A Business Council ranking of states and territories has crowned South Australia the best place in the country to run a business and labelled Victoria the worst.The Coalition is understood to be planning an end-of-year campaign blitz in the state as the Liberals target several key seats.
Traditional rival New South Wales was in the mid-field, ranked fifth ahead of Queensland and Western Australia. Some federal Labor MPs have questioned whether Anthony Albanese's prospects in Victoria could be harmed by the state's government's performance.Federal Labor won 24 of the state's 39 federal seats at the 2022 election, and it will face voters before Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan does in late 2026.
Prospects of a major mood swing in Victoria have also emboldened federal Liberals, who are understood to be planning a major campaign blitz led by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton before the end of the year.Victoria's economy has struggled to keep pace with states such as South Australia and NSW since the state government raised taxes to help manage a surge in debt that began to skyrocket during some of the world's toughest and longest pandemic lockdowns.
Similarly, childcare services operators need 35 different approvals, whereas in the NT it is 19, according to the BCA. South Australia topped the rankings, according to Mr Black, for having the best regulatory environment in the country.