State Liberals head to Geelong to launch “back to work” plan

THE state Liberal and National parties have rolled out their blueprint for what Victoria should do next during the coronavirus pandemic, visiting a factory in Geelong to launch the “Back to Work and Back in Business” document.
The plan is split into four sections: “Securing your personal finances”, “Rebuilding local economies”, “Building better communities” and “Keeping your family safe”.
Speaking at IXL Metal Casings on Friday last week, Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said Geelong had “always been the manufacturing heart of Victoria and we want to bring
manufacturing back”.
He said his party’s plan would establish a $1 billion “Bringing Manufacturing Home” fund to encourage manufacturers to locate their facilities in Victoria, as well as raise the payroll tax threshold to $10 million until June 30 next year.
“The future for manufacturing is in being smarter, in making better quality product, in better targeted product. Now we’re not going to be able to compete with (countries such as) China in terms of mass production but we’ll beat them when it comes to innovation and quality and service.”
“Back to Work and Back in Business” brings together some of the recent policy ideas touted by the Liberals and Nationals, including the “Zero to Landfill” environmental policy and the establishment of a $200 million Regional Tourism Fund to support country communities.
Although the document stresses “this is not a plan for the next election; Victorians can’t afford to wait that long” on its second page, some of the policies are identical to those championed by the Liberals and Nationals and opposed by Labor in the lead-up to the 2018 state election, including immediately removing the moratorium on conventional onshore natural gas, building the East West Link, and reinstating the Country Roads and Bridges Program.