THE Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has been meeting with local business owners across the region in a push to deliver stronger support for small and medium-sized businesses before they hit breaking point.

Ms Cleeland has met with operators in Kilmore and Euroa in recent weeks, with visits planned in Seymour and Broadford in the coming days.

“I’m on a mission to meet with businesses of all sizes before they hit crisis point,” she said.

“Too often, I only hear from business owners when they’ve been backed into a corner, when they’ve had to step away from the tools and walk into my office out of sheer frustration or desperation.

“I’d rather get in early and ask, what can I do now to advocate for better conditions in Victoria?”

The push comes as local economies reel from a sharp rise in business closures across the state.

According to newly released insolvency data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, 4242 Victorian companies collapsed or had a financial controller appointed in the 2024–25 financial year. This marks a staggering 48 per cent increase compared to the 2863 recorded in 2023–24.

Victoria recorded the largest percentage increase of any mainland state, with business failures nearly doubling over the past two years from 2144 in 2022–23.

“Businesses are shutting down at an alarming rate across our region,” Ms Cleeland said.

“These are towns Labor promised they would grow, but instead, our main streets are filling with ‘For Lease’ signs.

“Labor’s economic mismanagement is crushing business confidence, slashing jobs, and driving long-standing local enterprises to the wall.

“Rising taxes, soaring energy prices, a broken WorkCover system, and constant red tape are making it near impossible for many businesses to survive, let alone grow.”

Ms Cleeland said now more than ever, local businesses needed certainty and a government willing to back them.

“A 48 per cent spike in insolvencies in just one year, and nearly double in two, shows Labor has completely lost control of the Victorian economy,” she said.

“Labor can’t manage money, and now Victorian families and businesses are paying the price.”

“Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, particularly in regional towns.

“They don’t need more promises. They need lower taxes, fewer bureaucratic hurdles, and a government that listens before it’s too late.”