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