Tuesday, 27 August 2024

Economic policy

Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:36): (1075) My adjournment matter is to the Treasurer. The economic management of this state is in freefall. We have the highest unemployment and conversely the highest inflation as well. We have businesses lost to tax, to energy costs and to regulation. We already have the highest debt in the nation, and it continues to grow. Victoria’s credit rating has been downgraded twice under the Labor government, and now we have the lowest credit rating of any state in Australia. Another downgrade seems possible if not probable. These downgrades mean more money is spent servicing Labor’s ever-increasing debt. At the present AA rating, by 2028 we will be spending $26 million a day in interest. Each downgrade increases the cost to Victorians, diverting more money away from where it is needed in hospitals, infrastructure, teachers and schools.

The key question that needs to be asked is whether the government believe there will be another downgrade. Indeed, Treasurer, you yourself are wondering the very same thing, because documents obtained through freedom of information revealed that you commissioned a private credit assessment from Fitch in April 2022. The results of this publicly funded report have never been released, raising concerns about what the Labor government might be hiding. The key concern is whether a further downgrade is looming.

We already know the government’s economic strategy is unsustainable and reckless. The lack of transparency about the secret credit rating assessment adds doubt and alarm to all in the state. We simply cannot continue this way. We cannot continue to watch the government push us further into debt and closer to another downgrade while propping up project after project that blows out. Victoria’s future generations will inherit this mounting debt, limiting their opportunities and prosperity. How can we look our children in the eye and honestly say we are doing the right thing by them? The time for action is now, before it is too late. Will the Treasurer release the Fitch credit ratings that he commissioned, and will he guarantee that Victoria’s credit rating will not fall any further on this government’s watch?