A new group of small business owners and operators from across NSW will meet regularly with the NSW Government and NSW Small Business Commission to share their views and experiences and help shape future government services and business support measures.
Twelve business operators have agreed to join the new Small Business Reference Group (SBRG), to be jointly chaired by the Finance and Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope and the NSW Small Business Commissioner Chris Lamont.
Mr Tudehope said it was important to listen to the voices of small businesses when it came to discussing issues impacting them.
“We want to ensure the issues and experiences of small businesses are well represented within the NSW Government. There is no substitute to hearing directly from small businesses owners and operators on what we are doing right and what we can improve on.”
Mr Tudehope said the forum was a particularly important initiative at this time given the many challenges small businesses still faced as NSW continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to help small businesses across the state get back on their feet as quickly as possible and the views of the SBRG will be invaluable in informing us how we can best support businesses and respond to their concerns,” Mr Tudehope said.
Small Business Commissioner Chris Lamont said the input provided by the members of the SBRG would help to ensure the interests and feedback of small businesses are recognised and accounted for in the advocacy work of the Commissioner.
“Often the best ideas and solutions to complicated issues come from small businesses themselves,” Mr Lamont said.
“The members of the group have been chosen to represent a diverse range of businesses and business experiences, including strong representation from regional areas and representatives from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
“The forum will build on and assist the Commission’s work in representing the interests of small businesses.”
The group will meet at least quarterly, with the first meeting to take place in March.