Perth small business owners so far underwhelmed by Federal election campaign

Perth small business owners say they are so far underwhelmed by the Federal election campaign, arguing neither major party is targeting their sector. Amanda Walker — founder and chief executive of WA online accommodation booking platform Aussie Holiday Stays — said she felt the small business community was not being looked after by Labor leader Anthony Albanese or Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “I think they play to big businesses where campaign money comes from and smaller businesses are kind of just taken along for a ride,” she said. “None of the leaders are really instilling anything that makes you want to get behind them. “However, I will say that the quick action of the Federal government to provide small business support when COVID hit was a huge relief.” Ms Walker also argued that the initiatives outlined in the Federal Budget for small businesses were not enough and said more investment in the tech sector was needed. Josh Frydenberg’s fourth budget announced for every $100 small businesses spend on digital technologies, $120 would be tax deductible. “It’s all very important but you’re basically talking about operating tech,” Ms Walker said. “I can’t see where it actually helps with innovation and transformational tech because I think that’s where you really start to make a difference. “(Investment in the tech sector) secures our economy for the future and ensures we’re not just reliant on digging up materials from the ground, which is an incredible income source for our country but is finite.” Amanda Healy — director of Aboriginal-owned fashion label Kirrikin and board member of WA Social Enterprise Council — said neither of the major parties were hitting the issues social enterprises were trying to solve such as poverty, equality and climate change. “If you’re not on top of that, you just don’t really understand what’s going on in Australia that’s for sure,” she said. “It’s been an interesting campaign and ‘underwhelmed’ is probably a good term to describe it.” Both parties have committed to net zero emissions by 2050, with Labor targeting to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. It has also promised to upgrade the electricity grid to cope with more renewable energy. Ms Healy believed both leaders failed to understand small businesses and their needs. “There’s a really large gap in the market there — the way we’re taxed, the way we pay GST, the constant payments out to the government, you start to feel like an ATM eventually and what do (small businesses) get back for it? Not much,” she said. “We are so diverse and widely dispersed across the country and have very few strong representative bodies, we just get ignored time and time again.” Perth-based Katie Liew founded not-for-profit social enterprise The Underground Collaborative with an aim to help break the cycles of homelessness for women and young people. “Not only as a small business but also as an organisation which exists to tackle social issues, I haven’t seen nearly enough focus and resourcing to address these wicked problems,” Ms Liew said. She said the next elected government would need to prioritise looking at current regulatory and legislative frameworks to further address issues such as homelessness and mental health. Alex Gonzalez — owner of Perth-based supplier La Tortilla — said his concern was the halt in his business induced by COVID-19 isolation rules. “Because we supply to restaurants, if people don’t go out, we don’t sell so hopefully, now that the borders are open and restrictions are eased, we can get back on track,” he said. Ms Liew and Mr Gonzalez said they were not fully engaged with the campaign and had chosen to direct their focus on ensuring their businesses remained viable during the pandemic. “As a small business owner, especially during this time, my priority at the moment is surviving and ensuring the business stays afloat so we can continue supporting and employing our staff,” Ms Liew said.