Wednesday, 18 October 2023

 Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (10:21): It gives me a great deal of pleasure to rise to speak on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report into the budget estimates for the 2023–24 budget, which I had the privilege of tabling in Parliament just very, very recently. This is one of the most important functions of PAEC, to conduct these committee hearings, and it was actually the first one that I participated in since being appointed to the committee and as committee chair.

It was a really intensive public inquiry over the almost three weeks that we conducted these hearings, with the opportunity to question every government minister, deputy secretary, both the Speaker and the President of the Parliament and Court Services Victoria. I do want to give my wholehearted thanks to everyone who appeared before the committee. Sometimes these hearings and appearing before committees are not the easiest things to do, but I do want to thank on behalf of the committee everyone who did appear.

I will not beat around the bush. I think we all know here that budget estimates is always a rather politically charged event, much like question time in this place but without much of the usual theatrics that go on here. The estimates hearing is a chance for committee members from across the political spectrum to go ahead and engage government ministers in intimate questioning about their portfolios and, really importantly, the way in which their departments spend the money that is allocated to them. It is an absolutely important accountability measure.

The budget we were examining was definitely unlike any other budget that I have seen passed in this place and I dare say unlike other budgets passed in this place in the previous term of government before I was elected. We know that this year there was a significant set of economic challenges that impacted it. The report also highlights the particular complexity of the task this budget has had to complete, with the federal government’s infrastructure investment program review creating a number of unknown expenditure levels for some of our shared infrastructure projects. I know this has been of significant interest to me, as there are a number of projects in my electorate of Laverton which were affected by this review, not least of all the Melbourne Airport rail project. As the review is reaching its conclusion, I know our government shares my keen interest in seeing what the outcomes and the recommendations of this review will be when eventually it is released publicly in due course. The final report made 129 findings with a total of 82 recommendations for improvement, including around enhancement of performance reporting, reviewing substantial spending and savings initiatives, more detailed spending allocations and program evaluations.

I would like to thank my fellow committee members for their hard work during this inquiry and preparation of the report. That includes the member for Box Hill here, who has just very sadly resigned from the committee to go on to greener pastures, and I wish him all the best. Like the rest of my fellow committee members in this place, I feel it would be remiss if I did not acknowledge in particular the member for Gippsland South. I am going to say it for the second time and have it recorded in Hansard that in fact this was the member for Gippsland South’s eighth or potentially ninth budget estimates hearing. We thank him for his contribution. I will also acknowledge the contribution of other committee members who contributed to the budget estimates: the members for Point Cook, Yan Yean and Melbourne in this place, as well as the deputy chair Mr McGowan, Mr Galea and Mrs McArthur in the other place. I would also like to thank Caroline Williams and the rest of our wonderful, wonderful secretariat for their tireless support, not only in assisting us over the course of the estimates proceedings but, most importantly, in the preparation and the drafting of this report – we could not do it without you. As chair, of course I commend this report, and I look forward to future opportunities to speak on the great work that PAEC is doing in this place.