Thursday, 24 March 2022

Government performance

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (09:44): I am pretty competitive, and when Victoria is being sent backwards by lockdowns and by a government that does not care, I am really keen to ensure we make Victoria number one again. Many of my locals in Caulfield ask me, ‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’. The Liberal-Nationals have released a plan to make Victoria number one again, and one of the six elements of this plan is no more lockdowns. It is important that we do not have any more lockdowns. We need to ensure that we fix the health crisis that the Premier and the government have created, including at the likes of Caulfield Hospital, which has not had a dollar spent on it. The mental health crisis is something that all Victorians face, and we need to ensure that we put the support and the effort in for all Victorians that have suffered under this Andrews government. Our schools are broken. Homeschooling is something that so many of our kids have faced. We have got to ensure that we get kids back to where they need to be, not only in the classroom but also by providing the education standards that they deserve. Also cost-of-living pressures are affecting every single Victorian. We have got so many taxes—40 new taxes under the Andrews government—and we have got to ensure there are no more new taxes.

And finally small businesses: have a look at the CBD. There are so many ‘For lease’ signs under this government. In my area of Caulfield we have had so many small businesses that have struggled with restrictions and regulations that have not made sense. Our shopping strip policy to ensure we bring many people back to our strips will help with that—as well as so many other policies to ensure we make Victoria number one again.