Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Shadow Minister for Small Business, Industrial Relations and Employment, Tim Wilson MP, will join leading industry groups today for an urgent roundtable on the importance of small and family businesses in Western Australia being given hope.

The event will bring together stakeholders across WA’s business community, including the Chamber of Commerce & Industry WA, the Australian Hotels Association WA, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia WA, the WA Transport Industry Association, the Real Estate Industry of WA, and the Family Business Association.

Mr Wilson said the roundtable comes at a critical moment for Western Australia’s economy.

“Small and family businesses are struggling under the weight of rising costs, regulatory overreach, and union cartels that push their own interests at the expense of employees and employers,” Mr Wilson said.

“What small business needs is hope that a competitive business environment can help them succeed, not more regulation and costs.

“Western Australians are waking up to the reality that the Albanese Government’s partnership with unions is about entrenching cartels, higher costs, stifling innovation and making it harder for small businesses to survive and grow.”

The roundtable will canvass:

  • ⁠Current pressures facing small and medium enterprises;
  • Opportunities to improve regulatory and workplace relations frameworks;
  • Federal and state policy perspectives on sustaining jobs and driving productivity;
  • Pathways to ensure Western Australia remains a competitive and innovative economy.

Mr Wilson said the voices of small business must not be drowned out by the union-Labor cartel.

“We want to hear directly from businesses about how to dismantle the barriers holding them back, and how to ensure Western Australia remains a place where jobs are created and industry thrives. Our task is clear: to cut needless regulation, stop union corruption, and restore confidence for the people who take risks, employ Australians, and drive our economy forward.”

ENDS