Australians from other states are actively avoiding Victoria.

The situation has gone way beyond fun little jokes about building a wall or slights aimed at the tram network.

When Victoria comes up in conversation, it is usually to discuss the horror of race-based treaties, machete fights, foreigners protesting in favour of terror-led governments, outrageous taxes, the empty high street, how dangerous it is at night, its $135 billion public debt, Covid-era terror, the decapitation and theft of statues from a public park, or even the permanent construction site where a new bus stop costs the same as a small island.

Recently, the Kamikaze behaviour of the Liberal Party has left those who want to see the state saved by a conservative government with a sense of helplessness.

People are shutting up shop and getting out.

There is nothing fair, equitable, free, or safe about the socialist tendencies of the current Labor government and the acquiescence of the Liberals.

Research from the Institute of Public Affairs suggests that 129,000 businesses closed in 2024.

Every business that closes represents another cluster of people with little choice but to seek employment in the public sector. In other words, Victoria is teaching a generation of young workers that the state is a stable employer while running a business is too risky. That is a terrible lesson.

Lachlan Clark, an IPA Research Fellow, said:

‘In 2024, more than 350 businesses shut their doors in Victoria every single day according to new data from the ABS. These new figures show that Victoria has not recovered from the pandemic and remains an economic basket-case … previous IPA research has shown that Victoria is the worst performing state in the nation. The tragedy is that it is only getting worse.’

The Jacinta Allan solution to the state’s plummeting prosperity appears to be endless tax hikes and predatory legislation.

Never once has Labor apologised for being the primary cause of business failure, having forced everyone’s doors to close for months on end during Covid.

So many family businesses in Melbourne have closed. Many of them were generational companies now saddled with broken dreams and serious debt. None of it was their fault. They ran successful companies before the government got involved.

These days it is fair to ask, why would anyone start a business in a state with a government that behaves this way?

Where is the guarantee that politicians will never act with such cruelty and recklessness again?

There is no guarantee. There is no acknowledgement. There is no apology.

Only more taxes.

Only more crime.

Only more mouths to feed.

Only a bigger public service.

Only larger contracts for the unions.

Only more promises to enshrine racial privilege and create a genuine caste system amongst the citizens of Victoria.

Yes, Victorians should leave. They should abandon Labor, abandon the hopeless Liberals, and bring their dreams and ideas to other states because no Australian should be forced to live under the hell of the Victorian Labor government.

No one should live in a state where their ancestry determines their status, rights, and financial responsibilities.

And no one should be forced to pay for their own incarceration and demise through schemes such as the Covid Debt Levy.

The only people responsible for the $40.1 billion-odd spent on Covid are health authorities, politicians, and China.

Why not the citizens? Because it was never put to a vote. The public had no say, whatsoever, in an economy-changing decision that was entirely reactionary and ultimately unnecessary. Indeed, when people tried to protest against it, they were called domestic terrorists and met with unrestrained brutality on the streets in scenes that went around the world painting Victoria as an authoritarian disaster.

It is no good having the government release comments such as, ‘We provided rent relief so Victorians could keep a roof over their heads…’ if the government created that need to begin with. That is like trying to gain credit for offering a Band-Aid after smacking someone in the face.

In addition, it would be nice to know why the government specifically wants to rip money out of Victorians for the ‘Covid debt’ but not the ‘infrastructure debt’ or the ‘green energy debt’ or the ‘activism debt’.

Victoria’s independent advisory body wants to spend $100 billion on infrastructure over the next 30 years when the government is already scrounging around the middle and working classes for spare change.

Imagine the tax hike to cover that little splurge…

According to an ABC article, Better public transport, slower local streets, and more social housing called for in new Infrastructure Victoria plan, we are led to believe it is a good idea to grind traffic to a halt (30km/h at a cost of $45-ish million) and increase the density of social housing (costed at $30-ish billion) instead of lowering taxes so individuals can afford real housing and gain an asset for retirement. (Well, until Chalmers’ finds a way to get his paws on it for the Federal Treasury.)

Victoria does not have an infrastructure plan, it has a pathway to dependency on an incompetent state.

Besides, who wants to catch public transport or walk down the street when there is a real chance of being attacked by gangs of youths wielding machetes (or chainsaws, or hammers, or whatever is left on the shelves at Bunnings which the Premier hasn’t banned yet)?

Foot traffic is not returning to Melbourne streets while people are scared of being robbed.

Reports last week indicate the crime rate has increased more than 15 per cent, with the blame firmly on young offenders (including those between 10 and 17).

According to the Crime Statistics Agency, over 12 months there have been 627,268 criminal offences, almost certainly setting a 172-year record. The theft statistics viewed separately are even worse. Criminals are stealing number plates, cars (up 47.1 per cent!), phones, and breaking into the few surviving shops. If these statistics were weather-related, they would be considered an apocalypse.

Clearly the soft on crime approach endangered law-abiding Victorians.

And with cars reduced to 30km/h to ‘promote walking and cycling’ (costed at $600-ish million), not even they will be safe from criminals. It will be a rotisserie of grand theft auto.

The last time I went to Melbourne just before Covid, I was followed by a gang of young men who were waiting for me to leave the restaurant strip and head to the tram stop. I had to duck into an establishment and hang around until they lost interest. When I got to the hotel, people were beating a streetlight to death with a pipe. That was enough for me. It didn’t feel like an Australian city. It didn’t look like an Australian city. It had become a mess. A Labor mess.

If I was asked to go to Melbourne for work now, I would politely decline.

What Labor has done to Victoria is unforgivable.

That is why I ask, are Victorians okay?

I might be from New South Wales, but we’re really worried about you.