As the peak representative organisation for female entrepreneurs and businesswomen in Australia, the ABN is in regular contact with politicians whose portfolios include areas of relevance to its members. Last week, ABN Advisory Board member Susan Wareham McGrath met with the Honourable Dr Craig Emerson MP, Federal Minister for Small Business, to discuss issues raised by members in response to the ABN’s recent invitation to submit input to the agenda. Dr Emerson and Susan discussed a range of topics including:
- Dr Emerson’s thoughts about the future of small business in Australia
- What the Rudd government is doing for small business
- Industries poised to grow in the short to medium term
- Programs and initiatives to support women in business and
- Trends Dr Emerson sees for small business during 2010
Overall, the message was a positive one. Dr Emerson believes small business has a strong future in this country; and made a point of acknowledging the contributions made by SMEs to help the Australian economy through the downturn. He mentioned in particular their retention of staff, which put a floor under unemployment in Australia, thereby contributing socially as well as economically, as the scourge of unemployment can last for a long time. In terms of the contribution of the Rudd Government to small business in Australia, Dr Emerson discussed the impact the Government’s stimulus package has had on small business. In this context, he highlighted the original cash payments, which helped stimulate the economy at a critical time by helping to avoid negative growth for two quarters in a row. If not for the stimulus he said, economic analysis indicates that the difference would have been a recession
Dr Emerson sees retailing and tourism as growth industries. They will be driven by our strong population growth, which is higher than expected, due to natural increase and our strong immigration program. To remain competitive, Dr Emerson believes that retailers will need to develop innovative ways of reaching customers, particularly the youth market; and that business in general should not underestimate the digital revolution.
He predicted that tourism and associated industries will also grow over the next few years, with online tourism, to an extent, being one area in which we could do better, as our strong reliance on Australia’s natural assets has made us not as sharp as we could be in this area. The tourist industry should take advantage of the digital revolution, to promote Australia strongly as a tourist destination – particularly to China and India, where economic growth is leading to the development of a large middle class, keen to holiday overseas.
While the Government does not plan to provide specific funding or programs to assist women in business, its new broadband network will enable home-based businesses, of which women run the majority, to reach far more customers, and consequently achieve greater growth. In addition, the Government will continue to work to increase the economic context for small business to develop and focus on growth.
The main trend Dr Emerson sees for small business during 2010 relates to workforce issues. Shortages of skilled staff will re-emerge in some states, particularly in Western Australia, where business organisations are already discussing staff shortages. Consequently, the attraction of working in Western Australia will result in a shifting workforce from other states, with a flow-on effect of creating some shortages in those areas The full transcript of Susan’s interview with Dr Emerson will be published in the Summer 2010 edition of our herVoice Business Briefing. Suzi Dafnis Community Director Australian Businesswomen’s Network
