Thursday,3 April 2025
Questions without notice and ministers statements
Commonwealth Games
Please do not quote
Proof only
Commonwealth Games
Sam GROTH (Nepean) (14:32): Today this Labor government refused leave to refer –
Jacinta Allan: Who’s it to, mate?
Sam GROTH: My question is to the Premier. Sorry, Premier.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Broadmeadows can leave the chamber for half an hour.
Member for Broadmeadows withdrew from chamber.
Sam GROTH: My question is to the Premier. Today this Labor government refused leave to refer an inquiry into the failed 2026 Commonwealth Games bid that would have compelled the Premier to appear. Why is the Premier afraid of accountability and answering questions on the Labor government’s $589 million waste of Victorian taxpayer money?
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: The Minister for Transport Infrastructure can leave the chamber for half an hour. The member for Glen Waverley can leave the chamber for half an hour.
Minister for Transport Infrastructure and member for Glen Waverley withdrew from chamber.
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:33): I thank the member for Nepean for his question. As I said to the house yesterday and as I have said on previous occasions – and I will come to the number of previous occasions in a moment – it was the right decision. It was a decision that was agreed to by the committee and by the former Leader of the Opposition, and we are getting on and delivering more homes and more sporting infrastructure and attracting more visitors to regional Victoria as a result of our attraction program, as a result of the $2 billion that is being invested right now in these benefits. In terms of the –
Sam Groth: On a point of order on relevance, Speaker, the question asked why the Premier is afraid of accountability.
The SPEAKER: The Premier has only been on her feet for 20 seconds. Premier, come back to the question.
Jacinta ALLAN: I will give the member for Nepean a hot tip: I am certainly not afraid of answering questions from the member for Nepean. I will also say this to the member for Nepean: perhaps he missed an important part of the role of what we do during question time. You ask questions. What I will happily do, whether it is questions during question time that I have been asked or whether it is a number of appearances at press conferences where I have been asked questions on this matter, is go away and do the research, which clearly the member for Nepean or the Liberal Party cannot do, and add up the number of times I have been asked questions in this place and answered them on this very matter.
Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. She could answer some more questions and be accountable at the inquiry.
The SPEAKER: Manager of Opposition Business, be succinct with your points of order, please. The Premier has concluded her answer.
Sam GROTH (Nepean) (14:35): The Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery torched $589 million of Victorians’ money and was promoted to Premier, the Attorney-General weakened our bail laws and was promoted to Treasurer, the Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy left no legacy but debt and was promoted to Minister for Suburban Rail Loop, the Minister for Education oversaw the VCE debacle and remains the Deputy Premier, and the Minister for Police continues to oversee a crime crisis and chaos in Victoria Police and still holds his job. Is this what accountability looks like in the Labor government?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:36): I will say this to the member for Nepean when it comes to the work of my government: one of my proudest moments as a member of Parliament is the work that my team has done in passing the anti-vilification and social cohesion bill this week. If you want to talk about the work that we do on this side of the house –
Sam Groth: On a point of order on relevance, Speaker, the Premier is not even close to answering the question.
The SPEAKER: The Premier has only been on her feet for a few seconds.
Jacinta ALLAN: I was getting to the point of relevance, and it is this: we are absolutely accountable for what we do. I say this to the member Nepean: the former Leader of the Opposition sacked from his party room a member who organised a rally where the Nazis turned up. Today they are led by a member who organised a rally where the Nazis turned up.
Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, on both the question of relevance and the fact that the Premier cannot attack the opposition in answering a question, I ask you to bring her back.
Mary-Anne Thomas: Speaker, there is no point of order. The Premier, on her feet, was being entirely relevant, and she is entirely able to draw contrasts between our government and those on the other side. Certainly no-one on this side of the house turned up to a neo-Nazi rally.
Bridget Vallence: Speaker, on the point of order and also Rulings from the Chair – your rulings, Speaker, at pages 54 and 55 – the Premier and now the Leader of the House in her point of order are using language that disparages colleagues personally and it is unparliamentary. I would ask you to rule that it is unparliamentary.
The SPEAKER: On the point of order in relation to relevance and not attacking the opposition, I ask the Premier to come back to the question. In terms of my own rulings – thank you for pointing that out, I am so happy I made it into Rulings from the Chair – Leader of the House, I remind you not to make disparaging remarks against other members in this chamber.
Jacinta ALLAN: I was making that point because the member for Nepean’s question contrasted the actions of individual ministers in my government, and we are proud to work as a team to strengthen hate laws, to have the toughest bail laws in the country, to ban machetes and to stand with our proud multicultural, multifaith and gender-diverse communities. You cannot say that about those opposite.
Sam Groth: On a point of order, Speaker, finding 62 in the Comm Games report says the Victorian government avoided public accountability.
The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Jacinta ALLAN: I make that point in contrasting the performance of the former Leader of the Opposition with the current one.