Thursday, 30 July 2026

 Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (16:14): I am very pleased to rise today to speak on the take-note motion on the 2026–27 budget. It is a budget that understands the pressures that Victorian families are facing and responds with appropriate and practical support. It is a budget that invests in cost-of-living relief, education, health care, community safety, transport and local community infrastructure. I am proud that it is a budget that continues to deliver for the people in the Southern Metropolitan Region. We know that household budgets are under pressure. Through no fault of Victorians there is conflict in the Middle East that has put upward pressure on petrol prices and has created pressures right across the economy. That is why in the budget the government announced, enacted and delivered significant cost-of-living relief for Victorian households. Through the course of the year Victorians have benefited from a period where public transport was made free, when the petrol price shock was at its absolute worst, and this budget allows half-price public transport fares to continue until the end of the year. For those who live in the Southern Metropolitan Region, we have got some exceptional train lines, tram lines and bus routes that have been upgraded by the Labor government over the last 11 years. So many people catch the train, catch the tram or catch the bus to work or to school or to university, and regular commuters are saving $1300 over the course of this year thanks to the investments in cost-of-living relief in this Labor budget – real savings in the pockets of Victorian families.

Another important bit of cost-of-living relief that was provided in the May budget by the Labor government was the 20 per cent discount on vehicle registration, so drivers with one car can save up to $186 and a family with two vehicles $372. Millions of Victorians have already benefited from this program and have made applications. For anyone who is watching who has not, I urge them to get in before the deadline and make sure their applications are in.

Really importantly the budget continues our government’s proud record of investing in education. I know that the Premier himself is a passionate believer in the transformative power of education. I have had many detailed policy conversations with him about the way that we can improve our education system so that it is teaching our kids the things that they need to succeed in life. The investments in our public education system that the Labor government has made and continues to make are delivering. Victoria’s students are leading the nation in NAPLAN results, demonstrating that our investments in public education are delivering outcomes for students, because that is what investment in education is all about. It is about making sure that our student outcomes are the best that they can be and that our students are getting the knowledge, the learning and the skills through our investments in education to equip them to be active citizens in every single meaning of that word throughout the course of their lives.

Education begins with every child having the opportunity to learn and thrive. It is why the budget continues support for free school breakfast clubs so that kids can turn up to school not hungry and ready to learn. I have visited several of these school breakfast clubs that have been provided to schools right across the Southern Metro Region, and this experience I know is replicated across the state. What you see when you talk to the kids is that they love it. It helps fill up their stomachs before they head into the start of their school day. But when you spend a bit longer and talk to some of the teachers and the support staff and sometimes volunteers who help run those breakfast clubs, you know that it is the extra support that they can provide, sometimes quietly, to the students that they see who might be struggling and who might not have food in their bellies or anything to eat. The program that this government is investing in to provide those breakfast clubs to schools right across the state is really helping those kids. I think that is great. It is above the headline numbers, above the millions of dollars and the hundreds of schools. Kids that are learning because they are not hungry I think is at the core of the values that are driving this budget and this government.

The budget invests $59.4 million to support families with school-aged children through a range of measures and also strengthens Victoria’s vocational education and training system through the creation of three new TAFE centres of excellence. I am particularly pleased to see the establishment of the Home and Community Care TAFE Centre of Excellence at Holmesglen TAFE’s Moorabbin campus. This investment will help train the workforce of our growing health and social care sectors while creating opportunities for the students in our region. We know that the healthcare and social care sectors of our economy and the workforces that support them are growing significantly as there is greater demand on those services from the changing needs of our population but also because of the investments that are being made in health care and in social care by both state Labor governments and federal Labor governments. To make sure that the promise of those programs gets delivered we need a skilled workforce to deliver them. To get that skilled workforce, we need investments in TAFE, and that is exactly what the establishment of the Home and Community Care TAFE Centre of Excellence at Holmesglen in Moorabbin is designed to achieve. I think it is an exceptionally important initiative in this budget.

We know that early childhood education remains an absolute priority. The budget continues to deliver for three- and four-year-old kinder, including delivering kinder kits for those commencing three-year-old kindergarten, providing some extra resources to help those who are starting out on their early learning journey. I was particularly pleased that the budget contained some support for the Windsor Community Children’s Centre on Union Road in Windsor, which was at risk of being shut down because the land it was on was being sold by Swinburne University. Through the good work and the hard work of my friend and colleague Josh Burns, the federal member for Macnamara, and the hard work of the councillors at the City of Stonnington, including the mayor Melina Sehr – particularly I pay tribute to Cr Meghan Hopper, who is a tremendous advocate for that local community – the Windsor community childcare centre was saved. The City of Stonnington has recently completed the sale, purchasing that site from Swinburne University. The budget includes a contribution to upgrades of that centre, including a fit-out of a new kitchen. I went down recently to the children’s centre in Windsor and spoke with the cook, who has been making food for kids there for nearly 20 years. I cannot tell you how excited she was, not just because the centre is being saved but because she can continue to do the thing that she loves, which is making food for little kids, in some new facilities supported by this government – not the biggest, not the headline measure in this budget, but again, speaking to the values of what matters to Labor in our budget. That is the simple thing of making sure that some of our youngest learners are properly fed.

There are a range of other upgrades and improvements that this budget funds – new upgrades and new improvements – and there is also ongoing funding to complete the works that are underway at a range of schools. Boroondara Park Primary School is receiving $15.9 million. South Melbourne Primary School has received funding to deliver a new campus – an entire new campus of South Melbourne Primary School due to open in 2029. Just as a side note, we know that the community of South Melbourne has had a difficult journey with primary schools over the last 30 years. They had two. They were shut down in the 1990s and the land sold off. This Labor government has had to build them again. We have built two new primary schools in South Melbourne, and we are expanding South Melbourne Primary School onto a new site because there is so much demand for public education in the inner south. Down at Brighton Beach Primary – I was down there recently talking to the principal Bev and had another tour of the school – we are investing $16.85 million to modernise and upgrade its facilities.

Brighton Beach has a storeyed history as a school. It was the site of an orphanage school, and one of the earliest places. There was an orphanage relocated out of Emerald Hill down to Brighton Beach more than a century ago. At the primary school there some parts of the building are showing their age, and it is great that Labor is investing in the families at Brighton Beach Primary. St Kilda Primary is going to receive $13.2 million for a new gymnasium, including a competition-grade sports court and upgrades to its oval, and that is going to be available for the community to use as well. I want to particularly pay tribute to my colleague the member for Albert Park for her advocacy for this project and also my colleague Mr Berger, who has done an outstanding job advocating on behalf of that school. I am also pleased that Melbourne High, which is on Forrest Hill in South Yarra, is receiving more than $400,000 towards capital works, I understand to help improve the toilets, which looked about the same as they looked when I was a student there in the mid-1990s, so they could definitely do with some work.

The budget beyond education delivers important transport investments. There is a billion-dollar road blitz that is going to repair, rebuild and resurface roads right across Victoria. We know the importance of having a reliable and safe road network for Victorians. This investment is going to improve journeys for motorists and freight operators alike. There are investments to improve bus services as well, including route 766 in Hawthorn, which is to receive improvements during peak school travel times. It is practical investment that responds to community need and helps make public transport a more attractive option. Obviously Labor invests in health care and invests in hospitals. We are recruiting more nurses, doctors and midwives. This budget builds on that record by funding an additional 250 graduate nurses and delivering faster surgery and specialist appointments for children. The investments matter because they help to ensure that Victorians receive the care they need when they need it.

The budget also continues to support Victoria’s fixed pill-testing service, with a $9.2 million investment. I have visited that service. It is an outstanding service, and I pay tribute to Minister Stitt for the incredible advocacy and hard work she has done to make that drug-checking, pill-testing service, at both fixed and mobile sites, a reality in Victoria. There is further work to support public IVF services, including Victoria’s egg and sperm bank, with an additional $43 million over two years helping more Victorians access fertility services. On a topic that we were discussing in legislation immediately prior to this, we are obviously continuing to invest in community safety, because community safety is so important. An additional $62 million investment will support the recruitment of an additional 200 police reservists to undertake administrative and desk-based duties, helping to free up sworn officers to spend more time on the front line protecting communities and responding to crime. The budget is also providing $33.5 million for violence reduction units, helping to prevent crime before it starts, and supporting intervention programs to make our community safer. There is more money for Legal Aid and more support for rough sleepers and homelessness services. There is also extra support for protective services officers in more locations and for more hours.

It is a budget that delivers what Victorians need: better education, better health care, community safety and cost-of-living relief. It is a Labor budget, and I commend it to the house.

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (16:29): I rise to make a contribution on the motion on the 2026–27 budget on behalf of Legalise Cannabis Victoria. This budget is a mixed bag for Victoria. While it did not include everything we had hoped for, I would like to begin by highlighting some of the positives. This year the government committed to $415.5 million for alcohol and other drug (AOD) services across Victoria. This is an increase on previous years. It is a modest increase, but it is something. Funding in the budget extended the integrated care pilot for First Step to provide mental health and addiction support services. First Step’s model of care is best practice. It helps to address the systemic barriers faced by people with complex mental health issues and with addiction, and a whole-of-life approach helps Victorians to take control of their lives.

Additional investments were made towards a low-dose methadone trial, Victorian pill-testing services and continued implementation of the take-home naloxone. Access to the life-saving medication naloxone will reduce overdose deaths in Victoria. Nearly 400 Victorians die from opioid overdoses each year, and the chance to reverse overdose and prevent fatalities is important to ensure that no family member experiences the tragedy of losing a loved one. Opioid overdoses remain the leading cause of drug related deaths in Victoria. The funding and commitment to implement a trial of 20 naloxone vending machines within emergency departments will save lives. Despite these investments, total funding for the AOD sector in Victoria only saw a small increase of 4.24 per cent from last year’s budget – this at a time when the need is increasing exponentially.

The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association, or VAADA, 2025 sector demand survey found that there were 4550 Victorians on waitlists for various forms of funded alcohol and other drug treatments. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program – Report 25 showed that consumption of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine had reached unprecedented levels. The Victorian Coroners Court found that 584 Victorians overdosed in 2024. That is the highest number on record. We need to do more. Behind every overdose is a story.

I often reflect on the ribbons tied to church fences, those that reflect the untold horrors of child sexual abuse. Many of those same victim-survivors end up in alcohol and drug services needing our help, not our judgement. Anyone who works in AOD will tell you that when someone is in the throes of addiction, the aim is to keep them alive until they can be helped to get it together. This means increasing the availability of naloxone and investment in a second supervised injecting room. Victorians battling alcohol and other drug addictions need help, and they are waiting far too long to access help.

The Victorian Alcohol and Other Drug Strategy 2025–35 aims to adopt a holistic approach to reducing alcohol and other drug related harms. The AOD strategy recognises that stigma is a huge part of the problem and that we must approach addiction as a health issue. However, the lack of available services and extensive wait times have serious consequences, contributing to rising homelessness and leaving many suffering with addiction issues untreated. Median wait times from assessment to treatment within the drug and alcohol sector is around 40 days, double the government’s own target. The times between intake and assessment for help are also increasing and not meeting the needs of the community. Sector data shows the alcohol and drug system is under serious pressure. More resourcing is most certainly required. Too many Victorians are dying from drug overdoses, and we need to lock in and guarantee harm reduction measures.

The 2026–27 budget did not provide any extra funding to tackle the chronic backlog or the increased needs of the community. The government says it is taking a health-led approach to drug use, but a health-led approach cannot be achieved with words. It is about practice. Without investment in frontline alcohol and drug services, I find it hard to take the commitment to harm reduction seriously. Similarly, the government talks about rehabilitation both in terms of funds and crime, but when this budget contained $229 million for prison beds, our community legal centres have been left fighting for survival. Again, rehabilitation and crime reduction are practices. They are not position statements. The government has chosen in this budget to pour money into prisons instead of frontline legal services to help people. Despite incredible demand, the budget delivered little new investment for community legal centres and Aboriginal legal centres. These are the very organisations helping vulnerable Victorians understand their rights, avoid crisis and navigate the justice system.

$1.3 million was granted to Victoria Police for the maintenance of custodial cells directly tied to the government’s bail reform agenda. Every hour a woman spends in police custody, particularly Aboriginal women, women with mental health issues and women in regional Victoria, is many hours of work for community legal services. It is a duty lawyer interview, a bail hearing attended, a family law matter and a child protection consequence absorbed by community legal centres and Aboriginal legal services. The budget funds the cells. So where is the matching funding for the community legal centre sector capacity to defend and care for people held by them? There is virtually none, so these people are being funnelled into the corrections system instead of receiving early legal support. Worse, for every client a community legal centre helps, two others are turned away due to a lack of funding and resources. Across Victoria, 50 community legal centres are struggling to keep up with soaring demand for legal and community support. The sector is buckling at the knees. CLCs provide more than 170,000 services every year, and it is worth the investment. CLCs make Victoria a safer place to live in. Legal help, early intervention and prevention programs are what make communities safe – not more prison beds.

One example of an early intervention and rehabilitation program that works is Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company. Since 1980 the community-led Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company has supported women in custody by conducting workshops in music, drama, dance and visual art. Somebody’s Daughter is a company of artists with a 44-year track record of working with some of the most vulnerable and powerless people in our society. I was incredibly disappointed to see that Somebody’s Daughter did not get funding in this budget, because not only do they offer support when it comes to workshops through music, drama, dance and visual art, but this is actually how many women, particularly incarcerated women, process their experiences and are able to share their stories in more of a therapeutic way. Experts in the field advocate for long-term sustainable funding for therapeutic art programs, and this is a cause that I am proud to champion. Many women in prison have experienced family violence, trauma, mental health issues, addiction, homelessness and the pressures of caring for children or family members. Without proper support, such as rehabilitation programs, education and programs such as Somebody’s Daughter, they often leave prison facing the same problems that led them there in the first place. Rehabilitation programs are critical to community health and safety, and they deserve more than short-term government support.

In health infrastructure we welcome the continued investment in the redevelopment of the Frankston hospital and the major redevelopment of the Dandenong Hospital. This will improve the quality of care and provide better access for the people of the south-eastern suburbs. Growing populations require growing investment in health care, education, transport and community services. The City of Greater Dandenong is one of Australia’s most culturally diverse communities and fastest growing municipalities. It is crucial for the government to consider what transport infrastructure is required in such urban growth areas. While it was great that Victorians had free public transport at a period when high petrol costs affected many, reliable public transport is needed. As the South-Eastern Metropolitan region grows, public transport must keep pace. The City of Greater Dandenong is the most culturally diverse community in Australia, with residents from 157 birthplaces. Sixty-four per cent of residents in this area were born overseas, and there is enormous cultural strength in that. Many of those who have migrated to the area have origins in parts of the world with recent histories of conflict, violence and displacement, but the community faces significant challenges when it comes to access to appropriate mental health supports and family violence services and supports. Victoria Police has over 20 incidents of family violence per day in the Dandenong area alone. The region is feeling the pressure.

Family violence is on the rise and remains the single greatest contributor to ill health and premature death for Victorian women under the age of 45. It is not car accidents or smoking or crimes in shopping centres; it is intimate partner violence. Victoria Police from the Dandenong division detected 290 family violence offences; more than half of those related to breaches of intervention orders, and 26 per cent related to assaults – real people, real families and the very real possibility of more women dying. More support is needed to deal with this crisis. Wellsprings for Women is an organisation based in Dandenong that provides services for the most vulnerable women in the area. Unbelievably, funding for Wellsprings for Women’s prevention programs will end in December this year. Their programs work, and they need certainty to continue the work.

A key focus on family violence must be prevention. We need to strengthen our response for Victoria’s multicultural communities, who are most affected by family violence. Migrant and refugee women and their children face complex challenges in accessing not only family violence services but welfare and legal supports. Family violence does not discriminate, but sometimes our response does. The prevalence of family violence occurs regardless of culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status or religious belief. All forms of family violence that are experienced in multicultural communities are experienced within mainstream communities, and we need to start addressing that within everyday communities in Victoria.

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (16:41): I am pleased to be able to speak on the budget papers 2026–27, and wow, what a bombshell these budget papers were. The state government has some real core responsibilities. There are some things that they do need to focus on like crime, schools, hospitals, emergency services, public transport and roads. These are the types of things that state governments deliver. I guess the budget is a reflection of the priorities of where money is spent and how money is allocated. Labor did deliver a very scary budget. I would say we are heading towards a massive net debt, and we have got interest to pay on that debt that is costing over $1 million every single hour. It is extraordinary, because every dollar spent on interest is one less dollar for the schools, for our health services and for the services that Victorians need and rely on. That is why they pay taxes, yet we are seeing this government with money flying out the door in absolute waste.

Now we have Ben Carroll, our newly appointed Premier, who says that he is going in a new direction, but it is clear that he has been part of that direction all along. As the Minister for Education who mucked up the VCE exams two years in a row and who has now got the top job of being Premier of our state, I thought it would be worthwhile to note that with VCE results you have either ‘Satisfactory pass’ or ‘Not satisfactorily passed’, so perhaps we could reflect on the different aspects that come under our state budget and look at if they are satisfactory or not satisfactory.

First, I want to look at schools, because I have been visiting a number of schools recently, and many of them have portables, some of them have generators keeping things going. I have heard of animal urine coming through roofs, with no funds available to fix them. I have schools that have told me that when they have asked government authorities to help the price has absolutely escalated. When they have done it themselves they have been able to save money; in fact sometimes they have been able to actually make some money. It has been quite extraordinary.

We had the Victorian Auditor-General report recently on school upgrades, and they had a look into it, and they found that 29 per cent of school upgrades experienced cost blowouts and 25 per cent of projects for school upgrades were actually delayed. The number of schools in poor condition has also escalated, and the government target to have no schools in poor condition has now been pushed out from 2030 to 2034.

I have also spoken to people at the local learning employment network who have told me about their contracts being absolutely finalised at the end of this year. The number of groups available is being halved, the amount of funding is being halved and there is a lot of concern about how those services are going to be delivered. But these are the cuts that we are seeing under the current government. I would ask, with generators holding things together, portables and teachers unhappy at the moment, no doubt about that: is that satisfactory or not satisfactory? I would say it is not satisfactory on the report card when it comes to education in our state. We are meant to be the Education State, but this government has taken us backwards.

Let us look now at health as a subject on our report card for the Premier. In Bendigo we have had 11 ambulances ramped. I have spoken to people that have had to wait for not just hours but days for a bed. This is of great concern. We have got huge surgery waitlists in our state and GPs under this government being forced to pay a payroll tax. As I speak to local GPs, who do incredible work to support our local communities, they are feeling the pressure to survive, particularly in rural and regional areas. We had GPs visiting our Parliament yesterday, and they talked about the priority of abolishing that tax. Again, is that satisfactory or not satisfactory, health in our state at the moment? Looking at what is happening and the feedback that I am hearing as I speak to residents, it is clear that it is not satisfactory.

Public transport and roads are critical services for state governments to be delivering, yet with public transport we saw recently, with the V/Line and Telstra outage, the whole state put to a standstill. Having a briefing that I requested with the minister’s office and the department just recently, it is clear that there is still no backup plan, so if that happens again we will be in the same spot. I have spoken to residents across the area on public transport, V/Line. I do travel on the train quite regularly. The removal of the second track to Bendigo has impacted the train line there and made it slower in parts, and that has been a great frustration to the community, as well as the lack of bus services. I know my colleague Ms Bath was speaking about that in her Eastern Victoria Region. But I know right across Northern Victoria there are so many families that do not have access to public transport, and something I have spoken in this Parliament about is the need to reduce the probationary drivers licence age in Victoria to be in line with other states, because we do have many parts of Victoria where there is no transport available. It is holding our young people back, and we have people just over the border who are able to access their probationary licence at 17.

I am on the road a fair bit. Northern Victoria is a very big region – nearly half of our state. As I was travelling to Donald recently, the roads were unbelievable, and I get people sending me photos all the time. I was at Marong recently, and there are huge potholes there. On the radio 3AW I know talked about it as well, the huge number of cars off the side that have hit potholes. I have had people email me photos of the rims of their vehicles. At the wool show recently I had people telling me about their farm equipment, which had $6000 worth of damage, and the impact that it had on their insurance. I had another local resident in Bendigo email about his vehicle being hit – $4000 worth of damage. These parents in Marong said, ‘We saw your video on the pothole. Our daughter hit it the next day.’ Even though they had repaired it, it was crumbling again the very next day, and her car was in being repaired. We have committed $5 billion to repair and rebuild Victoria’s roads, but that is just the start. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to improve the contracts as well as the construction of our roads to make sure that we can build roads that last in Victoria. But when I ask people across the region, ‘Are our roads and our public transport satisfactory or not satisfactory?’ I think it is pretty clear they are not satisfactory on the report card for Victoria under this government.

Another key thing is tourism and events. They are very important – or used to be important – in our state. I certainly know at the Commonwealth Games people are celebrating over in Glasgow right now and having a good old time at our expense. But it is a great frustration because it was basically at this time before the last election that this government told us, ‘Boy oh boy, the Commonwealth Games are going to be amazing. They’re going to deliver for regional Victoria. It’s going to be fantastic. We’re going to see legacy projects and houses and boosts to our economy’ – on it went. I raised concerns about it and was told by the Premier at the time, ‘No, it’s all good; nothing to see here. These games are going ahead, and they’re going to be wonderful.’ Well, guess what, we all know what happened next: they were cancelled. That was nearly $600 million wasted, potentially a whole lot more, but that is just a blip compared to what we have seen wasted in this state with other issues, such as the corruption we have had on government worksites with the CFMEU.

Housing is another area that you would have to look at. The report card – is it satisfactory or not satisfactory? I think with this government what we have seen is an absolute relentless attack on landowners, in a way. It is incredible. It is tax after tax after tax. What I have seen and what I have been hearing from the community is that those mums and dads that hold, or held, an investment property and have someone renting it that cannot afford to buy a house have been exiting the property market. That has got a flow-on effect, because not everyone can afford to buy a home. People contact me; just this week I had an email from a dad who was telling me about his son and daughter both struggling with housing. One of them lived at a caravan park and ended up in very difficult situations. But we have got people even in Bendigo – this is in the former Premier’s own area – living in tents in the forest and under bridges because they do not have anywhere to live. I find it extraordinary that we have this happening in our state at the moment. We have got a government so focused on adding tax and tax and tax and burden on people, and it is actually removing any availability of rentals for those that cannot afford it. We have got over 60,000 people that have applied for housing in this state, and that is an absolute shame.

I speak to councils as well. I know the Growing Suburbs Fund was something that a lot of councils, particularly in the outer parts of Melbourne, really did rely on. Because they have huge population increases, they rely on the development of infrastructure to support the housing developments. Yet that was significantly cut at first, a 95 per cent reduction, and then it was zip, zero. So they are struggling now to build the infrastructure needed to support the massive population growth that they have had in their regions. With housing, that report card – is it satisfactory or is it not satisfactory? I would say it is definitely not satisfactory under the current government.

Our emergency services are critically important. In the bushfire inquiry – Ms Bath and Ms Lovell were with me doing that inquiry – we heard so much about the ageing CFA fleet and equipment that we have in our state and the single-cab tankers where the burnover protection failed. Some of these vehicles are 35 years old. We are asking volunteers to go out and face some of the worst conditions and put their own lives on the line to protect our regional areas and our properties, families, homes and assets, and yet this government has failed to invest over a long period to make sure that they do have the equipment that they need to keep our community safe. As a result, we have also seen a decline in the number of volunteers in our state. That is something, if we get the opportunity in November to be in government, we will certainly make it a priority to redirect and to show the volunteers the respect that they desperately need. With our emergency services and the investment that we have seen over the last decade and under this budget, is it satisfactory or not satisfactory? I would say it is not satisfactory.

Another key aspect that the government should focus on is energy. And boy oh boy, we have got some interesting times ahead, because we have had reports that show that the reliability is in question. We have now got the prospect of some blackouts happening in this state. Again, is that satisfactory or not satisfactory? I would say that is not satisfactory.

Under this government the independent Parliamentary Budget Office have done some work, and they have shown that less than 12 per cent of funds have been allocated to new infrastructure in regional areas – less than 12 per cent, when we have over 25 per cent of the population. That is something that we will change in government. We will deliver the fair share guarantee and make sure a minimum of 25 per cent is allocated to regional areas to invest in the infrastructure that we desperately need, that our communities desperately need. Our plan will ensure that regional Victoria gets its fair share, with safer communities, better roads, lower costs and reliable health care closer to home. That is what matters to us because it matters to regional Victorians, and the only way to stop the waste, end the corruption and deliver the investment that regional communities need is to elect a Nationals and Liberals government in November.

 Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (16:56): I am very pleased to respond to this budget. It is a very, very responsible budget, and it reflects Labor’s values but also reflects the people that Labor stands for, and that is working people and families. In particular families and working people are under pressure right now across the nation, and Victoria is no exception. Cost of living is the most common challenge faced by families, individuals and communities. This budget is a steady budget focusing on helping Victorians as our world is buffeted by exceptional events.

From a national perspective we have had the Howard reforms to capital gains tax and then almost 10 years of conservative government cuts to Medicare and of course real wage decline. These changes have made the cost of housing more expensive for families and in actual fact have had the effect of commodifying the ordinary family home. At the same time we have seen price rises in food, power, gas, petrol and most of the things that we need to live in our ordinary everyday lives. So with the commodification of housing over recent decades, we have seen housing costs go up 400 per cent while wages in real terms have declined. Now we have Donald Trump’s war against Iran pushing up petrol prices. The growing gap between wages and household living expenses is causing significant financial stress, and housing is the single biggest contributor to that problem.

If we turn to the solutions for the growing inequality in this country, we can turn to the recent federal budget as well as this Victorian government budget. The federal budget has begun to address inequality in the home buying market. Changes to capital gains tax will even the playing field for mums and dads and young people trying to buy their first home or indeed the second time they are buying a family home. They will no longer have to compete with an investor who can afford $20,000 to $30,000 more than them because they are subsidised by the Australian taxpayer. There is nothing fair about that, and when housing is a human right I could not have been prouder to see what our federal Labor government did in their most recent budget.

In Victoria our government is making structural changes to the housing market. We have reformed land use planning to make it easier to build and strengthened compliance, regulation and accountability for the construction sector. We are renewing and expanding social housing so everyone can live in a quality home. We have invested in key worker housing, housing for women and children escaping violence and incentives for construction of multi-dwelling apartments. We have reformed laws relating to renting so renters can expect to have a house that is temperature regulated and in a reasonable condition, and pets are now welcome. We are also restructuring rental bond management – specifically, introducing a bond portability scheme. This means that renters will no longer have to put up two bonds for a short period of time as they transition from one rental house to another.

Some families across Victoria and indeed in my electorate of Western Victoria are under genuine financial stress. Donald Trump’s continued conflict in the Middle East has pushed up fuel prices at the pump. This is having the add-on effect of creating re-emerging inflation, and the Reserve Bank’s response has put further pressure on household budgets. These are not abstract economic forces. They are felt every single week by people simply going about their everyday lives. This budget ensures that every dollar of taxpayer money is directed where it is most needed and will have long-term benefits. The 20 per cent off the registration of vehicles is a direct example of putting actual money back into people’s pockets, and there is only a day or so left of that program.

In Western Victoria, like most regional communities, driving is not an option and it is not a lifestyle choice; it is compulsory. Public transport is scarcer, distances are further and services are spread across greater distances. When fuel prices rise, regional families bear the cost in a way that is simply not comparable in inner Melbourne. There are no alternatives to reach for, and that is why the rego rebate in this budget matters so much to regional people. The government is providing $759 million in registration payment rebates for light vehicles. That represents a 20 per cent rebate of up to, for example, about $186 for one car or $372 for two cars. Every Victorian who has registered and paid for a light vehicle between July 2025 and June 2026 is eligible for up to two vehicles. Across my electorate the response to this commitment has been one of genuine relief. We know this because we have literally had hundreds of people already coming into my office for assistance in applying for the rebate, particularly people who do not have computer skills or people who cannot afford to own a computer. This is direct, meaningful cost-of-living support that actually lands in people’s pockets.

The budget also provides $5 million for the fair fuel plan. This continues the work of monitoring fuel prices and maintaining the Servo Saver feature on the Service Victoria app. This free tool lets consumers compare prices from more than 1500 registered fuel retailers. It keeps fuel prices transparent and fair no matter where you live. In regional areas, where you may be choosing between two or three service stations, knowing the price before you drive across town is genuinely useful. Further, our anti-price-gouging laws are now a legal requirement. Fuel retailers must set a daily cap on prices and publish it in advance. You can find the best deal tonight and know the price will not jump on you tomorrow. That kind of transparency and protection is what a Labor government delivers.

The Carroll Labor government is investing in our state rather than promising cuts, like those opposite. We are investing in tomorrow’s workforce, where renewable energy will lower costs for Victorians and help deliver a healthier planet for generations to come. The budget includes $50 million to be invested in the Victorian Renewable Energy TAFE Centre of Excellence based in Warrnambool. The locations are in Morwell, in St Helens and, I am very pleased to say, in Warrnambool. This is genuinely significant. It is about training the next generation of workers in the skills that the clean energy economy needs, and this ensures that regional communities will not just witness the renewable energy transition but also drive it, with new skills and jobs right across the region.

Let us face it: kids are expensive. There are so many costs involved in bringing up a family, and this budget commits $120 million to supporting families with children. The affordable school uniforms program received $28 million, saving families an average of $93 per application. The Glasses for Kids program has already delivered more than 68,000 vision screenings and 13,700 pairs of glasses. I will take a moment to repeat that: 13,700 children in Victoria are now sitting in classes with glasses on, when previously they did not have glasses on. We all know the implications of that: if you cannot see the board, you cannot learn. This budget expands it to more classrooms, with $16 million. And if you cannot see the board, as I said, you cannot learn. The program has been catching vision impairments early, before they cost children years in their education.

A child who arrives at school hungry is also distracted from learning. $14 million for school breakfast clubs ensures that our children who need it can start the day with a proper meal. These are simple human investments making an enormous difference. The Get Active Kids vouchers program receives $11 million, delivering approximately 55,000 more vouchers to help eligible families cover the cost of participating in sport. In regional and rural communities, junior sport is not just recreation, it is how towns come together. It is great that this helps all kids be able to participate.

The budget also includes $24 million for outside school hours care for young Victorians with a disability and $7.4 million for more kinder kids. It is wonderful to see children’s faces when receiving free books and educational toys. These are not headline-grabbing numbers; they are quiet, practical investments in children’s lives and in support of their families. All of this is on top of our existing support for families with kids, including free kinder for three- and four-year-olds, free public transport for all under-18s and help for families with school costs. We have also already made Victorian government school uniforms cheaper by banning unnecessary logos and removed the need for parents to provide digital devices for kids at primary school.

Housing affordability is another critical statewide challenge. The Carroll Labor government is investing $860 million over five years into the Social Housing Growth Fund. This will deliver more than 7000 additional social housing homes over the next decade. I hear often how housing stress is real and is growing in regional Victoria. The Warrnambool rental market has tightened significantly in recent years, and the people at the sharp end of that are the most vulnerable members of our community. Social housing should not be the last resort. Our government is working to make it a foundation, because people cannot hold down jobs, keep kids in school or manage their wealth without a stable home. In addition, the budget also provides $97 million to continue delivering housing reform and improving confidence in the building industry. This includes $16 million to implement the registration and licensing requirements in the building legislation amendments – the buyer protections bill – this Parliament recently passed.

Over the past 12 years this Labor government has invested more than $50 billion in regional Victoria. Another commitment of this budget is to the continued funding of the Rural Financial Counselling Service, which is receiving $1.82 million. They will continue to provide free, confidential and impartial financial counselling to farmers and agricultural small businesses under financial pressure. The service has been running since 1986, and the need for support at the moment is greater than ever. Farming is one of the most financially exposed occupations in our country. It is subject to drought, flood, global commodity prices and now fuel shocks from conflicts on the other side of the world. Having a trusted free service to return to when things get hard is not a nicety, it truly is a lifeline.

In closing, I want to endorse the budget and reiterate our commitment to supporting families who need practical support with their cost of living.

 Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (17:12): I rise to add my contribution to the budget papers 2026–27 motion. The Treasurer said in her budget speech ‘Governments can’t solve everything.’ But what does it say about the political will of this Labor government that right out of the gate they are tempering Victorians’ expectations on what they should be settling for from this government, which has been nothing more than breadcrumbs and robbing Victorians of public education, public housing and public transport. At a time when governments should be delivering for the working class, young people, farmers, single-parent families and the disability community, they retreat from their responsibilities. Victorians and residents in Northern Metro expect their governments to care about public goods and make them better. Is it too much to ask for public excellence in their care and delivery?

Instead this budget tells Victorians something: that this Victorian Labor government does not believe it can solve the very serious problems Victorians are facing, because what people across Victoria are experiencing are not isolated issues, they are connected crises playing out across every part of daily life. It is a cost-of-living crisis, a housing crisis, an escalating climate crisis. It is rising family violence, increasing racist attacks on multicultural communities and growing wealth inequality. It is overstretched and underfunded schools, hospitals, community services and disability supports. It is a child protection system and a justice system that are continuing to fail children and young people, particularly those that are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. That is the statement of a failing Victorian Labor government that Victorians have clearly lost faith in.

For all the government’s rhetoric about cost-of-living relief, many Victorians know that the biggest cost they face is not their car registration bill or train fare, it is the impossible cost of trying to buy a home or keep up with increasing rent outstripping wage increases. The cost of buying a home has risen 40 per cent in the past five years, with the average cost now over $1.1 million. Not only are prices out of control, they are also eight times the average income. Ultrawealthy property investors continue to hoard properties, with the wealthiest 1 per cent owning a quarter of all investment properties.

Now let us talk about renters who have been long sufferers doing it tough. Now we see 50 per cent of Victorian renters spending more than half of their income on rent. Even someone earning $100,000 a year in Melbourne is spending around 38 per cent of their income on rent – well above the threshold for housing stress. Can you imagine how much more difficult it would be for single-parent households or families having to work two to three jobs just so their kids can have a chance of having lunch money or affording a school excursion? Stable, affordable housing is simply out of reach for too many, and it is not getting any better with this Labor government. This is the result of political choices – choices that could have been addressed in this budget. Instead we have seen in this budget a Victorian Labor state government spending another $344 million demolishing public housing towers, bringing the total spend on demolishing public housing to more than $2.6 billion while more than 57,000 people are on the public housing waitlist for over a year and a half. And yet, after a public housing inquiry, we still do not have any clear answers from this dodgy government justifying the demolition of all 44 public housing towers. It is absolutely shameful and an absolute waste of taxpayer dollars. For 18 months people are being told, in effect, to remain homeless or in insecure housing while they wait for a system that is just not delivering.

Perhaps nowhere is the government’s lack of delivery more apparent than in its response to the climate crisis. It is unconscionable that this Victorian Labor government continues to refuse to treat climate change as the priority that it is. The Treasurer did not mention the words ‘climate’ or ‘environment’ once in her budget speech. At a time when Victorians are paying more for their energy bills and enduring extreme weather event after extreme weather event as a direct result of climate change, this government continues to give preferential treatment to their coal and gas corporation mates instead of investing in the transition that households need. This Victorian Labor government instead cuts Solar Victoria funding by 20 per cent and continues to allow coal and gas corporations like Woodside, BHP and Exxon to expand and burn fossil fuels. It is clear that Labor’s budget priorities are about protecting corporate profits while selling out on public services that so many of us rely on. It is putting property developer interests before renters, gambling companies before communities and billionaires before everyone else.

Gambling companies are set to receive $397 million in tax breaks, while gambling losses are surging for everyday people, not to mention all the gambling harm that is spreading in neighbourhoods like a disease, breaking up families and leading people down pathways of oblivion. $141 million has gone into Victoria Police’s already inflated budget while our schools are still the lowest funded in the country. It is no mistake that Victorian public school teachers are taking their fight for fairer pay and working conditions to the street – we saw that last week. But the real losers of this political choice are Victorian students who miss out on the education equity that comes in the form of opportunity, resources, experiences and high-quality education. Why should this generation suffer because this Labor government refuses to understand that public excellence means consistent, equitable, long-term funding? At a time when people are struggling with the cost of everything – rents, mortgages, groceries, bills – the budget could have been an opportunity to tax big, ultra-wealthy corporations and provide real relief to everyday working-class Victorians living pay cheque to pay cheque.

Across Victoria, communities are experiencing rising levels of racism. We see that in many accounts of Islamophobia and antisemitism. We needed a budget that invested seriously and, more importantly, equally in addressing all forms of racism. For women and gender diverse people, this budget cuts family violence prevention programs while nearly one in four people affected by family violence are not referred to services and 40 per cent of victim-survivors seeking refuge support do not receive it. We have seen it in the loss of women this month in July – Layla Jeffrey, Brooke Timmins, Lavanya Chappa – all at the hands of male violence, and this government continues the revolving door of ministers for this really, really important portfolio. And in the housing crisis victim-survivors of family violence are waiting 18.6 months for priority housing. I just cannot believe that that is how long women and people escaping family violence have to wait to get some form of housing.

In early childhood education, where quality and safety should be paramount, the government has set targets that are slower than the outcomes already being achieved. In a failing child protection system, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are overrepresented, programs designed to address this remain severely underfunded. This Victorian Labor state government has reduced funding for disability programs and services by 14.6 per cent, while disabled Victorians continue to fight for access to the basic services and support that they should be already getting. Leaving vulnerable Victorians behind at a time when they need their governments to step up is a failure of this government to stand in solidarity with our disability community, who face compounding barriers to accessing services and having an equally high quality standard of living. In community services, neighbourhood houses and other frontline services, they are given piecemeal, short-term, inconsistent funding. Communities are being asked once again to do more with less. We are continuing to see neighbourhood houses close in Victoria due to the lack of viability, yet the services, the connections and the relationship building that these community services provide to the broader community are life-saving for so many.

Victorians deserve better than a government that tells them the government cannot solve everything. Victorians deserve a government that can deliver on building more public housing and affordable homes, make rent affordable, take real climate action, bring down gender-based violence, tackle racism at its roots and invest in children and young people and their futures. Victoria in my mind is the greatest state in the country, and that is because of the people that call this place home and work so hard to make it great. Governments should be fighting for the many. They should be the hope that Victorians are looking for. They should be improving lives and actively doing something to tackle the increasing wealth inequality, but instead we have a government with the wrong priorities in this budget, who are more interested in staying in power and keeping their wealthy donors happy.

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:22): I move:

That debate be adjourned until next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned until next day of meeting.