Tuesday, 12 November 2024

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (13:46): On another matter, I just want to put on record the concerns that I am receiving, as many of my colleagues are, from Victorians about the government’s track record on a number of things. I received an email from a woman this week who was talking about how she and her husband have their own business in Mulgrave, which they have run for 31 years, and they employ around 15 people. They are actually being hit with the stressful burdens of the financial hardships that are being imposed upon them because of the government’s actions. They speak about how their land tax has gone up, from $19,000 to $30,000 to $55,000 in just three years. This woman says to me:

… so much for planning for our retirement – we can barely afford to pay for it as we still have mortgages on our properties, rates to pay & provide maintenance of the buildings!! … We’ll be selling up so they’ll be less homes for renters in this homing crisis …

They talk about WorkCover – it has gone up astronomically. The list goes on. The point is that life is getting harder under Labor.