Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Business of the house
Program
Business of the house
Program
That, under standing order 94(2):
(1) the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 7 pm on 14 May 2024:
Appropriation (2024–2025) Bill 2024
Appropriation (Parliament 2024–2025) Bill 2024
Confiscation Amendment (Unexplained Wealth) Bill 2024; and
(2) the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 5 pm on 15 May 2024:
State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024
Financial Management Amendment (Gender Responsive Budgeting) Bill 2024.
It is great to be back on Tuesday, which is actually Wednesday but contains some of the elements of Tuesday. We will all try and make sure we are in the right place at the right time.
We have, as always, an important government business program before us, but it is even more important this week because it is the opportunity for the house to consider the budget that was handed down by the Treasurer last week. Since that time the Treasurer has been out and about, as have members on this side of the house, talking to the people of Victoria about how our budget is very much firmly focused on our Labor values of helping families where and when they need it most. I know again that on this side of the house there have been great opportunities to get out and talk about the school saving bonus and the fact that we are making breakfast free for all kids in schools. This is fantastic.
As is usual practice, the Parliament appropriation bill will be debated cognately with the broader appropriations bill. It is important that the house has a chance to consider the budget. As such we are also moving a take-note motion to ensure that every member who wishes to have an opportunity to speak on the budget has that opportunity. I know that this is an opportunity that will be taken up by every single Labor member of this house, because we take our responsibility to the people of Victoria to serve and deliver for them very, very seriously and we ensure that we use our time in this place to talk about the things that matter to the people of Victoria, and that includes investing in schools, health care, road and rail, upgrading our classrooms and our hospitals – so much for us to talk about. We are also looking forward to the opportunity that the budget delivers for the opposition leader in waiting perhaps – I am not sure – the Shadow Treasurer will be on his feet later this morning, using the time that is available to him to speak in reply to the Treasurer’s speech. We look forward to that; we will be listening intently to his contribution.
When we talk about the confiscation amendment bill, we are guillotining the Confiscation Amendment (Unexplained Wealth) Bill 2024 today. It is another important bill for the house to consider given the bill targets the ill-gotten gains of criminals, and it is recognised as a key tool in disrupting, dismantling and deterring serious and organised crime. I know that this is a bill that will be welcomed by all members of the house, and we wait perhaps in hope that those on the other side will see their way clear to supporting this bill.
In terms of the State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024 and the Financial Management Amendment (Gender Responsive Budgeting) Bill 2024, the government will also seek to debate and guillotine the state taxation and gender responsive budgeting bills tomorrow. This is to ensure we continue the passage of the budget bills through the Parliament. Obviously these two bills are important components of our budgets, particularly given the focus of our budgets on delivering for the women of Victoria. And I will take this opportunity to congratulate both the Minister for Women, who is at the table, and the Treasurer for the work that they have done and their commitment to establishing gender-responsive budgeting as the way in which we do business here in the state of Victoria. This gender-responsive budgeting ensures that all of our budget initiatives are examined through the lens of the impact that they have on women and girls, because we know that in the past this has not been the case, and the real needs of women and girls have not been properly addressed in this place. But I have got to say, when more than 50 per cent of your caucus are women, you see a focus on the issues of concern to women, something that our government is especially proud of, and I know that there will be women and men who look forward to making, on this side of this place, a contribution. It will be interesting to hear what those on the other side have to say about gender-responsive budgeting, and whether they would have a commitment to continue it should they ever have the opportunity to form government.
So again, it is a really important week, one for which I know members on this side of the chamber are ready and raring to go. There are quite a few croaky throats, I might say, around the chamber. I think it is incumbent on me as Minister for Health to say, ‘Please look after yourself as respiratory viruses are kind of peaking a little bit at the moment.’ So some members may take the opportunity to say less rather than more, and to actually look after their health this week. I commend the government business program to the house.
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (09:47): The coalition will be opposing the government business program. I move:
That the government business program proposed by the Leader of the House be amended by omitting the order of the day, government business, relating to the State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024.
The government has proposed a government business program that hides the budget and rams it through this chamber. That is what this government business program does. Earlier today we saw the Leader of the House give notice of a debate on the appropriation bills – the budget bills – and exclude every member who speaks on the original bill today, so if you speak on the bills before moving to the take-note motion, you will be excluded from speaking twice. I am sure the members on that side of the chamber were not aware of what their Leader of the House was doing, because it is unprecedented for a Leader of the House to do that. Why are they doing that for the first time? Members over there, you can only speak once on these budget bills. Though there are two different options, you will be excluded from speaking about the budget. We know why – a budget that is $188 billion in debt.
The coalition has moved an amendment to the government business program excluding the State Taxation Amendment Bill, a bill that has not been second-read in this place. What is it? No-one would know. Victorians would not know, because they certainly have not seen it, so I think it is important to note for the house and for Victorians, in terms of understanding the amendment, what that bill does. What that bill does is increase the waste services levy and also increase the fire services levy. In terms of the waste services levy, it is a 30 per cent increase. The total tax take from those two items – effectively two new taxes and charges, so we now have a total of 55 increased taxes or charges over the last 10 years – on those two introduced in the budget is $1 billion. And what has been the consultation? The bill has not even been introduced into this place and the government is proposing to guillotine it – guillotine a bill that does not even exist in this place for members to read, for the community to see. So the government is proposing to take another billion dollars out of Victorians’ pockets and will not even show the bill before passing a motion to guillotine that bill. It is shameful. That is why the coalition is moving an amendment to the government business program.
But the other thing this bill does, for the house’s information, is it further hurts non-government schools by introducing a number of measures on non-government schools to put into effect the government’s tax hit that they introduced last year. There are a number of measures secretly hidden in this bill that the government does not want Victorians to see – of course they do not, that is why they have not released it. They want agreement to guillotine debate on it before it has even been introduced. What the government is proposing with the state tax bill is outrageous – two new taxes, no consultation, new measures that hurt religious institutions and non-government schools through measures in that bill, and consultation has not occurred. Consultation has not even occurred. It is outrageous to think that schools are being so perniciously hurt again in this budget, and there has been no reporting on it. Of course there has not, because the government is doing everything it can to hide it, and not just hide it from the community but it is blocking their own members from speaking on these items. But we know the government has issues, and I think we will see that with other bills in coming weeks, like the integrity bill, which I know treats ministers and backbenchers separately. But we will deal with that issue at another time. This is a business program that is flawed and it is hiding the truth from Victorians, so the coalition will be wholeheartedly opposing it.
Ella GEORGE (Lara) (09:52): It is a pleasure to rise today to speak on the government business program, and it is great to be back in this place just a week after the Treasurer handed down his 10th Victorian state budget. While I and many others on this side have been out in our communities talking about the important investments into schools and hospitals and easing the cost of living for hardworking Victorian families, we are back here today to debate the appropriation bills that will allow the government press on with its important agenda that the Treasurer outlined in his budget speech last week.
Of course we have two appropriation bills that we will be debating over the course of today, the Appropriation (Parliament 2024–2025) Bill 2024 and the Appropriation (2024–2025) Bill 2024. It is so disappointing but not surprising that the opposition is not supporting the government business program this week, but despite what those opposite say, we on this side – on the side of government – are getting on with the job this week. We are all ready to debate the appropriation bills, we are all ready to debate the take-note motion, and I am certainly looking forward to having more to say on these bills. I know my colleagues are too, and I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say about the state budget, the appropriation bills, and the importance of these investments in their communities.
The purpose of the Appropriation (Parliament 2024–2025) Bill 2024 is to appropriate funds out of the Consolidated Fund for the operation of the Parliament for 2024–2025 – very important work here. This includes ensuring that there is funding for the Parliament’s core operations and other entities, including the Parliamentary Budget Office, the Victorian Inspectorate and the Auditor-General, and for the integrity agencies: the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman.
The Appropriation (2024–2025) Bill 2024 is important to this week’s government business program as it provides that legal authority for the appropriation of money from the Consolidated Fund for the ordinary annual services of government for the 2024–25 financial year. This bill implements the expenditure decisions that were outlined in the budget last week, and I am sure that all members of this place want to see this bill debated and agreed to so that we can get on with upgrading schools, purchasing land and building new schools for our growth areas; investing in our health system in places that need it most; and of course providing some much-needed financial support to families that we know are doing it tough right now and are dealing with an increase in the cost of living.
Once these bills are passed, we can get on with the job of providing that relief through measures such as the $400 school saving bonus for families and children. It is a great initiative. I have spoken to so many people about this over the past week, as I know my colleagues have been out speaking about it in their communities, and it has been met with such great excitement. That is a $400 payment for families with children at government schools and eligible families at independent schools. For some of the larger families in my electorate with three or four children at a government school, I know that the school saving bonus is going to make a real difference when it comes to ensuring that students have everything that they need –
Cindy McLeish: On a point of order, Speaker, the member for Lara is actually debating the bills rather than talking about the government business program, and I ask you to bring her back to this debate.
The SPEAKER: The member for Lara had strayed into debating the bills before the house in the government business program, and I ask her to come back to the motion on the government business program.
Ella GEORGE: What can I say, I am just so excited about the $400 school saving bonus that was announced by the Treasurer last week, which will be included in these appropriation bills as part of the government business program this week.
This week we will also be continuing the debate on the Confiscation Amendment (Unexplained Wealth) Bill 2024, and debate will commence on the State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024 and of course the Financial Management Amendment (Gender Responsive Budgeting) Bill 2024. I would like to spend the remainder of my time today focusing on that bill. The Financial Management Amendment (Gender Responsive Budgeting) Bill is the type of legislation that only a Labor government would introduce. With a caucus of over 50 per cent women, gender equity is front and centre of everything we do on this side, and this bill will enshrine our government’s commitment to gender equity and inclusivity when it comes to investment in government services and initiatives, and taxation policies. This bill will create a minimum standard for budget-reporting obligations on gender equality and also empowers the minister to request gender impact assessments. I commend the government business program to the house.
Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (09:57): Of course it is no surprise that the opposition is going to oppose the government business program this week. With a bill on the program that has not even been second read, it would be irresponsible of us not to oppose it, particularly when we are looking down the barrel of a 30 per cent increase in waste management levies. I have spoken to many councils, many CEOs and mayors over the last week or so, and previously to that too. Small shire councils cannot afford to run as they are; they are not sustainable. Increase the levies, and again we are perhaps looking down the barrel of more amalgamations, which is the last thing we want. On the fire services levy, clearly they need some help. FRV’s station 72 pumper –
Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is debating the bill.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I ask the member for Mildura to continue on the government business program.
Jade BENHAM: Apologies, Deputy Speaker. Okay, let us talk about the government business program and the fact that a motion has been moved that will exclude members that have been able to speak on the appropriation bills. And I suspect that there might be a few, because I know my Nats colleagues are all very, very intent – the Leader of the Nationals obviously is very intent – on talking about regional discrimination. They are all intent on contributing on the appropriation bills, but I have no doubt that that will be cut short and we will leave off some of those.
Fifteen minutes is not a long time to talk about everything that we have got to talk about when we talk about regional discrimination. It would be no surprise that all of our members would want to talk on both of the appropriation bills and the take-note motion rather than be excluded from talking on the take-note. We are gagged, so to speak – again, something we are getting used to in this place. Of course we want to talk about the budget and the state of this state. I am befuddled to come up with the appropriate words that describe not only the $188 billion of debt but the fact that we are being gagged by not being able to contribute on the appropriation bills. Do we have to make a choice? We should not have to make a choice. We should be free to do our jobs and contribute on every single bill or motion that comes before this place. That is our job, and the fact that we cannot is absolutely preposterous. ‘Preposterous’ is the word that I was looking for before. It makes me sound like Mary Poppins, I am sure.
The Confiscation Amendment (Unexplained Wealth) Bill 2024 – hopefully that will be a quick one and we are not going to use it to filibuster and take up time this week, with only two days, so that we do not get time to contribute on what we want to be talking about. To be quite honest, it does not surprise me that we would be talking on something like that rather than the appropriation bills, which clearly the other side is embarrassed about. I mean, $4 million for a scoreboard as opposed to taking 75 per cent out of cancer research. If you want to put money into community sport that classifies as regional, give me that $4 million and I could make it go –
Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is debating the bill.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member was straying a little and should come back to the government business program.
Jade BENHAM: In the 40-odd seconds I have got left – I failed to mention I was going to keep this brief, because I knew I would fail at that – when looking at this government business program I am utterly dismayed. I am just befuddled, and I am quite frankly surprised that the other side would be surprised that we are opposing this government business program. Like I said earlier, it would be irresponsible of us not to, considering that there is a bill that we have not even seen. It just proves that Labor cannot manage money.
Belinda WILSON (Narre Warren North) (10:02): It is always a pleasure to talk on the government business program for the week, especially following the member for Mildura. I am sorry she has not got too many of her team members to back her and support her in here.
There is nothing more special or exciting than being in this place after budget day. As the member for Lara has already said, we have all been out and about in our electorates. I am sure you all have too, spruiking the budget announcements for your electorates and claiming them as your own, which is quite a common thing to do.
James Newbury interjected.
Belinda WILSON: I am pleased that the member for Brighton has come back into the chamber to hear me speak. He has been yelling and screaming so much over there. I think he might need to get his hearing tested, because I am in here a lot and the noise is extremely loud. I am sure there are lots of things for you to spruik, member for Brighton, especially the $400 for all your primary school kids. For me and my electorate, this is an absolute game changer.
A member interjected.
Belinda WILSON: Well, the parents are getting it.
Members interjecting.
Belinda WILSON: No, it is not going into their bank account, but it is coming off their fees and it is coming off their camps and it is coming off their school uniforms. It is not a cash payment; it is into the school, which is a great thing. Kids in my schools cannot afford to go on camp, and this will allow them –
Members interjecting.
Belinda WILSON: No, we did not. We did not increase the cost of camp. Anyway, back to the $400, which I think – and I think most of my colleagues agree – is an incredible initiative to be able to see kids who cannot afford to go to camp be able to go and be included in camp. The other great initiative for schools is the breakfast program. I am sure you have been to a school breakfast program in your primary schools, both members sitting at the table there.
James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the cuts to 29 schools’ capital funding or any other policy matters are not relevant to this motion.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member had strayed from the government business program, and I ask her to come back.
Belinda WILSON: Thank you, member for Brighton, I appreciate you bringing me back to the government business program. I really do appreciate that. Thank you so much. As I said, it is always a pleasure to speak on a government business program motion, especially after budget day and especially after hearing an incredible budget from our Treasurer for the 10th time. I am really pleased to be here on this side of the chamber, as all my colleagues are, and I applaud and commend the government business program for today.
Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (10:05): I rise to support the Manager of Opposition Business’s amendment to withdraw the State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024 from the business program motion. This government business program is an absolute disgrace – to introduce a bill and not second read it and to guillotine it within two days when no-one from the public has been able to even see it, a bill that increases more taxes after this government promised when they came into government 10 years ago that there would be no new taxes. Now we have 55 taxes. Guess what, it is a sneaky tax. It is a tax that increases fire services levies from $840 million to $1.4 billion. That is hidden in your rates bill. And the bin tax: householders who are struggling are now getting another direct hit with the 55th tax, from $64 to $169 per tonne. That is a 30 per cent increase in the cost of community members, mums and dads, putting their bins out.
Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is debating the bill.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member had strayed from the government business program. I ask her to return.
Roma BRITNELL: I will return to talking about the State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024 that we are requesting be withdrawn, through the amendment put forward by the Manager of Opposition Business, because we object, as does every Victorian, to this increase in taxes. Where are the priorities for our community, the priorities of this current Labor government? They cannot manage money and they cannot manage projects, and every Victorian is paying the price. That is why we oppose this government business program, because Victorians are hurting. These are direct cost-of-living increases that these taxes and this bill, which we should see withdrawn, are imposing on our community.
To increase the fire services levy to $1.4 billion to grab more money out of the pockets of our hardworking community members is nothing short of a disgrace by this government. But we have seen that right throughout this budget. It is absolutely laid bare for all to see: cuts to women’s services, cuts to public IVF, which was announced less than two years ago –
Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is debating the bill.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member to continue on the government business program, please.
Roma BRITNELL: I will continue on the government business program, talking about the withdrawing of the state taxation bill, which is absolutely a disgrace to see in this business program given that it has not even been second read, it is not available to the public and it is going to be guillotined. That is why we oppose the motion. It is a bill that increases taxes, that hurts families, that increases the cost of living and increases the cost of putting your bin out from your own home from $64 to $169 – an increase of 30 per cent on the cost of living to families. It is an absolute disgrace. It is hidden in the rates bill, and it is a direct hit by the state government. Labor are trying to increase more taxes and hurt hardworking Victorians simply because they cannot manage money and they have got to come after Victorians’ money. They cannot manage projects, and their waste is a disgrace. It is a disgrace that every Victorian is paying the price of.
Let us be clear: this is all down to Labor’s mismanagement. This government business program is a reflection of the way the government want to hide these taxes by including a bill that they have not even second read and shared with communities. They are not going to tell them anything. That is what they are sharing: we are going to hide the facts, we are going to hide the detail and we are going to introduce a bill and not even give the public the respect of knowledge. That is what we see from this government – consistently false, consistently misleading and consistently deceptive. They are increasing the cost of living simply because they cannot manage money.
Fifty-five new taxes in the time they have been in government, and what is it doing to the Victorian people? That is what the budget we saw last week is demonstrating: more debt than Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania put together we have in this state. Do we have more services for it? No. All we have got is more taxes and no plan going forward to manage the extraordinary debt that they have encountered on behalf of Victorians who have to pay it all off, whether it is them, their children or their grandchildren.
The taxes are coming for you; they are coming for the Victorian people’s pockets, and Labor are doing nothing but continuing the waste and going ahead with projects like the Suburban Rail Loop, which will do nothing to help Victorians who need health care, who need an education and who are getting taxed on those things – taxed on health, taxed on education and taxed on rent. This is a government that has no plan, no way of incentivising growth in the economy; it only understands taxation as a way to hurt Victorians.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Leader of the House has moved the government business program. The member for Brighton has moved:
That the government business program proposed by the Leader of the House be amended by omitting order of the day, government business, relating to the State Taxation Amendment Bill 2024.
The question is:
That the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the motion.
Members supporting the amendment by the member for Brighton should vote no.
Assembly divided question:
Ayes (49): Juliana Addison, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Eden Foster, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, 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, Dylan Wight, Belinda Wilson
Noes (28): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Gabrielle de Vietri, Wayne Farnham, Sam Groth, Matthew Guy, Sam Hibbins, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, John Pesutto, Tim Read, Brad Rowswell, Ellen Sandell, David Southwick, Bridget Vallence, Peter Walsh, Kim Wells, Nicole Werner, Jess Wilson
Question agreed to.
Assembly divided on motion:
Ayes (49): Juliana Addison, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Eden Foster, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, 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, Dylan Wight, Belinda Wilson
Noes (28): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Gabrielle de Vietri, Wayne Farnham, Sam Groth, Matthew Guy, Sam Hibbins, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, John Pesutto, Tim Read, Brad Rowswell, Ellen Sandell, David Southwick, Bridget Vallence, Peter Walsh, Kim Wells, Nicole Werner, Jess Wilson
Motion agreed to.