Battin says Allan government will deliver more surprises and pain in the upcoming May budget

Opposition Leader Brad Battin has warned Victorians of more cost-of-living pain as he called on the Allan government to reveal if more taxes — and health sector budget cuts — loom in this month’s budget.

The Allan government has been called on to reveal if more taxes, and health sector budget cuts, will be introduced in the May state budget with Victorians continuing to suffer during the cost-of-living crunch.

Liberal Leader Brad Battin on Wednesday warned that Victorians were bracing for more surprises and pain in the upcoming May budget, and called on the Allan government to “come clean” if it planned to slug households with more costs or reduced services.

“People need to know now, so the Victorians can prepare, and businesses can prepare,” Mr Battin said.

“How many new taxes are they going to add in this budget that is going to have cost impacts?

“Whether it’s on housing, whether it’s on the food you buy on the shelf in Woolworths, in Coles, how much is this government going to cost each and every day Victorian? They need to start declaring how many services they going to cut.”

Victorian Oppositon Leader Brad Battin is warning Victorians are bracing for more surprises and pain in the upcoming May budget. Picture: Aaron Francis

His call comes after the Allan government failed to secure crossbench support in parliament for its emergency services tax last month.

The new levy was unveiled in the Budget Update in December without warning and caused major concern across regional communities.

The Allan government was banking on the increased tax, which replaces the existing Fire Services Levy, to rake in an extra $2bn over the forward estimates but claimed landlords would be mostly impacted and that “they could afford to pay”.

It’s understood the bill was shelved after Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, who is also the leader of the government in the upper house, was unable to wrangle any crossbench MPs to support the Bill.

Premier Jacinta Allan holds a press conference at the new Parkville train station. Thursday, April 10. 2025. Picture: David Crosling

Ms Symes was asked directly to rule out any new taxes in the 2025 budget in February, after she had taken the job as head of Treasury.

At the time she said “I’m looking at lots of things and I’ll have more to say in relation to announcements.

“I’m not ruling anything in or out, but I want to ensure that Victorians know that I understood how tough it is to run the family budget.”

Shadow Treasurer James Newbury also accused the government of being tricky with current taxes saying land tax bills had been issued earlier this year, increasing the burden on households.

An Allan government spokesperson said they “won’t take lectures from Brad Battin, who spent the last month supporting Peter Dutton’s economic vandalism which included cutting Airport Rail and Sunshine Station.

“We will hand down the budget this month which will be focused on making sure that every dollar of investment goes to where it matters most — supporting families and frontline services.”

Jaclyn Symes was asked directly to rule out any new taxes in the 2025 budget in February. Picture: Diego Fedele

The growing concern over new tax announcements comes as the state’s debt burden remains the highest in the country with forecasts that Victoria’s debt to revenue ratio could surpass 200 per cent by 2028 when net debt is tipped to peak at a record $188bn.

Victoria has also been declared the highest-taxed state in the nation for several years.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics shows data released in late 2024, Victorians handed over $5795 per person to the state government, comfortably ahead of the $5529 residents in New South Wales were charged or the $4738 plucked from Queenslanders.

Originally published as Battin says Allan government will deliver more surprises and pain in the upcoming May budget