Thursday, 31 July 2025

Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Colin Brooks:

That this bill be now read a second time.

And Jess Wilson’s amendment:

That all the words after ‘That’ be omitted and replaced with the words ‘this house refuses to read this bill a second time until the government:

(1) addresses the potential financial impact on Victorian businesses, particularly small operators in rural and regional areas; and

(2) provides a forecast of the budget impact of the measures contained in this bill.’

John LISTER (Werribee) (10:10): It is a pleasure to rise to talk on this bill, and I think this side of the house has shown a lot of enthusiasm for the substance of this bill and the spirit in which it has been developed. Just to remind everyone from where we were yesterday, because there has been an evening and we have had an evening out with all our colleagues: this Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025 delivers on an election commitment to strengthen the Local Jobs First Act introduced in 2003, which feels a bit retro for me. It is really important that we continue to look at how the jobs market is evolving and how we can continue to meet those challenges. Some of the things that this bill will do include clarifying that suppliers are required to comply with commitments to local content and ensuring that we hold them to account for making sure that at least 10 hours of labour hours of large projects are completed by apprentices, trainees or cadets, which is something that is particularly important, which I will turn to in just a moment. The bill also clarifies the commissioner’s investigative powers, formalises their role in managing complaints and enhances the commissioner’s ability to report on Local Jobs First issues to the responsible minister. This bill will also introduce a new power for the commissioner to conduct site inspections with three days notice to the person, which actually seems a bit generous, three days. Hopefully they can get their stuff together in three days before the commissioner comes knocking.

Our commitment to strengthening in this bill has consequences for noncompliance, where noncompliance will lead to being deprioritised for future government tenders, financial penalties or being required to fulfil local content commitments before receiving the final payment of the contract. The bill also introduces a new deprioritisation scheme. If someone does not deliver on the local content requirements as per the commitments in their development plan and cannot provide a satisfactory reason why, then the commissioner may deprioritise the supplier from future government work. This is not a blacklist. It aims to disincentivise noncompliance with our development plans and provides agencies with information on poor past performance on Local Jobs First applicable projects. This is about, most of all, giving confidence to those people who are doing the right thing that those who bring down their good reputation are not going to get those jobs and the benefits of taxpayer money. This bill gives effect to this commitment by introducing explicit power under the act, allowing the responsible minister to set requirements to use a specified amount of locally produced uniforms and PPE on strategic projects as well.

As I am sure many of you know, I have come from the education sector, and ensuring that we have good local jobs is really important for those people who are working in the education sector, knowing that we have got somewhere for our kids to go into in the future. We know how important it is to create opportunities for young people across communities like my own in Werribee as they enter the workforce. In my previous life I was one of the work experience coordinators and I was in charge of vocational major, another great initiative from this Labor government to get more people into trades and apprenticeships rather than leaving school early. So from that experience I know that this government is building big for Victorians for today and for the future. We are transforming transport infrastructure connections and we are also investing in employment opportunities and our economy. In my time as a teacher and as an MP I have seen just how many young people in the west are benefiting from these opportunities that this bill helps reinforce, because the Big Build, the work that we are doing with our state government infrastructure, is a job creator. On my side of town the West Gate Tunnel Project alone has created 6000 jobs, and with the level crossing removal works across the west and our state more than 106 million hours have been worked on this program, and the number of jobs will likely increase to 6000 at peak construction.

We are committed to young Victorians, including the requirement that 10 per cent of labour hours on large projects be completed by apprentices, something I will refer to in just a moment with a bit of an anecdote. But we are helping not only the young workers of today but also those who have a little while left before they can expect to enter the workforce. In reflecting on this bill I want to take this opportunity to congratulate two really good friends of mine who on Monday welcomed the arrival of their second son. Baby Arthur and his big brother Oscar will one day have access to an enormous array of employment opportunities and the ability to utilise this transformative investment that our Allan Labor government is building today, and perhaps through the programs that build our roads, hospitals and schools Arthur and Oscar can learn and develop their skills for the jobs for the future, although with two teachers for parents they may end up in the family business. That is what this bill is about for so many – not just ensuring that when we build these projects they are Victorian but protecting the future of so many young Victorians. We can have confidence that it is through this bill and so many other pieces of legislation and initiatives introduced by this Labor government that we are supporting our future. That is why we are putting the protections in to ensure that these initiatives are supported and clarifying those investigative powers of the commissioner to help further formalise their role in managing complaints. As well as this, as I have mentioned, we are enhancing that ability to report on Local Jobs First issues that may arise to the responsible minister to provide further protections. The further support for the commissioner in enforcing these regulations means that these initiatives will be able to both adapt and change with the unique circumstances at play across our state.

This bill is only part of a multifaceted approach of this Allan Labor government. We are committed to delivering for people across the state and ensuring that the millions of Victorians who are growing up all across our many communities are provided with the opportunity that they need to succeed. So many people across my electorate have worked hard for our state and have been part of the effort that has taken place across employment sectors. As a result those people who have benefited from our Big Build can enjoy a well-earned retirement or are able to find work with their enhanced skills on other projects, having earned a living from the skills and opportunities provided through protections of their employment from the state government through programs like this. To quickly list a few of these developments which have taken and are taking place within my community that my community benefits from, they include our Werribee Mercy Hospital emergency department upgrade; the M80 ring-road upgrade; the Western Treatment Plant capacity upgrade, which is extremely important for about 60 per cent of Melbourne and which flows down to Werribee – many people like to joke about that, but it is an incredibly important part of our state’s infrastructure and quite often goes unrecognised; and the western suburbs road package, over $1 billion of works that continue to this day across the Tarneit electorate, the Laverton electorate, the Point Cook electorate and my electorate. There are other projects, including our work at Cherry Creek, our new Wyndham law courts and our Werribee police complex, all built and guaranteed by our Local Jobs First policy. These are among the countless projects which have taken place or are taking place across Melbourne’s west to the benefit of many in my community.

But it is not just about sourcing from Victorian businesses and supplying the actual building of these projects and the enormous positive impact that has. Unemployment in the western suburbs as a result of our Local Jobs First policies and the range of investments in the western suburbs is now lower than it was under the Liberal–National government all those years ago and, to be honest, under the Bracks–Brumby governments as well. We have seen a trend of unemployment falling across the western suburbs over these years. I know props are frowned upon, so I shall not show the graph that I have in front of me. But to describe it as if we are listening to a radio program, it starts up around 10 per cent in the retro 2000s, we see a spike between 2014 and 2018 of unemployment in the western suburbs and, despite a blip during COVID, we are seeing a continuing downward trend in unemployment across the western suburbs. That is according to the ABS.

While the polling is what some on the opposite side are staring at, I am laser focused on how we are reducing the unemployment rate in the western suburbs. I said I was going to turn to an anecdote, and I think it is important to end on this. During the by-election I met with apprentices from Werribee who are working on our Footscray and Werribee hospital upgrades. They have started and will end their training on these Victorian government sites that have been guaranteed by the laws that we are strengthening again today. I think it is pretty important to remember that when we invest, when we spend this money, it is not just about the figures that you see on your page or Standard & Poor’s, it is about the lives that they help.

James NEWBURY (Brighton) (10:20): I move:

That debate be adjourned.

Yesterday the Premier came into this place and gave notice of an important motion on antisemitism. The history of this Parliament would tell you that the Premier would at the next available opportunity, which would be this morning, move her motion. I just saw the Premier wandering by in the corridor, so the Premier is here. Instead the government has moved to a bill for the third day in a row and has refused to allow the Premier time to debate her motion. I have never seen a Premier give notice of a motion and not have it debated, ever. I do not think anyone can recall a time where the Premier would give notice of a motion, so-called, to stand against antisemitism. We know how hollow it is, because it is not being debated in this chamber. There will be a vote shortly. The vote will be whether this Parliament now deals with the Premier’s motion, which stands against antisemitism. What will the government do? Will the government vote against the Premier’s motion? Of course it will. How disgraceful that will be.

John Lister interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Werribee is warned.

James NEWBURY: This Parliament is now debating the same bill for a third day and has shelved the Premier’s motion against antisemitism, and we know why. Guess how many speakers the government has on the Premier’s motion – zero. They have not got one on the speakers list for the motion the Premier gave notice of yesterday – not one name.

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Narre Warren North is not in her seat and is warned.

James NEWBURY: It does not surprise anybody. It would be the shortest list in history. How many government members are going to want to get up and speak on the Premier’s motion? How could the Premier possibly make it worse in this state by giving notice of a motion and then shelving it? Had she not given notice at all, it would have probably been better, because now we all know that there is a motion sitting on the notice paper and the Premier has been sidelined and has not had an opportunity to move her motion in this chamber. I suspect her party room has rolled her. That is the only possible explanation as to why a Premier, for the first time I suspect in history, has not moved a motion of such importance the day after putting it on the notice paper, because she has been rolled by her caucus. And the speakers list does not even exist.

Luba Grigorovitch: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, that is a huge assumption. I would like a withdrawal, please.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not a point of order, member for Kororoit.

James NEWBURY: The member for Kororoit can speak next about her strong support of the motion. Never has a Premier brought a motion into this chamber, and I say this Parliament should be debating it rather than the same bill for a third day. That is what this government is now doing. It is the new trick. For a third day they are debating the same bill, and in this case it is to hide the Premier’s motion against antisemitism. We on this side of the chamber heard the Premier give notice of her motion and thought of course it would be debated first up today. We stood ready, in a bipartisan way, to speak to it. The Premier did not notify the rest of the Parliament that she was moving it, not that she had to, but if she was intending for it to be a bipartisan motion, it would have been courteous. But I will set that aside. We of course stood ready on this side of the chamber to speak to it, because what is happening on our streets is a disgrace, and our Parliament should be standing and speaking about those matters. We should be standing together on those matters. So to know that the Premier has been rolled and that this motion will not even be debated is a disgrace. As I said, I just saw the Premier in the corridor wandering by, so she is here. But what is not here today is that motion, and that tells you everything about the Labor Party’s view on these issues. They are not willing to stand up and have it debated.

Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston) (10:25): Let us bring the mood down a little bit. We have just heard more assumptions than a conspiracy theorist at 3 am on Facebook. What an absolute joke. This is a motion catalysing an argument about whether people in this house think the Jewish community is important, essentially, and that they have important concerns. That is what I am getting out of this. That divisive rubbish should be shamed – making the assumption that there is no speakers list for this motion, making the assumption that this is somehow irregular and this never happens in the house. The member opposite has made a bunch of assumptions, and the member is wrong on every single point. It is typical. No-one has said this motion has been shelved. No-one has said that we are not speaking to this motion, and that is the assumption that has been made across the aisle.

I can only encourage those opposite to hold a mirror up to themselves, stop attacking each other, and maybe, just maybe, find some common ground and listen to your community. But do not come in here and try and tell us that we do not stand with our communities, because that is what I get out of this motion. I get out of this motion the perception that this is about to be politicised, and this motion is all about that. This motion is not about a lack of a speaking list or the fact that the motion is not being spoken to or that people on this side of the chamber should feel bad somehow for speaking to a bill which is about jobs in their community. No, this motion right here, brought to us by the member for Brighton, is all about politicising an issue and trying to paint the Premier as someone who does not care about a part of the community, because it is a shame. It is based on assumptions, and there are no facts.

The member for Brighton becomes very angry, and it is very performative, it is very theatrical, and I do appreciate that. I do love a good actor. But in this house, on this side of the chamber, we try and get serious business done, and we are used to that. That is how we operate. I will not stand up here today and have people on the opposite side of the chamber trying to politicise a very, very serious issue, and that politicisation is basically trying to make out, trying to paint a picture, that the government do not care about a certain cohort in the community, and that is wrong. It is wrong to politicise that. This motion is absolute rubbish and should be called out for what it is.

Motions should be based on a foundation of evidence. I could take a deep dive on this, and I still cannot find, even if I read Hansard, any evidence of what this motion is about. It is based on assumptions, and people should be more prepared when they come into this chamber to speak. If they want to raise a motion, it should not just be about a performative art, theatrics, about being angry about something or just finding something to be angry about. There is plenty to be angry about on that side of the house. You just need to look at each other and you are angry. You do not have to do things like this. The people in our community will see this motion for exactly what it is: performance art. It is better than Home and Away, I will admit. The acting is better than Home and Away.

Gabrielle Williams interjected.

Paul EDBROOKE: ‘Art’ might be a bit strong, Minister, but it is still performative art. The only word I have not heard from the member for Brighton, which I do adore when he says it, is ‘craven’ – that this is craven. I love it when he says that word, and we know he is getting stirred up and angry when he says that, but he has not at the moment, because he is not that emotional about this. This is theatrics. This is a play; this is drama. It is no better than the Frankston High School year 8 drama class to me, and I think they do a better job. Therefore I cannot support this motion. I do not think anyone on this side of the house can support this motion.

A member interjected.

Paul EDBROOKE: It is actually sad, member. I will leave my contribution there. There are other people that would like to make a contribution to this motion, but certainly interrupting the business of the house for this baseless set of assumptions should not be something that this government or this Parliament allows.

David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (10:30): It saddens me to have to get up here today and speak to the urgency of bringing on this motion at a time when literally only a minute ago I received a text to say that Melbourne Hebrew Congregation was defaced again for the fourth time overnight. We are seeing horrific attacks on the Jewish community on a daily basis, and there is a real urgency needed to show leadership.

On Tuesday, a few days ago, I stood up and I raised two notices of motion condemning those that targeted the National Gallery of Victoria simply because they have received donations from a Jewish donor – a horrific attack against a community, an antisemitic attack against a community, that needs to be called out. Both motions were denied. I then wrote to the Premier that evening, urgently seeking, in a bipartisan way, to have those motions debated, because a number of members of the community urgently sought me to have a debate that was done in a bipartisan way. I did not receive any communication back from the manager of government business or the Premier after requesting that urgent debate. I came in the next day to see that the Premier had given notice of her own motion, and even though they did not have the decency to reply to me in terms of my motion, I thought it was right that the Premier had raised a motion condemning antisemitism, and I thought it was a positive step in the right direction.

But unfortunately, coming in today prepared to debate this motion, again we see that there has been no action – all words and no action – and it saddens me that we are not standing here now debating this motion. I know that the Local Jobs First bill is really important, but as the member for Brighton said, we have had three days to talk about that motion. When the community are being hit with antisemitic attacks day in, day out, it is important for this chamber to show leadership. It is important for the Premier to stand up and debate her motion. This is a really important show of leadership for the Premier to, firstly, bring a motion into this chamber, but also to have the decency to debate the motion. It is really disappointing that the Premier is nowhere to be found on this motion, and it should not be the opposition again that have to drag the government kicking and screaming to debate their own motion, but if that is what it takes, then we will do it.

We should be able to reach over and hand in hand debate these things and support and call out the haters in Victoria. What we have seen in Victoria is nothing but hate, targeted attacks against a community – the most multicultural state in the nation for generations, and now all of that has been turned upside down because of a bunch of extremists targeting a community. Well, quite frankly, we have all had a gutful of that, and I think it is time that leadership is shown. It is a great opportunity for all of us to do it – not to attack one another, because I have got to say that most members of the government have come up and supported me during this time, and the member for Box Hill as well, and I want to thank those members that have done that and have called this out when it happens. But it is also important for us to call it out publicly here as well. It is a great opportunity for us to do that, and it saddens me that we are not doing it.

I do note an article that is on today’s front page of the paper referring to a Labor hit list and the fact that there is discussion about watering down hate laws, protest laws and the special envoy to combat antisemitism. I hope that is not the reason why we are not debating this motion. I really hope it is not. But there is a real opportunity for the government to say, ‘No, it’s not that. The Herald Sun front page story isn’t the reason why we’re not debating this today; it’s just been a bit of a faux pas from the government,’ and for the Premier to come in here, bring in the motion and we debate it. Let us get on with it. Let us do it. Let us do this in a bipartisan way. Let us call out hate, as it is, and let us unite against it. If Chris Minns, the Labor Premier of New South Wales, can do that, we can do that here in the Victorian Parliament as well.

Belinda WILSON (Narre Warren North) (10:35): I am actually very pleased that the member for Caulfield just spoke so intelligently and rationally, or at least a bit more calmly, because I am very angry. I am offended and I am upset. I have worked for two Jewish MPs, and I have a very strong connection to the Jewish community. The garbage that has come out of the mouths of some of the members on the other side is just insulting to many of us on this side of the chamber – not just to me but to many, including the Premier, and especially to the Gandel family, who I know and I know other members on this side of the chamber do as well. This is not what we are here for. To make the assumption and the insult that we do not care and that we will not debate it and that the Premier is walking around outside and she will not bring forward her motion – I am speechless. Of course we stand with the Jewish community, and the member for Caulfield knows that about me more than ever.

To say that because we have not got a list up we are not going to debate it – I am not sure when the opposition started running a list for the government or started sneaking past and looking at what list we had up. We have an agenda. We have some very strong bills to debate. We have a lot of members on this side that want to talk about jobs. That does not take away from how we feel about the Jewish community in Israel at all, and what is happening in synagogues and what is happening with the hostages stands very strongly with all of us. To make the assumption that it does not hurts and cuts very, very deeply to me and to my friends. For you to stand up there and say that we do not care is wrong. I do not need to stand up here and talk on a motion to know where we stand as a community and where we stand with our friends.

For the member for Brighton to make those assumptions and characterisations about us on this side is offensive and upsetting, because every single day you make those comments every member of the Jewish community gets upset and hurt. We care. We make a difference. We do not grandstand in here and make stories up about things that we have done and said, because we do them quietly. We are not there doing a publicity statement, and the member for Caulfield does not do that either. He does it quietly as well. He does not get up here and grandstand. It is very offensive to say that we do not care, because we do. I can say to you that so many people on this side of the chamber, in fact probably over 90 per cent, have stood behind our member for Box Hill – sorry, 100 per cent, I should say.

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Brighton, you are on thin ice. Member for Werribee, one more and you are gone.

Belinda WILSON: I corrected myself, thank you, member for Brighton. The 90 per cent I was talking about was about visiting a synagogue personally. It is probably over 90 per cent. But 100 per cent of us stand with our member for Box Hill, who has found this time very hard and very challenging, and we stand with him. We stand with the member for Caulfield and with his community. We do not stand with people that have garbage coming out of their mouths saying that we do not care and we do not make a stand. On that note, that is all I have got to say.

Chris CREWTHER (Mornington) (10:39): Yesterday the Premier gave notice of a motion about antisemitism, a motion that I think – or I hope – we all would support. But this motion has not yet been put up for debate today, and we have no indication of when or indeed if it will be put up today. But this is such an important motion to debate today, and as soon as possible, as what we have seen in Melbourne and what we have seen in Victoria and in Australia and elsewhere has been disgraceful, particularly with the growing attacks on our Jewish community, our long-term Jewish community at that, who have often been here for multiple generations.

More recently we had the protest against what is happening with Gandel, a well-known and generous philanthropist associated with the renaming of a hall at the National Gallery of Victoria. These protests against him were absolutely disgraceful. He is a well-known Jewish philanthropist who has supported so many things that are important to us here in Victoria. Being Jewish does not mean you are Israeli, and being Israeli does not mean you are Jewish. There are many people of Arab, Muslim and other backgrounds who are Israeli.

Our Jewish community needs to be protected. We have also seen attacks against our Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, which, as the member for Caulfield noted, was again defaced overnight. We saw attacks against the Adass Israel Synagogue, with a firebombing there on 6 December. We also saw the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation arson on 4 July. We saw the Miznon restaurant, a Jewish-owned restaurant, attacked on 4 July. And, disgracefully, we saw Mount Scopus year 5 students – that is, 10- and 11-year-olds; my daughter will be 10 this coming week – being taunted. They were taunted with words like ‘dirty Jews’ and other disgraceful terms. We should never have this in Victoria. We should never have these disgraceful attacks against our Jewish community, particularly innocent young people who are just trying to go about their lives, to be regular students, to learn and do everything else. You should never be targeted for your faith, your ethnicity or anything else.

We really do need to talk urgently about this motion. I commend the member for Caulfield and everyone here who would want to support this today, because it really should be debated. The member for Brighton made some very good points before in getting up with this procedural motion that this should be brought on as soon as possible. We saw 552 antisemitic attacks in 2024; I would not even want to know what they are in 2025 so far. I am sure we are beating, unfortunately, the 2024 record. That is not a record we want to beat. In 2024 that was a 52 per cent increase on 2023, and that was the most ever.

Our Jewish community – my colleague is a member of the Jewish community – and everyone should feel safe in Victoria. It should not matter your background in Victoria, it should not matter your view on the Israeli–Palestinian issue and the conflict at the moment. People can have differences of opinion on that conflict, but you should not be targeted for your faith, for your background, for what you believe in. Certainly people like Gandel, who have been such generous contributors to our state, should not be targeted. The National Gallery of Victoria have done the right thing in renaming the hall after him in recognition of his generous contributions over so many years.

I call upon this government to bring on this motion for debate as soon as possible. We all agree with the Premier’s motion that was given notice of yesterday, so I would hope that it is debated today – and not just debated today but debated as soon as possible. I definitely support the member for Brighton’s procedural motion and the words from my colleagues before, and I would ask that this motion be brought on as soon as possible.

Josh BULL (Sunbury) (10:44): I rise to make a short contribution on the procedural motion that is before the house. There are no words that I have that can better articulate this than those of the member for Narre Warren North, who just a short time ago in this house gave an excellent contribution on what is indeed a very serious matter. This matter is beyond the politics of this place, and for the motion to be framed in the way that it was by the member for Brighton and then be backed up in a very different manner by the member for Caulfield I think shows the stark difference between the way that those opposite operate and the view that this government takes of these matters. The member for Caulfield’s contribution articulated the position very differently. What we see and what the people of Victoria see time and time again is cheap politics played with an issue that has caused destruction, devastation and the loss of so many lives right across the Middle East.

This government has at every opportunity made representations through the Premier and other members. The anti-vilification work and the work of the Anti-Racism Taskforce, which I had the opportunity to chair in my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, was done yesterday and months ago and will be done tomorrow, and on and on it goes. It is of empirical value to this government. We know and understand that these issues are deeply personal, and our state – our great multicultural, multi-faith state, where one in every two Victorians either has a parent born overseas or was born overseas themselves – thrives on that multiculturalism. Absolutely, we have seen it tested, and it will be tested and tested again. But what true leadership is – and we have seen this from the Premier – is making sure that we are supporting and working with local communities when they are tested. For this motion to be rolled through the house this morning in the fashion that it was speaks volumes to what some – not all, but some – on that side of the house are about.

We remain committed to making sure that we are supporting every single Victorian in every single way, and the commitments made by the Premier and the work that has been done by the government will continue. The opportunity to go and speak to local communities within your electorate or communities right across the state makes your role as a member of Parliament so central. It is so critically important that we make sure that we maintain safety and security and make sure that we are working with our communities to support them in a time of need. What I think we have seen with this debate – and, sadly, what we see time and time again on this matter – is something that I think shows a stark difference between many members in this house. What we have seen in the first couple of contributions from those opposite is indeed a very, very distant position when it comes to values and when it comes to respect.

I want to finish by acknowledging again the outstanding contribution from my good friend the member for Narre Warren North and by saying that this government will, each and every day, stand for supporting communities and for a safer, fairer, better Victoria. That is shown by the Premier and cabinet ministers and all colleagues. We remain committed to all of that work that goes into the Anti-Racism Taskforce, the anti-vilification work and the commitments that are made. Playing cheap politics with this issue is not what is required.

Will Fowles: Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to make a contribution on this motion.

Leave refused.

Assembly divided on motion:

Ayes (28): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Wayne Farnham, Will Fowles, Matthew Guy, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, Cindy McLeish, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Kim O’Keeffe, John Pesutto, Richard Riordan, Brad Rowswell, David Southwick, Bill Tilley, Bridget Vallence, Peter Walsh, Kim Wells, Nicole Werner, Rachel Westaway

Noes (49): Juliana Addison, Jacinta Allan, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Eden Foster, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Lauren Kathage, Sonya Kilkenny, Nathan Lambert, John Lister, Gary Maas, Alison Marchant, Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Steve McGhie, Paul Mercurio, John Mullahy, Danny Pearson, Pauline Richards, Tim Richardson, Michaela Settle, Ros Spence, Nick Staikos, Natalie Suleyman, Meng Heang Tak, Jackson Taylor, Nina Taylor, Kat Theophanous, Mary-Anne Thomas, Vicki Ward, Dylan Wight, Gabrielle Williams, Belinda Wilson

Motion defeated.

Chris COUZENS (Geelong) (10:55): I am delighted to rise to contribute on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. I have always been a great supporter of Local Jobs First. The significance in my region is what I want to talk about today. Geelong has benefited so much from Local Jobs First, and we have benefited through employment, the job creation that has come about with major infrastructure projects, the local businesses, the tradies – you name it. Everybody has benefited from the Local Jobs First legislation that we have in place, and I am delighted that we are keeping to that commitment from the 2022 election to strengthen this legislation. It is so important to keep this going, and I know how valuable this has been for my electorate of Geelong.

The many infrastructure projects that have been built and are being built in the Geelong electorate are unprecedented. It is unprecedented, the number of new construction sites and infrastructure projects from the Allan Labor government and the former Andrews government that have delivered jobs, and some of these jobs have been life changing for members of my community. To get traineeships and apprenticeships working on those big construction jobs has actually changed their life, and that has been through a number of services in the Geelong community that work with people who have been long-term unemployed – maybe nobody in their family has ever worked previously, and they become mentors in their family. I have met a lot of those people. The advantages of having the Big Build projects but also Local Jobs First really have resonated in my community. Also, for the Aboriginal community to be able to get jobs, whether it is apprenticeships or traineeships or through contributing to the fabric of these buildings through their beautiful cultural artwork, has really been significant for my region.

Of course when those opposite were in government, not one thing was built in the Geelong electorate. We now have seen a huge transformation around the City of Greater Geelong. We have the best regional arts centre in this country, and that was through this government making a commitment to the $140 million development of the Geelong Arts Centre, not to mention the fact that that was stage ‍3. Stage 1 and stage 2 have already happened, and stage 3 was completed last year. That actually created a huge number of jobs but also ensured that local businesses had the opportunity to work on those jobs. The content was really important. The Godfrey Hirst carpet manufacturer did all the carpets through that building, and why that is so important is that they did the carpet to meet the artistic requirements of the Aboriginal community which was involved in putting that carpet design into that building. Having moonah trees throughout one of the floors is absolutely incredible on the carpets. First Nations themes were integrated into every aspect of the design, including the walls and the carpet. The incredible artwork of First Nations people like Kait James, Gerard Black, Tarryn Love, Mick Ryan and Corrina Eccles all form part of the fabric of that building. They were a big part of that building, and they were local First Nations people that were committed to sharing their culture.

We also have the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre under construction, almost complete. We have a significant number of trainees and apprenticeships involved in that construction. We started off with 12 local trainees and apprentices and then followed with a further 16. Through that early engagement with the social procurement program, local businesses and companies have been contracted as part of that construction, which has added huge benefits obviously to the Geelong economy, and it is due for completion early next year, which Geelong is very excited about.

But the important thing about this is the local content, and that local content is only there because of the Local Jobs First legislation. It says they must be included. The women’s and children’s hospital, which recently commenced in Geelong – again, hundreds of jobs. Since 2014 there have been thousands of jobs for Geelong people. It is really interesting that over the last 10 years some of those construction workers started on the early jobs and are now still working on either Nyaal Banyul or the women’s and children’s hospital. So they have had consistent employment for 10 years, and hopefully that will continue as we move forward. But the women’s and children’s hospital, again, is providing that local content, ensuring that local construction workers are getting the work that they need.

Part of all of this is the big infrastructure projects that we have seen in Geelong creating jobs, using local content and making sure that local businesses are getting a part of that. The early parenting centre that we opened last year, the Moorabool Street mental health hub and drug and alcohol centre, the acute mental health facility, the youth mental health facility, the Gordon TAFE culinary school and the Davidson restaurant, the Victorian Sailing School, the family violence court, which is under construction right now – all of those big builds have had the benefits of this legislation, and I am delighted that we are improving that and giving it more strength in its delivery, because that is what makes my community the best community, and the local economic development that comes from that is extraordinary. The Kardinia Park stadium is another one – a huge number of jobs.

A member interjected.

Chris COUZENS: Go Cats, of course. These are the things that are really important to my community, and these jobs would not have been created, these businesses would not have that work, if it were not for this legislation. So to strengthen it I think is incredible. I am really passionate about this because I can see the benefits to my community, to the families that live in my community and to the workers that rely on that consistent construction work to be able to keep food on their families’ tables. This is really important legislation.

When we look at what we have done over a 10-year period with this legislation, with the Big Builds that have gone on, particularly, as I said, in my electorate of Geelong, I want young people to know that those jobs are going to continue to be there as we move forward into the future. I know that people in my electorate see that and understand it and support the work that this government has done over the last 10 years. It is about connecting the dots, and it is about making sure our TAFE sector is delivering the courses and training that are required to be able to meet the demands of these big infrastructure projects. The Nyaal Banyul conference centre is working with Gordon TAFE, for example, right now to ensure that there is local content not only in the construction but also in the ongoing employment of people in my community.

The Aboriginal community know we are not closing the gap as quickly as we should be, but let me tell you what these projects that I am talking about are actually contributing to closing the gap in my community. They are creating jobs for Aboriginal people in my community, not only in construction but right across the Geelong community. I highly recommend this bill. I think it provides so much, and I commend the bill to the house.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn) (11:05): I rise to speak on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. This is a classic case of misdirection, I am afraid to say. The government is doing everything but address the problems that are hampering growth in local jobs, local programs and the capital program across Victoria. There is some irony in that. The government could do something about the real problems that are at the heart of jobs growth in Victoria, which still boasts the highest rate of unemployment in the country, whether on seasonal or on trend terms. Last week’s ABS figures confirmed that Victoria has the highest level of unemployment in the country amongst the states. That is saying something. So when this bill came before the house, we would have liked to have seen some substantive measures that would actually promote jobs growth in this great state, but we are not seeing anything. All we are seeing in this bill, as other speakers have pointed out and which I too have noted, is that the government is focusing on penalties – how to punish people who are trying to do their best.

Let us look at some of the major failings confronting the government here. Skills, apprenticeships and traineeships – Victoria continues to perform poorly. In 2023 through to 2024 nationally we saw a fall of 27,000 apprenticeships and traineeships across the country. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research pointed out that we are not producing enough graduates in the construction sector to meet just the requirements of addressing the housing crisis, forgetting infrastructure projects. We are nowhere near meeting those. We have seen a collapse nationally of 13.5 per cent in female apprentices and trainees and, importantly, in Victoria – to look at our state – between 2023 and 2024 we saw a fall in the number of apprenticeships and traineeships of over 8 per cent. We are going backwards in this state when it comes to producing the workforce we need.

I see that there are young people in the gallery today. We owe it to them and all of the young people across our state to be putting before this house policies that will actually give them the opportunities to undertake employment in the important work that goes with building our state. It is a great shame. We know that we have pressing needs to deliver infrastructure right across our state, but we do not have a workforce that will do that. If you look at the majority of occupations on the occupation shortage list, you will see that most of them require a vocational qualification, and yet we are nowhere near meeting that in this state.

Where is that dealt with in this bill? This bill is not addressing that. It is probably the single most important thing the government could do to address the problem. If you want to promote local jobs, local employment, that is where you would start. You would also look at the catastrophic failure of policy of this government to address the role of the CFMEU in our capital program, particularly major projects. It alone has forced many local operators off projects. We used to ask questions. Last year we asked a series of questions of the government about why Indigenous firms and firms that were not approved by the CFMEU were kicked off Victoria’s project pipeline. How disastrous was that for local jobs? And what did the government do? Rather than commission the royal commission that we called for, the government appointed Mr Greg Wilson, who personally I have no problem with at all, who was given no power to properly investigate the corruption, intimidation, blackmail and extortion that is occurring daily on major projects in this state. He was not given the power to investigate those and to give real recommendations to government.

Why was that important? Because we have over $145 billion worth of projects in the government’s capital program at the moment. We know that most of those are blowing out. We know that most of those blowouts are due to the role of the CFMEU, combined with incompetence and a total lack of cost control by the government. It is not just me and my colleagues saying that; it is Victoria’s Auditor-General. Have a look at the Auditor-General’s report from February of this year, and you will see a scathing assessment not only of the total mismanagement and failure of oversight over major projects but also the unwillingness – in fact the refusal – of this government to be up-front with the Victorian people about blowouts and delays on major projects.

How is that important to this bill? Well, it is important to this bill because those problems are one of the greatest impediments to local jobs growth. If you have a project pipeline, and public sector demand in this state is what has been propping up the economy for a long time – and I will come to private sector investment in a moment – and if you are not going to fix these problems, local organisations that employ Victorians in their workplaces will not come anywhere near being able to participate in delivering the works required to make this state greater and to deliver the schools, the roads, the public transport, the hospitals, all manner of community infrastructure pieces. They miss out. The question I ask is: where is that in this bill? Where is the policy to address that? Sadly, we saw the government simply engage in a whitewashing exercise that will see all of those nefarious practices that we know are occurring on Victoria’s major projects continue to occur.

A third aspect I wanted to mention is tax in this state. If you want to promote local jobs, make Victoria a more attractive place to invest. But we have seen the CommSec report, the Business Council of Australia survey, the National Australia Bank survey and any number of stakeholder groups – like the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Industry Group – all condemn the level of taxation and the level of regulation, putting Victoria at the bottom of the rankings of states and territories across Australia when it comes to providing a place to invest. It is no wonder that many firms look to invest elsewhere. The taxes – whether it is payroll tax or the land tax that many developers in the housing construction sector have to continue to pay because of delays by this government – and red tape in the construction sector mean we are seeing many employers say, ‘It’s too hard to invest here; we’re going to invest somewhere else.’ That is evidenced by these independent reports from a range of employer groups and stakeholder groups across the country. Where is that addressed in this bill? Where is the hope that is provided to the Victorian people and investors, businesses and workers? Where is the hope that should be coming from this government that says, ‘We will give you a business environment where you will invest and employ local people.’ That is not addressed in this bill.

I want to come to debt, because that sits behind a lot of this. The government’s debt profile, the position it has put our state in, has meant that the opportunities to roll out and make final decisions on important infrastructure projects around our state – I am not just talking about mega projects, some of which we need; they always have to be sequenced – but I am talking about those many road and public transport projects and health projects that are needed right across Victoria, in particular across our growth corridors and throughout the regions and rural precincts of this state. The ability to invest in those which will promote local jobs and local investment is being denied because our debt, in net terms just for the general government sector, we know will be nearly $200 billion. But bear in mind the gross debt in this state will approach $300 billion by 2028–29 – $300 billion in gross debt. The reason that is important is because that is an indication of the financial and fiscal health of a state, and even the Auditor-General has pointed this out. S&P Global makes the point that on this trajectory our gross debt profile puts us at risk of a credit downgrade, because our debt in gross terms compared with our operating revenue is at the moment on track to exceed that tripwire of 240 per cent by later in this decade. If that happens, we are looking at a downgrade. We do not have to wait for that timeline to happen, but we are on that trajectory at the moment.

The total financial mismanagement of this state government is limiting choices and limiting investment opportunities for local firms and, importantly, Victorian workers and their families, and we ought to have their backs. We would on this side of the house, but it does not appear the government does. They are not prepared to address the real problems, so this bill is one we are opposing. It does not deal with the real issues at the heart of local jobs growth, and all of the evidence from the ABS figures to our debt, to our taxes, to the corruption on worksites continues without restraint.

Josh BULL (Sunbury) (11:15): I am pleased to have the opportunity this morning to make a contribution on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025 and to make some reflections on where we find ourselves in relation to major infrastructure works, local content, supporting local jobs and of course making sure that our communities are able to gain the skills and the tools that they need to work in a great job and to be able to use those skills to go on and get better and further employment.

I just want to make some brief observations on some of the comments that were made by the previous speaker, who failed to mention that in the period between 2010 and 2014 this state had the highest unemployment on the mainland. Fast-forward to where we find ourselves now, in 2025, with an economy that over the last decade has grown faster than any other state – 31 per cent larger than when we came to government – and the labour market continuing with Victoria’s employment increasing by 12,800 people in June 2025 and of course in the year to June 2025 unemployment averaging 4.4 ‍per cent, remaining below a 20-year prepandemic average of 5.5 per cent.

What we on this side of the house know and understand – and those significant investments have been made for over a decade now, and some of those have been referenced and touched on in the contributions from other members – is the importance of making sure that that investment benefits local communities. The contributions that we have heard thus far on this bill go to some sort of bizarre position where you are able to support growing communities whereby you do not build anything and you are able to support growing communities without upgrading roads, without building new schools and without delivering world-class public transport, like the Metro Tunnel, like the removal of 87 ‍dangerous and congested level crossings, and you are able to do all that and just roll through and keep communities ticking along.

We have a vastly different view to that, and that goes to having the benefit of new transport infrastructure, new schools, new community hospitals – whatever the service might be – and to knowing and understanding not only that that growth and the many provisions that have been contained within the numerous announcements made around planning and housing go to supporting local communities but also that the economics of this stacks up. It does so whereby the economy, as we know and as I referenced earlier with some of that data, is growing, and the ability for the government to be able to provide for that infrastructure and to be able to see significant benefits in efficiency from those projects is something that often is left very much out of this argument.

To be able to provide for projects like Metro, like the Suburban Rail Loop and like the West Gate Tunnel, to be able to do that and move people out and about and around in our local communities and across the state to get to where they need to go more safely and sooner, is something that we are of course committed to. What we saw in that period that I referenced earlier, the sort of miserable years between 2010 and 2014, was a considerable lack of investment, of drive and of energy, and local communities felt that in a number of ways. But where this bill is very important is delivering those skills and those opportunities that we know are critically important as part of the program and the projects that I have mentioned. A really significant and long list has been built by this government over the best part of 10 years now to deliver both the big transport infrastructure projects but also those projects such as arterial road upgrades in the outer suburbs and many others where there are provisions for local communities to get employment and to be supported. This is really important because it creates not only the skills and the opportunities but also the confidence. I think often what we see, disappointingly, from the crew that occupies the opposition benches over there is a sort of parallel universe where no money should be spent, no projects should be delivered and communities do not need to be supported in each and every way. The reality is that you have got to make those decisions and make those decisions wisely and carefully, taking the advice of all of our agencies, which do great work when it comes to supporting and providing information for decisions that government need to make. But what we have been able to do through that process is make sure that we have got that pipeline that is delivering those jobs and will continue to deliver those jobs as we move forward.

This morning’s amendment bill delivers on the 2022 election commitment to strengthen the Local Jobs First Act 2003, whereby we are ensuring the Local Jobs First scheme continues to maximise opportunities for local jobs and businesses, supporting a stronger workforce, local industry and, as I mentioned earlier, the economy, being fit for purpose and meeting contemporary expectations as things change. The reforms in the bill focus on compliance and enforcement of the local industry development plans and strengthening the powers and functions of the Local Jobs First commissioner to provide for those reforms as we go forward.

In summary, the clarification and strengthening of the mechanisms to support compliance with the enforcement of the local industry development plan commitments provide the commissioner with additional investigation and reporting powers, including the power to conduct site inspections without notice, and a range of other functions which, given the time, I will not go through in great detail. Broadly, though, this builds upon the commitments made for supporting local skills and local employment and builds upon what I think are additional layers of support for local communities but also benefits in the long term.

I have the opportunity, Acting Speaker, as I am sure you do and other members of the house do, to go out, be on site and meet a number of different workers in so many different settings that are getting the opportunity to work on these projects, to learn new skills, to support their families in many instances and to work locally. Again, time means I have not had the opportunity to talk about many of the commitments that I believe benefit regional Victoria, which is incredibly important as well. To have those manufacturing benefits right across the state is something that is very, very important. That work needs to continue to be delivered. It is a live, dynamic and complex environment. Changes relating to global geopolitics have seen a number of changes that go to production costs and material costs, and that dynamic environment adds additional pressure. But to provide those benefits with the project, the material, the manufacturing and the delivery is something that is very, very important. The references that are contained within this bill that go to supporting local jobs right here in Victoria underpin the entire network of supporting people to get those skills and to benefit from those projects in the long run.

The alternative approach of course is to do very little or to do not much, and that is certainly not what we are about. We need to remain focused on supporting a growing economy, supporting a growing Victoria and making sure that people can get home safer and sooner as we grow but also using new and innovative ways to plan and to interlink with transport, jobs, health and education to get people home and to and from work, school and business the way that they need to. That is why this program is really important. This piece of legislation builds upon some really good work that has been done by our delivery agencies and will I believe add to the ability to do what is most important, and that is to support people to be their best as they benefit from our growing state.

Chris CREWTHER (Mornington) (11:25): I rise to speak on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. Let me first be clear: the opposition supports putting jobs and businesses first, in particular supporting local jobs. This has never been in question, but what is in question is whether this bill will actually achieve that goal or whether it will end up penalising the very businesses it claims to support. Since its inception in 2003 the Local Jobs First policy has played a vital role in ensuring that government procurement benefits local businesses, workers, apprentices and trainees. We support that and we support strengthening compliance where necessary, but this bill goes too far. It introduces a series of punitive enforcement mechanisms, all the way from deprioritisation registers to hefty civil penalties, without adequate safeguards for small and regional businesses already doing it tough. The reality is this: local content targets are often achievable, but where they are not being met it is often or usually for a very good reason, not negligence or bad faith. Master Builders Victoria has rightly pointed out that regional skills shortages can make it impossible or at least very difficult to source local subcontractors, no matter how hard a head contractor tries.

Yet under this bill those same contractors could be penalised, deprioritised for future work or even hit with fines of up to $100,000. This is a ‘stick without a carrot’ approach. It risks creating more red tape, more uncertainty and more financial risk for the very businesses we rely on to deliver infrastructure and jobs across Victoria. Worse still, this Labor government cannot even tell us what this will cost. When questioned during the bill briefing, government officials were unable to or unwilling to provide any modelling or estimates on the budget impact of these sweeping new powers. A new inspection regime, expanded commissioner functions and civil proceedings in court – all of those things require staff and resources, but the Labor government has chosen to push this bill forward with zero or very little transparency on cost and no clarity on implementation. In fact when asked what evidence exists of widespread noncompliance to justify these measures, the department admitted that it is unaware of any civil actions or penalties previously imposed under the Local Jobs First framework. That begs the question: what is the real problem we are trying to solve here?

Let us also be clear about who bears the brunt. Larger contractors with in-house legal teams of compliance officers may be able to absorb these changes, but for small operators, particularly in rural and regional Victoria – those with a handful of employees, those juggling jobs across the state – the risk of being fined or blacklisted from future work is devastating. These are the businesses that are the backbone of our local economies. They deserve support, not suspicion. This bill is just yet another slap in the face for small businesses who have faced a period of unprecedented destruction under the current Allan and former Andrews Labor governments, and this after we had the six lockdowns during COVID-19, which spanned 262 days, that contributed to the widespread destruction of small business. Between 2022 and March 2024 we had 3085 businesses leave Victoria, the largest net departure in Australia. Last year we had 129,000 Victorian businesses also close up shop. We have had 61 new or increased taxes under this Labor government since 2014, further impacting small businesses and their viability. Victoria now ranks the worst in regulatory competitiveness, and we are officially the worst place in Australia to run a business. Then the government goes and introduces this slap-in-the-face bill that punishes, not partners. It says, ‘We don’t trust you, and we’ll fine you if you fall short.’ There is no recognition of the reality that businesses face, like rural skill shortages, costs or supply issues. Rather than flexibility, this bill enshrines rigid punitive compliance mechanisms. It is one of the most tone-deaf bills that the Labor government has put forward this year.

In the Mornington context, as the member for Mornington, I speak daily with local business owners, small business owners, family businesses and their employees who are doing it tough. They are hardworking, community-minded people running things like family cafes, tourism ventures, boat charters, local shops and more. They do not ask for special treatment. They ask, though, for fairness from a government that supports, not stifles, their success and that supports their aspiration and supports local employment. I particularly know this having run small businesses and organisations myself. I take the situation in the last couple of years at Mornington Pier, for example. I fought for businesses like The Rocks cafe and Schnapper Point Kiosk and other businesses like Ocean Bay Fish and Chips who reported an at least 20 to 30 per cent drop in trade during the paid parking trial under the former council – customers stayed away, local jobs were lost and livelihoods were put at risk. At Mornington Boat Hire, around half of its business was impacted. The operator described it as a nightmare to keep the doors open. Following sustained community pressure, that trial was concluded.

But the pressures that this Labor government continue to put on these and other businesses are enormous. More recently we have had the heartbreaking closure of several beloved small businesses in Mornington. After more than 50 years serving our community, John Pugsley’s Mornington Village newsagency has closed its doors, and that is in part attributed to growing rent; there has been a pressure on that because of land tax and everything else that has been put up under this Labor government, as well as other red tape and costs. Mickey Blue, a local clothing store of over 20 years, and Peter Young Shoes, a business of over 30 years, are also closing. Main Desire, a gift shop in Mornington, also closed recently. In Mount Martha, the traders are also struggling. Earlier this year Wok on Bay in Mount Martha, an excellent Chinese restaurant, had to close its doors. Many are being impacted by the increasing taxes and red tape, not helped, for example, by the higher payroll tax we pay on the Mornington Peninsula for being classified by the state government as metropolitan, despite the fact that we hardly get any metropolitan benefits. It is very hard to get young people employed, to start with, because there is a lack of housing and everything else on the peninsula, and to employ young people in particular, it is very hard when you have to pay that higher payroll tax compared to, say, Geelong or Horsham, where I grew up, or elsewhere.

It is sometimes very saddening to walk down Main Street in Mornington or Lochiel Avenue in Mount Martha, or indeed many other places in my electorate. Whenever I see any closed shopfronts, ‘For lease’ signs, businesses who are struggling with few customers, or businesses who are struggling due to higher rents or costs, it is always a terrible thing to see. These shops, some new and some longstanding, have been community hubs, offering jobs, friendship and a sense of belonging to generations of locals. Customers depended on Pugsley’s morning paper, fashion advice at Mickey Blue, expert fittings at Peter Young Shoes, gifts for loved ones at Main Desire and delicious family dinners at Wok on Bay. These are the sorts of businesses that must be supported by the state Labor government as they are integral to local jobs in our area and indeed in many other areas across Victoria. Whether it is in the member for Malvern’s seat or the member for Brighton’s seat or elsewhere in this state, in regional Victoria and metropolitan Victoria and elsewhere, we need to support local jobs and local businesses.

Despite proven track records for many more established businesses, say in Mornington and elsewhere, and wonderful business ideas for the newer ones, our small business owners are drowning in red tape, planning fees and high state taxes. Licence levies, rental pressures and arbitrary regulations consume precious time and resources, often forcing longstanding traders out altogether. This is the reality of doing business under this Allan Labor government, the highest taxing state government in the country, with, as I mentioned, 61 new or increased taxes and a ballooning debt nearing $194 billion, which will soon be nearly $29 million of taxpayer-funded interest every single day and an ever-growing compliance burden. To make matters worse, this government continues to cost-shift responsibilities onto local councils, forcing them to fill gaps by doing things like introducing paid parking, as I mentioned earlier, or other revenue measures that can often devastate local trade and tourism. We must be serious about supporting local jobs and local business, and this is not the way to do it.

Eden FOSTER (Mulgrave) (11:35): I am proud to stand in the chamber today and speak in support of the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. This bill is all about making the Local Jobs First framework stricter, ensuring that Victorian businesses and workers benefit from state government procurement. I want to use this legislation to speak about not only the benefits to my constituency and to small and medium businesses, but also about how, more broadly, this government is creating an economy that works for everyday Victorians.

I would like to begin by broadly summarising the changes in the bill and how they fit into the existing Local Jobs First framework. The Local Jobs First Act 2003, formerly known as the Victorian Industry Participation Policy Act 2003, was delivered under the Bracks Labor government and is focused on promoting employment growth by expanding market opportunities for local industry and encouraging industry development. The Local Jobs First Act 2003 is Australia’s longest-standing industry participation legislation, which provides additional opportunities for Victorian businesses and workers to supply government projects. Since 2014 Local Jobs First has been applied to more than 3000 ‍projects totalling almost $200 billion in government investment. Projects with a value of more than a million dollars in regional Victoria or $3 million in metropolitan Melbourne or statewide activities fall under the Victorian industry participation policy, which encourages small and medium enterprises to tender for the purchase of goods and services. In addition, the major projects skills guarantee, which also falls under the framework, ensures that all construction projects valued at $20 million or more are required to use Victorian apprentices, trainees or cadets for at least 10 per cent of the total estimated labour hours. This has been applied to almost 500 projects worth over $176 billion, supporting close to 20,000 apprentices, trainees and cadets. The changes made in this bill provide the Local Jobs First commissioner with additional investigation and reporting powers, such as the ability to conduct site inspections and to facilitate the resolution of issues regarding potential and actual noncompliance with the act, regulations, Local Jobs First policy or a local industry development plan.

Another key change in this bill strengthens the way strategic projects contribute to local industry. While the act already allows the minister to determine minimum local content requirements for strategic projects – for example, ensuring that a minimum percentage of the total project value is spent on local goods and services – this bill goes further by empowering the minister to set requirements for the use of locally produced uniforms and personal protective equipment on these projects. This reform not only reinforces the government’s commitment to ensuring that funding spent on major projects supports Victorian jobs but also provides a significant boost to our local textile, clothing and footwear industry. By embedding these requirements, we are helping to sustain and grow Victorian manufacturers, creating more opportunities for local suppliers and workers to benefit directly from government investment.

The reforms present in this bill are a result of extensive consultation. The reforms were crafted by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions and take into account feedback from multiple phases of consultation, including written submissions received via the public consultation process on Engage Victoria and targeted consultation with departments and agencies, industry associations, contractors and unions. I would particularly like to note the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance, SEMMA, which is in my neck of the woods, and its comments on this bill:

Local projects should be supplied by local manufacturers first and foremost. Manufacturing locally ensures local jobs, and the economy is stronger.

The reforms in this bill will be implemented in two stages, with some elements beginning the day after royal assent and a majority of reforms commencing on or before 1 July 2026.

If we compare this legislation and its application to the previous time those opposite were in government, it makes it very clear which political party prioritises Victorian workers and jobs. During the Baillieu–Napthine years from 2010 to 2014, only eight projects were declared strategic, with mandatory local content set. It is incredibly telling that, adjusting for the length of this government’s time in office, we have overseen more than 17 times the number of strategic projects. I see this legislation and the Local Jobs First policy framework more broadly as part of this government’s pledge to be a government that fights for everyday Victorians and fosters an economy that works for people, not the other way around.

This framework delivers for Victorians. It ensures that Victorian businesses and workers are the ones that benefit from Victorian government spending. It means jobs in our communities, better wages and stable long-term employment for workers and prosperous small and medium-sized businesses. It is about fostering a community that is about more than profits and productivity. This virtuous cycle benefits more than those who are directly employed by the government. I would like to refer back to SEMMA’s comments, which make the same statement. Take the major projects skills guarantee as an example. In my electorate there are young tradies who are working on the Big Build. Those workers are gaining experience, they have stable employment and it means that they will have the opportunity and the skills to expand their career and perhaps set up their own small business. That small business will then employ future workers. This creates more competition in the industry, and it creates prosperity in the local economy. That prosperity means better public services for everyone, which means a greater standard of living for all – and all of this is before factoring in the benefits that the local projects themselves provide.

If we go back to my community, we can look at the level crossing removal works, we can look at the brand new Noble Park station and we can look at the numerous school and health upgrades that have occurred in the electorate of Mulgrave. That government spending has been a part of this cycle, creating jobs, growing the economy and increasing productivity for my whole community. All of this is part of the reason why Victorians have seen more than 800,000 new jobs created since this government was elected.

I would like to once again reaffirm my strong support for this bill and thank the Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing and his team for the extensive work they have undertaken to bring these reforms forward. The Local Jobs First framework has been a cornerstone of our approach to ensuring that government investment directly benefits Victorian workers, businesses and communities. For more than 20 years it has helped to grow local industries; create good, secure jobs; and support thousands of apprentices, trainees and cadets to start their careers on major government projects. These reforms take that commitment even further, strengthening compliance powers, expanding opportunities for local businesses to supply strategic projects and ensuring that everyday items like uniforms and PPE are made right here in Victoria. By embedding stronger requirements for local content, we are reinforcing an economy that works for people, not just for profits – one that gives Victorian businesses the chance to thrive and gives Victorian workers the opportunities they deserve. This bill is a practical, forward-looking piece of legislation that ensures Local Jobs First will continue to be at the forefront of industrial participation policy well into the future. I am proud to commend this bill to the house, confident that it will deliver lasting benefits for our state, our industries and our communities.

Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (11:45): I rise to make a contribution on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025, and in starting off that contribution I think we would all be in heated agreement about wanting local jobs in our particular regions, but I am afraid that we are spending Parliament’s time debating a bill where we are basically in agreement because the government does not want to debate the National Electricity (Victoria) Amendment (VicGrid Stage 2 Reform) Bill 2025. The government is hiding behind this debate because they are frightened to debate the VicGrid bill. We are going to get less than 2 hours on the VicGrid bill this afternoon. That is an absolute insult to all the people that have been on the front steps of this Parliament over the last few sitting weeks raising concerns about what is being proposed in the VicGrid bill, and we are now having debate stifled so that we actually, on behalf of our constituents, do not get an opportunity to put forward their arguments as to why that bill is so wrong for Victoria and particularly so wrong for regional Victorians where they are going to be forced to host infrastructure, they are going to be forced to have people enter their property against their will, they are going to be fined if they actually stop people going on their property and if someone cuts their locks to get in they will be fined again.

Anthony Cianflone: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, the member is not referring to this bill at all in any way, shape or form. He is foreshadowing potential debate on a bill that is on the agenda but not being debated now. I ask you to draw him back to the bill that is before the house, please.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): As one of the most experienced members of this chamber I think the member for Murray Plains knows that he should be talking about the VicGrid bill later this afternoon. If he could get on track to the Local Jobs First bill, that would be most appreciated.

Peter WALSH: Thank you for your advice, Acting Speaker, but I am talking about local jobs, and that goes to the very heart of what I started to speak about before – that my community and a number of communities close to my electorate are going to be forced to host renewable energy infrastructure and new transmission lines. There are no rules around those projects actually having local content and local jobs. So those projects are going to be built with government subsidies, in some cases by the SEC, as those on the other side proudly talk about all the time, but there is no compulsion on those projects to actually employ local people to do those particular jobs. There is no compulsion on those projects to have Australian procurement of what goes into those projects. If you look at a renewable energy solar farm, there is no large-scale manufacturer of solar panels in Australia, so those projects that are going to be in my electorate and adjoining electorates are going to have solar panels that are made in China. That is not a local manufacturer. Where there are going to be wind towers built, again with government subsidies or under the guise of government instrumentalities, there is no manufacturer of wind towers in Australia, so those wind towers are going to be imported from overseas. Again there is no compulsion for local jobs for solar farms or for wind farms, because the infrastructure is going to come from overseas.

When it comes to large batteries, and the government makes a lot about the large batteries and how that is going to be part of the future, three-quarters of the large batteries in the world are made in China. There is very limited manufacture of large-scale batteries here in Australia. Again, there is no compulsion on those projects that are being put into my community and other regional communities that they actually be manufactured in Australia and that they actually create Australian jobs. They are creating jobs in China and they are creating jobs in Europe; that is not to the benefit of our community. So the government actually needs to walk the talk when it talks about putting local jobs first, because in reality the renewable energy projects that are going to be built will not contain Australian content; it will be imported. So the commitment from the other side of the house is hollow when it comes to renewable energy projects that are going into my electorate.

There are no plans in place to actually handle the redundancy of that infrastructure. So not only are we going to import the solar panels from China, not only are we going to import the wind towers from overseas, but in 20 or 25 years when that infrastructure is redundant and its useful life has ended there is no plan to recycle any of that particular infrastructure. So my communities are going to have their tips filled with solar panels that were imported from China by a government that say they are interested in supporting local jobs when they are not; they are not walking the talk when it comes to those procurement policies for renewable energy projects. There is no consultation with the community around those particular projects. There is lip-service paid. There are people from Melbourne, who have no concept of regional communities, going out and talking to them about these projects. They cannot even talk the same language. It is like Venus and Mars when it comes to those people that come out and talk to my regional communities, and all they do is ostracise those communities by how they treat them and the disrespect that they show to them through that process. They will sprinkle a bit of fairy dust, they will donate a bit of money to the local footy club, thinking that solves all the issues – it does not. These people, as has been demonstrated by being out on the front steps of Parliament now for a number of sitting weeks, are extremely agitated, unhappy and upset about what is happening to them over that time.

The other issue I want to touch on when it comes to local procurement is other government projects. Acting Speaker Addison, no doubt you have had a number of CFA sheds built in your electorate over time. There is a real issue in how they are procured and how locals never get an opportunity to bid on those particular projects. Locals do not actually get to do the work on those particular projects. Those particular projects have an exorbitant cost to them. I know, as over the years I have gone to openings of CFA sheds – communities are very grateful for getting those sheds, and in a lot of instances now with the larger fire trucks, they need a new shed to get the fire truck into the shed – they stand there, as someone from the CFA stands up and says, ‘Well, this project cost X amount of dollars.’ They are farmers generally. They understand the cost of building a shed, they understand what is involved in building a shed, and they just shake their heads in amazement at how much that has cost compared to what they can build a similar shed for on their farm. If the government is serious about getting value for taxpayer money and serious about local procurement, it should actually give the local shed builders an opportunity to build CFA sheds. Get the local shed builders and manufacturers to do it. Get the local electrician to come along and do the wiring work. Do not bring people in from outside all the time to do those particular projects.

To finish off, the other pet hate of mine is again in our electorates, where we get money to do a school upgrade or a hospital upgrade. That is always very welcome for our communities. We all collectively fight very hard for our electorates to get money for those particular projects. But under the government’s procurement policies, local commercial builders are effectively ruled out of bidding on those particular projects, because unless they are of a certain scale under the government’s rules, they do not get to bid. That means that they never, ever get a chance at those particular projects. So those on the other side might want to talk about local jobs, talk about how they are helping their community get that, but in regional communities the commercial builders very rarely get an opportunity to bid on government projects because the rules exclude them from it. That means someone from Melbourne gets the project. They may or may not use some locals as subbies to do it. Quite often the offer to the subbies is not good enough for the locals to do the work, so they bring people from Melbourne in to be the subbies on those particular projects. So nearly all the money that would have gone to a local builder, to local subbies, to local tradies, is actually channelled back to Melbourne. The best that the locals can get is some accommodation and meals out of those people actually living in the town while they build those particular projects. If the government is serious about having local content and local people involved from a regional point of view, it should change the rules so regional builders and regional tradies can get a fair go at tendering for those particular projects.

The other thing that you find – and I have had it personally with people coming to my office around renewable energy projects – on some other government projects is that there is a particular legal entity that has the project contract, and when subbies do not get paid – and it quite often happens that people from outside will come in and they will employ locals as subbies – they will have a big fight to get their money. It is just plain wrong that all of a sudden ABC proprietary limited becomes DEF proprietary limited, and then there is a fight about who had the actual head contract and who should pay the subbies. If you are serious about jobs first locally, again there need to be some rules around the fact that a company cannot morph from one entity to another entity and then try and cheat and not pay their tradies in what they do with the subbies there. There are a lot of platitudes from the other side of the house, but from a regional point of view I think this actually fails regional communities.

Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (11:55): I rise to support the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. In doing so I would like to acknowledge the Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing and Minister for Creative Industries, his office, his team and his department for their work in bringing this bill to the house and all other relevant ministers involved. We know fundamentally the important role job creation plays in not only the state’s prosperity but the prosperity of every household, family and individual, because a job is more than just a pay cheque – it provides a sense of purpose, achievement and certainty for every family. The foundations of helping people to aspire and meet cost-of-living needs is the essential role of jobs that very much underpin the socio-economic wellbeing and prosperity of our entire community. Providing safe, secure and good paying jobs for people of all backgrounds and experiences is at the heart of any resilient, vibrant community.

That is why since 2014 we have continued to place job creation, skills and training and learning at the heart of our economic management approach. Driven by our Big Build infrastructure program, our Local Jobs First Act 2003 and our ongoing investment in frontline services, including education, health and community services, Victoria is leading all other states in terms of real economic growth, which has remained the case over the last decade. We have added over $138 billion in value and worth to the Victorian economy. Gross state product, GSP, has increased by 1.5 per cent over the 2023–24 period. The economy is now 11.5 per cent larger than prior to the pandemic. Our economy has grown by over 9 per cent in the last two years alone, according to Deloitte. We have continued to generate record numbers of jobs – almost 900,000 jobs have been created since 2014. We have continued to keep downward pressure on unemployment rates. We have supported our business and industries to grow, with more than 113,000 new businesses having been created and opened across Victoria in the last five years. That is 18 per cent growth – higher than any other state in percentage terms. Business investment has grown by 30 per cent since 2020–21, higher than the largest percentage growth of any state, reaching record high shares of overall economic activity. Business investment grew by 3.7 per cent over the year to December 2024, compared to negative 0.1 per cent nationally.

When it comes to the approval and construction of new homes, we had supported over 61,000 new home completions as of January 2025, an 8.8 per cent increase year on year, and we have continued to lead the nation when it comes to home approvals. Record numbers of people continue, importantly, to want to visit, move to and live in Victoria, with Melbourne being the most livable city in Australia and 11.9 million international visitors coming to Victoria – record levels. Across many of our economic, financial and socio-economic metrics, despite international economic, trade and inflationary challenges, global geopolitical tensions and international uncertainty, the reality is that Victoria’s economy is continuing to grow in a positive, stable and resilient manner, all underpinned by our work to create, sustain and support more jobs for more Victorians. Many of these jobs have been directly and indirectly created thanks to our Big Build infrastructure pipeline and our historic Local Jobs First Act.

The Local Jobs First Act is Australia’s longest standing industry participation legislation and has been supporting Victorian businesses and workers for over 20 years – a legacy of the Bracks–Brumby governments. Since coming to office we have continued to strengthen the act, including via the new Local Jobs First Act, in which we established the role of Local Jobs First commissioner and strengthened strategic project listings, with all projects valued at $50 million or above automatically classified as strategic projects as well as any other projects agreed to by government. Opportunities are available to local industry and workers to contribute to high-value goods, services and construction projects. We have strengthened the act to mandate minimum local content on all major projects, including a 90 per cent minimum on construction projects so that local jobs and businesses grow thanks to these investments. We have enshrined our flagship major projects skills guarantee, requiring that a percentage of work on these projects must go to local apprentices, trainees and cadets. The major projects skills guarantee applies to all Victorian government construction projects valued at or above $20 million. The skills guarantee projects include a requirement for a contractor to deliver at least 10 ‍per cent of labour hours using apprentices, trainees and cadets.

When combined, since 2014 Local Jobs First has been applied to 3185 projects worth over $197 billion in government investment, ensuring that Victorian businesses and workers, apprentices, trainees and cadets benefit from this procurement. Additionally, Local Jobs First local content requirements have been set on 382 strategic projects, supporting more than 60,000 jobs and enabling local companies to compete for both large and small government contracts for Victoria’s largest projects. Since its introduction, the major projects skills guarantee has been applied to 480 projects worth over $176 billion and supported almost 20,000 apprentices, trainees and cadets to secure employment on Victoria’s largest construction projects.

Of course some of these major projects of statewide significance that have benefited businesses and workers include the Metro rail tunnel, the Melbourne Airport rail project, the level crossing removal program, the West Gate Tunnel, the North East Link, the western ring road M80 upgrade, the Mickleham Road upgrade, the Austin Hospital redevelopment, the Northern Hospital upgrade, the new Footscray Hospital, the Orygen youth mental health project, the State Library redevelopment, the Melbourne Convention Centre expansion, the Melbourne Arts Precinct expansion, the Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena redevelopment, the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Parkville down the road from my area, the Werribee Open Range Zoo expansion to see the new elephants, the Fitzroy Gasworks project, the new Victoria Police Centre and so much more. At a local level across Merri-bek, my community, we have numerous projects that have also benefited from these measures, including the Upfield level crossing removal through Coburg, the $115 million Brunswick tram terminal redevelopment, the $22.5 million Coburg special school project, the $21 million Strathmore Secondary College technology and arts hub, the $20 million Newlands Primary School redevelopment, Development Victoria’s avenue housing project and, again, many other projects that are benefiting my community economically and socially, locally.

However, with the act having been amended seven years ago, this bill will continue to strengthen the intent, operation and oversight to further maximise those opportunities for local industries and jobs and workers to benefit. In summary, the bill will clarify and strengthen the mechanisms that support compliance with and enforcement of local industry development plan commitments; provide the Local Jobs First commissioner with additional investigation and reporting powers, including a power to conduct site inspections with notice; introduce stronger consequences for noncompliance with local industry development plans and the act, including the deprioritisation scheme; civil penalties for noncompliance with the commissioner’s information-gathering powers, including the new site inspection power; and contingent payment mechanisms for agencies to include inappropriate contracts. It will clarify and strengthen existing policies and procedures under the act, incorporate additional Local Jobs First objectives and explicitly allow the minister responsible for the act to set requirements to use a specified amount of locally produced uniform and personal protective equipment, PPE, on strategic projects.

When combined, the bill of course will also acquit our government’s 2022 election commitment and ensure that Local Jobs First is fit for purpose and continues to meet contemporary expectations. But it is a bill that also builds on our broader whole-of-government approach to creating more opportunities for Victorian businesses, workers and apprentices. Acting Speaker Mullahy, you will appreciate this. I am proud to be part of the Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee, which is now undertaking a new inquiry into student pathways and in-demand industries. Over 1.4 million workers will be needed in Victoria by 2034, and 85 per cent of those workers and jobs will need post-secondary qualifications. The inquiry is going to be exploring how we can do better in that space, and that is why free TAFE is so important. We have been committed to bringing back free TAFE, which has been at the foundation of this approach – 80 free TAFE courses, over 200,000 Victorians have accessed free TAFE, saving students on average $3000 per course.

But of course this is in stark contrast to the Liberals, who undertook record cuts when it came to TAFE. They ripped $1 billion out of the TAFE system. The Liberals shut 22 TAFE campuses. The Liberals sacked 2000 TAFE teachers. At the last federal election do not forget it was Peter Dutton and Senator Sarah Henderson who came out and said they opposed free TAFE, and I wonder why they lost the federal election. In droves, people turned away from the Liberals because of that position. On local projects it is also because of our work through local jobs that we are creating more jobs. Again, this is in stark contrast to the Liberals. We have approved 382 strategic projects through the strategic projects pipeline and 480 projects through the skills guarantee. The Liberals, in contrast, when they were in office between 2010 and 2014, approved how many projects? Eight projects, and they left office with Victoria having a record-high unemployment rate at the time of almost 7 per cent.

Notwithstanding that, they have come into this chamber to move a reasoned amendment to essentially pause and defer further consideration of this bill, which I can assure the opposition, if that were to be the case, would make things worse for Victorian businesses and workers, providing fewer opportunities for Victorian businesses and workers to benefit from our local major projects. We know the Liberals are only concerned about one job, and that is the job of the Leader of the Opposition. They have turned over that many leaders of the opposition, but they are also creating more jobs in the legal system with the amount of court cases, subpoenas and hearings that are taking place. That is the way they are generating jobs. We are generating jobs on the ground through grassroots communities.

Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (12:05): Given the member for Pascoe Vale’s performance on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025, I feel as though I could be speaking about rainbows, ponies, unicorns, whatever the hell I want to talk about, because as much as I have regard and respect for the member for Pascoe Vale, he did waste the opportunity to speak on something which should be deeply important to every member of this place. He missed that opportunity, and that is a great, great, great shame. It is a great shame because it is a government bill that is proposed. I mean, we have only heard the government talking points on this bill, I do not know, at least 15 or 20 times before, and according to the government this is the best thing since sliced bread and then some. Clearly the member for Pascoe Vale actually got through those government-issued and sanctioned talking points far too quickly and so therefore decided to turn his attention on attacking the opposition, as opposed to using the opportunity he had to speak in this place to talk about the great things that the government is doing, or he just got fed up with the talking points, did not believe the talking points that were government sanctioned and decided to have a crack at us anyway. The first thing I want to do in my contribution today is thank the shadow minister, the member for Kew, for her analysis and contribution that she made on this bill just yesterday.

Jess Wilson interjected.

Brad ROWSWELL: On Tuesday, in fact. It is not an easy job to do that, but she has done a stellar job in preparing the position of the opposition. As you will be aware, Acting Speaker, and I am sure the chamber will be aware, the member for Kew has proposed a reasoned amendment that the coalition is moving that addresses the potential financial impact on Victorian businesses, particularly small operators in rural and regional areas, and provides a forecast of the budget impact of the measures contained in this bill. I think everyone in this place, certainly from the major parties, can agree that the principle of Local Jobs First should be something that we all subscribe to. Who does not want to see another Victorian, who does not want to see another Australian, in a highly paid job? We know that when you are in a well-paid job you are not just providing for yourself but providing for your family. You are contributing to your community in the greatest possible sense of the word. You are standing on your own two feet, and you are not being reliant upon others. You are a lifter. You are a leader. These are all wonderful principles that I would like to think that at least the two major parties in this chamber agree on.

But we do have concerns with this bill, and it is not just the opposition that has concerns with this bill. It is also stakeholders which have concerns with this bill. For example, Master Builders Victoria have issues with this bill, and they in fact wrote to the member for Narracan, my friend and colleague Mr Farnham, dated 22 July 2025:

While our industry supports the intent of Local Jobs First –

which is, as I said, something which I think should be a nonpartisan approach –

to maximise local jobs and business opportunities, our members are increasingly concerned that the scheme, and the proposed changes, is likely to create more burden than benefit for many small and medium builders. We are also concerned that some of the requirements are not possible to comply with in areas or regions with smaller, transient, and less diverse workforces.

A great idea, but clearly from the Master Builders’ perspective, their assertion is that the government actually has not considered this to its fullest. The Master Builders go on to say:

It is also deeply disappointing that genuine industry consultation on these reforms has been so limited.

There we have it: at a principles level, great; at a practical level, terrible. Why? Because the government come into this place having gesticulated amongst themselves in their ivory towers, far removed from the realities that the Master Builders and their members are operating in, proposing legislation that practically will not help, will cause greater issues and may not be achievable. It says something, I think, about a government when, after a decade, the feedback from stakeholders, well-respected and well-regarded stakeholders like Master Builders Victoria, is: ‘At a principles level this is hunky-dory. We agree with this, but government, do better. You could have done this in a better way.’ That is something which the member for Kew in her contribution on Tuesday made a point on and which I wholeheartedly agree with. The government in this instance, in our view, has not made the case for change when it comes to this bill. They have not provided case studies or examples of businesses flouting what they assert is noncompliance. They have not made the case that projects are consistently departing from their local content requirements, that local apprentices are being denied work on government sites or that local subcontractors are missing out on government work. They have not made the case that there is one example which they can draw upon or point to where the current framework has failed. At an aspirational level, terrific, Local Jobs First sounds amazing, and we agree. But the reality is that they have not made the case that people are flouting the rules at the minute.

I continue to have a great interest in our state’s economic potential. Let us have a frank conversation. If this government truly valued the opportunity to create opportunity and economic opportunity in this state, then riddle me this: why would this government simply sit idly by and accept that 60 new or increased taxes is the way to strengthen an economy? You cannot tax your way back to prosperity, and this government has put the absolute go-slows on economic opportunity in this state. They have put the go-slows on the private sector creating the wealth and the opportunity for Victorians.

If the government’s strategy is simply to rely upon the public sector to create that wealth and to create that opportunity, we know, because we have seen it before, that that is a very short-term solution – in fact it is not a solution at all. We support the work of the Local Jobs First program in promoting local industry development within government projects. It is entirely appropriate that government-funded projects, wherever possible, incentivise local job creation and local businesses. It is also appropriate that government-funded projects support our apprentices and trainees with opportunities to learn their trade with on-the-job experience. But this bill is not about whether or not we support the Local Jobs First program; this bill is about whether we support punitive action being taken against businesses who are not able to meet their industry development targets.

Again, you cannot tax your way to prosperity, and this is what this Labor government over the last 10, almost 11, years has supported and has promoted. They have created an economic mess in this state. They think that their way of getting out of it is to tax Victorians more. What they are actually doing is denying Victorians the opportunity to live their best lives independent of reliance upon government. That is the reality.

This policy is in many respects tinkering around the edges. It is actually making things harder for Victorian industry and harder for Victoria’s private sector rather than easier. That is the feedback that the state’s alternative government have had from our engagement with stakeholders. We encourage the government – unlike what the master builders have said, and that is, ‘We regret the lack of deep consultation we have had with the government on this matter’ – to use the time between this bill being considered in this place and the other place to better engage with stakeholders on these issues. We get that we can be doing better, but the way that the government has proposed we do better will only be punitive and will only impact the private sector to a point where the aspiration of this bill to create local jobs will not actually eventuate.

Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (12:15): I rise today with great pleasure to speak on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. I do want to commence by just stating for the record that I listened intently to the member for Pascoe Vale’s contribution, and I thought he spoke quite eloquently on this bill, despite the aspersions cast by the member for Sandringham. No one can doubt the member for Pascoe Vale’s absolute passion for jobs. In fact no one can doubt the passion of anyone on this side of the chamber for the value of decent pay for decent work. It is literally the underpinning foundation of the proud labour movement around the world. That is why we are here, that is what we stand for and that is why we bring this bill before the house today.

This bill is about putting our state of Victoria first. It is about putting workers and businesses and our future first, because we do understand the importance of prioritising local jobs and ensuring the benefits to communities from large government projects. The member for Sandringham has just left, which is a bit of a shame, because I did want to mention it in terms of the strength of our economy. I think we should just put that on the record. I am sure some of my colleagues have probably done this, and I may have missed that. For the purposes of today, 870,000 jobs have been created since we were elected. That is an astonishing figure, and that goes up to 17 July – what an extraordinary number. It does not happen by accident; often it happens by design. I think we can be quite proud of our achievements here. That is why, as I say, we are bringing this bill before the house, because we cannot just rest on our laurels; there is always more to be done.

For over 20 years the Local Jobs First Act 2003 has been a cornerstone of our efforts to promote employment growth and expand market opportunities for Victorian businesses. It has actually supported over 60,000 local jobs and has been applied to 396 strategic projects worth $190 billion, including across my beautiful district of Monbulk. Sometimes it can be easy when you hear those big figures, when you speak about numbers in that quantity, to forget that behind each number is a person and behind each person is often a family. They rely upon those jobs, and we are very, very proud that we play quite a significant part in ensuring that they get them.

It is unsurprising that the act, known originally as the Victorian Industry Participation Policy Act 2003, was delivered under the Bracks government. We are just continuing to strengthen it here today. You can contrast our actions and legislation with the four years of the Baillieu–Napthine governments when the grand total of eight – I will say that one more time: eight – projects were declared strategic.

Paul Edbrooke interjected.

Daniela DE MARTINO: No. The member for Frankston may have misheard. He thought I may have said 80. Eight – count them on two hands. They only declared eight to be strategic, with mandatory local content set. How utterly shameful.

When I think about my area, we have the amazing Belgrave car park. It is not even two years old yet. This has been one of the strategic projects. I met with several workers on that project several times, and it was evident that it provided many, many benefits to the local economy through its construction, let alone the benefits we now continue to enjoy as commuters. People coming to visit Puffing Billy have a place to park without taking up the back car park and upsetting the local businesses there. It is a great modern car park with incredible accessible car spaces and EV chargers as well, so one of the few places across the hills where you can charge your car. Knowing that local businesses and workers directly benefited from participating in the construction of this great project warms the heart. It adds to the long-term benefit, because at the time it created jobs and it stimulated local businesses as well.

Another strategic project which is upcoming in the district of Monbulk is the Cardinia Reservoir safety upgrade. The reservoir was constructed between 1970 and 1973 to the best standards of its time, of course, but since then, a good 50-odd years later, as one would hope, dam design standards have improved. This proposed upgrade is going to ensure that the reservoir complies with best practice dam safety management standards. It is not a little job; it is a very large project. Through our legislation supporting local jobs, through this very act that we are seeking to amend today with the bill, all consultants are required to preference solutions that maximise the use of local materials, finishes, products, goods and services in construction, including fittings, fixtures and equipment and modern methods of construction wherever possible. The minimal local content – here is another number – for this project is 96 per cent. That is a superb figure if ever I heard one.

Our Local Jobs First Act has promoted employment growth and encouraged industry development, but of course there is always more to do, and this bill is the next step to ensure that money invested stays here, unlike those opposite who made sure that when they sold off our utilities, the SEC, all those profits over time went overseas. That is disgraceful. We are about keeping it here, because we understand that if you want a strong local economy you have to encourage investment into the local economy and not allow companies and businesses to put their profits and their interests above all else and just send it off overseas.

This bill introduces critical reforms to enhance the powers of the Local Jobs First commissioner, ensuring stronger compliance and enforcement measures. Suppliers will now be required to meet their commitments to local content, jobs and the major projects skills guarantee, which mandates that at least 10 per cent of labour hours on large projects are completed by apprentices, trainees or cadets. When I was in the union back in 2013, the 2012 review was underway of the modern awards system, and one of them was the adult apprentices case. It was a major case. I was not the industrial officer on it – my dear friend and colleague Ms Jane Willey was – but I remember sitting there with her going over it and really understanding the impact that it has made. We need apprentices to have good jobs; we need them to have great opportunities. They are our future tradespeople. Without a good pipeline of apprentices coming through, we are all in big trouble down the track when there is no-one there to build anything or fix the electrics or the plumbing, all the fun things out there that I have absolutely no skill in achieving. We need our apprentices skilled up. Ensuring that there is that local component in these strategic projects makes sure that there is stability there for apprentices. It is fundamentally vital for all of us.

The measures that we are introducing in this bill resolve ambiguities in the current act and ensure that Victorian workers and businesses are prioritised, and the commissioner’s powers will be expanded to include site inspections, investigations and reporting on compliance. Suppliers who fail to meet their commitments will face consequences including deprioritisation for future government tenders, financial penalties or conditional payments tied to local content deliverables, and rightly so. What is the point of having requirements if there is nothing there to ensure that they are being adhered to? If we require something of someone, there has to be a way to ensure that we enforce compliance if they cease to do what is required of them. So it only makes sense, and it is not a blacklist but a mechanism to disincentivise noncompliance and provide agencies with information on poor past performance. It is a bit of clarity there for everyone involved to be able to see exactly what the situation has been.

This bill also introduces a new power for the minister to set requirements for locally produced uniforms and PPE on strategic projects, and this reinforces our commitment to supporting Victoria’s textile, clothing and footwear industries. I think that is also incredibly important. We see our federal government has also got the priority of ensuring that we increase our local manufacturing. Never was it more apparent than during COVID how important having sovereign capability is for those things, and in order for that to always be around you need to ensure that we are supporting local manufacturing too, so this requirement for PPE to be more local is a great way to ensure a pipeline of work there.

We are expanding opportunities for Aboriginal and regional businesses, ensuring equitable participation in Local Jobs First projects, and by encouraging the use of local content at every stage of a project and promoting Australian standards we are reducing barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises and fostering regional economic development. There are two projects – outside of my area, but I think they are worth highlighting. The Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre achieved 90.7 ‍per cent of local content and exceeded the major projects skills guarantee with 11.41 per cent, and the Geelong Arts Centre redevelopment achieved 93.4 per cent local content and exceeded the skills guarantee. The local member for Geelong is very pleased about that fact indeed, as are we all because these projects demonstrate tangible benefits of prioritising local businesses and workers.

Once again I come back to the fundamental principles which underpin the labour movement around the world. It is decent pay for decent work, and wherever we can we will pull the levers of government to ensure that that is what Victorians can expect here. They should expect nothing less of us, and I am fundamentally proud that that is what we continue to do every day as the government in this wonderful state of Victoria. I commend the bill to the house.

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (12:26): Unfortunately I am not thrilled. I know, what a surprise, after three days of debating this bill on local jobs when we should be debating a very important bill on the VicGrid legislation, which farmers have been protesting on the front steps about on numerous occasions. If this government professes to care so much about local jobs, let us talk about strengthening local jobs in the regions, which are supported by which industry? The agriculture industry – and not only in terms of those that work the land but the apprentices that they employ. My husband has got an apprentice in the workshop. There are apprentices in mechanics; there are apprenticeships and traineeships all throughout the ag sector, not to mention the generational farmers that work the land. They are the local jobs that matter to regional Victorians, and the fact that we cannot move on from this bill on the third day that it is being debated – we all agree with local jobs, but three days debating a bill that we actually do not oppose when we are being stopped from debating a bill that clearly regional –

A member interjected.

Jade BENHAM: They are afraid. Clearly regional communities oppose these draconian laws that will allow VicGrid employees to enter land. Let me give you a scenario. If there is –

Paul Edbrooke: On a point of order, Acting Speaking, can you please bring the speaker on her feet back to the bill.

The ACTING SPEAKER (John Mullahy): I ask the member for Mildura to come back to the bill, please.

Jade BENHAM: Of course they are going to want to come back to the bill and not speak about a bill that is on the business program later in the day, because they are afraid to. Clearly they are filibustering all day so that we do not get to the extraordinarily long list of people that want to speak on the National Electricity (Victoria) Amendment (VicGrid Stage 2 Reform) Bill 2025, which goes towards the safety of regional communities as well. I have had people that are employed on farms – if we are talking about local jobs, we are –

A member interjected.

Jade BENHAM: I am talking about local jobs – local jobs in the regions and the ones that actually matter to them. On farms, which can be terribly isolating, the fact that mothers can be home with their children, sometimes for weeks on end, particularly during harvest, and people that are unauthorised and unwelcome are able to enter that farmland when they are already there alone is frightening. It is frightening, because they have people working in local jobs, on projects, on farms –

Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, on relevance, this does not seem to have anything to do with the bill but rather a completely different bill that is not before the house.

The ACTING SPEAKER (John Mullahy): I remind the member for Mildura to debate the bill that is currently before the house.

Jade BENHAM: Sure. I am talking about local jobs in the regions, and I understand that those on the other side do not want to talk about local jobs in the regions. This government will pat themselves on the back for mandating locally made PPE on a rail project in the city, but at the same time they are making it harder and harder for our farmers to grow food, run livestock and export their produce. Let us talk about this job: they will demand Australian-made uniforms while slapping red tape, land grabs and unworkable energy infrastructure all over prime agricultural land, but well done for supporting Australian-made and locally made PPE on government worksites.

Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, please bring the member back to this bill.

Jess Wilson: On the point of order, Acting Speaker, the member for Mildura is being entirely relevant to the bill. She is talking about local content and giving a prime example of where it is not the case.

The ACTING SPEAKER (John Mullahy): I ask the member for Mildura to come to the bill before the house.

Jade BENHAM: Sorry, Acting Speaker, I actually thought this was entirely about the bill when we were talking about locally made PPE. Government infrastructure projects are entirely relevant to this bill. The fact that I am pointing out some facts in other areas I know is a little bit scary for those on the other side and they do not want to talk about it – that has been made obvious by debating this bill for three days in a row now – but this is entirely relevant. In Mildura and across the Mallee the farming and agriculture sector is the backbone of that economy, and government-supported projects and government infrastructure projects now are threatening generational farms – and not just farms but also transport, logistics, food manufacturing and regional exporters. They are local jobs. Local infrastructure projects – government worksites – are going through private land. See where the grey areas are here and why regional communities are so upset? So this is entirely relevant to this bill.

Let me give you an example. The horticulture sector in Sunraysia alone contributes $1 billion annually. It employs thousands of people, including, like I said, local apprentices and trainees. And yet when growers are crying out against government projects that come through that land, this government does not want to talk about it. To say that it is not relevant and that these bills do not cross over is an absolute insult to those that have had to come to the front steps of Parliament week after week to try to be heard. It is very clear that those on the other side have never heard the statement ‘Two ears, one mouth; use them in that order.’

Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston) (12:31): I thought the member for Mildura had a bit more in her – a bit more to go. I am indeed humbled to rise and speak on the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025. I think I will be the first speaker in the last 10 minutes who does touch on that bill, with respect.

Jade Benham interjected.

Paul EDBROOKE: I think you did give it a bit of a touch on the way through, member for Mildura ‍– a glancing blow. I have listened intently to this debate over the past little while, and what I have seen as a theme from those opposite is a talking down of Victoria as an economy. A crucial part of the economy, obviously, is jobs – they are the backbone of the economy. I will point out the member for Murray Plains. I was in the chair yesterday, and the member for Murray Plains made some really good points. As someone who is from the region, I think they were pragmatic points and well made. Apart from that, though, I have heard a number of members essentially talking Victoria down.

You do not have to go far to see that Victoria is on the up. Even released today was some Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicating that retail trade in Victoria is up 1.2 per cent this month and 5.8 ‍per cent over the year, which is higher than the retail trade in Australia. That tells a story. It is far from me to be giving lessons to those opposite, but – without giving a history lesson – when we came to government in 2014 we inherited the highest unemployment rate on the mainland, and now the Victorian economy is growing. It has grown faster over the last decade than any other state, and the Victorian economy is 31 per cent larger than when we came to government in 2014. So let us compare that: the highest unemployment on the mainland in the nation in 2014, and the economy now is 31 per cent larger under this government. I do not think people across the aisle are spreading mistruths, I just think the data they have got at times is absolutely cherrypicked. In the year to June 2025 Victoria’s unemployment rate averaged 4.4 per cent, remaining below the prepandemic average of 5.5 per cent. That is another measure of how an economy performs.

This bill today reinforces where we should be. It is another foundation to work off, and I know from personal experience, as the member for Frankston and from having seen the $1.1 billion Frankston Hospital build, the largest hospital build outside of metropolitan Melbourne – and I say that only to exclude Footscray, because they slightly pip us at the post there – and from having seen 8000 workers on a job site in a day with local materials and with locally made PPE, that it boosts our local economy. To hear those opposite talking about the lack of business investment in Victoria is another thing that, while it is not really in the confines of this bill, relates to this bill. Having just come from a meeting with a billion-dollar business that invests in Victoria and that has over 300 workers at this stage and has expanded to more than double in 15 months, I hear different from businesses to those opposite. I do agree with the opposition, though. They are right when they say the government does not create jobs. Fair enough. The government creates the environment to make it fertile for businesses to create jobs. I get that in the most. We have made that fertile ground for the 113,000 businesses added to our economy since June 2020 and for the creation of 651,600 jobs since September 2020.

A member interjected.

Paul EDBROOKE: I heard someone interject over there about other businesses – startups. As the member for Frankston, I do not see it much in Frankston, but as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer I meet with the CEOs of unicorns. For those out there, I am not talking about ponies with horns on their heads; I am talking about startups that have reached the billion-dollar revenue stage. Victoria is home to 3500 startups. They are scaling as we speak. Those unicorns add to that ecosystem, and it was worth around $132 billion as of last year. That is huge. The economy is going strong, and to hear the opposition use this bill as an opportunity to talk down our economy is really undermining the fact that with the challenges we have had with COVID, we are coming through – we have progressed. We have got a plan and we are sticking to it, and it actually is working.

We have heard some people not telling mistruths but maybe misunderstandings about what this bill is about. I think you have just got to go back to the thought that jobs are the backbone of the economy. Anything we can do to ensure that we are creating fertile ground for jobs to be created is a good thing. You can use this bill as a force multiplier. What we are doing here is creating jobs off jobs, essentially. We are making sure that we use local materials and local skills, making sure that there are groups that are not majority that get the chance to get the skills they need to get the jobs they want as well. But this is what a good government does, and this is not something that has just been catalysed in Victoria. We have used the lessons financially and economically from overseas to make sure this happens.

Someone yesterday on the opposition benches mentioned housing. It is fine to talk about housing; it is another thing entirely to be able to produce housing. Houses take jobs. You need people who are qualified and plenty of them to build the houses that we need in Victoria and the houses that this government is supporting. For those who want to argue the point, I would ask the house, with your permission, Acting Speaker: how many new houses are approved for construction every single day in Victoria? Anyone got any ideas? How many? Got an answer here?

Cindy McLeish: On a point of order on relevance, Acting Speaker, the member knows that he is out of order with his question, and I ask you just to bring him back to the bill.

The ACTING SPEAKER (John Mullahy): I remind the member for Frankston to put his comments through the Chair.

Paul EDBROOKE: I appreciate that and appreciate being brought back into order. It is something you should not have to do all the time, and I apologise for that. More than 153 new homes are approved for construction every day in Victoria. Extrapolate that out into how many jobs that means, how many people it takes to build a house. I do not know. I am not even sure how many trades it takes – at least five or six trades, if not more – to fit out the whole structure. That is actually 9500 more than New South Wales in the year to May 2025. The Victorian economy is something that I think we have taken our lessons on from overseas. We have picked what works; we have brought it into our economy.

The last thing I want to talk about is regional Victoria. We have the strongest representation of regional Victoria in our lower house and in the other place as well. Regional unemployment is at a low of 3.6 ‍per cent in the three months to May this year. The Allan Labor government also has the lowest regional payroll tax in the country, just 1.2125 per cent, saving regional businesses an estimated $2.5 billion. While I know that is not answering the questions of a lot of those regional members opposite, I think they should actually take that into account, that there are different levers that maybe they would not choose to use that this government has chosen to use to make sure we are the catalyst for jobs and we are the catalyst for growth. This bill goes a long way to making sure that in the future, jobs, like everything from the $1.1 billion Frankston Hospital to the homes that will be built in almost each and every electorate, have skilled labourers that are using local skills, locally made product and locally made PPE. I think, as I said before, that is a force multiplier – jobs upon jobs – and it is something that people on this side of the house certainly support. I commend this bill to the house.

Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (12:41): I rise to speak about the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025 before we go to lunch. From the outset I would like to underscore what we have said all along on this side of the house: that the coalition supports the work of the Local Jobs First program in promoting local industry development within government projects. In fact we believe it is appropriate that government-funded projects are incentivised to create local jobs and support local businesses. It is also a good thing that government-funded projects support our apprentices and trainees with opportunities to learn their trade with on-the-job experience. In fact I have just come into the Economy and Infrastructure Committee with you, Acting Speaker Mullahy, where we have started embarking on this inquiry into student pathways into in-demand industries. We know that this is something that is really important. We know that we need to promote local jobs. We know that we want to create these pathways for our local students, particularly when there are workforce shortages in these in-demand industries. So it is something really important, Acting Speaker, as you well know, being on that same committee.

This bill, though, is not about whether or not the coalition support the Local Jobs First program. The issue at hand is, to quote Master Builders Victoria on this particular bill, that this bill is ‘all stick and no carrot’. If we are talking about incentivising, incentivising is fantastic. But if it is all stick and no carrot, if it is about punishing those that cannot meet these requirements, that is unfair on these businesses, and it is particularly unfair on small businesses who are not maybe able to meet these targets. This bill is about whether we support punishing businesses who are not able to meet their industry development targets.

We already know it is hard enough to run a small business in Victoria. It was as early as 2021 that the Australian Financial Review named Victoria as the worst place to do business in Australia. What an indictment of those opposite that they have burdened small businesses with tax after tax and red tape upon red tape to make it the worst place to do business in Australia. It is shame on them. And just today there are leaked documents from that side of the house, the Labor Party, where they are about to go to their conference where they deliberate on policy for Victorians. They are talking about this leaked document that has shown that there are more taxes that Victoria has to look forward to, thanks to this Allan Labor government, which has already killed and crippled small businesses in our state. Fancy your new Treasurer in fact meeting with stakeholders in property development and investment, saying, ‘What’s your favourite tax?’ Talk about tone-deaf.

Land tax on side hustles is something that I have been speaking about in my community. It is absolutely an issue, and it is something that I have raised that Labor is –

Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, could you request the member speaks through the Chair rather than the camera?

The ACTING SPEAKER (John Mullahy): There is no point of order.

Nicole WERNER: What can I say? There are people in our community wanting to hear from us. My social media is growing, and there are people that are wanting to hear us prosecute this message against the government. They might laugh on that side of the house. They might laugh that Victorians are now having to pay the most taxes in all of Australia. They might laugh and they might jest about the fact that we are paying, in interest alone, $1.2 million every single hour in this state, unlike any other state. They might laugh and they might find that amusing, but Victorians do not find that amusing. Victorians do not find it amusing that you have bankrupted this state. Victorians do not find it amusing that they have small businesses they are having to sell because they cannot afford the taxes that you have put on these small businesses, which are crippling them.

Back to what I was saying, I got a bit fiery in that moment because I am here fighting for my community, because I am here fighting for the small businesses in my electorate, the small business owners in my electorate that speak to me day in, day out about the burden of taxes that this government has put upon them, about how they are struggling to make ends meet and they are needing to sell their small businesses because of the taxes that have been put upon them, only to find out today through this leaked document that shows that Labor is wanting to put even more taxes upon Victorian people because of the way they have bankrupted our state.

I have got a few comments from people within my community who have written to me. This is Dave:

I’m paying land tax of nearly $2500. I have a home business … small mechanic business, just myself. Nearly all my profit is going to pay land tax.

Simon wrote to me and said:

My bill went from $9000 to $21,000 for land tax. This is extortion not tax … You cannot have a business in Victoria as they will tax you out of existence …

Ken from my community wrote to me. He says his business land tax was $12,500 in 2015 and now in 2025 it is $203,000. He said that they need ‘approx $1 million in sales just to pay land tax’. Ruth from my community wrote to me and said it is:

$1800 from land tax. Mum n Dad investor having to pay off over time. This is for our retirement!

This is the matter at hand: this is a hypocritical bill. This is a hypocritical bill from those opposite, who are pretending to promote local jobs whilst in the same breath, crippling and doing everything they can to shut down small businesses in Victoria. I hear from people in my electorate all the time about how this government’s taxes are killing their small businesses. On the land tax that we have just been prosecuting, they have reduced the threshold for land tax. Here in Victoria, if you have a side hustle, if you are a hairdresser, if you are a personal trainer, if you are someone that has a start-up from your home because with the cost-of-living crisis you thought, ‘Maybe I’ll try and make ends meet by having some other business so that I can try and cover my bills. I can try and cover my kids’ school fees or uniforms’ or whatever it is, this affects you. There are people that are really stretching themselves and going the extra mile to work extra jobs, work extra hours so that they can make ends meet in this cost-of-living crisis, and our heart goes out to them. In March last year the threshold for land tax was lowered. If you do a side hustle in your house and you earn over $30,000, if you use a portion of your house and that is valued at $50,000 – it was previously $300,000 – you now have to pay land tax. Every side hustle, every personal trainer, every hairdresser is going to be stung by this Labor government that has squandered Victorian taxpayers money and is trying to make up for it by taxing ordinary Victorians who are just trying to make ends meet. That is what this land tax has done. These are the examples that I have from within my community.

We have the WorkSafe premium increases, land tax and payroll taxes, and now, to add insult to injury, there is a punishment for you if you cannot meet this industry development target in this bill that is at hand. And in meeting these targets industry stakeholders have told us that where local requirements are able to be met they are generally being met across the industry. We know this. When they are unable to be met it is typically because they are unable to be met because of workforce shortages or access, and we know this to be real because I hear it from my community all the time. You speak to any tradie in the electorate, you speak to any tradie in any part of Victoria, and they will say to you that you cannot find a roof tiler for love or money. You cannot find specific workforce labour for different industries because there is a shortage, because there are not enough people. So if there is a small business that is trying to run this and now they are going to be penalised, they are going to be punished, because they cannot find, say, a roof tiler because they are just not out there, how is that fair on the small business person who is just trying to run their small business? That is why we have moved a reasoned amendment, and that is all from me.

Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (12:51): Just to give a little bit of history as to the origins, we know that when we are looking at the amendments being made today, the Local Jobs First Act 2003, formerly known as the Victorian Industry Participation Policy Act 2003, was delivered under the Bracks Labor government and is focused on promoting employment growth by expanding market opportunities for local industry and encouraging industry development. The act is Australia’s longest standing industry participation legislation and has been supporting Victorian businesses and workers for over 20 years. So that brings us to where we are now and the amendments that are before the Parliament, the rationale behind them. As an overview, the Local Jobs First Amendment Bill 2025 delivers on our 2022 election commitment. We were not shy about broadcasting the changes that we are bringing before the Parliament today, let us just be clear, in spite of the strong opposition to us fostering jobs et cetera locally, which is sort of the rhetoric that we were getting. They certainly are not supporters of free TAFE, because if you want to train people to fill jobs then surely free TAFE is one of those mechanisms – again, something that the opposition are not exactly fans of themselves. They want a bit of something and a bit of the other, a bit of that cherrypicking, but there needs to be –

A member interjected.

Nina TAYLOR: Imagine a bit of a logical line there when it comes from the training to the delivery. There is more, and I am going to speak to that in a moment. The commitment is to strengthen the Local Jobs First Act 2003 by enhancing the powers of the Local Jobs First commissioner, unlocking opportunities for Victorian jobs and businesses on Victorian government projects and clarifying local content requirements that meet contemporary expectations. Arguably since 2003 there have been many changes over time with industry, the economy et cetera, hence we are adapting to current needs. Just to reiterate, we are delivering on our 2022 election commitment, so this surprise and startling shock and horror from the opposition falls a little short, because it is not like we have not been transparent with what we are bringing forward. Firstly, these commitments include a commitment to clarify in the act that individual commitments in local industry development plans are enforceable by the commissioner. Surely if anything is to have credibility it is important to show the extent of the enforceability of a particular legislative frame. I get that the opposition are wildly opposed to this, but there is a logic behind this, ensuring that the act actually does have the requisite rigour in the contemporary world. I will not list all the changes, but I am just speaking to some of them – instead of this embellished and heightened shock and horror from the opposition – to bring it down to what the bill is delivering.

The amendments in the bill clarify that suppliers are required to comply with their commitments to local content jobs and the major projects skills guarantee, where at least 10 per cent of labour hours on large projects are completed by apprentices, trainees or cadets. This led me to think about a local project in my area, the Melbourne arts precinct transformation, and indeed more apprentices, cadets and construction workers are kickstarting their careers with hands-on training on the Melbourne arts precinct transformation, where construction is forging ahead. I have literally seen that because I live in Southbank and I get to see piece by piece this magnificent project, a $1.7 billion investment, with – from carpentry and demolition and electrical to flooring, fire services and project management – more than 11,000 new jobs. Did you hear that? 11,000 new jobs are being created during construction on Australia’s biggest cultural infrastructure project. I do not know if those opposite are snubbing their nose at that. Do they think that that is not valuable? Guess what, I know that this project has to comply with the major projects skills guarantee, and this is therefore providing those very opportunities in terms of apprentices and cadetships that I think Victorians do want to see, arguably. And it is local, so that is really fantastic. Melbourne is the arts capital –

A member interjected.

Nina TAYLOR: Yes, it is, and when we are looking at major events, where do people come? They come to our fantastic city of Melbourne. I know those opposite hate Victoria and think it is a terrible place to live. They are always trashing it and talking it down. I actually think it is a pretty fantastic state. I think we have magnificent businesses, private and also public investment as well. And actually you do have to invest in your state to deliver, and that is exactly what we are doing.

There are also some really fantastic accessibility elements with the upgrades to the State Theatre. I am just pointing this out: when you look at those 11,000 jobs, what are they delivering for the state? It is actually going to mean that people of all abilities will be able to have much greater access to seeing the arts firsthand, and this is giving them the dignity and the respect that they deserve. It is also helping backstage because we know with modern sets et cetera that it is facilitating those very mechanical elements. Victoria is the arts capital, and we have major events here and beautiful productions, but they need to be supported, and there are jobs behind the stage as well as on the stage that are being helped in that way as well. Of course there is The Fox: NGV Contemporary, which is a real game changer as well. So I just wanted to point out why it is so important on the one hand, yes, to invest in our state and invest in what Victorians want to see, but you can see the importance and the relevance of the local jobs requirements and the major projects skills guarantee, ensuring that we are fostering and training up young Victorians so that they can have careers that start now but will sustain into the future.

I think it is also important, because there has been much mentioned about regional areas, that I just point out very briefly that further amendments within this bill include increasing opportunities for Aboriginal and regional businesses. Those opposite have talked a lot about the regions – totally fair enough. Perhaps they are not privy to all the elements of this bill. It might be worth, instead of just scoffing at it, having a good look and seeing the rationale behind the changes that are being made. Often I do get a little bit shocked when we think of the number of members on our side of the fence that live in the regions. It is funny, this strange demarcation those opposite try to make when in fact we have people, many fine members, on this side who live in the regions too. And, guess what, they are darn passionate about their local communities, and they have their say when it comes to these really important consultative changes. We are delivering on election commitments. I know I am being a little bit repetitive on that point, but I think the shock and horror being demonstrated by those opposite is a little bit galling, to say the least. There are no surprises here.

I think we should also have confidence in what has been delivered to date to show what can be continued into the future. Between its introduction in 2016 and 30 March 2025 the major projects skills guarantee just for instance, just putting it out there, has been applied to 480 projects employing 19,197 apprentices, trainees and cadets. A total of 27.7 million hours for apprentices, trainees and cadets has been committed, of which 21.9 million hours have been worked, just to be precise on this point, because we are going to have a credible argument here. I am happy to be pulled down to the point of exactly what at a granular level is being delivered.

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

Business interrupted under standing orders.