Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria)

My constituency question is for the Treasurer, and concerns the catastrophic figures released in today’s August Sensis Business Index. More than 54 per cent of businesses in Melbourne expect a damaging decrease in profitability over the next three months, exactly twice the 27 per cent of Sydney businesses which expect the same.

Forty-nine per cent of all those surveyed in hospitality and accommodation declared the lockdown had had a ‘severe impact’ on their business, with 35 per cent laying off staff. Across all sectors, 38 per cent of Melbourne businesses are either ‘fairly worried’ or ‘extremely worried’, with 13 per cent expecting to go out of business within 12 months.

My constituents are rightly afraid of the knock-on effects outside the tram tracks, even without any further regional lockdown—already 5 per cent don’t believe they will last the next year. Business has borne the brunt of the government’s COVID response, and so my question to the Treasurer is: what fundamental changes will you make to rebuild the damage done, rebalance the sacrifice made and allow enterprise to thrive in Victoria?