Help is needed for Australian business

One Nation NSW calls on the major parties to revaluate where their trade policies are taking Australian small to medium business. Not only do business have to compete against the big chains that more often than not monopolise the market with massive advertising backed up with cheap directly imported goods they now have to contend with online shopping direct from the foreign wholesalers. The result is more business closing down and more money moving offshore.

When tariffs were removed on imports and our government embraced free trade our businesses were told that to assist with their growth, government would slash the cost of doing business and help them become more competitive. After successive governments both Labor and Liberal this has not been achieved. Business costs have soared and now all Australians pay much more for fuel, electricity, finance and transport. There is no possible way our business can compete against foreign labour rates as low as 29c per hour (Vietnam) when the cost of doing business in our country is so high.

As a result our manufacturing and a large part of our agriculture has disappeared only to be replaced with imported goods or to be bought in a fire sale by some international cartel. One Nation does not want to see our retail sector go the same way and be replaced with foreign owned internet wholesalers. What will be left of this country when we have to purchase not only foreign owned and manufactured goods but we can only buy them from foreign owned or offshore business?

It is time to put the interests of global business last and start to once again focus on the needs of Australian small business and manufacturing. Our suggestion is to reintroduce tariffs where we cannot compete and give small business the required tax breaks and incentives needed to sell Australian goods competitively. Further to this a fairer tax system for individuals with foreign companies paying their share will raise much needed capital to lower the cost of doing business with improvements in infrastructure and investment into alternative fuels and cheaper power.

This will keep the wealth local and build healthy communities, not the bank balances of the foreign elite and middleman as is happening with globalisation and the insanity of total an unabashed free trade.