Wednesday, 4 October 2023

Statements on parliamentary committee reports

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Report on the 2023–24 Budget Estimates

Mathew HILAKARI (Point Cook) (10:09): Yes, the member for Frankston is correct. I rise to talk on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee 2023–24 budget estimates report, which was tabled yesterday. It is great actually to see so many members of PAEC in the chamber at this time. To the grandfather of PAEC, the member for Gippsland South, it is so great to see you here. You provided so much wisdom to the committee.

Danny O’Brien: You know I am going next, don’t you?

Mathew HILAKARI: I do. Unfortunately, we are losing for PAEC the membership of the member for Box Hill, who has been elevated to parliamentary secretary, and I congratulate him on that appointment. My neighbour right here next to me, the member for Yan Yean, remains, but we were all ably led by the chair of the committee, the member for Laverton, who provided just extraordinary leadership for the report and so much so that we ended up without a minority report, which is a statement on the great contributions made by everyone on the committee. I want to acknowledge the members from the other place – member for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region; member for North-Eastern Metropolitan Region, our deputy chair; Mrs McArthur, member for Western Victoria from the other place as well – and Ms Sandell, the member for Melbourne. We could not do these things without our secretariat’s support – we just could not. I want to thank Dr Caroline Williams, our executive officer, our lead analyst Charlotte Lever, our financial analyst Rony Xavier Vazhappilly, our analysts Dr Kathleen Hurley, Mathias Richter, Caitlin Wu, and of course our research assistants Rowen Germain and Chloe FitzPatrick and our administrative officer Jacqueline Coleman.

I am not going to get too deep into this report today; I know I will have other opportunities to do so. However, there are 129 findings and 82 recommendations. It is a substantial report on what is an annual activity within this Parliament: considering the budget. It is incredibly important. It defines how we have spent our money and how we can better report on it in the future for transparency for our entire community. Of course the committee’s recommendations promote enhanced performance reporting, the review of substantial spending and saving initiatives, the release of details regarding spending allocations and the release of program evaluations, and this promotion is important for future PAEC hearings and future budgets.

While we consider all these budget initiatives, why is it important for the community in Victoria? Well, it is because it is about how we use the taxes that we raise and how we spend them to improve the life of every Victorian. In my own community that has been through the development of Point Cook Road. This is something that everybody who lives in Altona Meadows, in Seabrook, in Point Cook and even in Werribee South uses every day, and the taxes of this state to improve the infrastructure that we need are just so important. The Point Cook Road–Central Avenue development is important because it is one of those highly congested areas. When you need half an hour to get out of your own suburb, things have to change, and this government is doing that. That is why I was so pleased to see this as part of the budget estimates discussion and as part of the deliberations on the budget. Everybody knows how difficult it is to safely pass through this area. People who are on bikes really take their lives into their own hands. Pedestrians just do not use this intersection. That is why budgets are important – because they can make lives better. That is why we need to consider how to use budgets well and fruitfully for the benefit of our whole community.

I certainly thank the new Premier for being out there with me the day after the budget but also for her contribution regarding different elements of the budget. I was particularly pleased with the ongoing Minister for Police’s reporting to PAEC around the support for Point Cook police station. It is the first police station for Point Cook, a community of 70,000 people today. It was 50 people in 1996, which is why we are feeling a lot of these development changes are needed. He reported that there was over $19 million being committed for the Point Cook police station as well as the South Melbourne builds. The Point Cook police station will sit alongside the State Emergency Services station, which is being built right now. So there are some really great things going on in Point Cook. I will be coming back to this PAEC report many, many times, because there are a lot of great things in there.