Tuesday, 1 August 2023

Western Victoria Region

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (14:20): (283) My constituency question is raised on behalf of many small businesses and is for the Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC. Many of the small businesses in my electorate have to pay WorkCover premiums. I met Mark Pontil-Scala, who is the general manager of Regina Glass located in Ballarat. Regina Glass export to a number of different markets across the globe. Their WorkCover premiums have more than doubled from $30,000 to over $70,000. The information I am seeking is just a simple question: how can you justify this? How is it justified in any way, shape or form, particularly when we have got such difficult economic conditions? Electricity prices are skyrocketing. Super has gone up. Rent is increasing. Gas prices – let us not talk about gas – 78.25 per cent of increase there. Wages are going up more than inflation. Rent is going up higher than inflation. How is a small business meant to cope in these conditions? It is about time the government started attending taxers anonymous because they have clearly got an addiction to tax.