Wednesday, 25 May 2022

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Report on the 2020–21 Budget Estimates

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (10:11): I refer to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee inquiry into the budget estimates 2020–21 and the contribution from the Treasurer as the Minister for Economic Development on how Victoria is trying to strengthen economic performance with a range of mechanisms. I want to concentrate in this contribution on the vision, the plans, the partnerships and that we now have our best opportunity ever with the election of an Albanese government. I have long pursued—for more than decades—coordinating the three tiers of government, business and civil society to deliver greater results and better opportunities where they are needed most. The strategies have been outlined in Creating Opportunity: Postcodes of Hope and Building Smarter Cities: Stronger Communities—and I am very happy to raise that I gave this report directly to Anthony Albanese when it was done in 2018. So here is the opportunity to actually make sure that we get these things done. The need is vital and urgent. We have seen in the federal election what has happened. We have had a well organised, highly funded strategy to go after safe Liberal Party seats, and it has had a devastating effect. You have seen that there is no Liberal-held seat overlooking Sydney Harbour. That is what happened to the Sydney-centric government. You have seen the foundations of the Liberal Party right here in Victoria being wiped out, and this is the threat that is now being revealed.

I want to acknowledge that well-respected former assistant secretary of the Victorian ALP, now pollster at RedBridge Group, Kos Samaras, has identified that these results are an issue for both big parties. We are delighted that Anthony Albanese is the Prime Minister of Australia, but let us not ignore the real and present danger that is there for both major parties. If there is a well-funded, well-coordinated campaign that goes after these issues, it can have a huge impact. I will just quote what Kos Samaras says:

All it takes is for the system to be stressed, and a once large vote, in any seat, gets washed away …

Without any stress, Labor’s primary vote in many of its safe seats got cut down to mid 40 primary.

All it will take is a well resourced alternative, that is not Liberal, just like the teals, and these seats will wash away.

I am directly quoting him here:

What we have seen from the federal election is clear evidence that the movement of voters away from the two major parties continues to gain momentum …

Labor was not immune from such an effect, with their star candidate Kristine Kenneally rejected by the people of Fowler, with voters choosing a community focused candidate …

Now, we know that there is a threat on the horizon. We do not know how significant it will be, but we know that it is being harnessed against the Victorian Labor government. I want to really say that this is the opportunity for the Labor government to step up again and highlight the massive investments that have been made into these communities, but we must make it big picture and grassroots. You have to connect to the people who feel disconnected, whether that is real or not. It has been a strategy that has been used right through America since Richard Nixon. You saw the rise of Donald Trump; this is the subtext to all of this. I refer to yesterday’s events in the Liberal Party here, where Bernie Finn was expelled. Well, Bernie Finn stood in the other place with a President Donald Trump tie on before the last US election. So the forces are at play, they are going to be harnessed, and this is an issue that we must address.

The point is that the Victorian Labor government has made huge investments, but the local people, particularly in these communities, must know how it impacts them. We are about to come to a moment where we have got the Liberal Party federally and in Victoria saying they do not want to go down this line, but we have seen it before. It was the chain reaction of race, rights and taxes—that is used to divide. The UAP are out there doing this, and this is the clear strategy from the conservative side of politics. It is brutal and cynical, and it must be addressed. So do not ignore these issues. Now is the time to take action—from the Victorian government, that is what I am calling for—and to actually make sure that the communities feel that the investments are there. There have been huge investments. But how do you make that happen? That is what I have driven with the Broadmeadows Revitalisation Board 4.0 and the comeback strategy. Broadmeadows is the prototype. Here is how we can do it. This is the blueprint to win the next Victorian election.