Thursday, 16 October 2025

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:00): (1077) My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, I refer to the financial report for the state of Victoria tabled yesterday. Why have you broken your solemn commitments to stop the misuse of Treasurer’s advances?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:00): I thank Mr Davis for his question. Mr Davis, what the AFR details is Treasurer’s advances line by line from 2023–24 to 2024–25. It makes it clear about post-budget decisions as well as contingency releases in relation to infrastructure milestones and the like. You will recall that in this year’s budget we changed the reporting to be more transparent, to make it really clear about the use of Treasurer’s advances. There is the column of unforeseen, urgent circumstances, which would be familiar to this chamber in relation to, as a good example, drought support, versus the contingency releases, which also use the Treasurer’s advance mechanism, which is about keeping –

David Davis interjected.

Jaclyn SYMES: It is not a slush fund, Mr Davis. I will take you up on that interjection. It is financially responsible, when you are issuing contracts, to hold all of the money centrally and release it as milestones are reached. That is encouraging contract overview and project overview. You can identify risks. You can respond to concerns. I do not think you will find an economist in the nation that disagrees with that being the right way you should manage your projects.

In relation to the numbers of Treasurer’s advances, they have reduced year in, year out following the pandemic, and in fact if you look at last year’s figures compared to this year’s figures, which are clearly available in the AFR, the post-budget non-milestone contingencies are reduced by 33 per cent, Mr Davis. So to assert that Treasurer’s advances have not been reduced is incorrect; they have been. And therefore, despite the fact that the AFR covers data before my commitment to more transparency, accountability and indeed making sure that they are used for proper purpose, we have continued to use less and less, year in, year out.

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:03): I further ask the Treasurer: the Treasurer’s advance payments include $32 million for the delivery of the Australian Grand Prix, $44.3 million for the metropolitan tram franchise, $124.3 million for the Social Housing Growth Fund, $9 million for a free camping trial and $2.4 million for regional car parks. Minister, these are among others in the $2.6 billion of Treasurer’s advances relating to post-budget decisions, and I ask which of these genuinely meet the ‘urgent and unforeseen’ criteria.

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:03): Obviously a lot of the measures that you have outlined are really important to the Victorian community, and it is good. And as I demonstrated, in terms of the reporting requirements, you have a list of everything that has been decided post budget. There are a number of reasons that you might make decisions for financial allocations outside of the budget process, particularly in relation to making sure that you do not miss out on match funding for federal government funding, for example. There might be responses to a range of cost pressures that were unforeseen. One of the examples that I think we have talked about in this place before is the enrolment numbers in public schools. You would not want to not be able to respond to enrolment growth and the like. Mr Davis, I think your question has certainly indicated the transparent nature of all TAs.