Victorians need a plan to secure our economic recovery but all Labor offers is more taxes, fewer jobs and more pain for families and small businesses.
Labor was already raising taxes on families, small business and investment to pay for their waste and mismanagement of infrastructure. But with this budget, Labor doubles down on this failed approach.
Despite the Federal Government increasing its payments to Victoria in its budget by more than $6 billion, the Andrews Labor Government will instead hit Victorians with $5.8 billion in new and increased taxes.
We are no longer in a COVID crisis and the Andrews Labor Government has had enough time to plan for our recovery. Instead, we get higher taxes on families, small business, and investment to pay for decisions made on the run.
While Victorians are paying more for services and receiving less, the new tax grab is single-handedly due to the Andrews Labor Government’s total inability to manage our money.
This high-tax budget is the result of the Andrews Labor Government’s lack of an economic recovery plan.
Every major project is botched, over budget or both. Metro Tunnel is more than $3.4 billion over budget. The West Gate Tunnel is at least $3 billion over budget and at least two years late. That’s over $6.4 billion in overruns and time blowouts on just two major projects alone.
The Andrews Labor Government has nearly doubled the cost of running the public sector while services have declined for Victorians.
Victoria’s eyewatering $156 billion in debt is the largest in the country. This debt leaves the state with nowhere to move should another financial, health, environmental or natural disaster strike. With no economic recovery plan, the Andrews Labor Government lost the state’s AAA credit rating, due to the budget being in record deficit even before COVID-19.
Getting on top of its current cost overruns and project failures must be Labor’s highest priority rather than allocating countless billions of dollars to a Suburban Rail Loop with no business case.
The Victorian Government needs cultural change and only the O’Brien Liberal Nationals team understands a system can’t be fixed unless we acknowledge that it needs more than money – it needs competent delivery.
The Liberal Nationals have a plan to effectively manage services and properly manage our debt, driven by getting behind those who can drive Victoria forward with our biggest asset, small businesses.
Dan has no plan and it’s putting the economic recovery at risk that Victorian people worked so hard to earn. Only the Liberal Nationals offer a strong, safe pair of hands and a post-COVID-19 plan.
Comments attributable to Leader of the Opposition, Michael O’Brien:
“The Andrews Labor Government is still playing catch-up from its failures around COVID-19 and has no plan for Victoria’s economic recovery.
“Now Labor has run out of money, it’s coming after Victorian mums and dads’ hip pockets and has flagged major cuts to the services we rely on each and every day.
“Victorians deserve a responsible government to manage projects sensibly and cut waste. They’re being let down by Labor having no plan and putting our economic recovery at risk.”
Comments attributable to Shadow Treasurer, Louise Staley:
“Victorians are paying the highest taxes in the country and deserve excellent services but instead we have declining education outcomes, a health crisis, crumbling rural roads and, a child protection catastrophe.
“Given the government tripled the debt when the pandemic struck, where will it turn if there’s a financial meltdown, another wave of the pandemic, or some other unforeseen shock?
“What’s needed is a safe pair of hands and a post-COVID-19 plan rather than running Victoria’s finances on a wing and a prayer.”
