Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Moira DEEMING (Western Metropolitan) (09:44): Over the last few weeks I have been very, very privileged to meet with some of the most impressive men that I have ever met. They are all very, very successful business owners – Glynn in real estate; Alex, Claudio and Patrick in construction; and Mario in plumbing. They have all got migrant backgrounds. They are all extraordinarily successful, up there at the top of their fields. They have built up success over time, and what was really disheartening to hear from them all – especially from Alex, who is not a spring chicken anymore – was how sad they are that due to the oppressive tax regime in Victoria they are all considering leaving the state. I just want to say thank you to them for being willing to give it one last year to see how it goes, and I just want to say thank you for everything that they have done for Victoria. We all know that all taxes come from the private economy and from people like them.