Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

A glimpse into the future can be inspiring, it can be exciting or it can be frightening. The view of the future is often informed by the deeds of the past, or, as the philosopher George Santayana said, 'Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it.'

We are one term into the recklessly spending Albanese government, but, if you want to fast-forward the movie about what Australia will look like if this incompetent government is re-elected, then look at my home state of Victoria after more than a decade of Labor. The public finances in Victoria are in a dire state. Total Victorian government debt is forecast to hit $187 billion by June 2028—equal to a quarter of the state economy. In too many cases, there's very little to show for this unrestrained expenditure. Commonwealth Games money was flushed down the toilet because of bad decisions and infrastructure projects have blown out because of incompetence and a lack of business nous. There is also a lack of respect for taxpayers' money.

My electorate is an entrepreneurial area, and business owners and employees know how hard it is to earn a dollar. It involves hard work, risking your capital, milking cows, picking fruit and driving a truck. To see a government be so irresponsible with many of these dollars frustrates these hardworking people more than you can imagine. If it wasn't enough to cop this at a state level for over 10 years, now we are getting similar bad government at a federal level with the promise of more pain unless they are voted out.

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