Wednesday, 17 June 2026

 Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (19:04): (1711) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Premier, and the action that I seek is for the Premier to explain to businesses in my electorate why they are being used as cash cows in a futile attempt to pay down the Allan Labor government debt. Victoria is an economic basket case. Labor is obsessed with recklessly spending money it does not have on blowout projects in Melbourne while the regions are neglected. We know the state has been robbed of $15 billion because Labor looked the other way when confronted with evidence of widespread corruption on the Big Build sites, and overwhelmingly it is businesses who are paying the price.

ASIC’s insolvency data shows that 4242 Victorian companies collapsed or had a financial controller appointed in the 2024–25 financial year, a staggering 48 per cent increase compared to the 2023–24 year. Why? Because the Allan Labor government has made it impossible to do business in Victoria. Victoria’s payroll tax system is one of the most punishing in the country, at a rate of 6.85 per cent, and we have one of the lowest tax-free thresholds nationally. Victoria’s WorkCover premiums are soaring to unsustainable prices and many small businesses, particularly the trades, face a choice between paying the cover – the cover their employees need and deserve – or just shutting the doors. Several business owners have shared land tax assessment notices with me that show site values or taxable values for a parcel of land have somehow, according to the valuer-general, doubled in the space of a year. In one case a small business in Morwell received a notice where the value of land was alleged to be $1.25 million, double what it was the year before. This business has now moved its operations interstate, and the owners place the blame squarely at the feet of the Allan Labor government and its land tax scheme.

Victoria’s emergency services tax is another impost that many businesses cannot afford to wear. Contrary to what Labor says, the money is not going towards bolstering emergency services. Only the Nationals and Liberals in government will scrap the emergency services tax, lift the thresholds for land tax, increase the payroll tax threshold for businesses and revitalise Victoria’s economy. Small and medium-size businesses are the backbone of our economy, and they deserve better than Labor.