Friday, 14 November 2025

 Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (12:10): My question is for the Leader of the Government. Melbourne is the protest capital of Australia. Protests routinely shut down our city. It is not only deeply disruptive to visitors to the CBD, it impacts businesses and their workers as revenue from potential customers is lost by shutting down or reducing hours on protest days. Some businesses who tried to remain open report a revenue drop of over 50 per cent on protest days. The taxpayer has also paid out $25 million in overtime for wages for police in the last two years. Businesses in the CBD are having their customers scared away, workers are having their safety and shift security impacted and taxpayers have to pay for overtime wages. Costs for small businesses do not stop while the protests occur, and businesses cannot predict the protests and plan accordingly. Given the government is not going to do anything to regulate disruptive protests, what help will you give to businesses routinely forced to shut down whilst the protests occur?

The PRESIDENT: The question was to the Leader of Government. The Leader of the Government is not somebody referred to in the general orders, I believe. I suppose it would be directed to the Treasurer. I will call the Treasurer, and she might correct me.

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:11): Thank you, President, for some direction there. Mr Bourman, you have raised a matter that crosses over a number of portfolios and probably none of mine, because business support would be a matter for small business, operational matters for police are a matter for police, and in relation to laws, particularly those that have been announced this week in relation to masks at protests and any of the move-on powers, they are a matter for the Attorney-General.

What I can say is that obviously we live in a community where we are very proud of the freedom of speech. We are very proud of the right to protest. The issues that you raise are certainly genuine issues that are well known to everyone. They are conversations that are happening within government, including with the City of Melbourne and retailers and the people that are impacted in relation to solutions, suggestions and ways to make sure that everyone’s rights can be protected and promoted. That is probably the extent of the answer I can give you. If you are interested in particular business support, then the minister for small business would be best placed to respond to that.