Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Victorian Auditor-General’s Office

Auditor-General’s Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2023–24

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (17:41:361:): The Auditor-General’s Report on theAnnual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2023–24 has now been tabled in Parliament. The role of the Auditor-General is to be an independent officer of the Parliament. They provide assurances – or not – to the Parliament and the Victorian community about how effectively public sector agencies are providing services and using public money, but the findings of this report paint a very bleak picture and highlight the financial mismanagement of the Allan Labor government. I note that the Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson has taken the lead of Labor leaders like Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews and undermined the independent analysis by the Auditor-General’s office, saying:

… I don’t agree with the report. I just don’t. We’ve got a really strong and vibrant economy here in Victoria.

I am not sure what planet the Assistant Treasurer is on, but it is time to take the blinkers off and listen to the findings in this report. Danny Pearson also said:

We’re investing heavily in services that Victorians rely upon, and infrastructure they have overwhelmingly voted for. We’re not taking a backward step. Let’s not underestimate the strength and resilience of the Victorian economy.

Like an episode from Utopia, Labor spruiked the Suburban Rail Loop to voters in the lead-up to elections without a proper business case or any details on where the money was coming from to pay for it. The SRL was a thought bubble, but Labor have burst that bubble due to their poor financial mismanagement. In the last decade under Labor, state debt has increased. I will just say that in 2014, under the Liberals and Nationals when they were in office, the state debt was $22.3 billion, and now we are not far off a state net debt of nearly $188 billion – that is by 2028. Given the current state of Victoria’s economy and spiralling debt, many commentators have questioned the Premier’s decision to sign the contracts for close to $35 billion to commence the Suburban Rail Loop, a project that is expected to cost over $200 billion according to the Parliamentary Budget Office. To quote the Auditor-General’s report:

Prolonged operating losses and ongoing fiscal cash deficits are not financially sustainable, largely because they lead to higher debt levels than otherwise and indicate underlying structural risks.

The report highlighted that debt is spiralling faster than revenue and economic growth and found that:

While strategies and objectives are in place, the state has not articulated a clear plan for long-term fiscal management.

It states:

Current strategies are short term, reactive and do not address both the existing financial challenges and emerging financial risks … A more comprehensive approach is needed to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability and proactive management of the state’s finances.

In the past we have seen Labor drop the ball when it comes to managing the state’s finances but not to the scale of this government. This government are using a wrecking ball, and they are destroying our state. We have the highest debt of any state – more than Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania combined – and yet there is no plan to get out of it. Debt is growing at $80 million a day and we will soon be paying over $1 million an hour just in interest payments to service the debt. Labor is crippling families and businesses with higher and higher taxes and putting Victorians under even more pressure. Despite introducing new taxes, it is evident that the Allan Labor government is spending more money than it is raising, yet it continues to fail in so many areas.

I have spoken to small business owners who are tired. They are beyond exhausted, and they are very sick and tired of the state Labor government. The Australian Industry Group boss said the report made for diabolical reading and served as a warning about the cost of mismanaging the economy, which has already depressed business investment in the state. Now, I just note that between 2023 and 2024 over 150,000 small businesses have shut their doors in Victoria.

The Auditor-General’s report highlights the spiralling debt under the Allan Labor government, with no plan for long-term fiscal management. The Auditor-General was also critical of Minister Pearson’s failure to provide an explanation for the delay in tabling 131 public body annual reports, as required under the Financial Management Act 1994. We are just 100 weeks away from the next state election. If the Labor government continues to make such poor decisions, our economy will only get worse and people will suffer because Labor cannot manage money; they cannot manage our economy, and Victorians are paying the price.