Small business support
Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (14:09): My question is to the Minister for Small Business. On 27 November 2020 the former Minister for Small Business announced the government’s fair payment policy. Minister, is that fair payment policy still in place?
Natalie SULEYMAN (St Albans – Minister for Veterans, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Youth) (14:09): I thank the member for the question. Let me say the Andrews Labor government has not wasted a moment when it comes to supporting small businesses across Victoria. As we know, there are over 700,000 small businesses across Victoria, and just last year we had over 70,000 new businesses created here in Victoria. We are continuing to support our small businesses – there has been billions of dollars in support in the last few years when it comes to supporting over 270,000 businesses. We are going to make sure that we continue to back that up with $17 million towards our vibrant multicultural –
Peter Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, on the issue of relevance, I would ask you to bring the minister back to answering the very simple question: is the fair payments policy still the policy of the Andrews Labor government?
Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, the minister was being entirely relevant to the question, which did ask about small business. The minister is outlining the great support that she and her department deliver to small businesses right across Victoria. So I would ask that the Leader of the Nationals just sit down and listen to the answer.
The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Small Business was being relevant to the question.
Natalie SULEYMAN: As I was saying, we will continue to support small businesses across Victoria, and that includes improving some of our programs and making sure that they are tailored for small businesses across Victoria. We have been doing this since 2014. We have stood side by side with our business community with various programs and supports, and I look forward to continuing to deliver to our over 700,000 small businesses across Victoria.
Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (14:12): I take it that the fair payments policy is still in place, and I ask the minister, given it is in place: why are small businesses in Swan Hill still waiting for payments from invoices from November 2022 for the provision of services to government agencies relating to the emergency response during the October floods?
Natalie SULEYMAN (St Albans – Minister for Veterans, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Youth) (14:12): Again, thank you very much for that question. If the member can provide the details, I will be more than happy for my department to look into those matters, but we will continue to support small businesses in Victoria.