and anotHer tHing … \ SMALL-BUSINESS POLITICS
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early 2½ years since his career change, Andrew Katos has been a Liberal MP since December 2010, Katos is “very happy” he chose to enter state joining the Liberal Party several years earlier, incensed politics, although he remains nostalgic about his at what he says was an “attack on small business” by the years in the family’s fish business. Labor government in 2003. “It’s the friendships, whether it be with customers or It was then that the regulatory management of old workmates, you do tend to miss that,” he says. seafood was transferred from local government to the “But the reality is you’re paid to be a full-time state body PrimeSafe. politician. I think people expect that and “That resulted in fees going from $550 to $6000 … they don’t expect me sitting on a Friday to do exactly what you were doing. It really fired afternoon or Saturday morning running a me up,” he says. “It’s hard fresh-fish business. “I thought to myself, ‘I’ve got to make a enough just stand here. This is ridiculous. This is an attack “As much as I might have wanted to keep making an interest, I think as a member of parliament on small business’. you need to divest yourself of those interests “If that $6000 had opened doors and ends meet” and concentrate 100 per cent on representing opportunity and allowed me to expand my your community.” business, well you would think, ‘OK, well it’s Katos’ father, Angelo, who is now 82, started the worth paying that’. All I got was to hang a PrimeSafe family seafood empire after coming from Greece in certificate on my wall.” 1949. But it wasn’t only the business that had an impact As a former small-business owner, Katos says he is on Katos. He says he also grew up influenced by his attuned to the needs of the small-business community. father’s political allegiances. “Any small-business owner would say to you that they According to Katos, his father had experienced a want government to get out of their way and let them go war between the nationalists and communists while in and make their money,” he says. Greece, so when he came to Australia he immediately “Obviously you’ve got health laws, tax laws, sided with the Liberal Party because he saw it as being occupational health and safety laws … there is a need the furthest from communism. for government regulation … but there’s paperwork
around those sorts of things that can be streamlined. It’s hard enough as it is. “It’s hard enough just making ends meet and going about your daily business, let alone the pile of paperwork because of a whole stack of red tape.” Katos concedes he may have continued with the well-known Geelong seafood business had it not become so difficult. “I probably would have. I would have probably stayed where I was.” One thing he doesn’t miss about the fish trade is Christmas. “Christmas was a busy time. That’s probably when we made our biggest profits … but you worked for it,” he says. “I sort of look back and think that for 20 years I didn’t enjoy Christmas. “I must admit that since I’ve been out of the business Christmas has been … well I haven’t known myself. Politics is the opposite. Christmas is quiet. No one wants to be bothered at Christmas by a politician.” \ KIM NORBURY kimnorbury@theweeklyreview.com.au
Andrew Katos has been the state MP for the seat of South Barwon since 2010. From 1991 to 2010, Katos managed his family’s seafood business, Katos Fish Supply.
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