Ms BADGER – Minister, I’m sure you, as a fellow member for Lyons, can appreciate that connectivity for small businesses is a serious issue. There are a lot of businesses in regional communities where sometimes the EFTPOS machines fail, particularly on the east coast over summer, when there are lots of tourists in the area, or, for example, at the Campbell Town show or the Cygnet Folk Festival. The small businesses there trading can’t do business because their EFTPOS machines can’t connect to the internet. How much small business has been lost in Tasmania due to the connectivity issues?
Mr BARNETT – Thank you very much for the question. That’s a broad‑ranging question. I concur with you regarding the importance of the various events, having been to the Tasmanian Craft Fair, working on the gate and knowing that this year, as opposed to previous years, the connectivity was quite satisfactory. Certainly, from time to time connectivity is an issue. I followed up in recent weeks with Michael Patterson, General Manager of Telstra Countrywide, with respect to Miena and the Central Highlands’ lack of connectivity or disruption to connectivity.
I’m more than happy to pass to the deputy secretary to assist the honourable member in terms of the importance of digital inclusion for small business. It is very important, and I want to acknowledge the hard work and leadership of Madeleine Ogilvie as minister for the Digital Economy and the excellent work she’s providing.
Mr MOGRIDGE – Through you, Deputy Premier, I would just add that digital inclusion is a matter for Ms Ogilvie in relation to connectivity issues. I think through this portfolio, there’s a range of supports being provided to small business in the context of ensuring that they build up their digital capability and sophistication in relation to technologies. Some of that is through the Tasmanian regional Chambers of Commerce, some of that feeds directly into our small business strategies that are supporting small business. Beyond that, I do think it’s broadly a matter for Ms Ogilvie.
Ms BADGER – Sure. With your Small Business hat on, and Consumer Affairs as well ‑ this relates to customers. It’s not necessarily good for Tasmania’s brand if you’ve got people travelling from the mainland to come down to a state that prides itself on artisan markets and small business entrepreneurship, can you provide me with specific examples of what you’re doing to help provide small businesses with that support? And based off your answer, I’m assuming that there has been no research done into the loss of small business revenue due to a lack of connectivity.
CHAIR – I remind members, please, to direct all questions through and to the minister.
Mr BARNETT – I appreciate your interest in the matter. There’s clearly a crossover with the minister for the Digital Economy. Of course, the interests of small business are a top priority for our government, and we remain very focused on that and delivering in accordance with the Budget, which we are more than happy to talk to and share.
We have quite a bit of work that’s already being undertaken. You’ve made reference, and my deputy secretary made reference, to the Small Business Strategy. We’re getting on with developing that next year, and we’ll have more to say about that as we consult with the small business community.
We do have a small business unit in our Department of State Growth, which is currently undertaking a full review to rewrite the Business Tasmania website to ensure it’s simple and easy to use, and accessible for people at all levels of digital literacy, so that’s something to be noted. They’ll be able to easily navigate the site, find out information, and get the support that they need. We already provide a lot of support through the Tasmanian Business Advice Service, which is excellent, but there’s more work to do in that space and that review is well underway.
