Bundaberg businesses hit out at state budget

Business owners who made it through Covid only to be hit with higher power prices and wage costs have spoken out about the lack of lifelines in the recently released state budget.

Bundaberg’s small business owners have slammed the State Government’s latest budget, saying measures like cuts to payroll tax won’t touch most of the mum and dad operators in regional and country CBDs.

Appearing at a media conference held by Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett and Shadow spokesman for Small Business Brent Mickelberg on Tuesday, two local businesswomen spoke out about their struggles to stay afloat.

Warner’s Fine Jewellery and Vovo’s Boutique owner Kate Marland said last week’s budget was “very disappointing” for small businesses.

“We’ve survived through Covid, which was really tough, and I think that the real reason we did survive Covid was that the community supported us,” she said.

“People did shop local and they shopped small.”

But Ms Marland said it felt like the government had forgotten the little guys.

“There was really nothing there for us (in the budget),” she said.

“It was very disappointing.”

Kate Marland says payroll tax cuts won’t do anything for her two shops.

Ms Marland said proposed payroll tax cuts that were supposed to help 12,000 businesses would not affect her.

“I would imagine there's not too many small businesses that have to worry about (payroll tax),” she said.

Ms Marland said most small businesses in CBDs of small towns wouldn’t deal with payroll tax and would likely find it “no help at all”.

Costs were an ever-increasing concern.

“We’re a manufacturing service in the jewellery store so our metal prices, electricity, tools,” she said.

“We also send jewellery and dresses all over the country so our postage has gone up, everything.”

Ms Marland said hip pocket pressure was resulting in fewer customers as they were having to stick to tighter household budgets.

Shadow spokesman for Employment and Training, Small and Family Business and Open Data Brent Mickelberg says small businesses feel left out and left behind.

“People are spending less,” she said.

It comes off the back of a pandemic where most people were staying home and not getting dressed up for big events.

Ms Marland said she would like to see power and tax rebates and for businesses to be able to recoup some of their losses suffered in the pandemic.

The media conference was held shortly after a visit from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who touched down in Bundaberg to talk about plans for the city’s proposed new hospital.

But Ms Marland said the Premier should have taken the time to walk the streets and talk to local businesses.

“It's funny, every time the Premier comes to town she avoids us, so it would have been nice,” she said.

Kira-Lee Honor from The Place Hairdressing. Ms Honor says freight and power costs are hitting her business hard.

Kira-Lee Honor was another businesswoman calling on the government to do more for small business.

Ms Honor has owned The Place hair salon for 17 years, but said rising costs – particularly electricity and freight costs, were cutting deep.

“I don’t know if it’s disappointment or we just expect it,” she said of her reaction to the state budget.

“There‘s not a lot for small businesses.”

She would like to see measures to bring down freight costs, especially in a region full of farmers.

She also said small businesses made a huge contribution to communities and should be taken care of.

Mr Mickelberg said small businesses felt like they were left behind.

He said this year’s budget offered one million for small businesses, while last year’s budget had provided $500 million in support.

“Businesses feel left out,” he said.

Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett has accused the state of making local small businesses into “cash cows”.

“We know that small and family business are the backbone of the community.”

Mr Mickelberg is calling on the state to do more by addressing power costs in particular.

He said that cuts to payroll tax only affected a certain number of businesses and that most small businesses don’t deal with payroll tax.

He also said while around 12,000 businesses would benefit from the measure, there were around 440,000 who would not.

He accused the state of using small businesses as a “cash cow” because two thirds of power in the state is government-owned.

Roads, infrastructure and the Bruce Highway’s condition affecting freight costs were some of the other issues he raised.

Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said local businesses expected a lot more.

“We know they are the biggest employers of Queenslanders but they‘ve essentially been forgotten,” he said.

Mr Bennett said with a billion dollars a year going into the state’s coffers from electricity, it was time to give something back.

He says he wants to see more support for skills development, and less talk.

Bundaberg MP Tom Smith has been contacted for a response.