Small business unenthused with Malcolm Turnbull
Small and medium sized business owners aren’t too keen on Malcolm Turnbull.
Still, they regard his government as a better proposition than the former Labor governments, according to the latest MYOB Business Monitor.
The problem for the government is that dissatisfaction levels have increased at a time when the government is lobbying for every vote it can get.
The survey shows that the percentage of SMEs who feel "totally dissatisfied" with the government at 32 per cent is way above the 20 per cent claiming they feel "totally satisfied".
The MYOB Business Monitor also revealed a 10 per cent decrease in satisfaction levels from 30 per cent in October to 20 per cent.
Dissatisfaction with the level of support from State Governments also increased significantly from 30 per cent in October 2015 to 38 per cent.
Still, it’s better than what the Labor governments were getting.
During the Rudd and Gillard governments, the proportion of "totally dissatisfied" small business hit 57 per cent while "totally satisfied" respondents crashed to 11 per cent.
The only bright spots for the Turnbull government is that young business owners are more satisfied than baby boomer business owners, and sole traders.
“This government has announced significant policies to support small and medium businesses,” said MYOB CEO Tim Reed. “So I’m sure it is concerning that despite an election campaign that has placed a significant amount of attention on business, the results show the government’s message isn’t resonating as strongly as they’d like.”
"On the one hand the government remains far more popular amongst SMEs than its predecessor. On the other, as the government lobbies for pre-election support from this crucial business sector, dissatisfaction levels in the past six months have increased,
“After seeing an improvement in perceptions over the last year and a half, we now see that small business operators are feeling less supported by their governments.”
by Leon Gettler, June 30th 2016
