How and where we spend our money throughout the festive season is very important. I wish to encourage all Queenslanders to stop and think before doing the Christmas shopping. Buying Christmas gifts locally and stocking the fridge with locally made produce, means you are supporting a local family and their workers.

I am asked regularly for advice about ways to support small business owners in remote and regional towns who are doing it extra tough this year. I have good news! Have you heard about the “Buy from the Bush Qld” initiative? The number of participating outback shops, artists, authors, jewellers and much more, is growing by the minute. Help spread the word (use #buyfromthebushqld and #golocalqld) and together we can share some city dollars with small businesses who really need the business.

Speaking of locally made produce, the Better Regulation Taskforce has been busy evaluating the rules and regulations that producers of artisan food and non-alcoholic beverages have to navigate to make and sell their produce. We are still finalising our work, but have already uncovered complexities and challenges, mostly related to information: not knowing where to go for information; inconsistency of information; and being unable to rely on information provided by regulators. Queensland is home to a wealth of fresh and innovative food and beverages. That is why it is so important to get the regulatory balance right, and enable this burgeoning industry to flourish. I look forward to submitting the recommendations of the Better Regulation Taskforce to the Queensland Government before the end of the year.

This month, the national small business commissioners and Australian Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman met in Melbourne with Senator Michaelia Cash, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business. Senator Cash was very interested to hear our examples of the disruptive and potentially devastating impact that public works, construction and road works can have on local businesses. We each highlighted the efforts already underway, including the Queensland “Works with Small Business” best practice engagement guide. It is an ongoing conversation which we will continue to push forward. Other key topics included the need to better connect small business with consistent information about cyber security, and find ways to simplify protecting ourselves online so it becomes like locking the door, or putting on a seat belt. I also took the opportunity to discuss with Senator Cash the difficulties being experienced by small businesses in North Queensland with insurance claims for damage suffered in the monsoon event in February this year.

I was very pleased to see the insurance ombudsman from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) visit Townsville this month. He has now undertaken site evaluations of affected areas and gathered evidence to inform claims lodged with AFCA by small businesses who were dissatisfied with their insurance claim outcome. I will report on the outcomes of those insurance claim disputes soon.

The Queensland Government is currently reviewing and refreshing its Small Business Strategy and has released a discussion paper. You will find a series of thought-starter questions highlighted throughout the paper and I encourage all small businesses to email feedback and ideas by 13 December 2019.

Maree Adshead

Click here to find out more information on the Queensland Small Business Champion