Wednesday, 5 February 2025

Liberal Party performance

Michaela SETTLE (Eureka) (16:46): I rise to grieve. I am grieving for regional Victorians who would do it tough should the Liberals ever return to government. From the very moment that Jeff Kennett uttered those words ‘The regions are the toenails of Victoria’, people in the regions have known what contempt you hold them in.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lowan was given the courtesy of giving her contribution without interjections, and I think all members should be given the same courtesy, member for Ovens Valley.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, Speaker Maddigan ruled that it is disorderly to attack the opposition during the grievance debate.

The SPEAKER: It is okay for members to compare and contrast different administrations, but I remind members not to attack the current opposition.

Michaela SETTLE: I am delighted to know that Jeff Kennett is still part of your opposition. No doubt he is leading you all by the nose.

The SPEAKER: Through the Chair, member for Eureka.

Michaela SETTLE: Nothing has changed since those vile days when he described regional Victoria as the ‘toenails’. Just last year the member for Brighton suggested that the Premier was somehow unable to lead Victoria because she lives in regional Victoria, saying, ‘A Premier that lives 150 k’s away can’t make decisions for the city.’ He backed in his disdain for regional Victoria when in December he criticised the appointment of our new Treasurer by making a bizarre series of social media posts claiming that the Premier and the Treasurer are unqualified to be leaders in this state because they are from the country. He said Victoria was being run by ‘out-of-towners’. I am a proud out-of-towner, and I am here to represent the people in my towns. They want voices in Parliament. They want regional representation, and they do not that get from the other side. It is pretty obvious, but perhaps the member for Brighton needs to be reminded, that regional Victorians are Victorians as well.

I am saddened to see so many people leaving the chamber now. It shows further contempt for the regions that they would stand up and walk away when I am talking about the importance of regional Victoria to this state.

Like so many people across Australia and across the world, people in regional Victoria are doing it tough. They are hurting from inflation and high interest rates. I listened to the grievance from the Leader of the Opposition, and he said the number one issue, the one thing everybody cares about, is crime. The man is a one-trick pony. All he can talk about is crime. Let me tell you, from the polls I have read and the people I have spoken to on doorsteps and at the Werribee by-election, all they are talking about is the cost of living. Those on the other side –

Matthew Guy interjected.

The SPEAKER: I have to remind the member for Bulleen that he is not in his place.

Michaela SETTLE: Not for a second of their grievances have they talked about cost of living. They do not care about how Victorians are doing. This government is on Victorians’ side. We are on their side with the biggest issue they are facing, which is cost of living, and the one-trick pony that is Bobby Battin can talk all he likes about crime, but people need support. They need support on cost of living.

As we all know, they have already started to talk in the media about the cuts they are going to make. They have made public statements pondering what service they are going to cut first. What are they going to take away from Victorian people? When they talk about cuts, what they are really talking about are cuts to hardworking families, cuts to apprentices, cuts to students and cuts to young people, and regional Victoria will pay for their cuts.

The last time they got in, in 2010 for four brief years, the Baillieu government oversaw enormous loss of jobs across regional Victoria. In 2012 the ABS revealed that in two years of them at the helm 14,700 jobs were lost across regional Victoria, with the regional unemployment rate increasing to 6.6 per cent. So when you are thinking about their cuts, think about what those cuts mean. They will mean cuts to regional jobs. By comparison, this Labor government has cut the regional unemployment rate nearly 3 per cent since 2014. It is over 2.5 per cent less that when they left government. In fact even during the pandemic we did not see unemployment figures like those on the other side produced in their brief term. This dramatic improvement in the regional jobs market came about through good policy, regional payroll tax reduction and investment in our regions.

Of course on this side we are thinking about fairness. We are thinking about equality at all times, and for me that is fighting for regional equality. One of the announcements that has made such a difference to the back pockets of regional Victorians was the regional rail cap. It has changed the way we live, and it has changed the way we work. Whole families now can go and enjoy the big events that this city, Melbourne, does so well, like Grand Final Friday, but it also means that people can come from Melbourne to enjoy the regions. We have got three hatted restaurants in Ballarat. Get on that train. It only costs $10. Come up, have dinner and go home. That is about providing regional Victorians with a fair deal. We get the same lifestyle as the people in the city.

Of course at the last election, what did the Liberals offer? They offered a $2 fare cap for city people. At the time Professor Jago Dodson, director of urban research at RMIT, said that free public transport was an economically regressive policy that would certainly benefit the wealthier people most. Then, after the outcry from the regions, a few days later they decided they had better announce something for the regions. They remembered we existed, and they offered us half regional fares. City people got more than a 75 per cent discount. What were they offering us in the regions? Fifty per cent. At the moment, if I want to go to Melbourne, it costs me $10, the same as any person in Melbourne. Under them it would have cost me $22. Think about it, people. The impact in regional Victoria if they ever get in would be horrifying.

On Monday I had an absolutely gorgeous start to the week, handing out prep bags to the sweetest bunch of preppies at Darley Primary School. Those bags are a great way to get those little minds going, with five fabulous books to take home and share with the family. When I was talking to those little kids and looking at their beaming faces, it reminded me of the many things that this government has done to support families and their kids during this difficult time. Breakfast club is one that is particularly close to my heart, but of course it has been rolled out across all schools. In my electorate in Ballarat there are 29 participating schools, in Golden Plains shire there are 11 and in Moorabool shire there are 12. They are the schools that are participating, but let us just think about how many brekkies. In Ballarat over 1.5 million brekkies have been served; in Golden Plains shire, 270,000; in Moorabool shire, 287,000.

It is such a great program. Of course Labor is full of great programs, but what happens? Those on the other side get in and cut them.

Way back in 2007 – Free Fruit Friday. What a great introduction that was. We were providing fresh fruit to kids. People loved it. But you guessed it – they cancelled it. As soon as they got in, they cancelled Free Fruit Friday.

We have got the school saving bonus, which has just been extraordinary. In my electorate over a million dollars has been accessed to help people with their uniforms and their textbooks. This is great stuff to really help families while they are doing it tough. We are not focused like they are on just trying to get the front cover on the Herald Sun. We are standing by Victorians and trying to help them during this cost-of-living crisis.

Free kinder has been amazing. It saves families $2500, on average, a year. Of course, we are even building kinders, so I am really excited. Next week I am off to Ballan to see the new kinder at the primary school there in Ballan, which is opening this year.

But I want to remind you that when we were putting through the legislation so that we could put kinders in schools, those on the other side objected to it. They opposed the bill that would enable us to put kinders in schools. The member for Kew put in a reasoned amendment to stop the bill going through and seeking to understand what the operating costs would be. The Liberals do not care about hardworking families’ lives. They only care about making their books look good. But you know what that means? Their books look good, and hardworking families’ books look a whole lot worse. In four years when they were last in government, they spent a paltry $380 million on early childcare education. Compare that with this government – we have put in $8 billion. We spend more in a year than they did in their entire time in government. Remember, they are keen to cut, and their opposition to these kinders in schools just says to me that that is where they would start cutting. We know that you want to cut. We know you oppose kinders in schools. Is that first on your list?

Matthew Guy interjected.

The SPEAKER: Member for Bulleen will come to order.

Michaela SETTLE: Let us look at TAFE. Look, we all love TAFE, but in the regions, TAFE really, really matters. We have a higher attendance at TAFE. It matters a lot to us. Under this government, TAFEs are delivering more than 60 per cent of government-funded training in regional Victoria. The reason they are getting so loud on the other side is they do not like talking about TAFE, because they know that the last time they were in government they gutted TAFE. They absolutely destroyed it. They cut a billion dollars from TAFE. That is a cut – a billion dollars out of TAFE. They robbed regional Victorians of access to their training through their botched implementation –

Matthew Guy interjected.

The SPEAKER: Member for Bulleen, I would ask you to show some respect to the member on her feet.

Michaela SETTLE: They robbed regional Victorians of access to VET training through their botched implementation of our market-driven model. Regional student commencements fell 25 per cent while they were in office. They closed 15 regional TAFE campuses. They sacked 2000 regional TAFE teachers. I want you to remember that. When they talk about cuts, they are talking about cuts to the services that this government provides to support hardworking families, apprentices and students through what is a difficult time across the world. Let us remember what their cuts will mean to you. They will cut free car rego for apprentice tradies – 865 bucks a year. This is important in the regions. We need our cars.

The fuel app – what a game changer. In the regions we do more miles. My electorate is 4000 square kilometres. I have done 20,000 k’s in the last six months.

We need the sort of support that the fuel app gives us, but instead those on the other side are more interested in looking for a free tax benefits lunch with their mates in the oil industry than in caring about regional Victorians.

When you hear them talking about balancing their budget or being better economic managers, remember that this means cutting supports for hardworking families, apprentices, students and young people. We have worked so hard on this side of government to stand by the people of Victoria. On that side they want to scare you. They want to scare the pants off you about crime. We know that crime needs to be addressed. Our Premier has made it clear that she is going to take on that battle. But let us be frank: what is affecting people in Victoria right now, first and foremost, without question is cost of living, and only this government will stand with Victorians during a cost-of-living crisis. This government will look for every measure to support families, students, apprentices and workers. Those on the other side are already sharpening their knives, looking for those cuts – ‘What can we cut?’ If they can cut Fresh Fruit Friday, God knows what they are going to cut, and regional Victoria would pay.