SEMMA (The South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance) is the voice of manufacturers in the region.
The Alliance has met with the Victorian Treasurer and a number of Ministers to voice its concerns and present proposals in support of manufacturing.
However, so far, its requests have not been met due to budgetary concerns caused by the burden of debt faced by Victoria.
So what does the Alliance propose to help Melbourne’s manufacturers?
Basically, the proposals are for land and tax reforms to lighten the load on businesses and to help manufacturers invest and remain in Victoria. In part, this is a reaction to the rising costs of doing business in Victoria over the last 12 months.
The proposals suggest a base tax rate that would provide an incentive to doing business in Victoria. It would, they say, enable businesses to hire apprentices and maintain staffing levels.
Manufacturing is facing a number of headwinds and SEMMA wants to create an environment that can cope with these.
SEMMA are set to release a ‘Manufacturing Blueprint for 2025’ aimed at providing policy makers with a vision for manufacturing regarding taxation, innovation and energy consistency, read more here.