Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

This Saturday the people across my home state of Victoria will head to the polls to vote in what is possibly the most important election that Victoria has faced in 30 years. It's been a very dark time for Victoria. The institutions and the services that we have relied upon have been left to fail and to founder. Our health system, our children's education and wellbeing, our integrity, our justice system and our financial and fiscal positions have all been whittled away by a government and a premier obsessed with power at the expense of people.

For two years, Victorians suffered at the hands of a government whose responsibility it was, first and foremost, to protect them. We had draconian lockdowns, school closures, business closures, travel restrictions and curfews that we hadn't seen before—not even in wartime. We saw families torn apart, businesses ruined, and lives and livelihoods damaged irreparably. We should never forget that Victorians were forced to carry permits to go to essential work and that playgrounds and skate parks were taped off like crime scenes. The police were tasked with moving on elderly citizens sitting on park benches or with dispersing children congregating secretly because they had missed the social contact of 186 days of their schooling.

The police were also tasked with arresting pregnant women in their homes for daring to question government's priorities on social media and with firing rubber bullets into crowds of peaceful protesters. This was my state, and it was all done without scrutiny because parliament was shut down and extraordinary powers were bestowed on those in charge—long after such powers were necessary. This was my state for two dark years, and we are changed forever because of it.

On the other side, what are we left with? Skyrocketing debt and deficit; 47 new and increased taxes; cost blowouts in the billions for public works; a failed health system that, quite frankly, brings fear into the hearts of any Victorian who is elderly, injured or unwell; and the stench of corruption from countless inquiries into government members and government decisions. The office of the Premier, bloated and contemptuous, are surrounding their leader with spin and ring-fencing him from scrutiny. We cannot continue like this. Victorians deserve so much better.

The people of Victoria have the opportunity to vote for change, to vote for integrity and to vote to fix our health crisis. Matt Guy and the Liberals have put forward a positive agenda that will deliver real solutions to the problems that Victoria faces. It is a comprehensive plan that will fix the healthcare crisis without raising taxes. It will put an end to Daniel Andrews's era of spiralling debt and higher taxes, rewarding hardworking Victorian families, helping small businesses, restoring integrity and accountability in government and building stronger communities.

Victoria needs new government now more than ever before. Under an Andrews Labor government, Victoria's state debt has increased to more than that of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined. The projected deficit for 2022-23 has blown out from just below $8 billion to more than $10 billion. This is a 30 per cent blowout in just six months alone. The lagging household disposable incomes of Victoria mark a decade of financial decline. The Andrews government is focused on entirely the wrong priorities. Indeed, Dan Andrews himself can't say how much his signature project, the Suburban Rail Loop, will cost.