Victorian Liberal Opposition leader Brad Battin promised to restore “pride in Victoria” and reiterated his party’s policy to tackle crimes and scrap several state taxes during a visit to the Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce.
Speaking to local business owners and Casey councillors on the night of Thursday 9 October, Mr Battin said Victoria had reached “a crossroads”, with rising debt, crimes, and business closures eroding confidence and investment in the state.
He may have come to Cranbourne armed with a tough-on-crime message, but it was taxes, red tape and small business costs that dominated the discussion for the large part of the night.
He said an elected Liberal government would scrap five taxes, including the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund Levy and stamp duty, and cut red tape to attract more business investment.
Mr Battin also said South Australia and Queensland were outperforming Victoria in attracting new business investment, warning that “developers and international investors are avoiding Victoria”.
“We will come out with a very detailed plan on what we’re going to do (to reduce some taxes for businesses),” he said.
“But we also need to make sure that we’re not taking any funding away from frontline services because you deserve the services that you need all the way across the State.
“You can’t cut hospitals. They’re already struggling. We can’t cut the police. That’s a pretty obvious one.
“You can’t reduce education because education outcomes are what’s going to drive the next generation, but you can change the way you deliver education and have it more a better model delivering excellence.”
During question time, local business owners raised concerns about potential land tax implications for people working from home and the State Government’s approach to flexible work arrangements.
The State Government has proposed making it a legal right for many Victorian workers to work from home for at least two days a week, provided their job can “reasonably” be done remotely. The proposed policy has sparked concern over the land tax on the home offices, which Treasurer Jaclyn Symes has confirmed during Question Time in Parliament that no such tax would apply.
One attendee said the prospect of paying land tax on a home used for remote work was “quite scary” for small operators and single parents.
Mr Battin also outlined a series of measures a future Liberal government would pursue to tackle crimes, including Jack’s Law to target knife crime, tougher bail conditions, and $100 million in crime prevention programs.
