Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Leader of the House, Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (15:45): I move:

That, under standing order 94(2), the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 5 pm on 4 June 2026:

Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill 2026

Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill 2026

Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill 2026

Electoral Further Amendment Bill 2026.

In speaking to those matters, if I may, this is a very significant business program that the government is bringing forward to the house. It is putting more police back on the streets to keep our community safe, further expanding important tax exemptions for home owners and emergency services volunteers and promoting participation and improved access to public lands so more Victorians can take part in our great outdoors.

Particularly around police reservists, this is a very significant driver of reform which will give the Chief Commissioner of Police the power to appoint police reservists and provide a legislative framework that is required for a modern and fit-for-purpose reservist scheme. The budget this year includes some $62 million for up to 200 police reservists to be appointed. That is for full-time appointments, but many of these police, as we would expect, could be part-timers and the like, which will expand the pool of those who provide a great service to our state as former police officers come back and serve as police reservists. We need that mechanism to be fit for purpose and appropriate, hence the fact that we are making changes, bringing into debate those matters around the Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill. This is about a safer, new-look Victoria Police. On this side of the house we support Victoria Police and the chief commissioner at all times.

I can also say, from discussions with the chief commissioner, that there has already been an overwhelming response from former serving members who have taken part in expressions of interest. I am talking about hundreds of expressions of interest that have been lodged already, with the funds available in the budget from July 1. Our goal in introducing and being able to debate the bill this week and conclude our discussions at the end of the week is to provide an opportunity, with the good graces of members in both chambers, for the legislation to get royal assent and for the funds to flow not only to work through the EOIs that have come through already but to have those police reservists available for appointment from 1 July. So it is a critical piece of work that the house will need to do in the Parliament, already enlivened through funding that is in place from 1 July and an EOI process that has seen hundreds of former police members already putting their hands up to serve in these roles and in stations across the state and also providing investigative support for detectives and officers and frontline support in terms of front counter support for police members.

Further, we will be debating the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill, which includes a range of amendments to various taxation acts to provide tax relief to community housing organisations, expand the eligibility of our nation-leading emergency services volunteers rebate scheme and make it easier to get a land tax exemption for homes under construction or renovation. We know that the work we are doing with the Albanese federal government is making those big investments of building a house and buying a home easier, unlike others who perhaps are not so focused on making sure we give every person the opportunity to buy and own their own home.

Further, we will be debating the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill. That brings together the Victorian fisheries and game management authorities into a single new authority, Outdoor Recreation Victoria. It is a new body that will have an important role in promoting participation in supporting access, working with land managers, communities and traditional owners and those stakeholders to identify practical opportunities. It is about giving more Victorians the opportunity to enjoy our great outdoors. The recasting in recent years by our government of the portfolio around outdoor recreation goes to the heart of making sure that at the centre, having a voice, are those people who love the great outdoors but in particular advocates who make sure, whether it is our state parks or our national parks, it is not just about locking everything up. We want to make sure there are opportunities for Victorians to experience the great wonders of our outdoors, because then more Victorians can be the advocates for supporting, maintaining and protecting these great natural resources in our community.

Further, can I say, as I did touch on earlier, the Electoral Further Amendment Bill 2026 – a particularly significant piece of work, given some determinations that have been made by the judiciary in recent times – is an important piece of legislation that we need to debate this week and that we need to provide an opportunity for the house to consider so that we can enliven and action and replace the invalid regime.

Par 12 of the bill says, ‘Increasing the transparency and integrity of the Victorian electoral system’. We know at the moment there are opportunities for those who wish to do harm – for bad actors out there – to be able to make contributions and use dark money in electoral campaigning, and we need to address that as soon as possible, in light of and giving respect to decisions that have been made by the judiciary. We can do that this week. The Parliament has the opportunity, through legislation the Parliament is bringing, to bring back and ensure that we have robust integrity and transparency regimes in the electoral funding system. I commend the business program.

 James NEWBURY (Brighton) (15:51): I will start where the Leader of the House ended when he spoke about a robust and transparent donation system in Victoria and the proposed amendments reflected in the government business program. ‘Robust’ and ‘transparent’ – well, this government business program deals with a bill that has not yet been tabled. We on this side of the chamber, the non-government members, have before us a proposed government business program with electoral reform that has not yet been released to the Victorian community or to the Parliament, so when it comes to a transparent and robust donation system, how can this government possibly claim to use terms of that nature? We have a government business program that will force a guillotine on that bill on Thursday afternoon. One can only presume, as the government advised that the bill would be debated in the house today with a guillotine today and moved into the other place today, that the government have not been able to do their numbers and get a deal on their bill. So widely did they talk about the deal that they had supposedly done, they committed to dealing with that bill within one afternoon through both chambers. I say to the crossbench and the other minor parties that they did the right thing by not rolling over on an important bill.

As the Leader of the House said, this bill – whatever the government is proposing – does deal with an important reform following the High Court’s knocking out of an important part of our donation and electoral system, and it is important that this week the house be afforded the time to consider that. We need to ensure that we have laws in place that deal with the matters that were knocked out by the High Court. But while doing so, we need to think through what we are proposing to replace them with, because if the High Court has intervened once to say this government got it wrong, I think that we should be starting from a place of wanting to make sure that does not happen twice. Even the government, I am sure, does not want to be a two-time loser when it comes to these electoral laws. Sadly, from what I have seen and from what others have expressed publicly over the last number of days, there is a very, very strong concern that what the government is proposing will see the government a two-time loser when it comes to these reforms, and so we have said what this government needs to do is consult on a bill and consider a bill that is constitutional. You would think that that is a first-past-the-post requirement for bills they bring into this chamber. As it was knocked out once, there is serious concern about the same thing happening again. I am very concerned and the coalition is concerned that what we are seeing and hearing is not constitutional.

We have said work with us as an opposition, and instead what has the government done? We see a government business program that lists a bill for guillotine on Thursday that has not even been tabled. The bill is not there. The bill has not been released. The only reason you could hide the release of the bill is if you did not have confidence in it and you did not want people looking at it closely. Well, people will be looking at it closely, and I suspect in a couple of months the High Court will be looking at it closely, because I suspect the bill will be knocked out again. We say to the government: while you continue to play these games, we cannot support it, just like we will not support this government business program that tries to ram those laws through. We will not be supporting the government business program.

 Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (15:56): I have to say, I am not surprised that the opposition are not supporting it, because last week was one of those anomalous weeks where they did support the government business program.

James Newbury: Two weeks.

Daniela DE MARTINO: Two weeks? Oh, I have been corrected. That is exciting. I think we are not even at 10 yet in the 60th Parliament, because I have been keeping track. There are several important bills before the house this week. I was listening to the Leader of the House, who is also the Minister for Police, talk about the Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill 2026. I am looking forward to contributing on this bill because I think it is incredibly important. I actually think it is such a great place for former police officers to come back and contribute their knowledge and their skills and their expertise in a way that benefits everyone, without them having to be active, running down streets and pursuing people, but being able to contribute really good skills. It is a great step forward for policing in our state, and I think it is going to have a really significant and positive effect overall. It is really good that this bill, which will provide a modern and fit-for-purpose reservist scheme within Victoria Police, is being debated this week. I look forward to my contribution, and I look forward more to listening to the contributions of everyone else. I do enjoy listening in. Sometimes if I am not in the chamber I sit glued to the television in my office, because it is always interesting to see the perspectives that we all bring into this place – our representation of our communities, but also our own stories and our own experiences, which inform our contributions here. I am looking forward to that.

I am also looking forward to the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill 2026, which will establish Outdoor Recreation Victoria and the Land Access Panel. We have some beautiful parts of my electorate that are enjoyed by many across a whole different range of experiences. It can be bushwalking, and there are other tracks out in the Bunyip State Forest, which has a boundary with the member for Narracan’s – we share that beautiful part of the world. I know it is important that people can enjoy the great outdoors in different ways. It is finding that sensitive balance where we are protecting our environment but also allowing people to enjoy recreation in a really great way, because we need to get outdoors more. At no other time in human history have we been more tied to screens – fixed to them, children and young people in particular. Any encouragement to get people outside in fresh air is a great thing indeed. I am really, really glad to see that a new agency is being established here.

Then we have the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill 2026. This bill is actually doing quite a bit of work this week. It is a bit of a workhorse. It is going to enable modernisation and reflect current industry practice in the building industry. It is going to, really importantly, improve protections for consumers in Victoria’s housing and building system by introducing a voluntary decennial – I do not think I have ever used that word in my life before, so that is a moment; it means 10-year – insurance scheme for new apartment buildings. It is going to expand powers to address land-related safety risks, and in my part of the world that is incredibly important because we are well known for erosion. It is going to improve identification and designation of land in flood-prone areas – not so much an issue across the Dandenong Ranges, but definitely a big issue for many people across our state. I just want to make a point about the Manager of Opposition Business’s comments about the bill that he is concerned about, the Electoral Further Amendment Bill 2026.

You cannot win, because if this bill was not coming on this week, the cries from those opposite would be that we are taking too long and we are dragging our feet. Then when we do do it, we are going too fast. Well, I think it should be stated that the opposition and all crossbenchers have actually been furnished with a copy of this bill, and that is important to note for the purposes of Hansard. They have been provided opportunities to engage, and there has been a lot of dialogue with key admin wings of the parties and crossbenchers. This is what I have been told. Time is of the essence on this, and we will continue to negotiate –

Will Fowles: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, the member is perhaps inadvertently misleading the house. She must be relying on faulty advice. There has been no bill circulated to the crossbench; we simply have not seen it. So I think she ought correct the record.

Anthony Carbines: Further to the point of order, Acting Speaker, there is no point of order. There are drafts and ongoing consultation and discussion with leaders.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Meng Heang Tak): It is not a point of order.

 Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (16:01): Unfortunately the member for Monbulk has run out of time, but as it stands, the very reason we are opposing the government business program this week is because of the tight timeline. There is no care for scrutiny in this place. There is no care for the rules or convention. The crossbenchers, as stated in the member for Ringwood’s point of order, have not even sighted a draft of the donations bill, which has been first read today, to be second read tomorrow and to be guillotined by week’s end. How on earth could we be expected to support a government business program that the Leader of the House claims to be robust and transparent when presenting this legislation? Come on. If it is robust and transparent, surely it would stand up to scrutiny. But given the disregard for convention, clearly it will not stand up to scrutiny and clearly a deal has not been struck as yet. But we will wait and see how that pans out over the course of the week and in fact if the crossbenchers do get a chance to sight it before debate begins – presumably tomorrow, one would think.

One of the other bills on the program this week is the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill 2026, which is to be debated later on this afternoon, which is the bringing together of the Game Management Authority and fisheries. Obviously the fisheries industry and the Victorian Fisheries Authority have had it tough with cuts to staffing levels. This is part of the Silver review, which has recommended that these two bodies be amalgamated. It is an interesting bill, but it gives us a chance, particularly my colleagues in the Nationals, to talk about one of our great loves, and that is – I think that goes for all of us, despite how surprising that might be for a couple –

Peter Walsh interjected.

Jade BENHAM: Well, no, not the Geelong Football Club, the outdoors. The outdoors, member for Murray Plains, is one of the Nationals’ great loves. The Geelong Football Club certainly does not rate a mention, I would not think, for most of us, but it does give us a chance to talk about and it will give me a chance to talk about Wyperfeld National Park in particular, when we talk about game hunting and things like that, and the vast area of national parks and state forests in my electorate.

And of course there is the Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill 2026. Allegedly there is a police reservist scheme still in the system, so that will be an interesting debate. And while we are speaking of Victoria Police, I do want to acknowledge the fact that the Chief Commissioner of Police was in Mildura over the course of the break discussing the first of the regional academies, to be rolled out in Mildura, which is something that we are all looking forward to, and it is all very exciting. And while I am talking about our Victoria Police members, Mallee Annie is back on the job, which is fantastic, after 17 months of leave. It is fantastic to have her back at the single-member station in Culgoa. But of course Culgoa is not the only station she covers. She covers the entire Mallee region, and there are only five police members in fact that cover that entire Mallee region south of Mildura really, down through to Donald.

It is a very big area with very few, so police reservists may be very useful there. But as the leader of opposition business has said, we cannot support a business program that is not robust. It is not transparent.

I actually forgot about the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill 2026. Whenever anything comes into this place with regard to building, my go-to counsel is the member for Narracan, and because I spend so much time in the car, getting a briefing, which can go for an extended period of time, is always quite useful. I look forward to his debate, because I do know, after yesterday’s briefing on my drive down to Melbourne from Mildura, that he has some very strong opinions on this bill.

A member interjected.

Jade BENHAM: It will be good. It will be highly entertaining, I should say. But as it stands, obviously, we cannot support the government business program.

 Dylan WIGHT (Tarneit) (16:06): It gives me great pleasure this afternoon, indeed later than normal, to stand up and make a contribution in favour of this amazing, robust and transparent government business program. I note that the opposition, as per usual, have found some ridiculous reason to oppose the government business program, and shame on them for doing so when it has such important content – the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill 2026 and the Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill 2026. It is incredibly important getting some of those police reservists into the system to make sure that our Victoria Police members can be out on the beat doing the most important work that they can possibly do keeping our community safe.

There is the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill 2026, a bill quite close to my heart as somebody who loves getting into the outdoors. I do not go as far north as Mildura, because I have some of the most fantastic national and state parks just on the doorstep of my electorate, or indeed if I go further west to Connewarre to the game reserve down there to shoot ducks there are some of the most amazing state and national parks and of course game reserves right on the doorstep of my electorate. Of course, there is the Electoral Further Amendment Bill 2026 as well.

On the point of being robust and transparent, too, member for Mildura, I assume that you know this and that I do not know of something that you do not. I was going to come here and just give a really nice, calm contribution about how fantastic this government business program is until I had to listen to the dross coming out of the mouth of the member for Brighton – utter, utter dross, speaking out both sides of his mouth, to come in here and say that the government is just ramming this bill through without consultation, with a quick guillotine to get it into the upper house. I will give you a hint – I am sure you know this, member for Brighton: there are no donation laws in Victoria right now, so it is kind of urgent to get something done. I know full well that extensive consultation has been happening with the crossbench and indeed the opposition to try and land this legislation, to get an agreed pathway through the Parliament. In fact the information that I have, member for Brighton, is that you were quite difficult in that process. I think the wording that I heard was that your head office and your leader’s office ‘could not control’ you. That is the information that I have, member for Brighton. The information that I also have, member for Brighton, is that you may stand here and say, ‘We couldn’t possibly support it, because it’s rushed,’ but the reason you will not support it is because you do not support the retrospective nature of it. You do not support donations that have been received being transparent, and I wonder why that is. What happened in the last few weeks in this place? Was there perhaps a by-election that the Liberal Party contested?

James Newbury: On point of order, Acting Speaker, this is a procedural motion. This is not an opportunity for him to vomit in this chamber. I would ask you to bring him back to it.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Meng Heang Tak): I ask the member for Tarneit to come back.

Dylan WIGHT: Truth hurts, old glass jaw, doesn’t it? Anyway, this is an incredibly important, robust and transparent government business program here today. Take the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill 2026, a piece of legislation that is in line with the government’s housing statement that was made almost three years ago now, I believe, in 202. It is a housing statement that makes sure that people are going to have access to affordable homes near where they want to live, near where they grew up – much to the disgust of the member for Brighton and the member for Hawthorn – near where their parents live and near existing infrastructure, and to make sure that the outer suburbs like Wyndham Vale, Manor Lakes, Tarneit, Hoppers Crossing and Mount Cottrell do not have to continue to shoulder the load as they have for so long. We know that that is what the Liberal Party want to go back to, because that is what their housing announcement was: let us build more houses in the outer burbs. This is a brilliant government business program, and I commend it to the house.

 Bridget VALLENCE (Evelyn) (16:11): To the member for Tarneit, just because you spew more spin and you spin and you spin and you spin, it does not make it true. This is an absolute chaotic government business program that we will be opposing. We have just heard the Leader of the House introduce an Electoral Further Amendment Bill 2026 and some changes to that bill. But have we seen it? No, we have not. They have not extended the courtesy to the Victorian public about what they want to do with these electoral reforms, with these donation law reforms, and they have not extended that courtesy to other parliamentarians – non-government members – because that just demonstrates the absolute and utter arrogance of this government. Their laws have been unconstitutional before, so there is absolutely nothing to guarantee that this new proposed legislation that we have not seen, that they want to bring on for debate urgently, swiftly, and guillotine off without delay, will not be unconstitutional again. What is to say that these rushed laws will not be unconstitutional again? They have not tabled them. They have not shared them with non-government members. They are absolutely failing on sensibility or transparency, and clearly they have no deal.

As of this morning we understood that the government wanted to rush them in – first read, second read, debate and guillotine off within a matter of hours. The pure fact that that is happening now over at least another day is purely because they know they do not have the numbers to get it through this place, to get it through the upper house. Quite frankly there will be serious questions to be raised about whether they will be unconstitutional. This tired and arrogant Allan Labor government has form when it comes to laws that are unconstitutional. They have form when it comes to laws that are poorly drafted such that they have to do new revisions and new amendments to legislation time and time and time again. The electoral laws that they introduced previously were struck out, found to be unconstitutional, and with something so serious as the laws that guide the donations and the Electoral Act 2002 going to be rushed through, we would have to ask whether they will be constitutional again. We need something that works – absolutely. I think all parliamentarians and all Victorians want certainty, want something that works. That is why the government should not be pulling the wool over the eyes of their own backbenchers. They should be transparent and they should work together with all parliamentarians to make sure we get something that is constitutional and something that is the best option for Victoria.

In terms of the other bills that are on the government business program, the Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill 2026 is up this week. Whilst it might be common sense to address some of the workforce issues in terms of Victoria Police, it clearly indicates the absolute mess under the Allan Labor government when it comes to policing. Labor cut $50 million from the Victoria Police budget, they have a shortage of around 1500 police officers and they have closed or reduced the hours of more than 40 police stations, including Mooroolbark and Croydon police stations in my electorate, which are shut four days a week. That is not what we need for our police, and this bill is an indication that they have workforce challenges.

The Wilson Liberals and Nationals coalition’s solution is to recruit 3000 more police. That will enable more police to be on the beat and reopen those stations that are closed.

In terms of the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Bill 2026 that is up, this will give the minister more powers to designate flood zones. I will be eagerly watching this, because in my community Lilydale and Coldstream suffer flooding incidents quite regularly, and this will mean that these will become flood zones. That is going to go nowhere with the consultation of the community and will challenge this government even further to meet its 80,000 homes per year. It could bring some relief to those members in the Lilydale community. However, I think there should be greater expectations and greater emphasis on Yarra Ranges council and local municipalities for the drainage infrastructure that is so desperately needed, which is exacerbating the flooding in my community across Lilydale and Coldstream.

Assembly divided on motion: