Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (17:10): (1483) My adjournment matter is directed to the Treasurer, and the action that I ask for is a comprehensive update on the cumulative impact of the government’s increased taxation, the congestion levy and the growing regulatory burden on hospitality venues, retailers and small businesses operating along Melbourne’s iconic inner-city shopping strips, including Bridge Road, Chapel Street, Acland Street and Burke Road. As Shadow Assistant Minister for Hospitality and for Melbourne, I rise with deep concerns about the viability crisis facing our local shopping strips. These are not just commercial precincts, they are the cultural heart of our suburbs and the economic backbone of countless small business owners who have invested their life savings into serving their neighbourhoods. Yesterday Justin Smith wrote in the Herald Sun about Bridge Road’s depressing high vacancy rates, describing the strips as once lively and groovy, now filled with tobacco shops, massage parlours and $2 reject stores. Chapel Street, Acland Street, Sydney Road and Burke Road are all struggling, all fighting with what Smith describes as ‘a losing battle for survival’. These iconic inner-city shopping strips have everything they need to thrive – residential density, public transport, community demand – yet they are failing. While COVID-19 and online retail play a part in this, this government’s policy settings are making a difficult situation basically impossible. Let us be clear about what small businesses are facing: payroll tax increases; a congestion levy that makes it harder for customers to reach them; in the case of Chapel Street, an expanded congestion levy that takes effect from 1 January 2026, with Stonnington council already adjusting parking fees in anticipation of the $4.1 million annual cost that this government is imposing; energy costs that continue to climb; and a regulatory environment that hits small businesses hardest, with compliance costs consuming a far larger share of their revenue than corporations with a dedicated compliance team.
The contrast is stark: Centre Road in Bentleigh maintains a 1 per cent vacancy rate and thrives, yet Bridge Road struggles with empty shopfronts. The difference is not geographic, it is policy settings that either support or suffocate small business viability. Mr Smith asks:
… what are the council’s plans, other than their once-a-year weaponry of trees, tinsel and carols squawking from speakers?
But council can only do so much when state government taxation and regulatory settings stack the decks against viability. These shopping strips set the culture for entire suburbs and become destinations for tourists and people from all over Melbourne. When they are defined by vacancy, graffiti and decline, that is what the suburbs become.
This government must assess how its taxation settings, the congestion levy and regulatory frameworks are collectively impacting small business viability along Melbourne’s iconic inner-city shopping strips. The Labor government brags about its big projects, with over $50 billion in cost blowouts, but as Mr Smith correctly observes, the small ones need a little more love. Our shopping strips deserve better than being left to fight a losing battle while this government adds weight to the wrong side of the scales.