Thursday, 28 November 2024

 John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): After 10 years of Labor, Victoria now has –

Danny Pearson interjected.

John PESUTTO: My question is to the Premier.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Transport Infrastructure! It is the last question on the last sitting day. Be nice, people.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Cranbourne can leave the chamber for half an hour. The member for Sunbury can leave the chamber for half an hour. The member for Bass can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Members for Cranbourne, Sunbury and Bass withdrew from chamber.

John PESUTTO: My question is to the Premier. After 10 years of Labor, Victoria now has the highest taxes per capita of any state, the highest state government debt, the highest unemployment of any state –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Yan Yean can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Yan Yean withdrew from chamber.

John PESUTTO: the highest public housing waitlist, the highest revenue from fines, the highest regulatory burden for business, the highest number of victims of armed robbery and the most government secrecy. After 10 years of Labor, why are Victorians worse off?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:31): I am going to be very clear and anticipate what may be some points of order that will come. In answering the question from the Leader of the Opposition, I strongly disagree with the proposition that has been put by the Leader of the Opposition, and I am going to use my time to explain to the Leader of the Opposition, in answering his question, why I strongly disagree and why he is wrong. The Leader of the Opposition mentioned unemployment. We have created more jobs in this state than any other state in Australia. That is data from the ABS.

Members interjecting.

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

Member for Eildon withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: Indeed in the last 10 years we have seen 880,000 jobs created here in Victoria. So in terms of how Victoria is faring over that period, 880,000 more Victorians are in work.

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, it is important for the Premier to be factual in her response. For the last seven months Victoria has had the highest unemployment of any state in the country.

The SPEAKER: I cannot determine the facts or otherwise of an answer or a question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I will send the member for Sandringham a link to the ABS website that shows that we have created more jobs than any other state in the nation and we have created 880,000 jobs over the past decade. Do you know why we have done that? Because we have been focused on workers and families. Workers and families have been our focus every single day that I have been a member of a Labor government in this place. We are focused on them. Every Labor government I have been a member of that has come into government following a period of opposition – do you know what we have had to do? We have had to rebuild the state.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, we just want a simple answer: are Victorians better off or worse off? If Victorians are better off, just say so. Just say the words.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: Of course over the past 10 years one of the great projects we have been so busy working on is the Metro Tunnel. Do you know what is going to happen next year? The Metro Tunnel is going to open a full year ahead of schedule. When I became the Minister for Public Transport in 2014, do you know what we had to do? We had to rescue the Metro Tunnel from the scrap heap that the Liberal government had thrown it on. With what we are doing now, 7000 Victorians have been employed on this project. It is going to open next year. It is going to join the Sunbury and the Cranbourne–Pakenham corridors, a 97-kilometre-long corridor that is also going to be level crossing free. We have removed 84 dangerous and congested level crossings right around the suburbs – suburbs like Caulfield – and that has kept people in work, because behind every worker is a family who relies on that pay packet and relies on a Labor government to support them with the school saving bonus and free kinder.

 John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): The chair of Melbourne-based biotech giant CSL Brian McNamee has said that:

Victoria is uninvestable … given the fiscal mismanagement of the last 10 years …

Prominent independent economist Saul Eslake has said that:

Victoria has become a poor state over the past 10 years …

… Victoria is worse off in most respects than it was in 2014.

Why are Victorians poorer after 10 years of Labor?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:36): Of course the organisation that the Leader of the Opposition refers to is making an $800 million investment in this state. It is just one of the many businesses that are seeing this state have the highest level of business investment since 2020, more than any other state in the nation. Again I remind Leader of the Opposition why supporting a strong economy is so important to me and to the Labor government. It is because it represents an opportunity for every worker in every suburb in every town to have a good job, to have an opportunity and to support them and their family. As the daughter of a power worker who lost their job because of the privatisation agenda that they cheer for, I am focused on supporting workers and families every day.