James Campbell: Victoria in box seat as parties woo voters

This is our moment in the sun — for once, we can’t complain that Victoria isn’t getting its fair share of money out of Canberra as both parties attempt to woo voters ahead of the election, writes James Campbell.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the lead-up to his first Budget at Parliament House. Picture: Gary Ramage

For once, we can’t complain that Victoria isn’t getting its fair share of money out of Canberra. Why is this so?

It’s partly down to the persistent lobbying of our state’s MPs. In part, it’s no doubt having a treasurer from Victoria after 12 years.

But it’s also because for the first time since 1993 when Paul Keating unexpectedly beat John Hewson, there hasn’t been an election that has hinged on the state.

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This is your moment in the sun, Victoria, enjoy it!

And while it is easy to point to examples of attempts to sandbag Liberal seats likely to be in strife next month, such as Jason Wood in La Trobe and Sarah Henderson in Corangamite — who has been promised $2 billion for a fast rail to Geelong and another $700 million to upgrade the existing train services there — not all the money in this Budget comes with political calculation.

For example, it’s hard to see the political benefit to the Liberal Party of road upgrades in Mill Park, Sunbury, Epping and Doreen.

On the other hand, it’s all too easy to see the potential political benefit of putting $75 or $125 — depending on whether single or coupled — into the bank accounts of veterans, single parents, carers, age and disability support pensioners.

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This sugar hit to the less fortunate — ostensibly to help them pay their power bills — is the biggest hint that the income tax-paying rest of us are going to be pleasantly surprised tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, the ALP has announced its climate change policy from which agriculture and trade- exposed industries are exempted. Labor will hope this, along with its decision to confine the policy to 250 of the biggest carbon dioxide emitters — it calls them polluters — will save it from a government scare campaign.

We’ll see how that plays out over the coming weeks.