Wednesday, 4 October 2023

Motions

Government performance

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (10:10): I move:

That this house:

(1) notes that the Honourable Jacinta Allan MP as Premier takes over the biggest state debt in the country, larger than New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined;

(2) expresses concern at Premier Allan’s ministerial legacy of waste, blowouts and mismanagement;

(3) further notes that Premier Allan has been responsible for nearly $30 billion in major project blowouts, including:

(a) $3.6 billion on the Metro Tunnel;

(b) three years and $4.7 billion on the West Gate Tunnel;

(c) $13 billion on the North East Link;

(4) condemns the culture of secrecy, disdain for integrity and the hatred of anti-corruption agencies that permeated in the former Andrews government; and

(5) calls on the Premier to overcome her legacy of waste, blowouts and mismanagement, return integrity to government and begin to undo the nine years worth of damage for which she is responsible.

I rise to speak to my motion, which is a motion on the Premier, Jacinta Allan. We know the Premier is just a couple of days into the job after the former Premier, who announced his retirement last week, just up and left Victoria in this diabolical state that we find ourselves in. It was an extraordinary move but not surprising given that the man himself said so much to Victorians but you could never actually believe a word he said. He said just a few weeks ago that he was going to run in the 2026 election, and yet he pulled the pin last week. Now we have a new Premier who is not much different from her predecessor. In fact it is the same old, tired Labor government. There is no new vision.

In fact the first couple of days have been a shocker for the Premier. Yesterday said it all. Look at what the Treasurer did. He blindsided the Premier and those sitting around the cabinet table with the Premier by introducing yet more taxes to Victorians, the 52nd and 53rd taxes. Again I go back to the former Premier, who gave a promise in 2014: ‘I promise you no new taxes.’ This government is out of control with the debt that it has placed on current Victorians and future generations of Victorians. It is not just the opposition saying it, it is agencies who have credibility, and I want to come to that. But the first issue of my motion talks to this very big point that the Premier takes over the biggest state debt in the country, larger than New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined. These deficits and budget blowouts that have been overseen by this government are going to have an impact, and isn’t it telling that the Property Council of Australia really came out hard and absolutely said how it is? In fact there was a statement from them this morning: ‘Victoria’s trust bonfire on tax’. The statement goes on to say:

Here’s a tip for state governments trying to reach ambitious housing goals in partnership.

Don’t “do a Victoria”.

…

… this week’s hidden tax grabs are a major trust-burner.

The industry wants to work collaboratively with the government, and they were absolutely blindsided by the Treasurer’s announcement yesterday when he sat at a breakfast. And look at the shemozzle that happened here in the house yesterday. The Premier said she knew about it, yet Danny Pearson stood on the steps just out here and said, ‘I’ve got no detail about that. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ It was just extraordinary. They are not even talking to one another. This government is in chaos. They are at war with one another, and they are meant to be instilling confidence in Victorians. Well, what a way to start this new premiership by this Premier who has overseen so much damage.

This statement from the Property Council goes on to say that clearly a partnership was important to them, but:

Sadly, 8 business days later, the Treasurer, who was a signatory to the Partnership, has announced the introduction of new and expanded taxes without any consultation …

That flies in the face of what the former Premier said just a few days ago about their housing statement and how they had been working in consultation with stakeholders –

Evan Mulholland: For months.

Georgie CROZIER: for months. You cannot believe a word this government says, and the history is there to prove that. The legacy is there to prove that.

Matthew Bach: Not a Comm Games legacy.

Georgie CROZIER: The Comm Games legacy, Dr Bach, comes into it too. Again I say what a shocker of a day yesterday was for the Premier. Not only was she blindsided by this tax, but then the reports came out about the $1.3 million in legal fees. The government sent lawyers over to London to can the Commonwealth Games. Then of course it was topped off by the Malmsbury riots. That has been an absolute debacle, and what a history that has been. As the former Shadow Minister for Youth Justice when the former Minister for Health had that portfolio – pizzas and Coke we had, with riots all the time. Well, look, it is happening all again. Yesterday was a very serious incident, and this government has failed young people and failed those in youth justice for years. They have had years to fix this problem, and all they do is cause more chaos with what is going on in our streets and in our prisons with a lack of services to provide meaningful rehabilitation and get young people off that spiralling crime cycle.

I want to return to the first point of my motion about the biggest state debt in the country. We saw the recent budget. I am not sure we can believe that budget because of the Commonwealth Games debacle. In the budget papers it was $2.6 billion and then a couple of weeks later it was $7 billion, so I am very dubious about what this government has provided to Victorians in the form of the budget. But what we know is that that budget did not provide any relief to Victorians. It was a brutal budget – more taxing, spiralling debt, cutting services, a billion dollars out of health – and we are seeing that through the actions of this government. I mentioned yesterday the dire situation at the Alfred hospital where rats, mice and other rodents and snakes have been found in that complex. The whole thing is just disgraceful.

John Berger interjected.

Georgie CROZIER: You have not read the story. You should see the FOI, Mr Berger. A 25-centimetre worm is quite a big worm. I would say it is a baby snake.

I will go back to the rats and other rodents and bed bugs and mice faeces over patient beds – the whole thing. This is the state our health services are in. A pre-eminent hospital, a major trauma centre for the country, and we have got this crumbling, dire situation where surgeons and senior physicians have spoken out about the need to upgrade. This government is ignoring those pleas. They are pushing along with their vanity projects that do not have business cases and do not stack up when clearly our health system remains in crisis.

We have a health tax going on to doctors. What an insane and ludicrous issue. Our health system is crumbling, and this government is hell-bent on taxing doctors. Doctors have told the government for months, ‘If you do this, 30 per cent of GP clinics will close.’ What is that going to do? It is going to push more people into our already struggling emergency departments. How absolutely insane. Our health system is crumbling. It is struggling now, and this government’s only vision for the state is to tax, tax, tax. They are taxing everything. That is going to have a massive detrimental effect on the standard of living. In fact our standards are falling. Whether it is education, as Dr Bach knows; whether it is housing affordability, as Mr Mulholland knows; or whether it is health, our standards are falling in this state, and you should all be ashamed of it.

Victorians know the cost of living is rising. We just heard the Greens banging on about – quite rightly actually – the increase in the cost of energy and housing rentals. The cost of living in this state is rising every day, and the only answer the government has is to put more pressure on by taxing business and families, and that is not the way to go. And now we are seeing a tax on doctors. I mean, seriously, this government is out of control, and this Premier has been a part of it. Her legacy is there. We have got that rising debt. As has been confirmed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, we have the highest property taxes per capita – $2120 per person. That is the highest property tax per person in the nation, and it will probably go up even further now with this latest little tax grab. We already pay the highest taxes per person of anywhere in the country. This government is irresponsible in their fiscal management – there is no responsibility being taken.

If you look at the Premier and what she has been responsible for in contributing to those blowouts, it is her management of the infrastructure projects. The West Gate Tunnel Project, the Metro Tunnel project and the North East Link are all her legacy. She has been sitting around those projects as Deputy Premier and understands exactly what she is responsible for – over $30 billion in cost blowouts. The now Premier was the responsible minister for roughly 88 per cent of those cost blowouts – all $27 billion. We have got a woman in charge who is responsible for these mass blowouts, and we are not going to have the ability for our state to recover when it needs to. We need the confidence. We need to recover. Yet the confidence, as the Property Council has said, and the trust have been blown. The worst thing you can do is to continue to tax. But that has been evident from day one of this government, and this is the legacy that they are leaving generations of Victorians. It is a sad state of affairs.

I want to just go on to talk a little bit about the North East Link, which I know that Mr Mulholland and Dr Bach know about. That was promised at a cost of $5 billion. The Victorian Managed Insurance Authority valuation was $18 billion. The current budget blowout equates to $13 billion. You can see the basics that are here that have not been understood by the Premier and this government. This is not their money, it is taxpayers money. It is taxpayers money that they are using like Monopoly money. There is no accountability or responsibility for these decisions that they are making and the massive blowouts that are occurring that generations of Victorians will have to pay for.

There is just so much to say. The West Gate Tunnel revised project cost was $5.5 billion. The 2022–‍23 budget came in at $10.2 billion. The current budget blowout is $4.7 billion. We know the rorting that has gone on and the corruption inside these projects. They were working through COVID, so you cannot blame that. The government did the sweetheart deals with their union mates – and they have done that time and time again – yet these budget blowouts continue. The government will continue to blame COVID, but they cannot. They cannot blame COVID any longer.

While I am on COVID, I have to talk about the extraordinary actions that the government took throughout that dark period for Victoria. Whilst COVID affected the entire world – we were not alone ‍–

Evan Mulholland: She was in the super-cabinet.

Georgie CROZIER: She was sitting around that table. She was one of the eight in that cabinet making those decisions, Mr Mulholland; you are absolutely right. When you look at what the Ombudsman found about the locking down of public housing towers and the disgraceful way that the government breached human rights and what they did and the curfew decision that was a go-alone captain’s pick by the former Premier – the lockdowns – we had the harshest of restrictions and the worst outcomes of anywhere in the country.

We need a royal commission into this, but this government will not do it. The Prime Minister promised one; he will not do it because he knows his Labor mates were up to their neck in mistakes and absolutely awful situations that arose out of decisions that were made by this government, whether it was the effects on children’s mental health and education or the economic effects on small business, business and our city. Yes, we have had the grand final and it was thumping, but it is a pretty sad state of affairs when you walk down the streets and shops are empty – they are dirty – and we have got a lot of homeless people milling around the city streets. It is not the glorious days that Melbourne once had, and I think it is going to take a long time for our wonderful city to recover.

I go to the fourth point of my motion in the time I have left:

condemns the culture of secrecy, disdain for integrity and the hatred of anti-corruption agencies that permeated in the former Andrews Government …

And isn’t that right? Never has a government been before an anti-corruption commission like the government the Premier sits in, and she has been responsible. Operation Sandon and Operation Watts ‍– she knew all about that. Of course we could not get to look at those ministers in the lower house because of the blockage, but they were up to their necks in what was going on. The Operation Richmond report has not come out, but it is an extraordinary level of corruption that this government has overseen. The politicisation of the public sector – the Ombudsman has done reports into this, and she has been scathing about the former Premier’s response. In fact in April of this year the Ombudsman slammed the former Premier, calling a recent report into his government’s conduct ‘damning’ and saying the state had fallen behind in parliamentary integrity. I think that says a lot about the culture of this government, the constant cover-ups and the lies that have been told to Victorians.

We know they have been lying to Victorians. The Commonwealth Games is the most glaring and obvious example of that. You cannot go to the Victorian people and promise them something, put it in the budget just a few months ago and then a few weeks later say, ‘Oh, no, that’s not right. We’ve got to cancel it now.’ When you see the reports today, you know that this government knew what was going on, yet they tried to – and they did – con Victorians.

Integrity is critical for any good democratic process. I think there are people around the country wondering, and I get people asking me from interstate, ‘What is going on in Victoria? What the hell is going on?’ When you explain to them the level of corruption, the level of cover-ups, the lies, the deceit and what has gone on, they are floored, because this country prides itself on good democratic principles. But there is no moral compass in this government that the Premier now leads. If she had a moral compass, she would tell the truth, and I do not think she has told the truth on the Comm Games. If she was really wanting to show that level of integrity, then she should front up to the parliamentary inquiry into the Commonwealth Games and put her case so that the Victorian people can actually understand what she is saying in public to the people through her spin doctors. Rather, she needs to come before that inquiry and those members of Parliament that sit on that inquiry and explain to Victorians exactly what went on. Every Victorian deserves to understand the decisions made by this Labor government, of which the Premier has been an integral part. She was the minister for the delivery of the Commonwealth Games and she is now Premier. She knows what went on. She needs to have the strength and the fortitude to be up-front with Victorians and tell the truth, and I hope she does that. I have faith that she will do that, and I think that is what every Victorian deserves and would expect.

What has happened under Daniel Andrews is a shameful period for Victoria because of the number of IBAC investigations into this government, what happened behind closed doors and what the Ombudsman has said about parliamentary integrity. We must instil that faith back into the Victorian public, and we have seen that today through the Property Council’s words. They say, ‘Don’t do a Victoria’ and that the trust has gone, which is not good for confidence in building this state back after COVID and building this state back after the destruction that the government has put upon Victorian taxpayers and upon Victorian families. The cost of living is going up. It is getting harder and harder, and with the 52nd and 53rd taxes it is not getting any easier under Premier Allan. It is getting harder for Victorians – for every single Victorian.

This motion is an important one. It sets out the legacy of the woman who is in charge of our state. She needs to have the strength and fortitude to be up-front and truthful to the Victorian public and tell us what went on. But her legacy is there for all to see, and it is not a good one.

John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (10:30): I rise to speak on the motion moved by Ms Crozier. This motion talks about the debt the state government has and what the Premier has inherited. It also speaks to the legacy of Premier Allan as a minister of the Crown. It speaks to the culture of the former Andrews Labor government. Well, Premier Allan has a lot to be proud of as she inherits a fantastic legacy.

Former Premier Daniel Andrews first became a member of the Legislative Assembly in 2002, for the seat of Mulgrave. While Collingwood may have lost the grand final that year, I am proud to say that this year we have done well. But Labor certainly did not lose the election. In Daniel’s inaugural speech he said things that remain truisms to this day. Speaking of the government that the Victorian people had just endorsed, Daniel said that the government had:

… stayed focused on the things that are important to us all, the services we all rely on no matter where we live or what we do for a living: hospitals when we are sick; schools to give our kids the best start possible; and a police force that is given the resources it needs to fight crime and make our community safer.

Fast-forward 20 years to when Daniel was our Premier. Having led us through bushfires, floods, a once-in-a-century pandemic and more, we arrived at this third pitch to the Victorian people. It was summarised in a simple phrase, and it encapsulates the man and the party he led – ‘Doing what matters’ ‍– because the schools that our children go to, the hospitals that look after us when we are sick and the police force that keeps us safe are what matter. The motion talks about the major projects of the Andrews Labor government – the Metro Tunnel, the West Gate Tunnel and the North East Link. These are the things that matter. They have always mattered. They did on that day in 2003, and they do now in 2023.

As part of my preparation for my remarks in this speech I had the opportunity to reflect more on the former Premier. I came across an article from June 2014 in the Age newspaper, just a few months before our famous electoral victory in November of that year. After just one term in opposition Daniel and Victorian Labor did what many thought not possible: beat a first-term Liberal government, something I am sure that those on the other side remember too well.

In Daniel Andrews’s term as Premier the government achieved a first in Australia: his cabinet became almost two-thirds women and our caucus became more than half women, something he pointed to at our state conference earlier this year. If you call that mismanagement, if you call that nine years’ worth of damage, then I cannot imagine what the Liberals would consider success. I imagine for those opposite success would mean the massive privatisation efforts of former Premier Kennett, which would mean cuts, cuts and more cuts – no Metro Tunnel, no West Gate Tunnel, no North East Link, some of the projects that Victoria and Victorians will enjoy for decades thanks to the vision. The Andrews Labor government had projects like the level crossing removals – we got them done and we set targets to beat them year on year, and it is something that Premier Allan can be incredibly proud to have achieved. The major roads projects, upgrading important arterial networks across the state, is a legacy that I would be proud to inherit.

We have honoured our election promises. In 2018 the campaign slogan, so to speak, of the Victorian Labor Party’s campaign was simple: ‘Say what you do, do what you say’, and we continue to do that. We promised to cut regional public transport fares to bring them into line with metropolitan tickets – fairer fares. I am proud to announce we have done that.

Premier Allan has so much more to be proud of from her own history. She was 25 when elected in 1999, which is the age of my office manager. That was the election where Victorian Labor won what was undeniably an unexpected victory over the Jeff Kennett-led coalition. Over the next 27 years – by the time of the next election – the Victorian people will have given Premier Allan a mandate in her own seat for all those years and a Labor government for all but four of them. Premier Allan has considerable ministerial legacy to be proud of, going all the way back to 2002, and I am quite thankful the Liberals have given me the opportunity to speak on this.

In 2002 she was elected Minister for Education Services and Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs and became the youngest minister in the state’s history. In fact she became the youngest Victorian government minister since Alfred Deakin in the 1880s. In 2006 Premier Allan became the Minister for Women’s Affairs and then received a promotion to Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation, Minister for Regional and Rural Development and Minister for Industry and Trade. Premier Allan has a long history of service to this state, and Premier Allan has a long legacy of properly managing her ministerial portfolios. I congratulate her on all of those achievements. Right across Melbourne 110 level crossings are being removed by 2030, with 72 already gone for good – delivered under budget and ahead of schedule. That is good economic management. That is getting things done. And the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority has built or upgraded 47 train stations across the metro and regional rail network since 2014.

When Daniel Andrews announced his resignation, he said something that I remember all too well. When the former Premier was asked about one of his highlights in office, he talked about the moments that you did not see and that were behind closed doors, where all the work was being done. He said that one of the best moments happened to be just 13 days ago, on a Thursday, when he got to test the train in the new Metro Tunnel. There was no media presence and no fanfare. He just wanted to see what was being done, because it is all about the work. It is always about the work. Talking about testing the train, the Premier said:

I went from Arden and I travelled underneath the city at 80 kilometres an hour on a train that was made right here in Victoria …

And he said that tunnel is nearly finished. This is a legacy that Premier Allan can be proud of. Once completed it will mean more trains can use the network, and it will reduce travel times by a lot. By running the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines through the new tunnel we can move more people very quickly. As the former Premier said, he stopped at each station, and he got off and thanked all the workers for the proud work they have done. That, for the former Premier, was right up there amongst the moments because, as he said, and I could not agree more, it will change our city. That is a legacy to be proud of and it is a legacy Premier Allan helped build.

One day, maybe after my time on this earth, maybe even after my time in this chamber, there will be a loop that wraps around the city. It will wrap around our state, helping people get from hub city to hub city – because we will have many, many cities then – from Box Hill to Frankston and from Geelong to Sunbury. The Suburban Rail Loop will be a fixture of everyday life for Victorians, and future Victorians will sit back and think, ‘How could this not have been built?’

In the Premier’s last few weeks as the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop she awarded the preferred bidder for the Suburban Rail Loop the tunnelling contract. The tunnel-boring machines are on track to start digging in 2026, and the Premier had this to say:

We promised Victorians we’d get on with building the Suburban Rail Loop and that’s exactly what we’re doing – this first major works contract is a major step towards tunnel boring machines being in the ground by 2026.

SRL will not only transform our public transport network, it’ll reshape how Melbourne grows in the decades ahead – taking thousands of cars off roads, delivering 24,000 jobs across the life of the project and boosting hundreds of small local businesses.

From the Chandler Highway being widened to six lanes in 2019 to the completion of Union station in 2023, the Premier has much to be proud of, just like former Premier Daniel Andrews has much to be proud of.

Today to end I would like to quote Chris Kenny. Talking on Sky News, he said about Daniel Andrews:

All his enemies trying to claim his scalp are kidding themselves. They lost, he won.

And Andrew Bolt, talking on Sky News, referring to those opposite, said:

… they never beat him. They never beat him. He’s now going to leave as a winner.

Because that is what Victorian Labor does: we win.

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (10:39): I am thrilled to speak on this motion. We have a new Premier here in Victoria, but unfortunately it is the same old, tired Labor government. I know Mr Carroll, the member for Niddrie in the other place, was keen to take her job, but Jacinta Allan has taken on the biggest state debt in the country, larger than that of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined. State debt continues to spiral out of control, with net debt forecast in the budget to reach $171 billion in 2026–27. Unfortunately only those with short memories could be sympathetic to the Premier for the situation she finds herself in. Jacinta Allan, the Premier, has been responsible for nearly $30 billion worth of major blowouts, including $3.6 billion on the Metro Tunnel. The cost of the West Gate Tunnel has blown out from $5.5 billion to $10.2 billion, and the project has been delayed by five years. The cost of the North East Link in Dr Bach’s electorate – a project that affects my electorate as well – has increased from $5 billion to $18 billion, an increase of 260 per cent. How can you get that so wrong?

The Premier, in her media blitz, on radio said the level crossing removals are under budget, which is just blatantly false. The budget papers show a $330 million blowout on Labor’s promise to remove 50 level crossings. The Murray Basin rail project is still yet to be completed and has a blowout of $226 million.

I noticed Mr Berger saying about Andrews’s comments, ‘Say what you do, do what you say’. Say what you do and do what you say. That must be except for the Commonwealth Games. That must be except for the Western Rail Plan, the electrification to Wyndham Vale and Melton, which Mr Andrews took to two separate elections. Say what you do and do what you say. How about the airport rail? Say what you do and do what you say. They even rebadged the airport rail at the election to ‘SRL airport’. They kept the worst elements of the Suburban Rail Loop and cancelled the airport rail, which Victorians wanted. You had so many western suburbs Labor MPs in every lower house seat saying ‘How good is the airport rail going to be?’ and ‘Labor is going to deliver it because we say what we do and we do what we say’ – except for airport rail, the Western Rail Plan and the Commonwealth Games.

Trung Luu: All cancelled.

Evan MULHOLLAND: All cancelled. Last week it was revealed, as a result of an FOI application by the opposition, that the Premier had been writing the CFMEU into tender documents for the athletes villages – it is absolutely unprecedented that a government would do that. It is not just me saying it is unprecedented; many building industry sources are saying it is completely unprecedented. But this is what she was doing with the Commonwealth Games, basically using it as a factional base to shore up her leadership against Mr Carroll. Jacinta Allan was the Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery, not the most apt name if you ask me. They were not delivered, they were totally bungled – an embarrassment to our state. Now we hear that sometime in June the government hired lawyers, paid over $1 million for lawyers, and sent them over to London pre announcement. You had the Premier at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee saying it was completely all good and the Premier at the budget saying it was going to be $2.6 billion, no worries. We had Ms Shing in the Parliament on 21 and 22 June –

Matthew Bach: Misleading us.

Evan MULHOLLAND: Probably – boasting about how good the Commonwealth Games were going to be when at the start of June, it looks like, they hired lawyers to cancel the games. The new Premier must not have trusted the Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy enough to let her know that they had lawyers in to cancel the Commonwealth Games. It is either that or she has misled the Parliament.

We have seen so many blowouts. We have definitely seen it in my electorate – like the Mickleham Road project, where the Premier has been strident in her defence of the blowout. It is $222 million for 1.6 kilometres of road, which makes it the most expensive road duplication in the state. I will put that in comparison. The government were able to duplicate 6.6 kilometres of Plenty Road – over budget, still – for $145 million. So why is it that in the outer north it costs so much? That would be major cost blowouts; CFMEU shenanigans, as we saw on the front page of the Australian Financial Review multiple days in a row; and standover tactics on the Mickleham Road site. We definitely saw that in my electorate, and people are sick of it. And the same shenanigans are going on at the moment with the Craigieburn Road duplication, all under the Premier’s watch.

There was another project she cancelled, which a lot of people are annoyed about, which is the Geelong fast rail project. There are so many projects that Labor promises at elections: ‘We say what we do and do what we say.’ They did promise a Melton hospital at the 2018 election, and they delivered on that. Do you know what they delivered? Just before caretaker mode, before the last election, they put up a fence saying ‘Site of your new Melton hospital’. This is the legacy of this government and this Premier. It is a tired, old Labor government.

I want to talk about housing, because we see the shambolic nature of this government. Yesterday Mr Pallas, maybe as a bit of revenge for not getting the Deputy Premier position, went and announced a new tax on housing at a Property Council breakfast. Now, if this is the way the government is going to go, it is going to go to the Field and Game Australia conference and announce a ban on duck hunting at a duck hunters conference. They announced a new tax on housing at a Property Council breakfast. It is fair to say it received a pretty frosty reception. In an extraordinary response, the Property Council of Australia described it as a trust bonfire. They said:

Don’t go slow on housing and approvals for the past few years and then seek redemption through a partnership with industry that you set on fire inside a fortnight.

They said:

Don’t “do a Victoria”.

That is what they said. They were partners. They signed an affordability partnership with the government. They signed on the dotted line, and so did the Premier. Just like with the Commonwealth Games, they break contracts, they break agreements they have made – affordability agreements they have made in the housing statement. The housing statement was a glossy brochure, but it is clear they have left all the nasties till later on. We saw Mr Pallas announce that tax. We see in the Herald Sun there are probably two more taxes to come. They have hit their half century of new or increased taxes, and they are going for gold. I think they are up to about 53.

Members interjecting.

Matthew Bach: On a point of order, Acting President, my personal view is that given how difficult the last few days have been for Mr Galea from a factional point of view, we should have some empathy for him; however, he has been interjecting incessantly during Mr Mulholland’s contribution. It is a contribution that I am interested in listening to, as I was interested in listening to Mr Berger’s contribution previously. Humbly I would submit that Mr Galea be made to pipe down.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Sonja Terpstra): Dr Bach, thank you for that very entertaining point of order, but I might say that despite the preamble, which was really not relevant to anything remotely to do with a point of order, I do take your point that perhaps there is a little bit too much noise coming from this side of the chamber. So if I could ask that Mr Mulholland continues for the last 26 seconds in silence –

Evan Mulholland: Just on the suburban –

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Sonja Terpstra): Sorry, Mr Mulholland, I did not give you the call yet. I was actually finishing on the point of order, but now you may have the call.

Evan MULHOLLAND: On the Suburban Rail Loop, you have even got the Grattan Institute, which are usually to the left of Stalin, saying to cancel the project, and you have got every infrastructure expert possible. It was never in Plan Melbourne. Infrastructure Victoria did not recommend it, and neither did Infrastructure Australia.

Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (10:49): I am pleased to address this motion put forward by Ms Crozier. I am not surprised to find that it is written entirely from a negative perspective. Ms Crozier never seems to propose things for our state. She does not seek to debate with alternative propositions or solutions. Instead, once again, we have a motion that is simply a political attack.

I do not believe the people of Victoria find the opposition’s relentless attacks to be constructive, and they certainly offer no vision for our state. I am happy to contrast that with the incredible progress and results Premier Allan has actively been working towards for many years, results that do take time and do cost money, because when you do something, take the big decisions to make major investments and employ thousands of people, you do this knowing that you will be addressing inherent risks throughout the project. But these infrastructure projects are vital for the economy of this state.

A reasonable measure of good governance is how adaptive we can be in a changing environment, in changing circumstances, and no amount of one-dimensional attacks – as if the world does not change ‍– from the opposition will stop our government from continuing to invest and look after the priorities of our community. Sometimes the scope of projects changes – this can be determined by circumstances ‍– and others will give dividends that you did not even expect. I know I am a regional person, but this example is quite a beautiful example. Level crossing removals have become a very apt example of that. They are not just a huge traffic management solution but they have also resulted in new connections between communities across railway lines, as well as those found in the improved livability of these spaces. This was unexpected. Since 2015 the Labor government has removed 67 level crossings, built 37 new and upgraded stations, created 50 kilometres of walking and cycling paths and unlocked 20 MCGs of open space to deliver massive improvements for communities across Melbourne, all ahead of schedule. This good work is continuing. The Allan Labor government is getting on with removing level crossings right across Melbourne, with 110 dangerous and congested crossings to be gone for good by 2030, including 70 by the first half of this year.

The impact of Premier Allan as infrastructure minister has been enormous and profound across our state, and I admire very much her vision and ability to look holistically at our infrastructure needs for the state. The different parts of infrastructure work progressing across our state are starting to come together, and it is very exciting to see where the vision is going as all of the pieces of the puzzle start to come together. Just look at the investment that has been made in our major roads. In 2023 the first tunnel-boring machine arrived to deliver the North East Link, which will change the way people will move around Melbourne. Tunnelling was recently completed in the West Gate Tunnel, with the twin breakthroughs of the boring machines. This will improve travel to and from Melbourne’s west.

Anyone who takes the West Gate Bridge on a daily or weekly basis will absolutely appreciate the importance of the Allan government’s investments in the west of Melbourne. Whether they are living in the west of Melbourne or living in the west of Victoria, less traffic congestion across the West Gate Bridge will bring relief for so many. The West Gate Tunnel will also have incredibly important implications for the transportation of our freight. Food and Fibre Great South Coast is a representative body for food and fibre production businesses and their vast supply chains across south-west Victoria. As their website states:

South West Victoria is Australia’s top agricultural production region, delivering over $4.6 billion in output annually.

There is no doubt that that is an absolute economy driver in the state of Victoria. Currently the West Gate Bridge must cope with the transportation of this freight as well as logging trucks and aluminium products. These trucks represent a huge contribution to the economy of Victoria: logging, aluminium, dairy, grain – enormous. The West Gate Tunnel will direct those trucks straight into the Port of Melbourne, providing an important logistical link straight into international markets. This tunnel represents an incredibly important logistical link into our export markets, and it is great for commuters. I simply do not understand how the opposition can twist this around and try to make political negatives out of it.

Stage 1 of the Warrnambool railway line upgrade – the V/Line upgrade – has been completed, allowing for a fifth train to return on a weekday service, and the impact for my community across the south-west has been enormous.

I would also like to address the tone of the accusations in clause 5 of the motion. It is disappointing to me to see such brutal negativity of tone. It is almost unparliamentary in the way that it accuses. If there was any substance to those accusations that the opposition has made, no-one would be game to build anything for fear of having to deal with the complexities of major transformative capital projects in this state. Oh, wait, the Baillieu–Napthine government did nothing. I will tell you about a day that I spent under the Baillieu–Napthine government as mayor of Warrnambool. All of the mayors and CEOs of the state were called to Melbourne to hear from the state government. I as mayor and CEO at the time Bruce Anson from Warrnambool City Council travelled to Melbourne. It was held – and I sound very regional here – at one of those fancy hotels at the top of Collins Street. We were all there in a big hall. The session turned out to be a lecture on how the government had no money and that we should not ask for any money. This might sound familiar to some in the chamber today. There was no presentation on strategic priority, no vision for the state or what the government was expecting local government in Victoria to do or to prioritise and no proposal of what role we could play as councillors and community representatives. I know myself that I wished I could have that day in my life back, and we discussed that in the car on the way home the next day. It was a total waste of time for me and the CEO, costing ratepayers money, including accommodation, without any prospect of gain for the good citizens of Warrnambool. So I put to you: I prefer to be in a government that builds infrastructure that supports the economy and community of this state than one that wastes their time in government and does nothing.

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (10:58): I do want to congratulate Jacinta Allan for her appointment as the Premier. She has been a career politician, working for Labor MPs before being elected at just 25 years of age. She is actually my local member, and in 2018 we stood on polling booths together. I certainly wish her well in her role and hope that she can bring about the change that Victoria desperately needs.

But Jacinta Allan has been deputy leader and part of the leadership team of this government, which has led Victoria into a very deep hole. Our state debt is now more than Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania’s combined. We are heading towards over $170 billion of debt, and that is going to be $22 million per day in interest payments alone. After saying that this government would introduce no new taxes, they have already introduced 52 new taxes. You think of the payroll tax and the pressure that that has placed on business and on schools. Now we have got GPs. One practice manager received a bill for $800,000, and there is concern that a number of clinics will be forced to close.

When we look at the WorkCover tax and the impact of that there are premium increases of 42 per cent by this government. I was talking to a local business that described this tax as basically a kick in the guts for them. Then there is the Airbnb tax. Only recently I was speaking to a lady who was saying that she could not work due to the COVID restrictions and so she set up to get income from Airbnb, and now that puts her income at risk as well.

In her first days as Premier she has introduced yet another tax – a tax on vacant land that is going to apply to all of Victoria by 2025.

Labor has been in government for a very long time, and our state is struggling. When you think about the health crisis at the moment, hospitals are under pressure and there are very long waiting lists for surgery. When you look at our social housing, Victoria has a very long list – we are the worst in the country. In our justice system our courts have got a huge backlog of cases. With Victoria Police we have got rising crime happening in this state and over 500 officers leaving each year. Education is under pressure. We have now over 2000 vacancies for teachers in this state, and they are struggling. We have got an energy crisis. We have got a government that is very keen on closing down coal and gas and placing significant pressure on our energy system, and we are facing a summer of blackouts. Our native timber industry is being closed under this government, yet we are importing timber from other states. It just does not make any sense. Families and businesses are struggling with rising living costs, and this government is just making it a whole lot worse.

We can look at the pressure of taxes on businesses. We were speaking with a very large business recently, and they were just saying how when they have got businesses across different states, in Victoria it is the worst. They have got over $4 million worth of taxes and costs before they even generate a single cent. But instead of supporting business to get the state moving, this government has just been focused on destroying business and getting them to pay for the costs incurred by this government.

The track record of Jacinta Allan as a minister has not been good – over $30 billion of cost blowouts on infrastructure projects under her watch. The motion does talk to $3.6 billion for the Metro Tunnel ‍– three years over; $4.7 billion on the West Gate Tunnel; and $13 billion wasted on the North East Link. When you think about the Murray Basin rail project, we have had over $400 million wasted on that project. An Auditor-General report found that it was over budget and years behind schedule and that it is costing farmers a lot more in additional freight costs each year. The Level Crossing Removal Project – again, there is incorrect information there – in fact has been over budget. Now an airport rail is also on hold. It has already cost a significant amount, but nothing has been delivered.

As Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery Jacinta Allan failed to deliver the games. Usually you get the sack if you do not deliver in your role, but instead she has been promoted to the top job. It was intended to be a regional games that shone a light on regional Victoria across the world, but in fact nothing has been delivered in the regions. There have been no legacy projects to date. Local businesses and councils are still confused as to what projects are actually going to be delivered in our areas. All we have got to show for it is over $380 million spent on compensation to get out of the games, and now we have seen a $1.3 million legal bill.

As a leader you need to think about the impact that your decisions have on people. This government locked down our state harder than any other place in the world. It destroyed businesses, and it certainly left young people particularly with severe anxiety issues. When Jacinta Allan was Acting Premier during COVID she closed Victoria’s borders on New Year’s Day with just hours notice, forcing young families and people who were elderly to drive for hours or be locked out of their own state, and this decision put people at risk and left people queueing in cars for hours. As Premier, as the leader of this state, it is very important to listen to the experts.

The Suburban Rail Loop has been talked about a lot. The Auditor-General released a report which certainly showed that there was not a business case that was sufficient for this project. Even the Grattan Institute have suggested cancelling it. Then when you look at the Parliamentary Budget Office, they estimated the first two stages would not cost $50 billion, as Jacinta Allan had indicated, but in fact more like $125 billion. But when they came out with that information, Jacinta Allan just called the PBO tricky, deceitful and underhanded, which was very disappointing, because the Parliamentary Budget Office are independent and apolitical and are there to provide advice on project costings. I encourage the Premier to change that attitude and listen to the experts.

We have a housing statement that was released very recently. I think it was Premier Daniel Andrews’s last-minute, last-ditch attempt to tick something off his list before he got out the door, but it is another pie-in-the-sky announcement. It is just a statement, a housing statement, and I fear that that is all it will be, not a reality – 800,000 homes in 10 years is a target of 219 homes being built a day. Housing experts have criticised plans to knock down over 40 housing commission towers to relocate people, because where will they go? We have such a significant shortage of housing in this state, and under this government building companies have collapsed.

We need transparency in government. There has been a lot of talk about the cover-ups and the need for this government to change direction. We need to stop the waste and rein in our state debt. Victorians are getting very tired of the spin. They are tired of a government that is just looking for media headlines without doing the homework first. They are tired of a government that has a revolving door of ministers and changing portfolios.

Certainly I wish the Premier well. I hope that she is able to achieve change in this state over the next three years until the next state election. I am an upper house member, so if she needs any advice on state government matters or any assistance, I am happy to assist.

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (11:07): Well, here we are. It is quite incredible that we are here having this debate, a debate that I certainly look forward to engaging in for the next 10 minutes. I wish I had more time to discuss it, because some of what I am hearing from those opposite is absolutely laughable, and I will go through some of that in detail. I will also touch on some of the contributions made from this side, particularly from Ms Ermacora. I think she started with a very, very good point and one I do want to pick the opposition up on. I know that to them, as we saw at the last election, women seem to be a niche issue. We on this side are proud to have a woman leading the government. We are proud to have a woman as our Premier.

Georgie Crozier: Just like Joan Kirner.

Tom McINTOSH: Thank you. You just took me to my next point – just like Joan Kirner. So we are going to reference a Premier from – I do not know the exact years – let us say 32 or 33 years ago. We are going to reference a woman from 32 or 33 years ago and that is the link between this Premier and that Premier – because she is a woman. That is why we are going to make the direct link. Do not worry about what skills she brings to the job, do not worry about the decades of experience that have been mentioned – decades of experience leading major, major government infrastructure investment; a proven leader in the Parliament – she is a woman. That is the line we are going to draw.

I went into the lower house yesterday – I thought I would have a look at our new Premier – and, boy, was she good. I actually do not pay too much attention to the opposition in the lower house given their relevancy, but I did go in and I was blown away. I was blown away looking at those on the opposition benches – old white men. Now, it is not lost on me that I am also a white man, but I am a young white man, a progressive young white man. Conservative old white men were sitting there, stale, with no ideas. I am going to come to ideas when I get to the end of my contribution, because those opposite lack any ideas, and that is the fundamental point that I want to get to in this debate. I think we have made it very clear that the Premier is there in her own right because she has huge experience, she is very, very capable, and she is a beloved local member.

Members interjecting.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Sonja Terpstra): Order! Sorry, Mr McIntosh. There is a lot of interjection on my left. I would really appreciate it if Mr McIntosh could continue his contribution in silence.

Tom McINTOSH: As I was saying, a beloved local member. Now, it is not lost on me. It occurred to me that the Leader of the Opposition lost his seat at the last election. Our leader, a local leader, a regional leader, has been returned to her seat five or six terms in a row and has increased her margin every time, because not only does she lead her portfolios actively in the government but she is active on the ground and respected on the ground.

This brings me to the next point, which Ms Ermacora also made: she is a brilliant regional leader. That is what this state government has done since the Bracks government came in, when the Premier entered Parliament. We have focused on regional communities, ensuring that the infrastructure and the services they need are there, because we all remember what happened under Kennett. The Nationals and the Liberals ripped the guts out of regional communities. First they took the train lines – the train lines went out. Then they cut the community services. Then, lo and behold, what did the banks do? ‘Well, if the government is ripping everything out of the regions, why don’t we do the same?’ So then the banks left, and then of course the droughts hit. The small farms had to sell, the big farms took stuff up, houses were left to rot, community sports clubs were just losing players and pubs had to close. We know that history. The people of Victoria remember that history and will not forget that history.

The record that the Premier has had in transport and infrastructure is absolutely phenomenal. We get on with delivering infrastructure that this state needs because this state is growing and it is prospering. We ensure that everyone in this state – that is something we believe in on this side – gets access to equal opportunity to get on with their lives. Whether it be their education, their training and their ability to work, or whether it is people in their retirement, everybody gets a fair go. On the metro side of things, there is so much to go through I do not even know where to start. I mean, even the opposition are referencing level crossings – 72 already gone out of 110. We know this is so popular because it helps people in their day-to-day lives, but it also improves the productivity of our state. Forty-seven train stations, metro and regional, have been upgraded, giving better access to public transport for people right around Victoria.

I think Ms Ermacora or Mr Berger referenced earlier the metro trains running under Melbourne. This is a significant investment in the future of our city and our state, because it does not matter where you are coming from in the state, whether we are taking people out or bringing people in, you need that capacity to keep the train system moving. Those line upgrades to enable all this to happen have been occurring in metro and regional Victoria. I visited with the member for Pakenham Ms Vulin recently the Pakenham station, where VLocity trains built in Newport are commissioned and run out of Pakenham. We are keeping the jobs here – good-quality jobs with good pay – where we know the quality of the content that we are delivering for Victorians is second to none. I know those opposite do not like it. They would rather offshore things. They would rather not worry about the quality. They would rather sign a contract: ‘Oh, well. They won’t be delivered for another term, so let’s not worry.’ We saw that happen when they were last in government, but we will not do that.

Regional rail – $4.5 billion has been invested to upgrade every line of regional rail. I have already touched on what happened under the Liberal–Nationals. Rail lines closed down. People still talk to me ‍– just in Korumburra the other day they talked about what a blow it was when the Kennett government closed the line to Leongatha. And of course one that is raised with me regularly is fairer fares. It does not get much fairer than that, and it does not get much better than that – equity for regional Victorians with our metropolitan brothers and sisters, so that we can all travel on public transport for the same rate.

Members interjecting.

Tom McINTOSH: Those opposite mock, and they say, ‘Let’s all hold hands’, but I think it is really important. It does not matter where you live, you get equal access to public transport – equal access. In Eastern Victoria in particular, the Avon River bridge upgrade, level crossing removals – I could go on and on and on.

I have only got 2 minutes and 43 seconds left, and I have got to get through all the work that this Premier has done in her recent portfolios without even going back further: major roads, the North East Link, the West Gate Tunnel, the South Gippy Freeway – one I am passionate about – and the Princes Highway. There is so much major infrastructure work, as I already said, connecting people, getting people where they need to be and improving our state’s economic productivity. But it is also putting people in jobs, good quality, well-paid jobs that ensure when they go home to their families they know that they can service their families, get their kids looked after, get them to school, get them to their local sports and put food on the table. Around families who are secure in their employment, who have well-paid jobs, you build communities, and that is how you build thriving communities. It builds a thriving state, which is what Victoria is – a place where people want to be, a place where people want to live and they want to raise families and a place that respects everybody and values everybody.

This is the culture that we are trying to build from this side, not those opposite, who try and divide people, who try and be negative about people. It is a positive, inclusive place, and as we saw with the Collingwood Football Club on the weekend, when there is leadership that builds a really, really good culture, do you know what you get? Do you know what you get when you have great leadership and good culture? You get great results. You get winning outcomes. That is exactly what you get, and that is exactly what this Premier is delivering for Victoria. I could not be prouder of this state government. I could not be prouder of the Collingwood Football Club either, but I will come back to that in another statement. Do you know what? Above everything, while the other side worries about people – and we have seen it I do not know how many times now – fighting amongst themselves about who gets this position, that position or whatever it may be, this side is about delivering policies. It is about delivering outcomes for every single Victorian. It does not matter whether it is housing, whether it is jobs, whether it is transport, whether it is action on climate change or whether it is education or health. No matter what it is, we have got a very, very clear focus on getting outcomes for every single Victorian, and that is why I am so passionate about supporting our Premier in the work that we will go on and continue to deliver for Victoria.

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (11:17): It is good to rise to join this motion, and it is good to follow Mr McIntosh. I agree with some of the things that Mr McIntosh was saying. Principally I agree with some of the points he was making about the Collingwood Football Club and their excellent leadership and great culture. Mr McIntosh will, I dare say, not be surprised to learn that I had a lot to do with that. I taught at Carey and was a member of the football program there when Darcy Moore, the excellent captain – outstanding captain and a fine young man – of the Collingwood Football Club, was going through. I was coach of the second 18 at Carey Grammar when young Nick Daicos came through the program. Of course I never got the pleasure of coaching Nick myself, because he was always in the firsts, where he belonged, but nonetheless I had a great deal to do with the development of leadership and culture at that place, which obviously now has moved to Collingwood, and we saw a great win on the weekend.

But one of the points Mr McIntosh raised that I would take issue with was the comparison between our new Premier and Mrs Kirner. That is a comparison that the Premier herself invited I think at her very first press conference, and for our Premier I do not think the comparison works. Mrs Kirner has received so much in my mind oftentimes unfair and negative criticism, especially from elements of the right-wing press. As Mr Mulholland was saying, when Mrs Kirner came to power the state’s finances were ruined. That actually had very little to do with Mrs Kirner, because Mrs Kirner most recently had been in the education department, where she did some very good things. There were things she did that I disagree with, but she also did some very good things. She introduced the VCE, for example, a great reform. It was not Mrs Kirner’s fault that Victoria’s finances were ruined when she came to power; that was on John Cain. That was on the blokes – all of them pale, stale blokes – that she had running the Treasury. It was not Mrs Kirner’s fault.

I listened to what Ms Allan said comparing herself to Mrs Kirner, and I thought the comparison works on one level of course because Victoria is broke – our finances are shot – but on another level, as Ms Crozier’s motion shows, the comparison does not work, because Mrs Kirner had nothing to do with it, but Ms Allan is the principal driver of our current economic malaise. Mrs Kirner, to her credit, understood that Victoria was broke and understood that Victorians would have to deal with some harsh measures in order to fix the finances. These are things that Ms Allan clearly does not understand. Mrs Kirner started the state’s privatisation program. Under Mrs Kirner and Labor that program was botched – I recognise that – but nonetheless she started that privatisation program because she understood that we would need to take a different direction from the Keynesian direction taken by Mr Cain and those pale, stale old white men that he put into the Treasury, who ruined the state financially. The comparison does not work on that level.

Mrs Kirner was somebody who could work with others. I had the great privilege of getting to know Mrs Kirner when she chaired a committee reporting to Minister Wooldridge. I was Minister Wooldridge’s adviser, so I worked closely with Mrs Kirner. It was a great honour to meet and to get to know Mrs Kirner. I was terrified as a young Liberal adviser to meet the former Premier, but she was a person who worked with the previous Baillieu and Napthine governments closely because she wanted good outcomes for the Victorian people. Even the best friends of our new Premier recognise that she is a highly partisan figure. I note that Ms Allan has invited a comparison between her and Mrs Kirner. There were many things Mrs Kirner did that I would disagree with, but clearly Ms Allan is no Joan Kirner.

On the specific content of the motion, I do think it is important to recognise that many of the projects that Ms Allan has overseen have blown out by large amounts. I think governments should in some respect be reflective, and when a government has a new leader that is a reasonable time to reflect. Of course members opposite can point to successes, but I think any government should be reflective enough to also understand where things have gone wrong. Mr Mulholland referenced some of the commentary of the Grattan Institute recently. There was an opinion piece in the Age newspaper I think it was last week based on some excellent research from the Grattan Institute, which says that the Suburban Rail Loop should be scrapped. I agree: the Suburban Rail Loop should be scrapped. There was excellent investigative reporting at the Age years ago now demonstrating how poor the process was, overseen by Ms Allan. She said, when she first took this to the Victorian people – I think it was in 2018, wasn’t it? – that the Suburban Rail Loop would cost up to $50 billion. Now analysis by the independent, apolitical Parliamentary Budget Office says that the first two legs alone will cost $125 billion, meaning the whole project will cost something in the order of $200 billion – that is before running costs. It is a blowout in the magnitude of 400 per cent. We cannot afford that. There is no business case for this project. Previously members opposite like Mr Pakula, who I like and respect, have said that to take forward a major project without an independent analysis by Infrastructure Victoria would be economic vandalism. That is what Mr Pakula said. At a minimum, why doesn’t the new Premier do what Ms Crozier is asking? Why doesn’t the new Premier submit the business case, if she has one, for the Suburban Rail Loop to Infrastructure Australia, an excellent invention of Mr Albanese?

Unlike those opposite, I will not say that current and former Labor governments have never done anything right – that is a ridiculous thing to say. Mr Albanese, when he was the minister under Kevin Rudd, set up Infrastructure Australia, and that was a very good thing. Labor members in this place lauded Mr Albanese and Mr Rudd at the time for setting up that excellent body. To be fair to this current government, tired and old as it is, mired in corruption scandals as it is, it set up Infrastructure Victoria. Infrastructure Victoria does not recommend the Suburban Rail Loop. Infrastructure Victoria has never seen a business case for the Suburban Rail Loop.

I am focusing on this particular project, this mangy dog of a project, because of course we need to carry on with the Metro Tunnel and of course we need to carry on with the North East Link. And I do not disagree with some of the comments of members opposite that ultimately these projects will yield benefits for the Victorian people. We acknowledge that. We support many of these projects, but we do not support the appalling way they have been mismanaged. There is a difference. Of course those opposite want to make partisan points, clearly political points, saying that we would not support these sorts of infrastructure projects. No, no, we do – but we do not support the mismanagement that has led to such appalling waste. And all Victorians should care about the level of our debt now, more debt than New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined.

Mrs Kirner, when she became Premier, recognised that the state’s finances were in such a parlous position that a different approach would need to be taken. Now, I do not agree with everything that she did economically at that time, but she recognised that and took a different approach. I would say to the new Premier – whom I wish every possible success; all Victorians should – that now is the appropriate time to reflect and take a different pathway. It does not look like that is what is happening, from the first few days, and I fear that Mr Mulholland’s analysis that this government is carrying on as it did before and thus is tired and old will be borne out to be correct. But it does not have to be the case.

Ms Allan is the Premier. She went through what clearly was a bruising process within the caucus last week, but nonetheless she emerged as the Premier and I wish her every possible success. However, for her to succeed and for the state to succeed she needs to do what Mrs Kirner did, which was to recognise the parlous position of the state’s finances. It is very hard for Ms Allan, because she is the responsible party. She has overseen $30 billion of project blowouts. Now, that is a figure that has been fact-checked. When I was shadow minister to Ms Allan in the lead-up to the election I provided a detailed analysis to the press pack – I know members opposite had it as well – to be fact-checked. It is correct; indeed it is conservative. That is a huge figure. It is a bill for every Victorian household of about $20,000, just because of blowouts on major projects. That is before the Suburban Rail Loop is thrown in, which has already blown out according to independent, apolitical analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office – which Labor set up, to its credit – which shows it will be over $200 billion. So I would urge all members, actually, to take this motion seriously and to seek to work alongside the government and the new Premier to make her a success and to make Victoria a success once more.

Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (11:28): I also rise to speak on this motion put forward today by Ms Crozier – the same old, same old from the Liberal Party, as we see. It is all the same motions repackaged – how exciting. ‘Let’s put a new name on it. Let’s not even give her a week to see how she goes in the first week in the job. Let’s just put this motion out. Let’s get this out. We know what we’re going to say before it’s even started. Here we go again.’ So it is quite the motion, but again, as other colleagues have said, what a wonderful opportunity to talk about all the amazing infrastructure projects that this government is actually delivering. It is a foreign concept to those opposite, actually getting into office and doing something with it. We had four years of complete inertia and inaction – two premiers but four years of complete inaction and inertia.

Members interjecting.

Michael GALEA: I will come back to you lot later, but I do want to start with a bit of a rebuttal to my good friend and colleague Mr McIntosh for his outrageous comparison, comparing a fantastic Premier and a fantastic new Premier to the Collingwood Football Club when he should know that Daniel Andrews and the new Premier Jacinta Allan are both proud Bombers fans.

A member: Proud?

Michael GALEA: Well, it has been a rough few seasons, but we will be coming back. Hopefully it will not take another 23 years for us to win another premiership, like it has already. But I am not sure at this stage what is more likely to happen next, another Bombers premiership or another Liberal government, the way that this lot opposite are acting. As a pessimistic Bombers fan, my money is on the Bombers, sadly, still. But they are proud Bombers fans, both Daniel and the new Premier Jacinta Allan too, which is a fantastic thing, so I will not have any more comparisons with that other football club.

As I say, Jacinta Allan is now one week into the job, and fair to say she has absolutely hit the ground running. She is already kicking goals, and what better way to see that than last week, on Thursday, the very first full day of her premiership, when she was out in the south-eastern suburbs, out at Pakenham at the level crossing project checking out progress. My word that project has come so far in such a short space of time. We have already removed the level crossing at Cardinia Road in Officer. We have removed crossings at Clyde Road in Berwick, and the Narre Warren project is underway now, as are the two projects in Beaconsfield – and those in this chamber will know I love talking about the Beaconsfield level crossings. But there are the Pakenham level crossings too, three crossings being removed as we speak, and a brand new Pakenham station as well as a new extension of the train line through to East Pakenham. This is a project that is going to transform the way that Pakenham gets around. I know in doorknocking the area that even five years ago people were talking about the nightmare of the level crossings, all three of them, and every single one who spoke to us and raised those issues was so frustrated. And it was so wonderful to see that commitment made at the 2018 election, five years ago, and to have our now Premier Jacinta Allan come out and announce that game-changing project for the south-east, and how good it was to have her on Thursday last week back in Pakenham, back in the south-east, checking out progress on the new sky rail, which is going to absolutely transform that community as well.

Of course on the Pakenham line, we cannot talk about the Pakenham line without talking about the Metro Tunnel. What a good project. That has been delivered ahead of schedule, which those opposite often like to forget to mention – ahead of schedule – and as the previous Premier got to check it out he thanked the workers on each station along the line, as he said, in just the last week as well. We are all looking forward to that train line opening. I know I am certainly looking forward to being able to get on one train in the outer south-east and go and see my good friend and colleague Mr Luu in the western suburbs as well. How good will that be!

Evan Mulholland: When is that going to be?

Michael GALEA: We will book in a time. I am sure he has got a lot of places he could take me – take me to shows, get some good food – and then I will come back to the south-east in the afternoon. And also of course I can go out and see our fabulous Parliamentary Secretary for Level Crossing Removals Mr Josh Bull, the member for Sunbury, who was also in Pakenham with us last week. And how good it will be with the one train to be able to go and see him as well. This is one example, and these are countless more examples of the immense infrastructure projects that this government is delivering both under the previous Andrews Labor government and of course under the current Allan government too.

Jacinta Allan has been the minister for a lot of these projects, as those opposite like to say. Frankly I am not sure why they are drawing attention to it, because Victorians know that when it comes to getting rid of level crossings, when it comes to investing in the roads, in the rail network and in the transport that we need, there has been only one government in the last few generations of Victoria that has actually been delivering that, and that is this side of the house and in particular the Allan–Andrews Labor governments. Look at what we have seen, as I said, from those opposite: four years of complete inaction. They went to the election saying, ‘We will build the Rowville rail line. We will build the Doncaster rail line.’ They said, ‘We’re not going to build any new freeways.’ What did they do? They did not build the Rowville rail line, they did not build the Doncaster rail line, they went to the election promising a freeway and then they locked us into it before the election, even though they knew they were going to lose. It was just shabby, shabby tactics, and that is all we get, and that is all we see from this motion as well – just more of the same old Liberals, the same old tactics, no vision for the state.

I really enjoy that the Liberals seem – well, they are actually not, they still seem as deflated as ever, to be honest. Let us be honest. But I love that they are saying, ‘Oh, you had an argument in the party room last week. You had an argument in the party room.’ Yes, we did. It is healthy. We had an argument in the party room, but, guess what, we resolved it. We walked out as friends, united. I know this is such a foreign concept to those opposite, that you can actually have a healthy disagreement, disagree on something and then walk out as friends. I know they are obviously very jealous because every party room that they have seems to cause more issues and more issues than the last and more issues than the last term. Are they in? Are they out? Who is being kicked out today? Who is being purged? What happened to the last one? Who is suing who? I know that they are not happy about that. But frankly this is a sign of a healthy government and a healthy democracy.

We have a fantastic new Premier in Jacinta Allan, who, as I say, is already hitting the ground running, is already working extremely hard and is going to make an absolutely fantastic Premier, leading a fantastic cabinet too, a cabinet for the first time that has more than two-thirds female representation in it – 68 per cent of the new cabinet is women. Isn’t that fantastic? What an achievement that is. It is this side of the house once again that is making the progress in terms of providing that representation: members from regional Victoria, a Premier from regional Victoria and members and ministers from all different parts of the community as well. That is what you get with a Labor government, rather than the same old, same old negativity and lack of action, lack of plans, lack of direction and lack of unity from those opposite.

Members interjecting.

Michael GALEA: If you had been here a moment ago, you would have heard me discuss that, Ms Crozier. I do say it is a hallmark of a healthy party that we work together, we bind together and we support our Premier. It is fantastic to have this opportunity to – (Time expired)

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (11:36): I am very pleased to sum up this motion. It is a motion that highlights to Victorians the situation we are in. It is an important motion. It demonstrates that even though we have changed premiers, it is the same old, tired Labor government with record debts that Victorians will be facing for years. The legacy that this Premier is leaving Victoria due to her actions as Deputy Premier and her responsibilities as the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure and Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery are issues that are very prominent in Victorians’ minds.

The Commonwealth Games abandonment by this government has led to reputational damage around the world. It is extraordinary that the cost that was in the budget of $2.6 billion suddenly blew out. We are not getting the truth from the current Premier, nor did we from the former Premier, and I think, as I said in my substantive contribution, we need the Premier to have a moral compass. We need her to tell the truth to Victorians about what has gone on. We need her to front the Commonwealth Games parliamentary inquiry and reassure Victorians, because the legacy is there for her to correct and for Victorians to see, otherwise it is going to be one of mistrust, as we have seen from the Property Council of Australia’s comments this morning. They have lost faith and trust in this government. The 53rd tax that has been put on to Victorians by a Labor government, the record debt that is greater than that of Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania combined and is only growing and the issues that Moody’s have put out which say our debt could be in excess of $200-odd billion just show what peril our financial situation is in.

This motion is important because it does highlight the Premier’s actions and her legacy. As Dr Bach said, to compare the former female Premier of this state Joan Kirner and the current Premier, they are miles apart. This Premier has been around the decision-making table where all these blowouts and where all this reputational damage has occurred. She has been responsible. She has been the decision-maker around a lot of this. As Deputy Premier she was in lock step with the former Premier about the decisions. She sat in the inner cabinet around COVID. She is responsible for the Commonwealth Games debacle. She has been responsible for $27 billion worth of infrastructure blowouts. That is a lot of hospitals, teachers, schools, police officers and a whole range of frontline workers that we need.

Our health system is on its knees. Our education system is going backwards. We have got so many issues, whether it is housing or energy costs or the cost of living. Our state is being looked at by others not just around the country but around the world, and it is because of the actions of this government. Recently I was travelling, and people in Europe knew that Melbourne was the longest locked down city in the world. That is the reputation we have. They know about the Commonwealth Games being cancelled suddenly. That reputational damage cannot be underestimated. We need to bring confidence back into the state. We do not want businesses leaving because of these increased taxes. We need to be supporting families and business, and at this point in time there are families who are struggling, cost-of-living pressures are huge and the increasing debt and the taxes that are being placed on families and businesses are not going to instil that confidence. That is why I say the legacy of this Premier is there, and I would urge her to have the moral compass to come before the Commonwealth Games inquiry, to actually point out to Victorians what went wrong and to rein in this debt. The Suburban Rail Loop is a vanity project. Money that is going into that is not money being well spent when there are so many issues that we need to fix in this state. Rising debt and rising taxes are not the answer. I would urge all members of the house to support the motion.

Council divided on motion:

Ayes (14): Matthew Bach, Jeff Bourman, Gaelle Broad, Georgie Crozier, David Davis, Moira Deeming, Renee Heath, Ann-Marie Hermans, Wendy Lovell, Trung Luu, Bev McArthur, Joe McCracken, Evan Mulholland, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell

Noes (19): Ryan Batchelor, John Berger, Lizzie Blandthorn, Katherine Copsey, Enver Erdogan, Jacinta Ermacora, Michael Galea, Shaun Leane, Sarah Mansfield, Rachel Payne, Aiv Puglielli, Georgie Purcell, Samantha Ratnam, Harriet Shing, Ingrid Stitt, Jaclyn Symes, Lee Tarlamis, Gayle Tierney, Sheena Watt

Motion negatived.