Small business—Scott Street, Helena Valley
Statement
Hon Anthony Spagnolo (6:15 pm): I rise tonight to draw attention to the challenges faced by small businesses along Scott Street in Helena Valley. One story in particular must be heard. It is the story of Megan, the owner of the Scott Street Cafe. Like so many others along that street, Megan is doing it tough, not because of market forces, not because of bad management, but because of the direct impact of roadworks on Scott Street, carried out under the direction of the state government. This is not some inconvenience; this is a fight for livelihoods. Earlier this month, after Megan contacted my office, I sat down with her at her cafe. Let me say that Megan is far more than a small-business owner; she is an employer, a mentor for young employees and a community supporter. Her cafe is not just a shopfront; it is a meeting place, a safe place and a hub for connection in Helena Valley and the surrounding suburbs. Yet her business has been battered, not by her own hand but by avoidable disruptions from agencies that report to this government. The disruptions are roadworks, water outages and ill-planned power interruptions, one after another. For months, major roadworks right outside her door have kept customers to a minimum. She has opened seven days a week instead of six, desperately trying to claw back lost revenue. Even then, she has had to let two staff go. This is the human cost of government incompetence.
Megan is not alone. The Helena Valley Fresh Mini Market has reported a dramatic drop in sales and the owner of Envy Lifestyle Boutique, impacted by the Scott Street Bridge project and given no support, is now facing the heartbreak of potentially closing her doors altogether. These are not isolated tales; they are part of a pattern where the government has failed to plan, failed to coordinate and failed to support the very people who form the backbone of our local economies. For Megan, the chain of setbacks began in April. First, a car accident caused a major power outage, fridges full of stock were lost and an entire day's trade was gone. Weeks later, a burst water pipe blocked access to her cafe. Then intersection roadworks restricted both foot and vehicle traffic.
In June, Western Power scheduled multiple outages. Determined to keep trading, Megan spent $1,000 on a generator, only for the outage to be cancelled at the last minute. It happened again later that month. The cost and the disruption again fell on her shoulders. By July, another round of major roadworks began. Staff left, hours were cut and costs kept rising. Through it all, Megan has not given up. She has contacted Western Power, the Water Corporation, Main Roads Western Australia, the Shire of Mundaring, the Small Business Development Corporation and members of Parliament, from both the government and the opposition. She has even provided profit and loss statements to prove her losses. What was the government's answer? According to Megan, she received a dismissive email suggesting she apply for a grant—a grant designed for business growth, not business survival.
Megan and the Helena Valley community deserve better than platitudes. They deserve answers and they deserve respect. Megan and the other businesses on Scott Street in Helena Valley deserve compensation for the losses they have suffered because of poor government planning and coordination. I want to use this member's statement tonight to call on Premier Roger Cook and the responsible ministers to front up, to meet with Megan and to act, and to act before more small businesses in the Perth hills and foothills are driven to the wall.
The Liberal Party understands this simple truth: small businesses are not statistics on a spreadsheet; they are families, they are jobs and they are community hubs. When government works unreasonably disrupt trade, government must stand up and help. If we allow stories like Megan's to go unanswered, we send a dangerous message—that in Western Australia, small business alone will be left to carry the cost of government mistakes. That is not fair and is not the Western Australian way.
