Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan has called on locals to spend up locally during Small Business Month.
Mr Moylan said it’s important to recognise the value small businesses bring to regional communities.
“In the last 12 months alone, more than 6,000 small businesses in New South Wales have shut their doors, and the vast majority of those were in regional New South Wales,” Mr Moylan said.
“It’s really tough at the moment to be a small business.
“We’ve got increasing cost pressures, margins are tightening, everything’s getting more
expensive and our businesses are shutting down.”
Mr Moylan said the message is simple- shop local.
“Our small businesses are doing it tough at the moment,” Mr Moylan said.
“It’s getting more expensive to keep the doors open and the profit margins are getting slimmer.
“One of the great things about living in regional New South Wales is the variety of shops and the variety of services that we have in our CBDs.
“Particularly in October, given it’s Small Business Month, please shop locally.”
Mr Moylan encouraged the Minns Labor Government to look at the added costs put onto hard working small businesses.
“Things like payroll tax and regional payroll tax relief,” Mr Moylan said.
“The fact that in 2026 we’re still paying tax to the State Government because we employ people is just ridiculous and there’s so many things the government can look at.
“There’s so many costs, levies, fees and charges the Government could look to reduce and I think that would be a step in the right direction.”
Mr Moylan praised the longevity of many businesses in the Northern Tablelands for operating for generations, some more than 100 years.
“The fact a small business in regional New South Wales can keep its doors open for so long is testament not only to the business, but also to the communities that support them,” Mr Moylan said.
“Hopefully we can continue that tradition.”
Media Release: Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan
