cost of crime is not only replacing what’s stolen, it’s also the thousands of dollars in repairs, the increased insurance price and the lost turnover while a business is closed,” said Crisafulli in a statement.
“With costs rising across the board, too many businesses are operating week to week and don’t have extra cash to pay for crime prevention – let alone the cost of break-ins.”
The incoming government is yet to release details about how businesses will be able to apply for these grants.
Queensland small business owners looking to upskill may get the chance to via new dedicated courses offered through the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC).
Earlier this month, the incoming LNP government said it would invest $11.5 million to deliver six micro-credential business courses in priority areas if it was elected.
According to The Courier Mail, the courses will be delivered face-to-face and online and tailored to small business owner-managers.
However, it is not clear if small business owners, or the government, would pay for the courses.
Opposition spokesperson for small and family business Brent Mickelberg said the LNP will “back our small businesses all the way and give them the skills to be resilient and leverage opportunities for growth”.
“The UniSC courses are co-created and co-evaluated by multiple industry partners, offering tangible support for Queensland’s small and medium businesses,” he said.
Innovation and startup hubs in regional areas could also be on the cards, with the LNP suggesting it would direct funding towards these if elected.
Few details are available about what the hubs may look like, or where they will be located.
However, in September, LNP candidate for Barron River Bree James said she would fight for an innovation hub to be established in Cairns to “help emerging startups with the support needed to take their businesses to the next level”.
James was successful in her bid to take the seat from Labor incumbent Craig Crawford in Saturday’s poll.
Tourism was a major feature in the LNP’s election platform, with the party pledging to establish a 20-year tourism roadmap within its first month in power.
One of the major items on that agenda: preparing the state for the influx of visitors expected for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic games.
The LNP intends to appoint an independent authority to determine what sort of infrastructure and transportation upgrades are needed to handle those tourists.
Additionally, the party intends to form a Cabinet sub-committee, to help eco-tourism operators get off the ground faster, by the end of 2024.
The new state government plans to spend $30 million on an agriculture innovation fund, which it says will be a first for Queensland.
According to a statement from early October, the goal of the Seeds of Farming Innovation fund will be to increase Queensland’s farm gate output to $30 billion in the next six years.
The investment will be made under the Cooperative Research Centre model, with universities and industry participants able to apply for funding to “unearth the world’s best farming innovation”.
Premier-elect David Crisafulli said research and development will be critical to the future success of the state’s $23.6 billion agricultural industry.
“The key focus and criteria for the fund would be how Queensland growers can achieve better productivity on the farm, and ensuring our producers are at the cutting edge of agricultural technology and innovation,” he said.
Focusing on what it describes as the state’s “skilled worker shorter”, the incoming government has also pledged to spend millions of dollars on a “major hiring blitz” to bolster the number of qualified TAFE teachers in the state.
This will involve a $2 million recruitment drive, featuring five dedicated facilitators who will be tasked with finding teaching staff to fill critical shortages in the TAFE system.
In the week leading up to the election, Shadow Minister for Employment and Training Brent Mickelberg said current TAFE class sizes and teacher workloads are unsustainable, and Queensland needs more skilled workers.
“We will embark on a recruitment drive by targeting trade professionals, recently transitioned Australian Defence Force veterans and stay-at-home parents wanting to return to work,” he said.
The LNP has also promised to establish a dedicated TAFE teacher training precinct at the TAFE Centre of Excellence in Moreton, along with satellite precincts in Central and North Queensland.
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Editor
Eloise is an experienced business journalist and editor, who has held senior editorial roles at SmartCompany since 2014. Prior to joining SmartCompany, Eloise was news editor at Books+Publishing, the trade press for the Australian book industry. Eloise has degrees in media and communications, marketing and business management, and political science. You can follow her on LinkedIn, and Twitter at @ellykeating.
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
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