Thursday, 5 March 2026

 Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (10:09): In my electorate of Western Victoria, we are incredibly proud of our migrant small business owners. They are enterprising, energetic and hardworking, and they provide fantastic services to our communities. So I noted with interest that the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association received a $100,000 grant to support business growth – and good luck to them. But migrant business owners exist across the whole state, not just in one city block. In Western Victoria they are in shopping strips, shopping centres, industrial estates and quite literally in paddocks, producing some of the finest food and fibre that goes anywhere across the world. They are just as hardworking and deserve as much support as anyone else. Instead, what do they get? The government’s small business van, a travelling display piece that perfectly captures the government’s preference for symbolism over substance. Meanwhile, organisations like the Victorian Regional Chamber Alliance and local groups like Commerce Ballarat do the real work, supporting businesses every day with far fewer resources and much less fanfare. So my message to the government is simple: take a whole-state approach, work with regional chambers, support migrant businesses wherever they are and deliver help that actually makes a difference, because regional businesses need real support, not just a van that drives past and waves.