Matthew Guy slams Andrews Government’s economic management in scathing budget reply
The opposition leader has slammed the Andrews Government’s in parliament calling their economic management “a special kind of recklessness”.
Victoria
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Opposition leader Matthew Guy has slammed the Andrews Government’s economic management in a scathing budget reply to parliament.
In a speech that focused on debt, taxes and spending, Mr Guy said reckless management had sent the state broke and warned there would be no easy fix.
“Labor’s damage is far too great, far too severe and I suspect it may even be generational,” he said.
Government forecasts outlined in last week’s budget predict the state’s record debt will rise further to $167.5 billion, or $25,000 for each Victorian, by 2026.
It comes on the back of a big-spending budget which commits $12bn to ease the state’s health crisis.
“Victoria is on track to having the equivalent debt to New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia combined,” he said.
“Just shy of 170 billion dollars. Now that’s a special kind of recklessness.
“Who would have thought that in 2014 when the government changed and Labor came to office and debt levels were around $20 billion that we’d be genuinely looking at putting another zero on that within two terms of office.”
Tax revenue is also predicted to soar by more than $10bn from pre-Covid levels as the government works to rein in debt and fund its surging workforce.
Mr Guy said Victoria was now the highest taxed state in Australia, but vowed that under a government he led there would be no new taxes or tax increases.
He said under Daniel Andrews’ premiership, tax collections had increased by 80 per cent from $16.9 billion in 2013-14 to a forecast $30.5 billion in 2022-23.
Land tax revenue had almost tripled from $1.7 billion in 2013-14 to a forecast $4.8 billion in 2022-23.
And payroll tax had increased from $4.95 billion in 2013-14 to a forecast $6.8 billion in 2022-23.
“What we are living today is the handiwork of long term Labor, and a long term Premier,” he said.
“A man whose ego says I need to be here longer than Bracks, his ego says I need to be here longer than Kennett.
“A man motivated by a bronze statue of himself and not motivated by fixing the many problems he and his government have caused.”
While not unveiling any new election promises, Mr Guy repeated promises to slash surgery waiting lists, and guaranteed no further lockdowns if elected to government in November.
He also committed to fixing the state’s mental health crisis, keeping schools open, helping small businesses recover, and driving the cost of living down.
“The Liberals and Nationals are doing the work to repair this state,” he said.
“The economic vandals opposite us have ruined the place twice before and this time they’re doing it on a grand scale.”
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