Statutes Amendment (Small Business Commission and Retail and Commercial Leases) Bill
Thursday 26 September 2024
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (16:21): I rise today in support of the Statutes Amendment (Small Business Commission and Retail and Commercial Leases) Bill 2024, which seeks to amend a variety of legislation to support small businesses in South Australia. Small businesses are not only vital to the South Australian economy but they also strengthen our communities by providing employment and connections and support through their goods and services. Ninety-seven per cent of our state's total businesses are small businesses, employing 300,000 people, which is nearly 40 per cent of our entire workforce.
The Malinauskas Labor government understands the difficult environment that many small businesses are operating in. Global supply chain and inflationary pressures continue to increase the cost of running a business, making it more important than ever to provide robust support to our small business community. This bill, which is part of our small business support initiatives, seeks to ensure small businesses have access to the support they need to not only survive these global challenges but tackle them head-on and thrive.
To strengthen the role of the Small Business Commissioner and improve the legal framework around dispute resolution, this bill seeks to amend the Small Business Commissioner Act 2011, the Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995, the Fair Trading Act 1987, the Farm Debt Mediation Act 2018, the Late Payment of Government Debts (Interest) Act 2013 and the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.
This bill is the first major revision of the Small Business Commissioner Act 2011 since its commencement. Such reform is essential to supporting the office's future strategic direction. These amendments seek to provide clearer guidelines around the commissioner's roles in advocacy and dispute resolution. By strengthening these functions, the bill helps the commissioner offer more effective assistance to small businesses, particularly those who are working through commercial disputes, late payment of invoices and contract disagreements.
At present, the Small Business Commissioner can mandate dispute resolution only for businesses in specific industries. A key reform included in this bill will provide consistency in the office's alternative dispute resolution services across all industries.
The bill will also extend this level of greater support to all small businesses regardless of the sector they operate in, ensuring that every small business in our state facing disputes or challenges can access the same level of support. Furthermore, this bill empowers the commissioner to require businesses to attend mediation sessions and provide relevant documents where necessary. This will be enforced by a maximum penalty of $20,000 and an expiation fee of $1,200 for noncompliance.
Another key provision of this bill is to refine the Small Business Commissioner's role to better reflect the commissioner's day-to-day functions. This bill also amends the objects section of the Small Business Commissioner Act to highlight the office's role in promoting fair and supportive business environments, facilitating independent dispute resolution, and acting as a bridge between small businesses and government agencies.
We understand there has been some confusion amongst stakeholders between the commissioner and the Office for Small and Family Business. To provide some distinction between these services, the commissioner will undergo a rebranding to become the Small Business Commission SA. This change to clarify their identity also aligns with similar structures in other jurisdictions.
Other key provisions included in this reform provide clarification on dispute resolution and streamline court processes. To provide greater certainty regarding the scope of alternative dispute resolution, the bill introduces a formal definition of 'alternative dispute resolution' that excludes arbitration and expert determination. The legislative powers available to the commission under this bill are intended to offer a structured yet flexible process for resolving disputes, including preliminary assistance from the commissioner's advisers and independent mediation facilitated by an external mediator engaged by the commission.
Another change proposed in this bill will save businesses time and costs associated with reprosecuting legal arguments in court. To streamline court processes, settlement agreements reached through the mediation facilitated by the Small Business Commissioner will be treated as minor statutory proceedings, simplifying enforcement in the Magistrates Court.
Finally, the bill introduces amendments to the Retail and Commercial Leases Act that were originally proposed by the Law Society of South Australia's Property Committee in 2018. These amendments include simplifying the process of determining whether companies are listed on foreign stock exchanges, clarifying that lease warranty exclusions apply to both renewals and extensions, specifying that preference rights do not apply where lessees have a right of renewal, and simplifying wording regarding lease termination.
Debate on this bill could not have come at a better time as we celebrate Support Small September. For the past four years—because I started even before I became the member for Elder, before I was elected to this place—I have participated in this social media trend to engage in the goods and services of a small business in my electorate every day for the month of September, and I give a shout-out to Rhiannon Newman for this excellent idea. I have continued it since she first suggested it.
This year so far, I have visited Good Burger, which is on Goodwood Road. It is actually in the place where a fabulous cafe called Our Food Project was, but the owners decided that they wanted to mix it up a bit, move away from the morning coffee crowd, and head into the evenings more. I highly recommend Good Burger for anyone looking for an excellent burger, to be honest. They also have these fantastic hot chips that they put what might even just be Keen's curry powder through and they are so delicious. I cannot recommend it highly enough. They also do poutine, so if anybody has enjoyed a trip to Canada and has been interested in it, that is the place to go for some poutine. Just in case anyone is wondering, I will be celebrating my birthday there the night before with some dinner and I am looking forward to their tiramisu. Everyone is welcome.
I also have visited Pullman Espresso Accessories. This was actually a small business that I stumbled across. I was doorknocking one day and was chatting to the person at the door and then she started talking about the business she and her husband run. Her husband creates the most gorgeous coffee accessories.
I actually cannot make a coffee to save my life, but Josh in my office can and I know others can and will appreciate this. All the things that you need to make your coffee at home with an espresso machine, they make. They hand carve beautiful wood and it is absolutely gorgeous. I cannot recommend their stuff enough. If you have a coffee snob in your life and you need something exciting and different—I see the member for Morphett is probably writing it down—it is Pullman Espresso Accessories. I highly recommend them.
Our Boy Roy is a business in Clarence Park, on East Avenue. They are a cafe, and they hosted the member for Badcoe's baby shower a few months ago, and it was excellent. They have a lovely outdoor area at the back, a lovely garden. They are very dog friendly, so you can take your pooch there for some breakfast. I can highly recommend their chilli scramble. Instead of serving it on sourdough or toast, they serve it on roti bread and it is next level. They also fry up curry leaves and sprinkle those on top, and it is excellent.
Another business that I stumbled across while I was doorknocking—because I am always out and about, chatting to the community—is CM30 Fitness Studio. This is a great little at-home fitness studio where they help one or two people at a time with some personal training. The clients who were there when I stopped by could not speak highly enough about the support they were getting there.
Yiro Yiro is a new business on Winston Avenue. It is not far, just in the same block of shops as Beck's Bakehouse, which I am sure people are very familiar with. They are in Melrose Park. It is all in the name; it is an excellent yiros place. I am very partial to their haloumi yiros, but I also hear good things about the others as well. If you are lucky, you might turn up on a day when there are some excellent Greek desserts available too.
The CAROclub started off in a food truck, and they also have a bricks-and-mortar spot in Edwardstown on South Road. They do burgers—I know we have already spoken about Good Burger—and if you are not really into meat they also do a fried mushroom burger as well. It is not one big mushroom; it is lots of little ones, so it is extra crunchy.
There is also a place called Handmade Gifts, Homewares and Crafts, which is in Panorama. They are actually just across the road from Hark Coffee Roasters, which is another small business I have been highlighting this month, who make excellent coffees and also very good brownies. The gift shop is only open on weekends, I think, and they have different handmade gifts from a number of different people. What happened is that there were a number of women who, during COVID, realised they were spending their time making things and then ran out of people to give them to, or could not find ways of selling them to people.
So now there is this great place where you can get coasters, handmade dog treats—and what I got was a gorgeous apron, because I have discovered that I cannot keep cooking and ruining all my clothes by splashing oil on them. I cannot make coffee and apparently I cannot cook without getting myself messy, so I have a beautiful apron from there. There are also beautiful handmade baby blankets and beanies and gorgeous jewellery. There are so many great things there. You pop in there and then go grab an excellent coffee from Hark, where you can smell the coffee beans roasting.
Trezona Gluten Free Bakery is another excellent small business. They are located in Edwardstown. They actually started off in St Mary's and were a wholesaler (St Mary's is also in my electorate, which is excellent. I love that they did not move too far). They then decided to have a public-facing shop as well, so you are able to go grab a coffee and grab a gluten-free sausage roll or sweet treat. It is really great to know that there are options available to people who are coeliac or gluten intolerant.
Bebe Luxe is, I have to admit, just across the road from my electorate, but we welcome everybody into Elder. Bebe Luxe have beautiful, bright products like picnic rugs, dog leads and leashes, and bags. What I bought for my daughter is a hooded towel made of quick-dry material, which was really handy during my daughter's school swimming week, when every day she was coming home with wet things. This was something that was really quick to dry but also gave her the privacy she wanted while she was trying to get changed at the school swimming.
Friends with Florence is in Melrose Park as well. It is so cute and they have a little area for children to play. They also have a section where you can buy a second-hand book or different locally made products. I have to tell you that their hot chocolate is out of this world good. I had the one which has a house-made chili honey in it. It was incredible and I am really keen to get back there. Hopefully, I can swing by there first thing in the morning.
Hanns greengrocer is in Cumberland Park on Goodwood Road, just before you get to the corner of Cross Road. It is only a small fruit and veg shop, but they have an incredible selection of really high-quality fruit and veg that is generally in season. They try to have things that are really high quality rather than ending up with having everything available but not necessarily the best. I think we have all purchased some not so great, not so great-smelling strawberries in our time. They always make sure that they have really good quality control. That is Hanns greengrocer.
Pretty and Prickle is an adorable cacti and succulent shop that is run out of someone's home in the electorate, and it is very sweet. There is a huge array of options. I bought a little something for my new office. It is a great place to pick up a gift for somebody.
I have also headed to Bake Boss, because my partner had his 50th birthday celebration recently. It was a joint one with another friend who was turning 40, so I headed to Bake Boss and grabbed some of the number candles. Honestly, they have the biggest selection of sprinkles you could ever imagine in your life—multiple types of gold, all different colours, rainbow shapes. There are some Halloween sprinkles. If you are looking to decorate a cake anytime soon, or bake one, I highly recommend checking out Bake Boss in Clarence Gardens on South Road.
Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a community barbecue, because one of my election commitments, an upgraded playground at Rozelle Reserve in Melrose Park, was being opened. We opened that and had a community barbecue. I have never seen sausages go as quickly as that. It was very well attended. It was excellent. People loved it, and I think part of that was that the sausages were from Cimarosti Bros in Daw Park. They have excellent meat. They are very popular, and they are also a really good community business. They support a lot of the local sports clubs, which is great.
We also have the Adelaide Detailing Garage, who did a gorgeous job on my car. I have a child I let eat in the car, so it is not an easy feat cleaning that car. Well done to them. It was lovely chatting to the ladies at Soma Skin and Beauty, especially Jackie and Alexandra, who took great care of me. They are really focused on finding out what your skin needs and providing you with the best treatment for you.
The member for Badcoe recently celebrated a birthday. Leading up to that, I went and visited Shaun C. Duncan Custom Framing and Fine Art Printing and got one of The Advertiser's newspaper articles about the member for Badcoe and her new baby Quinn framed for her birthday. It came up really well, so thank you to Shaun.
With school holidays coming up and my to-be-read pile by my bed starting to decrease, I headed to Colonel Light Books on Goodwood Road and got a selection of second-hand books for myself and my daughter. I also last week went to B Acupuncture and Body. Briony was incredible. I highly recommend heading there if you are looking to getting any sort of niggles and pains looked at.
Rice Bar, which is also in the same block of shops as Becks and Yiro Yiro serve excellent Japanese food. It is really affordable. Apparently, miso soup is very good for our gut health, so I recommend heading there for a bento box and a miso. I also have gone to Sweetlana Alterations in Mitchell Park. Lana is—actually, it is all in the name again—very sweet. I got a couple of pants altered. It was super affordable and really well done, so thank you, Lana.
On Monday, I was in Port Pirie for a Suicide Prevention Council meeting. I got home about seven and was very hungry, so I went to Bhoye Chhen on Daws Road for some excellent momos and some more food, because I love Nepalese food. We are really lucky to have a good Nepalese restaurant in our area.
Michelangelo Dial A Pizza in Clarence Gardens, another hot tip, is on a notorious intersection, but it is worth going there. Caulfield and Winston is tricky, but Michelangelo's is worth stopping at, and I recommend their veggie pizza. I have also highlighted DRIP House of Hot, a new gym in Cumberland Park where you exercise in a 35-degree heated room with infrared sauna lights on top. It is very sweaty but it is really great; you feel pretty good afterwards.
With just a few days left to go, I encourage everyone to keep an eye out for the next few small businesses that I will be sharing. After four years of participating in Support Small September, members of my community have a single place highlighting more than 100 small and family businesses in my electorate, and there are many more to go.
Meeting so many small and family business owners has given me an appreciation for the unique pressures, challenges and risk of investing your own capital and providing for your workers and the broader community. There are so many unique and powerful ways the Malinauskas Labor government is supporting small businesses in South Australia, including the reforms being debated today: whether it is our $14 million Small Business Strategy or programs like our Small Business Fundamentals Program, Women in Business Program, Mental Health and Wellbeing Program or Small Business Sustainability Support Program, just to name a few, we are providing a dynamic and expansive suite of support for small and family businesses to thrive in South Australia.
Whether you own, run, work in or for a small or family business in South Australia, we thank you. Bills such as the one before the house today are just one of the many ways this state government is here to support you. I commend the bill to the house.
