Don’t forget SMEs

As the business community scrambles to welcome the new Labor government, there are a few worrying signs that it’s going to be very hard to get SME matters on the national agenda.

As Oliver Milman reports over at StartupSmart, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has not given small business much of her time since becoming PM and dialogue between the group and Labor seems to have been largely cut off.

“When Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister, we got a much better hearing,” says COSBOA chief Peter Strong. “When Julia Gillard came in, we seemed to fall off the face of the Earth as an issue. Her focus was on big business and the unions, so our job now is to talk to the independents, as they are more focussed on small businesses.”

Clearly there could be plenty of reasons for this – Gillard has had plenty on her plate, and perhaps COSBOA is not as high on the business pecking order as they would like to think.

But Strong’s comment does highlight the challenge that the SME community faces in getting its voice heard in this new political environment.

Gillard and Labor will face a huge challenge getting any bit of legislation through the parliament, as horse-trading will be required with the Greens and four independents, all of whom appear set to follow their own courses.

While Gillard has been prepared to talk to big business – most notably over the mining tax issue – Labor paid the SME community scant attention during the election campaign.

Indeed, Labor’s small business policy announcement was via a two-page press release issued quietly one Thursday afternoon, and only contained initiatives announced well before the election.

While many of these policies are very positive for SMEs – as we’ve pointed out today – the problem is the lack of fresh thinking when it comes to small business.

Perhaps Strong is right – perhaps the independents can drive a reform agenda that takes into account the needs of SMEs. But they are also going to have a lot on their plate in the coming months, and will only have limited resources.

Interesting times are ahead.