Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Economy

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Industry Support and Recovery. A report released today by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has ranked Victoria as the highest taxing state with the largest public sector and the most red tape, making it the hardest state in the country to start and grow a business. Minister, why is Victoria falling behind every other state?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the minister, I warn the member for Eltham.

Mr PAKULA (Keysborough—Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Minister for Trade, Minister for Business Precincts, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Racing) (14:35): I saw the report that the member opposite referred to this morning. I also saw the Leader of the Opposition’s Facebook post, and he said in his post that we have the largest public sector in Australia right now, a claim that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party just repeated. The VCCI made the same claim in their media release. It actually says in the report that we are ranked eighth out of eight for public sector size, so someone has not read through the fine print, because what it actually means is that we have the smallest public sector workforce as a share of the economy, not the largest. It shows the perils of basing your questions on media releases. It would be better if you went to the primary source material rather than basing your questions on press releases.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! When the house comes to order. The Premier will assist in the smooth running of the house.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer is warned.

Mr Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, if you could ask the minister to answer the question.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Sunbury can leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour.

Member for Sunbury withdrew from chamber.

Mr Southwick: None of what the minister has provided is doing anything to help the struggling small businesses in Victoria, and we are falling behind every other state. I ask you to bring the minister back to answering the question.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Caulfield started on a point of order and digressed. The minister is being directly relevant to the question by rejecting the premise of the question.

Mr PAKULA: I thought I was going easy on the member for Caulfield, but anyway. The member for Caulfield, having misread the report and failed to understand that media releases really need to be backed up by some primary research, also failed to mention that the same report ranks us number one in skills in the country, and the fact that we are in the top two in infrastructure, in the top two in connectivity, in the top two in entrepreneurship and in the top two in growth. He also failed to mention the fact that our unemployment rate is close to a record low at 4.2 per cent. He failed also to mention that the Deloitte Access Economics investment monitor survey for the December quarter puts the total value of investment in major projects in Victoria at $174.4 billion. Whether it is skills, whether it is growth, whether it is entrepreneurship, whether it is infrastructure, whether it is connectivity or indeed whether it is in our relatively lean public sector compared to the rest of the country, or the business support that we have provided—$13 billion in 2020–21—or the fact that we have now got basically no restrictions on business, the Victorian economy is absolutely primed to take off, and take off it will.

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (14:39): I am not sure what planet the member is on—primed, ready to go.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn members on my right. I have already warned the house that they will be removed without warning.

Mr SOUTHWICK: Three-quarters of small businesses in our CBD are barely surviving, and there are repeated calls from many, including VCCI, the CEO of NAB and the Lord Mayor, for an immediate return to work. When will the government remove the work-from-home order and get people back to their desks?

Mr PAKULA (Keysborough—Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Minister for Trade, Minister for Business Precincts, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Racing) (14:40): There is no order. As the member for Caulfield I think well knows, there is no order preventing workers returning to workplaces in the CBD. Have a look where we are. The fact is that in regard to the CBD we have been working closely with the City of Melbourne on a $100 million recovery fund, a $200 million revitalisation fund, bringing events like the Australian Open back into this region and making sure that we kept our theatres open through support through 2021—Moulin Rouge! was on at night, Frozen was on at night, Harry Potter was on at night. Hamilton is coming on 24 March.

We absolutely understand that businesses in the CBD want more workers back here more quickly, and there is nothing stopping them doing that if they want to, including the town hall, and we are seeing that activity pick up. And as cases come down and people feel more confident, undoubtedly it will pick up further. (Time expired)