Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:45): (1172) My question is to the Treasurer. The Auditor-General’s Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria was released last week. In the 2022–23 financial year the Auditor recommended that the Department of Treasury and Finance:

work with the government to set specific targets and precise timing of achieving its key financial measures and targets of net debt to gross state product and interest expense to revenue.

I also note the Auditor’s 2024–25 report; he says this has not been implemented. I ask therefore, Treasurer: why has the Auditor’s recommendation merely been noted but not implemented?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:45): I thank Mr Davis for his question. Mr Davis, as has been well canvassed in this chamber and outside this chamber, the government has a five-step fiscal strategy that we are committed to, and it is working. We have achieved steps 1 and 2. We will achieve step 3 at this budget. As I have indicated to the house, we will be the only state on the eastern seaboard to deliver a surplus. We are committed to this strategy, we have communicated this to the Victorian community and we are on track.

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:46): I note that the Treasurer did not want to directly answer the precise question but wanted to go around the block. The supplementary question I therefore ask is: the Auditor further called in the 2023–24 financial year for the Department of Treasury and Finance to:

Enhance its public reporting to demonstrate progress against saving initiatives and efficiency dividends outlined in the state Budgets and the realisation of their benefits …

I further note in his 2024–25 report he indicated that this has merely been noted but not implemented. Why has the government repeatedly ignored the Auditor-General’s important transparency recommendations? What does it have to hide?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:47): Mr Davis, that probably would have been better as your substantive question, because there is a lot that you have asked in that. In relation to some of the mechanisms and things that have been called out by the VAGO report, there are a number of things that I can point to in relation to transparency and accountability and in particular in relation to reporting. There are a number of ways that we report against our fiscal plan and against our COVID debt recovery plan, and both of those streams are publicly reported in various ways.

David Davis interjected.

Jaclyn SYMES: Mr Davis, I would point to things such as the Treasury and Finance annual report. Page 39 is very good for an example of where we have outlined some of the figures you are seeking. In particular, the COVID debt levy projections are in budget paper 5; I would draw your attention to those. I always have a commitment, as I had in the exchange I had with Mr Mulholland and Ms Crozier yesterday in relation to transparency and looking at ways to make sure that information is easily accessible – (Time expired)