As businesses across the region continue to close, The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has raised serious concerns about the economic future of local towns.
Speaking in Parliament this week, Ms Cleeland called on the government to take urgent action to make regional Victoria a better place to do business.
“Shops are shutting down at an alarming rate across our region,” Ms Cleeland said.
“These are towns the government promised would grow, but instead, our main streets are filling with ‘For Lease’ signs.”
A recent report from the Business Council of Australia ranked Victoria last for business settings, citing high property taxes, payroll costs, and burdensome licensing requirements.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics paints an equally grim picture, showing Victoria lost nearly 23,000 businesses between 2021 and 2023—the highest drop of any state—with Heathcote, Benalla, Seymour, and the Kilmore-Broadford area all reporting fewer businesses operating than the year before.
In Benalla alone, 36 businesses closed in the past year.
Ms Cleeland recently met with business owners in Heathcote to hear firsthand about the challenges they’re facing.
“Half the businesses I spoke to in Heathcote are either shutting down or moving interstate because doing business in Victoria is just too hard,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Skyrocketing WorkCover premiums, rising taxes, and increasing crime are crushing local businesses. To make matters worse, these business owners feel like the government isn’t listening.
“These are problems the government can fix, but their inaction is costing our towns their future.”
