Thursday, 17 August 2023

Ministers statements: regional employment

Tim PALLAS (Werribee – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Trade and Investment) (14:36): I am proud to tell the chamber that regional Victoria has kicked another goal – in fact a goal that even Sam Kerr would be proud of – experiencing a jobs boom because of the investment of the Andrews Labor government. According to the latest ABS statistics the unemployment rate in regional Victoria is just 2.8 per cent, the lowest rate on record and almost 4 full percentage points lower than in November 2014. Just today we have learned that over half a million jobs have been created statewide since September 2020 – 140,000 more jobs than the second-greatest job-creating state, New South Wales – smashing our jobs target two years ahead of schedule by over 100,000 jobs.

We have achieved this by making targeted investments in jobs and growth. Our regional payroll tax, for example, has turbocharged business investment, coupled with four increases to the tax-free threshold since we were first elected. We have saved regional businesses millions. For example, from 2016 through to 2021, businesses in Bendigo saved $90 million in payroll tax savings, businesses in Ballarat saved $100 million and businesses in Geelong have saved $220 million. In the most recent budget we have committed to lifting the payroll tax-free threshold twice more to $1 million so that a further 1000 regional businesses will be able to stop paying payroll tax altogether.

So I am happy to tell the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Berwick – oh, sorry, the member for Hawthorn – I am a month early, but I am prescient. I am happy to tell the member for Hawthorn that if this gig does not work out for him, there are plenty of jobs in regional Victoria.