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The association has also doubled down on its call to subsidise small business financial advice with support from CA ANZ.
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Budget must ‘fund renewables safety net to prevent rust belt’
01 February 2023
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The government must create a safety net fund to support individuals and businesses impacted by its transition to renewable energy or Australia will end up with a “rust belt”, CPA Australia says in its pre-budget submission.
The association said government cash should be allocated to reskilling and helping relocate workers in industries negatively affected by the transition, along with a long-term fund that invests in communities and small businesses hit by the shift.
“As Australia transitions at greater speed to a lower carbon state there needs to be recognition that this can’t happen at the expense of those working in sectors earmarked for being phased out,” it said.
“The government needs to work with stakeholders to design and implement measures that minimise the impact on those people, communities and small businesses most likely to be negatively affected by the transition to renewables.”
CPA Australia made no assessment of the money required and said a transition plan should finalise the details, such as the total capital investment involved and when it would be needed.
“We encourage the government to produce a renewables transition plan with interim goals, targets and metrics,” said the submission. “Such an approach would improve investor certainty and smooth the transition to a low-emissions economy.”
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CPA Australia senior manager of business and investment policy Gavan Ord warned that without a fund to support victims of the renewable transition Australia could be left with a “rust belt” of unemployed workers.
“We support action on climate change but we also want a plan for businesses and workers in industries that will be hurt by the transition,” he said.
“If the government fumbles, we could see many Australians left behind.”
“Australia could be left with a rust belt region of unemployed workers and overlooked communities.”
In its submission, CPA Australia also doubled down on previous calls for the budget to fund incentive payments to small businesses and not-for-profits to encourage them to access tailored advice from approved professional advisers.
The recommendation was echoed by CA ANZ in its budget submission, with group executive advocacy Simon Grant calling on the government to provide additional funding for small businesses' access to professional financial advice.
“Small businesses suffered on a number of fronts during the pandemic, and those that were able to survive and thrive are now at a point where they need detailed financial advice,” said Mr Grant.
“Many small business owners have spent the last few years in survival mode and haven’t had the opportunity or funds to engage a financial expert to ensure their business operations are viable.”
“CA ANZ is also asking the government to take a systematic look into the provision of financial advice more generally as it’s currently very difficult for an accountant to provide the advice that a business needs, despite their qualifications.”
Other key recommendations made to the government by the two accounting associations included:
- CPA Australia recommended the government bolster its funding to ASIC so it could facilitate visits to companies showing early signs of hardship, to better raise awareness of directors’ duties and their options.
- CA ANZ recommended that the government fund an annual marketing campaign to raise awareness of the tools and resources produced by the Australian Cyber Security Centre to encourage better cyber security practices.
- Both associations called for the government to fund and publish completed reports and the government’s response to recommendations made by Board of Taxation reviews, while CPA Australia also recommended a comparative analysis of Australia’s tax system against other advanced economies.
- CPA Australia said the government should increase funding to the Department of Home Affairs so it could address the visa processing backlog and improve its systems to help reduce the skills shortage.
- Both associations recommended the government remove and replace the annual caps on the quality of migrants in the skills stream with an approach based on migrant quality.
CPA Australia said the May budget was “part two” of the government's economic roadmap which began in last year's financial plan, and it should prioritise the needs of small business.
“This is the second act and it needs to live up to expectations by providing well-considered and rounded responses,” said Mr Ord.
“Small businesses should not have to walk away from this federal budget empty-handed.”
“We want a clear plan for the transition to renewable energy, support for businesses and charities, and early action on insolvencies.”
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