Tuesday, 27 May 2025

Appropriation (2025–2026) Bill 2025

Appropriation (Parliament 2025–2026) Bill 2025

Second reading

Debate resumed on motions of Danny Pearson and Mary-Anne Thomas:

That this bill be now read a second time.

James NEWBURY (Brighton) (11:43): Victoria needs change. Our state has slipped. We were once the place to be. We had the most livable city. Now we are the highest taxed state with the biggest level of debt. We have become the run-down state. Businesses are closing, and the only sure thing is that when you put your hand into your pocket Premier Jacinta Allan’s hand will already be in there. For the first time since Federation, we are now a welfare state. Government now relies not only on taxing Victorians but on holding out our begging bowl and taking a share of tax from other states. And we might pay more than everywhere else, but we get less for it.

It is time to fix this state. Today, in response to the budget, we will be announcing our economic plan to fix it. Our ‘Go for growth’ economic plan will get Victoria moving again.

We have already committed to scrapping four taxes: the emergency services tax, the schools tax on non-government and religious schools, the health tax on GPs and allied health professionals, and the tax on holiday and tourism. And today we will announce a commitment to scrap a fifth tax. Our four-stage plan will scrap taxes, drive growth and open a pathway to pay down debt. Our plan will deliver the fresh start this state deserves. It is time to stop Victoria’s slide. As the chief executive officer of the National Australia Bank Andrew Irvine recently said:

On every measure … Victoria does a little bit worse.

He is right. Last year inflation in Melbourne was above the national average, and so too was unemployment. The recent state budget confirmed that slide would continue with no plan to fix it. At the same time as our economy slides the government keeps spending too much and remains addicted to tax. Total expenses in last year’s budget update were expected to grow by just 0.2 per cent in the coming year, but they have blown out by $8.2 billion. That is 41 times the growth forecast.

State Labor’s addiction to tax is well above any other state. Next year the government will claw in $41.7 billion and then expand that by an average of 4.75 per cent per year over the forward estimates. Tax is up by 183 per cent since Labor was elected, but our incomes have only gone up by 38.5 per cent over the same time, whilst inflation has hit us by 32 per cent. Costs are going up, but the government keeps taking. That is why our wallets are hurting. That is why the Liberal–National coalition has announced we will put $3 billion back into the pockets of Victorians. Costs are too high and taxes are too high, and we are committed to making things easier.

The emergency services tax is unfair and a direct assault on Victorians – a tax the Treasurer said Victorians can afford to pay. Well, the Treasurer and her Labor mates are wrong. As Garth Head, an emergency volunteer awareness campaigner, said:

… it’s really just a sneaky new tax sold on the backs –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Finance!

James NEWBURY: And they are laughing. He said:

… it’s really just a sneaky new tax sold on the backs of the reputation of our dedicated volunteer and career fire and emergency workers.

[NAME AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Since Labor rammed the tax through the Parliament, we have seen the unprecedented step of hundreds of Country Fire Authority volunteers going offline. Their message is simple: they are at breaking point and this tax will push them over the edge. As Cara, a brigade captain, recently said to me:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Even the strongest communities have limits. The mental and emotional toll this is taking, especially on our farmers, who are already facing so much, is quite devastating.

So on behalf of the Liberal–National coalition we have a message for you, Cara, and we have a message for every hardworking volunteer, every home owner and commercial property owner hit by this tax and every Victorian: we will scrap Labor’s unfair tax, and we will put $3 billion back into Victorians’ pockets. We have a plan to do more than just deliver cost-of-living relief; we have a plan to get Victoria moving again: the Liberal–National coalition economic ‘Go for growth’ plan – a plan that delivers tax cuts, because tax cuts will drive growth.

In assessing the state budget, the credit rating agencies’ sharp assessment was that our state lacks budget integrity. Moody’s rating agency has called on the government to improve financial transparency and accountability and strengthen financial oversight. Recent analysis of the last 10 years of budgeting has exposed Labor’s deception. The budget has blown out by $129 billion between the amount they budgeted for and the amount that was spent. On average that represents a $14 billion blowout each and every year. On top of that, capital spending has ballooned out by 18 per cent each year, and operating expense growth has averaged around 7.2 per cent. Labor has simply forgotten that every dollar taxed by this government was first earned through the hard work and sweat of a Victorian. No-one should believe that a Labor government can deliver their promised $600 million surplus – it is phoney. The only thing that Labor can deliver for $600 million is to not host the Commonwealth Games. Labor cannot manage money. As Moody’s also said:

Moderating expenditure growth may prove difficult, given expenses grew at an estimated 5.5 per cent per annum …

With no control of spending and a budget full of figures that cannot be believed, our credit rating is at further risk. We have already been downgraded to the lowest rating of any state, but unless we better manage our budget it will get worse. Any worsened rating will immediately wipe away any promise of a surplus. As Standard & Poor’s recently warned:

If Victoria pushes ahead with the Suburban Rail Loop without additional federal government funding, the state’s fiscal outlook may weaken, further eroding its credit standing …

The best pathway to a strong Victorian economy is to responsibly manage the state budget, and the best way to safeguard our credit rating is to budget with integrity. Instead we have a Treasurer who had no real depth in her first budget, who is now forced to head on a taxpayer-funded trip to New York to personally beg the credit rating agencies not to downgrade us again.

In contrast to this government, our ‘Go for growth’ four-stage economic plan will start with a commitment to restoring financial integrity. That commitment to financial integrity will be based on the principles of integrity, certainty and confidence – integrity in budgeting, certainty in future policy and confidence for the world at large that we want you to be part of the future of our state. With those principles underpinning a commitment to financial integrity, the pathway to economic prosperity will follow – economic prosperity where a sustainable operating surplus is real and economic prosperity that delivers a pathway to pay down Labor’s ticking debt bomb, because when our debt hits almost $200 billion, our interest payments will reach $1.2 million per hour. That interest will represent almost 10 per cent of the cost of our entire state budget. That level of debt is just not sustainable.

Integrity with our budget will mean stopping Labor’s waste. Under a Liberal–National coalition government we will not accept the $48 billion in blowouts to major projects that have occurred under Labor’s watch – $48 billion – or the $216.7 billion Suburban Rail Loop project that we cannot afford, which is why we repeat our calls to stop it, down tools and shut down the project. We will also stop the Treasurer’s slush fund, which following the pandemic, has funnelled $39.9 billion off book into Treasurer’s advances to partly pay for infrastructure costs. As government integrity expert Gabrielle Appleby said, Treasurer’s advances are ‘just a slush fund for the government to use as it will’.

It is time for financial integrity, and it is time for the state’s accounts to be reconciled. That is why the coalition has committed to auditing the books, because Labor’s financial irregularities will be uncovered. In the private sector the law stops decision-makers from financial recklessness. In this Labor government it is on every minister’s CV, and there are no repercussions. No-one is ever held accountable, and fair-minded Victorians do scratch their heads and ask why ministers can be knowingly financially reckless with our taxpayer dollars. And the worst offender is the Premier, who oversaw major project blowouts and chose to ignore what was happening on government worksites. The real irony is that when the Premier leaves Parliament she will be paid a pension, paid for in perpetuity by the taxpayer.

To protect our state’s financial integrity forever, we have committed to bringing Victoria into line with the Commonwealth and legislating a charter of budget honesty. The charter will make budget honesty legally binding. It will require future governments to deliver clear, accurate financial reports. Integrity in reporting will be the best defence to protect taxpayers money. Integrity in reporting is not enough, though. Victorians deserve to know how their money is being spent. That is why we will also publish a real-time online public expenditure tracker. The website will show settled spending decisions in real time.

Restoring financial integrity will also mean certainty of policy. No-one has forgotten the then Treasurer Tim Pallas announcing a surprise new property tax at last year’s budget breakfast. The impact of that surprise tax has been real. As AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver recently said, some of the things they have done have harmed the state. There were tax levies put on a year ago now, which has seen a lot of property investor activity leave the state. As the Property Council of Australia has estimated, Victoria continues to scare away much-needed foreign investment with extensive levies that see investors looking to less punitive states. Property council research shows that these taxes have cost us 81,000 homes, $93 billion in economic growth and nearly 90,000 local jobs. Let me say that again: 81,000 homes lost, 93 billion in economic growth turned away and 90,000 local jobs denied.

The Liberal–National coalition knows that investment will come back if there is certainty. We will make clear that businesses can make decisions with confidence. The rules will be clear, taxes will be lower and we want your investment in our state. By contrast, since promising there would be no new taxes, Labor has introduced or increased taxes and charges 61 times. Those 61 increases are in addition to the 33 base taxes charged by the state. Our view as the alternate government is that there are too many taxes, tax is too high and tax is stopping growth. Labor are addicted to tax, and their addiction is hurting Victoria.

We have a loud message for the Premier: you cannot tax your way to growth. Next year the government will bring in just short of $41.7 billion in tax revenue. In the budget out years it will be almost $48 billion. Without a resource sector, Labor has decided that Victorians are the cash cows. On a state comparison, Victoria leads the nation in tax collection. Victorians are paying more in property taxes than any other state.

As the Commonwealth Grants Commission has found, land tax accounts for 13.4 per cent of Victoria’s revenue but 11.4 per cent in New South Wales and stamp duty accounts for 22.5 per cent of revenue here but 18.5 per cent for our neighbours. Labor has demonised property owners through tax. We will break Labor’s cycle of addiction and reduce the tax burden, and we guarantee no new taxes or charges under a Liberal–National coalition. That is what certainty looks like. But we need to do more than guarantee not to make things worse; we need to bring confidence back to Victoria too, because confidence has been lost. That is why we have already committed to scrapping four taxes. Under a future Liberal–National coalition government the emergency services tax will be scrapped, the schools tax on non-government and religious schools will be scrapped, the health tax on GPs and allied health professionals will be scrapped, and the holiday and tourism tax will be scrapped.

Today we announce a commitment to scrap a fifth tax. The Australian dream is a defining feature of this country’s ethos. For Australians, owning your own home is more than a dream. Whether you are new to this country or not, every Australian has a dream to own their own home and be part of our sprawling suburbs and towns. Home ownership data shows home ownership rates of 67 per cent, down from 70 per cent 20 years ago, but the home ownership rates amongst young people have fallen fast. Amongst 30- to 40-year-olds it has decreased from 64 per cent in the 1970s to 50 per cent in the most recent census data, and for those who are aged 25 to 29 it has fallen from 50 per cent to 36 per cent. For many young people the dream of home ownership is dead, and it has been Labor who has helped kill it – kill it with tax, kill it with red tape and kill it because they have no interest in fixing it. No-one should ever forget that it was the former Premier who said:

I’ve talked to my kids and their friends … They are happy to rent …

On behalf of the Liberal–National coalition I say to every Victorian with a dream of owning their first home: we want to help you. We know it is harder than ever to buy a home. We know that a property costs five times more than the purchasing power of the average salary 50 years ago, and we know that at the centre of these significant costs are greedy governments. Of the 61 taxes and charges introduced by this government 30 have been on property, which explains why up to 43 per cent of the cost of a home is made up of taxes and charges. Governments have gone from clipping the ticket on property to being the biggest impediment to affordable home ownership, and no government wants to talk about it because they are all in on the racket. Despite the housing crisis, we saw no answers from the government in this budget, just like we saw no solution to the crisis in the government’s housing statement, a housing statement that was nothing more than a masked tax grab – a statement which promised to build 80 000 homes every year over 10 years. Instead, there was a broken promise in year one, with 60,220 homes built, 25 per cent less than what was promised. As Linda Allison, the Victorian chief executive of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, said:

Industry can’t “magic” homes out of thin air; the conditions have to be right and the numbers have to add up.

We know the conditions are wrong: red tape is stifling, and taxes drown the sector. The foreign purchaser surcharge, windfall gains tax – it goes on. Even the government’s poorly targeted stamp duty concession has missed the mark. As Max Shifman, the immediate past president of the institute, has said, the policy has ‘made no difference on the entry level’. And as Richard Temlett, the executive director of property advisory firm Charter Keck Cramer, has said:

We’re in a bad hole. The new-housing market has broken down …

We believe in home ownership. We believe in home ownership as strongly as we believe in lower taxes. We believe in helping first home buyers with their dream of home ownership. Victorians who work hard should be able to aspire to buy their own home. That is why we are announcing a game-changing commitment to first home buyers. Under an elected Liberal–National coalition government we will scrap stamp duty for first home buyers who purchase their first home property valued up to $1 million – no conditions, no catches, any property, anywhere. The policy will deliver more than 17,000 exemptions in its first full year, helping young Victorians into a home while injecting confidence back into the property sector. Home ownership is about the power of aspiration, and we are the parties of home ownership. These commitments underpin our message that we will bring confidence back to Victoria again.

Despite our natural advantages, Labor has let Victoria slip behind. We were once the economic powerhouse. We were once on the move. We once held the Economist Intelligence Unit’s most liveable city title for six years running. That has all slipped. It has slipped because our private sector cannot thrive. As the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said:

Our fiscal position is problematic. This creates a heavy burden of taxation and means Victoria is at risk of losing its competitiveness and attractiveness as a place to do business.

Not only are we not the place to do business anymore, but businesses are closing their doors. Recent data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission shows that Victorian business insolvencies are, for the first three quarters of the 2024–25 year, higher than the full year prior. Without a thriving private sector our growth is being impacted. Victoria’s gross state product measured per capita was $84,000 last financial year, compared with $93,000 in both New South Wales and Queensland.

Victoria is also underperforming on employment. This month is the 14th consecutive month that Victoria has recorded the highest or equal-highest unemployment rate of any state. With the Australian Bureau of Statistics having recorded labour force data since February 1978, Victoria’s 14-month weak unemployment is the longest streak on their records. It was a mistake for this government to move aside the private sector from the centre of the economy and replace it with the public sector. That is what Labor’s taxation and big government have led to.

The biggest repositioning took place during the pandemic, but in infrastructure and housing the government has crowded out the private sector. To get Victoria moving again we will reverse that shift. The second stage of our plan will see a future Liberal–National coalition government unleash private sector growth and job creation. To turn around those underlying weaknesses we will cut red tape for business and builders, making it easier to build homes and start or expand businesses, creating jobs where they are needed most. We have already announced commitments to removing red tape in planning by shaking up the cultural heritage system, mandating approval timeframes, setting out clear costs, publishing annual audits of approvals, establishing clear timelines and costs and instituting annual performance audits for Melbourne Water in its approval authority role. But we need to go further.

One of the biggest criticisms from business across every single sector is that this government does not make decisions. It is so bad the private sector would rather invest in another state. That is why we will shake up Business Victoria’s model and establish a single point of contact for investors and businesses, which will mean faster decisions and more jobs. The new point of contact will not simply provide information; we will provide a central point for business to contact government. For business it will mean an end to the merry-go-round of government. We will make sure that business has a point of contact which will be accountable and establish timelines and outcomes that will be reported. We will also establish a Victorian productivity commission, whose job it will be to drive advice to government on growing the productivity of our state.

We will successfully reduce public sector delays and we will accelerate project approvals, because we know that if we can unleash private sector growth, we will see confidence back in this state, and confidence will increase Victoria’s economic output through gross state product.

With the private sector and jobs growth refocused, the next stage of our plan will see us supporting Victorian workers and easing the cost of living. We have already committed to scrapping five taxes, including scrapping the emergency services tax, which will put $3 billion dollars back into Victorian pockets, but we need to go further on reducing the burden of the 61 taxes and charges introduced by Labor. That is why we also commit to a review of the 61 taxes and charges, with a further commitment to a pre-election plan on how we can reduce those 61 taxes and charges to support Victorian workers and ease their cost of living – because a reduced tax burden will lead to growth.

Going for growth means seeing industries expand. We have already committed to reversing Labor’s ban on gas, because Victorians have a right to clean, affordable, reliable and secure energy. They also have a right to choice. Labor’s ban on gas in homes is wrong, and we will reverse it. We will also work with industry to turn the gas tap back on. We will kickstart a gas industry. A gas sector which provides reliable energy to the community will also pay their fair share, which will deliver to the budget bottom line and deliver to the household bottom line too. A gas industry will see cheaper energy costs and cheaper energy bills. Our commitment to growth will see industries that have collapsed under Labor expand. Opening the gas tap will see the gas sector grow. Scrapping stamp duty for first home buyers will see the property sector incentivised, and it will see the housing sector grow. With the education sector being such an important part of our economy, we also need to do more to stop the constant threat of Labor governments imposing caps on international students. Our economic plan will see Victoria grow.

As industry expands, we will also make sure that we protect workers in the workplace. To protect workers we will tackle union corruption and misconduct, because what we have seen on government worksites is a disgrace. What has been worse is Labor’s and the Premier’s silence. We will not be silent. That is why we called for a royal commission into CFMEU misconduct on Victorian government projects and we have committed to establishing construction enforcement Victoria to enforce a reinstated code of practice for the building construction industry. We will grow industry and make sure that workplaces are fair and safe, because we know that by doing so we will see an increase in real disposable income per capital and a boost in workforce participation.

The final stage of our plan will secure Victoria’s future by tackling debt responsibly. Our state debt is about to hit $200 billion. Labor has left us with a ticking debt bomb; we need to defuse it. Soon our debt repayments will consume almost 10 per cent of our state budget and we will be paying $1.2 million an hour in interest payments, yet last week the Premier refused five times to even admit that debt matters. The word ‘debt’ was not even used in the government’s economic growth statement. Well, debt does matter, and our level of debt is a ticking time bomb. It must be defused. We believe that the only way out of debt is to grow our state. Growing our state will mean that net debt as a share of the state economy reduces.

We also believe that spending must align with budgeted costs so that debt can be paid down. Labor has no plan for growth, no plan for controlling spending and no plan to pay down debt.

If they were to remain in office, interest would soon crowd out the choices we can make as a state, and that is why their debt is a ticking time bomb. More wasted interest payments will mean less quality services, and we will keep slipping as a state. Well, Victorians deserve better. The structural damage caused by Labor’s debt requires action, and that is why we commit to legislating a debt cap. The debt cap will be based on net debt as a percentage of gross state product. We will put into law a cap to protect future generations from dangerous Labor government spending. Labor wants to ignore the debt, but it is time to accept that not only do we have an economic reason to pay it down but we also have a moral obligation. That moral obligation is directly linked to one value difference between the two sides of our chamber: we never forget that every dollar collected by government was first earned through the hard work and sweat of a taxpayer.

We have a plan to stop our state slipping, to stop us from being the rundown state. Our ‘Go for growth’ economic plan will get Victoria moving again. Our plan will get Premier Jacinta Allan’s hand out of Victorians’ pockets. It will scrap taxes, restore budget integrity, grow the private sector, support workers, ease the cost of living and tackle Labor’s ticking debt bomb. Victoria needs fixing, and it needs change. With change Victoria can be the place to be again, and under a Battin-led Liberal–National coalition government, it will be.

Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs, Minister for Finance) (12:17): Well, what a limp-wristed performance from the K-Mart Costello opposite. I mean, seriously, you should make sure that Peter Costello gets royalties for that, mate. It was just a failed 2007 speech. It was absolutely woeful. Honestly, if you are going to come into this place, have a bit of vim and verve, and have a bit of originality. I have sat here and listened to speeches like that for the last 11 years, and I will tell you one thing: that bloke was still tying up his shoelaces when the member for Malvern finished his speech. He was a much better contributor than this bloke. This is just woeful. Well, we are back to 2007, are we? That is the originality. ‘Go for growth’ – who thought up that idea? ‘Let’s just get a recycled speech from a failed campaign and dust it off as something new.’ You know what – I am on to something, because those opposite themselves – even the out-of-towners who were dragooned to come here to listen to that drivel – were not interested. They were paying no attention. And why – because it is rubbish, it is just rubbish. The guy is talking the joint down. He is trying to basically have this sense that Victoria is some economic basket case. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When you go out and about and talk to businesses, you can see how this state is going gangbusters. Look at, for example, the CommSec State of the States report: Victoria is now – guess what – second, with solid results across the board. Well, okay. Who is first? Western Australia. I mean, finishing second to Western Australia is like winning silver next to Usain Bolt. That is how good it is.

The budget is very, very strong and stable, because on this side of the house we recognise we need to have a five-step fiscal strategy. If you look at the budget that has been handed down, the operating surplus for this year is $600 million. Across the forward estimates it is $1.6 billion. Those opposite talk about the debt at the end of the forward estimates being $194 billion. It is probably worth noting that the coalition government of Queensland have indicated at the end of their forward estimates period their debt will be $218 billion. Those opposite just want to talk the joint down. Just because they are a rabble does not mean the economy is a rabble. They want to talk the place down, and we are not having it, because the reality is we have got a clear plan.

We have got sustained operating surpluses across the forward estimates, growth infrastructure investment declines from $24.2 billion in 2023–24 to $15.6 billion in 2028–29 and net debt to gross state product will fall to $24.9 billion. I note the member for Brighton talked about how he will legislate a debt cap. Okay, that is great. What is the number, mate? What is the number? It is one thing to say you are going to do it, but what is the number? Is it 20 per cent? Is it 50 per cent? What is it going to be? I mean, it is just a joke. Those opposite conveniently forget that we are increasing the payroll tax threshold. I would have thought those opposite would be happy about that. I would have thought those opposite, many of whom are failed small business owners, would be happy with the fact that the payroll tax threshold will increase from $700,000 to $1 million as of 1 July.

The member for Brighton let the cat out of the bag. Three billion dollars worth of cuts. Where is the money coming from? Where?

Members interjecting.

Danny PEARSON: Tax cuts. Okay, so where are they coming from? Where is the money coming from? You are cutting taxes; okay. For the benefit of the member for Nepean, you have two choices when you cut taxes: you either have to reduce spending or debt will grow. So what is it? Is debt going to keep growing, or are you going to turn around and say ‘We are going to cut’? I think the Victorian people are entitled to know where the cuts are coming from. Three billion dollars a year. We know that we have got tied payments with the Commonwealth when it comes to education and we have got tied payments to the Commonwealth when it comes to health care, but where is the money coming from? You are taking $3 billion out of –

A member interjected.

Danny PEARSON: ‘Your waste’ – okay. There is a difference between the capital side of the budget and the operating side of the budget. If you are talking about sustained cuts of $3 billion a year, how many beds are going to be closed? How many schools are going to be flogged off to your mates in the private sector? How many departments are going to be shut? How many services will close because of this reckless action? This is just a fraud; it is just a con. Three billion dollars – the only way they can do that is to wield the axe to the services that Victorians rely on. And again, it is a reprise of what we saw a few months earlier. They will cut, and Victorians will pay each and every day because of the costs associated with the services that they rely on that will no longer be provided.

And listen, those opposite talk about financial integrity. I appreciate the fact that the member for Brighton did not see the second-reading speech till – it has just been handed down. We are doing the biggest single rewrite of the Financial Management Act 1994 since 1994. We are the only jurisdiction in the nation that hands our budget papers over to the Auditor-General for sign-off and approval before they are published – the only one. So on this notion that there is no integrity, well, what are you saying? ‘There’s no integrity in the budget process’ – what are you saying? Are you questioning the integrity of the Auditor-General? Because that is what they have done in the past. We hand the budget papers to the Auditor-General each and every year, and the Auditor-General signs them. If you bothered to open up the budget papers, you would see it. So it is one of two things. Either you are saying that the Auditor-General does not have any integrity – is that what you are saying? – or you are saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t know the Auditor-General signed off.’ That would not surprise me, because I think those opposite rarely bother to read the budget papers at all.

I also note that in budget paper 5, on page 9, we talk about the investments that we are making. We have got a cash surplus of about $6 billion this year. We are making further investments in productivity-enhancing infrastructure. When you think about that, we have to grow the economy. We have to continue to invest in productivity-enhancing infrastructure, like the North East Link. The North East Link will be an absolute game changer in terms of taking trucks off local roads and improving throughput around Melbourne. This is going to be an absolute game changer in terms of growing the economy.

Those opposite talked about the parlous state of the economy. Well, I would disagree. If you look at the unemployment rate, it is sitting at 4.2 per cent. When those opposite sat on this side of the house, what was it? It was 6.7 per cent. Those opposite are nothing more than economic vandals when it comes to fiscal responsibility and running the economy. If you look at gross demand, we have increased by 0.6 per cent in the December quarter to 2.4 per cent over the year. Again, those opposite talk about how bad it is for business. What I would say is that we have added more than 113,000 businesses since June of 2020, an increase of 18 per cent.

Those opposite talked about the fact that businesses do not want to invest here. The reality is that business investment has grown by over 30 per cent from 2020–21 to 2023–24. We are growing the economy, and that is what we do. You have to have the fiscal settings in place. We have to try and find ways in which we can crowd in investment, and we will keep growing the economy, which is why the economic growth statement has played a really important role in supporting key industries like data, like digital, like pharmaceuticals and like food tech, recognising the fact that we have got a unique position in this state to be able to drive those efficiencies and reforms, to expand the economy and to make sure that we have got rising living standards. We are doing that by having a clear plan that is in alignment with our fiscal strategy. I am not sure those opposite could even spell ‘fiscal’ over there.

Members interjecting.

Danny PEARSON: I am not sure why you are backing the member for Brighton given his well-known views of you. We are making sure that we are making these sorts of investments, because we have got a plan, which we will step our way through thoughtfully, carefully and methodically. We said very clearly we were going to have a five-step plan. We have delivered the jobs, and we have increased the economy, where there have been something like 900,000 jobs since we elected. That is a 31 per cent increase, which is the highest absolute increase of any state. We said very clearly we were going to achieve a cash surplus, and that has been achieved. We are now on track to have an operating surplus of $600 million next year.

As I have indicated, the fourth step of the strategy is to stabilise net debt as a proportion of the economy, and the fifth step is to reduce that. We are doing all of this. We are doing it through hard work, applying ourselves, being dedicated, being forceful, being thoughtful and working with businesses. I do not know what those opposite do when they are not in this place. The businesses I talk to around this city and around this state are investing. They are employing more and more Victorians. They are exporting. They are growing their businesses, and they have got a great sense of hope and optimism, notwithstanding some of the global challenges that we are seeing at the moment. Those opposite just want to keep talking the joint down.

The member for Brighton talked about the fact that – I think his quote was ‘The first home owner dream is dead.’ Well, what have you done, Sport, to fix it? He is blocking legislation in the other place. Those opposite sought to use the instrument of a disallowable instrument in the other place to block planning scheme amendments. They tried to pull that stunt last sitting week, and we voted it down with the support of the crossbench. How on earth do you actually fix issues around housing if you block supply? You are just a fraud if you think that. You are speaking out of both sides of your mouth. If you are serious, you actually want to increase supply. You want to make sure that you have got the policy settings right, and you start to invest more and support the private sector so they can build more and do more. Those opposite are seeking to block it. They want to lock down Brighton. They want to lock down Hawthorn. We saw the member for Hawthorn on the back of a ute opposing developments.

We can see right through these people. What they want to do is just try to channel Musk and Trump – that is what they want. They just want to have their DOGE, their Department of Government Efficiency, and they want to come down and they want to slash and burn. They have already given us a sense of where they are going – $3 billion worth of cuts. How many hospitals is that? How many schools is that going to be? How many teachers is that going to be? How many police officers will that be? We know very clearly what they are going to do, because that is all they ever do. They cut, they close, they slash and they burn – that is what they do. It is what they have done every time they have been here, and that is exactly what they are planning this time around.

We have a plan. We have got a fiscal strategy. We have budgets which are audited and signed off by the Auditor-General. We are growing the economy, and the economy is expanding – it is growing. We have got near record lows of unemployment at 4.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted. We are making sure that we have got those right settings in place and we have got a plan for the future for Victoria. We are absolutely committed to doing just that – continuing to invest and continuing to support industry. That is why the economic growth statement is so important.

As a government I am so pleased and proud that we have got the largest trade investment network of any of the other states. There is an opportunity for us to work closely with jurisdictions who have got a similar values-based approach, who respect the rule of law, who want to work with us constructively and collaboratively and who can play to our strengths.

Think about our food and fibre exports at the moment; they are phenomenal. Our pharmaceutical industry – we deliver something like over 97 per cent of the pharmaceutical products that Australia exports, all out of here, because years ago John Brumby had the plan that you need to try and support businesses like the pharmaceutical industries. We are doing those sorts of investments, and we are making sure that we are growing and expanding the economy.

I am really pleased that we will also be having our $150 million Victorian Investment Fund. Why – we are doing that because we want to attract more of that investment here. We want to make sure that capital that is footloose can come here and can continue to grow and expand the economy. These are the things that we are committed to and we are very passionate about. We are working our way through this because we have got a plan that has been signed off and approved by the Auditor-General. We are the only jurisdiction in the nation with a fiscal strategy, and we are getting on with it. While those opposite want to just rip off speeches that Peter Costello gave in a losing campaign nearly 20 years ago, we have got a plan for the 2030s and beyond.

Those opposite are stuck in the dim, dark years of Howard’s declining years, and it has been made clear today what they want to do: they will cut, they will cancel, they will close. There is $3 billion of cuts worth now, and they have not even got the honesty to turn around and say what this debt cap will be. Well, pick a number. Tell us what the cap will be so we all know what it is going to be and therefore we can work out from there what further cuts, because you know if they say $3 billion now, if they ever win, if they win next year, it will not be $3 billion, it will be $6 billion or it will $9 billion. They will all be egging each other on: ‘I’ll cut harder, I’ll cut deeper. ‘ And you know with the National Party that the cabinet room is round but the National Party in government are always hiding in the corner, because that is what they do. They roll over and they forget their communities in return for the white car and high office.

We are making sure that we have got a plan for the future. All those opposite are going to do is cut, cancel, close. Honestly, I have got to say that would have to be the worst budget reply speech I have heard from the opposition in my 11 years here. Honestly, if the member for Brighton had any sense at all, he might have a bit of time for the member for Malvern. Go and have a chat with him, and you might learn a thing or two, because that was hopeless. And you know it was hopeless because those opposite spent their whole time disengaged, disinterested and on their phones. We have got a plan, we have got a vision for this state, we are getting on with it and we are going to make it happen. I commend the bills.

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (12:32): Labor cannot manage money, and Victorians are paying the price. We just heard from the Minister for Finance, who is already walking straight out the door because he has got nothing more to say as to why Victorians are suffering under this government. If that was the putative Treasurer giving his audition, then that is why he is not the Treasurer now, isn’t it? We have heard the Minister for Police has got a got a bottom drawer full of ideas. Clearly that was the attempt at the top drawer from the Treasurer that would be. We know why he is not there.

There are a couple of things that the Minister for Finance just talked about. He tried to say that we were stuck in the dim, dark years of the Howard government. Actually, most people remember the Howard government as pretty good. It actually was not that dim and dark; it was actually pretty good. We had strong employment growth, and we had a budget under control. What those of us on this side and what all Victorians are concerned about in terms of dim, dark years is that this Labor government has taken us back to the Cain–Kirner dim, dark years. The parallels are so stark. It is absolutely concerning for any Victorians who were around at that time just how bad the state of our finances has got under this Labor government. It is a reminder of the Cain–Kirner government. The difference of course is that this time around there are no power assets to sell to get down that debt, which I remind those opposite is now higher as a percentage of gross state product than it was in the Cain–Kirner years. We are over 25 per cent of GSP as debt-to-GSP ratio.

Emma Kealy: Who sold those power assets?

Danny O’BRIEN: Well, actually, the Minister for Finance likes to tell us about that. He always says that it was the Kennett government, but he was actually around as an adviser at the time, when it was the White and Kirner government that actually started the sale. It is a bit like how this Labor government did the Land Titles Office and the VicRoads registry and the Port of Melbourne, but anyway. I am indebted to you for your reminder of the economic profligacy of this government.

For the Minister for Finance to refer to us as economic vandals is like Tamerlane accusing Genghis Khan of being a warmonger. This government suggests that we are economic vandals. Have a look at the mess that these budget papers are in under this government: $194 billion of debt – that is $29 million of debt in interest payments every single day in the out-years. $1.2 million of interest repayments per hour is what we are heading for.

Everyone on that side is looking at their phone or looking down and checking their notes from the Treasurer’s office for their speech because none of them actually want to address it. Why is it important? It is not about numbers. The numbers are not what is important in this, and that is sometimes lost in our debates. What is important is the impact on people, the impact on Victorians – $29 million a day for the fifth budget running. In my electorate the people of Gippsland South have not had funding for Sale College. That could be funded in two days with Labor’s interest payments – a new school for the people of Sale and district funded in two days of interest payments – not to mention the Foster fire station and the Mirboo North fire brigade getting a new station, which we are supposedly being promised under this new emergency services tax. There are going to be rivers of gold for our emergency services, but I will come to that in a moment.

I was in Bendigo with Gaelle Broad, a member from the other place, last week. It was mentioned to us that there is an intersection on the Calder Highway and Maiden Gully Road in Maiden Gully that is designed and ready to be implemented, but we are waiting on funding from the state government to actually fix that intersection. Not only is that intersection dangerous and an issue for road safety, but until the intersection has been realigned there are four property developments with over 140 homes that are being held up at a time when we cannot get housing and we cannot find affordability of housing. That project did not get funded. I think the member for Mildura asked me whose electorate that was in. I think you will find that is the Premier’s electorate. In her own patch, in her own backyard, that project is still not funded and is being held up because this government cannot manage money. The people of Bendigo are paying the price. The people of regional Victoria are paying the price.

We have seen in this budget, continuing on the issue of regional development, we have got a cut to the regional development budget again – I am not quite sure how that is even possible after being cut repeatedly over the years – cuts to the agriculture budget and a cut in real terms to the roads budget. I want to talk a little bit about roads, because this is dear to my heart as the shadow minister, as it is to all of my colleagues and everyone who travels on our roads in Victoria. The government will be claiming – as I am sure we will hear from future speakers – that they are spending a record amount on roads maintenance this financial year. Let us leave aside for a moment the fact that in real terms what the government is proposing to spend is actually a cut on last year, and that is just on CPI. If you look at actual construction costs and particularly road construction costs, it is actually a significant cut. Let us have a look at some of the performance measures. The budget papers very helpfully set out not only what the government is going to spend but what it is going to do. I like to say – I think it is important for all of us – do not listen to what the Labor government says, actually look at what they do and what they are going to do. The ‘Department Performance Statement’ highlights on page 135 ‘road area major patched’ in regional Victoria. The target for this year was 1,033,000 square metres of patching. How much do you reckon they got done, given they were spending record amounts last year?

Emma Kealy: More.

Danny O’BRIEN: You would think, member for Lowan, they would get more. In fact what they actually expect the outcome to be this year is 566,000 square metres. Members on this side, bear with me on this. Does that mean that there were not actually that many potholes that they had to fix up? You would think that perhaps the government might say, ‘Well, we didn’t quite get all that done because we only got half of our target done last year. We probably should increase that this year, should we not?’

So what is the target for next year?

Emma Kealy interjected.

Danny O’BRIEN: It is not 1,033,000 square metres, member for Lowan. It is not 566,000 that they actually got done; it is 70,000. So the target last year was 1,033,000 square metres of road patching; they did not even get half of that done, and their target for next year is 70,000 square metres. A 93 per cent reduction in the target of what they are going to do to fix our roads – that is part of it. You could actually then go on to roads area resurfaced or rehabilitated in regional Victoria: the target last year, 3,163,000 square metres; the expected outcome – well, once again they did not actually meet the target of just over 3 million. So what is the government doing? Are we going to put in a whole lot more money? Well, apparently we are putting in a whole lot more money. Are we going to get more done? No, we have actually cut that target again by a further 14 per cent.

Members interjecting.

Danny O’BRIEN: Oh, absolutely. You have got a regional Treasurer and a regional Premier. Our roads are goat tracks, and the government cannot actually deliver what it said it was going to do last year. So it gives up and actually cuts the target again for next year – in the case of potholes, by 93 per cent. It is an absolute joke.

Emma Kealy interjected.

Danny O’BRIEN: Member for Lowan, I am indebted to you again for highlighting that the budget papers say ‘Focused on what matters most’. What matters most appears to be failing and just accepting failure and going back to it and failing again. It is a joke when it comes to roads. We see in the budget papers the police budget getting cut. The member for Nepean and my colleague the member for Gippsland East are here, all very concerned about cuts to the fisheries offices. That is still going ahead because Labor cannot manage money, and it is Victorians paying the price.

Where they are really paying the price for this economic vandalism over there is in this absolutely egregious new emergency services tax. It should just be called a revenue tax – that is what it should be – because it is got almost nothing to do with emergency services, and those opposite do not seem to understand that. It is extraordinary that many of them are out there in public saying, ‘I’m very concerned about this, and I’m lobbying the Treasurer,’ but none of them voted against it. Every single one of them supported it, and we have now got a $3 billion bill on Victorians – $3 billion extra on Victorians – to pay for Labor’s economic vandalism. This tax is not about emergency services. It is taking Triple Zero Victoria, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Emergency Management Victoria and the State Control Centre – all of these things funded as core government services and funded out of general revenue for decades – and now shifting them across, and Victorians are being asked to pay for them again. So you get people like Trent in my electorate, who is facing his fire services levy bill going from $7000 last year to $22,000 this year – a 210 per cent increase. That is the dividend that we are getting from the economic mismanagement of this government. We could give multiple examples about the emergency services tax and how it is impacting on every single Victorian. This is not a farmers tax; this is a doubling of the tax for every residential owner in Victoria and a doubling of the tax for every business, every commercial business. It is a 64 per cent increase for every industrial property and 150 per cent for farms. That is just outrageous. We asked the Premier why farmers were copping such a big whack, and all she could say was, ‘Well, they’ve got big holdings, and so they’re riskier.’ That is just offensive, particularly given it is those farmers who are generally the volunteers that jump on the trucks and actually fight the fires.

But it is not just the emergency services tax – also land tax. I have had emails from Mark in Sale in my electorate. He and his wife are retired teachers. They have four investment properties that they have used to actually fund their retirement. They do not take a pension; they are funding their retirement. Three years ago their land tax bill was $385. The year after it was $765. Last year their bill was $2774.

It is nearly a 10-times increase of their land tax bill under this Labor government, because Labor cannot manage money, and it is people like Mark and his wife who are paying the price. More particularly, it is their tenants that are paying the price, and the tenants of their four properties are pensioners and single mums. Mark and his wife said to me, ‘We simply can’t absorb that. We have to pass it on.’ Now Mark and his wife – and they have not emailed me about this – will actually be facing a doubling of the fixed charge that they pay on their emergency services tax, plus a doubling of the rate that they pay, in addition to those land tax figures that I just mentioned. That is the dividend of the economic management of this government, a Labor government that cannot manage money, and Victorians suffer.

I want to just touch one more thing from my electorate that exemplifies the ineptitude of this government: the little Winnindoo fire station between Rosedale and Heyfield – and you know when you say something is between Rosedale and Heyfield it is going to be pretty small. Winnindoo is a great little spot. They have got one fire station, they have got a truck and they hope in the future to have a field command vehicle as well. In 2020, in the COVID budget, the government announced they would fund a new fire station for Winnindoo, which we had been fighting for for a couple of years.

Members interjecting.

Danny O’BRIEN: How is that going? Well, no, it is not due to open, because here we are in 2025, five years since the budget announcement was made, and the Winnindoo fire station still has not started construction and the brigade are being told that they will not get their new station until at least the end of next year. So I was very surprised to pick up the budget papers two weeks ago and find, in a line item for emergency services, funding for the Winnindoo fire station – amazing. Six years after the government first put funding for the Winnindoo fire station in there – which they have not built – they have now announced it again. It just highlights how appalling that is.

I should add, circling back to the emergency services tax, the Winnindoo fire station went off line last week in protest at the emergency services tax that they are all being asked to fund. It is a joke, and this government is a joke when it comes to managing money. Labor cannot manage money. They are failing Victorians, and Victorians are paying the price of this government’s failure to manage money.

Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh – Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Local Government) (12:47): This is the 11th time I have risen in this place to make a contribution on the budget. The budget papers really are a series of decisions, and this budget is full of the right choices. The 2025–26 Victorian budget is focused on what matters most. The budget continues to acquit Victoria’s fiscal strategy, returning the budget to an operating surplus for the first time since before the pandemic. This budget really is a statement of the government’s priorities. And what has this government prioritised? This government has prioritised assisting Victorians to manage the current cost-of-living challenges that we see globally. Right now the global cost-of-living crisis is hurting Victorian families. They are feeling it in their bills, they are feeling it in their grocery shop and they are feeling it when they send the kids to school or visit a GP, and I can confidently say that the Labor government is on their side with a record $2.3 billion in cost-of-living relief.

I am going to go through a number of the initiatives in this budget that will assist Victorians to manage these cost-of-living challenges. I think the centrepiece of that in this current budget is free public transport for under-18s, a game-changing policy, because it is something that is going to save families up to $755 per year per child. That is a huge practical saving for families who need it most. Of course seniors will also benefit from that cost-of-living measure with free statewide public transport on weekends. It will mean Victorians with a seniors card can experience even more of our state, anywhere in our state, without the extra expense.

The budget invests a further $18 million to enable pharmacists to treat more Victorians with more conditions without a trip to the doctor for a prescription. Previously trialled as the community pharmacy pilot, this investment locks it in for good and makes it even bigger.

The budget also helps those doing it the hardest, and that includes a power saving bonus for eligible Victorian households with a concession card, delivering $100 just in time for winter bills in August. Funding of $30 million is available, which will support 27,000 homes to install electric heat pumps and solar hot-water systems, saving them up to $400 on their energy bills every year, and a further $12 million will fund the rollout of insulation upgrades under the Victorian energy upgrades program, halving the average cost of ceiling insulation from $3000 to $1500.

Labor established the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund in 2015, making sure that no young Victorian misses out on the things that make school fun, and this year it is helping around 200,000 kids who have a parent or carer with a healthcare or concession card. What this budget does is increase that payment from $154 for primary school students and $256 for secondary school students to $400 for every eligible student every single year. It is not a one-off – every single year. We are also delivering more than 65,000 Get Active Kids vouchers, which provide up to $200 towards the cost of kids sport membership, equipment or uniforms for families with a healthcare or eligible concession card.

Most importantly, we are supporting food relief charities and organisations by doubling the community food relief program. We all have wonderful organisations in our electorates – not-for-profit groups, charity groups, who offer emergency relief – and many of us have community information and support services. This $18 million investment will deliver $9 million to support frontline organisations through the community food relief program, $6 million to double our support for regional FoodShares and $3 million for Foodbank’s grow program, which will make sure surplus farm produce that would otherwise go to waste instead supports Victorians experiencing food insecurity. Funding of $5.1 million will support Good Shepherd’s good money program, providing no-interest loans to more Victorians and making sure a stroke of bad luck does not have serious financial consequences. Of course the budget also continues free kinder for three- and four-year-olds, saving families up to $2600 a year per child on kinder fees.

Perhaps most importantly, this budget continues the Labor government’s ambition to get more Victorians into a home, and that includes $61 million to extend the stamp duty concession announced in October 2024, slashing stamp duty on eligible off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses for another 12 months. That is a fair amount of stimulus for supply in this state. Earlier today we heard the member for Brighton in his budget reply announce a Liberal policy for stamp duty relief. But it does nothing about supply, and that is the key. That is what this government is addressing. In fact the member for Brighton has done everything he can to block supply. We remember that protest on Church Street, Brighton. We remember that famous photograph of the member for Brighton glaring into the window like a Disney cartoon villain. He has done everything he can to block supply. He outlined nothing in his budget reply that would actually do anything for supply. I mean, empty words about supporting first home buyers – you cannot help a young person purchase a home that does not exist. That is why this government has prioritised supply. Supply is what this government has prioritised. This budget extends our ambition to not just help first home buyers purchase a new home but actually ensure that we have new homes for first home buyers to purchase.

I would now like to turn to some matters that fall within the area of my portfolio responsibility of consumer affairs. I am very grateful to be the Minister for Consumer Affairs, because it is in that portfolio where my one ambition is to achieve fairness and equity for all Victorians.

In this budget we have a $4 million grant for Mortgage Stress Victoria. Mortgage Stress Victoria is a wonderful organisation that exists with funding from this state government. This organisation provides practical support to people experiencing mortgage stress, whether that is social work, financial counselling, financial planning, advocacy or negotiating with your bank on your behalf. It is about relieving the burden on people experiencing mortgage stress and ensuring that they are getting the right advice. You know what, in the last couple of years Mortgage Stress Victoria, with the support of our government, has prevented 190 repossessions, and a third of their clients are victim-survivors of family violence. So I am very, very proud that as part of our record cost-of-living measures announced in this budget we are providing $4 million to Mortgage Stress Victoria so that they can reach more people in mortgage stress. I am so very proud of that, because it is only a Labor government that ever takes that sort of action.

I was with Mortgage Stress Victoria a number of weeks ago visiting their offices, because in addition to the $4 million grant that we have just announced, we have also provided Mortgage Stress Victoria and a number of other not-for-profit organisations with financial counselling grants. In addition to Mortgage Stress Victoria, there are 15 others for whom I have approved a financial counselling grant earlier this year, and I am really pleased to have visited a number of them. I visited South East Community Links with the member for Mulgrave. I think the member for Mulgrave mentioned this in this house recently, but when we visited South East Community Links the member for Mulgrave shared that she was raised by a single mum who received a lot of assistance from South East Community Links and actually said that without South East Community Links she does not know where she would be today. She is a member of Parliament today – a member of this house – probably in part because of the support of these wonderful organisations that we as a government fund.

I also visited the Cancer Council recently. They have also received a grant of nearly $1 million from our government for financial counselling services, because a cancer diagnosis can lead to some financial difficulties. These financial counsellors take this burden off the shoulders of people experiencing cancer by ensuring that they know their rights – ensuring if they have income protection insurance, for instance, that they know they have income protection insurance – and assisting them to prioritise bills. That is what the financial counsellors at the Cancer Council do.

Better Health Network is another organisation that we have funded. They are in my electorate of Bentleigh. I met with the financial counsellors over there. They assist particularly people with gambling addictions, and they said to me that they have met people who have literally lost their homes from the comfort of their couch. What these financial counsellors do is set these Victorians on the right path back; that is what they do.

I have met a number of other organisations for whom we have granted financial counselling grants: the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency in Werribee; Meli, Geelong, with the member for Geelong; and Tenants Victoria, who assist so many people in rental stress, with the full support and funding of this government. Consumer Action Law Centre was another one. Consumer Action Law Centre run the debt helpline – again, an organisation funded by this government to help people who need their help, to help people achieve fairness and equity. This is why I am proud of what we have done in the consumer affairs portfolio, aided by this government through this budget.

I would also like to mention another cost-of-living initiative that the Premier and I announced earlier in the year, and this is the government’s fair fuel plan. The first phase of the fair fuel plan will be introduced in the next couple of months, and that includes a special feature on the Service Victoria app, which is very well known to Victorians.

Sitting suspended 1:00 pm until 2:02 pm.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.

The SPEAKER: I would like to acknowledge in the gallery the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory Mark Parton MLA.