Pat Congahan gets a question:

This governments economic mismanagement is delivered a record number of small business insolvencies that now doubled the levels seen since 2020 and 34,000 job losses in the last quarter alone. Will the Minister admit this government’s economic agenda has failed small business?

The minister for small business, Anne Aly is up and READY:

I thank you member opposite for his question because it gives me an opportunity to really talk about small business, something they are passionate about and something the members on this side of the chamber are passionate about as well.

As I said yesterday small businesses operate across the country. They are everyone from your Indian grocer, your local Indian grocer, your hairdresser, to the place you go to to get your lunch. And I’m pleased to report, Mr Speaker, that there are, since we took office, since Albanese led the Government took office in 2022, there are 800,000 more – 800,000 new small businesses operating right across Australia since we took office, Mr Speaker. 800,000 more.

And they comprise of a female lead businesses, 35, around 35% are female led. Around 40%, on average, are led by migrants, people who are aspirational, who come to this country, and Hersi starting a small business as a way of making a life for themselves and for their families. Small businesses employ more than 5 million Australians and they contribute more than $590 billion to our nation’s economy every single year. I’ll remind the member opposite that this is the Government that last term introduced the very first national small business strategy, which guides the ways in which we will work with state and local governments to address those issues for small business.

There is a point of order that is not a point of order and Aly continues on the same theme.