Premier
Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (09:50): Today I am using my members statement to farewell the old and welcome the new. With the departure of Victoria’s 48th Premier last week we now see the 49th, Ms Jacinta Allan, step into the lead role here at the Parliament of Victoria – and boy, what a role it is she has taken on. With an estimated debt of $135.4 billion, which is expected to reach $226 billion by the end of this term, Ms Allan certainly has inherited quite a legacy indeed. Our new Premier has also been handed the responsibility of ensuring the Metro rail link completion by who knows when; the crumbling state of Victoria’s road infrastructure, along with an alarming rise in fatalities; and an unprecedented housing crisis, just to name a few of what Mr Andrews has inflicted upon the people of Victoria.
I am happy to see that the Victorian Labor Party has elected a northern region member into this role. We can now rest assured that our regionally based Premier will equalise the priorities of both regional and metro Victorians alike. I look forward to seeing regional roads, housing infrastructure, health care and education receiving the equality in investment they have been denied for so long now. I would like to welcome our new Premier to her role and wish her all the best for achieving success in the future for all Victorians alike.