Tuesday, 12 August 2025

 James NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Yesterday the Premier confirmed that up to five new taxes will be imposed on certain suburbs in Melbourne.

Jacinta Allan: I did no such thing.

James NEWBURY: You can let us all know in a minute.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Brighton will be heard in silence.

James NEWBURY: My question is to the Premier. Yesterday the Premier confirmed that up to five new taxes will be imposed on certain suburbs in Melbourne. Which suburbs will the Premier target with these new taxes?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): In answering the member for Brighton’s question, I would appreciate some leniency in terms of how I might have to put together the pieces of the puzzle that goes on behind how the member for Brighton has put that question together, because I think the member for Brighton might have been referring to a question that I was asked at a press conference yesterday when I was with the Minister for Police and the President of the upper house at the North East Link site, where we were talking about the awarding of the final two contracts for the North East Link project – a project employing 12,000 people. The member for Bulleen has had a lot to say in opposition to this project of course, but we are getting on with it.

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: I did ask for some leniency in putting the puzzle together.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, I ask you to bring the Premier to the question directly. This question was very specific about which new taxes the Premier will be imposing.

The SPEAKER: I am familiar with the question; it is in front of me. The Premier did ask for some leniency, and I have given her a minute. The Premier to come back to answering the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: The reason why I was asking for that is because I did no such thing as the member for Brighton has claimed. And it was puzzling me. Why has the member for Brighton put this question to the house today? I am assuming it is because I was asked a question yesterday at a press conference whilst we were standing there awarding contracts for the North East Link, another project that we have a partner in Canberra on. I was asked a question about the Suburban Rail Loop. I can only assume that that is what is behind the member for Brighton’s question. If the member for Brighton wants to pop up on a point of order and tell me that that assumption is incorrect, I will happily stand corrected.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. It is a very simple question: which suburbs will she target with a new tax?

The SPEAKER: The Premier has already answered the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am happy to go on for the full 1 minute and 29 seconds about the Suburban Rail Loop, because we have been very, very clear. We have been clear since August of 2018 when we first committed to delivering the Suburban Rail Loop that the funding, the investment in this project, would come from a mix of funding arrangements. I know that those opposite have rejected how projects like the Sydney Harbour Bridge have been funded, the city loop have been funded, Citylink have been funded – through a mix of government and value capture mechanisms.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, I appreciate the Premier confirming there will be taxes. The question, however, is: which suburbs are going to fund it?

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, it is hard to know where to start. You cannot use a point of order to ask a whole other new question, which is what the member for Brighton just did. Secondly, the Premier has already been very clear that she has answered the question. She is taking the opportunity to explain to the member for Brighton exactly what she said yesterday. So I ask that you rule the point of order out of order and let the Premier get on with answering the question.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said yesterday when I was asked a question about the Suburban Rail Loop, we are delivering the Suburban Rail Loop and we are delivering the Suburban Rail Loop because it is going to save Victorians time, reduce congestion and deliver a train line to Victoria’s and Australia’s largest university. It is going to get people to where they are going to go.

James Newbury: On a point of order, we are 2½ minutes into the word salad answer and the Premier has yet to deal with the substance of the question. Speaker, may I refer you to Speaker Maddigan’s ruling of August 2003: a responder must deal with the substance of the question rather than responding generally. The Premier has yet to deal with the substance of the question, which is: which suburbs will pay for these new taxes?

The SPEAKER: I will allow the Premier to speak to the point of order, but I do believe that I heard the Premier answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: That was it, Speaker. That indeed was my point of order. For the benefit of the member for Brighton, I have said it not once but twice, and I will now say it three times: his claim in the question is wrong. That is the answer to the member for Brighton’s question, and I look forward to answering for the next 34 seconds why, in the context of delivering the Suburban Rail Loop, it is such an important project for our city and state.

The SPEAKER: Does the Premier wish to continue?

Jacinta ALLAN: I do, thank you, Speaker. Of course I do also want to emphasise that, in the context of delivering the Suburban Rail Loop, not only is it a train line and not only is it supporting Victorians to get to where they need to go, but it is providing the opportunity to build more homes in exactly the right location. In terms of which suburbs we are targeting to build more homes, it is all of them – it is right across the state – because we need to build more homes. Every local government –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: Look at them. We have committed to housing targets for the entire state as we build more homes for more Victorians.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members are going to be removed without warning.

 James NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:32): Will the Premier rule out imposing suburb-based taxes across any suburbs near government infrastructure or the 60 designated activity centres?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:33): In answering the member for Brighton’s question, it is absolutely clear that he rejects the current infrastructure contribution regime that we have in place already. It is a regime that is in place already.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, I think the fact the Premier is playing the man proves the question has substance. The question asked the Premier to rule out –

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Brighton, I do not need you to repeat the question.

James Newbury: I would ask the Premier to answer it.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I was simply pointing out the fanciful nature of the member for Brighton’s question, because there is already a regime in place – for example, the infrastructure contributions regime – that is about supporting infrastructure as we build more homes. If the member for Brighton is proposing that he has an alternative approach, like the billions and billions of dollars of a black hole that he has created in what he is committed to, that is a matter for him. We are focused on building more homes.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, as the Premier has confirmed her intention to introduce new suburb-based taxes, she can simply leave the answer there.

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. The Premier has concluded her answer. I remind members of the correct way to raise a point of order. The member for Brighton should know.