Victorian state Budget 2017-18: Pallas adds extra sting in cash row, writes Matthew Johnston
STATE coffers are overflowing while Treasurer Tim Pallas cries poor about being short-changed by the federal government, which will no doubt irk the PM, writes Matthew Johnston.
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SHORTLY after outlining his third Budget that shows state coffers are overflowing and includes $38 billion of infrastructure projects, Tim Pallas offered this line.
“Imagine what we could do with $6.6 billion extra?”
The zinger-prone Treasurer, who kept a relatively serious tone during his press conference, was referring to money Victoria is “short-changed” when it comes to its share of Commonwealth infrastructure funding.
No doubt federal MPs including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be irked by Pallas crying poor while sitting on record taxes and spending freely.
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They’re also still bitter about Premier Daniel Andrews dumping the East West Link, wasting $1.2 billion and snubbing a $3 billion contribution from Canberra, and that he seems oddly resistant to Melbourne Metro funding.
But they can’t avoid the fact that Pallas has a point.
Turnbull’s own Budget papers show 8.5 per cent of federal infrastructure spending goes to Victoria, which has 25 per cent of the population.
To rub it in, on the day Pallas released his Budget, Turnbull was promising to build a $5.4 billion second airport for his home city of Sydney. And it’s not like Bill Shorten is promising that much in his home state, either.
As Pallas put it: “The state of Victoria is being abused in terms of the contribution that the Commonwealth is making to this state.”
The very political Pallas, who accused his federal counterparts of playing politics, has some clever politics of his own in this Budget.
The Mordialloc Bypass, which is a line on a map at the moment, got $300 million so local MPs in key bayside seats can sell a big-ticket item for 18 months.
Schools are set for a $685 million boost, but $572 million will be spent in the next two years.
As an election year approaches, Labor needs to focus on bricks and mortar after a tumultuous period where a series of ministers quit and MPs were caught rorting.
The government also has a firm eye on the bush, with payroll cuts for country businesses and a regional rail cash splash using federal money promised after the Port of Melbourne lease.
Pallas says this would “actually play into the government’s heartland — rural and regional Victoria”.
If money doesn’t flow, the project won’t go ahead, Pallas says.
While voters digest this, and what else is on offer in this state blueprint, Victorian eyes will shift to Canberra to see what Sydney MP and federal Treasurer Scott Morrison provides next week.
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