Tuesday, 28 July 2026

 Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston – Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Cost of Living, Minister for Renters, Minister for Men and Boys) (14:27): Over 3.5 million Victorians have put their hand up for cheaper rego. That is almost half the state already who have gotten immediate cost-of-living relief thanks to the Labor rego rebate. Twenty per cent off your rego is up to $186 per vehicle. For a family with two cars, that is up to $372 back in their pockets. It is money to help pay the bills that are forcing families to make difficult choices right now.

Members interjecting.

Paul EDBROOKE: I hear they are a little bit spicy over there. Some of them said the rego rebate was a hoax – that 3.5 million Victorians never deserved a cent – but there were some that could not wait to get on Facebook and spruik it to their community. It is not a hoax to help families with real relief right now.

And they know we are not stopping with cheaper rego. We are making sure Victorians get a fair go when they buy a car too, because new research has found nearly a third of used cars sampled online had their odometers wound back by at least 25,000 kilometres. We all remember that Roald Dahl story Matilda with Harry Wormwood, the dodgy used car salesman, winding the odometer back with the drill in the garage. I think that is what happened to my first 1985 VK Commodore, the poor thing. Those days are over. New laws will give Consumer Affairs Victoria stronger powers to investigate, fine and prosecute odometer tampering so families are not taken for a ride.

If you are a motorist, the message is simple: Labor has got your back with cheaper rego, a crackdown on dodgy used cars and more savings at the petrol pump. But $40 billion in cuts would gut the very team protecting motorists. You cannot back motorists and then sack the people who keep the market fair. Only Labor has the new solutions to make life easier, safer and more affordable.