Small business support
Ms BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:10): My question is for the Minister for Small Business. Victoria is the worst state in Australia when it comes to starting a small business, according to the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry cost-of-doing-business report released in January 2022, last month. Minister, why is the Andrews government making life so hard for businesses that just want to recover and rebuild from two years of devastating lockdowns?
Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (12:11): I thank Ms Bath for her question. The claim in that report contains a not insignificant error, and I believe that the Legislative Assembly had some discussion of this in the last sitting week. But what I can say to you is that we are very proud of the state of the Victorian economy in spite of the significant challenges that are underway. When it is my turn for a ministers statement I am going to tell you about all the supercool things are happening in the startup sector, but you will just have to wait a jiffy for that.
Again, it says some things that I actually referred to in the house last week, but they are very much pertinent to this question. Victoria is the number one jurisdiction for skills, the number two for infrastructure and connectivity and for entrepreneurship and growth. The Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor survey for the December quarter puts the total value of investment in major projects in Victoria at $174 billion. CommSec’s latest State of the States report ranked Victoria ahead of all other states for construction activity. Deloitte Access Economics is predicting the Victorian economy will grow by 7.2 per cent over this and the next financial year. And, of course, as I think members here would be well aware, Victoria currently has a record low unemployment rate. We are leading the nation in new housing, approving more than 50 per cent more houses than New South Wales in 2021.
I would encourage Ms Bath to review Hansard from the Assembly on this very question last week. As I understand it, there is quite a significant error at just one point in the report that very much goes to the question that you have raised.
Ms BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:13): My question went specifically to startups, and it was actually on page 9 of the report, and I feel you certainly did not answer that respectfully to those people who are trying to start up a small business. The report also highlights that a person seeking to start up a new business in Victoria requires more permits, more licences and more approvals and must go through more processes than in any other state. Will you immediately review the regulatory burden strangling our small businesses?
Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (12:14): I thank Ms Bath for her further question. I am even more excited about telling you all about startup awards in a second than I was before. What I would say to Ms Bath is that we have a very, very strong community of people establishing new businesses, and they are going from strength to strength and achieving extraordinary things. I would also refer Ms Bath to outcomes from the last budget and the regulatory review processes that are underway, the regulatory review programs that are underway, which are systematically removing and eliminating red tape wherever it is possible to do so. There are some really significant achievements being made in the reduction of the regulatory burden. It is everyday work for our government to constantly be checking that regulation, much of which has its origins in this place, is fit for purpose for the business community.