The state can’t continue spending as it has for the past decade, and both major parties know that is unsustainable.
As the Victorian election campaign begins in earnest find out how much each party plans to spend and save (so far).
Both major parties are making billions of dollars in health promises in an election-year splurge that economists have repeatedly warned the budget cannot sustain.
Government spending has soared compared with the May budget, raising serious questions over Premier Ben Carroll’s pledge to rein in expenditure.
The 38-year-old powerbroker is a key confidant to Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson as she targets only the second state Liberal victory this century.
When Victorian voters head to the polls on November 28, they will be delivering history. So, who is running the campaigns of the Labor and Liberal parties?
Private discussions by some MPs a month out from polling day have prompted rebukes from colleagues, who say the focus needs to be on winning the election.
As Ben Carroll and Jess Wilson made election pitches direct to business leaders, Business Council of Australia rankings place Victoria last among the states.
In his first major interview, Treasurer Colin Brooks also revealed a broad property downturn had punched a multibillion-dollar hole in the state’s budget.
Ben Carroll has apologised and belatedly paid the bill after filling his car then forgetting to pay while “running errands” after a long day.
Phil Haines said his wife has lost both her legs, but she was stable and her most important parts, her heart and mind, were intact.
Spending as a proportion of gross state product is almost as high as at the peak of the pandemic and economists warn that’s a problem for whoever wins the election.
The alliance model of awarding major infrastructure contracts has been criticised for allowing waste and wrongdoing on building sites to thrive.
Borrowing expenses already exceed spending on roads, police and ambulance services, and are closing in fast on total hospital expenditure.
Labor’s pre-election pledge to cap tolls for a year seeks to undercut the Coalition’s plan, which would cap tolls at $50 a week for two years.
Victoria finally has an anti-corruption commission with teeth. It has taken a long time, several investigations, and three Labor premiers to get to this point.
The state’s cash deficit narrowed to $5 billion but expenses increased at twice the rate of inflation, despite Labor unexpectedly reaping a federal windfall.
The surcharge, which applies to all overseas-based companies, has increased eightfold since it was introduced by the Andrews government in 2016.
New modelling shows users left behind in the government’s plan to force homes and business to electrify will pay a much greater share of the energy transition.
The Liberal and Labor leaders spent Sunday campaigning in the regions, less than 50 days out from a four-way election as One Nation and the Greens ride high.
