Tuesday, 3 March 2026

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:29): On this side of the house we only have one focus: making things easier for Victorian families. Whether it is building new schools or working from home, on this side of the chamber we are about making sure there is more time with family and friends at the heart of how Victorian families operate and less time on the daily commute. We are delivering more things closer to home that Victorians need. We have built 100 new schools. We have also built 100 kindergartens on school sites, meaning no more the double drop-off, and supporting families with the cost of living and supporting more time for parents with their kids.

We know, on this side of the chamber, that saving time and money is essential for Victorian families. I have never seen a party so disinterested after releasing a housing policy. I do not even know where it is at. On this side of the chamber when we release housing policies, we also build the infrastructure that goes with them. What if I told you 80 per cent of our new schools – eight in 10 – are built in growth suburbs? That is what you get with a Labor government. And with a Labor government you also get the protection of the right to work from home, because we know work from home works for families. But we have not stopped there. We are strengthening work-from-home protections right across the Victorian government. We have embedded it in WorkSafe’s guidance and with employers. We are also making sure that workers rights are protected across all Victorian government departments. Others might talk about building new homes in growth areas; we do not just talk about it. We are going to make sure that Victorian families have more money back in their pocket and more time back in their day. Only Labor can deliver that, and only Labor will deliver that. Others have gone back and forth on work from home; we know that. They always say they support it, until they get a call from their right-wing mates saying – (Time expired)