David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week my home state of Victoria hit a tragic milestone. For over 200 days the doors of businesses have been shut and Victorians have been confined to their homes. On top of this, the restrictions that dwell long after the lockdowns are finished have had devastating impacts on many, many industries and businesses. These devastating impacts on the social, emotional and financial state of Victorians are effects we cannot ignore. Businesses are struggling. People are struggling. Doctors are having to put young girls on antidepressants in record numbers. What Victorian businesses are going through is a never-ending night with little hope of reaching the day. Businesses in Victoria need to see a light. They need proper support from their state government. What is currently being offered by the state government in Victoria is simply not enough. At the moment, the current lockdown is to be extended to 2 September, making a total of 214 days during which Victoria will have been in lockdown, and we have no doubt that it will be extended from there.

What has occurred in New South Wales has shown us that the delta variant is much harder to control and that these lockdowns may extend for much longer than we may hope. Make no mistake; businesses are closing. Every day I hear of family businesses that are in trouble. The hopes and dreams of thousands of hardworking Victorians are being crushed before our eyes. Years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication to build a viable and sustainable business are slipping through the tips of their fingers through no fault of their own. We must stand with them.

Yesterday, I spoke with Rick Jamieson, who runs Australia's biggest event company, Harry the hirer. That company is an icon in Victoria. The events industry in Victoria, and probably in Australia, wouldn't exist—it couldn't exist—without that company. Lockdowns have taken away the jobs of a thousand people who work for Rick. He has been using his own savings to keep the company going. Without the grand final, the Caulfield Cup or the Spring Racing Carnival, Rick says he may have to close his doors forever. He is doing everything in his power not to. The IP and the knowledge that he has within that corporation is what fundamentally underpins the events industry in Victoria. Just so we're clear, if Harry the hirer closed its doors, so would the whole of the Victorian events industry. I would ask the events minister, Martin Pakula, whether he knows or cares about what that means for our great state. That is not just no events this year; this means no more events for years to come. Events, I think every Victorian would agree, are the colourful fabric of Victorian life and this would be truly devastating.

Times like this call for all levels of government to step up and support the people when they need it. We, the Morrison government, have supported Victoria more than any other state on a per capita basis. Since the pandemic began, the Morrison government has supported Victorian individuals and households with over $45 billion of direct support. However, the Commonwealth government cannot do this on our own. So I call on the Victorian Labor government. Now is the time that they need to step up. Now is the time that they need to support businesses when they need them the most.

Unfortunately, this is not something we are seeing. We are not seeing the Victorian government step up. This is not good enough. When New South Wales went into lockdown, the state government quickly came to the Morrison government to implement the JobSaver program, which is funded in a fifty-fifty split by the Commonwealth and state governments. Importantly, this program is providing an adequate level of support for more than 400,000 businesses and over 3.3 million workers. In comparison, the Victorian government scheme is complicated and businesses are only eligible to apply for a non-ongoing, one-off grant which provides an inadequate level of support. Yes, it has been given more than once, but business don't know when it is going to come and if they're going to get it or not. Surely in the amount of time that the Victorian government has placed its population in lockdown they would have figured out the level of support that businesses need? Surely with all their experience as the lockdown leaders of Australia they would have some understanding of the pain that many businesses are feeling? When businesses are hurting most, the last thing they need is uncertainty on whether or not they will continue to receive the support they require just simply to survive.

Recently, I spoke to a local business owner from Frankston who has been forced to sell one of his factories and scrap half of his machinery and equipment and has even had to refinance his family home to pay for business costs and staff wages. Despite all of this, they were recently rejected from receiving payment from the Victorian government's Business Costs Assistance Program. This is just another example of good, hardworking Victorian business being let down by the Andrews government. This lack of support is truly heartbreaking. With Premier Andrews's inability to clearly commit to ending lockdowns once high vaccination rates have been achieved, I truly don't know how businesses are supposed to look out and see a future in the state of Victoria.

Premier Andrews has never worked anywhere but Spring Street or for the Labor Party. He wouldn't know a business if he tripped over one. How could he? He's never experienced it. Those opposite me here today who cruised in here on the back of working for unions have at least had to sit opposite a business and have at least had to see a business up close, even if they've never run one or even worked in one. Listening to the stories is heartbreaking. I would encourage Premier Andrews to speak to some of these people so he can understand the pain they are going through. Maybe, just maybe, it might convince him to come to the table.

As the support provided to New South Wales businesses shows, the Morrison government is ready and willing to work with state governments to provide business with the support they need. We want to see businesses come out of this with more than their heads barely above water. The Victorian government must step up before it's too late. We are waiting and the people are waiting. Time, however, is not on our side. The future of our society cannot be predicted on an uncertain future and with success or failure held in the hands of a few state premiers whose vision does not extend beyond a closed society. Yes, we must vaccinate—and I encourage everyone to go and get their jab—and we must open up. We can no longer live in fear of a virus which has already done so much harm. Once we have achieved the level of vaccination already agreed upon by states and territories, we must begin to open up so that businesses can begin to operate and individuals can once again enjoy the freedoms they so long for.

So, please, Premier Andrews, don't give up on our events industry. Let the fully vaccinated go to live events like the Granny. We did in 1919, when the Spanish flu pandemic was running through Australia. My great side, the Collingwood Football Club, won the premiership in 1919. Why, when we didn't have vaccinations against the Spanish flu, aren't we letting Victorians go to the grand final this year? Why are you, again, giving an event away to another state? The Melbourne Cup was run in 1919—I can't remember the horse that won that year. But we have done this before; we let people go to the Melbourne Cup in 1919, in the middle of the Spanish flu pandemic. We need to open up our events, we need to open up Victoria, we need to let people live their lives and we need to support more business. Mr Andrews, the rest is up to you.