Second Reading
Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (15:26): Well, it is always a pleasure to follow the member for Mordialloc and to speak on the State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2025, which is the living, breathing embodiment of the old Maggie Thatcher line that when socialists run out of money they come after yours, because this is what is happening again under this government. They have run out of money, and they just keep coming for more taxes every step of the way, every opportunity they get: ‘What can we tax?’ Who would have thought, after all the noise that this government has made about puppies and about dog parks – and the member for Mordialloc knows; he is smiling because he remembers doing entire Public Accounts and Estimates Committee sessions on dog parks – it took this long for the boffins in the Treasurer’s office to go, ‘Puppies and kittens – we can tax them too.’ They are doubling the tax on kittens and puppies. What sort of government does that? It is outrageous.
Jess Wilson interjected.
Danny O’BRIEN: It is a desperate government, member for Kew, that would increase the dog and cat registration by 100 per cent. And it reminds me, member for Kew, of other things that the government is increasing taxes on to a level of 100 per cent, like every household in the state under the new emergency services tax – a 100 per cent increase in the rate that every single household is paying. They will have all probably got their rates notices by now with the extra little bit in red highlighting the state government’s 100 per cent increase under the emergency services levy. And not only that, every commercial business as well has got a 100 per cent increase across the state and there is a 64 per cent increase for every industrial customer. If you are a farmer, you are paying the same as you were last year, but we know that the sword of Damocles is hanging over your heads for next year, when a 150 per cent charge is awaiting every single primary producer in the state. That is because this government is so desperate for money.
Fancy the member for Mordialloc talking about the federal government’s debt levels when so much of that debt incurred by the federal government was to bail out businesses in Victoria who were repeatedly locked down during COVID by this Labor government. It was the former Treasurer Mr Frydenberg who came to the rescue of Dan Andrews and this Labor government by actually bailing out the businesses here, and now they are complaining about the debt they have got. Seriously? To complain about the debt – $194 billion you are heading for. That is $29 million a day in interest this government is incurring on behalf of Victorians. That would fund the Sale College rebuild in two days – in two days it would get funded. But that is $29 million a day in interest that Victorians are paying because this profligate lot on the other side are not able to manage money.
We are seeing that as well in the tax increase in this legislation on the congestion charge – a massive increase there, which as the member for Kew says, will impact people coming to the city. This government likes to say that it governs for all Victorians. This is an extra tax on regional Victorians who are wanting to come to the city. They want to come to the city if they can – to see a show, go to the footy, go to the basketball or netball – but they are going to be taxed extra to do so if they have to go and find a car park.
I also want to pick up the member for Mordialloc on the, frankly, laughable modelling that the government is supposedly putting around there. It is one thing to stuff up your own numbers, but only this government could get the modelling wrong on the opposition’s numbers as well. It explains everything you need to know about this government. We are hearing, ‘Oh, these nasty cuts. There are going to be terrible cuts that the Liberals and Nationals do.’ We have a quote that I think is relevant to this:
… Victoria has over 500 entities and 3400 public boards and committees … You can’t tell me that there’s not some fat in there.
It sounds like a terrible, nasty, Liberal thing, doesn’t it? Who was it? That was the current Treasurer Jaclyn Symes when she announced 3000 jobs will be cut under the Silver review, and this mob is now trying to scream that we are the problem on this side. It is unbelievable that they think this; it is just a disgrace. It is a government that cannot manage money. Victorians are paying the price because these people on the other side are looking for tax increases every step of the way.
This bill has been curtailed deliberately by a government that does not want to talk about more tax increases – on puppies and kittens, for God’s sake. As a result, I want my colleagues to be able to have their say, so I will leave it there. But Labor cannot manage money, and Victorians are paying the price.