Stuart Ayres spent a large part of his childhood in Sydney’s western suburbs and believes small business plays a crucial role in the multicultural hub. The area has strong population growth and is set to play an increasingly important role in the state’s economy.
Meeting up with Ricardo Goncalves, he talked about his thoughts on business in the region. 
You grew up in Western Sydney, tell me about the small businesses there and how you’ve seen them change.
Mr Ayers talks about his thoughts on business in Sydney's west. Source: SBS
Having grown up in Penrith, I’ve seen what has been a city that’s always held it’s real country town feel. But it's really growing up, it's almost a bit like a teenager that’s becoming a young adult and growing into itself, becoming much more dynamic, more confident and I think small businesses are right at the forefront of that. You’re seeing a lot more diversity in the types of businesses, you’re seeing young people really testing themselves and having a good go at opening up a small business and I think it’s the lifeblood of what's happening across that community. In Penrith, my own community, I understand that the local Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest chambers in NSW. That’s a good example.
How do you think small businesses contribute to the economy there?
I think they have been the growth of employment in our area. I know western Sydney has often been reliant on government jobs as it’s primary source of employment. But there is no doubt in my mind that small business is right at the forefront of that now. It’s driving a strong unemployment rate in parts of Western Sydney that's now almost 2 percent lower than the national average and small businesses are right at the forefront of that.
But the youth unemployment rate is quite high in comparison with the rest of the country, what’s being done about that?
Still absolutely a challenge, I think it’s about making sure that we give young people a great start to life, so the opportunities they get through education, the capacity to transfer into the workforce and the skills that they get through both university and vocational training are crucially important and we’re seeing lots of investment in both of those areas.
A few of the small businesses we’ve spoken to in the Western Suburbs seem to have some concerns about the number of refugees coming in, but more so on the infrastructure side and the fact that they say, where are they going to work?
I think this is really an issue of growth of population. We're seeing strong population growth in western Sydney, but that’s why the NSW government is investing over $74 billion on new infrastructure, whether it’s key roads like Westconnex, which is going to connect key areas around Sydney together. Whether it’s our $3.6 billion infrastructure plan around the new western Sydney airport, we’re making sure those roads, those rail lines, those bus networks are all coming online so that we can future-proof western Sydney for the growth that’s coming.
Apart from infrastructure, what other plans does the NSW government have to assist with small business?
We’re working really closely with small business. We’ve established the office of the small Business Commissioner. We also have a fantastic program where we’ve partnered with Western Sydney University about a startup support program that’s boosting young innovators and entrepreneurs to start their own business. So we’re partnering with those really strong brands across western Sydney to give people a great start when they kick off their business life.
If the federal government could do one thing to assist with small businesses, what would you like to see done?
Lowering the cost of business and providing confidence to business with really clear policy. Don’t chop and change. If we know what we’re dealing with, we know what the playing field is, that give businesses of all sizes the opportunity to invest with confidence. So clear policy directions from the federal government is what we need.
And what kind of advice would you give small businesses right now?
I’m a big believer in western Sydney playing its role right across the world. So I would say don’t just look at your local suburb or your local city. There’s a plenty of opportunities internationally for businesses in western Sydney to get out and export, play on the world stage. There's a much bigger market out there than just what’s on our doorstep.
Want to find out the secret to small business success? Tune into #BizSecretsSBS at Sundays 5pm on SBS, stream on SBS Demand, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
