Tuesday, 17 June 2025

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. What is the CFA base budget for 2025–26?

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The minister for economic growth is very, very close.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the minister for economic growth has already been warned.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I would say reflections on the Chair are not parliamentary or orderly.

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (14:31): I guess that question really speaks more to some of the behaviour and the questions that we saw asked at PAEC, which he is clearly disappointed he is no longer a member of, rather than choosing to use the opportunity at PAEC to fully pursue what is happening in our budget. I can tell you that in the emergency services portfolio we have seen investment of nearly $2 billion in this budget. It is important to note that that is more –

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order on the question of relevance, Deputy Speaker, I ask you to bring the minister back to answering the question.

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The minister for economic growth can leave the chamber for half an hour – and the member for Croydon, half an hour.

Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs and member for Croydon withdrew from chamber.

Mary-Anne Thomas: Deputy Speaker, there is no point of order. The minister on her feet was being entirely relevant to the question, which, as I recall, pertained to the CFA and the funding that this government has made – the budget of the CFA – and that is exactly what the minister was referring to.

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

Vicki WARD: As I was saying, this budget invests nearly $2 billion in our emergency services, and what that means is that more than double was invested in our emergency services than in the last budget of those opposite in 2014–15.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the minister is debating the question. It is very narrow: what is the CFA’s base budget? Could you ask the minister to come back to that exceptionally narrow question.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Deputy Speaker, it is entirely appropriate for the minister on her feet to compare and contrast the actions of this government with those on the other side in answering a question.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The minister is being relevant to the CFA budget.

Vicki WARD: While those opposite are determined to pursue a narrative where they want to talk about us not investing in the CFA, the ongoing funding that we continue to put into the CFA and the fact that we continue to stand by –

Bridget Vallence: I will renew my point of order, Deputy Speaker: the minister is debating the question. We are not pursuing any narrative, we are asking a budget question – just a number. Could you ask the minister to come back to that very narrow question.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The minister was responding and relevant to the question asked about the CFA budget. The minister to continue. I cannot direct the minister what to say, as you know.

Vicki WARD: As I was saying, the narrative that those opposite want to continue to pursue – which is that we do not fully fund the CFA, that we do not invest in the CFA and that we do not support the more than 50,000 volunteers in the CFA – is absolutely incorrect. In the last four years we have committed more than $1.5 billion to the CFA and their life-saving work. We do know that there is important investment in the CFA. This includes the $40 million that you, Premier – thank you very much – announced last December, which was the $40 million for rolling fleet replacement for the CFA.

Members interjecting.

Vicki WARD: They did miss that. Between the midyear budget and the 2025–26 Victorian budget, we have invested more than $60 million in the CFA.

Jacinta Allan: $40 million more than King Cut.

Vicki WARD: That is right. The member himself knows that budgeting for emergency services is quite complex, and if he looks to the annual report he knows that at the end of every financial year he is able to well understand what that funding is.

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:37): The minister told the house in May that this information would be in the budget. It was not. The Treasurer published base funding in the Government Gazette on 30 May, showing a cut to the budget from previous years. The Treasurer, the minister and the Premier all then denied that this published figure was the CFA’s budget. Can the minister put us in touch with anyone in the government who knows how much money our emergency services will receive next year, given Victorians are being slugged an extra $3 billion in tax in their name?

 Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (14:38): If the Leader of the Nationals had been listening to the very start of my answer – in fact I think I had to –

Members interjecting.

Vicki WARD: As I said in my answer at the very start, there is close to $2 billion invested in this budget for our emergency services, which is exactly what the member’s supplementary question asked.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order on the question of debating, Deputy Speaker, the former minister, the now Treasurer, gave us this figure in PAEC last year. Why can’t the current minister give us a figure for 2025–26?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Points of order are not an opportunity for extra debate or to rephrase the question. The minister was being relevant to the question asked. The minister has concluded her answer.