“He Has No Idea”: Federal Deputy, Sunshine Coast MP Slam PM for Crushing Small Business Sector
Australia’s crippling cost of living crisis remains front of mind for the Federal Coalition, as the country’s Deputy Opposition Leader spoke with Sunshine Coast families and businesses today.
Fisher MP, Andrew Wallace, hosted Hon Sussan Ley MP on her third trip to Fisher in as many years, slamming the Albanese Government for its handling of Labor’s cost of living crisis and the soaring cost of doing business which he credits to the Labor’s Government’s obstructive red-tape, higher taxes, and weak leadership.
“Thanks to Anthony Albanese’s weak leadership, Labor’s cost of living crisis is crippling businesses, stifling innovation, and crushing aspiration, as families struggle to make ends meet,” Mr Wallace said.
Mr Wallace, who himself has spent over three decades running small businesses, highlighted several key areas where he believes the Labor Government has failed. “Higher taxes, soaring prices, increasing union power, and endless bureaucratic red-tape are choking small businesses, while the rising cost of power and gas is forcing businesses to close up shop.”
“Nowhere is this more evident than in industries like fisheries and hospitality. World-class companies like Walker Seafoods in Mooloolaba are paying the price for out-of-control taxes, workplace relations, skilled visa changes, and power prices,” Mr Wallace pointed out. “This has knock-on effects up and down the economy, including family-run restaurants, cafes, and exporters.”
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley said the Prime Minister and his Labor government were out of touch with the realities faced by everyday Australian families and small businesses on the Sunshine Coast, many, of whom are struggling to stay afloat.
“Australia has had more businesses go to the wall in the past year than ever before. We have seen the highest rate of business failures on record. Thousands of our small businesses have gone bust because Labor has failed to deliver a proper economic plan.
“I don’t think this Prime Minister understands what life is like for the owners of small businesses here on the Sunshine Coast or across the country today,” the Deputy Leader said.
“This Prime Minister doesn’t understand what it’s like to run a small business and it shows. He doesn’t understand what it is like to risk a dollar of your own money in a business, or what it is like to mortgage your house to have a shot at your dream. Anthony Albanese has failed to take action to help, and it is because of his distracted Labor Government that small business is getting crunched” continued the Deputy Opposition Leader. “Anthony Albanese has no idea, and Australians are paying the price.”
“The fact is that Anthony Albanese doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to make the tough decisions. He doesn’t understand business and he is owned lock, stock and barrel by the union movement and the big end of town. As a result, his Government are driving up costs, driving down investment, and driving people out of their jobs and into their cars,” Mr Wallace concluded.
The Coalition will get Australia back on track by delivering a back-to-basics economic agenda that fights inflation and boosts productivity. This will include cutting red tape, securing our energy future, reforming our tax system, restoring sensible workplace laws, encouraging enterprise and small business, and supporting a strong financial sector. We will be absolutely focused on restoring Australians’ way of life.
