Daniel Andrews details Budget pressures and future plans after five years in power

In an interview with the Herald Sun to mark five years in power, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has committed to maintaining a budget surplus for the next four years but said belts would need to be tightened.

Victoria’s $1 billion surplus is ready for a haircut, Premier Daniel Andrews admits, as he calls on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to kickstart the economy with a school and road-maintenance blitz.

In an interview with the Herald Sun to mark five years in power, the Premier committed to maintaining a surplus for the next four years despite a $5.2 billion hit to stamp duty and infrastructure project cost blowouts.

But Mr Andrews conceded there was “not a lot of discretionary funding around” for the next two years and the government would “cut our cloth accordingly”.

A year since winning a second term, he also said:

LEVEL crossing removals, family violence reforms and legalising voluntary assisted dying are his government’s biggest achievements, and the mental health royal commission will dominate Labor’s work next year.

HE wants the North Richmond injecting room to stay open — perhaps with changes to how it operates — after the two-year trial ends next year because it is “saving lives”.

A DEAL with the federal government on the airport rail link design is likely to include some early works for fast rail to Geelong and Ballarat.

HE is committed to a full term as Premier but won’t serve as opposition leader and eventually wants a slower-paced job.

Asked if Victoria would retain its surplus in next month’s Budget update, Mr Andrews said: “There is a chance that may come off a little bit because we think GST revenue will be down, obviously consumption is down overall.”

He has asked Mr Morrison for a stimulus package, saying his government had “set ourselves up” for a more difficult financial period.

“Some of the capacity that we had three, four years ago, even two years ago, isn’t necessarily there,” he said.

Amid revelations of project cost overruns, Mr Andrews said he was confident the contract for the $15.8 billion North East Link — to be signed soon — would stay within budget.

MORE NEWS

But he wanted extra foreign capital to bring “competitive tension in the market” as the government’s relentless building program forced up the cost of labour and raw materials.

Asked whether Victoria Police should have spent five years fighting to keep the Lawyer X scandal secret, he said he was limited in what he could say during the royal commission. “I’ll put it to you this way, if I was entirely happy with this arrangement, I wouldn’t have set up a royal commission within a week of getting re-elected,” Mr Andrews said.

[e-mail]