With the current and latest debacle surrounding the 6 week lock-down of Victoria, there will be many businesses lost and many more people permanently displaced from employment. How Victoria comes back from this now is almost an impossible task given that the same people who mis-managed the situation and caused this dilemma are still calling the shots for the state.
With a State budget drowning in red ink with major projects billions of dollars over budget and literally years behind schedule, most Victorians are suffering whilst the public sector is still going on full pay and few restrictions.
Our Victorian premier has, up until this virus has had a dream run supported by a buoyant economy that has enabled him to spend without heed to appropriate management controls and it is this coupled with the lock-downs that will cripple Victoria for years to come.
I can remember the collapse of the Victorian Economic Development Corporation and Pyramid Building Society some 30 years ago which took us years to recover. This government has totally lost control of the economic and health situation of Victoria and knows it.
In looking at a recovery strategy which will need to be structured sector by sector, the government urgently needs to look at business overhead costs which are leveled through additional taxes and/or licensing fees. These need to be removed immediately so they enhance the incentives offered by our commonwealth government. Land tax is an impost on both residential and commercial holdings which has been levied on 2019 valuations at the peak of the market. This needs an urgent review.
We need to incentivise business to create jobs and employ people and now is the time to set up a tax reform national committee of bi-partisan business leaders and political leaders to rectify and change the way Australians are taxed, both federally and state wise.
We are now in desperate need for ideas that grow our economy and which arm businesses with the tools to be internationally competitive and employ people. We also want people to be encouraged and drawn to invest in our great nation.
All of this needs urgent reform and must be achieved through people working cohesively.
