Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Economy

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): My question is to the Premier. Ahead of the last election Labor promised that they would fund their commitments without ‘increasing net debt’. The Auditor-General report released last Friday stated that:

Debt rose again this year at a pace faster than revenue and economic growth.

Why has the government broken its promise of not increasing net debt further?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:21): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. I recall last sitting week answering a very similar question, and I will repeat the information I provided to the Leader of the Opposition last sitting week, which was at budget time the Treasurer laid down, along with a budget, the government’s financial management strategy. That included our COVID debt repayment plan, which of course is necessary, because during the period of the pandemic we understood very clearly that to do things like invest $11 billion in business support to make sure that business could remain viable through that period of time, continue to employ people during that period of time, we needed to use the strength of the government’s balance sheet to provide that support to Victorian businesses and by extension Victorian workers. We also during that time invested heavily in our health system – billions and billions of dollars. That also included our COVID health plan, which has seen $12 billion being invested to support our hardworking healthcare workers, to employ thousands more and to continue to provide vital support to our healthcare system.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was about net debt increasing. That is what the Auditor-General is pointing to, and I ask you to bring the Premier back to the question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: What we have also seen over the past 12 months or more is the Victorian budget experiencing the same challenges and pressures that are being experienced by people around the country from successive interest rate rises. What we are doing is we are continuing to invest in the services that Victorians rely on. We have had conversations today about the health system. We have had questions today about the support to housing. Well, Leader of the Opposition, every budget delivered between 2010 and 2014 cut funding to the housing budget.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, can I refer you to the new Rulings from the Chair at page 153 and the Speaker Maddigan ruling that a response must address a question rather than responding generally. In this instance I would suggest to you that the Premier is not being relevant to the question, which related to the Auditor-General’s finding. The Premier is now responding very generally.

The SPEAKER: The Premier had strayed somewhat from the question that was asked. I do ask her to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I was referring to the ongoing investments that we are making to support our education system and our health system and to keep people in work. The Leader of the Opposition in his question asked me about commitments made last November. Well, I recall commitments made by some that would result in people losing their jobs – cuts to our major projects, cuts to our infrastructure program, which would have seen people lose their jobs.

We take a different approach. We invest in people, we invest in services – and understand too through the good work of the Treasurer that we have, through the financial management strategy that was laid out in the budget, work to do as we repay the investments that were made to support the Victorian community during the COVID pandemic.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): The Victorian Auditor-General’s report on Victoria’s finances released last Friday said that:

The government have not laid out a plan for when and how the state will pay down existing and future debt.

The government has again proven that it cannot manage money. When will the government finally release a plan to pay down debt?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:26): I will refresh the memory of the Leader of the Opposition for his benefit that – I think I have mentioned it today, I mentioned it last week – we have our COVID debt repayment plan that was set out in the budget, with our financial management strategy that had a focus on stabilising debt over the forward period. All of this was laid out in the budget. I am sure the Treasurer would be happy to furnish the Leader of the Opposition with further information.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, on relevance, Speaker, I quoted the Auditor-General, who said the government does not have a plan to pay down debt. The Premier keeps referring to a very small part of last May’s budget without addressing what the Auditor-General is saying, because the Auditor-General is talking about debt of $256 billion –

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition knows that that is not the way to raise a point of order. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: For the third time today, I will provide this information to the Leader of the Opposition. Usually it is three strikes and you are out, Leader of the Opposition, but for the third time today: we have laid out in the budget earlier this year our COVID debt repayment plan, the work we are doing to stabilise net debt in the medium term, and we will continue to remain focused on that task.