Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. Premier, members of your own team have spoken publicly against Labor’s big tax, stating they want to see massive changes due to the huge impact on farmers caused by the government’s emergency services tax. Given the Premier will not listen to struggling home owners, drought-stricken farmers, under-resourced councils and emergency services workers and volunteers, will the Premier now confirm she will also ignore members of her own backbench?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): In thanking the Leader of the Opposition for his question, I did go into great detail yesterday on why supporting all of our emergency services at a time when we are seeing more fierce and more frequent fire, flood and storm events is so critically important. It is just so critically important, and it is about making sure that we are listening to the state emergency services; listening to country communities, who are most exposed in many instances to these events; and understanding the need to bring more resources, more fire trucks, more SES units, more stations – more resources.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to relevance, the question was very, very specific, about the backbench of the Labor Party, who are putting forward that they need to see massive changes in this tax. Will the Premier continue to ignore them?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Eureka!

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, there is no point of order. The Premier was being entirely relevant to the question, which was about the emergency services volunteers levy, and I ask that you advise the Leader of the Opposition that his point of order is out of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier was being relevant to the question. I cannot tell the Premier how to answer the question, but she was being relevant.

Jacinta ALLAN: I will say the question actually did not refer to any specific measure that the government is taking. I took the assumption that the Leader of the Opposition was talking about the emergency services fund, because he actually did not specify that in his question. We will continue to support our emergency services.

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: You actually did not mention it in your question, Leader –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: No, he did not mention it. Maybe you wrote the question. He asked it, and he did not mention it.

This is an important measure building on the work of the –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Members will be removed without warning.

Sam Groth: On a point of order on relevance, Speaker, the Premier just demonstrated she did not listen to the question, just like she is not listening to her backbench.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: We will continue to support our emergency services. I know some, when they were in government, cut funding to the CFA. They cut funding to the MFB.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is required to be factual and not mislead the house. I would ask you to ask the Premier to come back to the very narrow question about whether she is actually listening to her backbench in bringing forward constituents’ concerns about this big new tax.

The SPEAKER: The Manager of Opposition Business knows not to repeat the question in a point of order. Premier, I would ask you to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: We will continue to listen to members of the community, members of our emergency services and members of the Parliament, who are all focused on providing more support for our emergency services, particularly at a time when they go out and protect us in some of the most difficult and dangerous conditions, which we are seeing more and more frequently here in Victoria.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:07): Premier, have any other backbenchers come to you and complained that they have to speak against this big new tax in their electorates and then vote for it in this chamber?

Members interjecting.

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

Member for Eureka withdrew from chamber.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, I was listening carefully to the supplementary question. I am not quite sure what it has to do with government administration. I ask that you have a look at that question and rule it out of order.

Bridget Vallence: On the point of order, Speaker, it relates directly to government business. The government in its December midyear budget update actually referred to this tax. The question absolutely directly refers to the big new tax, so I would ask you to rule out the Leader of the House’s point of order, because it does precisely and expressly relate to government business.

The SPEAKER: I will allow the question.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:08): In the development of government policy and initiatives of course we take on board a whole range of views and understand that the responsibility of being in government is doing the hard work, doing the detailed work and understanding the need to make decisions that are about supporting the future, whether it is the future of the funding for emergency services or the future of protecting regional communities. And I say this very, very clearly to the Leader of the Opposition: he might have his own issues on his backbench, appointing his special envoy over to the western suburbs there, upsetting a lot of his own people –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. It was very narrow about whether any backbenchers have asked to go against the tax but have then been forced to vote for it.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded her answer.