Good evening everyone.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet tonight, the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation.
I pay my respects to their Elders Past and Present, and acknowledge any First Nations people joining us this evening.
Thank you to Hostplus, the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association and the Australian Foodservice Advocacy Body for bringing everyone together for the second annual industry gala.
And thank you to the owners, chefs, cooks, managers, apprentices, suppliers and workers who make Australia’s hospitality industry what it is.
For an industry already dealing with rising costs, workforce shortages, compliance and very tight margins, I do think 4 politicians in one night is an unreasonable additional burden.
I could spend my time responding to some of the things you have already heard tonight.
But there are plenty of opportunities in Canberra for politicians to talk about other politicians.
Tonight, I’d much rather talk about you.
Because restaurants and cafes are not just businesses.
They’re part of the rhythm of Australian life.
They’re where we meet friends on a Sunday morning.
Where we go on a Friday night when it has been a long week and nobody can face cooking.
They’re where birthdays are celebrated, first dates happen, families come together and visitors get a feel for a neighbourhood or a city.
And they are an incredibly important part of our small business economy.
Before politics I ran a number of small businesses myself, including, with my ex‑husband, Snags Aussie Dogs.
We had hot dog carts in the Perth CBD and 3 employees.
He got the hot dog carts in the divorce.
So I’m certainly not going to stand here tonight and tell anyone how to run a restaurant.
But I do understand something of what it means to run a small business.
You start because there is something you’re passionate about.
Something you know how to do.
Something you’re bloody good at.
And then very quickly you discover that running a business also means being an accountant, an HR manager, a compliance officer, an IT technician, a marketer and, occasionally, a therapist.
One minute it’s customers.
Then staff.
Then compliance.
Then cash flow.
And businesses in hospitality have another defining feature.
You employ people.
More than 90 per cent of businesses in accommodation and food services are small businesses, and hospitality is one of the most employment‑intensive parts of our small business economy.
Because eventually, you can’t do everything yourself.
You take a chance.
You hire someone.
You train them.
You invest in them.
And suddenly you’re responsible not just for your own livelihood, but for somebody else’s as well.
I know that responsibility feels particularly heavy right now.
Margins are tight.
Energy, insurance, rent and food costs are up.
Customers are watching what they spend.
And finding and keeping the right people remains difficult.
You don’t need me to stand here and explain your own balance sheet to you.
So let me focus on 3 things we’re trying to do about it.
Help you invest.
Help you find people.
And make government easier to deal with.
First, investment.
We have made the $20,000 instant asset write‑off permanent.
That means greater certainty when you’re investing in a new fridge, dishwasher, kitchen equipment, computers or other eligible assets.
We’ve also made 2‑year loss carry‑back permanent for companies and expanded access to discounted finance for things like energy‑efficient equipment, solar and batteries.
None of that makes every pressure disappear.
But it can help with cash flow, investment and some of the costs you deal with every day.
Second, people.
I know this is one of the biggest issues facing hospitality.
And I don’t think the answer is choosing between training Australians and skilled migration.
We need both.
This industry gives huge numbers of Australians, particularly young Australians, their first job.
It teaches people to work in a team, deal with customers, take responsibility and show up when somebody else is relying on them.
We need to keep building those pathways.
But where there are genuine skills shortages, businesses also need a migration system that helps them find the people they cannot find locally.
There are already employer‑sponsored pathways for hospitality occupations, including chefs and cooks, and specific arrangements for eligible restaurant businesses.
But I know you don’t think the settings are perfect.
I hear you.
I’m not going to announce outcomes tonight that haven’t been agreed.
And I’m not going to pretend every problem has been solved.
But I can promise you that we’ll listen, engage seriously with the evidence, and keep looking at where the system can work better.
Third, making it easier to run and grow your business.
Because if you’re bloody good at running a restaurant, I want you spending more time running the restaurant.
Not navigating government websites.
Not entering the same information again and again.
And not dealing with rules that are more complicated than they need to be.
That is why today we opened consultations on how retail leasing and commercial tenancy rules can be made simpler and easier to navigate.
For businesses in this room, your premises are fundamental to what you do, and your lease can be one of the most significant commitments you make. the rules around it shouldn’t add unnecessary cost or complexity.
Those rules cover everything from disclosure and rent reviews to outgoings, lease transfers and dispute resolution.
We want to identify where unnecessary differences between states and territories are creating cost, delay and confusion, and where greater consistency could make it easier for businesses to operate and expand.
This isn’t about imposing identical rules everywhere, rather, it is about a pretty practical question: where can we cut unnecessary red tape and make it easier to do business?
And we want businesses like yours to be part of answering it.
The same principle applies to the way you interact with government more broadly.
We’re working with states and territories to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.
And through programs like Digital Solutions, we’re helping small businesses get practical support with cyber security, digital marketing, business systems and emerging technologies like AI.
Not because every cafe urgently needs an AI strategy.
Sometimes you just need the booking system to work and the EFTPOS terminal not to die during Saturday dinner service.
Government and technology should make running a business easier.
Not become another job on the list.
And there is one final reason this industry matters enormously to me.
Hospitality tells an important story about modern Australia.
Around 1 in 3 Australian small business owners was born overseas.
But the important part of that story isn’t simply that migration has given Australians a wider choice of things to eat.
It is much bigger than that.
It is about economic participation. Aspiration. And belonging.
It is someone arriving in Australia with skills, ideas and ambition and deciding to back themselves.
Signing a lease. Putting their savings at risk. Employing their first worker.
Training someone.
Buying from local suppliers.
Building a business and becoming part of the economic and social fabric of a community.
That is multicultural Australia.
It is not separate from Australia’s economic story, it is part of Australia’s economic story.
Restaurants and cafes are places where you see that happening every day. People from different backgrounds working alongside each other.
Young people getting their start.
Skills moving between generations.
Businesses growing with their communities, and people building not just livelihoods, but belonging.
So I will finish with this.
I know government and this industry won’t agree on everything.
You would be very suspicious of me if I stood here and suggested we did.
But disagreement should never prevent partnership.
My commitment as Small Business Minister isn’t that I’ll always tell you what you want to hear.
It is that I’ll listen and that I’ll engage.
And that I’ll keep working to make it easier for good Australian businesses to invest, employ people, grow and succeed.
You’ve spent tonight hearing from politicians.
I’ve spent my time as minister hearing from small businesses.
I intend to keep doing that.