Jeff Kennett: Victoria requires bold dramatic changes now, and I’m sure an Elon Musk-like approach could work
Jacinta Allan can no longer simply be Dan Andrews’ puppet. Otherwise, we may need a Musk-like approach here in Victoria to address the generational legacy Labor is creating.
Opinion
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Last week as part of my Nine-Point Recovery Plan for Victoria my first point was the need for government to be transparent with its community.
Without transparency there can be no hope of rebuilding the state, given its parlous situation.
Transparency leads to trust between government and its community.
Sadly, I encounter unsolicited comments every day, from citizens I do not know, at coffee shops, Bunnings and banks!
Increasingly, people are disillusioned, saddened, some angry.
If we are going to make Victoria great again, competitive, a place of choice for those who live and work here, to stay here, and attract citizens from other states to settle in Victoria as occurred in the 1990s, we need both transparency and leadership, quickly before more damage is done.
Whether you approve of Donald Trump, his lifestyle or not, whether you align with the Democrats or Republicans, the truth is he won a majority from those who voted.
What he is promising now, even before he is sworn in on January 20, is a number of very clear pronouncements.
Whether his appointments to key positions in his government and cabinet will deliver as he has expressed, time will tell.
Importantly, can Elon Musk deliver smaller government, quicker decision-making and cheaper government. I hope so. For those who have not read his 2023 biography by Walter Isaacson, can I suggest you do.
While Musk is a very complicated individual, he has achieved a great deal on many fronts in less than 30 years, and he is not driven by money but outcomes. From reading his biography, Musk detests overmanning and seeks out the lowest cost quality products.
Both necessary ingredients now for Victoria’s future.
My biggest fear is whether Musk and Trump can deliver a workable relationship over the next four years.
His biography suggests Musk has had a high turnover of senior people in his many ventures. Both he and Trump have strong personalities.
I hope they can work together, for the United States and for the example that would set here in Australia.
I am sure a Musk-like approach could work here in Victoria.
I know from experience Victoria is over-governed. I know from those with medium and small businesses, being over-governed has added considerable costs and delays to their operations which in part has led to so many businesses folding.
That almost all of Victoria’s ministers have had no commercial experience. That past failed Labor ministers with one exception have been appointed to government bodies and organisations for which they have no experience.
I know that most of the government’s major infrastructure projects now operate on a cost-plus basis, because government has so mismanaged the contracts they have let. Contracts that should have been publicly tendered, with controls put in place that put the onus on the contractor not the government (read the people of Victoria).
I know that much of the blowout in costs has been because of the close relationship between the government and the CFMEU.
The government’s priority has not been with the community that elected them, but their union supporters.
Every independent economic report has Victoria in a debt spiral that sadly will only grow over the next two years.
The rating agencies could have reduced the government’s appetite to continuing to borrow money, but they are complicit in Victoria’s economic failure. They should be sued for gross negligence.
In the interests of young Victorians, we need the government to be honest with us all.
We need the government to commit to returning the budget to surplus in two years. I know I said three to four years in my plan but that is too slow. We need the government to govern, and while that will entail some tough decisions it must be done.
With transparency and setting a target for a surplus budget for which we all can aim; we need one other important change.
We need the Premier to lead.
Sitting on the fence is not leadership.
The community’s needs are more important than any union demands.
The consequences for taking a person’s life are more important than that prisoner’s right to IVF.
Not being proactive, that allows anti-Semitism to become increasingly part of Victorian life is not leadership.
And so, the list goes on.
Sadly, we have leadership only in name, not in deed. Daniel Andrews anointed Jacinta Allan; she can no longer simply be Andrews’ puppet. She needs to break out and prove she is a leader.
Otherwise, we may need a Musk-like approach here in Victoria to address the generational legacy Labor has and is creating.
Leadership is about doing what is right, not seeking to be popular.
Victoria requires bold dramatic changes now, not tinkering at the edges.
Jeff Kennett is a former Premier of Victoria
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