Value of small business clear - but what comes next?

THE Queensland government identifies that, the state is home to more than 455,000 small businesses, as they define them, being 20 people or less.

Newly appointed Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl. Picture: Contributed

THE Queensland government identifies that, the state is home to more than 455,000 small businesses, as they define them, being 20 people or less.

Their latest statistics identify, small businesses representing over 97% of businesses state-wide and employing an estimated 44% of all employees in the private sector.

Therefore, state government small business policy is a big deal.

The Queensland government have been very active is providing a range support packages for small and medium size businesses over the past 4 months. 

A summary of the estimated $4 billion-dollar economic stimulus packages includes:

• loans to support businesses, impacted by COVID-19, to retain employees and maintain their operations;
• supply chain support and assistance for manufacturers or businesses having difficulties accessing supplies to continue to operate, employ and meet their customer needs;
• financial workshops in partnership with local bodies, business mentoring and a dedicated small business hotline to access information and referral to support services;
• payroll tax relief package to defer lodging and paying payroll tax returns until 31 July 2020;
• support for tourism operators and hospitality providers by waiving of fees and charges;
• support for agriculture market diversification and resilience grants to support activities including, market evaluation studies, market visits, training, new equipment;
• industry recovery package to assist local government, business and industry with resilience and recovery strategies to deal with and mitigate the impact of COVID-19;
• market ready initiatives providing tailored export advice on leveraging opportunities in the online market, support brand development; and
• adaptation grants and faster approval turnarounds.

Whilst we may not all agree the packages did enough or went far enough, I think it is important to thank and acknowledge the work and packages provided by the state government. 

My view is that their actions have demonstrated that they do understand the value of small business to the Queensland economy. 

For me, the critical question, now, is, what is next? 

Will these and new stimulus packages continue, until we are out of the woods?  

Will the next state government, follow the lead of the Australian Government who have extended stimulus packages support for small business into 2021?

I assume the picture will become clearer once all parties release their small business policies in the lead up to the state election.   

Originally published as Value of small business clear - but what comes next?