Thursday, 31 October 2024

 Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (14:18): My question is to the Premier. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Budget Office has found that every single Victorian now carries a debt burden of $19,500, higher than the Commonwealth and every other state. Is it the government’s plan that this figure will go down next year?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:19): I thank the member for his question because it gives me the opportunity in answering his question directly to remind the member that we outlined our fiscal strategy at budget time, which goes directly to the question that the member asked. As part of our fiscal strategy of course we are focused on growing our strong economy – an economy that has seen more jobs created in this state in the last 12 months than any other state, a state that is attracting more business investment than any other state –

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, it is a question about debt, very clearly.

Jacinta ALLAN: On the point of order, Deputy Speaker, I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition is busy interjecting and not listening to the answer to the question that was asked by his colleague, but I directly answered the question at the outset. I directly answered that question at the outset, and I was providing some further detail to support that to the member.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: I appreciate that the Leader of the Opposition does not want me to remind him and the house that we are predicted to be the fastest growing economy over the next five years by Deloitte Access Economics and that we have created more jobs than any other state in the nation, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics – 130,000 more jobs, more than any other state.

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the Premier is not being directly relevant to the question. It was a very specific question asking whether debt will be reduced next year. The Premier has gone nowhere near to directly answering that question.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Sandringham knows that points of order are not an opportunity to repeat the question. The Premier was being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said, we outlined that fiscal strategy at budget time, and I am sure we could provide the member with another copy of the budget papers for him to be reminded of that fiscal strategy, which answers his question directly. I was going to remind the member too that not only have we in Victoria created more jobs than any other state, but we are building, approving and completing more homes than any other state and we have the strongest business investment of any other state. These are facts that are provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Of course there are alternative approaches that you see – for example, ones that come from the United States of America, where they have debt ceilings in place, which we see results in a US-style public health system. If you had a debt ceiling in place in this state, it would result in a US-style public health system. We know that approach is all about cuts and closures, which Victorians know is a Victorian Liberal government true to form.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before the supplementary question, the noise level is too high on both sides of the chamber, and I will remove members.

 Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (14:22): By 2028 the Commonwealth PBO forecasts that every single Victorian will carry a debt burden of $25,100 due to Labor’s financial mismanagement. Has the Premier been advised whether the Commonwealth PBO’s forecast is wrong?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:23): When it comes to referring to decisions made by Commonwealth agencies, I remind the member that we will always advocate very, very strongly for a fairer share of infrastructure funding, for example. It has got everything to do with answering the question –

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, on relevance – direct relevance – the Premier has gone nowhere near to answering the very direct and specific question which I posed.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question as far as Commonwealth agencies go.

Jacinta ALLAN: The reason why this is important of course is because we continue to seek support from federal governments for the delivery of productive infrastructure and for the support of our schools and hospitals, like any other state. This is an important point when it comes to how revenue is collected in this country by state and federal governments. Victorians are federal taxpayers too, which is why we will continue to advocate for a fairer share of funding.

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, it was a very specific question, Deputy Speaker: has the Premier received advice that the Commonwealth PBO is wrong?

Michaela Settle interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Eureka can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Eureka withdrew from chamber.

Brad Rowswell: The Premier has not answered that very specific question, and I would ask you to bring her back to the question which I asked.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question asked. The Premier has her concluded answer.