Australian Industry Group has expressed disbelief at the Victorian Government's decision to use a $1.3 billion dividend from WorkSafe to prop up the State Budget.
Victorian Head of the Australian Industry Group, Tim Piper, said the decision announced today demonstrated a profound disregard for the business community.
"Businesses were required to pay an additional 42 per cent in WorkSafe premiums to support the scheme. Now the Government is raiding that same scheme to prop up a budget that has been plundered by the Government," Mr Piper said.
"This takes the cake. Employers have paid substantially higher premiums, only to discover that WorkSafe is now being treated as a piggy bank by the Government.
"The last time a huge amount of money was removed from Worksafe, the unions rallied against it in the streets. The Government is letting employers and employees down by doing this.
"The least the Government could have done was be upfront with Victorian businesses that they were effectively imposing yet another tax burden on employers already facing some of the highest business taxes and costs in the country."
Mr Piper said the decision undermined the credibility of Government claims about working collaboratively with industry and supporting investment, jobs and growth.
"In a single decision designed to show an illusory surplus, this decision damages trust between Government and industry. Businesses will feel they are continuing to pay for Government financial mismanagement.
"It's an outrageous scenario and one we would never have expected from a government that repeatedly says it wants to partner with business," Mr Piper said.
