Thursday, 30 May 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Regional Victoria

Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. The budget provided only $2 billion for regional Victorian infrastructure services and programs out of the $98 billion allocated in the budget. When spruiking the budget, the Premier said:

Many regional families are doing it tough right now.

How is spending a mere 2 per cent of new infrastructure services and program funding helping regional families, who, by the Premier’s own admission, are doing it tough?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): I am delighted to answer a question from the Leader of the National Party about our government’s investment in regional and rural Victoria, because I will have a debate with the Leader of the National Party every day of the week and twice on Sundays about how Labor governments are the only ones who make the investments that regional communities need and deserve.

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: Those opposite, who are laughing right now, are also the ones that closed hospitals, closed schools and closed country train lines, who when they had the opportunity in government –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! If the noise level continues, members will be removed without warning.

Peter Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, on the issue of relevance, I would ask you to bring the Premier back to actually answering the question as to why only 2 per cent is being spent in regional Victoria rather than the mayo that is being put on the spin.

The SPEAKER: Order! Points of order need to be succinct. I ask the Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I absolutely reject any calculations put by the Leader of the National Party when it comes to investment in regional Victoria. I will say this: there are more people employed in regional Victoria than ever before. We have cut the unemployment rate in regional Victoria by nearly 3 per cent since the Leader of the National Party sat around the cabinet table. What we have also done since that period of time is we had to reinvest and rebuild, whether it was regional TAFE, regional rail or regional schools, because when the Leader of the National Party sat around the cabinet table he did not raise his voice to seek investments in those areas. His approach was one of cuts and closures.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: The Leader of the National Party talked about regional communities facing cost-of-living pressures. I am happy to share with the Leader of the National Party the fact that regional families will also get the school saving bonus. Regional families will absolutely get the school saving bonus, just like regional families also receive free TAFE, free kinder –

Peter Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, on the issue of relevance, again, I draw the Premier’s attention to the government’s press release of Tuesday 7 May, where they bragged about $2 billion for regional Victoria.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Nationals will make his point of order succinctly. There is no point of order; the Premier was being relevant.

Jacinta ALLAN: The Leader of the National Party talked about regional communities and families feeling cost-of-living pressures. That is why in this year’s budget we made additional investments and supports to assist regional families with the school saving bonus, by expanding the school breakfast program and by tripling access to the Glasses for Kids program, and of course this comes over and above a range of existing cost-of-living measures that we are already providing to support regional families, because –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, may I refer you to the Speaker Maddigan ruling, which I have referred you to before, that a response must deal with the question rather than responding generally. The Premier repeatedly responds to a topic but not the question. I put to you that that ruling, which was made on 26 August 2003, quite clearly says that a minister or the Premier should respond to the actual question rather than the topic.

The SPEAKER: I refer the Manager of Opposition Business to relevance. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I was saying, the Leader of the National Party asked about cost-of-living pressures in regional communities, and I am giving him –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: I was only part way through, Leader of the National Party – I am happy if you want an extension of time – the long list. Of course when you upgrade every regional line, buy new trains and add new services and you then go and cut regional transport fares, regional V/Line fares, you also support regional communities with some of their cost-of-living pressures. That is the focus that we will continue to have, not the cuts and closures of the Leader of the National Party.

Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (14:08): Twenty-five per cent of the state’s population lives in regional Victoria. Why is the Premier denying them their fair share of investment?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:08): On Saturday night I was at a venue in Bendigo where just 24 hours earlier the Leader of the National Party was enjoying a chicken or beef dinner at his National Party state conference, and what we saw at that National Party state conference was what the National Party have to offer regional Victoria: nuclear waste sites. Nuclear energy sites were all the Leader of the National Party could bring to regional Victoria.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Cranbourne is warned.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question and being unpleasant.

The SPEAKER: On debating the question, I ask the Premier to come back to the question that was asked. In terms of being unpleasant, I do not think that is in the standing orders.

Jacinta ALLAN: I think that just shows that our Parliamentary Secretary for Men’s Behaviour Change has already had an impact.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Lowan can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Lowan withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am delighted to share with the Leader of the National Party some information that has been provided to me by the Treasurer. Over the Treasurer’s 10 terrific budgets, more than $42 billion has been invested in regional Victoria, a 233 per cent increase on what the Leader of the National Party was ever able to deliver.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Wendouree can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Wendouree withdrew from chamber.