No cashflow help in budget

Any hope that small business might have had that the federal budget was going to deliver something to help their cashflow problems has now gone up in smoke.

And as they do budgets for 2009-2010, many are coming to the realisation that they must reduce their head count further in the coming year.

This is something that many companies have firmly resisted. Smart companies know their success depends largely on their people. And as we start to climb out of recession, they will be hampered by having too few staff to pick up momentum.

That in fact is the glaring omission in this budget, as Opposition small business spokesperson Steven Ciobo points out today.

There was also no subsidies provided for training, no relief in payroll tax (in the form of assisting the states to reduce it), nothing to assist companies hold on to their staff. The one big fillip, the 50% investment tax rebate, will encourage jobs overseas as many companies will use it to purchase equipment manufactured offshore.

Tourism in particular got slugged through cuts to Tourism Australia at a time when our tourism operators need the support of a kick-arse marketing campaign and cashflow relief to keep their staff and prepare for the upturn.

The other glaring missed opportunity is an old one for Labor. While they love to channel funds into the university sector and the research side of the R&D equation, they have never understood the focus needed on commercialising our research.

So two missed opportunities that will inevitably come back to bite Labor – both in an area they claim is the priority – job creation. For as we keep reminding them, the same sector creates the majority of jobs.

But not next year.