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I rise today to speak on the State Taxation Acts Amendment Bill 2023, a bill that I believe will further contribute to Victoria’s cost-of-living crisis. I stand in fierce opposition to this bill, a bill that enacts the payroll and land tax changes outlined in the brutal state budget handed down last week. Someone needs to stand up for the 6.8 million Victorians who are set to be worse off under this budget, and that is what the opposition is doing.
Since Labor was elected nine years ago Victoria’s tax rate is set to double, as nearly 50 new taxes have been introduced. This bill is littered with taxes on aspiration and taxes on a fair go. Labor’s school tax, Labor’s rent tax, Labor’s job tax and Labor’s debt tax are all taxes on hardworking Victorians at a time when we can least afford it. We believe in giving Victorians every opportunity to get ahead, not taxing them for the pleasure. Where is the Australia that is the land of opportunity, one that we promote to new citizens when they take their oath of citizenship, or the land of the fair go, where hard work will be rewarded and rewards come to those who give it a go? Where is the state that for years has been home to the world’s most livable city? What a joke that is when our residents cannot afford to live, work or play here under the Andrews Labor government. This government is asking hardworking Victorians to foot the bill for its financial incompetence, and we have had enough. This is a budget that punishes Victorians for trying to get ahead, and ultimately despite all this, net debt is still forecast to grow to a staggering $171.4 billion within four years.
Life is going to get harder for regional Victorians under Labor, with this budget slashing funding in key areas, including regional roads, health and agriculture. Victoria’s regional roads will stay in a state of disrepair, with maintenance funding slashed by 45 per cent since 2020 and from $702 million to just $441 million in the last year alone. There have been 134 deaths on Victorian roads in 2023, which is 38 per cent more than at this time last year. That is 134 Victorian families who are grieving. Instead of having a heart and pledging to fix the state of the roads, this government is ripping hundreds of millions of dollars from road maintenance. Politicians in this government seem to have lost touch with reality. But please know this budget will have devastating consequences on the lives of regional Victorians.
Key regional economic drivers like agriculture have suffered in this budget, with funding down 34 per cent on last year, from $687.3 million to $454.8 million. Cuts to regional development continue, with spending halved, from $211 million to $106 million in this year’s budget. These cuts are not new. Since 2020 it has been slashed by 80 per cent. This is on top of the sustainable native timber industry being shut down ahead of schedule – a death warrant for communities in the state’s east.
Victorian farmers and farm businesses continue to weather uncertain international markets and will now face cuts to trade and global development. $60.3 million or almost 60 per cent has now been cut from this since 2020. What will be left of our state when all our primary industries are shut down, people are jobless, industries are outsourced and communities are decimated, becoming once-prosperous ghost towns?
I have talked about our regional roads and the risks to the lives of those who are on them daily, but what of our health system, which is supposed to care for these people? Victorians are being punished for Labor’s financial incompetence. As state budget figures confirm, the Andrews government will cut $1 billion from the health budget, and this comes against the backdrop of an ageing population and post-COVID recovery. Cuts to health care continue under this government, with a $2 billion cut to health in last year’s budget and further cuts this year, meaning health expenditure will fall from $28 billion to $27 billion in 2023–24. Community health will also suffer this financial year, with $100 million cut from vital community health programs that actively work to prevent further stress on our hospitals. Elective surgery waitlists remain long and ambulance response times continue to fail to hit targets. Thanks to Labor’s financial mismanagement of the health system, patients are not getting the health services they deserve or the services that they critically need.
What about the next generation? If you are a family hoping to send your children to an independent school, it will cost you an extra $1000 per year every single year for the next decade. If you are hoping to invest in the property market, you will pay an extra $1000 a year for the privilege, and you will go on paying an extra $1000 every year for the next 10 years. If you are a business wanting to grow and employ more people, you will be slogged with higher payroll tax. If you are looking to buy a new home and land package, you will be paying more because developers will now be paying more in land tax. And if Victorians are hoping for a pay increase this year, I also have bad news. This budget increases payroll tax when the government’s own Department of Treasury and Finance has demonstrated that lower payroll taxes result in higher wages for employees.
For tens of thousands of families across the state, this budget will cost them $30,000 over the next decade. We oppose these costs on Victorians and we oppose taxes on aspiration and taxes on a fair go. This brutal budget has simply come at a time when Victorians can least afford it. Living costs are rising and new higher taxes are not the way to solve this. There are growing financial pressures and increasing difficulties for people to meet their everyday expenses, maintain a decent standard of living and save for the future. Several factors contribute to the cost-of-living crisis, including housing affordability, rising utility costs, healthcare expenses and stagnant wage growth. None of these factors will be resolved through these taxes.
Victoria, particularly in regional areas, has experienced a surge in property prices and rental costs over the years. The demand for housing coupled with limited supply has driven up prices, making it increasingly difficult for individuals and families to afford suitable accommodation. I, like many others, have serious concerns over the introduction of the new land tax. This land tax will only increase the growing strain on people trying to get by. What is more, it will do nothing to address rental affordability for those looking for a house, because the pressure will go up the chain. The new annual charge is expected to apply to about 380,000 home owners, who would previously not have paid the tax.
In towns across the Euroa electorate, the lack of supply of housing has already seen rental prices soar. Data earlier this year showed the Strathbogie shire, which sits in my electorate, saw the largest percentage increase in the median rental price across the entire state. The median price of houses in the area rose 19.1 per cent to $420 a week, up from just $353 in December 2021. Neighbouring council areas Alpine, Campaspe and Indigo also saw significant rises, with rent increasing by over 13 per cent in each shire. Ten council areas in the state posted double-digit rent rises. In the township of Euroa there are few homes available for rent, and costs have increased significantly. The extra strain on property owners and landlords will see this burden grow even more. On top of the impact on the prices that the housing crisis has had, right across the state we have waitlists for housing that are completely out of control. There are hundreds of people urgently waiting for housing in towns right across the Euroa electorate, including Seymour, Benalla and the Broadford district.
Homelessness is already a concern in my electorate. From 2012 to 2019 nearly 1200 people in the Mitchell, Strathbogie and Benalla LGAs required support from specialist homelessness services. These taxes will only amplify this issue, and the housing crisis is in dire need of being solved. I am regularly contacted by people who are in desperate need of housing, and they are continually being told there is simply no supply to house them. Recently I had my colleague the member for Kew Jess Wilson visit my electorate to meet with key stakeholders across the housing industry, including real estate agents, builders, developers and contractors, to discuss the hurdles facing increasing housing supply. We heard that prospective regional home owners were being hit with a double whammy of increased prices and exponentially rising interest rates. Of course there is nothing in the budget to increase supply or to even address investors coming back to the market. It begs the question as to who was consulted on these taxes when the Real Estate Institute of Victoria calls them a ‘horror move’. More taxes on everyday Victorians is not the answer. I want people to be able to grow up, raise their family and own a home in their own community without having to save for decades and be burdened by taxes. These taxes are going to make it much more difficult for young people, for vulnerable people – for everyday people – who are simply asking for a roof over their head. Victorians already have enough on their plates. Every day constituents come into my office saying they are concerned about the rising energy prices, describing the impact on their livelihoods that these rises are having. Multiple people visited my electorate office last week asking for directions to clothing bins and food banks. Many hardworking Australians are now finding it unmanageable. At a time when things are tough the taxes in this bill do nothing but promote stagnant wage growth. Victorian families are struggling to maintain their standard of living, despite working hard and earning a regular income. Businesses and job creation will be stifled through these taxes, not just big businesses as this government suggests. You cannot tax your way to prosperity. Instead it piles on the burden when we can least afford it.