A small business report released today should bell the cat on Labor’s spin on energy prices, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said as Treasurer Jim Chalmer’s one-off $325 energy bill relief pledge falls flat with voters.

Research commissioned by Energy Consumers Australia and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), based on interviews with more than 400 small business operators, will today reveal small employers are being hammered by high energy bills. The new analysis – focused on small business transition to net zero emissions – found more than one in three small to medium enterprises (SME) had experienced energy hardship in the past 12 months (34 per cent), which was more than under the impact of post-Covid lockdowns.

“A small business owner contacted me on Budget Night to say the $325 rebate offered by Labor for just one year is dwarfed by the $3,000 increase in his power bill per month. Less than a dollar-a-day from Labor is not going to make a jot of difference when power prices have surged thanks to Labor’s reckless railroading of renewables-only policy across regional Australia,” Dr Webster said.

COSBOA chief executive Luke Achterstraat criticised Labor’s pre-election budget for failing to provide more support for 2½  million small-to-medium businesses, who employ 5 million workers saying: “Small business is getting smashed by rising energy costs, with financial strain higher now than during the Covid shutdowns. Cost-of-living pressures and other compounding factors like high interest rates are causing huge financial stress to the small business sector. The time for action to help small business is now.”

Today’s research shows 51 per cent of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have reported a negative financial impact over the last 12 months. 55 per cent have been impacted by rising energy costs, comprising the number one impact on businesses’ financial situation in the last 12 months. One in five SMEs (32 per cent) reported trouble paying power bills on time and in full in the last 12 months.

The latest data from business regulator ASIC shows 1131 businesses went broke in the March reporting period, with insolvencies hitting a 25-year high despite the economy expanding and a historically low unemployment. More than four-in-five of the insolvent companies had less than 20 employees and 83 per cent had assets totalling $100,000 or less. More than two-thirds had liabilities under $1 million.

“Cashflow issues and the long-term impact of the pandemic (and related measures) continue to rank as the major reasons businesses fail,” Dr Webster said, “Costs – particularly for energy – are up, and sales are down due to high inflation and low consumer spending.  The Albanese Government have put climate dogma ahead of job-creation and the economy, sending small business to the wall.”