OCTOBER 11, 2018: MY campaign to pressure multinational mining companies to pay local suppliers within 30 days has struck the right chord, with the Make It 30 Days petition registering hundreds of signatures in its first week.The response we’ve received with 260 people signing the petition to date demonstrates how important this issue is for small to medium-sized businesses across the region who are forced to wait 90, and in some cases 120 days for payment from the big mining companies.My appeals to the big miners to do the right thing and pay up promptly rather than crippling the cash flow of smaller businesses has fallen on deaf ears.But big multinationals could look to the Commonwealth Government for an example of how it should be done when it comes to payment terms.The Commonwealth’s Department of Finance advises that 96% of the government’s invoices are paid within 30 days. And from July next year, government agencies will pay all invoices for contracts up to $1 million within 20 calendar days.Because many in the Coalition Government have run small businesses, they recognise the importance of cash flow.What the big multinationals are doing is holding out on payments to fund their own mining operations.And those late payments cascade down through the supply chain to affect hundreds of other businesses.The Government’s new payment benchmark sets an example to industry and other levels of government, and we are looking at ways to bring the private sector along with us.