Today in Parliament, Abigail contributed to a debate condemning Labor for scrapping the Business Connect program and highlighting the devastating impact of axing the only free, hands-on advisory service for small businesses across NSW.
Abigail said:
The Labor Government says it is making cuts to workers compensation entitlements—a plan that it hatched with big business—to ease the cost burden on small business. It argues that premium savings are necessary so small businesses can survive. But at the same time, the same Government is scrapping Business Connect, which was the only tailored, statewide advice service small businesses could access free of charge. Business Connect was not about entitlements or costs; it was about skills, planning, growth and resilience. On the one hand, the Labor Government is cutting back support for injured workers and dressing it up as small business relief; on the other, it is pulling away actual practical support for small businesses. If Labor's concern for small business was genuine, it would not take away the very program that gave owners the tools to manage their business better. Workers compensation cuts might reduce premiums by a fraction, but they shift the burden onto injured employees and their families.
Meanwhile, the closure of Business Connect strips small businesses of help with navigating cashflow, digital tools, tendering and compliance, which are the areas that really drive sustainability. Those programs were delivered through trusted independent advisers embedded in communities across New South Wales. Business Connect supported multicultural businesses, creative industries and regional startups with specialist advice. Small businesses in regional New South Wales—where access to accountants, consultants and networks is limited—will be particularly impacted as they are left stranded. Culturally and linguistically diverse business owners who relied on in‑language support will lose it overnight. Small businesses are being asked to accept a trade‑off: less protection for workers in exchange for token savings, while losing access to trusted business advice.
I met with the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia [COSBOA] less than a week ago, where we discussed the cruel irony of this decision and the acute mental health pressures that are being faced by small business owners directly. Data from COSBOA shows that small business owners experience significantly higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety compared with the general population. COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat has been quoted as saying:
Small businesses employ almost half the private sector workforce, yet they operate in a unique and often challenging context, facing financial pressures, isolation, and long working hours. These factors, combined with limited access to resources and mental health support, create a perfect storm for mental ill‑health. Many Small Business Owners find mental health support difficult to find and afford and are generally unaware of the programs and services available, so more work is needed to ensure these programs are visible, accessible, and useful to small business – including through their trusted and familiar channels. We need to meet them where they are.
That was what Business Connect was doing. A government that truly backed small business would not cut programs that helped them succeed and build networks of support, and programs that helped small business owners nurture their passions into viable businesses and careers. The Government cannot claim to be helping small business while simultaneously weakening protections for their staff and dismantling the only advisory program that offered them free, hands‑on support.
10 September 2025