Wyndham Small Business | Adjournment & Response

Ms VAGHELA (Western Metropolitan): My adjournment matter is directed to the Minister for Local Government and Minister for Small Business, the Honourable Adem Somyurek. The western metropolitan area thrives due to the enterprising spirit of the excellent small businesses in our region. I was pleased to learn recently of more support for small businesses in the Wyndham area due to a $20,000 funding boost from the Andrews Labor government. The funding will support a pitch competition for start-ups as part of the council’s WYNnovation business innovation program, scheduled to run in February 2020. Small businesses have big ideas, and this funding will give them the chance to take their plans to the rest of our communities. I was pleased to see more chances for passionate small business owners to get more support through the Labor government’s Small Business Bus visiting Manor Lakes earlier this week to provide advice and mentoring for small businesses in the area. Wyndham’s business community is the fastest growing in Victoria, with an 18.2 per cent increase in 2018 compared with 2017. There are more than 17 500 businesses in the municipality operating out of a range of dedicated precincts in areas including retail, industrial and tourism. Wyndham is also one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria, with a population of more than 255 000 in 2018, up 65 000 since 2013. A thriving network of small businesses is important to areas like Wyndham, generating new employment opportunities, supporting a growing economy and adding to the unique culture of Western Metropolitan Region. By supporting business-led innovation in Wyndham, the government is backing the growth of opportunity and reinforcing that there is no better place than Victoria to build a small business—a fact reinforced by the recent raising in the budget of the threshold at which businesses pay payroll tax. The action I seek is that the minister provide an outline of key business indicators in the Wyndham council area and give assurances that these businesses will continue to be able to access the support and mentoring services of the Small Business Bus so that they can continue to thrive.