Right now, farmers and small business owners are struggling to keep their heads above water. They are the hardest done by sector in Australia under this federal government, and it's reaching a crisis point. Many farmers are small businesses. Many small business owners are working people. But you wouldn't know it from the way they are treated by this government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Small business owners have never worked longer days for less reward, and faced more risk and red tape. Our farmers are facing a magnitude of challenges, with little relief in sight. From international tariff jumps to green droughts and a rapid renewables rollout they're being asked to carry the entire burden for with no reward or recognition. "Mary, there's just no mud in our paddocks at the moment," one of my South Gippsland farmers said to me recently. The drought is really biting.
The reality is that federal Labor promised cheaper power, more homes, free visits to the doctor and lower taxes. After three and a half years of Labor, can you tick any of those boxes? Labor went to the 2022 election with three promises - a $275 cut to bills by 2025; 82 per cent renewables by 2030; and 43 per cent emissions reduction. They are failing on all fronts.
The Prime Minister promised "a better Australia", but right now our regions are worse off than ever before. Basic metrics back this. Where once Australia used to lead the OECD on productivity, we now lag in the late teens of the top 20. What goes into a high productivity rating? Things that help our economy run as efficiency and competitively as possible.
Overlapping and duplicated regulation holds us back. Right now, our farmers and small business people are drowning in a quicksand of red and green tape. We've got an industrial relations system that imposes the government on every aspect of running a small business in Australia. It is taking away the choice of employers and employees to work out what works best for both in their type of business and employment. The ACTU wanting to mandate four-day working weeks and the Victorian government demanding work from home are cases in point.
READ MORE
There are too many examples of an overbearing bureaucracy that treats distressed small businesses with the same cookie-cutter approach applied to large corporations. The ATO is a classic example on aggressively chasing debts from small business owners already in a world of financial pain.
I speak with many farmers who are having to sell off stock early because of drought-like conditions. This will affect their tax bill. There's been no special recognition of these circumstances from the ATO, which reflects a broader cultural setting within many government agencies that prefer to focus on "gotcha" moments instead of steady, streamlined and supportive regulatory settings.
Labor's rush to have a renewables rollout almost overnight and exclusively shouldered by our regions has been orchestrated with little care or planning.
On energy, most people take an agnostic approach to fuel and technology as long as it gets the job done on a trifecta of non-negotiables, which include reliability, affordability and sustainability.
Any new energy development needs to win the social license of the community in which it seeks to operate. If energy companies can't assure confidence from local communities, then those affected regions have every right to revoke their support. Energy Minister Chris Bowen has aggressively pursued the rollout of a narrow selection of favoured technology at taxpayers' expense. And it has nothing to do with a discussion on emissions reduction targets and everything to do with regional communities feeling like they are carrying all of the responsibility and reaping none of the benefit.
Australia is a net exporter of what we grow, make and manufacture. We rely on strong trade relationships and need investment in infrastructure to get our products to market. This government has neglected investment in our roads and freight routes and been caught napping on key challenges like biosecurity, digital technology and skills shortages. Regional Australia deserves so much better.
Right now, Australia is heading in the wrong direction. We have never been more divided, and in my view, the disconnect between the city and country has never been wider. There has never been a stronger case for our regional newspapers.
Regional papers employ professional journalists held to account, not influencers or loud opinions. Regional papers tell the stories, highlight the heartache and celebrate the wins of our country towns. They explain the challenges regional Australians are facing right now. The rest of Australia should take note.
In a time where I already worry about our ability to disagree respectfully with one another on big national issues, a future where people consume their news through a narrow algorithm of views they only agree with, on issues they are only interested in is of concern. Regional newspapers report it all. Without fear or favour. And it's the thread that sews our nation together.
That's why the federal government has to get its skates on and progress the News Media Assistance Program (NewsMAP) and ensure our regional papers, not just big tech, can benefit from the gazetting of government ads and notices.
The government also needs to step up and push big tech back to the negotiating table so that regional journalists and their intellectual property aren't pilfered for nothing by multinational social media companies. Regional journalism has merit. We don't always appreciate the benefits, but our local communities would be lost without it.
The future of regional Australia depends on a future for regional journalism.
- Mary Aldred is the federal Liberal MP for Monash.
