Fairfax canvassed small businesses to find out what they thought of the appointment of Gary Gray as small business minister and Bernie Ripoll as parliamentary secretary for small business. They are disappointed.

Yolanda Vega, CEO at the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry is damning of the Federal government’s switch of small business minister.

“The government continuously states small business are the backbone of our economy. Yet they treat SMEs with zero respect,” says Vega.

“In the past two years AWCCI has worked with a handful of ministers and nothing they promise eventuates as they also take their advisors with them. So there’s no continuity in projects, policy or understanding.”

Says Vega: “this and every government in Australia needs to make small business a priority, especially the fastest growing sector, women-owned businesses. To ignore them will be to the peril of our communities and our economy.”

Another person who is critical of the Federal government’s lack of prioritisation of small business is Hazel Theocharous, proprietor of 
small business consultants, Expert VA.

"Small business owners continually ask for and deserve a voice in government who will not only listen, but become their representative. But what has happened in the last couple of days? We now have a new small business minister whose portfolio is far too vast and he will become too focused on the resources industry and associated corporates,” says Theocharous.

“Given his background has been in the corporate environment, Gray, in my opinion, is the incorrect choice as the small business minister. We need someone who understands small business, realises the hard yards that small business owners go through to finance themselves and structure and set up their businesses,” she adds.

John Hagerty, managing director of Be Business, which also consults to small businesses around the country agrees small businesses are skeptical of the level of focus the new minister will offer smaller enterprises.

“This is not only due to his other responsibilities but also because there is an election only months away,” says Hagerty. He makes the point small businesses have less influence over government decisions that affect them compared to private individuals as they don't get to vote in the electorate their business operates in unless it's also the electorate in which they live.

“It's reasonable to assume it would take many months for a new minister in any portfolio to properly establish themselves, build relationships and make any headway. [Small business] is an incredibly important portfolio that's not likely to be given the attention it deserves and needs this side of the election. I don't hold out much hope for it right now and expect to only hear sound bites and no real substance,” he says.

Phoebe Netto is the owner of a small business, Good Business Consulting, whose clients are also small businesses. She can’t see how the new appointments will benefit businesses.

“With the [minister’s] large portfolio of minister for resources, energy, tourism and small business, the small business community has every right to be concerned it will be misunderstood and largely overlooked,” says Netto.

“The majority of Australian businesses are small and certainly deserve to be understood and supported, with every effort made to ease the challenges faced by small business owners. While Bernie Ripoll has owned his own small business, it remains to be seen if these new appointments will translate into benefits for small businesses,” she adds.

Oscar de Vries, proprietor of skincare business OSCAR Natural, calls the appointments “political window dressing. It's a token effort to appease the small business community, rather than seem to be too union-biased and influenced.”

“I have seen what the government has done with research and development grants and the way they have cut Austrade, so I decided last year that I am best to rely solely on myself to advance my OSCAR Natural brand. I have got my products into Woolworths and Europe recently without any government assistance. At least I can trust my own rhetoric.”

Does the Federal government pay enough attention to small business? Have your say...