The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (10:05): I move:

(1)That this House notes that:

(a)October 2025 is NSW Small Business Month, a statewide initiative to celebrate, support and strengthen small businesses across New South Wales, with free and low-cost events tailored to business needs in areas such as staffing, cybersecurity, marketing, cash flow, strategy and digital transformation;

(b)across New South Wales there are approximately 870,000 small businesses, which represent about 97 per cent of all businesses in the State, and they employ around 1.7 million people (roughly 40 per cent of the workforce);

(c)in 2025 NSW Small Business Month is also being used to shine a spotlight on regulatory burden ("red tape"), with the Government and NSW Small Business Commission inviting business owners to share their compliance experiences via a survey and interviews, thereby helping to target reforms that reduce costs and complexity; and

(d)in many regional and rural local government areas, NSW Small Business Month events create vital opportunities for remote and rural business owners to access training, networks and advocacy support that might otherwise be unavailable.

(2)That this House:

(a)congratulates the NSW Small Business Commission, collaborating bodies, local chambers of commerce, industry groups and all participants on organising NSW Small Business Month 2025;

(b)recognises the indispensable role of small businesses in driving local economies, creating jobs and sustaining communities, especially in regional and rural areas;

(c)calls on the Government to maintain momentum by acting on the feedback from the red tape initiatives, ensuring that regulatory reform delivers genuine relief to small business operators; and

(d)encourages all members of this House to support, promote and attend NSW Small Business Month events in their electorates and to advocate for small businesses as essential engines of innovation and resilience across New South Wales.

Motion agreed to.