Mareeba Shire Council has become one of the latest councils to sign the Small Business Friendly Councils (SBFC) Charter.
Queensland Small Business Commissioner Maree Adshead visited Mareeba to co-sign the Charter.
The SBFC charter has been developed by the Palaszczuk Government in conjunction with councils and aims to recognise and encourage the support of local councils to actively support small businesses to recover and build resilience following disaster and economic challenges.
Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin said Council was excited to sign the Small Business Friendly Councils charter and pledge their support to their small business community.
“Small business plays an important role in our community and, as a Council, we do what we can to support and encourage them,” Mayor Toppin said.
“Working cooperatively with other Councils who have also signed the Charter, we will ideally be able to identify additional ways we can support our vibrant local small business sector.”
Queensland Small Business Commissioner Maree Adshead said that being part of the SBFC enables good ideas to be fast tracked.
“Learning from a Council that has faced the same challenge, means you can implement big change for small business in a fast and efficient way.”
“The signing of this charter marks a commitment to putting small business needs and priorities more front of mind when making policy decisions, regulatory decisions and purchasing decisions,” Ms Adshead said.
The Charter was signed by the Small Business Commissioner, Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin and Mareeba Shire Council and CEO Peter Franks and is a commitment, by Council, to:
- Communicate and engage
- Raise small businesses profile and capability
- Support resilience and recovery
- Simplify administration and regulation
- Ensure fair procurement and prompt payment terms
- Promote place-based activities.
Mareeba Shire Council Mayor Angela Toppin stated, “There is a growing network of Small Business Friendly Councils where ideas can be shared, to further improve the way councils and small business interact.”
