Thursday, 22 June 2023

Motions

Budget papers 2023–24

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (10:40): I move:

That this house takes note of the 2023–24 budget papers.

There is no doubt that this was a challenging budget of course because our state, our nation and indeed the rest of the world continues to recover from the impacts of the global pandemic. We have made no excuses for the fact that we borrowed money as was required to meet the costs associated with keeping the people of Victoria safe, and now indeed is the time to begin to pay back those borrowings. But I would make this point: our government delivered on each and every one of its election commitments in full, and this is something that I think we should all be enormously proud of. I know that members certainly on this side of the house have wasted no time in getting out and talking to their communities about the many benefits flowing to their communities, not just local benefits but indeed some of the overarching initiatives that we have implemented in this budget – and I will talk a little bit more about those later in my speech.

I do want to, firstly, as the Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure and Minister for Medical Research, talk about some of the important initiatives that were funded in this year’s budget. But in doing so I want to reflect briefly on last year’s budget, which of course had our $12 billion pandemic repair plan, and that has seen some really significant improvements in our health system as we have worked, as the plan says, to repair the impacts of COVID.

What we have seen as a result of that investment includes 140,000 patients admitted from the waiting lists, including – and this is a number I am always extraordinarily proud of – 99.9 per cent of all category 1 patients being treated within the clinically recommended time of 30 days. We continue to recruit and train healthcare workers, and indeed that funding has gone towards 4500 healthcare workers. More than 100,000 patients have passed through Victoria’s innovative virtual emergency department. This is a real game changer for the delivery of care, particularly for older Victorians, wherever they live. The opportunities to increase access to emergency care for people in rural and regional Victoria know no bounds, and indeed that will be a focus of my ongoing work as minister.

We stood up and delivered priority primary care centres. We are on track now to have 26. They are making a huge difference right across the state and providing care when people require urgent but not life-saving emergency care. I know that there are so many parents right around the state who have really welcomed the investment that we have made in primary care. Why did we do that – because we had almost a decade of neglect under the former Liberal–National coalition government in Canberra that effectively destroyed primary care in this nation. I am delighted to be working with the new health minister the very active Mark Butler as we work to repair the damage that has been done to primary care.

Let me talk a little bit more now about the workforce and the investments that our government has made. Since we were elected back in 2014 we have grown our public health workforce in Victoria by almost a third or over 26,000 full-time equivalent staff. Today there are almost 50 per cent more doctors, 26 per cent more nurses and midwives and 35 per cent more medical support and ancillary staff in our healthcare system. In this budget we are delivering more than $338 million to ensure that Victorians continue to have a modern, sustainable and engaged healthcare workforce.

Of course it was our government that enshrined nurse-to-patient ratios. I have just been down at the Royal Melbourne Hospital this morning looking at their new MRI suite, and I got to meet – as I often do – with a nurse who has arrived here in Melbourne from Ireland. Let me tell you, our nurse-to-patient ratios mean that we are an incredibly attractive place for nurses from all around the world to come and work, here in Victoria. Indeed I might also say: why wouldn’t they want to work in Melbourne when today it has just been declared the third most livable city in the world? We will continue to invest in nurse-to-patient ratios, including more staff in intensive care, high-dependency units and maternity services.

Of course our making it free to study nursing and midwifery – this is going to deliver 10,000 nurses and midwives with scholarships of up to $16,500. We are very proud that we have got an incentive to come and work in our public health system, and I will make this point: if the private system wants to introduce incentives, good. They should do that. But we are very proudly recruiting for our free public healthcare system.

Let me talk a bit about infrastructure. We know that those on the other side of the house only know how to close hospitals. They are very limited in their skills when it comes to actually delivering and building hospitals of the future. We currently have $15 billion of projects underway, and of course I look around and I see some of the great legacies of this Andrews Labor government: the Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Sunshine; the Victorian Heart Hospital, the first of its kind in the nation, part of Monash Health; and the new Bendigo Hospital, the largest ever regional health infrastructure project delivered in this state and very important to my own community. But there is always more to do. This budget contains funding to commence the planning and early works for the seven projects that we committed to in the 2022 election. We have a range of projects underway, including expansions at some of Victoria’s busiest emergency departments, including in the north of our great city at the Austin and the Northern Hospital, and I know there are many members on this side of the house who very much welcome that investment.

We have also committed to delivering eight more PET scanners and a new ambulance station down in the fast-growing community of Armstrong Creek, which I know is very warmly welcomed by members on this side of the house. I was, as I said, down at Royal Melbourne Hospital today looking at their new MRI suite, including a functional and research MRI, which is the best in its class here in Australia. So we continue to ensure that our public health system has access to the latest and best technology.

I have talked a little bit about primary care and the fact that it was completely broken by the former federal Liberal–National coalition government. It is actually a complete disgrace that under their watch it became virtually impossible to be able to access free primary care. All Victorians know this, and we have heard in this place many people talk about the waitlists and so on just to get in to see a GP. General practice is at the absolute heart of our healthcare system. We need our GPs to keep us well, to keep us out of hospital, but if you cannot get in to see one, you end up in the emergency department of one of our hospitals. And that is not where people need to be. That is why we established priority primary care; we are really proud of that. But I want to tell you that we are also leaning in again and we are working with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and others to ensure that we are encouraging more graduate and trainee doctors to take up the general practice pathway. I note the member for Brunswick is in the room, himself a general practitioner specialising in sexual health, and I am sure that he would endorse this policy. We are doing that by providing a supplementary wage for trainee general practitioners and by funding the exams for entry to the specialty.

Another part of the budget that I am exceedingly proud of is the money that we have committed to Aboriginal community controlled health organisations. Aboriginal health in Aboriginal hands is a priority for me and a commitment that I have given to our Aboriginal community controlled health organisations. That is why we have invested $35 million, which will deliver an additional 100,000 appointments in our ACCHO sector.

I do need to talk about – people in this house have heard me talk about it a lot, and I will talk about it some more – our government’s investments in women’s health. There are some parties in this house that understand the importance of listening to women, respecting women and electing women, and there are others that do none of that. Our government went to the election with a package of women’s health announcements that were well supported by women right across Victoria. I want to thank the member for Northcote, who is of course the Parliamentary Secretary for Women’s Health, for all the work that she has done to date and the work that she will continue to do to deliver on our election commitments to the people of Victoria. I will tell you this: we make a great team as a consequence of my representing a regional electorate and the member for Northcote obviously an inner city electorate. We bring a combined wealth of experience to this portfolio. We are going to have an excellent four years in this term of government delivering on each and every one of our 20 new women’s health clinics. These are real game changers.

Anyone that is a student of Hansard will look back and observe that it is only in recent years that words that were never, ever in the whole history of this state uttered in this place have become commonplace – endometriosis, uterus, pads, tampons, periods, menopause. All of these conditions are part of the lived experience of every woman in this state. We know that, as a consequence of both our sex and our gender, our outcomes have not always been as good as they should be.

Twenty women’s health clinics – but that is just the beginning. We are delivering another nine sexual and reproductive health hubs, and we will work to ensure, again in partnership with the federal government, that we increase the access to medical termination of pregnancy and that we increase access to surgical terminations where required, because our government believe that abortion care is health care.

We know that there are a range of common conditions that women experience very differently and present with different symptoms. That is why our women’s health care research institute is so important. There is a lot of catch-up work to be done to ensure that we understand and can apply the most effective treatments to a range of conditions, including cardiac conditions. We know that more women are likely to present with multiple sclerosis, but we do not know why. So there is a lot of work to be done through our women’s health research institute.

Of course we are going to double the number of laparoscopy surgeries that are available and have an inquiry into women’s pain management. There is so much to be done in order to understand the way in which we have seen the growth in the number of women – well, we do not know actually whether it is a growth in the number of women presenting with endometriosis or whether for the first time ever women are able to get a diagnosis for the pain that they have continued to experience. So I am very proud to be delivering on each and every one of these commitments.

My first love will always remain the very good people of the Macedon electorate, and it is always obviously a great honour to be their representative in this place. We went to the election with some very targeted announcements for the people of Macedon – a new trades hub at Gisborne Secondary College, fully funded. We have got one in Kyneton; it is delivering for kids. The kids of my community really want to continue careers in trade and technology, and the trades hub at Gisborne Secondary College will deliver that.

There is an upgraded skate park in Romsey. Romsey has a very high proportion of teenagers, and it is really important that they have access to outdoor activities. The kids have told me that is what they want, and I am glad to be partnering with the Lions Club on the delivery of that. Kyneton footy netball club will have more netball courts for the young women of Kyneton – that will also be delivered. This is a great budget, and I commend it to the house.

Sam HIBBINS (Prahran) (10:55): I rise to finally give the budget reply on behalf of the Victorian Greens. Obviously, this is the biggest Greens team ever to be elected to this place and this Parliament at a general election. This budget was handed down at an incredibly difficult time for so many Victorians struggling with the skyrocketing cost of living, struggling to pay the rent or afford their own home and struggling to access health care and find a bulk-billing GP. So many people are being pushed to the margins, into poverty and into homelessness, and this was a budget that desperately needed to go to the heart of these massive issues that are affecting so many Victorians, particularly young people – cost of living, poverty, homelessness and disadvantage.

The reality is that Victorians who are already struggling are going to be worse off over the next year. In the lead-up to this budget we were constantly told that the state would need to enter an austerity phase, with some belt-tightening to address debt and address the state’s finances, but this ignored a really critical factor in that people cannot afford for things to get worse before they get better. Here in Victoria the cost-of-living crisis means that basically everyone is feeling the pinch but many are being pushed to the margins, and those who were already on the margins are off the cliff now.

More and more people are having to make the choice between putting food on the table, accessing health care or affording other essentials. Lifeline searches relating to financial issues and homelessness went up 50 per cent in the last year. Renters are facing yet another year of massive rent increases, putting so many people just one rent rise away from homelessness, which is on the rise. Thirty thousand people are experiencing homelessness every single night, sleeping rough, couch surfing or sleeping in overcrowded or unsafe accommodation. Thousands of people are being turned away from homelessness services every single year.

The public housing waiting list continues to grow, up to about 120,000 people, a quarter of them children. The wait time for priority housing applications is 15 months, and for those in public housing homes, many of them are facing crowded and substandard conditions that just are not fit for purpose. People are struggling to access bulk-billing GPs, mental health support and public dental care and are putting off treatment just to save money.

Workers who have already experienced low wage growth for years have received now an effective real wage cut – the biggest on record – and the Labor government has had a policy of deliberately keeping wages low with a public sector wage cap. On top of that, in this budget, 3000 to 4000 public sector workers will be out of a job in the next 12 months. You know, we all said thanks for the incredible work so many in the public sector did during the pandemic. Well, what way of saying thanks is this – cutting their jobs? This is going to have a massive negative impact on service delivery, particularly services for vulnerable Victorians.

All this is on top of Victoria having the lowest national average funding for public education, for public health and for public hospitals, and all these things are just going to get worse under this budget. Without significant government intervention more Victorians are going to be pushed to the margins, pushed into poverty, suffering housing stress, experiencing homelessness and seeking food relief and help at already stretched community services and emergency wards.

In the lead-up to this budget the Greens highlighted the need to make the profiteering corporations like the big banks, like the property developers and like the gambling industry pay their fair share of tax to fund more public and affordable housing, to increase wages for workers and to make it easier for people to see a GP, a dentist or a psychologist. Whilst the government did raise revenue from big business and property investors, next to none of that money is actually going towards helping people in need. Quite frankly, it is staggering that this government is planning to raise over $25 billion over the next 10 years with the debt levy and the future fund and at the end of that it is only going to have reduced debt by around 15 per cent and have nothing else to show for it.

That is why we have put forward an alternative proposal that the state government’s COVID debt levy and the future fund should actually be used to tackle poverty and increase public housing. Under what we are putting forward the debt levy would be converted into an ending poverty levy so that some $20 billion – or more than that – of revenue that is raised from taxes would be put towards genuine cost-of-living relief that matches the scale of the problem in programs such as for housing, health, education, justice and employment in Victoria’s most disadvantaged areas. On the future fund, what we tried to do this week was amend that so the funds could only be used to build more public housing across the state and go towards building some 100,000 new public housing homes that Victoria needs over the next decade.

The state’s debt should be better managed by using the economic benefits of reducing poverty and ending homelessness: increased economic growth, improved productivity, improved health, education and employment outcomes for people and lower costs for people in crisis presenting at emergency wards. Poverty is a handbrake to economic growth. Victoria would be much better off managing its finances by tackling entrenched inequality and disadvantage first. Just imagine the impact that over $27 billion would have on people living in poverty, struggling to put food on the table or without a safe place to call home. The reality is with the revenue raised in this budget from the taxes on big business and property investors, the government can tackle poverty, can end homelessness and can create the fair society that we all want to live in.

On top of the cost-of-living crisis, the Victorian ecosystem is on the brink. The number of threatened species continues to rise, so we welcome the end of native forest logging, which we have pushed for for so long, in this budget. We are in awe of the activists, the local groups and the traditional owners who have fought so long, for decades, to protect our native forests. This logging has been devastating to ecosystems, putting native plants and animals under threat of extinction – and for what? Woodchips and paper. The state-sponsored logging operation did not stack up. It lost millions of dollars every year despite the government seemingly bending over backwards to prop it up – buying wood mills, making illegal logging legal, putting in anti-protest laws – and it was obvious to all that they had to bring forward the transition support to end native forest logging as soon as possible. But while our state continues to face the extinction crisis the government is cutting $2 billion from the environment department, and they are still funding fossil fuel projects, actually looking to expand the use of coal in Victoria with the coal-to-hydrogen project using carbon capture and storage – absolutely appalling.

In my electorate of Prahran there is so much unmet need that has been neglected in this budget – more and better public housing, including social support for tenants. Residents are feeling ignored and neglected by the government. There needs to be funding to build a community hub at St Kilda Primary School. Stonnington Community Assist need to hire a much-needed paid staff member to help more people who are presenting in need in our community.

When it comes to climate-friendly transport, funding is needed for further upgrades to South Yarra station to meet the needs of the growing South Yarra community and finally to install that second entrance to Windsor station – we had planning money in one budget, but still we have not seen the results yet and it has not come to fruition; to install more EV chargers in Prahran – there is just one public EV charger; and to build separated bike lanes along Chapel Street north – the pop-up bike lanes which had identified Chapel Street north and other areas within Prahran, well, they have been cut. There is the community-developed Greenline project, a fantastic environmental initiative, a community-initiated initiative, that extends the length of the Sandringham line from the Yarra to Gardenvale. Now that the Prahran TAFE site has been acquired, a public, transparent master-planning process needs to take place, and the government will need to commit the funding and support required to realise that long-term vision of a Prahran arts and education precinct.

Victorians in need who are struggling to pay the rent, struggling to put food on the table and being pushed into poverty just cannot afford for things to get worse before they get better. Every dollar of revenue raised from taxes on big business and property investors should be going to ending poverty and building more public housing homes. The reality is we can have the sort of society we want to live in. We can afford to have the sort of society we want to live in, with an end to poverty and an end to homelessness, where we make sure people can access the health care that they need, make sure that people have well-paid, secure jobs and make sure we have got a planet for everyone to live on. That is why the Greens are here – the biggest Greens team ever elected at a state election.

That is what we are pushing for – pushing the government further and faster for renters, to help people in need and to get out of coal and gas – and certainly it is much better than the alternative approach that has been put forward by the Liberals, which is essentially supercharged austerity across our state. That is what all the Greens in this Parliament are fighting for.

Melissa HORNE (Williamstown – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety) (11:05): I rise today to put on the record the outstanding support that the Victorian state budget 2023–24 has delivered for my electorate, but also I would like to take the opportunity to outline, across my many ministerial portfolios, some of the things that we are delivering to do what matters for Victorians.

If I can focus on the wonderful electorate of Williamstown first up, there are a number of really key initiatives in this budget. Firstly, there is the Newport RSL sub-branch, and I need to give a real shout-out to the leadership there that delivers so many wonderful supports for the veterans community in and around Newport and Williamstown. In this year’s budget – and this builds upon a couple of grants that they have received over the past few years – they were successful in obtaining $200,000. This will be transformative for the RSL. They are in a pretty old building, and despite the best efforts of the veteran community to get in there, hold those working bees and do those refurbishments, there are structural things that need to be done to the RSL building, and this money will make it possible. So I congratulate Newport RSL on being successful in receiving that money.

On top of that, Altona Primary School, which is led by principal Sarah Afiouni, was successful in getting $1.2 million to refurbish the school playgrounds and also the fencing. When I went down there in about October last year, I saw firsthand the state of those school playgrounds. Basically they were no longer fit for purpose. When I talked to the kids they said their number one wish was to have a new school playground. So it was great to be able to return there this year and say this is what we will be delivering for the school.

Earlier today in my members statement I mentioned a Brooklyn community garden group called Patch in the Park, and they were successful in receiving $250,000 as a one-off grant for that community garden in Brooklyn. This will be absolutely transformative for Brooklyn. Patch in the Park is led by some really vociferous advocates for their local community, and I cannot wait to see the planning and the design. They really want to co-design the space at that community garden with the local community and also with the council to be able to provide a lasting legacy for the people of Brooklyn.

Another important part of the budget for my local community was for planning for a mental health and wellbeing local in Altona. This will provide support and treatment for adults aged 26 and older who experience mental illness or psychological distress, including those who have got co-occurring substance use or addiction. It will provide free, easy-to-access mental health care without the need to have a GP referral or meet eligibility criteria. This will be transformative, I think, for Altona. When you put that on top of our unprecedented investment in building the new Footscray Hospital, we will now have a network of wonderful healthcare services in the inner west.

I have also got two large and key mosques in my community. There is the Australian Islamic Centre, and there is also the Association of Islamic Da’wah in Australia, commonly known as AIDA, which will both be looking forward to the open community infrastructure grants with the Islamic community as part of the government’s commitment in this year’s budget to the Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund. This will help these communities build on significant grants that they have received in the past. The Australian Islamic Centre received $250,000 in the 2022 budget for facility upgrades. It is always great to go down there and see what the community is doing for others, because both of these communities are really invested in helping others. AIDA also received in the past $150,000 to extend and upgrade that facility that they have got there, to extend and upgrade the mosque, and I cannot wait for works to start there. The other thing too – I need to pop down there very soon – is that they are passionate about table tennis, absolutely passionate about table tennis, and they received a grant through the West Gate Neighbourhood Fund to be able to put in some table tennis tables, so I think that will be good. I am not entirely sure my hand–eye coordination will be great, but I am happy to give it a go with some of the kids.

One of the biggest investments in the local community was of course $6 million to refurbish Workshops Pier. Workshops Pier comes off Seaworks. It is one of the most important piers that we have got in the historic maritime precinct of Williamstown, so to be able to find the money to refurbish this important pier that can no longer have boats tied up to it will be fantastic. It will allow commercial fishermen to come back there and it will allow for the tall ships to be tied up there, which is something that has been much loved in Williamstown. This builds on the refurbishment of and repairs to the historic Point Gellibrand seawall, which I think will be completed in the coming weeks, and that is particularly exciting to the local community. It was built by convicts, because Point Gellibrand was actually the first point that white settlers came to, and it is a historic part of Williamstown.

On top of that there is Sutton Avenue Kindergarten, with works about to kick off there as well. There has been important investment in the kinders around the electorate, and I know that the Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep in the other place is no stranger to Williamstown and the investment. Whether it is Robina Scott in Williamstown, The Range kindergarten down in Williamstown or indeed Emma McLean up in Spotswood, we have got kinders all over the place that have benefited from our historic investment in kinder.

I will turn to some of my portfolios as well. If I look at the initiatives that will contribute significantly to the safe and efficient way that Victorians will use and interact with the road network, we have got $2.8 billion over 10 years to maintain and strengthen our road network, which includes flood recovery works. There is of course the $10 million free rego for apprentices initiative, and that will provide that real cost-of-living relief for our hardworking tradies. $31.7 million will protect and maintain our iconic West Gate Bridge, and again this is a bridge that really is very important to my electorate. There is $15.7 million to continue our commitment to the school crossing supervisor program, and I would really like to give a shout-out to all those school crossing supervisors. There is $61.6 million to improve safety and connectivity for pedestrians, bike riders and drivers through a series of road and shared path upgrades.

In the time that I have got left, I would like to focus on a couple of things – firstly, road safety, because already this year 147 people have lost their lives on our roads. This leaves friends, families, workmates and communities forever changed. In 2021 we launched the state’s new Victorian Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 and the first action plan, which sets really ambitious targets to halve road deaths and significantly reduce serious injuries. So it was really important that we announced the $210 million safe local roads and streets program, which provides the development and delivery of road safety infrastructure projects on local roads. It will run over four years. We will work with councils to be able to plan and design and deliver those safety improvements, because everything that we can do we will do to get that road toll down.

Of course in this year’s budget there is – and I see the member for Point Cook here in the chamber, who will be particularly excited about it – a program for clean air in Melbourne’s west. This is a program that has never been done before. It is a $20 million program to get some of our oldest, dirtiest trucks off the streets, because as you can appreciate, we live in such close proximity to the port, and the trucks that move in and out of the container parks, in and out of the port are some of the oldest and dirtiest ones on the streets. So to have a $15 million package that will run over four years to be able to basically do cash for clunkers, in a way, is really important. And then $5 million to seal unsealed roads in the cities of Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay and Brimbank is really important too. That is the first time that a project like this has actually been designed, so I think that will be incredibly important.

I also would like to say that there has been an historic investment in rebuilding and repairing a number of our much-loved jetties for communities to come. There was $10 million to rebuild Dromana Pier and $20.5 million to rebuild St Leonards Pier. Is the member for Bass here? No, she is not, but I know the member for Bass and I have had many, many conversations about the importance of the Warneet jetties. These jetties unfortunately have absolutely reached end of life, and I know how important that connectivity is for that town. The member for Bass has been an unbelievable advocate for her community. I have been down there a couple of times with her, met with the local community and seen the parlous state of those jetties, so to be able to secure $9.5 million for those jetties is fantastic, and it is a real testament to the member for Bass’s work in that area.

Finally, there are a couple of other things that I would not mind highlighting. Of course in casino, gaming and liquor regulation we have got an incredibly strong regulator, so to be able to have that funding that allows them to continue their important work is really important, because when we redid the legislation we put harm minimisation at the heart of their work. We know that they have leaned in very hard. Whether it is regulating the casino or other industries, they have certainly achieved so much.

In local government we have introduced initiatives that really achieve what matters for local government workers. There has been $12.1 million to deliver a suite of programs that address skills shortages and make councils places where people want to work. There is $5.3 million to develop a fair jobs code, which is tailored for councils. This will be designed to minimise insecure work, including outsourcing, labour hire and the casualisation of local government employment. We have got a $6.3 million program to establish a pilot program that will create traineeships and apprenticeships in the local government sector. We will work with councils to be able to co-design this, because councils say to me all the time they are facing a number of skills shortages, but no council is quite the same. So to be able to work with councils to support them is a really important thing. In conclusion, in my remaining few seconds, I would like to congratulate the Victorian Treasurer on this budget. I think it will deliver positive change for our communities.

Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (11:21): I rise to make a contribution on the budget for the coming financial year, the appropriations. It really has been a huge let-down, but what it does tell us is what we really knew: Victoria’s finances are absolutely almost at rock bottom. We probably could still go lower, and if you look at the forecast, it will get worse. We are looking at the parliamentary appropriations as well. The budget shows us where the spending is, where money is coming from and really how much taxpayers are being slugged – and we know taxpayers are being slugged more and more all the time. Really importantly, we want to know about the level of debt. What is for certain is that the state budget shows that under Labor life is getting harder for Victorians, with jobs being axed, taxes increasing and budget cuts to health, roads and major infrastructure. I would love to be spruiking all of the things that the government are going to be delivering into my electorate, but they are very few and far between. We did not even get a table tennis table, and I would be very keen to have something as low level as that in my electorate, because we have really missed out. We have got emergency services screaming for funding to upgrade or build new facilities, we have got schools and sporting clubs that need facility improvements – some of those are large, some of them are not so large – and we have roads crumbling before our eyes.

I am going to start with the state of the debt, projected to climb to $171.4 billion by 2026–27. That is extraordinary. It is extraordinary to think about how you could put a plan in place to repay that level of debt. The debt that was incurred by the Cain–Kirner governments is paled into insignificance by this. The interest repayments are set to double to more than $22 million a day, to pay our interest. At the minute it is $10 million or $11 million, and that is going to climb. It is really quite extraordinary the money that is being spent on just paying interest, which would pay for a whole lot of infrastructure in my electorate certainly.

Victorian families have got higher rents and increases in land tax. There are hikes in school fees, and that one is a little bit dodgy when you think that the Minister for Education and the Treasurer have got their whiteboard hit list of which schools are going to be on that and which schools are not going to be on that. It is an extraordinary way to do things. Certainly they are not for profit, and if you look at what a lot of those schools in that sector do in the community – the number of free positions that they provide – they are getting slugged. You have got to wonder, if they start to tax the not-for-profit sector, how much further is that going to go.

We see many, many major infrastructure projects that have been shelved. Businesses are going to pay for Labor’s incompetence. There is a higher payroll tax and a 42 per cent increase in WorkCover premiums, and this means jobs are at risk and growth is at risk. If you are teetering around $9.5 million in payroll and you are thinking of expanding, you are going to think twice if your payroll is going to hit $10 million. You are going to have to work out whether it is worth it for you, because you are going to be slugged so much more in tax.

We have got 700,000 small businesses across the state, and these have been hit with increased premiums, taxes and costs as well – very little relief. A small chunk are getting a bit of relief but not very many. Business owners are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns, and a lot of damage was caused. A lot of them had to take out loans to make ends meet because they still had to pay for stuff. They would have had JobKeeper at some point, but there were still other costs that they needed to incur. They still had to pay to have the lights on. They still had to pay rent, because a lot of businesses do not own their own premises. The traders – a 42 per cent increase in WorkCover premiums, and that is fairly significant. Somebody told me the other day that already their WorkCover for a small supermarket had gone from $70,000 to $140,000 or $160,000 – it was really quite extraordinary – before this happened. And if anyone has had a claim, especially one of the mental health claims that are causing a lot of grief for the government and for WorkSafe, that is going to impact further.

A 25 per cent increase in power bills – the government here did not match the federal government’s small business energy relief program. It is virtually the only state in the country that chose not to do so, and they said that was because we have got a $250 home power saving bonus. Well, people who run businesses have to keep their doors open and also have to run their home, so they have just been left behind. Other states have seen fit to match that, and so Victoria has been missing out again. We know that they are missing out, and we know that the government has no money. In fact we have got the Premier out and about saying, ‘Look, I’ve got no money, but if you need planning reform, if you need some changes, and it’s not going to cost me money, I’m happy to facilitate that, but certainly we are not there to be handing out any grants.’

One billion dollars from the health budget – and at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearings, health department officials confirmed that a $320 million health infrastructure fund will be added to the state’s credit card. During the campaign, the government committed to fully funding seven healthcare facilities, in Gippsland, Monash, Dandenong, Wonthaggi and Melbourne’s east and north, at a cost of more than $4 billion. And, gosh, what a surprise it was to see in the budget that only 7.9 per cent of the projects were budgeted.

Locally for me, as I said earlier, I did not get much at all. We have emergency services that really need investment and have missed out again. Hoddles Creek CFA have been on the drawing board for ages, and everybody down there and at the other CFA stations and the districts all know that Hoddles Creek needs investment to upgrade their facility. Yarck seems to have dropped off. It was up in the top list of the infrastructure needs of the CFA. They want to move it from the tiny tin shed with ridiculous access at the back from the main street of Yarck around the corner to where the land is already purchased, so all they need to do is pop it up.

Mansfield – the SES station needs an upgrade. They know that. The council have sorted out where the emergency services precinct will be, and the SES station and the ambulance station in Mansfield have been in the top few, for the better part of a decade, of those needing investment. For a while it took the council having to sort out where they wanted that investment to go. They have done that, and I would have expected, and in fact I think everybody expected, that there would be investment made there.

Sporting clubs that have gone without need facility upgrades. The Yea Football Netball Club needs its ground resurfaced. They lost games last year, and they have been unable now to field sides. It also impacts cricket. Cricket is going along okay, but they need new nets at the cricket grounds, and the football ground needs a resurface. The Wesburn Junior Football Club is a great success story. They are doing so well, but their facilities are completely degraded. They have, like Warburton actually, a woodfired heater in their change rooms to do the heating – it is one of the quirks of country electorates. But the clubrooms certainly need to be developed, because we have males and females playing junior football and you cannot have them all getting changed in the one space.

The community leisure centre in Alexandra has a leaking roof. They need a new floor there. In Healesville the Queens Park sporting facility is really, really dodgy for away teams. I think the member for Evelyn’s family actually went and played there and could attest to that. I have certainly been there a number of times. And the pavilion at Don Road – the sporting complex – needs doing.

Some simple schools infrastructure is needed. At Wesburn Primary School we have been screaming for years and years and years for 40-kilometre zone flashing lights out on the Warburton Highway. It is a big sweeping bend with a lot of traffic and foggy, very ordinary conditions a lot of times. Traffic does not slow down. The school and I have been calling for this for years and years and years. You see the former member for Monbulk just pull wish lists out of the air and manage to get some with less traffic and with less problems installed, and everyone sees that in my area as not being fair. Simple things like weather protection for primary schools so kids can in the summer have some shade while playing outside and if it is raining to be out of the wet – Yarra Glen Primary School and Panton Hill Primary School are very much looking for that.

The roads – Labor is punishing Victorians with a $380 million reduction in annual spending on road maintenance since 2020. That is a 45 per cent cut. In this year’s budget it is cut a further 25 per cent to just $441 million, and this is less than in the last budget of the former coalition government in 2014. Roads are something I hear a lot about. Potholes are extraordinary. Melba Highway is a shambles yet again. The very recently resealed road – just around Christmas time – has also got potholes in it. The Goulburn Valley and Maroondah highways at Cathkin and at Killingworth near Bonnie Doon have dreadful conditions, and at Maindample. Roads leading to Mount Buller are causing great concern, and snow season is just starting. Snow is popping down. Pedestrian safety in Hurstbridge needs to be addressed and improved. Heidelberg-Kinglake Road drastically needs safety improvements, and they are all missing out.

One of the things that I want to talk about is the shock shutdown of the timber industry, which was given six months and not six years under the guise that this will create certainty. Well, let me tell you, there is zero certainty at the minute. Everybody who works in that industry has no idea what is going on. They have been given zero information from the government, and so there is less certainty now than there ever was. There are some people that will be happy with this; I am certainly not happy with it. The 2500 workers in the native timber industry will not be. They were completely insulted by a press release spruiking the government’s free TAFE program and how that is going to help them retrain. What an insult to them. Some of these people have only worked in the bush for 40 years or more and think they do not have the skills to undertake a course at TAFE, and nor do they have the desire or the interest. What is clear to me is these guys do not want to be on unemployment benefits, but they are terribly stressed about what is going to happen to them. The harvest and haulage workers are unsure whether they are going to be included in the compensation claims. A number of the people with businesses there have already laid staff off.

To get a contract with VicForests, part of the contract conditions was that you needed to invest in new gear, whether that was a skidder, a harvester or a processor, and to do so they had to take out loans. People have had to borrow against their houses to have that contract. Now those contracts are being pulled from them, and they are left with a loan. They are left with machinery that they are unlikely to be able to sell on the second-hand market because it is going to be flooded. So they are really, really feeling the pinch here and the stress. For communities the supply chain runs deep. They service the machinery, they service the tools and they provide the fuel.

The timber sector represents $7.6 billion in economic activity per annum in Australia, and we have got in Victoria $770 million in revenue. The demand for timber has never been higher. People want high-end timber in their homes for furniture, for windows, for fittings and for staircases. Where are they going to get this timber now? This is not about chips and paper like the Greens would have you believe.

Timber is a source that will absorb carbon. It is good for the environment. The government have virtually said there is going to be no transition to plantation, and let us face it, I think they finally worked out that plantations take some 40 to 50 years to grow. They are not going to be there by 2030, so the government have backpedalled from that fairly quickly. But where are we going to get our timber from – interstate, overseas? The United States provides a lot of timber here. Gee, let me just think about the emissions it is going to take to bring the quantities of timber that we need to Victoria from the United States. I constantly hear ‘We are one planet’. Here we are, robbing Peter to pay Paul. It makes zero sense. If we get timber from Asia, what are their practices like? In Victoria we had very tough practices – some of the strictest practices in the world – for timber harvesting operations. That now has gone to the wayside, and we are going to have to rely on other areas. Particularly if we are relying on that from overseas, the forests will be decimated there. They do not have the timber practices like we do, the sustainable harvesting.

In forests the young trees absorb much more carbon than older trees, and the IPCC have said in their reports that removing trees as they mature and replanting them is better for the environment, as the wood continues to absorb carbon. So the arguments here that this is a good thing for the Victorian economy are absolutely from fairyland. Victoria has been screwed under this budget.

Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston) (11:36): I guarantee that my contribution will be a lot more eloquent and well mannered than that one. I rise to speak on the budget take-note motion this morning. We have heard from many people about the budget, but working in Treasury I would like to start by thanking the Treasurer’s team and the department as well. The amount of work, the amount of late nights and the consultation that took place were remarkable. Obviously as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer I get people thanking me, and I feel a little bit shy, because some of these people have really put the hard yards in for a budget that had to make some hard decisions.

There is no doubt that COVID put pressures on this state, and others across the globe, that nation-states had never seen before. That certainly happened in Victoria. The 10-year plan to repay that credit card debt, as it has been called, is one that I think we should be talking about more and talking about in a positive way, because it is responsible and makes sure that we are not handing the debt caused by a worldwide crisis on to the next generation. I think that is really, really responsible. I will not go on too much about the record employment and the bounce-back after COVID of the economy.

Instead I would like to focus more on some of the local things announced in the budget that have resonated with my community. I will start off with free kinder. Obviously the last couple of budgets have had free kinder in them. You hear families in my community of Frankston and across the peninsula talking about how they are going to be two and a half grand better off per child with the free kinder kits and with allowing mums and some dads to go back to work. It is quite something. It has definitely resonated across my community; as well as the power saving bonus, it is something we hear about daily in my electorate office.

On the power saving bonus, that has had an amazing uptake among, I think, every electorate in Victoria. Yes, we can talk about the cost of living, and it is brought up by those opposite quite often, but doing something about the cost of living is a lot more valuable. The PSB, the power saving bonus, certainly does that. As well as free glasses for kids, sports vouchers, free kinder, the priority care centres with bulk-billing and things like that, which have been mentioned a little bit earlier, certainly the support for TAFE in this budget was something that my community welcomed. The announcement of more free TAFE courses, with everything from becoming a beekeeper to some of the other offerings, has been of huge interest to my community.

We also heard just before the budget about the V/Line fare cap. That obviously means that the trip from Melbourne to Merimbula is capped at $9.20 a day. It is great news for people in the regions. I know that it is shouted about across the chamber at times – I am sure in a very polite fashion – but there are many people on this side of the chamber that do actually represent regional communities. I have visited them in my capacity as the parliamentary secretary, and I know the feedback has been very good on that particular policy issue. That being said, if you calculate the savings on some of these – as I have said, free kinder, sports vouchers, free glasses, the early parenting centres, the power saving bonus and the priority care centres – you are looking at about $3000 to $4000 worth of savings per household, for households that might be entitled to each one of these savings measures.

In Frankston we were able to make some amazing announcements. I was so excited to be on the phone, as I am sure many of my colleagues were, to school principals, sporting clubs and local councils, and not the first time but the first time I think it really hit me right in the heart was when I had a particular school principal who answered the phone and was expecting bad news, because all they had heard about on the news was how this was going to be an incredibly bad budget and whatnot. It was not an incredibly large amount of money, but it was a huge issue for this particular school, and we are solving that issue. This principal was sobbing on the phone to the point where I said, ‘Hang on, I’m going to come round.’ I put the phone down, got the box of tissues, got a couple of coffees and went around and had a chat. Those are the things that I guess drive me as a local member, that we can make such a difference in our communities. This principal was crying not just because she had achieved a goal for her school but because she knew that this was a life-changing commitment from the Andrews Labor government. This will actually change lives, and we are not talking about just the educational merits of this announcement. It was actually more about some of the pastoral care and social issues in the area that that school is in and how this could actually change lives there as well.

The very first phone call I made was to the Frankston & District Basketball Association general manager Wayne. Wayne is a fantastic guy. He has got an amazing wit and is very, very smart, and we were able to back in our commitment of $15 million and say it was listed in the budget and we were good to go on this project. At the moment we are awaiting Frankston council to come up with some plans, but it is a tripartisan agreement with the federal government, Frankston council and the state government, and again, this is something that will change that community for the better. There are nearly 11,000 FDBA members in our community, and we are providing an extension for basketball so little kids do not have to be picked up by their parents at 11 o’clock at night after playing a game of basketball. I think it has come across, has resonated in the community and has been very much welcomed.

Frankston Brekky Club – I made another very emotional phone call to a bunch of people that off their own backs created what they call the Frankston Brekky Club. This is a facility that is co-partnered with Chisholm TAFE, where people who may not get breakfast in the morning in the Frankston community, people who maybe have been sleeping rough or who have not had social contact for some time and need to have access to services, can do that through the Frankston Brekky Club. They received $200,000 in this budget, which means that they can go ahead and provide that material aid but also make sure that people are hooked in with the right services for that wraparound service that we know is the model that works in our community.

Aldercourt Primary School – it was a pleasure to ring up the principal and announce the $3.8 million which will finish their master plan. That school is part of the Frankston North education precinct – may I say the award-winning Frankston North education precinct, with I think three awards now. I know that principals are too busy to be watching this and their cheeks would be red if they heard me say this, because they are quiet achievers, but to go from schools that a decade ago were in a community that was fourth in the dropping-off-the-edge list, so the fourth most disadvantaged community in Australia, to winning the Victorian education award, to a principal winning the Victorian principals award – and there is another award which I do not want to go on record because I am not quite sure about it, but there have been three awards – has been pretty amazing. It has been an amazing journey, and this school was part of that. Mahogany Rise Primary School was also part of that, and it was great to ring up their school principal and say they would have their netball and basketball facility upgrade.

Part of our job as MPs is of course visiting schools. As a former teacher it is kind of my natural place to be, and I love visiting our schools and hearing from teachers at the coalface what the challenges are, and in this area they have mostly been infrastructure challenges. To have been able to build these schools up and see that pride level go up in the families, in the school community and in the kids has just been an amazing journey for someone that was actually teaching in these schools not so long ago.

It was also great to ring the principal of Overport Primary School. Overport Primary School is a school where the Treasurer of Victoria came out and kicked the soccer ball with us and we had a look at the school oval – and it was pretty bad. The running track had holes in it that I think were more like mine shafts, a safety issue for the school community and the kids, and we said that we would do something about that. I know the Treasurer of Victoria was a bit taken aback when he saw the condition and straightaway said ‘Yes, I think we should be able to do something about this,’ and we are, because we are a government that does what we say we will do, and it is pretty simple. I mean, for most of us on this side of the house that is a life choice. Not just in your job but even in your personal life you say what you are going to do and you get it done.

We heard the announcement of a new tech school for Frankston. Of course this will be integrated into the greater conversation about the SEC, giving people the skills they need not just for the jobs they want but for future jobs. This will be around renewables, around med tech and around that sovereign manufacturing capability that we really need to be pushing more. The Frankston North re-engagement program, we are still funding that. That is part of that Frankston North education precinct. It is a model that is used in various electorates around the state now. It was introduced in Frankston, and the success story has come out of Frankston as well. Mount Erin Secondary College is another school where it was just a pleasure to ring their principal and say that help is on the way. They have had some issues with flooding and they have had some issues with the condition of their buildings. It was actually the Premier of Victoria that came out and visited that school just to check out what was actually happening and what the ask was, and he made a commitment to that school, which was just fantastic.

There was a little bit of confusion on this next one, I think from members on the other side, and I would like to clarify that. There was another budget item that we committed to and fulfilled in the budget, which was the Frankston Hospital women’s clinic. Now, this women’s health clinic is actually additional to the $1.5 billion Frankston Hospital redevelopment which is going on right now. We just had the second crane erected on that site, and it is a sight to see. You come down the Frankston Freeway, past say Kananook station, and you can see cranes on the horizon, and you know that during the day boots are on the ground doing work. Frankston of course, as I have said many times, has had more investment in the last nine years and more faith, more passion and more commitment by government in the last 10 years than in any other time in its history. It has had more investment in the last nine years than in the last 90, and it is starting to show. And you can see even in our community, as I have kind of said with the schools, that pride. When there is something new, people are aspirational and they are even inspired by the fact that their community is growing. We are seeing some commentary on some planning issues in Frankston at the moment, and it is very interesting to see the way that the community actually talk about those planning issues. I think it surprised some people about the direction they want Frankston to go in.

Of course I cannot forget about Peninsula Home Hospice. We have supported them and they do a great job. I meet with them at least every six months, and it is a great sign when a government can support such a service. These people do their job very quietly. They are not on social media and they do not put their hand up much, but they provide an integral service to our community. Frankston Hospital is part of the new PET scanner program, so we will be expecting to improve our clinical capacity to assess cancers, neurological diseases and cardiovascular diseases in the Frankston community, and the peninsula community I might I add, with a new PET scanner. The Frankston Zero program – which some people might have heard of; the Zero program operates in other municipalities too – essentially has an aim within a certain time period to bring functional homelessness in Frankston down to zero. I am very proud to note that the Andrews Labor government has been able to provide half a million dollars to that service, which involves Frankston City Council, the Peninsula Community Legal Centre and some other stakeholders to actually get this job done. It is a blight on us as MPs when you know that on the peninsula on any given night there are people who are sleeping rough or couch surfing, and we need to do as much as we can to deal with that, but we need to know how to do it, and this is part of that.

The 1st South Frankston Scout Group – I cannot forget these guys and girls. They do a great job. I love visiting the 1st South Frankston Scout Group. They are always entertaining. Their leaders are amazing. We are budgeting $20,000 to make sure that they get the best facility to have the most fun.

I did mention it yesterday, but I will mention it again: Frankston is a finalist in the 2023 tourism awards along with Bendigo and – we do not worry about the other ones. Frankston is a finalist, and it was a finalist – I think we came third – last year.

Pauline Richards: Well deserved.

Paul EDBROOKE: It was very well deserved. I can see this year that we might actually take the gong. So much has been happening. So much has been progressing. The evolution of Frankston is not complete yet, but people certainly are appreciating that. We will wait for the judgement, but Frankston will be up there.

Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (11:51): I rise to make a contribution on the budget take-note motion, although it is not a great budget – we know that. Certainly in regional Victoria it has been a disaster, but I think for all Victorians the financial millstone is going to be around our necks for many years to come. And just when you think it cannot get any worse, the Treasurer comes out and says, ‘But wait, there’s more.’ There will be more debt. It will get worse before it gets better, and that is quite frightening while Victorians are struggling with cost-of-living pressures. The Treasurer says there will be more pain. There are years of pain in the outer years.

As the Treasurer knows, Victoria is just about broke. It is really important for those on the other side to understand how we have got to this position, because I do not think many of them understand. They are in denial about how we have got in this debt. If I can take you back to 1970 – and I know it is going back a bit for some of you, and maybe you were not around back then – Victoria’s debt was about $6 billion. It was a long time ago, and the average home debt was about $20,000. Then when the Liberal–Nationals left government in 2014 – so we are talking 44 years later – that debt went from $6 billion to $18 billion. So it took 44 years to get from $6 billion to $18 billion. Now we are going from $18 billion to $171 billion in just 11 years – it took 11 years to go from $18 billion to $171 billion. And we all know $171 billion is not the figure; it will be closer to $200 billion, because we know Labor’s track record when it comes to managing debt and mismanaging money.

Life is getting harder for Victorians, and that is because Labor are punishing Victorians through their incompetence. To put this debt in perspective, in my electorate of Ovens Valley, if you went out and bought a home in Yarrawonga in 2015 and you had $300,000 in debt – a reasonable figure to have in debt – if you put your debt level up at the same rate that the Victorian government has since they came to power, your debt, instead of being $300,000 on a house in Yarrawonga, would now be $2.8 million. That is a massive jump. If you went at the same rate at which the debt level has gone up in Victoria over that time, it would be a $2.8 million debt load – and at 5 per cent interest, instead of paying $15,000 a year, you would be paying $140,000 a year. So how can you expect mums and dads to pay that sort of figure? They cannot, so they do not allow themselves to get into that level of debt – but Labor obviously does. They clearly do not care, because we now have a debt load that you just cannot jump over. We know that when Labor runs out of money, they start coming after yours. But as I said, mums and dads in regional Victoria or anywhere in Victoria do not have that luxury to go and find the money from somewhere else. They have to deal with it, and they are more responsible.

This disastrous budget Labor calls ‘Doing what matters’ – matters to who? Matters to what? A tax on jobs – that matters, particularly if you are going to lose your job because of the taxes. A tax on rent – well, that matters for 800,000 renters who are going to get a rise in their rent. We hear this time and time again from those on the other side, ‘What matters’, and I just think it is another slogan that Labor have come up with, but they really have not thought that through, because what matters is not all good news.

Again I hear from some of those on the other side – I heard this old chestnut from the members for Mordialloc and Eltham when they were talking about it in their contributions last sitting week – ‘At least we do what we say we’re going to do.’ Well, tell that to the timber industry. Tell that to the families who were told they had seven years to wind down, they had seven years to get their business in order – seven years before their business was decimated, seven years to plan for the future or to reskill – and then they were told they have got seven months. So when they stand in this place and say, ‘Oh, at least we do what we say we’re going to do’, that is a lie. I think you need to go to those timber towns and those communities and apologise and tell them that Labor and the Greens are going to shut their towns down. They have closed their communities, and they are going to turn their livelihoods into sawdust.

Labor stands up in this place and talks about saving jobs and all these wonderful things for jobs and that it is the party for jobs, and then it brings the guillotine down on thousands of working families. Even the Premier at a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearing the other day said, ‘It was our intention to keep it open until 2030.’ That is a load of rubbish – more deception. I would love to see some of those on the other side go to visit Orbost, Maffra, Corryong and some of those timber towns and tell them that they are going to shut their industry down, that they told them it was going to be seven years but they have now changed their minds because they have teamed up with the Greens. If the Premier will not go, well maybe the Deputy Premier, the Premier-in-waiting, will go. Instead of standing in front of the mirror practising, maybe she could go to some of these timber towns and start to tell them the untruths they have been telling this place.

In this disastrous budget we see Labor is going to put off 4000 bureaucrats. They want to pump that up and say they are going to get rid of 4000 bureaucrats, but how is it that only Labor can put off 4000 bureaucrats but the bill – the costs for the bureaucrats that are staying there – goes up? It defies logic.

Labor is also cutting infrastructure projects – airport rail, Geelong fast rail and North East Link. It is interesting that everybody in Victoria knew at the last election that Victoria was running out of money but Labor did not. They did not know it at the election; they had to wait until a budget to tell them they were running out of money – and then all of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh, heavens above, I think we’re running out of money.’ They did not know that at the election but everybody else did. The reason why we know we are going to run out of money is because they started throwing money around like a drunken sailor and they started blowing it on cost overruns and things that were going to cost $3 billion then cost $6 billion or $7 billion or more – and this is not one project, this is most projects. We know we are up to about $34 billion now in overruns – and that is just overruns, that is not projects. We can think about what else we could do with that $34 billion or the interest we are going to pay on that money from those overruns. Victoria now has more debt than Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania put together, and most Victorians are embarrassed about that – they really are – but I think those on the government benches wear that as a badge of honour. Everybody in Victoria will be paying that price for mismanagement.

Again, Labor has fixed hospitals in Labor seats. I hear them talk about it in this place and what they have done to different hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne – which is wonderful, fixing hospitals and fixing schools and fixing level crossings – but they are not doing the same in my electorate. I cannot stand here and say how much money we have been given in the budget for the Ovens Valley electorate, because it is simply just not there. It is like Victoria stops at Kalkallo, and this Victorian government will not look beyond the tram tracks to see the improvements that need to be done in Yarrawonga. The P–12 school has been waiting, waiting, waiting. The last upgrade they got was when we got it for them in 2010 to 2014. Bright aged care and hospital are going to be waiting years before they get that improvement they need, because again, the government has run out of money and so now everyone has to stop. Those that have already got their upgrades to schools and hospitals and roads in the last three or four years will say, ‘Oh, we can hang around a bit longer because we’ve already had our upgrade,’ but those of us who have not, all Victorians and all regions, are going to pay that price.

Then we get the SEC, an absolute stunt. They are talking about billion-dollar investment, bringing back the SEC. What a crock. There is about $40 million in the budget, not $1 billion. So this is a stunt; this is a slogan. It is $40 million for a slogan; it is not even $1 billion for a slogan.

Let us look at roads. They are the deadliest on record. They are the worst roads on record, and every day our road toll is 30 per cent up on last year’s – and growing. But it is like the government has thrown their hands in the air and said, ‘This is just too hard. We can’t fix all these roads. It was the weather last year. It was the wet roads,’ – and all these excuses. They have thrown their hands in the air and said, ‘This is too hard. Why bother?’ Yet this year’s disastrous budget slashed another 25 per cent out of the roads maintenance budget, another 25 per cent on top of last year’s 20 per cent. So we are 45 per cent down, heading towards 50 per cent of what the 2020 roads maintenance budget was. That is just disgraceful. We cannot expect to see our roads getting fixed any time soon when you cut that much money out of the roads maintenance budget.

Talking about debt – and we know how high the debt is, how disastrous it is – as I have explained we have gone from $6 billion to $18 billion in 44 years, and then in 11 years we are going to go up to $200 billion, tenfold. We are currently paying $10 million a day, which is around about $3.6 billion a year in interest, but we will be heading to $20 million a day, $8 billion a year. If you think about what we could do with $8 billion a year, $20 million a day, in the Ovens Valley, that would be more money than we have received – just if we got a week of that money. If we got a week of that money we could fix the school in Yarrawonga, the hospital in Bright and the hospitals in Cobram and Yarrawonga. Just a week would be fine, but that is not going to happen, because we will be paying that in interest, and that interest bill is going to go up. It is going up daily. Our credit rating is falling, and it will continue to fall. Our healthcare outcomes have got worse, and our communities are hurting. They are hurting everywhere. They are hurting through costs of living, through the extra taxes that have come through and a lack of services – less services in our community. There is nowhere for them to go, and people are really starting to feel that pinch. This is not just the fault of the Labor leadership. Do not get me wrong, I am not just apportioning this blame to those at the top. I am also saying that every backbencher who does not stand up to this leadership team and say ‘You’ve got it wrong, and enough is enough’, are just as guilty. They are just as guilty for the debt as those who are in leadership who have actually got us where we are – to this debt load.

When those on the other side talk about this COVID debt, it is like it is a mystery debt; it is somebody else’s debt. It is not ours; it is a COVID debt – somebody else’s. Well, they have got to realise that this debt has come from direct actions by this government: their mismanagement, their actions, their cost blowouts. So do not look around and say this COVID debt is somebody else’s debt. It is not about saying, surely, who can we blame, because we know they continuously want to blame somebody else. I have heard them blame Scott Morrison. I have heard them blame Jeff Kennett. I have heard them blame COVID, Tony Abbott, the opposition, everybody but themselves. That is just this morning in the chamber. I mean, you do not have to go for weeks and months to hear them blaming somebody else. Until they actually identify where that debt has come from and who caused that debt, we cannot set about trying to fix the debt that we have in Victoria, and it is going to take generations.

I do feel sorry for generations who are going to have to wear this pain for years and years, because we have got the highest debt in Victoria’s history. Many of our communities have been neglected and we have still ended up with that debt load. That is the frustrating part. If everything was shiny and new in every electorate, you would say, well, we’ll just ride this wave out, but that is not the case. In many of our regional seats we have not had the improvements that have been done for the Labor seats. So we have got a long time to wait. We have got a long, long time.

This government’s record is not getting any better. We saw the deaths of 800 people from the dodgy quarantine scam, and then the Premier and many of the ministers could not recall – in fact the Premier could not recall 27 times – who had done it. That is disgraceful. I think in opposition we need to keep raising these issues, we need to keep reminding those on the other side that this did not happen by accident. Somebody made decisions to end up with the debt we have got. So you have got to take responsibility for that debt and govern for all Victorians, not just for those where you hold the seats or where you intend to hold the seats, because really we have been neglected in many areas of Victoria, and not just in my electorate, and I do believe that Victorians should never, ever, ever forget this treason.

Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (12:06): I rise today to speak to this motion that takes note of the 2023–24 budget and its significance for the people of Monbulk. A major school upgrade, a hospital rebuild and refurbishment, community care and energy resilience are the key headlines for the people living across the Dandenong Ranges and foothills. The Andrews government is getting on with delivering its election promises for our community and investing in what matters for the people of Monbulk. Every election commitment which I made during the campaign has been delivered in this budget. I know that each and every one of these will have a resoundingly positive impact across the hills, and the beneficiaries of these funded projects have received the news with joy, just like the member for Frankston experienced himself.

From my own experience, I know that students thrive when they have great teachers delivering their education in excellent facilities. As part of a more than $2 billion investment in schools across Victoria, this year’s budget includes $8.77 million for upgrades at Emerald Secondary College, completing the remaining stages of the school’s master plan. I had the pleasure last week of opening the recently completed upgrades for the first stage of the food tech classrooms and staffrooms, which was funded in the 2020–21 state budget. But there is more to do, and the old G block, which is notorious, is ready to be upgraded and dragged into the 21st century. The Premier came out to visit the college a couple of months ago – it was a rockstar welcome, I can assure you – and he saw the recent works and what is to come. There are exciting times ahead for this great local secondary college in the eastern Dandenong Ranges. Education is the door through which all things can be achieved. It is the great leveller. Good governments who wish to see their people thrive and live decent lives believe in education. They invest in education, and that is exactly what the Andrews Labor government has done. This announcement builds on the previous $7.5 million we have already invested in Emerald Secondary College over the course of our past nine years. We have truly earned the moniker of being the Education State.

Labor is making sure local families in Emerald and surrounding towns, such as Cockatoo, Gembrook, Avonsleigh, Mount Burnett, Clematis and Nangana, have a great school with great facilities close to home. I could not be prouder. We are also supporting St John the Baptist primary school in Ferntree Gully with a $3 million grant, which will allow this busy, vibrant school to expand its classrooms with a new building. Their waiting list is growing, and so too are their infrastructure needs, so we are meeting this need and investing in the education of our youth.

Along the lines of a school but slightly separate to it, the people of Gembrook have called for variable electronic speed signs outside Gembrook Primary School for many, many years. The school is sited on the main road into town, but on foggy mornings – and there are plenty of those, especially at this time of the year – you can hardly see the static signs. In fact if you are not a local, you would be hard-pressed to know that there is a school around and you should slow down. I heard the concerns of the school and the wider community through their strong advocacy – everyone wants to keep our children safe – and I managed to secure our commitment to install these upon re-election. I am delighted that these variable electronic speed signs, which light up, have been funded in this budget. They will light up the foggy mornings and make sure that people know that they need to slow down, and it will make the main road in Gembrook safer, not just for schoolchildren and their families but for the entire town. I am very proud that Labor will be getting this done.

Talking about sport, we all know it is a really significant part of our communities, and through this budget we will be helping the good folk of Ferntree Gully to stay active and get engaged for the first time, potentially, at their local footy, netball or cricket club. We are going to invest $2 million towards pavilion upgrades at Wally Tew Reserve, giving locals more and better opportunities to come together while supporting the next generation of sporting stars. Local families and their little doggies will also have improved places to stretch their legs with our government delivering on its promise to upgrade the dog park at Alma Treloar Reserve in Cockatoo.

Community organisations which exist to support others truly are very, very close to my heart, and I am incredibly proud that this budget is backing the work of several organisations across the Dandenong Ranges which are making real change and having an incredibly positive impact on the lives of so many across the district of Monbulk. Treasuring Our Trees was established to collect fallen trees in communities affected by the June 2021 storms. Treasuring Our Trees has also partnered with the level crossing removal program to repurpose trees which have had to be cut down when removing level crossings. Funding from our Labor government will make sure they are well equipped to continue helping local families and communities with their projects. Basically, they grab these trees, they repurpose them and they turn them into something beautiful, not just woodchips or sawdust. They have turned red gum logs into incredible polished and beautifully oiled timber logs for yarning circles in primary schools. With these yarning circles, believe it or not, children are talking about the fact that they are discussing things they would never openly talk about with others in this quiet little safe space for reflection. We have really busy lives, and so do kids. Having a little quiet place might sound really little, but sometimes it is the small things that add up and create significant change for people. These beautiful projects that Treasuring Our Trees are undertaking will make quite a difference and have an impact across all these schools across the Dandenong Ranges. I am delighted that we are supporting them with a $200,000 grant to continue their fine work.

I know the member for Bayswater is a firm supporter, a strong supporter of Knox Infolink. We are funding them with $100,000 to continue their amazing work across the City of Knox. They have supported the people of Knox with their free breakfast program and food parcels and help with essentials like toiletries, pet food and so much more in between for those who are really doing it tough. They have been working for over 30 years, tirelessly volunteering and supporting the community, so we are supporting them. I think that is one of the key roles for us here – how to help those who help others. That $100,000 grant we know will make a significant impact across the communities of Bayswater and Monbulk.

Another wonderful community organisation I am really proud we are putting money behind is the Philanthropic Collective. We are providing a $60,000 grant. They are a wholly volunteer-driven charitable organisation, and they are generating so much help and assistance across the ridge top of the Dandenong Ranges. They have served over 240,000 meals and reinvested over $3 million into our community. Every Monday a small army of volunteers gathers up donated food and creates boxes of fresh produce and meat for people really doing it tough. Those people can also come in and shop for their dry goods. I actually had the pleasure of going and setting it up. It was like my old greengrocer days. I got to do retail and face up all the food, and people came in and shopped with dignity at no cost to themselves. They were able to choose luxuries. They were able to choose things that they knew would make everyone at home feel valued and worthy. They are a fantastic organisation.

Further to that, they also run a fabulous annual event called Halloween on the Green at the Ferny Creek reserve. Every year you can buy a ticket and go in and enjoy the rides, which are all free. There are food trucks and there is live music. Last year it was Dave Graney and Clare Moore, two Aussie music legends, performing on stage, along with many others. But what they do that many do not realise is they provide free tickets to families who cannot afford to buy them, so those children who probably will not see Luna Park or be able to afford a ticket for entry to these other big places can go there, jump on a free ride, have a great day and feel part of something without needing to have a bank balance that supports it. This program is fabulous, and I am delighted that we are supporting and continuing to support the wonderful work that they are doing.

Another community organisation we are backing is Foothills Community Care. Every Monday night in Upwey and every Wednesday night in Ferntree Gully, Foothills Community Care open their doors to anyone who needs a helping hand. They provide some of the most delicious free hot meals. I tell you what: you walk in there and you smell it, and if you were not hungry when you walked in, you are certainly hungry when you are there. It is amazing food. Again, the food is free. It is there for people who otherwise cannot afford it. It is somewhere where they can sit. For some people it is the only time they will sit down with others and have a conversation and feel a connection. This organisation is run by truly dedicated and wonderful human beings. They first opened their doors in 2002, and the respect that they have garnered all across the area is admirable, to say the least. I am delighted we are supporting them.

We are also supporting Connecting Cockatoo Communities with a $50,000 grant to enable them to support their community of Cockatoo. On the weekend, I tell you, that town is bustling with energy. Once a month there is a fabulous market. There are sports matches and community events. They even run a community Easter egg hunt. Organisations like Connecting Cockatoo Communities work tirelessly to support their town and the people within it, and again, I am delighted that we are supporting them through this state budget.

Another fabulous organisation that we are supporting through the state budget is 3MDR 97.1 FM community radio. They will receive $50,000 to continue their fine work. They are a fantastic non-profit community radio. They started test transmissions in 1985 and have been going strong for coming up to 40 years. They provide a program for all tastes and interests. They broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The turntables just keep spinning – they do still have turntables, I have seen them. Their programming includes music, live performances, news and lifestyle, talkback and local community arts and culture. They have specialist music programs that run, catering to everyone’s tastes no matter how varied, from the blues to country, folk to indie and classical. They pride themselves on playing a whole stack of Australian music content and local artists as well, and there are quite a few of them. We even had a finalist in the latest, I think it was, Australian Idol. It was Anya Hynninen from Selby, and she made it into the top six. We have a thriving, thriving culture of arts across the hills. 3MDR is another way that these artists are supported. They also proudly host a wide variety of community language programs, including Greek, Romanian, Sri Lankan, Tamil, Hindi, Croatian and Samoan. I am delighted we are supporting this wonderful local radio station, which in turn supports our community.

Another wonderful grant we are providing is $50,000 to the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre, which is better known as Burrinja. This place is an art gallery. It provides an artists residence for several local artists, and it is also a performing arts centre. People should be able to access art and culture without schlepping into the city. Your postcode should not dictate your ability to appreciate the arts. So this $50,000 grant I know will go far to supporting this fabulous cultural centre.

There are a few other things I need to speak about, and I am noting the time. I will talk about neighbourhood batteries, because energy resilience – and I have spoken about it before in this place – is one of the most pressing issues across the Dandenong Ranges. We promised that we would put power back into the hands of Victorians, and through our investment in 100 neighbourhood batteries, including across the Dandenong Ranges, we will be doing just that. They are an excellent initiative which enables the network to support more rooftop solar by storing solar-generated electricity during the day and discharging it during the evenings when demand is highest. It enables consumers to generate and consume more renewable energy locally, and it supports our excellent, world-leading greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy targets. I am thrilled.

To kinder, in coming back to education – we know that, with 90 per cent of a child’s brain developing before the age of five, early education has the most profound impact on how our children develop. That is why we are delivering free kinder for three- and four-year-olds and establishing pre-prep of 30 hours per week –

A member: Hear, hear!

Daniela DE MARTINO: ‘Hear, hear’ indeed – and upgrading or providing new equipment to kinders across the state to make sure our Victorian children get the best start to their lives. Our landmark free kinder program, which has been incredibly well received, will continue to save Victorian families up to $2500 in fees per child per year and give more Victorian parents, especially women, greater flexibility to return to work if they so choose.

Now, when it comes to health every Victorian should be able to get the health care they need when they need it and close to home. That is why we are starting work on redeveloping and expanding Maroondah Hospital at Ringwood. We also ensuring women and their health are given the focus, funding and respect they deserve. Yesterday in my constituency question I spoke about the women’s health clinics. Of the 20 that we are implementing across Victoria at a cost of almost $58 million, two will be located in my electorate of Monbulk and will service the women of the hills. Casey Hospital and Maroondah Hospital will both receive a one-stop shop for women needing treatment or advice on issues from menarche to menopause and from pelvic pain, contraception and the scourge of endometriosis to polycystic ovary syndrome.

Sadly, the number of women who have had to put up with terrible pain and debilitating symptoms is far too great, and it has gone on for far too long, so we are doing something about this and investing in women’s health and not a moment too soon, because women deserve better. The women of Monbulk will be able to access these clinics just outside of our boundaries, and I know this will make a significant and positive impact on their lives.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the SEC and our desire to bring it back. We all remember the good old State Electricity Commission. It meant a fair deal on your power prices, and it meant good, stable, decent jobs for workers. So we are going to drive down power bills and create thousands of jobs in renewable, government-owned energy. When the announcement was made about us bringing back the SEC during the campaign, I was on the doors that day and I was high-fived by the first person I told. He was not a Labor voter, but he became a Labor voter, and I have seen him on several occasions since. I am delighted.

Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (12:21): I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

This is so that the house can consider notice of motion 17 in my name on the notice paper – that this house:

acknowledges the serious impact of the recent floods in Victoria;

meets and sits in a flood-affected community in northern Victoria for one day in October or November 2023;

requires the Speaker and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly to consult with the Mitchell Shire Council, the Greater Shepparton City Council, the Campaspe Shire Council, other flood-affected local government areas in northern Victoria, and parliamentary staff, in relation to choosing an appropriate date and specific location for the regional sitting to occur; and

authorises the Speaker to do all things necessary to facilitate the Assembly sitting in northern Victoria in October or November 2023.

This is the last sitting day for the autumn session of Parliament, and I think it is appropriate that we debate this particular motion and that the house actually agree to have a sitting of the Assembly in northern or central Victoria.

This is the people’s house. The upper house has agreed to have a regional sitting, and they are going to hold a regional sitting in central or northern Victoria by April next year, and they have authorised their clerks and their President to organise that particular sitting. For us in this chamber, us being the people’s house, I think it would be very, very appropriate that the Legislative Assembly also sits in regional Victoria in the not-too-distant future so that the house can go out and can see firsthand the damage that was caused by the floods of last October but more importantly now see how slow the flood recovery is going.

There were hundreds of houses that were flooded during the floods. There are still hundreds of homes that are uninhabitable at this stage. If you go to Rochester, you will find there are probably more people living in caravans in the driveway of their house, which has been stripped out by the floods, than there are actually living in houses that have been repaired. I think this house – both sides of the chamber – should respect those communities by going out there and inspecting this firsthand, and by going out and inspecting the damage to the roads firsthand that have not been repaired at this stage.

The flood recovery funding has been far too slow, and as I talk to local government areas, they are extremely frustrated that they have not been able to get on with the job of repairing the roads and repairing their infrastructure, as was the case after the 2011 floods. To show respect to those communities, I would urge those on the other side of the chamber to support this motion and agree to this motion so that we can go out and have a regional sitting.

I know and accept it is a challenge for the parliamentary staff to find a location that is suitable, but there are locations, particularly in Shepparton or Seymour or Echuca, where you could hold those sittings. I am sure those local government areas would be very happy to work closely with the Parliament to make sure that can be facilitated, because I know those communities. The smaller communities around that would come in to be part of that sitting and watch us debate the issues of the day, and they would feel that they have finally had their city cousins take note of what is happening out there, what has happened out there and what is still happening out there as far as the flood recovery into the future goes. It would be about making sure that the 88 members of this chamber are very well informed about the issues which those of us that live in those areas and represent them already know and making sure that the rest of the 88, those that do not have a direct connection to those communities that were flooded, can see firsthand and, more importantly, meet with the people that live in those communities to hear firsthand from them.

If I go to Rochester, particularly every time it rains, the people of Rochester get very, very concerned that this may happen again. They would, I think, find their mental health improved by people coming out and actually talking to them and listening to them and showing them the respect of listening to their stories. I know some ministers have been out, but there are a lot of other members of this chamber who have not had the opportunity to go out in a structured way so they are actually shown the things that have happened, the things that are not happening and, more importantly, the things that need to happen to make sure that people get back into their homes and to make sure that the community infrastructure that needs to be repaired is repaired. Every time I drive through Rochester I look to the left as I come down and I see the swimming pool that has been totally destroyed. That community no longer has a swimming pool. We are coming into summer; they do not have it. So I urge those on the other side to support this motion.

Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston) (12:26): I rise to speak on this motion. I do not want to argue with the substance of the motion. I respect the member and those communities very, very much, having had some experience in the emergency services myself and having seen how these incidents evolve from an incident reported to an incident control centre to having municipal stakeholders involved and the state government and the federal government as well. I know that at times those waits can be extremely frustrating and it is hard on those townships, as most crises will be. But at the moment, the first point I would make is that this government has an extremely full government business program. I certainly am not saying I would not like to visit those regions myself, but we have at the moment members talking about what is happening in their communities and how the budget has affected their communities across the board. I know there are still many members who want to make contributions as well, and they should be able to, s so I will not be able to support this motion.

I think the motion that has been put up is making the assumption that there are not a lot of regional members on this side of the house. There are more regional members on this side of the house than on that side of the house. It is also making the assumption that ministers do not regularly visit these regions, are not aware of the issues and have not spoken to those communities. It is making the assumption that work is not actually happening behind the scenes to resolve some of these issues as well. When a fire or flood goes through, from personal experience, often the largest part of that crisis is in the immediate crisis, that acute stage, the chronic stage, where so many things, so much infrastructure and so many community-supporting agencies need to be built up to ensure that we can operate those communities in a safe manner and those communities can, I guess, rise once again. So there is no argument with, I guess, the substance of the motion for me; it is more about the fact that we are in the middle of a debate on the budget take-note motion and there are plenty of people that would like to contribute. It is a very full government business program, and those people should be able to contribute. This has been on the notice paper, and we will continue to do that.

I am sure it is not something the member means, but for me there is an implied assumption that people on this side of the house do not know regions. I think there is an assumption that maybe ministers are not doing their jobs, and I would like to just put on the record that, having worked in some of those areas as Parliamentary Secretary for Police and Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Services, I know that nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that work continues in these areas and work will continue in these areas. But right now, today, as the notice paper suggests, we should be speaking and we should let all members of the chamber – independents, Greens, Liberal, Labor and otherwise – have their say on the budget take-note motion, as was predictably put in the notice paper. So I cannot support the motion.

Annabelle CLEELAND (Euroa) (12:30): Thank you to Leader of the Nationals for putting forward this motion, a motion that is deeply important to me and that I am proud to support and speak on. There is one question that disappointingly is regularly on my mind: how can this government truly represent Victorians if they never leave the city? We know that Victoria extends beyond Melbourne. The most recent numbers from the ABS say that nearly 1.6 million are now calling regional Victoria home. A major reason why I became a member of the Nationals was to ensure these people –

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member for Euroa has just made a statement that is completely untrue. It is a narrow procedural debate. On this side of the house we have 18 members representing rural and regional Victoria.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! It is a procedural debate on the question of adjournment. I have been listening to the Leader of the Nationals and the member for Frankston, and I ask the member for Euroa to continue. There is some context that I have allowed and I will continue to, but please stay on the urgency of the motion.

Annabelle CLEELAND: This is why I would like to adjourn to debate this and not be silenced and have my time, when I get to speak about my community, chewed up by someone – who has left, I think. Getting back to what I was saying, a major reason why I became a member of the Nationals was to ensure our regional people are listened to and fairly represented in this place. Regional Victorians are feeling ignored by this government, and I agree with them. The response to the October 2022 floods demonstrated the government’s apathy to regional Victorians, and it is high time that the serious impact of these floods is recognised. It is imperative that all members of Parliament get out to the people impacted by this crisis and that we hold a sitting in a flood-affected community. We must understand firsthand the impact for residents in the Euroa, Shepparton, Eildon, Murray Plains and Ovens Valley electorates and many, many parts of our state. The upper house has already agreed to sit in central or northern Victoria by April next year, and yet we are still sitting here with no plans to proceed. This is supposed to be the house of the people. Our communities and our people deserve to be heard by a government who is in touch with their needs.

In my electorate of Euroa the impact of the floods is still ever-present and will be for years to come, both physically and emotionally. Hundreds of people remain displaced. Houses were destroyed, caravan parks are still closed or operating at limited capacity and farmers are recovering from decimated crops and lost livestock. Our unsafe and rapidly deteriorating roads remain a primary concern of our residents. While the government feel comfortable cutting the road budget based on their knowledge of well-paved city streets, regional residents pay the price. Repairs to our roads and our infrastructure have been inadequate and slow, with no room for the betterment of an already struggling network. The mental health of people in these communities continues to suffer. Unfortunately those suffering are in areas with insufficient support services, medical professionals and health infrastructure. Our local economies too are suffering. Agricultural industries have struggled to bounce back from destroyed crops. All these issues remain while these people are still waiting for funding support from this government. Every day my constituents inform me that they are yet to receive their support funding from this government. Many are yet to even receive an email or call back. These people deserve to be heard.

The Nagambie Caravan Park, which is located my electorate, has 3000 sites that remain closed despite this park being integral to our local tourism economy. I truly believe this government does not fully comprehend the impact this will have on the town’s economy and the livelihood of so many hardworking and honest people. Nagambie, a town ultimately reliant on its traditionally booming tourism industry, needs these facilities to be reopened. This is just one town; there are many, many more that are still feeling the impact of the floods and the lack of this government’s support. Hundreds of people remain displaced, with people living in caravans or on friends’ land because their homes remain uninhabitable. In Seymour about 50 flood-affected homes remain unlivable as tenants and owners navigate insurance challenges. We are experiencing a housing crisis that is amplified throughout our flood-affected communities, with so many people and families couch surfing, living in cars and caravans and in the front yards of friends. It is time that we showed them the support and respect that they deserve. We must sit with these flood-affected communities, if only for a day, because we must show we care.

Darren CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (12:34): It is with pleasure that I rise to make a very quick contribution to this debate. And what I would say is that the Andrews Labor government has a significant number of MPs who are from our beautiful regions. I am one of four MPs from the Geelong region. There are two Labor colleagues who represent the Ballarat community. There are two colleagues who represent the Bendigo community. We have the fantastic state seat of Ripon that has been added.

A member: Bass.

Darren CHEESEMAN: We have got Bass. We have got Macedon. We have got a huge number of members of the Andrews Labor government who have been working tirelessly day in and day out making a strong case for our regions, and we will continue to do that day in and day out, fighting for our fair share. And I think if you look at the track record of those fantastic Labor representatives from the regions you will see firsthand the hard work of Labor working for Victorians and particularly for regional Victorians. We have got a huge number of challenges, and of course those strong, committed regional Labor MPs every single day are out there making the case. When I look at the track record indeed of the National Party, I must say the experience –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, this is a procedural debate, and the government has not yet explained why after nine years this house has never gone to the regions. I know that they are embarrassed about doing that and are refusing to debate that matter, and I would ask that the Deputy Speaker return to the tight procedural debate.

Mary-Anne Thomas interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the House! The member for South Barwon needs to relate his debate to the urgency of adjourning the current motion, and I have been listening carefully to see how he will do that.

Darren CHEESEMAN: Thank you. What I would say is that this chamber has some very, very important work as a part of the business program. We indeed had a vote on the business program at the start of the week. The government have full intention of working our way through that business program through the course of this week. I find it remarkable that the National Party have chosen to bring this motion to this chamber on the last sitting day of the week. They had the opportunity to make a contribution perhaps on this at the start of the week, and they chose not to. The reality is that when the National Party have that opportunity of being in a coalition government, we see cuts and closures to this state. We see rail lines closed, we see –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is now defying your ruling. His contribution is equivalent to his contributions normally, and I would ask you to bring him back to the tight debate as to why the government is refusing to bring the Assembly to the regions and has not for the entire life of their government.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The debate is actually on why the motion should be adjourned, not other things, and the member will continue on that.

Darren CHEESEMAN: Indeed we set out the government business program at the start of the week. We will stick to the government business program. It is important that we set out the agenda; we do that as a government every single sitting week. The National Party are all about cuts and closures. Every single opportunity –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, this is now the third time you have needed to rein in the member, and I would ask you to bring him back to the question as to why the government refuses to take the Parliament, the lower house, to the regions and has not for nine years. I know they are ashamed. I understand why.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:40): I rise to support the motion put to the house by the member for Murray Plains. This Parliament has obligations to the people. That is why this is the lower house. It is the people’s house. We need to be aware of what is happening right across the state of Victoria from border to border, and we are not if we are sitting in this place. When I heard in the last Parliament the member for Eltham saying that her mother had told her that the roads in regional Victoria were fantastic, that just showed how out of touch this government really is.

Ros Spence: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, as you have ruled previously, this is a narrow procedural debate. We are not debating the motion on the paper by the member for Murray Plains. We are debating the narrow procedural motion as to whether we adjourn debate. The member has not mentioned the motion about adjourning debate.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member has – relatively – just started and will continue on the procedural motion ahead of us, on the adjournment.

Roma BRITNELL: I do support the adjournment of the debate so that we can debate this motion. That is why I do support the motion, because the regions have copped a flogging. They really have done it hard – the floods, the fires – and that is why the upper house went to the regions. They understood that, and we should be doing exactly the same thing. I visited northern Victoria recently, and I saw the Rochester decimation. I was in the member for Euroa’s electorate last week and saw the effects of the caravan park that cannot open and took no income for the whole of the summer – and in the member for Eildon’s, what damage has been done from the floods around her electorate. So I urge this Parliament to take all the members from this Parliament, particularly the Labor members who do not get out into the regions. Ask the people of South-West Coast what the roads are like –

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I can hear the Leader of the Opposition saying this is getting silly. It certainly is. It is a silly motion for an adjournment. Once again, the member is not speaking on the narrow procedural motion. She is using it as an opportunity to say things that are simply untrue about members on this side of the house who are regularly –

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member for –

Mary-Anne Thomas: Not only do we live in regional Victoria, we are in regional Victoria.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member to continue, please, on the debate at hand.

Roma BRITNELL: As I have already said but will quite clearly repeat, we need to adjourn the debate so we can debate this motion, because the people of particularly south-western Victoria, northern Victoria, the regions from over the West Gate and further than this government knows how to go, want this government to know what it is like to drive on our roads, our dilapidated, disgraceful roads that are causing such heartache and such pain and fear in the community that I live in and the communities of northern Victoria. They need that funding for the roads recovery that they are just not getting and that they have explained to me in my capacity as the shadow freight and ports minister. So I think they should be coming out. They should be hearing about these terrible roads, they should be hearing about the pain the cost of living is causing them and the cobweb of transmission lines that this government has left all across western Victoria. Talk to the teachers and talk to the students who are having such a difficult time. The regions are important, and this government does not know how to acknowledge the importance of the regions because they are so –

Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, this is a narrow procedural debate, and certainly the member has strayed.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: On the adjournment matter.

Roma BRITNELL: I suggest we adjourn the debate so we can talk to the motion that the member for Murray Plains has so articulately put forward, that there is trouble in the regions, there are flood-affected communities who are struggling and who have been waiting.

Members interjecting.

Roma BRITNELL: You can all laugh, but if you are one of these people that for eight months –

Members interjecting.

Roma BRITNELL: You can all laugh, but people are out of their homes.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member is entitled to be heard, and I need to hear the member. If members on this side would like to have an early lunch, I can assist.

Roma BRITNELL: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Through you, I do think that we should be respectful of the fact that we are here today talking about a motion that will take the members of Parliament out into the real world where people are suffering, where our roads are appalling. This would give them an opportunity to drive on those roads or, even if they have a driver, to try and look at their phone while they are on the road, because it is just impossible to do anything in the car because it is so, so bad to drive on our potholed roads that are so dangerous. So if it gets these members of Parliament, particularly on the other side out, I am for it. (Time expired)

Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (12:45): I am very happy to speak on this procedural motion. I think we should remind those opposite that we actually have 18 government members who are representing regional Victoria very well. Not only do they live there, but they also drive extensively around those regions, so they are definitely circulating in those regions. The suggestion that somehow members of the government have never been to regional Victoria I just find a furphy. I just think it is very narrow tightrope and a very weak argument at that. Having said that, we are absolutely sensitive and acutely aware of the incredible challenges faced by regional Victoria, no less than our regional members themselves. Of course collectively we have deep compassion for the circumstances of Victorians in regional Victoria, absolutely, and across the entire state. We just do not represent one area or another; we govern for the whole of Victoria.

The take-note motion is a fantastic opportunity for those who want to speak to it to be able to transact debate on any elements of the budget that they feel deeply concerned about or otherwise. Why not use that opportunity here and now? We are not here to debate the merits of having a regional sitting or otherwise; that is not what this debate is about. I will put it to you that one or three days in a regional sitting does not replace the day-in, day-out management of a seat. I am just saying that it does not mean you should not go, and I am not suggesting there is not merit in that – certainly I am sure everyone here would be happy to do so – but it does not replace actually being a member who is working in those areas. I know all our ministers govern for the entire state, not just for one seat or another, and it is an absolute furphy to suggest otherwise. I have had the pleasure, even as a parliamentary secretary, to go to places like Mildura, Geelong, Wonthaggi and Buchan and to drive and to talk to people at the Learn Locals and find out about the incredible work they do – the networking –

A member interjected.

Nina TAYLOR: Yes, unbelievable. It is actually really inspiring. Yes, I have been out of the city – who knew? But in my parliamentary –

Annabelle Cleeland: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is a very narrow procedural motion, and I would just like to highlight that the member has not mentioned one flood-affected community, which is the point of this motion. You do not know where it is.

The SPEAKER: Order! I have heard your point of order. I have been listening closely to this procedural debate, and there have been many members who have gone far astray from the procedural motion. Member for Albert Park, I remind you that this is a narrow debate, as I would remind other members when we have procedural debates in this house.

Nina TAYLOR: Thank you very much, Speaker, for your learned guidance there. I completely respect that, but I also think it is fair to say that there has been quite a far-reaching debate where people have spoken to their areas, specifically regional areas, and made some fairly pointed remarks that were rather unfair against the government, particularly suggesting that government members were not getting out of the city, which is absolutely a furphy. It is actually offensive to those members who work extremely hard in their regions day in, day out, driving kilometres and kilometres, as they love to do. It is their passion and it is why they have been elected, so to suggest otherwise is deeply unfair and actually offensive.

Having said that, coming back to the procedural motion, the purpose here today of the take-note motion is to give all members in the chamber ample opportunity to debate all aspects of the budget. If you have got particular concerns, go for it; use the opportunity rather than taking up government time and parliamentary time on a matter which arguably is actually interfering with the ability of those members opposite to be able to transact debate on the budget. I should say that prior to this sitting week, when we were initially debating the budget, they were lamenting the fact that they could not talk about the budget. Now we give members opposite the opportunity to talk about it, suddenly – ‘Oh, we don’t want to. We need to filibuster and do other funny things. We can’t actually get to the budget itself.’ We are giving those opposite the opportunity. Those opposite are welcome to take it or otherwise. I mean, it is here. I am a little bit confused because they say one thing one week and one thing another week.

The other thing is we did have a sitting when I was in the upper house in Bright, and I do remember a member for Southern Metropolitan Region, a Mr Davis, who may have behaved in a certain way on that particular – I am just putting it out there. (Time expired.)

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Eureka.

Colin Brooks: On a point of order, Speaker, the member for Brighton just made a remark towards the honourable member who was most recently on her feet, the member for Albert Park, referring to her as a grub, and I ask the member to withdraw that comment.

The SPEAKER: As you know, Minister for Housing, it is up for the member for Albert Park to request that withdrawal.

James Newbury: On the point of order, Speaker, I withdraw and apologise.

Assembly divided on Peter Walsh’s motion:

Ayes (24): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Sam Groth, Matthew Guy, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, Cindy McLeish, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, John Pesutto, Richard Riordan, Brad Rowswell, David Southwick, Bill Tilley, Bridget Vallence, Peter Walsh, Kim Wells, Jess Wilson

Noes (51): Juliana Addison, Jacinta Allan, Daniel Andrews, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Darren Cheeseman, Anthony Cianflone, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Will Fowles, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, Sonya Kilkenny, Nathan Lambert, Gary Maas, Alison Marchant, Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Steve McGhie, Paul Mercurio, John Mullahy, Tim Pallas, Danny Pearson, Pauline Richards, Tim Richardson, Michaela Settle, Ros Spence, Nick Staikos, Natalie Suleyman, Meng Heang Tak, Jackson Taylor, Nina Taylor, Kat Theophanous, Mary-Anne Thomas, Emma Vulin, Iwan Walters, Gabrielle Williams, Belinda Wilson

Motion defeated.

Alison MARCHANT (Bellarine) (12:56): It is with great pleasure that I rise to speak on the take-note motion on the 2023–24 budget papers. I am very proud to be a regional MP in this place representing the Bellarine. That role does come with great privilege and great responsibility, and it is a role that I take very seriously. We do not want to waste a moment in government. I as a member do not want to waste a moment in delivering for our community, because I am someone who likes to get on with things. I do like to consult with our community but then also to deliver for our community.

It is a great pleasure that the Treasurer this year was able to send a really important message to the Bellarine and to Victorians that we are being responsible, we are planning for our future and we are doing what matters, but more importantly, we are going to do what we said we were going to do and deliver on the things that we said we would do. Last year we took a really positive plan to the Victorian people, and I was very proud to let the community and voters of the Bellarine know what was on offer at that election in terms of not just the local commitments that we were making but statewide initiatives that are going to transform this state – bringing back the SEC; the Best Start, Best Life reform for our littlest Victorians across the state; free TAFE; cost-of-living measures, including making V/Line fares fairer for regional Victorians; apprenticeship support; free nursing degrees; and so much more. The list is long. I thank the Treasurer for his hard work. Budgets are not easy. This was the first budget for me as the member for Bellarine in this place, but it was the ninth budget for this Treasurer. I thank him for his commitment and the work that he has done. It is not easy, but he has managed to deliver a budget that is committing to the things that we said we would do at the last election.

I would like to speak a little bit about the Bellarine commitments that we made and about how important they are for the Bellarine community. I have been really pleased to be able to go out into the community since the budget and celebrate those commitments with our community, and I am really looking forward to seeing these projects develop and continue.

Sitting suspended 1:00 pm until 2:01 pm.

Business interrupted under standing orders.

The SPEAKER: Can I acknowledge in the gallery today the High Commissioner for Pakistan His Excellency Mr Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri and Consul General Syed Moazzam Hussain Shah.