Wednesday, 14 August 2024

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:44): (1050) My adjournment matter this evening is to the Treasurer. Actually it is probably to the Premier. I am going to ask the Premier, not the Treasurer, but I will make some comments about the Treasurer and his comments today, because he admitted that he has pushed business in the state to the limit with new taxes. We know that Victoria is the highest taxed state in the country, and these taxes are hurting Victorians. Whether it is Victorian businesses or Victorian households, they are hurting Victorians. Because of this government’s appalling financial management of taxpayer money, the economic situation of the state is very perilous.

This brings me to the issue where the Premier has said that $1.5 billion will be provided to health services but those health services do not know how big a slice of the $1.5 billion pie they are going to get. It is very unclear. There is no clarity around that. As I have said, the Treasurer has said today that the $1.5 billion that is going to be put back into health will lead to additional service cuts and higher taxes. This is just an incredibly concerning situation. We have got the Premier saying and doing one thing. The Treasurer is out there saying, ‘I cannot do it; we have taxed businesses to the max. You are going to have to rein in spending and there are going to be service cuts.’ No-one knows where these service cuts are coming from. The Premier would not even answer the basic questions around these very important issues that Victorians want answered – they want to know. Premier, you have said you would give $1.5 billion to health services. The Treasurer is saying, ‘I have taxed everyone to the max, they are maxed out and service cuts will happen.’ What I want to know is: how many cuts to health services will be applied as a result of the Treasurer’s confirmation today that service cuts will be undertaken and higher taxes will also occur?

As I said, this is a shocking state of affairs in Victoria, where we have got this very perilous financial situation of the government’s own making. The waste and mismanagement over a decade has been extraordinary, and it is Victorians who are paying the price. Labor cannot manage money, they cannot manage projects and they certainly cannot manage our health system.