Wednesday, 1 April 2026

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Yesterday the Premier said:

… as Victorian premier, I am determined to do everything that I can to ease cost of living pressures.

And Victorians welcome that commitment. But from 1 July the government will apply indexation across a wide range of government charges. Car registration, drivers licence fees and the emergency services levy will all increase, and so too will working with children checks and fees for core life events like birth, death and marriage certificates. Business registration fees, including liquor licences and building practitioner registrations, will increase – extra costs on struggling industries. These are not discretionary expenses; they are essential costs of living, working, running a business and participating in society, and they are all rising at once at a time when households and small businesses are already under immense pressure. Will the government cancel this year’s indexation before it takes effect on 1 July?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): In acknowledging the member for Ringwood’s question, I appreciate the acknowledgement that we are looking at doing everything we can to ease the cost-of-living pressures that were already very real for Victorian families and households, which is why we have been working hard on new solutions and approaches to make life easier and more affordable for Victorian families. This is a matter that I was discussing just last Wednesday when I was in Ringwood visiting the community health centre with local hardworking mum Rachel Halse, and we were having an important conversation with the staff at the community health centre in Ringwood about our free virtual women’s health service. This is yet another example of listening to the concerns and pressures of cost of living, which are very real for families, and looking at new ways of delivering care for people. We are hearing reports that the rising cost of fuel is putting pressure on families around making choices about what they do and do not do. We know they are looking at deferring essential health care. Well, through our virtual women’s health facility, delivered through the community health centre –

Will Fowles: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was very specific about a specific measure, and I asked the Premier to address whether or not that measure will be contemplated.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the matter. The question was relating to cost of living.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am using this as an opportunity to talk about the virtual women’s health service, because I want more women to know that this service is available, particularly for women in rural and regional Victoria, because what women can do is they can, for free, get medical help and advice on pelvic pain, on abortion care, on contraception care, on all of the range of health services that women need. They can go and get that for free through the virtual women’s health centre. It is not just rural and regional women this will support; it will support women in the suburbs as well. This is one example of many of how we are looking at levers to support families and to ease those cost-of-living pressures. And, yes, we will continue to examine measures to ease the affordability challenges we know families and working people are experiencing.

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:27): Will the Premier share with the house why she is unable to make a commitment around indexation on 1 July?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:28): As I said in my earlier answer, we are examining ways that we can continue to ease the cost-of-living pressures that are very real. It is from listening to young mums like Rachel Halse, like I was last week, who was talking to me about the challenges of two young kids and having to travel for work, and understanding the pressures that are real about having to pay for groceries and meet the mortgage – listening to mums like Rachel – that we are going to continue to act and continue to support hardworking families.