Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (15:29):It is interesting to hear the member for St Albans’ enthusiasm for the Main Street level crossing removal, given that it was initiated by the Napthine Liberal government and it was funded by the— A member: You did nothing on it. Mr MORRIS: It was funded by the Liberal Napthine government. I was there and I was involved and I know exactly what happened. It was a Liberal project so do not

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (14:42): (5925) My question is to the Minister for Industry Support and Recovery on behalf of a constituent who writes: We are an established, non essential retail business of over 10 years, with no online trading and only a ‘bricks & mortar’ presence which was mandated to be closed for some 173 days … over the past four Victorian lockdowns. Even though no income was generated during this period, we were still required to pay commercial rental,

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (16:35): I thought I had heard it all in this chamber, but I think I have just heard a bit more. The last contribution in particular, but many of the contributions we have heard from the government benches, just make it so clear that they have absolutely no conception about how an economy works. If there is anything more important to mental health than jobs, than having a job and having the

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (10:34): I take the opportunity this morning to make some remarks on the Report on the 2020–21 Budget Estimates that was produced by the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee and tabled on 4 May. Interestingly, the committee website indicates that it was completed on 1 April, and perhaps that is a more appropriate day given the absolute joke that the scrutiny process, the scrutiny of the appropriations, has become in this Parliament. Deputy Speaker,

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (09:45): There have been repeated claims about the support that the government has provided to assist small businesses to weather the COVID storm. Yet despite these claims we know many Victorian businesses are in trouble, and this morning we learned that the number of business collapses had doubled in February in Victoria. Why? Because the government has totally failed to deliver on their promises. Angela, the proprietor of a Mornington retail outlet,

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (13:45): During the last sitting week the Andrews government belatedly delivered its 2020 budget, and unfortunately there was not much, if anything, to say about the Mornington electorate. Apart from a small amount of money for planning and redevelopment of Mornington Special Developmental School, which is very welcome although long overdue, there is not a single cent in the budget for my electorate. But in many ways that budget was no surprise,

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (14:59): I think it is fair to say that I do not share the excitement of the member for Bayswater in this budget—or apparent excitement anyway. The debate this afternoon is about the Appropriation (2020–2021) Bill 2020, but it is also unusually about the Appropriation (Parliament 2020–2021) Bill 2020. It is interesting that for many years now the Parliament has been pursuing a course of seeking further financial independence from the government, but here

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (18:01): I am pleased to have the opportunity to join this debate on the State Taxation Acts Amendment Bill 2020, which of course is an annual event. We do one of these every year, and every year it has something slightly different in it. It is part of the budget process, and yes, this year this bill does have some components that are budget related. But I do stress ‘some’, because the reality