Victorian business leaders have urged new Premier Ben Carroll to cut red tape, lower taxes, reduce debt and restore Big Build confidence. Intrapac chief executive Max Shifman said Labor's relationship with business may be permanently broken, accusing the party of active disdain and leaving government playing catch-up.
As I told the Australian Financial Review: “It's incredibly difficult to see how he [Carroll] can turn that around because there is so much baggage now. It's a party that has had an active disdain for anyone in business and a lot of relationships have been burnt”
I also said: “Ben is clearly a more sensible person for business to deal with it, but he has also been there for the whole time and not put his foot down. We are playing catch-up, and as much as Ben might have more of an economic bent, I'm not sure he can undo the damage.”
Australian Financial Review, 29 July 2026 — Read the full article