With our current level of disillusionment in politicians, many Australians would argue that there’s no real difference between the major political parties.

However, the Labor and Liberal parties were founded on divergent philosophies and values, and Tony Abbott’s speech today at the Menzies Reseach Centre Small Business Roundtable in Melbourne suggests that small business entrepreneurs may in fact benefit from a change of Government at the Federal election next year.

In his speech, Tony Abbott undertook to “double the existing annual rate of small business growth” in Australia.

“We will restore the rate of growth of small business because we understand that small business is the engine room of our economy”, he said. Although details were sketchy, he did reiterate previous announcements that there would be a small business minister in Federal cabinet, business red tape costs would be cut by $1 billion a year, and administration loads would be lightened through initiatives such as engaging the ATO to handle superannuation administration on behalf of small businesses, who would simply need to send one cheque in to the Tax Office and the ATO would handle everything from there, and ensuring that small business wasn’t required to handle the paperwork associated with paid parental leave.

Whilst the promise of a politician is not known for its bankability, it does seem that entrepreneurs and small business owners may have some cause for cautious optimism if in fact the Liberal party is voted back into office.

If you’re a small business owner, have you considered the potential implications to your business of changes in the political landscape?