Senator CAROL BROWN (Tasmania) (16:49): I rise to speak in support of the matter of public importance raised by Senator Gallagher, on ensuring that small businesses affected by this summer's catastrophic bushfires get the assistance they need immediately. On January 19 the government announced with great fanfare their package to assist the tourism sector, given the severe impact of the bushfires. The following day, 20 January, again with great fanfare, their assistance package for small business was announced. For a while there was an announcement a day released by the government. Unfortunately, that appears to be all there was—announcements. There was lots of spin but very little substance and actual help for struggling small businesses, particularly those regional tourism operators whose businesses face closure unless they get help. By January 23, small businesses on Kangaroo Island, small businesses on the South Coast of New South Wales and small businesses in Gippsland were letting us know that the government's assistance package wasn't all that it claimed to be. Many of these small businesses and regional tourism operators are located in regions that have been struggling to deal with the impacts of the fires since last October and November. Holiday-makers and visitors have been staying away from regional communities, many of which have not been directly affected by the fires. It is not just the fires that have kept people away. The safety warnings, road closures and smoke haze have also kept people away. Small businesses in fire affected areas need financial assistance now. They don't need a complicated assessment process for concessional loans, loans for which very few businesses qualify, and, even if they do, they are piling debt upon debt, because these businesses have lost a substantial amount of their revenue. Many businesses face immediate closure unless the government acts. Regional communities rely on the cash flow from small businesses to generate and maintain local employment. When no-one comes to town that cash flow dries up. Tourism markets in the regions are closely intertwined. If one business suffers it can quickly have a knock-on effect and impact the entire region. The government doesn't seem to have been aware of this when it was developing its assistance package. Senator McKenzie: Ha, ha! Bless you, Senator Brown! Bless you. Senator CAROL BROWN: Senator McKenzie has a bit of form here. She obviously hasn't been listening or talking to the people who have been going around Parliament House this week telling everybody— Senator McKenzie: I was on the fireground at the time. Senator CAROL BROWN: Well you should know, then! You should know that these packages are not doing anything that you're trying to pretend is happening. The people have been here, going around and talking to parliamentarians, pleading with them, telling them that what is being offered, whether it is with good intentions or not, is not working. Many of these people have lost 100 per cent of their income. Others have lost up to 80 per cent of their income. People have lost jobs because there isn't that income. That's what's happening. They have said that the loans that are on offer will not be able to help them. The reason why that is is quite simple. If you're offering loans to people they are just piling on debt, because there's no revenue to pay off the debt. Labor believes that is not right. It's okay to come in here and say that you've been talking to them, but you obviously haven't been listening. What Labor has been saying to this government is that it has to listen to the people who are affected, listen to the communities that are affected and make sure that the assistance packages actually work, because they're not at the moment. The money is not getting through. We know that. People and communities are telling us that. It's really not very hard to actually get in there and fix up the way that you've put forward this assistance and add more, because, quite frankly, if there's not an immediate help then— (Time expired)