Wednesday, 26 August 2026

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:10): My question is to the Deputy Premier. The Premier’s secret tax on every train, tram and bus user in this state will mean –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will come to order. Members will be removed from the chamber if they continue to interrupt while members are on their feet.

Jess WILSON: The Premier’s secret tax on every train, tram and bus user in this state will mean fares will increase by more than $60 per week. Why should every public transport –

Members interjecting.

Jess WILSON: I cannot hear.

The SPEAKER: I expect members on both sides of this chamber to show respect to the members on their feet. One side does not have an advantage over the other when it comes to this. The Leader of the Opposition without assistance.

Jess WILSON: Why should every public transport user have to pay $3000 more every year because this government has run out of money?

Colin Brooks: On a point of order, Speaker, that question is just a big lie, and it should be ruled out of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! Of all the people in this chamber, the Treasurer should know that that word is unparliamentary. I do not uphold that point of order.

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Education, Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Women and Gender Equality) (14:12): While I wholeheartedly reject the premise of that question and as education minister question the opposition leader’s maths skills, I relish the opportunity to talk about what this Labor government has done to keep public transport fares more affordable than they have ever been in this state. In doing so, we should talk –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker: debating the question.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: This year this Labor government delivered two months of free public transport for Victorians. We have delivered half-price public transport fares until the end of the year. That is on top of free public transport for kids permanently, saving families on average $755 per child per year.

James Newbury: On a point of order on debating the question, Speaker, this question was specifically around Labor’s secret tax. Clearly the Acting Premier is debating the question.

Anthony Carbines: On the point of order, Speaker, repeating the same point daily is simply a way of continually raising the question, and that cannot be done. Continually raising the same point of order, in Rulings from the Chair, is not a point of order.

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the Premier or any minister how to respond to a question or how to answer a question. The Deputy Premier was talking to the question. I do not uphold the point of order.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: Free public transport for kids permanently. Of course that is all on top of the regional fare cap that we introduced a few years ago, pegging travel to regional Victoria to the price of a daily metro fare. We have seen people vote with their feet on that policy, travelling to regional Victoria, spending their money in regional economies, in droves.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, standing order 58(1)(b) is very, very clear in prohibiting a response or an answer from extraneously allowing an Acting Premier to debate a question, which is what the Acting Premier is doing. There was a very clear question, and the Deputy Premier is not responding to it.

Anthony Carbines: On the point of order, Speaker, the Acting Premier rejected the premise of the question. She is speaking to public transport fare cuts and cheaper public transport under Labor, and she is in order.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the member for Brighton’s point of order.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: The reality remains this: those opposite cut train lines; we cut fares.

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:16): The government’s half-price fares –

Sarah Connolly interjected.

The SPEAKER: The member for Laverton can leave the chamber for an hour.

Jess WILSON: Oh, you will miss it.

Member for Laverton withdrew from chamber.

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, you are not immune from being removed from the chamber also. Through the Chair.

Jess WILSON: The government’s half-price fares saved public transport users $433 million, while the Premier’s secret tax will cost them $8 billion. Why is the government perpetuating a fraud on Victorians by secretly hitting them with an $8 billion tax?

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Education, Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Women and Gender Equality) (14:16): Again I reject the premise of the question and again remind the Leader of the Opposition that each and every year, without fail, we communicate to the Victorian community what public transport fares will be from 1 ‍January the following year. That is a standard practice and is the height of transparency in explaining to the Victorian community exactly what they will be paying.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, with respect to transparency, the Deputy Premier is required to be factual.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: These fare adjustments are commonly reported on in the press and are available online too to inform the Victorian community of what those fare adjustments will be year on year, as is appropriate. Of course, though, we have worked hard to keep public transport fares low, whether that be through two months of free public transport, half-price public transport to the end of the year, free public transport for kids, and I could go on.